FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS
December 30, 2007
Matthew 2:13-23
Time is the subject I would like to consider on this last Sunday of 2007. In life, after all, timing is often critical. Look at the example of Joseph we see before us today. Shortly after Jesus was born, Joseph was warned in a dream to take his young family and flee to Egypt remaining there for a time. He did as he was commanded and when the time was right, he was told in another dream to return to his native land. Joseph had a good sense of time and that is why the baby Jesus survived His infancy.
Time is important in our lives as well. But I am afraid we often do not prove to be as functional a role model as Joseph. For in truth we are becoming increasingly obsessed with time. As I write these words in my office, my computer screen is keeping track of time in the lower right hand corner, confirmed by the time shown on my phone display located immediately to my right. But should I be drawn to another portion of the room, I do not have to worry because an additional three clocks are strategically placed that I can keep track of every single minute no matter where I happened to be seated. And then of course there is my cell phone and wristwatch. I do not lack for opportunities to see the minutes tick away.
Unfortunately, this practice has led to much stress and physical affliction. I recently came upon a rather frightening projection. For the first time since the Civil War, our life expectancy is expected to decline. The study reported that obesity is the primary culprit, but this is a function of a lack of exercise and fast food. Both of these developments, of course, are tied to our preoccupation to make every second count. And the added stress we put ourselves under does not help either.
Which brings us back to the patient Joseph. He is a good illustration of a theological concept that can be very helpful in our lives. This is the difference between chronos and kairos, two Greek words. What do they mean? Both mean time, but in a very different sense. Chronos means carefully measured time, as in a chronometer. This is the time most of us deal with day after day. It is now 7:33. Why is the 7:30 train running late. In the beloved classic a Christmas Carol, you may recall that Bob Cratchet was how late on December 26? 18 and ½ minutes. And Scrooge counted every second, although in this case to double poor Bob’s salary rather than fire him on the spot.
Joseph, however, is an example of kairos. When Joseph and his family fled to Egypt, he had no idea of how long they would remain in that strange land. Nor do the scriptures give any indication of the exact length of their stay other than it was before Jesus was old enough to study the Holy Writings when we next hear of him in the Temple. But Joseph waited patiently for the right time, God’s time to return. And that is the meaning of kairos, God’s own time that invariably proves to be the proper time for things to unfold. And for better or for worse, God’s time is very different than our own which requires both faith and patience. But if we act when God’s time finally comes, the results are often remarkable.
Kairos. I think that many of the groups started at Reformation through the years can serve as an excellent example. Take Mary Martha that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. There had not been a new women’s group in Reformation for a period and the need was obvious. But it was not quite time. The key people were not yet in place. Then one day, and I still remember it clearly, Helen McDonough came into my old office and said she felt the time was at hand to begin a new group for the young mothers of our congregation. Four women responded to the invitations she and Norma Beaty issued and Mary Martha was started. Now over two and a half decades have passed and those young mothers are rapidly becoming grandmothers, but the group still remains active and the relationships those women have developed have only deepened. Yes this was a kairotic time.
Making friends with time. I wish I had come up with this sermon title, but I did not. It came from the late Dr. Edmund Steimle. But his point is well taken. When we listen carefully to the voice of God, and like Joseph, prove obedient to that same divine voice, truly time becomes our friend and a precious ally to experience the blessings of the Almighty. Amen.
CHRISTMAS EVE
December 24, 2007
I WISH I HAD A RIVER TO SKATE AWAY ON
Luke 2:1-14
Every year, one of the newer Christmas songs seems to capture my imagination. This year it happens to be an offering entitled, “I wish I had a river to skate away on.” It deals with a person who presumably is off to make their fortune in Hollywood or some other mild clime, but now wistfully dreams of earlier times in a more winery part of the country where she can simply skate off on some frozen river leaving the cares of her everyday world behind, an appealing image.
We can certainly identify with the singer on this point. Given the increasing demands of the world, both personally (how can I make this the best Christmas ever?) and professionally (why does our Presiding Bishop have to send Parish Pastors a 80 question Parochial Report on December 19 to be completed ASAP?) it is not surprising we long for the nostalgia of Christmas. God knows we need some of this. Even we modern multitasking people cannot keep going 24/7. We require some escape from the demands of the world. So let’s not burden ourselves with yet another layer of guilt if we desire a bit of the escapist accoutrements of mistletoe and mulled cider. This just may help us to preserve our sanity.
But at the heart of Christmas we find Emmanuel, God with us. God chose Christmas to become incarnate, to enter the world. We often talk about God being love. But consider on this most holy of eves just how deep this love for us really is. Think for a moment of the place that the Christ enjoyed in heaven. He was with His beloved Father. Being true God of true God, all of the heavenly beings worshipped and adorned Him. There was no pain, no weakness, no hatred, only love and adoration perfectly fulfilled. But then the mission came, the call to save a fallen humanity. And to fulfill this mission, Christ had to become fully human with all the pain and suffering that is part and parcel of who we are.
We romanticize the birth of Christ to be sure. I always enjoy traveling to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the great Christmas tree and the marvelous manger sets that surround it. Mary and Joseph in warm, flowing robes, at least 15 sets of Magi majestic in their royal garments, even the shepherds looking like they had just set foot from the pages of a fashion magazine. And this entire baroque fairy tale village glistening in soft light while beautiful music plays softly in the background. No wonder this exhibit remains one of the most popular year after year.
And God knows we need a little time to escape from the relentless demands of our lives. So let’s find those spiritual and psychological rivers to skate away on. But let us remember that there is also another road that leads from the quiet of the manger to the turmoil of Jerusalem and eventually a trial to be faced. And so let us rejoice in the romance of Christmas for a bit. But thus rested and refreshed, let us also follow the example of the One who became incarnate for our sake and wrapped with this wonderful spirit of Christmas let go forth to serve the world the Christ child loved so much. Amen.
EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD
January 6, 2008
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
Matthew 2:1-12
Epiphany. Today is one of those liturgically special days we only celebrate once every five years when it happens to fall on a Sunday. So what to highlight?
My first thought was the gifts the magi brought, but I figured most of the congregation was reasonably familiar with them. Then a haunting melody popped into my head. It came from a delightful opera by Gian Carlo Menotti entitled “Amahl and the Night Visitors”. Much of this opera deals with the journey of the magi. And then I knew I had my topic, the journey.
In our pious imaginations we tend to overlook this aspect of the Matthian account of the three travelers. I think of a display currently on view in the median of Broadway in Ocean Grove. Here the magi are seen at the moment of presenting theirs gifts. This is the scene most of us have implanted in our memories, the three kneeling in front of the manger offering their gold and frankincense and myrrh.
But how did they get to Bethlehem to begin with? This is the area that Menotti details. To be sure, most of this is conjecture. The scriptures do not give us any information on the trip itself other than the magi came from the East and the journey appeared to be a long one. But we can infer some other possibilities given our knowledge of travel at this time. The primary thing to keep in mind is that travel was usually avoided if at all possible, and for good reason. There were many dangers along the way. Robbers made a very comfortable living stealing goods and often murdering travelers who wandered into their midst. In the opera there is a delightful aria about the stones one of the magi, Casper to be exact, carries with him to ward off disease and affliction. Again, this was a real concern, especially if the trip was a somewhat protracted one. And then there were the local rulers. Here we do know some details of the journey of the magi. For Herod attempted to trick them for his own devious purposes. And in thwarting his ambitions, the magi three were once again put at risk.
Which bring us to ourselves. For in many ways we are like the magi. We have seen the star of Christmas in God’s Holy Word, to quote the Epiphany hymn. And we are also called to journey to the Christ child. To be sure, the journey is different for that of the magi, but it is a journey nonetheless and just as challenging in its own way.
For some of this journey takes us beyond ourselves into the world. And like the magi, we find the world is not always the safest place to be when we attempt to live our faith beyond these sacred confines. Sometimes we also face unexpected physical danger. Whenever I take a short cut back from visiting at Monmouth Medical Center to share the Gospel with the patients there, my path takes me under some large old trees. I am always mindful that my successor at my first congregation, Pastor Gary Kull was killed on his way home from such a visit when a large tree limb smashed through his car’s windshield. But there are other dangers as well. When we try to help others in our Lord’s name, we face the danger of being scammed or just find we are being taken advantage of in a very manipulative fashion.
And interesting enough, some of this journey takes us into ourselves. This also is not without its spiritual dangers for when we make this particular personal journey we usually encounter our inner darkness. And yet it is this very darkness we also are met with the light of Christ himself. Reflecting on this inner journey Catherine de Hueck Doherty writes, “Now I am immersed in the Trinity, in the fire of the silence of God (for the silence of God is always fire: His speech is fire). Now I become as one on fire with love of Him and of all humanity across the world. Now it is not I who speak. I speak what God tells me to speak. When my immersion into this immense silence has finally caught fire from His words, then I am able to speak. I can speak because His voice is sounding loudly and clearly in my ears, which have been emptied of everything except Him. Now only His name is on my heart, constantly; it has become my heartbeat.” By the fire of the Spirit, may our own faith journey lead us to the precious heart of Jesus. Amen.
BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
January 13, 2008
AQUATIC REFLECTIONS
Matthew 3:13-17
As we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, my mind turned to the earthly element in this sacrament, water. Given my love of the ocean, swimming and fish, this should come as no surprise. Nor am I alone in this fascination with H2O. After all, water is critical to life. Other than a lack of oxygen, a lack of water is the deprivation that will kill us in the briefest amount of time. Water is critical to our physical make up. Over 70% of our bodies is composed of water, far eclipsing all other substances. Curiously enough, this is almost the exact percentage of salt water that covers the face of the earth. God seems to like consistency at this point.
It is not surprising then, that our Lord who Himself who was baptized in water, commanded us to go forth and baptize others. As the great commission recorded in St. Matthew proclaims, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” One of the many reasons we are so blessed here at Reformation is that we take this command of our Lord very seriously and attempt to follow it whenever possible.
But water can be tricky. One of the reasons I love Luther’s flood prayer that is read at Baptisms is because it deals not only with the benefits of water, but also the power of the substance to destroy. Listen again. “By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family.” God can use water as a means of judgment as well as salvation. I think those of us who are privileged to live at the shore understand this intrinsic power of water. We have seen the beauty and peace of the ocean on a quiet summer day, but also have had first hand experience of the awesome power of a nor’easter that can flood our communities and bring those beautiful old trees crashing down around us.
And yet, when combined with the Word of God water becomes the Almighty’s instrument of salvation. For in Baptism we are saved from sin, death and the power of the devil. And sometimes these two sides of water come together. Recently I came upon a reflection that seems particularly appropriate to share on the return of our Katrina Servant Team.
“When Don French responded to Hurricane Katrina, he had little idea that his life would be upended by the experience. After three trips to the battered region, the retired computer systems programmer said “yes” to an invitation to be baptized on June 3 at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Waukesha, Wis.
French, 63, is one of more than 18,000 ELCA Lutherans who headed down to the Gulf Coast. Upon his return, he found that he couldn’t stop talking about the magnitude of the disaster and the powerful encounters he had with the people there.
The kicker, said Gary Liedtke, a pastor of St. Luke, came on a Sunday morning following French’s third trip. “I touched him on the shoulder and said, ‘Don, would you consider being baptized when Pastor Pat (Keen) is here?’” Liedtke recalled.
Days later, after many conversations, French knew he was ready. He told Liedtke, “I know I could not be who I am without God’s Spirit. I know there is a love and grace that pervades this world and that we are blessed by that love.”
On the day of the baptism, French was overwhelmed with emotion—and so were the pastors, family and friends gathered in St. Luke’s sanctuary. “I could not believe this was happening, and I was overcome by the emotion —friendship, love, joy—that must be an extension of the love God feels for all of us.”
But Don French is hardly alone. In 2007, 18 individuals were received into the family of God through their Baptisms here at Reformation. 18 times over Satan was defeated and the Kingdom of God was shown with particular clarity in our sanctuary. Add to this the thousands of Baptisms represented here at Reformation and you can see that God and His all saving grace have been active and alive in the here and the now. Amen.
Epiphany 2; John 1:29-42; Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; January 19-20, 2008
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit our Sustainer.
John had a singular privilege. Like the Virgin Mary, John was a person society would least expect to receive such a privilege. In today’s world, John would be assumed to be a homeless person, probably one who lived on the streets in a cardboard box. He was a wild man: long hair, probably not too clean and most likely smelly. He wore an odd collection of clothing. And he was not known for his gracious manners. Yet, John had a singular privilege.
John announced the arrival of the Savior of the world: “Behold! Look! Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He wasn’t a man of power or wealth. He’d turned his back on societal conventions and lived his own way and style. It didn’t matter how much education, skill, or power he did or did not have. God had a plan for him and John obeyed God’s will, fulfilling God’s plan.
John announced the Messiah, Jesus, Redeemer. We, too, have a singular privilege. Like John, it doesn’t matter how much education, skill, or power we have or don’t have. We have a particular privilege: Announcing the Messiah, Savior of the World. Our announcement isn’t like John’s. So what does our announcement look like?
Here are some examples: Work boots, gloves, aprons from New Orleans trip; food for the food pantry; letters to the government to advocate for the voiceless; clothes for Epiphany House, to name a few.
There is no exemption from announcing the Good News in Christ. We, particularly here at Reformation, we have all we need to make the announcement in myriad ways. We are blessed with a deep bench of talent: Some congregations rely on their pastor to be the sole announcer. We have a strong lay leadership, dedicated deacons, and mobs of people with vision for ministry that covers a broad spectrum of possibilities. We are blessed here—both as individuals and the community of Reformation. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: In every way you have been enriched in him, . . . so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has a plan. Our role in that plan is to be the heralds of God’s Kingdom and to be the worker bees in the Kingdom.
John had a singular privilege. God chose him to announce the Messiah, Jesus, in the flesh. We, too, have a great privilege: Announcing the Messiah, Immanuel, with us in spirit and promising to return to us. Like the Servant described by the prophet Isaiah, our mission is to cry out: Listen, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! Our mission is to be a light to the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
It doesn’t matter who or what we are in other capacities. As members of the family of God, our words and our actions proclaim to the world, “God is with us! God loves us! God will never abandon us!
Be faithful! Be diligent! Be alert! For today and every day, we announce, “Behold, The Lamb of God!” Amen.
