Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Reflections on "Interruptions and Hope" Matthew 3: 1-12; Matthew 11: 2-6

At one point, I thought about doing this sermon with the other pastor at St. Andrew.  In that approach, John the Baptist (me) would have interrupted the sermon being preached by my colleague.  But, we had a short week due to my daughter's graduation from college, so we did not do a joint sermon.  

the sermon was designed to remind us how God interrupts our lives, with John the Baptist being the interrupter, and the sermon was supposed to remind us that God seeks to join us in our lives.  To make the first point, I began telling a story from my stool (I've been telling a story each week of Advent from a stool) that was supposed to be the perfect story.  At the climax, I stood up, pointed my finger, and began the John the Baptist imitation.  When that was done, I walked back to the pulpit and said the line, "John the Baptist interrupts a good Christmas story, doesn't he?"  It worked well.  Lots of weed faces when the story was leading to the sappy moment; then shocked faces when the finger pointing started; then laughter at the line about John the Baptist interrupting.  I think that point was heard.

The personal story about my daughter's birth also worked.  It is always dangerous to se personal stories, particularly if they do not make the point faithfully, but I think the point of God being with us worked as well. 

Matthew 3: 1-12:  In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight.’”
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

"interruptions and Hope;" SAPC, December 17, 2017;  Matthew 3: 1-12; Matthew 11: 2-6

Introduction:  this is one of those sweet, almost perfect Christmas stories.

It was a couple of days before Christmas.  the family had all arrived at their parents’ home.  First time in 3 or 4 years that all four siblings were in the same place to celebrate Christmas.

The oldest son was there with his wife and their baby who was having her first Christmas.  Having a baby at Christmas time added to the moment.

the snow had arrived to their OH town.  Not enough snow to cause travel problems, but enough to ensure a white Christmas.

They had eaten dinner - the traditional lasagna dinner they always had at every family gathering.  

the whole family moved into the room where the fire was going strong in the fireplace.  One of the daughters was playing Christmas carols softly on the piano.

Quiet conversations were taking place.

there was an air of anticipation and excitement.  The youngest son had brought his girlfriend home for the Christmas celebration. 

rumor had it that he was going to propose to her.  He stood up, as if to get their attention.  Evyerone looked at him.  Was this the moment?

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

Don’t turn away from me.  I see you trying to hide from me.

You elders and deacons, don’t duck behind the person sitting in front of you.  I see you there.

Confess your sins and repent.

I don’t care who your grandparents were or who your parents are.

I don’t care how long you’ve been a member of this church or any church.

I am warning you.  Change your ways. 

The one who is coming is greater than I.  I am not worthy to wear his shoes.

And he is coming to change the world.  Are you ready for him?  If not, the ax will cut you down and you will be thrown into the fire.

John sort of interrupts a good Christmas story, doesn’t he.

Barbara Brown Taylor, one of the finer preachers of our time, likens John to a Doberman Pincher.   We merrily rush toward Christmas, and suddenly out of nowhere comes John the Baptist barking at us.

Move 1: As we move through Advent toward Christmas laying claim to the stories and traditions that comfort us, that bring a smile our face, John the Baptist interrupts us.

a. Interruptions get our attention and call us to focus.

1.  It is easy to lose sight on the coming of Christ.

2. Easy for the Christ-child to get lost in all the celebrations and traditions.

3. Easy to lose focus as we try to create that perfect holiday experience.

b.  Suddenly, John the Baptist arrives and calls us back to the task of preparing for the God who is coming.

1. A reminder that the the God who comes in Christ comes to transform our lives and our world.

2.  he calls us to repent which strongly suggests the the Christ-child demands more than  candle-lit service and a few verses of “Silent Night.”

3.  The Christ-child comes to ask us, “Are you willing to follow me.”

4.  Will you change your ways and give up how you participate in injustice; 

or  forgive in the name of love;

will you confess your sins and follow JChirst into the world?

5.  It’s easy to forget that Christ comes to call us to new life; but John the Baptist will remind us.

Move 2:  When John the Baptist calls us to repent, he reminds us that the Christ-child arrives in our broken world.

a.  Sometimes we make Christmas seem like a fairy tale.

1. Beautiful and perfect.

2.  Every things works out for everybody.

2.  In fact, we go to great lengths to make it perfect.

b. But think about the story of Christ’s birth.  

3.  Mary and Joseph having to sort through relationship issues when she gets pregnant, and he’s not the father.

4.  having to travel late in the pregnancy.

5.  No place to spend the night, so she gets stuck out with the animals when she goes into labor.

6.  We tell the story full of pageantry and beautiful hymns, but let me ask you parents out there.  How many of you would want your daughter to deliver her first child out in the hay with the animals?

7.  But that is precisely where the Christ-Child arrives - in the chaos and challenge of their lives that are too full of reality at that moment.

8. from the beginning, the story of Christ’s birth is the story of God, who shows up in the real world.
b.  Noelle story — Advent of 1995

Christmas was three days away.  Like this year, Christmas Eve was going to be on a Sunday, so there was lots of worship to plan and prepare.  the candles were had been put in their holders and were ready to be lit to the sounds of “silent Night” on christmas Eve.

Snow was on the way.  those how had been dreaming of a white Christmas were going to have their dreams met.  At least where we were in KY.

We were going to tell the story of a baby being born in Bethlehem, but first we were go to actually have a baby in Mt. Sterling, KY.  My middle daughter, whose name Noelle had already been chosen as part of this magical moment.

All was good with the world.

The doctor arrived that night in his Christmas sweater having just returned from a ski trip in Colorado to deliver our Christmas baby.  All was right with the world.

Until Noelle arrived and didn’t want to breathe.  

“Code blue. Stat. Room 204.  Our room.  I watch terrified as the doctor works to clear her lungs while my wife keeps asking why the baby won’t cry out or make a noise.  

Time seemed to stop. 

No holding, no touching, the nurses just whisked her away to the nursery and an oxygen tent.  

Most of the friends and church members who were waiting for the joyous celebration quietly looked through the window and the baby hidden beneath the oxygen tent. 

Conversations with my wife and with the doctor. 

“We think this will clear up in the next 24 hrs. or so.  We have been in conversation with the neo-natal unit at the University fo KY, and they think we can handle it without transporting her.  are you ok with that?”

The dream Christmas week was becoming a nightmare.  

One of the elders in the church hung around after everyone had left and asked if she could pray with me as we stood outside the nursery looking in at Noelle.

In the stillness of the moment as her prayer washed over me, I felt the presence of God.  Not quite the comfort that everything would be fine with my daughter, but the assurance that God was with me and would be with me wherever the next few hours led.

The journey to Christmas would have to continue. 

c.  the Christmas story is about the God who shows us.

God who joins us in our brokenness.

God who finds us in our fears.

God who brings us hope when we are feeling hopeless.


Conclusion:  John reminds us of our brokenness, and points us to the God who shows up to be with us.  amen.

Monday, December 4, 2017

Reflections on "Night Visits" Luke 1: 26-38; Matthew 1: 18-2

I again sat on a stool to tell the story part  (in italics in the sermon below) of the sermon.  It seems to work, particularly since we are emphasizing remembering our stories that shape us and our experience of Advent/Christmas.    I again faced the dilemma of what to after being on the stool - go back to pulpit? preach from some other place?  This time, I told the story, then went straight to the pulpit.  After the second part of the story, I stood up and stayed in the center of the chancel. the only problem was I had left my sermon at the pulpit, so the second point below was done without notes, which means who knows what was said relative to what was written below!

when i reached the end of the second point, I should have ended the sermon.  I felt it as I was preaching, but I did not trust my instincts, so I went back to the pulpit and finished up the sermon as written.  when i was done, it confirmed that I should have ended it earlier.  I am quick to notice if someone else preaching has a good ending point, but then continues; yesterday, I was that preacher!

“Night Visits”  SAPC, December 3, 2017; Luke 1: 26-28; Matthew 1: 18-25

 My sermon title, indeed my sermon, makes an assumption that the angel Gabriel, who visits Mary, and the unnamed angel who visits Joseph arrive at night.  We are not told that explicitly, although in the Joseph story we are told he the angel visits in a dream, which could be while he was sleeping at night.  

In my mind, both conversations are the stuff of dreams, so it should be the night.

Matthew 1: 18-15 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[i] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;[j] and he named him Jesus.

Introduction: I have a friend who is 7 or 8 years older than I am.  I met him first one summer when I was in grade school - he was in one of my father’s summer productions in the drama department at UNT, and I was following my father to work and hanging out around the stage.

a few years later, my first real job was working in a clothing store for my friend’s father.  He also worked for his father, so we worked together some.

then, in high school I worked for my friend at a store he owned, and we got to be pretty good friends.  He got married my freshman year in college, and I was in his wedding; he returned the favor years later when Leslie and I married.

When I was in college, a habit developed that continued through the years.  when I was home for Christmas break, or spring break, or summer break (or later when I was working or in seminary and would come home for a week-end), I would stop by to visit.   

Since I knew he and his wife stayed up late, I would finish my night by stopping at his house on the way home.  It was often 11:00 pm or midnight before I would make it to their house. 

If there were lights on, I would stop.  Maybe a time or two I even stopped and awakened him.  It got to the point that if he and his wife had heard I was going to be in town, or if they figured I was in town for a holiday week-end, they would leave the porch light on for my late night visit.

Those were great visits.  Something about the late night and early morning hours lent themselves to deep conversations about hopes and dreams we had for our lives and the world.  Lots of major decisions in my life were discussed in those conversations.  

Anything seemed possible as we talked into the night.

When we read the stories of angel visits to Mary and Joseph, I remember those night visits - night visits bursting with possibilities for what God is going to do.

Move 1:  In Advent, we look to the coming of Christ and remember that anything is possible.

a.  Imagine Mary’s conversation with the angel.

1.  “Uh, Mary, you’re going to be pregnant.”

“Huh?”

2.  “And by the way, it’s going to be God’s Son.”

 “Really?”


3. I bet if we had asked Mary moments before the angel Gabriel appeared what her future looked like, getting pregnant and bearing God’s son would have been pretty far down the list.

4. Who am I kidding.  It would not be have been on the her list of wildest possibilities.

b.  Likewise, Joseph.

1. when he learns his girlfriend is pregnant, he considers the possibilities for the future, and they do not include hanging out with her.

2.  until, until the angel arrives in a dream to share new possibilities.
b.  In those moments, the God for whom nothing is impossible is revealed.

1.  a virgin can agree to bear God’s son.

2.  the Savior can be born in Bethlehem.

3.   a star can be followed to make a life-altering discover.

4.  Anything is possible when an angel visits in the night.

b.  As we ponder the God who comes in flesh, consider the possibilities of what God is doing in our lives.

1.  What new possibilities is God putting before you?

2.  maybe Advent means the broken relationship in which you find yourself has the possibility of being healed.

3.  maybe Advent means your life that seems stuck is about to explode with a new opportunity.

4. maybe Advent this year is when God is going to be at work in your challenging life-situation to introduce new possibilities.

5.   maybe Advent means there is a way for people in our world to join together and work toward peace and a new way of living together despite the acrimony.

5.  The God who invites Mary and Joseph to consider new possibilities for how they can be part of what God is doing in the world is coming for you!

Move 2:  Night visits can be scary

For awhile, my friend and his wife lived in a small house behind his parents’ house.  That led to a major rule of the night visits – I had to be quiet, and for no reason could I knock on his parents’ door or ring their doorbell. 

Why?  Because years ago his older sister had been killed in a car accident in the middle of the night, and his parents were
awakened to the ringing doorbell of the police officer who had come to inform them of their daughter’s death.  

If you’ve ever answered the door late a night to see a police officer standing there, you know that night visits can be scary.


(stay on top step of chancel)

a.  “do not be afraid,” is a recurring phrase of the Christmas story.

1. Remember last week and Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father - the angels tells him “do not be afraid.”

2.  The angel speaks to Mary - “Do not be afraid.”

3.  The angel to Joseph -“Do not be afraid.”

4.  the angels to the shepherds in the field, “Do not be afraid.”

5.  Apparently, it was scary to be involved in the coming of Christ.

b.  No surprise, really.

1.  the amazing possibilities to which God calls us take us to new places, places where we have never been, places that might seem scary.

2.  to give ourselves over to the God of possibilities means giving up our need to control our future.

move 3:  the God who made a claim on Mary and Joseph in their time makes a claim on us.
a. Meister Eckhart, 13th century German mystic/theologian,  Meister Eckhart, 1260-1328, German Dominican monk: What good is it to me if the son of God was born to Mary 1400 years ago if Christ is not born again in my time and in my culture?

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to His Son if I do not also give birth to Him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: when the Son of God is begotten in us. http://interruptingthesilence.com/tag/meister-eckhart/

b.  Mary overcomes her fears and says, “Here I am,” to the God of possibilities.


What do you say?