Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year C, March 17, 2013

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Year C

March 17, 2013

                        Isaiah 43:16-21                                              Psalm 126

                     Philippians 3:4b-14                                     St. John 12:1-8   

Hymns:  456, 495, 304, 473

Today is the final Sunday in Lent.  Next week the church will observer Palm Sunday and then the following Sunday, Easter Day. 

In my last sermon just before the start of Lent, I challenged you to consider a path of gratitude and thankfulness during Lent.  I hope you have.  But today I want to talk about change.  It is something we are, I fear, all too unwilling to be thankful for. 

We find in the reading today from Isaiah a warning from God that new things are about to be done.  Warning about new things coming is probably a good idea.  No one seems to particularly like new things.  We all love the old things.  And yet we are warned in this same passage to “not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.”  This is a hard teaching for Episcopalians!  In fact, even with lots of warning, change is still hard to deal with. 

I’m reminded of this struggle we all have with change in a story line from the series “The Vicar of Dibley”.  In the first episode a “woman” priest is sent to the parish as their new vicar.  The initial shock left everyone silent.  As some of the parishioners began talk about change they observed that there is good change and bad change and that is true in the world today.  But what makes it so difficult is our inability to come to agreement on which changes are good and which are bad.  This is reflected locally and in the wider world.  It effects everything from what you do here at St. Peter’s when you make changes to what is going on today in the world wide Anglican Communion. 

Make a river in a desert as it says in Isaiah and you are sure to find some who would find reason to complain.  The river is not in the right place.  There are too many people or animals around now.  The environmental balance has been changed.  There is now too much traffic.  It used to be nice and peaceful and quiet here and now it is so loud and disruptive.  And you have to deal with the mud. 

Look at the Israelites, they were freed from slavery and provided manna from heaven and yet still managed to complain about it.  The old times were better they said.  We are sick and tired of this manna they complained.  The very food sent down from heaven by God was becoming tiring to them.  The grass always is greener on the other side!  And I’m sure if we look in our own lives we will find plenty of times when we complained and perhaps the complaint was not really all that justifiable. 

Why do people complain about change so much?  I think it is because we mourn the loss of the familiar.  The familiar is comfortable and easy to go along with.  It doesn’t cause stress or anxiety.  People also don’t like change because of the fear of the unknown.  Change puts us face to face with something new.  Something that may be unpalatable or undesirable.  Or maybe just something that is different.  Like a river in a dry place. 

But there is something even more important in this passage today.  God says that she is about to do a new thing and yet we do not see it.  There are two things here particularly important.  First that God is doing a new thing.  There are some who would prefer, who pray for and who fight for God to only do the old things.  There is no understanding or comprehension that God may indeed be doing a new thing in their life or in the life of the Church.  Those who would paint God in a nice neat corner are only bound to be disappointed.  \

The second part of that verse “do you not perceive it?” should be a warning to us.  A warning to not try and fight against the new things God is doing.  But this can be painfully difficult.

How do we know that all the new things going on now are from God?  That is the critical question.  Those against the new things clearly see the answer as no, they are most definitely not from God.  Those in support of the new things clearly see the answer as yes, God is working powerfully among us.  Personally I think that the Christian community would be in much better condition if everyone kept in mind that they just might be wrong.  This sort of humility seems to be sadly lacking in many of the conversations in the Church today.  An embrace of the idea of the possibility of error in my own thoughts would allow greater charity towards those we disagree with.  It would also lower the level of strife for those fighting so hard for what they feel is right. 

There is one thing that is very good about change, whether you are in favor of it or not.  Change forces us to re-evaluate what is going on in our lives.  And that is a good thing.  It is healthy and an opportunity for spiritual growth.  It can cause us either to strengthen the views we already held or be an opportunity for the possibility of changing them.  Whether in the end the change was necessary or perhaps quietly done away with, self examination of our own lives and of our own, sometimes closely held beliefs is good.   

Change forces us to wake up from the lethargy of the usual, of the common, and to look at things in a new light.  That may feel like a dangerous thing.  But it is life giving. 

As Christians we are called to face change with expectation and hope.  We need to view change with the expectation and hope that God just might be doing a new thing in our lives.  So when we are faced with changes, we should not react with a gut level reaction to immediately reject it.  Instead we need to think about it.  We need to test it out. 

Perhaps, just perhaps it can help us grow.  

Sermon for Epiphany Two, Year C, 20 Jan 2013

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Year C

January 20, 2013

Isaiah 62:1-5                                            Psalm 96

I Corinthians 12:1-11                          St. John 2:1-11  

Hymns:  410, 423, 304, 433

 The reading from First Corinthians today focused on the gifts God gives to the church and to individuals.  And we all know that God blesses us with many gifts in our lives.  In the Gospel of John for today we hear the story of the first of the signs or miracles of Jesus, turning the water into wine.  The passage ends with the statement that “his disciples believed in him.”  

I have always found this rather interesting.  We are told that after his sign they believed in him.  What exactly does the author mean by this?  After all, they had already left everything, family, jobs, friends to follow this itinerant preacher.  They must have already believed in him at some level already.  They had made sacrifices already just to follow him. 

Honestly, would any of us given up our lives, our livelihoods, and our family to follow someone we didn’t believe in? 

But I think as we look at the development of the followers of Jesus, as we continue to watch them in the Gospel stories, we see that their faith continually deepens as they live with and follow Jesus.  As they see him at work in the world, their faith is strengthened at every turn.  So they obviously had an advantage we certainly don’t, they got to see Jesus at work, they had the opportunity to know him.  They could see him touching the lives of those around Him, they could see him performing signs, and they could see him living out a life which they experienced every day. 

It is true that if we look we can indeed see Jesus at work in the world around us too, but perhaps it takes us a little more effort to see it.  We hopefully see Jesus in different ways and in different places in the world.  We hopefully see Jesus in our actions and in the actions of our fellow believers.  But in order to do this our eyes must be attuned to different things. 

Hopefully we see Jesus in the life and work of the church, although since it is filled with humans like each one of us there is always the potential for failure.   We may see Jesus just by observing the miracles of nature around us, particularly in a beautiful place like Alaska.  We see Jesus in the work of our community food back.  We see Jesus in others around us as we see them living a life of faith seeking to serve and help others. 

But I think the most important way to see Jesus in the world around us it by becoming more sensitive to what Jesus is doing in each of our own lives.  Unfortunately, it is far too easy to overlook.  We can so easily get caught up in all the activities and events in our lives that we actually miss seeing Jesus at work in our lives. 

How do we tune ourselves in to seeing Jesus at work in our life?   While there are probably many answers to that question, I’m convinced of the power of a very simple practice.  That is the practice of gratitude. 

As we get in the habit of being attentive to the things we have to be grateful for in life, we become more and more attuned to what is occurring our own lives and how God is at work in our lives. 

This practice has transformed how I look at things in my life and my ability to see God at work in my life.  I encourage you to undertake this gratitude challenge.  With Lent approaching, perhaps you can adopt it as your Lenten challenge to list the things you are thankful for every day.  And don’t forget the “small” things to be grateful for.  I think that is where we really tend to miss the boat in remembering thankfulness. 

A thankful person is a transformed person and a thankful church is a transformed church.  Let us work together to transform ourselves and St. Peter’s.  We can turn St. Peter’s into an oasis of gratitude and recognition of God’s work in our life and in our midst. 

     

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent, December 14, 2008

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Third Sunday of Advent

Year B

December 14, 2008

Resurrection Lutheran Church

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Psalm 126

I Thessalonians 5:16-24 St. John 1:6-8, 19-28

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In the name of the triune God who created us, who loves us, who redeemed us, and who cares for us.

One of my favorite Advent hymns is "On Jordan's Bank." It is found on page 63 of your LBW. The words go like this:

1. On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.

2. Then cleansed by every Christian breast
And furnished for so great a Guest.
Yea, let us each our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.

3. For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace our souls must fade
And wither like a flower decayed.

4. Lay on the sick Thy healing hand
And make the fallen strong to stand;
Show us the glory of Thy face
Till beauty springs in every place.

5. All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Who advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

Today we hear the story of John the Baptist, a particularly appropriate lesson for Advent. The lesson starts out with the words "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him." Being sent from God is not always a great thing by our standards. While John had some followers, those in power were really threatened by him. In fact, his words became so threatening that they eventually lead to his imprisonment and finally his death. He never gained worldly good or significant recognition in his life time. The life of a prophet is usually lonely.

Today I want you to pull out your insert and follow those two lines with me again. But I’m going to change a few words this time. "There was a person sent from God, whose name was Lucy. She came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through her." I figured I would use Lucy as an example since she is such a new addition to the church family and can’t really speak for herself yet.

This time I want you to read it with your name. Try it out. Go ahead.

How did it feel? I want to take a short moment now and let you just think about what it would mean if that verse was speaking about you. Did you believe it in your heart when you read it? I hope so because it is absolutely true. There is a person sent by God and guess what? That person is you. And you. And you. And little Lucy. And me.

To me it can be pretty overwhelming. You are that person sent by God. I am that person sent by God. You are that person called as a witness to testify to the light. It can be pretty overwhelming. We think of our personal failures and wonder how in the world we can be a witness to the light of God.

I have to wonder if John felt exactly that same way I suspect he might have been a reluctant witness for God. How much better to live your comfortable life without these annoying interruptions from God.

How are you and I going to respond? Some of us may be tempted to argue with God. Something along the lines of “Lord can’t I just go to church and support the church? Isn’t that enough God?” Perhaps our response will be that of Moses or Jonah. Basically a "not me Lord! Are you crazy God?" No one will listen to me Lord. Moses thought he didn’t speak well enough. Any excuse. How many excuses do we have for God?

Our initial desire to say no to the call of God in our life needs to be changed to a yes. We need to decide to respond like Samuel, saying "speak lord, for your servant is listening", then what?

How do we fulfill our commission to be a witness to testifying about Jesus? I think many peoples greatest fear is that we will have to go door to door to strangers like the Mormon's or the Jehovah Witnesses. Or do we have to pay an annual Temple assessment as in the Jewish tradition? Or do we try and keep it a secret like the Episcopal tradition?

Well we don't have to do it any particular way. One approach will not fit every circumstance and every need. Fortunately we don't even have to dress up in uncomfortable clothing and eat grass hoppers like John. But we do need to overcome our fears and anxiety to say yes to God. Sometimes not even really knowing what that yes to God will mean. We need to realize that God chooses us and that God will be with us. In our weakness God’s power is made even more manifest. Paul believed that he could do all things through the power of the strength of God in his life. Do we really believe that?

But one thing we absolutely do have to do is be a witness for God. There is no getting around that call of God in our lives. Each in our own unique way. Each of us as God has called is. It will not be the same. But that way God reaches out to so many other people.

It is our job to announce to others that the Lord is near. Advent can be a challenging and risky time for us. It calls us to evangelism like no other season in the Church year. So let each of us commit to the work of evangelist in our own lives as we respond to the call of God.

Sermon for Christmas Eve, December 25, 2013

Christmas Eve

Year C

December 24, 2012

                         Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7                                     Psalm 96:1-4, 11-12

                           Titus 2:11-14                                          St. Luke 2:1-20   

The lessons for today start off with the light shining on people who have walked in great darkness, those who have been living in a land of deep darkness.  People throughout history have been living in deep darkness.  Just look at the world around us, at the people around us and it is very easy to see.  There are many people in need of a light shining in the darkness of their lives. 

And then the light shines.  My experience has been that nothing is quite a dramatic of the sudden appearance of light in total darkness.  From something as simple of being in a pitch black room and having the lights suddenly turned on – not the best of experiences sometimes.  To being out in the middle of no where when the moon or stars appear.   Light bring hope.  Light brings the potential for change in our lives. 

This opening statement seems just as applicable today as it was thousands of years ago when it was first spoken.   Darkness seems to be all around us.  And that darkness seems to take so many forms.  The recent school shooting in Connecticut is just one recent example.  And while the loss of innocent lives to crazed murders is one very clear example, there are sadly many of them around us.  

There is also spiritual darkness around us.  And I’m not just talking about people not going to church, or being hostile to the Christian faith (sadly many of them have very good reasons for such hostility).  I’m talking about people who claim to be Christians who pervert and twist the very Good News, the light of God that they are called to be a witness of.  I’m talking about people like James Dobson and Mike Huckabee who proclaim that those innocent children and adults slaughtered in Connecticut were slaughtered because God happens to be very pissed at the United States for all gay rights, for supporting the right of women to make choices about their bodies, and for removing prayer or kicking God out of school. 

I wonder just what kind of God it is they believe in who feels that the only way to strike out at apparent wrongs in the country is to murder innocents.  After all if God was really pissed at the gays, I’m sure God is perfectly capable of targeting us directly!  And I don’t even know what to think of people who believe in such a powerless and capricious god.  To me this is totally crazy.  Quite frankly I find these people no better than the crazies from the Westboro Baptist Church.  They are all a stain on Christianity. 

So those of us rather simple people who believe we know something of the true light of God have quite a task set ahead for us.   We need to proclaim the truth of the light of Christ in the world both in word and in our deeds.  As the first words from the reading from Titus state:  “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all…” 

God’s light, the light of the incarnation is available to all.  You don’t have to be born a certain way to receive it.  You don’t have to belong to a particular socio-economic group to receive it.  It is there for all.  It is there for each of us here this evening.  It is there for those absent as well. 

You see, God does not see humanity as many of us tend to see it.  We judge by external factors, those factors primarily being how close others are to what we might be.  Roman catholic scholars have coined the phrase “God’s preferential option for the poor.”  The phrase was developed in response to the obvious demonstration of God’s preference to the power and powerless and disadvantaged. 

The difficult part of our work in spreading the light of God in the world when so many have been driven from any consideration that God might have or even want to be a part of their life.  We have to fight against the evil and unchristian message of people like James Dobson who sadly get coverage of their misguided and wrong ideas of God. 

Quite frankly, I don’t blame people who are not the least interested in what Christianity is about based on the things they hear on the news portraying a most unchristian view of Christianity.  I cringe from some of the things I hear.    It makes our call doubly difficult. 

So what are we to do?   We are celebrating the great event of the incarnation of God in the world.  We are celebrating the coming of the light into the darkness.  We need to share this light to our friend and neighbors.  And it can be done in the simplest of ways.  We do not need a public platform or crowds.  The light of Christ can be shown in everything we do as we live our lives. 

We show it by a simple act of kindness, or a kind word.  We show it every time we look out for and protect those less fortunate than ourselves.  We show it each time we speak a word in defense of those unable to defend themselves. 

It is something that needs to become a part of who and what we are.   While speaking the truth of the light of Christ in the world is very important, it is not nearly as important as each and every one of us living the light of Christ in the world.  That is when it shines most brightly for all those around us. 

Sermon for Sunday, November 20th, 2011

Last Sunday after Pentecost
Christ the King Sunday
Proper 29 Year A

Ezekiel 34:11-17
Psalm 95:1-7
I Corinthians 15:20-28
St. Matthew 25:31-46

Many of you are probably familiar with the lyrics to the song “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?” The chorus tells us that “He’s here in plain view.” But is Jesus that easy to see in the world around us.

Yes it is very true that as the song also states. “Have you ever stood in the family, With the Lord there in your midst, Seen the face of Christ in each other? Then I say, that You’ve seen Jesus my Lord.” But that is the easy answer. Now don’t get me wrong, it is a true answer as well. As we look around here we see Jesus around us in each wonderful person, and that is a good thing. But still that is the easy part and in the Gospel today Jesus calls us to a harder and more difficult understanding of where we may be able to see Jesus.

Because Jesus can also be found in those who are the most unlike us and I fear too often we miss that point.

In today’s Gospel Jesus addressed two different groups, each apparently equally clueless. The parable in the Gospel lesson for today is quite a challenge in several ways. For me the first challenge of this parable is the response of both groups of people to the King. The first group had ministered to Jesus, represented by those in great need, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the shivering, the sick and those in prison. Now that in itself we, as Christians, should not find particularly remarkable. It is part of the Gospel message we all recognize. The second group was chastised for failing to minister to Jesus. They had failed to minister to the hungry, thirsty, homeless, shivering, the sick and those in prison and so had failed to minister to Jesus.

But it is the response of both groups that is intriguing. Both of the groups claimed that had no idea that they had ministered to Jesus.

Every one of them had failed to see Jesus in the people around them. And I think more critically, they failed to see Jesus in the people not like them. And this is the challenge for us in the church! Our great danger is in only seeing Jesus in the people around us. It is only seeing Jesus in the people like us. It is easy to see Jesus in the people like us, often much harder to see Jesus in the people unlike us. Singer Joan Osbourne had a great song entitled “What if God was one of us?” The chorus included these words “What if God was one of us Just a slob like one of us Just a stranger on the bus Trying to make his way home."

I think that people are actually ok with seeing God as one of us, just a slob like one of us. Just so long as he is like one of us and not like the people who we are uncomfortable with or afraid of.

And yet the parable for today clearly tells us that we will find and minister to Jesus in the people actually most unlike us.

This should be inspiring because it challenges us to be at our very best as a Christian. But it is also frightening because it seems so very easy to end up on the wrong end of the equation. The end where we are found wanting.

It is inspiring because we all want to be that Christian who feed Jesus, who gave water to Jesus, who welcomed Jesus, who clothed Jesus, who visited Jesus.

It is challenging because we are also reminded in this passage how easy it is to be the Christian who does not feed Jesus, who does not give water to Jesus, who does not welcome Jesus, who does not cloth Jesus, who does not visit Jesus.

Both of these groups had one important quality in common. They shared one common trait. In both of these groups, the people did not see when they either were or were not doing those things for Jesus.

That is the key. They did not see Jesus in what they were doing. It is easy to do the right thing when we know Jesus is there. It is easy to see the Jesus who did so much for us and want to do any small part to do something for him. But Jesus Himself is not here physically. I believe that the Gospel passage is driving home a very important lesson. And that lesson is that Christianity is not just about our relationship with God. It is about our relationship with those created in the image of God.

That is why in each individual around us, when we do anything for them we are doing it just as if we were doing it for Jesus. You see, God is to be found in each and every one of us. But now comes the challenging part.

When we look at humanity, particularly when we look at the poor, the disenfranchised, the street people, the mentally impaired, the felons it is very hard to see Jesus. Instead our prejudices and our fears and our dislikes spring into our minds.

They prevent us from wanting to serve the Jesus found in each one of us. And that was what the second group saw too. When they looked at these needy people, they did not see Jesus, they forgot to see God in them.

And that allowed them to ignore them and pretend that they did not exist. And that is the truly frightening part in this lesson. That Jesus may be right in front of us and the danger is that we do not see Him.

Just as he was in the Gospel, Jesus is challenging us again today. He is challenging us to look at the world in with new eyes. Actually He is challenging us to look at the world through His eyes.

When we do, we will see the opportunities to serve those who need to experience the love of God the most. When we look through the world in Jesus eyes, we will see Jesus looking back at us.

Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plain view. Take a look, open your eyes.

Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord, Year B, January 11, 2009

Baptism of Our Lord

Year B

January 11, 2009

Resurrection Lutheran Church

Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29

Acts 19:1-7 St. Mark 1:4-11

In the name of the triune God who created us, who loves us, who redeemed us, and who cares for us.

It seems like Baptism is a theme I just can't get away from here at Resurrection Lutheran Church! But that is actually fine with me. As I'm sure most of you have figured out by now, it is my one of my very favorite things. For me a baptism feels so much like an escape from the mundane and an opportunity to spend a little bit of time in heaven here on earth. Maybe that sounds a bit escapist and not very grounded in the world, but there it is. There is nothing quite so amazing as holding a child in my arms and welcoming them into the family of faith. Holding that baby and looking into its beautiful eyes and seeing the face of the parents is truly a window to look at God. Baptism and the story of creation reminds me that each and everyone of us is created in God's image.

I would be completely happy to try and dwell in the sacred time and space of baptism for as long as possible. In it I feel most close to God and most close to my sisters and brothers. It is the kind of mountain top experience that all of us want to savor. Having a mountain top experience is truly a blessing from God.

I have to imagine that it was also a mountain top experience for Jesus in the Gospel story today. I can only imagine how it must have been to hear those words from his Heavenly Father after his own baptism. In a sense at baptism each of us is reminded of the same thing. That we are beloved children of a loving God.

Unfortunately there is always something to bring us back to where we are. We just can't stay on that mountain top forever, as much as we might be tempted to. Very often where we are seems to be the valleys of life, not the mountain tops.

Even Jesus had to leave the mountain top of his baptism. He had to deal with the experience of rejection, ridicule, and ultimately, the cross. And each of us can thank God that He was willing to do that.

To often it seems to me that the world tries to work overtime to keep us from those mountain top experiences. It is often hard to remember that God's creation was good in the face of all that is happening in the world around us. Wars, hatred and strife are a daily occurrence in the world around us. On top of those things, which while we hear about all the time, rarely affect us directly, we are struggling with the current financial crisis which affects many of us personally. It is very hard to see the goodness in God's creation when you realize that most of this mess was made by people who were consumed with greed and avarice and not concerned at all about others. The Madoff scandal is but the latest example.

When you hear the stories of the people affected you can feel the sense of betrayal they have. I think their close connections and being such a small group of investors gave them a sense of family. And so the betrayal takes on a much more personal feeling. And the seeming lack of remorse on the part of Madoff only makes things worse.

We are all a family as well. We are a family as a Christian community. And baptism is one of the most tangible demonstrations of being a part of that family. Baptism brings us together as family. In Genesis God created, in baptism we celebrate our part in the family as God's children. We repeat the familiar words that bind us as a community in ever service of Baptism.

But the part of the baptism that really gets to me, what I really love, is when the baptized person is told they are sealed in Baptism and marked as God's own forever. The promises of God are lasting. They are not transient like the things of this world that come and go, often disappointing us.

And so with all these negative images around us, I have to remind myself that God's creation was good. True enough we have managed to mess it up, sometimes spectacularly. And true though, often people fail to respect and love others as part of our Christian family. And sadly our mucking up God's creation is not limited to financial matters and one another. We have managed to muck up the earth itself pretty good.

In light of all this, perhaps it may seem like the answer is just to pack it in and give up. But of course that is not the Christian way. In our baptism we are called to a new life in Christ.

A Native American Coyote story describes a poor man who had a dream or vision that there was a place where everything is perfect. You might say that this was heaven. He had been told that this place was visible to all who had accepted a life of humility and complete service to their community. The poor man felt very humble, especially since he had no real possessions, but he felt that he must set out on a journey away from his present life and community in search of this perfect place.

He set out the next day at dawn. He walked and walked the entire day, and when evening arrived, before he had found the perfect place, he set up camp, took out his meager meal of bread and a flask of water to satisfy his hunger and thirst. He gave thanks, ate the bread, drank the water, and then he removed his sandals and placed them facing in the direction he was headed so he could continue his journey the next day. Then went to sleep.

While the poor man slept that night, Coyote came and turned his shoes around so that they faced the direction from where the man had come that day. When the poor man awoke, he put on his shoes, and began to walk again. While he walked all day, he thought about this perfect place, this heavenly city. When it was nearly dark, he came to a place that looked strangely familiar. He walked down a street, turned a corner, and saw a somewhat familiar dwelling. He waited outside the dwelling until its inhabitants came out to greet him and invite him in. When they did, he entered and was given warm clothes and a warm meal that was so delicious he could not remember the last time he had eaten so well. He was received with such hospitality that he felt as though he was a member of a family he had known his whole life.

After much talk, singing, and praying, the whole household offered the poor man their best bedding. He thanked them and laid down to sleep thanking Creator God for the abundant blessings shared with him. He could not help but think that this was, indeed, a perfect place, a heavenly place. How could there be another more perfect?

So we are challenged to figure out what it means to live our lives in this sinful world as transformed people. We can be transformed by the power of God in us. But often we have to fight against our own selfish nature. I think that is why our church tradition calls us to repeat those baptismal vows at every baptism. It is a reminder that no matter how often we might have failed to live up to them, there is always a new opportunity to try again.

As Christians we are called to live out the kingdom of God right here on earth, as best, even if imperfectly as we can. May God grant us the wisdom and grace to make our homes and lives a slice of the kingdom.

Sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas, Year B, December 28, 2008

First Sunday of Christmas
Year B
December 28, 2008
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Isaiah 61:10—62:3 Psalm 148
Galatians 4:4-7 St. Luke 2:22-40



In the name of the triune God who created us, who loves us, who redeemed us, and who cares for us.

Today our focus is on children. To me they represent a sign of innocence, beauty, and the presence of God among us. Today is the first Sunday after Christmas and so we remember particularly the Incarnation. And we celebrate again new life with the Baptism of another beautiful child of God. Today we welcome another child into the family of our faith in a formal way. It is always an exciting time for me.

But before we talk about new life with all of its potential before it, I want to talk about death. The other end of the spectrum of our lives. In the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer we have what is for me a very profound prayer in the service for the Burial of the Dead.

It goes like this: “Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him/her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints of light. Amen.”

It is a prayer so powerful in its truth that is brings my emotions right to the surface. I can barely say the prayer at a funeral without tearing up. A sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock. It is an acknowledgement of our belonging to God.

A number of hears ago Joan Armstrong wrote a song entitled “What If God Was One Of Us”. Part of the lyrics went like this:

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that
you would have to believe
in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints
and all the prophets (*)
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

The song really appealed to me. If God had a face what would it look like? It is a great reminder as we celebrate the birth of a savior in a barn and the baptism of a child. God calls us to see God in each and every one of us. But that can sometimes be very hard. To see God, particularly in people in whom we can’t see ourselves.

A few years ago there was a show on TV called “Joan of Arcada”. Every week God would appear to Joan in the form of a person and give her some task which needed to be done. The person who was God changed regularly and it was a very cute show. One episode though God appeared as a young teen in Goth. You know a teen that wears all black clothing, often with pale makeup on the skin and dark features. Most definitely not what I see when I look in a mirror. I found myself very shocked at this. I was rather upset that God would be portrayed in this manner.

It took me quite some time to deal with all my thoughts after my initial reaction. I knew my reaction was wrong, but it was there. I had to do a lot of soul searching. In the end, that young Goth became my favorite character to portray God. I had learned the importance of seeing God in everyone I meet. I still fail at times to do so, but I think that in my life I’m now a lot more sensitive to it.

It seems to me that for most of us Christians it is very easy to see God in infants and children and it is usually easy to see God in people at their death. We seem to have the beginning and ending of life figured out pretty good. Where we so often fail is in that large stretch in the middle when people live life, make choices, make mistakes and generally try to make it though.

It is as this point that we are most unsuccessful at seeing God in others. We seem to love people when they are born and when they die but often it is easy to hate them or perhaps ignore them in the middle.

If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see
That is the questions we all must ask ourselves. You see God does have a face. God has many faces.