Revelation and Response

January 8, 2017                                                                                    Matthew 1: 1-12

Revelation and Response

Brother Curtis Almquist of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist says this about revelation, “We’re no longer talking only about a God of the Law, whose ways were unknowable, whose face was unseeable, whose name was unpronounceable, whose heart and hands were untouchable, but about Jesus who entered the conditions of this world as an innocent and needy child, just as we have, to reveal the real presence of God’s love.”

Friday was January 6 and in the liturgical year it is celebrated as the Feast of the Epiphany or Theophany or the manifestation of God in this world.  It is God’s revelation of Jesus as Messiah in this world to some worldly outsiders.  Epiphany is rich with meaning on many levels but revelation and response are what we are focusing on today.   

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Story of the Epiphany

We find this great story of the Magi solely in Matthew’s birth narrative.  They see a beautiful star which illuminated the deepest and darkest sky; one much brighter than all the rest of the stars for that time of year.  And they follow it.  They packed up their camels with food and water for the journey and set out with their caravan over many nights.  And after some serious obstacles, big ones, they finally arrive in Bethlehem.  My friends, this is far from a simple story that gets glommed into the pageant on Christmas Eve where little boys and sometimes girls wear golden crowns and bejeweled caftans that harkens back to the 60’s.  

It’s about foreigners who are perhaps magicians, or astrologers, or sage and cheeky old men, maybe even of ‘kingly’ status who, upon seeing this unusually bright object that moved through the sky with the fluidity of a bird in flight, set out seeking an infant.  It’s about their determination and God’s fortitude that this long westward journey, maybe a year or two from Mesopotamia to Judea, would end in something extraordinary which is God’s inclusive desire for all to know God’s glory through Jesus Christ.

And when these outsiders, Gentiles in every way, arrive in Jerusalem they stop to ask Herod, a tyrannical king where they could find Jesus, the little one who had been born king of the Jews.  To me I find it curious that they stopped for directions because the star had guided them so far and had gotten them to Jerusalem.  Why couldn’t the star just have continued a little further south to Bethlehem without a stop of this magnitude?  It’s this stop that creates this maelstrom and adds mystery into the narrative.   But maybe it’s God’s peculiar way of revelation yet again.

Now if we stop a second here in the story and focus on revelation we see that revelation began with the shepherds and continued when the magi saw and knew to follow the star.  God’s redemptive work in Jesus, God’s manifestation to the entire world was becoming a reality.  Some, like the Magi would embrace it and others would reject it.  God revealed Godself to good kings and bad kings alike.

Herod was a bad king.  King of the Jewish people as appointed by the Roman Imperial Empire - no one was going to dethrone him, especially not some meager little baby born to country bumpkin parents.  He didn’t get it.  You see the political struggle that we find so palpable later in the Gospel is already present at the very beginning.

Herod was afraid and fear is instilled in all Jerusalem with him the Bible says.  What kind of leader would show his own fear to his people possibly instilling insurgence.  He calls for his inner circle, his cabinet and asks about this so-called, self-proclaimed king and where this activity was happening.   Much to his surprise, they tell him that this ‘subversive activity’ was close to home in Bethlehem a mere five or six miles from the epicenter of Jerusalem.  That really frosted him!

Well the magi, being wise men and all, and after some finagling find Jesus and worshipped him. He is the epiphany of God in the presence of a baby. They present their expensive gifts and when it was time to return to the East they were warned through a dream, not to take the same route home.  Heeding the dream, they returned home by taking an entirely different route. 

To the Magi was revealed God in Jesus as Messiah – the divinity of Jesus in this human baby.  It was revealed in the guiding star, and certainly in their arrival in Bethlehem and at the foot of the manger.  They understood and the followed in faith to Bethlehem. 

To Herod the same was revealed.  He too was told about Jesus’ birth and that Jesus was a special ‘king’ one who would save the people, even Herod himself.  But Herod and the Magi had drastically different responses.  The Magi paid homage and gave precious gifts, Herod, from what we know later in the Gospel, wanted Jesus dead.

Herod cared only for himself and for his position of authority over the people.  His response to this revelation was fear and anger and this fear and anger led to his decision to search for Jesus and order the slaughter of all the boy babies under two years of age. 

The Magi on the other hand received Jesus as Messiah from the get go.  They paid homage first, that is they gave their fullest respect to this infant acknowledging that he was far superior in every way to them. They worshipped him by bowing down and making themselves vulnerable and then if that wasn’t enough they gave him very costly gifts.  A sign of respect and selfless devotion.

Choices were made.  You couldn’t have two more contradictory responses to the Epiphany of our Lord than you do between Herod and the Magi.  You can accept or reject the foundation of our faith that is Jesus Christ.  Revelation and response.

You are all here today because you are faithful believers.  You are the ‘choir’ that I preach to each week.  You believe in the epiphany of our Lord, you’ve accepted the foundation of our faith and you are here worshipping him.  That’s good, good on ya as a friend of mine says.  What I’m more interested in is your response to this epiphany.  The magi paid homage – they worshipped him and then gave gifts.   

What gifts do you have that you might offer on bended knee?  What contributions can you make that honors the Christ child and builds up the kingdom of God here on earth?  All we know is the here and now, all we have is today.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  So, what gift will you offer to the Christ child today? 

This is an exciting time in the life of Orange Congregational, I am reminding you of it once again.  We are ushering in a new era, one of redevelopment and change.  This new change to the way we do things, that is organize ourselves will flourish because it allows for everyone’s gifts (if offered) to be utilized in order to build up God’s kingdom here on earth. 

Why should we wait for the kingdom of God in the future when we can make it happen now?  If you want to start a cookie ministry all year round – hey lets talk.  If you love books and want an OCC book club to meet regularly that’s a great idea, let’s do it.  If you want to make a difference in the life of someone who has no place to live, see me.  If you want to see or be the face of Christ in others let’s work this one through together – that’s exactly what we are supposed to be doing.  We are here by the grace of God and for the grace of God.

The important thing here to remember is that to you was revealed the incarnation and manifestation of God in Jesus Christ and that a response is most longed for by God.  Revelation and response.   God’s revelation, our response.  How will you respond?  Think about it.  May the star of Bethlehem continue to reveal to you joy, love, forgiveness, and hope.

Amen.

Rev. Suzanne Wagner

Orange Congregational Church 2017

Coming in Peace, Departing in Peace

Christmas Day, 2016                                                                               Isaiah 52: 7-10, Luke 2: 25-35

Coming in Peace, Departing in Peace

Isaiah 52: 7-10

From the second book of Isaiah we hear words of encouragement.  Isaiah speaks as the people return from their years in exile in Babylon proclaiming that the messenger from God has brought good news of peace and salvation.  He calls them to listen, to break out in song and to praise God because all nations will know of God’s salvation for the people coming out of exile.

How beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,

who brings good news,

who announces salvation,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,

together they sing for joy;

for in plain sight they see

the return of the Lord to Zion.

Break forth together into singing,

you ruins of Jerusalem;

for the Lord has comforted his people,

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord has bared his holy arm

before the eyes of all the nations;

and all the ends of the earth shall see

the salvation of our God.

Luke 2: 25-35

In my experience, the day after giving birth is filled with this euphoric peace.  That might sound like some idealized oxymoron but that is how I remember all three of my children’s births and the days that followed. Health wise did I feel good, no not necessarily, was I sore and still feeling a bit heavy.  But I thought I was the most blessed woman in all the earth on that day, the only woman who had ever given birth.  It was a miracle.

This miracle of birth brings hope and love and a new little human and I was filled with the joy and excitement of being a new mother and seeing my child for the very first time.  More importantly though this joy brought me the most inner peace in the world.  All was calm, all was bright, I needed nothing else, just my baby beside me.

I think that the first day after Jesus’ birth might have been similar.  Mary and Joseph are resting in the stable when the dawn comes and little Jesus is sleeping peacefully all bundled up warm to keep the night’s chill away.  The animals have finally settled down and reworked the straw and hay to accommodate their own comfort because with three extra people in their space it’s a little more crowded than usual in the stable.

The angels, who heralded loudly of Jesus’ birth just last night, now have retreated into a quiet presence surrounding the stable.  Echo’s of their joy lingers in the air.  The shepherds have been attentive to their flocks and have moved on out into the Judean hill country of Bethlehem to pasture them.  And the brilliant star recedes as the dawn’s light is peaking through the cracks of the wooden stable. Silence, peace.

That’s what Christmas Day has always felt like to me.  No matter what the chaos is inside my house was on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day when I walk outside there is a calmness that gently engulfs the earth like a handmade woolen shawl surrounds its wearer.  Much, like I imagine that first morning after Jesus’ birth.  He came in peace to bring us peace.  Christ, our Savior is born.

But the story doesn’t end there, Luke continues and pens perhaps the most poignant part of the story for us as we move on from Jesus birth.

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

     according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

    which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

    and for glory to your people Israel.”

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

As an observant Jewish mother, Mary brings her son Jesus from that little stable in Bethlehem to the temple in overcrowded Jerusalem only eight days after his birth. While six miles may not seem like much, for a newborn on a donkey it probably was a pretty rough trip.  But it was a necessary trip because according to Jewish law it was time for purification and a naming ceremony that would designate their first-born child as holy. 

When they get there they find that there are others in the temple that day, in fact the temple always had folks around it, many elderly, widowed or disabled; it was sanctuary for them.  Two of them become an important part of the Christmas story.

So we witness the lives of Simeon and Anna.  They are everyday elderly people, who have dedicated a major portion of their lives to God.  They were faithful people their entire life.  As prophets through vigilant prayer and fasting they are able to speak for God, and be open to the revelation that God gave to them.  That God is operative in human history; God has reached down to this earth, to you and to me, to be an intimate part of our lives.  That we Gentiles are included in God’s salvation. 

The Song of Simeon is perhaps one of the most beautiful canticles in the Canon. We sang it just a few minutes ago in between the words of Isaiah and the reading from Luke.  In the faith tradition that I grew up in, it was sung after communion every Sunday…it’s called the Nunc Dimittis in Latin, or ‘now you dismiss’.   The words, “Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation: which Thou has prepared before the face of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel” those words bring peace to my soul. We sang it after being fed at the communion table in recognition that our eyes had been opened through this sacrament of love and grace, forgiveness and hope.  We have tasted and have seen that God, really is good and so very much a part of our lives.  (Psalm 34:8.)

Now that Simeon has seen and cuddled Jesus, now that he has smelled the sweet scent of the holy infant’s head, and caressed the soft cheeks of the baby Savior, he praises God for the gift of the Christ Child.  For Simeon can now leave this earthly life behind; he can depart in peace…and in joy.  He has seen and held God’s salvation in Jesus. He is complete, he experiences shalom.  Simeon can leave contentedly, he can leave all worldliness behind because the Christ Child, Emmanuel is with him.

And Anna too began to praise God for the incredible gift of love and redemption in Jesus Christ.  Together they punctuate Christ’s birth with transformative actions. 

How has the birth of Christ changed you?  Or maybe the bigger question is has the birth of Christ changed or even affected you?  Unless the birth of Christ transforms you, awakens you, nudges you to greater understanding and transformative ways in your living and doing for others then perhaps my friends you’ve missed the point of Christmas.  This little one from the manger asks a lot of us yet at the same time asks nothing of us except our love, our praise and our adoration.  May we offer this today

and receive the peace of God through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Going Home

Christmas Eve Meditation 2016                                               

Going Home

“The very purpose of Christmas is to visit where ones roots lie”.  This beautiful sentiment was spoken by Sr. Monica Joan to a younger nun who lamented that she could not get home for Christmas one year.  Sr. Monica Joan is a nun on the endearing BBC show ‘Call the Midwife’; she is elderly and ill with the onset of dementia.  She is from a wealthy home but chose to follow God’s call and be a nun in the East End of poverty stricken London in the 1950’s.  She served at Nonnatus House. 

After many years at Nonnatus House one particular year Sr. Monica Joan strives her hardest to go home and so she leaves the convent one night very close to Christmas.  When finding out that she had gone missing the other sisters where afraid that she was wandering aimlessly and lost given her limited mental capacities now.  But in Sr. Monica Joan’s mind she wasn’t lost, she was simply finding her way to where she needed to be.  Home.  After traveling some time she acknowledged, ‘It was effort enough to make my way here.  Now that I am home I am quite content.’ 

People at home knew her as Antonia, her birth name before she took on a name that symbolized her new life.  In her reflection she said ‘it seems strange to hear my name again “Antonia” – I have come home to be centered’. Indeed she was home and centered on who she was and her roots.

And after being cared for and warmed in her ancestral home she told her family gathered round, “Everyone should go home for Christmas, that was why Jesus was born in Bethlehem.”  Sr. Monica Joan knew the meaning of Christmas and in her frailty she emulated it.  Of all the births that she attended as a midwife, and seeing the joys of birth at home, revisiting her homestead, the place of her birth was very important to her because home was so intertwined with the birth of Christ.  She had come home.

In fact that is exactly why Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  It was Mary and Joseph’s ancestral home, it was where their roots were.  You see that year there was an imperial edict issued from the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus that there would be a census taken and that people needed to go home to their familial residence so that they could be counted and then appropriately taxed and conscripted.

For Mary and Joseph home was the quaint Judean village of Bethlehem, it was where their ancestors were born, made a living and then grew old.  It was the origin of the family of King David who of course, is from whom Jesus is descended.  So, they journeyed back to their roots.  As Sr. Monica Joan said, “The very purpose of Christmas is to visit where ones roots lie”.  Traveling is very much a part of this Christmas story, then and now.

And that is why you, my friends, are here tonight.  You have made the journey to that which is familiar to you, your roots.  You’ve travelled from far away places and just down the street.  Even I travelled, by foot, a mere 187 steps from the parsonage to the church to get here, to pay homage to this story of love and to hear and experience how my salvation begins once again.

We’ve come to hear a familiar story of Christ’s birth, the birth of saving grace in the world.  We’ve come to the place where our shared story takes root, a place where we can be our God given selves without pretenses, without fanfare, without anything that you have to make up, or put on, or take off because that’s what this home is about.  Its about coming as you are tonight to revisit your foundation here, this Christmas Eve, in Jesus Christ.   

The conditions of your birth, your domicile of origin are important and are essential this night because they are rooted in the story and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your circumstances may not be Hallmark card picture perfect but they are inexplicably twined together for in this story of a sweet little baby is life and life resurrected where the imperfect becomes tolerable and maybe, with great imagination even perfect.  Christmas is a story of love and transformation that is over two thousand years old, a story that reads as a lullaby does for a small child in a warm home, it is anything but. 

Homes are not always perfect.  I dare to say a stable with smelly cattle and stinky sheep that had to be moved out of the way was not the best choice for a birth – especially for the Son of God for heaven’s sake.  A makeshift bed out of a food trough half stuffed with eaten hay on a cool night with air slipping through the wooden slats of the stable is not where I would want to lay my newborn.  No sir or madam!  But I suppose I wouldn’t have a choice because we have no control over where and how we are born.  Jesus surely didn’t.

           

Let me tell you that many are born in less than ideal circumstances still to this day.  The World Health Organization reported just this week Monday that a baby was born, a beautiful 8 pound baby girl named Tasmin. Dear Tasmin is the first baby born after her mother was evacuated from war torn Aleppo, already an immigrant so young to be born in such deplorable conditions.  To see this beautiful girl with her raven black hair we know that, while the conditions of her birth are heart wrenching and dangerous, she is alive and her beginnings do not have to define who she will become in this world, she’s in God’s beloved hands.  Christian or not there is hope and there is light in her tiny face and muted cry. 

It’s in these unimaginable places, these homes, homes that are less than impeccable situations where God meets us and claims us.  The late Rev. Peter Gomes, theologian, former professor and minister at Harvard University once preached, “Christmas is God’s initiative, it is God’s work when God begins to establish a relationship of love with us; and of this love Jesus is the sign, the substance, and the symbol.  The gift of God for the people of God.”[i]

The gift of God for the people of God[ii] in Aleppo, in Berlin, in Ankara, in Washington, in New Haven, in Orange, this night God comes into the reality of a fanatical world, into crazy homes and offers a gift of stability and resilience in the midst of all of this.   

May the spirit of Christmas and this baby's birth be the light of stability in your life tonight and forever.  Amen

---

[i] Gomes, Peter J.  ‘Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living’.  Harper Collins, 2003.

[ii] The Gift of God for the people of God concept taken from Peter Gomes sermon ‘Gifts” in above named book.

In the Nick of Time

December 18, 2016                                                            Isaiah 7: 10-16, Matthew 1: 18-25

In the Nick of Time

Isaiah 7: 10-16

To understand the prophetic words of Isaiah today we need a primer on the political situation back in the 8^th century BCE because Isaiah’s prophecies revolved around the alliances and aggressions of several different kingdoms.  The northern kingdom of Israel in alliance with the northern kingdom of Syria approached Ahaz, King of the southern kingdom of Judah.  They wanted Ahaz to join their coalition to defeat Assyria.  But no dice, Ahaz refused.  So they decided to go it alone but the Lord said NO!, Ahaz, must have faith and join them.  Ahaz was stubborn.  And even after Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, he refused to have faith and put the Lord to a test.  When Isaiah realized that Ahaz was hiding his fear to trust in the Lord, Isaiah becomes exasperated.  So the Lord, just in the nick of time, intervened and gave an unexpected response and sign….

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

So God brushed off the wishes of Ahaz and brought a sign anyway.  God shows steadfast faithfulness even when Ahaz did not and, by the way, Ahaz didn’t turn out to be such a great King for Judah anyway.  Now we don’t really know who the child was that Isaiah was referring to, it’s vague, but Christians have long seen this passage as a precursor to what comes in the New Testament and in particular what we will hear in a minute from the Gospel of Matthew.  All we know about Isaiah’s prophecy is that there is that the birth of a baby is a sign of renewal, that God shows up to help, in this unexpected context and moment to help.  God with us.  Immanuel. God brings assurance to Ahaz and each generation thereafter will find God in unexpected places, bidden or not.  This is the understanding captured for us today.

Matthew 1: 18-25

Let us now hear the narrative of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of Matthew, the first verse.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah 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. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

                             “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

                                     and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.”

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew we are told the conception and birth from Joseph’s experience.  In Luke we are privy to Mary’s experiences but in Matthew it’s all about Joseph.  Both narratives are wonderfully told and give us much to think about during these remaining days of Advent although Matthew isn’t so much interested in a pretty nativity story.  Joseph and Mary are real people, with real life problems that they had to negotiate and figure out as best they could.  Joseph had his fair share of problems.

He and Mary were engaged to be married, which in the first century BCE was a legal and binding contract; essentially they were married but without the delight of marital relations.  So Joseph had only two options when he found out that she was with child.  The first was to publically declare his disgrace, humiliation and moral injury because of Mary’s ‘perceived’ indiscretion, which by the way would have ended up in Mary’s stoning or, the second option was that he could quietly divorce her.

I think we can safely say that Joseph had a tough decision to make.  It was not the circumstances that he had ‘signed up for’.  He thought he was going to marry a nice young woman, eventually have kids with her and happily live out his life.  But this? This news was a huge upheaval in his life and in her life too.  They had planned ‘happily ever after’ but that wasn’t to be.

I can only imagine the heart wrenching discussions they had when she found out she was with child.  The anger, the sadness, and the betrayal – you see this story that we all know and love has this element of torment in it that is rarely talked about.  Yet if we linger here a bit we can imagine this part too because this unsaid part of the narrative is, I think, what makes this narrative very powerful.

I’m pretty positive that we all can relate to the sadness of unmet expectations.  A business opportunity that you’ve been working on falls through, you were counting on someone being there for you but in the end they flat out weren’t, you thought your life was heading in one direction but then it takes a turn off of the main road down a bumpy dark path.  You name it, times like these are incredibly damaging to one’s spirit.  But we mustn’t despair.

In spite of Joseph’s disappointment, public disgrace and unmet expectations he was still a good man, a righteous man, a kind man, a man who endeavored to do the right thing so that they could move on, he opted to divorce her and spare her life.  Not that life after divorce for Mary would have been easy but at least she could live out her days, his integrity in tact.   He didn’t despair.

As soon as Joseph made the decision to divorce her, one of God’s angels came to him in the nick of time.  And of course we know that the angel instructed Joseph to hang in there, that Mary’s pregnancy is very special, that the Lord Immanuel will soon be here.  God’s saying to Joseph just wait, be patient, don’t make any moves or take drastic actions, I know what I’m doing here and of course God did know exactly where this relationship was going to end (or begin).  Not in divorce but rather in a fruitful union bearing Jesus the Christ, which changed the course of human history.

It’s funny how God seems to show up in unexpected places just in the nick of time helping us get to where we need to be or helping us out of a jam or maybe just enabling us to endure a hardship without giving up.  These stories both from Isaiah and Matthew bid each generation to seek God’s unfailing presence in all sorts of and any circumstance of our lives.  And when we seek, we will find it.  Because God is there, God is always in those places we least expect God to be showing up, when we need God the most.

The face of a friend, the words of a stranger, in the snuggling of your pet next to you or perhaps just a walk in the woods, or the cessation of turmoil, in the nick of time, when you need God the most, God is there.  As God was there for Ahaz, for Joseph and for all of those who have gone before us God is there for us now too.  Be open, be alert, be attuned and seek.

Unmet expectations are met just in the nick of time.   Remember, if you will as a mantra the last line of the first verse in the carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” because it so beautifully illustrates how God shows up amidst life’s disappointments.  “Our hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”.  Just just can’t resist being with us.

Amen.

Stumps, Roots and the Coming of Christ

December 4, 2016                                                                     Matthew 3: 1-12, Isaiah 11:1-10

Advent 2

Stumps, Roots and the Coming of Christ

Matthew 3: 1-12

Today’s Gospel lesson is one that will be familiar to many of you.  It is the story of John the Baptist proclaiming repentance in the wilderness.  Scruffy locust eating John, is the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, cousin to Jesus of Nazareth.

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. 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.

“I baptize you with 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 the Holy Spirit and fire. 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.”

If ever there was a piece of scripture that makes me want to weep and fall prostrate and repent it is this one.  Proclaiming repentance that is John the Baptist cry, repent so that you can prepare the way for the Lord.  Repent and be sure that the tree of your life is bearing good fruit in all ways so that your heart is clear and your intentions are honorable so that the ax, lying at the root, does not have to be used.  Repent and be sure your soul is a smooth byway for Jesus to enter.  If not, then examine and de-clutter.   Scrutinize and expunge.  Study and edit out the nemesis that keeps you from bearing good fruit. 

Advent is not some grand baby cake eating, gift giving shower for Jesus.  Advent is much deeper than that, it questions our worthiness, our readiness, and our willingness to receive the life and ministry of Jesus. Advent readies us for this tiny baby Christ.

Isaiah 11: 1-10

Now as we prepare to hear the words of the prophet Isaiah we remember that John the Baptist preached from the words of Isaiah, he warned that the ax is not far from the root of the tree lest the people do not repent.  His words seem harsh but he knew his scripture and whose prophetic shoes he was filling.  To put this in context we need to know that in verses before our passage in Isaiah he says, “Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall.”   Yet the people of Israel did not repent, they did not change their ways.  And the branches of their lives were lopped off until there was nothing but a stump remaining.

But Isaiah changes the tenor of his message, and now he peaches a peaceful Kingdom, one with hope.  Chapter 11 beginning at the first verse.

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear;

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,

the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,

and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

They will not hurt or destroy

on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

The stumps and roots of Jesse.  Jesse is the son of Obed and he is the father of King David and of course we trace the house and lineage of Jesus back through this Davidic line.  But a lot of history happened between Jesse and Jesus.

The three books of Isaiah are beautifully bound together into one book that tells the story of God’s presence and the lives of the people of Zion or Israel. In the first book he warned them of God’s impending judgment and this is where our passage is from today, then in the second book he spoke words of comfort to God’s people while they were in exile in Babylon.  The third book addresses the dire situation that they found when they finally returned home to a devastated land.    

Isaiah, among others, was their prophet!  He was politically astute at domestic politics and he also knew the international scene around them; Isaiah’s charge was to take care of Israel. They needed someone who could be the ‘go between’ if you will between them and God.  Old Testament Palestine, as it was called then, was a divided kingdom, Israel to the north and Judah to the south.  They were churning through king after king, not at all organized. 

Things were beginning to crumble and eventually it would.  So they needed hope that there would be someone who would lead them forward to a place where God’s kingdom would be as peaceful as a lamb and an a wolf curled up together, serene as can be on a comfy sofa.  But they also needed someone to do the tough work, someone who could issue words of warning to help them get to that place.

Today I want to focus on the metaphor of the stump and the shoot because it is out of this metaphor that Christ arises as the symbol of salvation.  Like deadheading in your garden on a warm summer’s day, God goes a deadheading in a major way when the treetops are lopped off and there is nothing left but a forest of stumps. 

Stumps.  I know what that’s like.  Seeing a stump where there used to be a large tree that made its home for at least a hundred years in the front of the parsonage is jarring.  About 5:00 am on a fine early morning this past summer the sky was just beginning to show some light and I heard a sound that I couldn’t quite distinguish but it was rather frightening. 

It was a crackly sound, then a thud followed by silence.  I decided to brave it and I looked outside the window.  There, a very large branch section of the tree had completely split from the trunk.  Well, what we had suspected was that the tree was hollow on the inside and couldn’t safely be salvaged.  It was no longer bearing ‘good fruit’.  It had to come down and this beautiful tree that provided shade in the day and a gorgeous palette of color in the fall was to no longer be. 

So it was taken down to a large stump about the size of a medium round kitchen table.  It made me sad to see the open space where this one large tree had lived.  But that night in its place the open expanse of the sky soothed my grieving spirit and there was the gift.  I could see star after star after star and from the window at the head of my bed. I could watch Orion gracefully glide across the sky as the night progressed.  Therein was the salvation for my soul.    

Within a few days Don Feurerstein came and took the stump out before any shoots had the chance to grow but a flowering cherry tree was planted very close to its place.  Something beautiful had come out of something that was rotted and dead.  Life from death.  But it wouldn’t have happened if we had not been attentive to what was desperately needed. The taking down and the clearing out.

And that’s the way it is.  And that is the way it is especially for Advent. John the Baptist, Isaiah the prophet calls us to clean up our act.  To lop off the extraneous stuff that gets in our way of healthy, God filled living. To prune back the wild and unruly tendrils that strangle any potential to be guided by the spirit.  To deadhead that which kills us and prohibits any possibility of life.  What needs to be taken down to a stump for you so that Christ can grow in your heart?  The true grace of Advent is the time now taken, given to reflect, to expunge and to allow and wait for our Savior to come.  O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Amen,