Reflections on "Do Not Be Afraid" Luke 2: 8-20

Merry Christmas!

“Do Not Be Afraid” SAPC, Christmas Eve, 2018; Luke 2: 8-20

 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying,

14 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[c]

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Move 1:  In the dark of night, our fears fester and grow.

When we put our children to bed we crack their doors so light from the hallway filters in their rooms and drives their fears away.

As adults, we leave a light on when we are going to return home at night so we do not have to walk into a dark house, afraid of what might greet us.

What's the first thing you do when you walk into a dark room, feel around the wall for the light switch to turn on the lights (hopefully before the monsters get you)

a.  Darkness and its eerie, fearful feeling goes back to even before the beginning.

In Genesis we are told that before the world was created, darkness covered the face of the deep – the formless void with the scary, untamed name of chaos.

The first thing God commanded? “let there be light,” as if the fear of the unknown yet to be created world still in the dark needed light to chase its fears away.

The shepherds are watching the sheep in the fields at this hour for fear of thieves who stalk the sheep in the dark of the night.

Or in less biblical terms, there is a cartoon of Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin is Calvin is sitting in bed, darkness surrounding him, eyes wide open with fright. He says, "I think nighttime is dark so you can imagine your fears with less distraction."

b.  We know what it is like to imagine our fears in the darkness of our lives.

I bet many of us arrive here tonight, in part because we long for a word of hope in the face of our fears. 

I know, we gather in worship to hear and sing the glorious music;  

we gather because it’s a family tradition, 

we gather to come to our Lord’s Table and receive his amazing gift;

we gather because we do not want to miss the inspirational moment when candles are lit and we sing “Silent Night,” 

c.  but many of us also arrive knowing the fear deep within, the fear we hide from the world, the fear we try to hide from ourselves, the fear pushed deep down into the recesses of our lives. 

the fear of medical issues with which we struggle

the fear of treatments that wait for us

The fear of death as we imagine our own mortality or grieve the death of loved ones.

The fear of helplessness - not sure what to do with our lives.

the fear of our self-doubts.

the fear that the world is racing in a direction we do not want to go 

the fear that our relationships are too fragile to make it much longer

Even in our successes, we wonder will it be enough to satisfy us and give meaning to our lives or will can we sustain our success. 

our fears hide in the dark shadows of our lives.

Move 2;  So we gather to hear a  familiar story - to hear the angel announce to the shepherds:  “Do not be afraid!”

a.  I wonder how the angel’s voice sounded to those shepherds in the fields.  

1. Was it a dramatic (Dramatic)  “Do not be afraid”  -  a bold statement seizing the attention of the shepherds who we just slinking through life, afraid to step forward;  more a command than a reassurance.

2. Was there a hint of laughter (Laughing) “do not be afraid”  a chuckle revealing the confidence of the angel, confidence in knowing that the mysteries in life the shepherds see will unfold as the plan God has for their lives is revealed.

3. Or maybe it was said with a question mark “Do not be afraid?” a tentative word, as if the angel knows that the shepherds are overwhelmed with fear, and it seems crazy to not be afraid; but, of course, the angel also knows how crazy it is to imagine  what God has just done

4.  Was it said with a (Swagger):  “Do not be afraid”  - the angel in effect announcing God has got your back, feel free to step out and do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, but never thought you could

5.  Perhaps the shepherds heard is as words of comfort, “Do not be afraid” like a mother comforting a scared child with the soothing words of reassurance that she will always be there for the child and the child will never be alone; the angel knowing that God reminding the shepherd that God chooses to be with them, always.

b. My guess - the shepherds each heard the words of the angel differently because God met each of them, God meets each us in the places where we are.

1.  Whatever you fear tonight in the darkness of your life, the angel speaks to you, “Do not be afraid.”

1. “Do not be afraid because into the darkness of our fears God sends light.

2.  Just a little flicker - The baby born in Bethlehem does not look like much.

3.  A baby born to non-descript parents who cannot even manage to find a place to stay except out with the animals.

4.  A baby who is flesh like we are .

5. But the flicker grows into a man who is not a warrior, but a teacher.

6.  Not a great politician, but a healer.

7.  Not a man who overwhelms people with his demands, man who serve people as a servant.

8.  Not a man who conquers people with power, but a man who saves people with love.

9.  the flicker grows with his death on the cross and becomes light the cannot be extinguished in Christ’s resurrection.

The light that comes into the world as the Christ-child who was, who is, and who will be God with us, in all things, in all places.

Conclusion:  W.H. Auden, The Christmas Oratorio

…We are afraid

Of pain but more afraid of silence; for no nightmare

Of hostile objects could be as terrible as this Void,

this is the Abomination.(As quoted by Fleming Rutledge, 84, “The End of the Ice Age,” Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ)

Conclusion:  Into the silence of our fears, God has spoken through the angel:

(Bold) “Do not be afraid”

 (laughter) “Do not be afraid”

(Question) “Do not be afraid”

(Swagger) “Do not be afraid”

(Comfort) “Do not be afraid”  because “to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” 

Reflections on "Angelic Call - Hope;" the 4th Sunday of Advent; Luke 2: 26-38

Another sermon with which I struggled.  Not sure if the theme I chose for Advent has been problematic for me or if something else is at play.  I really enjoyed the sermons the first two weeks fo Advent, but have not enjoyed the last two weeks.  I particularly found the conclusion lacking in today's sermon.

“Angelic Call - Hope” SAPC, December 23, 2018; Luke 2: 26-38

 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a] 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Introduction:  Once I laid out the plans for spending Advent preaching on the angels in the birth narrative stories, I knew I would be preaching on hope (which is often an Advent theme anyway).

Suddenly, I began to notice every time I used the word hope.  

“I hope your flight is on time.”

“I hope you do well on your final exam.”

“i hope you like the present I bought for you.”

“I hope you have a fun Christmas vacation.”

And I had a song you may know from “Annie Get Your Gun” running through my head.  It’s a lighthearted song that goes something like this: 

Who do you love I hope 

Who would you kiss I hope 

Who is it going to be 

I hope, I hope, I hope it's me 

Who do you want I hope 

Who do you need I hope 

Who is it going to be 

I hope, I hope, I hope it's me 

( https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/anniegetyourgun/whodoyouloveihope.htm)

It was a long month!

My problem - my hopes seemed rather trivial. 

I actually looked up the word hope to see if I were somehow using the word incorrectly.   I discovered there is a lot of conversation about the difference between hope and wishful thinking.

Hope in something that is likely to happen.  Wishful thinking is about something that is unlikely to happen.

Not very helpful.  the hopes of Israelites as they face their world; the hope that can sustain us as we face the challenges in our world seem to me more than something likely to happen if we just things play out.

Christian hope.  the hope that despite everything that might suggest otherwise, God is at work and will be at work until all the world is redeemed and saved.

Reflect a few moments about our Christian hope.

Move 1: Our Christian hope rests in the God who acts.

a.  That is the kind of hope we discover as the angel speaks to Mary.

1.   Remember, the angel is sent by God to speak to Mary.  What is going to happen is at God’s initiative.

2.  The angel reveals what God is going to do.  mary will bear a son, who will be the son of the most high.

3.  “How can this be?” she wants to know.

4.  Mary’s question is the question of her ancestors who asked while in exile and as a defeated people, or even in the riches of the kingdom when they still saw their human sinfulness on display;  they asked, “how can this be that God is going to save us?”

mary’s question is our question as we look at our lives and our world and see all our failings and problems,  “how can this be?”

b.  Much is made of Mary’s willingness to go along.  

1. In fact, I would suggest that her three words, “Here I am.” reveal her as the most heroic person in the Bible.

2.  But our hope is not in Mary, but in the God for whom, as the angel tells us, “nothing is impossible.” 

c. Consider the town of  Bethlehem

1.  We hear about Bethlehem from the prophet MIcah.  

2. Bethlehem will be the place where the Messiah will arrive.

3.  Bethlehem - a non-descript, little town.

4.  Bethlehem is only 6.2 miles, or 10 km south of Jerusalem

    5. If you were going to have the Birth of Jesus fun run, you would go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. For the half-marathon, you would add the return run.

        6.  It makes no sense - the long-expected Messiah should arrive n Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish religion; Jerusalem, where the Temple is.

7.  But Mary and Joseph go to little ole Bethlehem to give birth to God's son.

c.  the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem reminds us that we hope in the God for whom nothing is impossible.

1.  Even a virgin can become pregnant and give birth.

2. Even Bethlehem can be the play where the Son of God arrives.

We can dare to hope because of what God is doing.

Move 2: Being people of hope means God intrudes into our lives and our world. 

a.  tom Currie, III, theologian and writer, whose best quality may be he is Margaret Plunkett’s brother, reminds us “hope is another name for God’s intrusive presence in our worlds and we fear, again rightly, that that presence will disturb us, revealing the inadequacy of all our effort to feed ourselves and creating in us a hunger we cannot satisfy.  Worse, it may take us to places we had no intention of going” Tom Currie, Jr. Journal for Preachers, Vol. XLVII, Advent, 2018, “With Heads Held High:  Preaching Hope in a Noisy Time,” 2)

1.  Hoping in God means acknowledging that we are not there yet.

2.  Hoping in God means looking at our lives and acknowledging that we need God to do a new thing with us.

3.  Hope in God means looking at our world and recognizing that our best efforts to shape into the goodness God desires have fallen short, way short of that goodness.

b.  the danger of hoping in God is that the God in who we hope may call us to do a new thing.

1.  Think about mary and what giving herself over to the hope that God might come to earth meant for her?

2. To put our hope in God means trusting God to guide us, change us.

Move 3:  In order to hope, we have to give up what holds us back.

a.  Karl Barth has this image of Christians moving forward in hope toward Christ who is ever before us, but our unrighteousness and unholiness are  “still behind [us] in ever new forms and with only too powerful a grasp [IV/3.2, 232]” (Fleming Rutledge, 59, “Expectation and Hope in the Writings of Karl Barth,” Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ).

1. our hope held hostage by our own failings.

2. Our hope held hostage by the part of us we will not give up, which will tighten its grip on our lives.

b.  Perhaps we need to hear again Mary’s response to the angel and discover their power — “Here  am I.”

1.  Mary submitting herself to the hope in God to use her in ways she could never have imagined on her own.

2.  Mary giving herself over to the God of hope, instead of being held back by her own fears.

Conclusion:  As Advent comes to a close and Christmas day approaches, may you discover anew the hope you have in the God who is born to a virgin in Bethlehem.

The hope you have in the God for whom all things are possible.

Footnote to sermon:  Daniel Migliore has a wonderful chapter on “Christian Hope” in his book Faith Seeking Understanding (Migliore, 231-251)

Reflections on "Angelic Advice - Change" Matthew 2: 13-23

The sermon felt like a struggle to me, which surprised me since I really enjoyed learning about "The Cherry Tree Carol" this week and including it in the sermon.  I did not have enough fun with it, so it did not work as well as it could have to set up the Gospel of Matthew story.

I watched The Bishop's Wife Saturday night to refresh my memory before using the illustration from it in the sermon.  Neat movie.  The illustration was intended to be used in a discussion of prayer, but it seemed to work fairly well in the context of this sermon.

When using the Polar Express illustration, I called it the Polar Bear Express.  I did not catch the mistake, but several of the Sr. Highers did.  It gave them a laugh, and it made me feel good to think they were listening well enough to catch the mistake.  I did not have anyone mention to me, which may mean that everyone was being gracious, not many were listening at that point, or they did not catch it!

“Angelic Advice - Change” SAPC, December 16, 2018; Matthew 2: 13-23; Advent 3

Matthew 2: 13-23  Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[h] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,[i] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.[j] 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,

    wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

The Return from Egypt

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph[k] got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Introduction:  "The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad. The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century.  Somewhere along the way, it became part of Appalachia ballads.

The ballad relates an apocryphal story of the Virgin Mary, presumably while traveling to Bethlehem with Joseph for the census.

“Cherry Tree Carol”

Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard green

There were cherries and berries, as thick as might be seen

There were cherries and berries, as thick as might be seen

Mary said to Joseph, so meek and so mild:

Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child

Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child

Then Joseph flew in anger, in anger flew he

Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!

Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!

Then up spoke baby Jesus, from in Mary's womb:

Bend down the tallest branches, that my mother might have some

Bend down the tallest branches, that my mother might have some

And bend down the tallest branches, it touched Mary's hand

Cried she: Oh look thou Joseph, I have cherries by command

Oh look thou Joseph, I have cherries by command (Songwriters: Ashley Hutchings / Kenneth Nicol / Simon Care / Kellie While

The Cherry Tree Carol lyrics © Peermusic Publishing

for more infö, go to https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/the-origins-of-the-cherry-tree-carol/; (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cherry-Tree_Carol; I discovered this carol from Milton Brasher-Cunnigham’s blog)

Kind of a fun story to share about what Joseph might have been thinking. 

The Gospel of Matthew tells it a bit differently.

In Matthew, an angel appears to Joseph.

Angels in Mathew seem different to me than the angels in Luke.

In Luke, we get the angel Gabriel, or heavenly host announcing good news from a brightly lit sky.

In Matthew, the angel is talking about really difficult circumstances, even the threat of death. 

In Luke, when the angels say, “Do not be afraid,” it feels like they are not to be afraid of the incredible possibilities that await.

In Matthew, when the angel says, “Do not be afraid,” it seems pretty clear that there is much of which to be afraid.

Let’s look for a few minutes at what the angel has to say to Joseph in Matthew.

Move 1:  Angelic advice - keep on changing.

a. Put that advice into context - Joseph has been doing the right thing - thus we are told that he is righteous.

1. Joseph has been making decisions and changes to his life.

2. Joseph is not known as a righteous man by accident - he has made changes in his life to reflect his obedience to the rules of his faith tradition.

3.  He has also recently made some changes in his personal life.  Namely, he is engaged to a young woman Mary.; pretty serious commitment. 

4.  now, he is about to make another change in his life.  A big change.  He is going to move on from his fiancee when he finds out she is pregnant, and he knows he is not the father.

5.  not just an issue of broken trust in their relationship.

6.  It is a religious issue as well.  To abide by the commandments, to be righteous in the eyes of the Jewish tradition, he cannot stay in a relationship with Mary, who has been unfaithful to him (In fact, a religious hardliner might argue Mary should be put to death for her actions).

7. Joseph decides to make a change - he will treat Mary gently, but nevertheless, he will leave her and maintain his claim to being a righteous man, even in those difficult circumstances. 

b.   Then the angel appears to Joseph in a  dream.

1. “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.”

2.  In other words, do not be afraid to keep changing.

3. Do not be afraid to stay with Mary and be part of this amazing thing God is doing.

4. Do not be afraid to change your understanding of righteousness from what you have been taught to this new way of thinking and acting to which God is calling you.

5. Do not be afraid to step forward, trusting in God to continue to reveal to you what is next.

6. Do not be afraid to stick with Mary and see how things will play out.

c.  Joseph changes his plans.

1.  He takes the angel’s advice

2.  The course of his life is changed.

3. No looking back - now he is tied to Mary and to God in new ways.   

Joseph heeds the angels' advice and makes a big change in his life.

Move 2: First change leads to more changes, more life-saving changes.

a.  Literally, life-saving.

1.  the next time an angel visits Joseph it is after the wise men have left.

2. presumably Joseph and Mary were going to head home - take baby Jesus on tour and show him off to all the relatives and neighbors.

3. get back to home and its routines.

b.  But not quite yet.  Another angel visit to Joseph.

1. change direction.

2. Do not go home.  

3. head to Egypt to escape the destructive anger of King Herod.

4.  Not quite the plan Joseph had, but he listens to the angel again, changes directions, and heads to Egypt.

5.  A change that saves his life, saves Mary’s life, and save the life of baby Jesus.

the angelic advice leads to life-giving changes.

Move 3:  Do you hear the angelic advice to change in your life?

a.  IN the movie the Polar Express, a nostalgic sentiment about Christmas is shared:  “the true spirit of Christmas is in our hearts.  

1.  I read an author recently who suggested something different.  The author noted the importance of the angels in the Christmas story because the “Angels remind us that the true spirit of Christmas is not in our hearts, but in the one who is coming to transform” (Journal for Preachers, 38)

2.  Remember that the angel tells Joseph to name the child Jesus, because he is coming to save us.

3.  The Christ-child arrives not as an exclamation point of a great story we tell, but as the one who comes to change the world, to transform our very lives.

4.  the coming of Jesus means that when we look in the mirror and see the person who is not quite who we want to be, we can dare to change, and work toward the person we believe God is calling us to be.

c.  have you seen the 1947 movie The Bishop’s Wife?  it tells the story of n angel named Dudley, played by Cary Grant, who is sent to help Henry, an Episcopal bishop played by David Niven.  Henry is mired in the throes of the egotism and politics of trying to build a grand cathedral.  As the Christmas season arrives, Henry is so busy trying to get the cathedral built that he forgets the important things in his life, like his wife and daughter.  At every turn Henry’s plans are thwarted, eventually permanently, as the cathedral’s major donor, a wealthy, embittered and demanding woman, has an epiphany of sorts when she realizes her money could be put to much better use. 

At the film’s climax, Henry is frustrated and disheartened by his plans gone awry, and by his fears that his wife no longer loves him. He sees all of this as the work of Dudley, who in Henry’s mind, seemed more intent on punishing than helping.  When Dudley tells Henry,  “your prayer has been answered.” Henry, in confusion and disbelief, responds, “That’s not true. I was praying for a cathedral.” “No, you were praying for guidance. That has been given to you.”

And Henry discovers he has changed - instead of building a grand cathedral, he experiences the joy of filling empty stockings of the poor, the joy of sharing love with his family.

Angelic advice changed Henry.  Gave him new life. 

Conclusion: the angel begins the advice to Joseph with “do not be afraid.”

hear those words.

Do not be afraid to change.

Do not be afraid to be transformed by the coming of Christ.

Do not be afraid of the new life God calls you to have.

Amen.

Reflections on "Angelic Exhortations - 'Wake Up'"

this is the first sermon in the series Advent/Christmas Eve series on angels.  As I mention in the sermon, this series does not analyze angels but looks at the angelic interactions in the birth narratives.  I enjoyed working on this sermon and preaching it.  

If I did the sermon again, I would end it with the section just before the conclusion.  When i reached that point in the sermon, it felt right, but I liked the conclusion, so I kept on going.  Lesson relearned - when it feels like the right time to stop, stop!  The conclusion seemed like an unnecessary add-on to the sermon.

I originally had the following illustration as part of the sermon.  It would have been found as Move 2, b. 5.  When I reached that point of the sermon, it felt like to use this illustration would have shifted the flow back, instead of moving the sermon forward.  it might actually read better than it would have preached.   It's a pretty cool illustration, so i will use in some other Advent sermon.  It would work really well in a sermon that had AV support so i could show the painting.

16th century Peter Brueggel’s painting, Numbering at Bethlehem, depicts a wide-angle scene of a Flemish village as it would have appeared in his day, complete with a church spire. The villagers are busy: skating on the frozen pond, talking over the fence, slaughtering a pig, queuing up to pay taxes at the inn. Amidst the hubbub, one barely notices a woman heavy with child, riding on a donkey toward the inn, her carpenter husband walking alongside with a saw hanging from his belt.  her is a poignant, Advent moment.  The Holy Family is coming into the midst of the people.  that they overlook the moment is not because the people are bad or blind; rather, it is because their eyes and ears are not attuned to the Advent hope that the Holy might come among them and transform their priorities (“Journal for Preachers,” Vol. XXXVII, number 1, Advent 2013; to see the painting, go to https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Pieter-The-Elder-Bruegel/The-Numbering-At-Bethlehem-1566.html) 

The Fleming Rutledge book I referenced looks like a really neat resource. I have just skimmed through part of it, but it looks to have lots of great insights into Advent.

“Angelic Exhortation: Wake Up” SAPC, December 2, 2018; Luke 1: 5-23; Advent 1

Luke 1: 5-23  5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

Introduction: I am not really much of an angel person.  Maybe you are.  maybe you are not.  Even if you are not and angel person, I bet you know someone who is.   someone who has angels all over their house, and not just at Christmas time.

We are going to spend Advent reflecting an angels.  I will not tell you exactly what an angel is or how angels work.  Your angel friend probably will tell you (and I probably would not agree!).

We will look at what the angels says and do in the stories surrounding Jesus’ birth as a clue to what God was doing in those stories and what God might be doing in our lives today.

Move 1:  Wake up - the angels come to tell us that God demands our attention.

a. Let’s be clear - the angels in the Christmas story are not the cheery souls, or even the bumbling Clarence who is trying to earn his wings in the Christmas movie, “It’s a  Wonderful Life” (Agnes Norfleet’s article “Peripheral Angels,” in Journal for Preachers, Vol. XXXIV, Number 1, Advent , 2010, 13-15 sparked my thoughts for this section of the sermon).

1.  In fact, the angel who visits Zechariah in this story and Mary in a later story in Luke is Gabriel, which means “‘God is my strength.”

2.  A strong, powerful angel with an important message.

3.  If you like musicals, you may remember Cole Porter’s show “Anything Goes.”  It has  a rousing number sung by Reno, the female evangelist turned night club singer who belts out  “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” that sings of Gabriel blowing his trumpet to get everyone’s attention (for you biblical scholars no mention of Gabriel’s trumpet in the biblical record) [https://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/anythinggoes/blowgabrielblow.htm]

3.  Gabriel does not sing a sweet lullaby to Zechariah, but brings an exhortation — wake up!  It’s time to be a witness to what God is doing.

b,  Gabriel’s announcement to Zechariah about the birth of his son takes us back to Abraham and Sarah, who also received a visit from an angel and moves us forward to Mary and Joseph, who will receive an angelic visit as well.

1. Sarah and Abraham received the unexpected news about having a son late in life; Mary and Joseph about the son of God being born to Mary.

2. All of them - Sarah and Abraham, now Zechariah and Elizabeth, and later Mary and Joseph - will find their lives disrupted.

3. Are you next?

The angels call us to wake up and pay attention.

Move 2:  Wake up - God is working in the real world.

a.  Catches Zechariah at his place of work, albeit a temple. 

1.  There Zechariah is, doing about his business, when an angel suddenly appears on the right side of the altar of incense.

2.  When I was in seminary, a mentor (Bill Hedrick) told me that he always preached the sermon each week to an empty sanctuary.  He would imagine the congregation sitting there, and it gave him a feel for what it might sound like when the pews were full.

3.  I started that practice years ago while on internship, and still do it every week.  Sometimes, on a good week, I am in here on Friday mornings preachings; always, I am in here early on Sunday morning preaching to you even before you are in the pews.

4. One Friday afternoon at the church I served in KY, I was preaching in the pulpit.  It was a center pulpit, right in the middle of the chancel area, a straight line to the top of sanctuary, a straight line to the top of the sanctuary where bats sometimes roosted; a straight line a bat chose to fly that day and zoom so close to the top of my head, I felt it go through my hair.

5.  That less than angelic presence terrified me and I went running out of the sanctuary.

6.  Zechariah found out funny things can happen in the workplace; maybe even an angel of God.

b.  Notice that God did not send Gabriel to sweep Zechariah away to some heavenly temple.

1.  An angel  will not transport Mary and Joseph to some heavenly cloud, some cumulus birthing room.

3. The angels will not send the shepherds traveling down some gold-plated highway to heaven.

4.  The angels will tell us again and again that God is coming to be in our midst.

c. God is going to be at work in the real places where we live.

1.  When we look at our war-torn world and hunger for peace, there we will find God at work.

2. when we find ourselves in broken relationships, there we will find God at work at reconciliation

3.  when we come disheartened at the divisiveness in our world, there we will find God at work at reconciliation.

4. When we find ourselves in difficult medical struggles, there we will find God.

Wake up - God is at work in the real world.

Move 3:  Final warning - wake up, but be careful with those angels.

a. Fleming Rutledge, the renowned Episcopalian preacher, tells about how much she loved Advent as a child.  The whole sense of expectation was exciting.  But, she says, she had Advent all wrong.  She thought that she was supposed to spend Advent pretending that Jesus had never been born so that when they read the story of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Eve, it would be like a new thing had happened (Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, Fleming Rutledge, 58) 

, 1. maybe we all feel a little of that as we move through Advent and speak of expectation and a sense of waiting.

2.  But Advent is also about reflecting on our lives and asking what God is calling us to do now.

3. the God who has already come, the God who will come again in the Second coming, is the God who is calling us now, in surprising ways.

b. I love the exchange between Zechariah and Gabriel.

1.  When the angel tells Zechariah he and Elizabeth are going to have a baby, just like they have asked, Zechariah basically responds, “i am old.”  

2. A Sleepy response.  Zechariah’s not ready.  

3.  the angel’s response:  “I am Gabriel.  You Better hang on because God is coming. and you may get what you ask for and even more.”

4. that’s why we hear the angel for the first, but not the last, repeat the ongoing angelic refrain, “Do not be afraid!”

5. God is at work, and God wants us to be a part of it.  Beware!

Conclusion:  One kid reading the Christmas story to another kid.  Peers over the book and says:  “God sent an angel to proclaim the baby's birth because they didn't have email then. 

God has come and will come again.  And in this moment God is calling you. 

Reflections on "Loved and Freed"

It was Christ the King Sunday, and the sermon was sort of a Christ the King sermon.  The Associate pastor told me she thought from the chosen texts I was going to compare the reign of King Saul and the reign of Christ.  That sermon would have been much more connected to  Christ the King Sunday!

In fact, I knew I was going to be out of town for a funeral and then Thanksgiving, so I went with a story I had used a few years ago and preached what I think is an important topic, but also one that I could do without having a lot of study time in the week.  

If I did the sermon again with these texts (and it was not Christ the King Sunday), I would probably focus on the image of Jonathon and David's souls being "bound" together.  In fact, it occurred to me after the fact that it would have been fun for the Time with Young Disciples to have brought rope and tied them together in pairs to exemplify their souls being bound.  Maybe next time!

“Loved and Freed” November 20, 2011; Christ the King; St. Andrew; Revelation 1: 1-8; I Samuel 18: 1-5

Revelation 1: 1-8  The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants^[a] what must soon take place; he made^[b] it known by sending his angel to his servant^[c]John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed^[d] us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and made^[e] us to be a kingdom, priests serving^[f] his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Look! He is coming with the clouds;
    every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
    and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Introduction:  Ten years or so ago, my wife gave me a birthday present which consisted of an airline ticket to come back to TX and arrangements with one of my college roommates to join me for a weekend of watching soccer back on campus at Trinity University where we had played soccer together and lived together.

The weekend renewed our sporadic friendship, and we have since maintained contact and probably talk every couple of weeks.  We discovered we had a lot in common as adults:  he is a Ruling Elder in a Presbyterian Church; I, of course, am a Presbyterian minister. He coached high school soccer; I referee high school soccer; he has two daughters; I have three daughters; he moved back to TX a few years ago after having been gone since college; I moved back to TX a few years ago after having been gone since college;  He is in great shape and runs triathlons; I...well, we do not share everything in common.  

we had a conversation five or six years ago when I was visiting him that has stuck with me.  Long after his wife and kids had gone to bed, we were having one of those conversations where you can solve all the problems of the world.

At some point, we began talking about what it was like raising daughters. We talked about the importance of figuring out how to make your daughter feel loved so that she does not seek love from the wrong types of guys (two fathers talking late in the night, mind you).

My friend began to make the point quite forcefully that a father must not only love his daughter but actually show it in front of the boyfriend. He tells me, “you have to hug your daughter in front of the boyfriend.”

 At this point, I'm thinking how I do in that regard. When's the last time I hugged my daughter in front of a boyfriend?  I see the wisdom of his comment and begin to nod my head.

As I begin to file the comment away under the category of modeling your love for your daughter so that she can gain confidence, he asks, "You know why it is so important for the boyfriend to see that you love your daughter?"

I reply, “to build her confidence,  to make her feel good about herself…”

“No,” he exclaims, "Because the boyfriend has to know you love her so much that you'll come after him if he does anything to hurt her!" Thus the late night conversation turns to plotting like vigilantes against the boys who will date our daughters.

We gather here on Christ the King Sunday – the day we celebrate Christ the king, the king who lives his life very differently than secular kings we observe.

On this Christ the King Sunday, know this truth:  God loves us and shows that love not by coming as a vigilante, but by sending Christ the king to live with us, to die for us, to love us.

Move 1:  We need to know that God loves us. 

a.    Let me move that from the general to the particular.  You need to know that God loves you.

1.     Do not hear it and shrug it off or dismiss it or think it's for someone else.

2.     God loves you.

3.     God loves you and that ought to be life-giving and life-changing.

b.  what is the greatest love described in the biblical texts, outside of God's love for us?

1. Many would argue the love between Jonathan and David.

2. Jonathan, King Saul's son, and David, the shepherd boy brought in to be part of King Saul's court.

3. They define their love for each other in the covenant they make that binds them to each other.

4. The covenant goes like this:  when Jonathan is in a position of power as King Saul's son, he will love, protect, look after David; in return, when David rises to power, he will love, protect, look after Jonathan.

            5.The one in power commits to loving the one who is not in power and then one day the roles are reversed.

            b. The Hebrew word for that covenant is also used to describe God's love for us.

1. But here's a major difference.

2. God knows that God will always be in a position of power relative to humanity.  God will always be called on to love, protect, look after us.

3. we will never be in a position of power relative to God.

4. It's a one-sided covenant from the get-go. 

5. And still, God chooses to love us. To send Christ to live among us. To send Christ to die for us. 

d.  If you want to know how much you are worth, do not look at your bank account, or your report card, or your job evaluation.  Look to the cross to see how much value God has placed on you.

Move 2:  We respond to God's love in how we live our own lives.

            a.  Back to the covenant between David and Jonathan.

1.    David is a shepherd boy from the country who finds himself in the king's court.

2.    Admittedly, David had courage and some ability as evidenced by his killing of Goliath.

3.    But, now he finds himself in the shadow of King Saul

4.    David ought to be afraid of what King Saul can do to him.

5.    The logical thing for David to do is run back to the fields and look after the sheep.

6.     Instead, David sticks around Saul's court; becomes a warrior; continually avoids King Saul's wrath; David even chooses not to kill Saul when threatened and has the

c.  How can David do this?

1.because of his covenant with Jonathan.

2.  First of all, he knows Jonathan will protect him.

3. But more than that, just knowing that Jonathan has his back, that Jonathan is looking after him, gives David the freedom and courage to act and grow into the leader God desires him to be.

d.  When we lay claim to God's love for us, it frees us to act with confidence and grow into the person God calls us to be.

                         1.  In the dream described in Revelation, we have the glorious vision of Jesus, who is described as the one who “loves us and freed us from our sins…”

1.    We are loved by God so much we are no longer bound by our sins;

We no longer need to act out of our uncertainties.

We no longer need to act in ways to overcome or hide our failing.

We no longer need to prove ourselves so that we can be loved.

2. how differently might we live our lives if we were not desperately trying to prove ourselves.

3. Or if we acted out of self-confidence that did not need power, or prestige or control to make us feel good about ourselves?

4. Many of the issues in our world today – both big and small – would become non-issues if people were not trying to prove themselves at the expense of others. 

Not only does God love you, but you do not have to prove your worth, God has already done that for you.

Move 3:  We also respond in how we love others.

a.    Revelation, from which we read this morning, is attributed to a writer named John.  A different John, perhaps the John who was one of the twelve disciples, wrote letters to the early church, three of which are in the New Testament.

1.     Most letters of the early church have a common theme that the author is trying to get across.

2.     Peter's letters – ethical living; those who follow Christ should live ethically.

3.     Paul's letter – lots of doctrine stuff, but I think we could even say that Paul's generally is writing about how the followers of Christ work out living in community.

b.  In John's letters, John summarizes what it means to follow Christ in one word – love.

1.    not the noun “love,” as in something we have.

2.    but the verb love, as in what we ought to love others.

                        3. As in, “Since God loved us so much, we ought to love others.”

            b.  Christ models for us what it means to love.

1.    If we want to know how to love best, we need only look to the how Christ lived.

2.    On Christ the King Sunday when we acknowledge Christ sovereign reign over all the world, we recognize that Christ's royal manner defies the way most kings we know live.

3.    A king at his best may feel some minor sense of obligation to the people in his kingdom;

4.    Christ the king loves his the people of his kingdom so much, he dies for us.

5.    Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson; quoted in Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, John Wooden with Steve Jamison (11)

6.    Jesus gives us more than a portion of himself, he gives all of himself on the cross.

conclusion:  What is the best gift a parent can offer his daughter or her son?  to love her or to love him.

God has given that gift to you.