Sermon for January 1, 2017

The reading

 The reading

Luke 2:21-38

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

The message 

From now until Easter we will go through the Gospel of Luke.  Each week, we will look at another chapter or so of the third Gospel.  I wanted to start with a little background about this book and its author. The Gospel of Luke is probably the third of the 4 gospels written after Mark and Matthew but before John.  There is some consensus that the book was written around the year 80 or 85.  According to the oldest traditions, the author of Luke was a physician and co worker with St Paul during his missionary journeys to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to non- Jewish communities.   The author of Luke also wrote the book of Acts which tells about the life, disputes and development of the early church including details about those missionary journeys. 

In this Gospel, Luke presents a very logical and intentionally ordered argument that Jesus Christ is God’s son and the universal savior, sent to save all of humanity.   Some of Jesus very well-known parables including the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son are only found in Luke.  In each of these teaching stories, God’s saving love for all, including the outsider, the disobedient and sinner is expressed.  Luke does connect Jesus to Jewish traditions and Old Testament scripture. We see this in the efforts to show Jesus is born in Bethlehem and Joseph is from King David’s family line. We can also see this in today’s reading where Mary and Joseph follow the instructions of the Jewish law in circumcising, naming and presenting Jesus in the temple. (Genesis 17:12  For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring  and Exodus 13, which connects these rituals to a central moment in the history of God’s interaction with the world   “Set apart to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.”  then you must give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. Every firstling of a beast that you have – the males will be the Lord’s. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the first born of all the animals

The life, death and resurrection of the Messiah, will be expanded throughout  Luke’s Gospel to include all people.  We started the Gospel of Luke right before Christmas with the story of Mary hearing the news that she would give birth to Jesus. Luke starts the story of Jesus birth with the census, the routine government work of counting all people. On Christmas Eve, I suggested that this was a sign that to God, all people count, an idea that is in line with all of Luke’s Gospel. In the Christmas story, angels appear to shepherds, a people that no one wanted around and a job no one had much respect for.  Today, the revelations of Christmas come to holy people who were deeply respected, faithful and obedient.  We also see that Jesus comes from a poor, well from a not rich family, their offering of a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons indicates that they did not have a lot of resources. The proper offering at the temple was a lamb but in cases where a family could not afford that, cheaper turtle doves or pigeons could be offered   By half way through the second chapter, God’s saving work has already been seen, heard and felt by the outcast, the poor and the holy (although not mentioned in Luke, Matthew tells us that around the time of Jesus birth, wealthy kings, wise men or magi also come from far away to worship Christ).   

The main characters in today’s reading, Simeon and Anna, both teach us important lessons and urge us to keep faithful.  Today is New Year’s Day. Last night, I assume many of us were waiting for Midnight, counting down the last moments of 2016 and living in the first moments of 2017.  Many people were waiting for that moment to do things, to quit smoking, start a new diet, cut back on soda, not gamble, attempt to reconcile with estranged loved ones or lots of other popular resolutions.  That change in time was the moment they were waiting for to start something new or something they have put off for too long.   

Here at our church, we have been waiting for, planning and preparing celebrations for our 150^th anniversary year.  That starts today, right now we are in the middle of our first worship as 150 year olds. We are in the midst of 150 what we have been waiting for, we are invited to ask, what now.   Once Simeon and Anna, witness what so many people were waiting for over hard and anxious centuries, they respond with praise and joy.   Simeon declare his proclamation of faith and joy, my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.  Anna shares her words of praise and prophesy

Today, we hear the same news that the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, Mary, Joseph and the magi  hear, that Christ, the savior of all, is born. We are challenged to ask “how will we respond”.  As I thought about the ending of today’s message and its connection to our 150^th anniversary, I wanted to start a new project, called 150 days of service. Basically I want us to work together and do 150 days (150 x 8 for 1200 hours) of service work.  Over the months of 2017, we will keep track of what we do and see if we reach our goal.  We will count anything that we do because we know God loves us and we want to share that news. It can include events at church, school or in the community.  (I’ll have more information about this soon).

Sunday, December 25

The reading

Luke 2: 8-20

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified 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: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" 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."  So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The message

Last night, on Christmas Eve I talked about the census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.  The counting of all people in the world was meant to help the Rome care for, oppress and control their empire.  For Luke Its connection with the Christmas story is significant it explains how Jesus' birth fulfilled ancient prophesies (That the messiah would be born in Bethlehem and come from King David’s family line).   I think Luke also connects the census with Christmas because to God, all people count. The birth of Jesus was an event that saw, recognized and saved all people.

This morning, I want to talk about the news of Christmas.  In some ways it is a continuation of last night, answering the question "so what, what do we do with this news of Christmas, what does the news, proclaimed by angels to shepherds and then shepherds to all, matter for us today.  

When I was growing up, I found out about what was going on in the world in very different ways than I do now.  I remember  reading newspapers made of paper and watching the half hour or hour news program at night. I had access to 3 or 4 newspapers and a handful of tv channels. I vaguely remember learning about something called a card catalog in the library in Junior High School.  By the time I got to High School, the catalog with its index cards listing all of the books and their location no longer existed. Today, I can read news from virtually any source in the world on my phone whenever I want to. I can watch 1000s of different news channels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can find any book I want to read or look in a few seconds on the internet and a minute or two to download.   

These changes have many great advantages. I can get news from many places and hear different opinions and perspectives. There are some downsides.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word of the year for 2016 is post-truth.  This is a response to the amount of fake news we are surrounded with all the time, the amount of information we see all around us that is not really meant to tell us something about the world, its meant to change, shape or control our opinions.  Post-truth came about as an attempt by academics to describe the previously unimaginable, fake new stories, once they were exposed as lies, could still be incredibly influential. People would not care that the facts were make believe, numbers were made up or that significant events did not actually happen. We also live in a world where people are quickly forgetting that reality TV is in fact not real.  Programs that claim to show us to the unedited lives of famous people, day to day operations of a business or competitive singing contests are actually heavily edited, scripted and planned for maximum shock, drama and viewership. 

This altered reality is making us forget that we have people struggling in very real ways,  people left behind and left out, people told there is no room for them in our work, our churches, our schools or our world,  They do not make the news.

I am saying all today because Christmas is news for all people and I would like to talk a little about  how do we get this news and what kind of news it is.   

We get this Christmas news from God. God calls out to each of us with an invitation to grace, hope and joy.  The Holy Spirit is present in our prayers, our world, our church and our scripture. We also hear this news from each other.  Even in  today’s reading, the shepherds go to see the new born Christ after talking together and encouraging each other.    

The answer to that other question, what kind of news is Christmas is complicated. I wanted to share a few ideas.

First, its messy Today, this story of the shepherds speaking with the angels would be as  “a group of prisoners report an alien visiting their cells and telling them the future”.  Shepherds were the people that everyone wanted out of their communities (that’s why they ended up caring for animals outside of the cities and towns).  The story of Christmas places God right in the messiness of our world.  

The news of Christmas is meant to do something, to drive away sin and doubts, to show and tell us God keeps God’s promises , to let us know God is present in the world.  

Finally, in the words of the angels, Christmas is good news of great joy for all people .

Sermon for Chrismtas Eve 2016

The reading

Luke 2:1-14

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.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: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,  praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

The message

Luke’s account of Christmas begins with the Census, a relatively mundane and ordinary part of government work.  Augustus, the emperor of Rome, decided that the entire world (most of which was conquered by Rome at the time) should be registered and counted.  We have no other details about this massive event that meant a lot of harsh traveling, fear and confusion for many people. We do not know the questions asked or how the information was collected in such diverse and widespread settings. We do not really even know if it was completed.  This ancient census was meant to determine how many people were in a place. This information could be used to figure out the needs of that area. In case of a disaster or famine, the amount of help or food needed for relief could be calculated based on the census data.  There were probably other, much more oppressive motivations behind this census as well. Census information could be used to calculate tax burdens and determine how many Roman soldiers would be needed to respond in case of a revolt.     

For Luke, the story of Christmas begins with the census for very specific reasons. It provides an opportunity to show his audience that the birth of Jesus fulfills two prophesies about the long awaited savior. First, it places the birth in Bethlehem, fulfilling the words of the prophet Micah 

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me, one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. He shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.

Second, the census provides an opportunity to show that Joseph (and therefore Jesus) was from the family line of King David.  This prophesy in found in many places including Isaiah 11

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse (King David’s father), 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

The census provides a chance for Luke to mention that God keeps God’s promises. The hope and expectation for the Messiah stretch back over 1000 years before the first Christmas. People faced great anxiety, tremendous loss and fear of the unknown knowing that peace would come, that love would come, that God would save them.     

I always just thought of this census as a little detail or historical note.  It provided a reason to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of those ancient prophesies and that was the point. As I started the work of every pastor at Christmas, to look at one of the most familiar stories in the world and try to say something new or different about it, I wondered about the possibility of other roles this census could have in the story. I actually know a bit more about the Census than most people.  I spent the summer months in the year 2000 working for the US Census department and we hosted trainings for the 2010 Census here at church.  Most of my job all those years ago involved ringing the bells and knocking on the doors of people who did not complete their census forms.  If I made contact with someone, I would try to convince whoever answered the door to complete the form.  When they asked “what this is for” or “why should I bother”, I had a list of reasons ready. “The results of the census are used to determine funds for school districts and teachers, federal dollars for roads, repair work and infrastructure projects, the allocation of resources for a community and emergency planning”. Most of the time, people filled out the forms. They relented from their excuses, their, “I don’t want to waste my time” doubts that the information will be used for anything or their “I don’t trust the government with this information” paranoia.  In some cases, people were worried about reporting illegal apartments or being found by immigration as a result of filling out the paper. The census, which is mandated by the US constitution, is really committed to counting everyone. The census tried to remove any barriers there might be to counting someone.   Census data cannot be shared with Immigration enforcement, housing or any other government, public or private agency. This is meant to ensure that people on the margins, overlooked and hidden were seen and counted. There were also efforts centered in hospitals, soup kitchens and homeless shelters to ensure that people often missed were counted. 

The birth of this child tonight is an event that registers everyone as part of God’s kingdom. At Christmas, we see that, for God, everyone is known, everyone is seen, everyone is loved, everyone is invited, everyone is welcomed, everyone is heard, everyone is forgiven, everyone is cared for and everyone counts.  This is radical, counter cultural and just strange compared to the ways we treat we each other and how the world around us works.   Christmas is the time when God’s love finds everyone, the hidden, the annoying, the scared, the sinful, the imprisoned, persecuted, anxious and tired. Christmas is our good news of great joy.  When people look at the suffering and evil in the world and say “God is not here”, “God does not care”, or “your prayers do not matter”, we can say listen to the story of Christmas, see God is in the world.  At Christmas, God removes all the barriers we have that separate us from God’s love, the sinfulness, doubt, pain and anxiety we often find pushed into our lives. 

Perhaps Luke starts the story of Christmas with the census as a reminder that to God, all people count. After all in St Paul’s words to his coworker Titus, he shares Christmas is the time when “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all”.  The child whose birth we honor and celebrate tonight, will bring salvation to all.  This child will teach God’s ways to all different people, express God’s power in healing and helping all those in need and bring salvation to all through his death and resurrection.  The birth of this child wraps everyone up in God’s love.    

Tomorrow morning, we will gather for a Christmas Day worship. (I did my homework and prepared 2 sermons) Then, I will talk about this news of Christmas.  In our post truth world of fake news, manipulated statistics, lies to affirm our prejudices and just plain made up facts that tell us what we want to hear, we need to tell people Christ our savior is born. If we care about the world around us, the best thing we can do is to truly and honestly tell the story of Christmas, tell people they count.     

Sermon for December 18

The reading

Luke 1:26-56

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 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 will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

The message

The last part of today’s reading is one of 7 or 8 hymns that were part of the worship, life, education and community of the very early church. It can be thought of as the first Christmas Carol.  Mary’s words are often called the magnificat  (the latin word for magnify from the first sentence of the song).  These words have been part of our worship for the past few weeks (this is the song that we sing right before our communion meal begins).  Mary proclaims this song of praise, thanksgiving, joy and trust in response to the strange news that she will be overshadowed or overcome by God, conceive and bear a child, who will be the long expected savior.

In response to the strange, complicated and confusing news Mary hears from the Angel and from her relative Elizabeth, Mary says these words of praise, submission and hope for change.  Mary does not just sing a sweet or beautiful song.  Her words are confrontational. E. Stanley Jones, the Methodist preacher and scholar, called Mary’s words at this time "the most revolutionary document in the history of the world” (seriously, filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty,  knocking the mighty off their literal and figurative thrones and  seeing, lifting up the lowly, that’s a big change from how things were and are). Mary’s words are even dangerous.  William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury, instructed missionaries to poverty-stricken India never to read Mary’s words in public because it could easily incite riots in the streets. (if the poor heard these words and felt called to make them  happen, how could they without destroying or upsetting everything).   Mary’s words are also a statement of trust in God’s word, no matter how crazy it might all sound.  

There are 2 other songs in the bible proclaimed by people with significant roles in the story of Jesus Birth.  

There is "Luke 1:67-79

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them He has raised up a mighty savior for us  in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,  and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear,  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;  for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,  to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.

By the tender mercy of our God,  the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,  to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

This is Zechariah’s song. He is the father of John the Baptist. In Latin it is called the benedictus (from the first word, blessed).  After Zechariah hears and experiences his share of amazing and unbelievable things, he filled with the Holy Spirit and he proclaims this song of celebration focused on God keeping God’s promises.

The other song around Jesus birth is Luke 2: 29-32

 “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.”

This is called Simeon’s song  or the Nunc Diminitus (Latin for  the first words, now you dismiss) The only mention we have of Simeon is  Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus. Once he sees the baby Jesus, Simeon knows that the promise has been fulfilled, he has seen the Lord Christ, he responds with these incredible words of joy. 

Instead of focusing on the history and context of these songs, I want to talk about what they mean to me.  Each one is part of worship. Mary’s song in our Advent services. The words tell me  me Christmas is coming and Christmas is about Jesus. (words I need to hear when things get overwhelming, which they always do and I get sick, which I always do) .  Zechariah and Simeon’s songs were part of the evening and late night services at seminary.  I didn’t go to them too often, but at times when I was struggling, upset or anxious, I went.  I also think of Simeon’s song when people who have had a big impact on my faith and work pass away and I can say “you are dismissing your servant in peace”.     

Each one of these songs happen after an encounter with the Holy Spirit.  They are responses to God’s amazing grace.  They are creative, powerful and contain a lot of truth in a few words. These ordinary, God trusting people express the incredible story of God’s interaction with the world.  I often lament the loss of creativity and innovation in church, the ways we attempt to communicate with the same old words, music and expectations. These words also challenge me to think about how we respond to God’s grace, to God’s news and where exactly I will be when the great reversals in Mary’s song come to be.  

I invite you to think about these songs this week as we prepare for Christmas.