Scripture
John 1:1-14 (Today’s New International Version, )
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was with God in the beginning. Through the Word all things were made; without the Word nothing was made that has been made. In God was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from our God, the creator, full of grace and truth.
Let us pray:
Sweet little Jesus Boy they made you be born in a manger.
Sweet little Holy Child—didn’t know who you was.
Didn’t know you’d come to save us Lord, to take our sins away.
Our eyes was blind we couldn’t see, we didn’t know who you was.
Long time ago—you was born, born in a manger low—
Sweet Little Jesus Boy.
The world treat you mean Lord, treat me mean too,
But that’s how things is down here: we don’t know who you is.
You done told us how—we is a tryin’
Master, you done show’d us how, even when you’s dyin’
Just seem like we can’t do right, look how we treated you.
But please sir, forgive us Lord, we didn’t know it was you.
Sweet little Jesus Boy, born long time ago..
Sweet little Holy Child, and we didn’t know who you was.
I first prayed this prayer and sang this song more than 40 years ago, but never did I understand its truth the way I do today. Even so, I’m left with the question “Why?” Why didn’t they know then, and, certainly, why don’t we know now? We had God sending messengers, appearing in dreams; choruses of angels springing from the heavens on the hillside, wise men arriving on the scene, and yet, John says, in our scripture for today: “the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.” It kinda makes you wonder—what would it have taken then, and what does it take now? For Christmas, this year, I asked myself, would I have understood, would I have known who Jesus was? Would I have been one of the shepherds kneeling in reverence, or would I have been one of those busy, bustling folk passing by right outside the stall, and missing the wonder of what was going on inside?
And so, this week, I have spent considerable time reflecting on that very question—would I have missed Christmas? Now, let’s be honest, I can’t really know what I would have done or even who I would have been had I lived at the time—I like to think of myself, at the very least, as the Innkeeper—not sure of what was going on, but at least kind enough, to make room for the miracle to unfold. For the openness to miracle is the beginning of Christmas and the beginning of knowing who Jesus is—for your life, and for the world. The innkeeper made a start—the rest was up to God. And is that how miracles happen, even today. Have you ever wondered what the innkeeper thought as these shepherds came and the star shone down? I realize that for some of you, I’m asking you to stretch the limits of reasonable, logical thinking, and you are right, I am doing just that. For miracle also means that we grant some “grace” in the telling of the story—that the miracle is in the event of the birth of the Christ-child, not in the details of the distance from the hills where the shepherds kept watch and whether or not they could have made it to Bethlehem as quickly as the Christmas carols portray. The miracle is in the changing of the hearts of those shepherds—and the very fact that they looked up to see the angels at all. The miracle is that on the busiest night in decades, the innkeeper managed to think of a way to give a young girl a place to give birth.
We want bigness—bright lights, flashing stars, and huge cathedrals. But that is not miracle. The miracle is in the smallest of things. Why, think of the innkeeper. The innkeeper was tired. He had checked in people all day. All he wanted was some rest, tomorrow would be another busy day. And then came a knock. A knock—he had no room—why not just ignore it, they would surely go away. But something stirred in him, something said get up and answer, even though you have nothing left—no rooms and, certainly, no patience. But something stirred and the miracle began.
And, so it is in our lives as well—something stirs and the miracle begins. Let me tell you a story. There was once a painfully shy little girl. She wore coke bottle glasses and she was skinny—making her look very much like a baby bird seeking for its mother or so she was told. She was never very popular, never won a beauty contest or any other contest for that matter. She was terrified of speaking in public and she had no particular social graces and was often ignored. Her biggest claim to fame was that she could read books at lightning speed and could sing a note or two—but not nearly as well as some of the other kids. At 16, she announced to anyone who bothered to listen, that she felt called by God to serve the church. Even her relatives, all of whom truly loved her, thought her a bit “touched” in the head. But God knew better. And God knew, that if that painfully shy, introverted, timid, little girl would listen to the stirrings in her heart that God could and would do the rest. That, my friends, is miracle—miracle that took place over the course of 40 plus years and is still going on this day.
Did the innkeeper ever know the breadth and depth of the miracle that happened in his stable that night? Probably not. He is one of the many characters who appear briefly in the stories in the New Testament and then disappear—never to be heard of again. We don’t know whether or not he followed the life of that baby—more than likely not. But I’d like to believe that he knew that it was important for him to open that door that night and that he felt good for taking that young girl and her husband in. I’d like to think that when he heard the baby cry, that he smiled, knowing he had done a good and grace-filled thing.
So, this week, I invite you to listen to the stirrings in your heart: to write them down perhaps. Share them with someone, share them with God. This year, when Jesus comes again as a baby, be present to the awe and wonder. This year, let us not be among the millions of folks who don’t know who Jesus is—let us be among those who listen to those stirrings of love and gratitude. And, so, it is likely that this week, at least one person, a clerk in a store, the person in front of you in the long check-out line, your neighbor—someone will more than likely ask you if you are ready for Christmas. We have spent the weeks of Advent becoming prepared for Christmas. We have spoken of hope and light—the same light that our Gospel lesson heralds. We talked about the faith and trust of Mary and the joy of the shepherds. We have worked on opening our hearts to the completeness of Christmas. Here is my truth then, this year, I hope that when the question is asked of you, that you will stop a moment, think of what we have spoken of along the way, and say, “why, yes, I am ready for Christmas. This year, I’m really ready, and I’m glad I’m ready!” You’ll probably astound them with your answer, we are so ready to hear “no”. Let’s make it a “yes” Christmas this year. Let us go joyfully into the week saying “yes”! Yes, we are ready, come, Lord, Jesus, come! Amen and amen.
Welcome!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Advent 3: Hope for All: We Sing with Joy 12-12-2010
Scripture: Luke 2: 1-14 &Matthew 2: 1-9
In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world. And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to “the city of David”—Bethlehem, in Judea, because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David; he went to register with Mary, his espoused wife who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her delivery. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son; she put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket.
There were shepherds in the area living in the fields and keeping night watch by turns over their flock. The angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of God shone around them; there were very much afraid. The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you—news of a great joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in David’s city, a savior—the Messiah—has been born to you. Let this be a sign to you; you’ll find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in high heaven! And on earth, peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.”
After Jesus’ birthd—astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn ruler of the Jews” We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay homage.” Herod spoke with them first. After their audience with the ruler, they set out. The star which they had observed at its rising went ahead of them until it came to a standstill over the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at seeing the star and, upon entering the house, found the child with Mary, his mother. They opened their coffers and presented the child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Let’s go back to our Gospel reading today…
This is the season of joy—joy to the world—blessed joy—baby in a manger joy—shepherds watching sheep joy—joy, joy, joy! But, it’s just possible, if we are really honest, that some of us, some of the time, want very much to walk beside good old Ebeneezer Scrooge and utter bah humbug! Sometimes the need to retreat is a healthy desire to flee the glee, quiet our minds, and turn our thoughts to simpler things. But, sometimes it is more. For some of us, some of the time, the joy is simply too much to bear in a world so full of sorrow and struggle. The shepherds, frightened out of their minds, must have felt some initial resistance to joy-- Good news in the midst of great tribulation…the very embodiment of what I often call “sacred contradictions”. Our lives are full of them and they are intertwined with our relationships, our loves, our passions, our very selves.
For a very long time, while I searched for some sort of cosmic and psychic peace, I simply mis-understood the concept of wholeness and I believe that I am not alone. Taking my cue from my simplistic reading of the many books on holistic spirituality that I devoured in my early attempts to come to terms with my ragged theological journey and work out my relationship with God, I believed that wholeness (or enlightenment, or inner peace) meant that everything simply came together as a whole and “made sense”. The more I searched for that holistic, cosmic harmonic “oneness”, the less I felt the wholeness I desired. And the farther away the very God I sought seemed to be.
Eventually, I ceased my seeking for the narrow kind of wholeness that I had previously viewed as imperative and opened myself up to the calling of God’s “sacred contradictions”. Leaving behind my either/or thinking enabled me to walk maturely into the blessed joy found in both/and awareness. And I believe that scriptures are full of the call of these apparent contradictions.
What then, of these sacred contradictions as we walk through the Advent Season—with Christmas so closely upon us, that we can feel the anticipation of waking up on Christmas morning and gathering with friends and family for a feast of joy! For those of you who bring no sadness, no turmoil, no “mixed feelings”, as we introspective folks like to say, into this season, I say “bless you and bless God for your good fortune”. For the rest of us, I invite you to consider the call to hold these “sacred contradictions” in your heart this Advent and Christmas and allow the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to fully experience all the feelings, thoughts, memories, sorrow, and joy that this season brings. For in doing so, I believe, that our hearts will be more able and willing to bring our whole selves to worship the Christ and receive the blessed joy that God has in store for us.
Embracing sorrow, struggle, and turmoil at this time of seemingly rampant happiness and gaiety seems almost sacrilegious. Kahil Gibran says this about sorrow and joy: “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?” This makes sense to me even in my simplest way of thinking: As I unite my sorrow and my joy in the embracing of both, the sorrow becomes meaningful, the joy becomes more abundant. And the apparent tension between the two disappears in the evolving “sacred contradiction” which leads to joy.
Look at the Christmas story itself—it’s full of these sacred contradictions—calling us to hold two “impossibles” in our minds at once. A virgin gives birth to the Savior of the world; Joseph is expected to love and care for a child who is not his own; shepherds, awakened by heavenly visitors are afraid for their lives and yet, eager to meet and pay homage to this child. Jesus is born in a manger—yet, destined to bring the reign of God’s justice to the earth.
And so I say to you today, embrace your complete experience of this season and the birth of the Savior—the sorrows and the joys, the pain and the gladness, the turmoil and the peace. I want to share a story with you. Last year was my first Christmas Season after a great loss in my life. And all of my sacred contradictions came to life in the three months between October and Christmas and God used every one of these in my own spiritual formation and growth. For me, my moment of truth last year, centered on decorating the Christmas tree. Now Terri and I have separate tasks in holiday decorating—she brings in all the boxes and then admires what I do with the decorations. It works for us and we began our decorating just as we did last year. Terri set up the tree and I decided to let the branches “air out”. A week later, even the dogs weren’t buying my story of why the branches needed air, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to put the ornaments on the tree. But as I opened myself up to hear the healing that God was holding out for me, I knew that it was time to “do the tree”. And so, I did. In spite of my telling myself that it would be painful to hang the shiny ornaments on the tree, as if each one reflected my then still raw grief back to me, it was a joy to behold when I finished it. Some ‘sacred contradictions’ are easier to hold than others, and yours this year may be mildly difficult or may feel like torture or somewhere in between. Whatever the case, I believe that God will grace with joy and peace your willingness to move from a dichotomous way of thinking that insists that you can only embrace one “truth” at a time to a “let me hold them all in my hands at once” way of being.
Let us return to the angels, to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds and animals—let us open our hearts to the joy of a baby—not just any baby, but a baby that would bring in the reign of God’s justice and peace. Let us say with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest!” May we all have peace this Christmas season and may joy take us by surprise again and again. Amen and Amen
Reflection Question:
Questions for reflection and study--
1. The distance form Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 70 miles. What would it be like to be Joseph taking that weeklong walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem? For Mary?
2. What, for you, is the significance of the place and circumstances around Jesus’ birth?
3. In reality, shepherds were an outcast group. How do you see “sacred contradictions” working out in the angels’ message to them?
4. The Magi made a long journey to see Jesus. Reflect on your own journey. What have you experienced along the way?
5. Both the shepherds and Magi are fleeting subjects in the story of Jesus’ birth. What impact do you imagine this experience may have had on them?
6. What gifts would you bring or will you bring to Jesus this year?
In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world. And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to “the city of David”—Bethlehem, in Judea, because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David; he went to register with Mary, his espoused wife who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her delivery. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son; she put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket.
There were shepherds in the area living in the fields and keeping night watch by turns over their flock. The angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of God shone around them; there were very much afraid. The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you—news of a great joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in David’s city, a savior—the Messiah—has been born to you. Let this be a sign to you; you’ll find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in high heaven! And on earth, peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.”
After Jesus’ birthd—astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn ruler of the Jews” We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay homage.” Herod spoke with them first. After their audience with the ruler, they set out. The star which they had observed at its rising went ahead of them until it came to a standstill over the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at seeing the star and, upon entering the house, found the child with Mary, his mother. They opened their coffers and presented the child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Let’s go back to our Gospel reading today…
This is the season of joy—joy to the world—blessed joy—baby in a manger joy—shepherds watching sheep joy—joy, joy, joy! But, it’s just possible, if we are really honest, that some of us, some of the time, want very much to walk beside good old Ebeneezer Scrooge and utter bah humbug! Sometimes the need to retreat is a healthy desire to flee the glee, quiet our minds, and turn our thoughts to simpler things. But, sometimes it is more. For some of us, some of the time, the joy is simply too much to bear in a world so full of sorrow and struggle. The shepherds, frightened out of their minds, must have felt some initial resistance to joy-- Good news in the midst of great tribulation…the very embodiment of what I often call “sacred contradictions”. Our lives are full of them and they are intertwined with our relationships, our loves, our passions, our very selves.
For a very long time, while I searched for some sort of cosmic and psychic peace, I simply mis-understood the concept of wholeness and I believe that I am not alone. Taking my cue from my simplistic reading of the many books on holistic spirituality that I devoured in my early attempts to come to terms with my ragged theological journey and work out my relationship with God, I believed that wholeness (or enlightenment, or inner peace) meant that everything simply came together as a whole and “made sense”. The more I searched for that holistic, cosmic harmonic “oneness”, the less I felt the wholeness I desired. And the farther away the very God I sought seemed to be.
Eventually, I ceased my seeking for the narrow kind of wholeness that I had previously viewed as imperative and opened myself up to the calling of God’s “sacred contradictions”. Leaving behind my either/or thinking enabled me to walk maturely into the blessed joy found in both/and awareness. And I believe that scriptures are full of the call of these apparent contradictions.
What then, of these sacred contradictions as we walk through the Advent Season—with Christmas so closely upon us, that we can feel the anticipation of waking up on Christmas morning and gathering with friends and family for a feast of joy! For those of you who bring no sadness, no turmoil, no “mixed feelings”, as we introspective folks like to say, into this season, I say “bless you and bless God for your good fortune”. For the rest of us, I invite you to consider the call to hold these “sacred contradictions” in your heart this Advent and Christmas and allow the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to fully experience all the feelings, thoughts, memories, sorrow, and joy that this season brings. For in doing so, I believe, that our hearts will be more able and willing to bring our whole selves to worship the Christ and receive the blessed joy that God has in store for us.
Embracing sorrow, struggle, and turmoil at this time of seemingly rampant happiness and gaiety seems almost sacrilegious. Kahil Gibran says this about sorrow and joy: “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?” This makes sense to me even in my simplest way of thinking: As I unite my sorrow and my joy in the embracing of both, the sorrow becomes meaningful, the joy becomes more abundant. And the apparent tension between the two disappears in the evolving “sacred contradiction” which leads to joy.
Look at the Christmas story itself—it’s full of these sacred contradictions—calling us to hold two “impossibles” in our minds at once. A virgin gives birth to the Savior of the world; Joseph is expected to love and care for a child who is not his own; shepherds, awakened by heavenly visitors are afraid for their lives and yet, eager to meet and pay homage to this child. Jesus is born in a manger—yet, destined to bring the reign of God’s justice to the earth.
And so I say to you today, embrace your complete experience of this season and the birth of the Savior—the sorrows and the joys, the pain and the gladness, the turmoil and the peace. I want to share a story with you. Last year was my first Christmas Season after a great loss in my life. And all of my sacred contradictions came to life in the three months between October and Christmas and God used every one of these in my own spiritual formation and growth. For me, my moment of truth last year, centered on decorating the Christmas tree. Now Terri and I have separate tasks in holiday decorating—she brings in all the boxes and then admires what I do with the decorations. It works for us and we began our decorating just as we did last year. Terri set up the tree and I decided to let the branches “air out”. A week later, even the dogs weren’t buying my story of why the branches needed air, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to put the ornaments on the tree. But as I opened myself up to hear the healing that God was holding out for me, I knew that it was time to “do the tree”. And so, I did. In spite of my telling myself that it would be painful to hang the shiny ornaments on the tree, as if each one reflected my then still raw grief back to me, it was a joy to behold when I finished it. Some ‘sacred contradictions’ are easier to hold than others, and yours this year may be mildly difficult or may feel like torture or somewhere in between. Whatever the case, I believe that God will grace with joy and peace your willingness to move from a dichotomous way of thinking that insists that you can only embrace one “truth” at a time to a “let me hold them all in my hands at once” way of being.
Let us return to the angels, to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds and animals—let us open our hearts to the joy of a baby—not just any baby, but a baby that would bring in the reign of God’s justice and peace. Let us say with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest!” May we all have peace this Christmas season and may joy take us by surprise again and again. Amen and Amen
Reflection Question:
Questions for reflection and study--
1. The distance form Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 70 miles. What would it be like to be Joseph taking that weeklong walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem? For Mary?
2. What, for you, is the significance of the place and circumstances around Jesus’ birth?
3. In reality, shepherds were an outcast group. How do you see “sacred contradictions” working out in the angels’ message to them?
4. The Magi made a long journey to see Jesus. Reflect on your own journey. What have you experienced along the way?
5. Both the shepherds and Magi are fleeting subjects in the story of Jesus’ birth. What impact do you imagine this experience may have had on them?
6. What gifts would you bring or will you bring to Jesus this year?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
ADVENT 2: Hope Revealed: Mary Says "Yes"
Scripture: Luke 1: 26-53 (portions) (TNIV)
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for God has been mindful of the humble state of this servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is God’s name.
Whose mercy extends to those who fear, from generation to generation.
God has performed mighty deeds and scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
God has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble; filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.”
SERMON: HOPE REVEALED: MARY SAYS "YES"
Every time I turn to the song of Mary, I feel a certain honor at being allowed to share in her words of praise and acceptance—what a precious, private moment—almost painful with anticipation. And I experience, every time, a profound awe as I come to preach on these things. Come with me into the life of this simple Hebrew woman—so willing and ready—so wise and so young. Mary has so much to teach us as we prepare our hearts for the birth of the Savior. She is the first to know what God is up to and the first to say “yes” to God’s plan for the world. Here, in her simple song, Mary shows us the primary truth about God’s wonderful gift and the right and grace-filled response that we must make. Here, in this simple prayer, Mary calls us, as only the Mother of our Savior could call us to find ourselves in right relation with the giver of this great gift.
If Mary, when the angel told her of God’s plan, had responded the way we might respond in our busy-busy and somewhat self-centered world today, it might well sound like this. “Really Gabriel, I don’t have time to do this right now. I’m just 16 and I have my life ahead of me. You should find someone who is better suited, someone who wants to be the Mother of God, for goodness’ sake, someone who knows what they are doing. I just don’t think this is going to work out; it doesn’t fit with what I want for my life.” Or, on a more serious note, Mary could have asked God to release her from a fate that would surely render her an outcast, she could have focused on the trauma that was happening to her by saying, “God, please don’t do this to me—no one will stand beside me. This is too hard. It isn’t fair, it hurts too much. Please take this pain away from me.” But Mary did neither of these things. Mary said, “I am God’s servant, may it happen as you have described.” Mary said “yes!”
What does Mary’s song—or the Magnificat as it is called—say to us, today? We sit here, present to our own doubts and fears and we hear the song of the sweet 16-year-old. But Mary did not sing this song to the angel. After the angel left, the scripture tells us that Mary went to visit Elizabeth, her cousin, who was carrying her own child who would become John the Baptizer. Even in the womb, this baby appears to recognize Jesus, in whose name he would later baptize many. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and confirms everything the angel told Mary. Sweet community of two women—both called to bear children who would change the world. Mary, not to be distracted, immediately shifts the attention to what God has done in her life. God has remembered her, known her for who she is, remembered that she is a child of God. Mary knows that she has been chosen by God and says, “from now on all generations will call me blessed”. But lest we think that Mary thinks otherwise, she immediately clarifies she is blessed BECAUSE the Mighty one, Yahweh, has done great things for her and she proclaims “holy is God’s name.” Mary does not let us focus on her place or deeds—she constantly points us towards God. In the remainder of her song, she continues this recitation of God’s actions. In part, she states that Yahweh “has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Yahweh has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. Yahweh has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” All of these statements point us toward the need to be in right relation with this God who is doing a new thing, giving a new gift.
Mary places herself in the context of right relationship and accepts the blessing that God bestows on her because of that right relationship. What can we learn from the simple song of Mary about “right relationship” as we use what she is telling us to open our hearts just a little further this week. “God has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.” Could this not mean that the proud are so filled with boastful and selfish thoughts that they cannot think about the truly important things, the deep, substantial thoughts, those that cause us as God’s children to be in right relationship with each other and with God. No, the proud are scattered in their thoughts—disjointed, separated from God and from each other—too busy thinking about themselves to think about anything else.
“God has brought down the rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble”. Mary knows that God is in control and that God’s people will be saved and lifted up when they are humble. Mary continues along the same thought: “God has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty”. When we come before God, hungry for right relationship, knowing that we are dependent on that relationship, God will fill us with good things. The child Mary conceived, Jesus, our Savior, undeniably showed us the extent to which God would go to redeem and liberate us, but His mother, Mary, this young girl from Nazareth, must first show us the meaning of right relationship with God so that we are in a place where we can receive redemption.
Mary had every reason to reject God’s special call. She was young, engaged and had certain social, religious and communal expectations placed on her. As has been pointed out in many sermons, speeches, and writings, the situation Gabriel proposed for Mary would have been, at best, tenuous, and at worst, devastating. Rather than allowing herself to fall into a chasm of despair and doubt, Mary said “let it be according to your word”. Mary made what appears to be an almost instantaneous decision to accept God’s will for her life. In my time in the ministry, I have read many writings and completed several studies on “discerning God’s will for my life”. When I meditate on Mary’s immediate and unconditional “yes” to God’s call, I wonder when it all became so complicated.
Is it that we THINK too much? Need too many answers? Want it all spelled out in four or five easy steps? Madeleine L’Engle, in her brief and beautiful poem After Annunciation gives us this interpretation of Mary’s response:
This is the irrational season
When love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
There’d have been no room for the child.
Even so, we grasp tightly what we falsely believe to be ours. What if Mary had held on to the security of her tiny world in Nazareth? What then? Oh, for the grace to be so lost in worship and praise that we can say, as Mary did, “Yes, let it be according to your word”.
We spoke last week of preparing our hearts anew this year. And, if we are to fully receive and celebrate God’s greatest gift in the birth of Jesus Christ again in our lives and our world, we must ponder Mary’s words and learn from her great wisdom.
I want to leave you with another short poem from Madeleine L’Engle. She writes:
This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.
This was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome:
Honour & truth were trampled by scorn—
Yet here did the Saviour make his home.
When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn—
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.
Will you take the risk that Love takes? The risk to be in right relationship with God, to say “yes” to whatever is asked? To discover at the deepest level that this relationship calls us to know at our core that “it is not about us”—that it is about the promise and gift of God—that our relationship with God is itself a gift—that we are blessed to be visited by God regardless of the nature of God’s request of us. Will you find the time this Christmas to proclaim, “My soul glorifies God and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”?
O come, Lord Jesus, come…we wait in silence and humility for you to be born in our hearts anew. Amen and amen.
Questions for Sermon Circles:
1. Mary’s life is completely changed in one quick moment. Describe a time in your experience, or in the experience of someone you know, when life’s direction was changed by one event of decision.
2. What was the experience like for Mary—what are some of the words in the passage that help you get an idea of what Mary may have been feeling?
3. At the end of the visit from the angel, what does Mary know about the child she is to bear?
4. Mary and Elizabeth form a small but significant community of women who understand what God is doing. What role does community play in our own understanding of God’s will for us?
5. What does Mary’s song (the last paragraph) tell us about the nature of God?
6. What does Mary’s song tell us about the nature of the Gospel?
7. How do you think you would have responded to the visit from the angel? At 14? At midway through your life? Now?
8. What can we learn about responding to God’s call from the way Mary responded?
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for God has been mindful of the humble state of this servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is God’s name.
Whose mercy extends to those who fear, from generation to generation.
God has performed mighty deeds and scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
God has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble; filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.”
SERMON: HOPE REVEALED: MARY SAYS "YES"
Every time I turn to the song of Mary, I feel a certain honor at being allowed to share in her words of praise and acceptance—what a precious, private moment—almost painful with anticipation. And I experience, every time, a profound awe as I come to preach on these things. Come with me into the life of this simple Hebrew woman—so willing and ready—so wise and so young. Mary has so much to teach us as we prepare our hearts for the birth of the Savior. She is the first to know what God is up to and the first to say “yes” to God’s plan for the world. Here, in her simple song, Mary shows us the primary truth about God’s wonderful gift and the right and grace-filled response that we must make. Here, in this simple prayer, Mary calls us, as only the Mother of our Savior could call us to find ourselves in right relation with the giver of this great gift.
If Mary, when the angel told her of God’s plan, had responded the way we might respond in our busy-busy and somewhat self-centered world today, it might well sound like this. “Really Gabriel, I don’t have time to do this right now. I’m just 16 and I have my life ahead of me. You should find someone who is better suited, someone who wants to be the Mother of God, for goodness’ sake, someone who knows what they are doing. I just don’t think this is going to work out; it doesn’t fit with what I want for my life.” Or, on a more serious note, Mary could have asked God to release her from a fate that would surely render her an outcast, she could have focused on the trauma that was happening to her by saying, “God, please don’t do this to me—no one will stand beside me. This is too hard. It isn’t fair, it hurts too much. Please take this pain away from me.” But Mary did neither of these things. Mary said, “I am God’s servant, may it happen as you have described.” Mary said “yes!”
What does Mary’s song—or the Magnificat as it is called—say to us, today? We sit here, present to our own doubts and fears and we hear the song of the sweet 16-year-old. But Mary did not sing this song to the angel. After the angel left, the scripture tells us that Mary went to visit Elizabeth, her cousin, who was carrying her own child who would become John the Baptizer. Even in the womb, this baby appears to recognize Jesus, in whose name he would later baptize many. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and confirms everything the angel told Mary. Sweet community of two women—both called to bear children who would change the world. Mary, not to be distracted, immediately shifts the attention to what God has done in her life. God has remembered her, known her for who she is, remembered that she is a child of God. Mary knows that she has been chosen by God and says, “from now on all generations will call me blessed”. But lest we think that Mary thinks otherwise, she immediately clarifies she is blessed BECAUSE the Mighty one, Yahweh, has done great things for her and she proclaims “holy is God’s name.” Mary does not let us focus on her place or deeds—she constantly points us towards God. In the remainder of her song, she continues this recitation of God’s actions. In part, she states that Yahweh “has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Yahweh has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. Yahweh has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” All of these statements point us toward the need to be in right relation with this God who is doing a new thing, giving a new gift.
Mary places herself in the context of right relationship and accepts the blessing that God bestows on her because of that right relationship. What can we learn from the simple song of Mary about “right relationship” as we use what she is telling us to open our hearts just a little further this week. “God has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.” Could this not mean that the proud are so filled with boastful and selfish thoughts that they cannot think about the truly important things, the deep, substantial thoughts, those that cause us as God’s children to be in right relationship with each other and with God. No, the proud are scattered in their thoughts—disjointed, separated from God and from each other—too busy thinking about themselves to think about anything else.
“God has brought down the rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble”. Mary knows that God is in control and that God’s people will be saved and lifted up when they are humble. Mary continues along the same thought: “God has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty”. When we come before God, hungry for right relationship, knowing that we are dependent on that relationship, God will fill us with good things. The child Mary conceived, Jesus, our Savior, undeniably showed us the extent to which God would go to redeem and liberate us, but His mother, Mary, this young girl from Nazareth, must first show us the meaning of right relationship with God so that we are in a place where we can receive redemption.
Mary had every reason to reject God’s special call. She was young, engaged and had certain social, religious and communal expectations placed on her. As has been pointed out in many sermons, speeches, and writings, the situation Gabriel proposed for Mary would have been, at best, tenuous, and at worst, devastating. Rather than allowing herself to fall into a chasm of despair and doubt, Mary said “let it be according to your word”. Mary made what appears to be an almost instantaneous decision to accept God’s will for her life. In my time in the ministry, I have read many writings and completed several studies on “discerning God’s will for my life”. When I meditate on Mary’s immediate and unconditional “yes” to God’s call, I wonder when it all became so complicated.
Is it that we THINK too much? Need too many answers? Want it all spelled out in four or five easy steps? Madeleine L’Engle, in her brief and beautiful poem After Annunciation gives us this interpretation of Mary’s response:
This is the irrational season
When love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
There’d have been no room for the child.
Even so, we grasp tightly what we falsely believe to be ours. What if Mary had held on to the security of her tiny world in Nazareth? What then? Oh, for the grace to be so lost in worship and praise that we can say, as Mary did, “Yes, let it be according to your word”.
We spoke last week of preparing our hearts anew this year. And, if we are to fully receive and celebrate God’s greatest gift in the birth of Jesus Christ again in our lives and our world, we must ponder Mary’s words and learn from her great wisdom.
I want to leave you with another short poem from Madeleine L’Engle. She writes:
This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.
This was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome:
Honour & truth were trampled by scorn—
Yet here did the Saviour make his home.
When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn—
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.
Will you take the risk that Love takes? The risk to be in right relationship with God, to say “yes” to whatever is asked? To discover at the deepest level that this relationship calls us to know at our core that “it is not about us”—that it is about the promise and gift of God—that our relationship with God is itself a gift—that we are blessed to be visited by God regardless of the nature of God’s request of us. Will you find the time this Christmas to proclaim, “My soul glorifies God and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”?
O come, Lord Jesus, come…we wait in silence and humility for you to be born in our hearts anew. Amen and amen.
Questions for Sermon Circles:
1. Mary’s life is completely changed in one quick moment. Describe a time in your experience, or in the experience of someone you know, when life’s direction was changed by one event of decision.
2. What was the experience like for Mary—what are some of the words in the passage that help you get an idea of what Mary may have been feeling?
3. At the end of the visit from the angel, what does Mary know about the child she is to bear?
4. Mary and Elizabeth form a small but significant community of women who understand what God is doing. What role does community play in our own understanding of God’s will for us?
5. What does Mary’s song (the last paragraph) tell us about the nature of God?
6. What does Mary’s song tell us about the nature of the Gospel?
7. How do you think you would have responded to the visit from the angel? At 14? At midway through your life? Now?
8. What can we learn about responding to God’s call from the way Mary responded?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Advent 1: Hope Prophesied: A Fresh Start 11-28-2010
Our readings today come from the Prophet Isaiah.
In the 9th chapter, the 2nd verse, Isaiah proclaims this: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. And in the 6th verse, Isaiah tells us of this light:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And, finally, in the 40th chapter, verses 4 and 5, Isaiah sings God’s promise: Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
I should just tell you up front that I love Christmas—it’s my favorite time of the year, my favorite music and my favorite time to be in church. Memories are good (even when they weren’t) and something happens to my heart—it feels lighter, simpler, more at peace. And so, I love Christmas—I love decorating, though not as much as Terri loves her santa and snowman on motorcycles inflatables which will soon shock our quiet village of Springdale. I even get into cooking and baking—truly amazing since that is not usually high on my list. And I love sitting in the quiet each night simply looking at the Christmas tree. That is when I quiet my heart and drink in all that 58 years of Christmases has taught me. But alas, it is not Christmas, not quite yet. It is Advent—that time when we prepare our hearts for that delicious peace that falls over much, thought definitely not all, of the world somewhere in the midst of Silent Night!
Many of us did not grow up with Advent Wreaths, or waiting until Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols. Advent feels like a strange, foreign land that somehow separates us from the joyful time that lies ahead. I didn’t think much myself about Advent , being Southern Baptist and all, until I my journey took me to my Episcopalian decade. And there I discovered the mystical, almost magical aspects of Advent that enriched my Christmastime spiritual journey.
Advent will be different here in Open Circle. For those of you who have been here before, you know that my dream is to continue to develop a community and a worship environment where all can be in relationship to God and find “home” with each other. Advent continues that dream as we build our own traditions, some similar to others you have known, and some a wonderful combination of the many kinds of celebrations and memories we bring to this place. And so, I invite you, most of all, to relax and allow yourself to find newness in old traditions and comfort in new.
Our services for Advent and the Christmas season will focus on Hope—the hope that is in the Light of Jesus’ birth. And so, today, we look at the hope that was prophesied by God’s prophet Isaiah. It’s one of the most famous prophesies—referred to in the New Testament and put to music by composers in every century. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting God, Prince of Peace. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” This, then is the light for which we wait.
At least one question remains: why did God think that we, those people walking in darkness, needed time to prepare for the birth of a child? I believe that a creative understanding of the Advent Wreath or Candles gives us a good understanding of the purpose of the Wait. If you google Advent wreath, you will get multiple interpretations…I like them all and refuse to suggest that one is better than the next. What we know, is that is we light an additional candle each week, the light will grow—with the passing of time, one light leads to two which leads to three and then four. The exact meaning assigned to each candle must not let us miss the more significant point: It is the LIGHT that increases. I, for one, take great comfort in the knowledge that I will begin to prepare my heart this week, and next week will become more prepared, until finally, God has me where I need to be—fully open and waiting for the joy that comes in the incarnation of the source of Light, God with us, Emmanuel.
When I first started observing Advent along with other aspects of the Christian liturgical year, a few things bothered my somewhat simple mind. If we were now waiting for Jesus, where did He go in between Thanksgiving and Christmas? You laugh, but to my then fairly linear thinking about my Christian journey, it just didn’t make much sense. And much like the light gradually dawning on God’s people, it eventually made sense to me and I began to see Advent as a time to prepare my heart to grow deeper, to let God further in; and to celebrate the growth of the knowledge of God, my deeper experience of God’s grace, and the ever-increasing inkling that I had only begun to learn of the depth and breadth of God’s plan for me. And, so to take a time each year to deliberately plan for the in-breaking of God into my life and my world suddenly made sense. It was about that same time, you will not be surprised to hear, that Christmas itself took on this wonderful meaning and joy for me as well.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is not specifically Christian at all. It is, however, profoundly, spiritual. How the Grinch Stole Christmas gives us a monsterly Grinch who sneaks into the town of Whoville and decides to steal Christmas—and so into each house he slinks and takes everything that has anything to do with Christmas, toys, food, gifts, everything. And yet, on Christmas morning, what does he hear—singing…he hears singing…and he doesn’t like it one bit. And finally, Dr. Suess lets the light dawn; "And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more!"
You see, the spirit of the Whos took the Grinch by surprise. And it is that same spirit of hope which takes us by surprise each year as we turn our thoughts to the meaning of Christmas that goes beyond what we piously call the “real meaning” of Christmas. It takes us by surprise because it defies our rational understanding—we don’t get it, unless we want to. And here, my friends, is Advent—Advent for me and, perhaps, Advent for you. Here is Advent where we question our hearts, where we find the “want to”.
And so, it is true that the so-called meaning of Advent is to focus on the coming of our Lord—to purposefully express our anticipation that a new light will dawn in our hearts, our minds, our priorities and our world. There is an old Catholic family Advent prayer that, with a couple of modifications, says it well for us today: “God in heaven,... increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of His coming may find us rejoicing in His presence and welcoming the light of His truth.”
You see, I have come to believe that if we do not make a decision to do “Advent”, whatever that looks like, to deliberately and purposefully put aside time to prepare for the coming of Christ again this year into our world, we may miss the dawn of His coming and we may be too busy celebrating Christmas to welcome the light of His truth…that God’s surprise of sending the Light of the World in the form of a baby will pass us by.
And so together we pray a version of an Advent Prayer from the late Fr. Henri Nouwen — so appropriate for the beginning of Advent and this season which can be so frantic. May the Lord indeed help us quiet our hearts and listen for God’s voice each day. May we diligently seek to know God’s presence, rather than allowing our anxious thoughts to distract us and may He tune our ears to hear His counsel. Lord Jesus, Ruler of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen and Amen.
In the 9th chapter, the 2nd verse, Isaiah proclaims this: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. And in the 6th verse, Isaiah tells us of this light:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And, finally, in the 40th chapter, verses 4 and 5, Isaiah sings God’s promise: Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
I should just tell you up front that I love Christmas—it’s my favorite time of the year, my favorite music and my favorite time to be in church. Memories are good (even when they weren’t) and something happens to my heart—it feels lighter, simpler, more at peace. And so, I love Christmas—I love decorating, though not as much as Terri loves her santa and snowman on motorcycles inflatables which will soon shock our quiet village of Springdale. I even get into cooking and baking—truly amazing since that is not usually high on my list. And I love sitting in the quiet each night simply looking at the Christmas tree. That is when I quiet my heart and drink in all that 58 years of Christmases has taught me. But alas, it is not Christmas, not quite yet. It is Advent—that time when we prepare our hearts for that delicious peace that falls over much, thought definitely not all, of the world somewhere in the midst of Silent Night!
Many of us did not grow up with Advent Wreaths, or waiting until Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols. Advent feels like a strange, foreign land that somehow separates us from the joyful time that lies ahead. I didn’t think much myself about Advent , being Southern Baptist and all, until I my journey took me to my Episcopalian decade. And there I discovered the mystical, almost magical aspects of Advent that enriched my Christmastime spiritual journey.
Advent will be different here in Open Circle. For those of you who have been here before, you know that my dream is to continue to develop a community and a worship environment where all can be in relationship to God and find “home” with each other. Advent continues that dream as we build our own traditions, some similar to others you have known, and some a wonderful combination of the many kinds of celebrations and memories we bring to this place. And so, I invite you, most of all, to relax and allow yourself to find newness in old traditions and comfort in new.
Our services for Advent and the Christmas season will focus on Hope—the hope that is in the Light of Jesus’ birth. And so, today, we look at the hope that was prophesied by God’s prophet Isaiah. It’s one of the most famous prophesies—referred to in the New Testament and put to music by composers in every century. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting God, Prince of Peace. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” This, then is the light for which we wait.
At least one question remains: why did God think that we, those people walking in darkness, needed time to prepare for the birth of a child? I believe that a creative understanding of the Advent Wreath or Candles gives us a good understanding of the purpose of the Wait. If you google Advent wreath, you will get multiple interpretations…I like them all and refuse to suggest that one is better than the next. What we know, is that is we light an additional candle each week, the light will grow—with the passing of time, one light leads to two which leads to three and then four. The exact meaning assigned to each candle must not let us miss the more significant point: It is the LIGHT that increases. I, for one, take great comfort in the knowledge that I will begin to prepare my heart this week, and next week will become more prepared, until finally, God has me where I need to be—fully open and waiting for the joy that comes in the incarnation of the source of Light, God with us, Emmanuel.
When I first started observing Advent along with other aspects of the Christian liturgical year, a few things bothered my somewhat simple mind. If we were now waiting for Jesus, where did He go in between Thanksgiving and Christmas? You laugh, but to my then fairly linear thinking about my Christian journey, it just didn’t make much sense. And much like the light gradually dawning on God’s people, it eventually made sense to me and I began to see Advent as a time to prepare my heart to grow deeper, to let God further in; and to celebrate the growth of the knowledge of God, my deeper experience of God’s grace, and the ever-increasing inkling that I had only begun to learn of the depth and breadth of God’s plan for me. And, so to take a time each year to deliberately plan for the in-breaking of God into my life and my world suddenly made sense. It was about that same time, you will not be surprised to hear, that Christmas itself took on this wonderful meaning and joy for me as well.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is not specifically Christian at all. It is, however, profoundly, spiritual. How the Grinch Stole Christmas gives us a monsterly Grinch who sneaks into the town of Whoville and decides to steal Christmas—and so into each house he slinks and takes everything that has anything to do with Christmas, toys, food, gifts, everything. And yet, on Christmas morning, what does he hear—singing…he hears singing…and he doesn’t like it one bit. And finally, Dr. Suess lets the light dawn; "And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more!"
You see, the spirit of the Whos took the Grinch by surprise. And it is that same spirit of hope which takes us by surprise each year as we turn our thoughts to the meaning of Christmas that goes beyond what we piously call the “real meaning” of Christmas. It takes us by surprise because it defies our rational understanding—we don’t get it, unless we want to. And here, my friends, is Advent—Advent for me and, perhaps, Advent for you. Here is Advent where we question our hearts, where we find the “want to”.
And so, it is true that the so-called meaning of Advent is to focus on the coming of our Lord—to purposefully express our anticipation that a new light will dawn in our hearts, our minds, our priorities and our world. There is an old Catholic family Advent prayer that, with a couple of modifications, says it well for us today: “God in heaven,... increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of His coming may find us rejoicing in His presence and welcoming the light of His truth.”
You see, I have come to believe that if we do not make a decision to do “Advent”, whatever that looks like, to deliberately and purposefully put aside time to prepare for the coming of Christ again this year into our world, we may miss the dawn of His coming and we may be too busy celebrating Christmas to welcome the light of His truth…that God’s surprise of sending the Light of the World in the form of a baby will pass us by.
And so together we pray a version of an Advent Prayer from the late Fr. Henri Nouwen — so appropriate for the beginning of Advent and this season which can be so frantic. May the Lord indeed help us quiet our hearts and listen for God’s voice each day. May we diligently seek to know God’s presence, rather than allowing our anxious thoughts to distract us and may He tune our ears to hear His counsel. Lord Jesus, Ruler of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen and Amen.
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Altitude of Gratitude--Thanks (for Everything)! 11-21-2010
Scripture: Matthew 5: 13-16
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by everyone.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
"Let your light shine on this earth in such a way that all may see your good works, and glorify God, your Creator, who is in heaven.
Happy Thanksgiving--although the stores look more like Christmas and the snowflake street decorations are rapidly being hung everywhere you look. Did you ever wonder why we hang snowflakes in Leesburg? Wouldn’t that be like hanging palm trees in Boston? Anyway, I, for one, am going to hang on to Thanksgiving and refuse to let it get lost in the rush to make it to Christmas. I haven’t always appreciated Thanksgiving like I do now. For years I lived too far from family to make it home for Thanksgiving and so I celebrated Thanksgiving with whichever friend forced me to share their abundance, really preferring to spend a quiet day at home either alone or with my partner, when that was the case. This year, I’m happy to say, feels different. I find myself so profoundly grateful for everything that God is doing in my life and in the life of this church, that I look forward to the celebration and treasure the time we have together to express our thanks on this day.
You may have wondered about the scripture lesson chosen for today—not particularly about gratitude, but perhaps it is. This passage follows the beatitudes in Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Those same beatitudes were our centering meditation today. Many commentators believe that in our passage for today about salt and light Jesus describes our best response to the blessings of life just described in the Beatitudes. And so, what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving, indeed! Jesus tells us of the responsibility that goes along with receiving those blessings. We are all called to this responsibility, all of us who share in the blessings. The salt of the earth and the light of the world—this is who we are called to be.
And here is where we find the altitude of gratitude. We are not called to be merely a part of this world—we are called to a higher calling—we are called to change the world itself by our presence. And you thought, I would never get to the altitude of gratitude—here it is in this higher calling! A calling that places us in a special responsibility to make a difference in our world!
What is salt? When added to food, it both preserves it and gives it taste. Food without salt is considered so bland that millions have been spent by the condiment industry to develop salt substitutes for those who should not eat salt—but those substitutes are just that—never quite the same—mostly pointing out why we need salt in the first place. For centuries, salt was used as a preservative in all kinds of meats and other foods, and indeed still is. We talk about people we admire greatly as the “salt of the earth” and Jesus calls us all to be just that. In gratitude for blessings already received, we return the blessing, we pay it forward, by caring about our earth—we work towards reconciliation where there is discord, we give hope where there is none and we point to the meaning of life at a time when many despair. In other words, we give to life the taste of the blessings that Jesus says are ours when we are part of the reign of God on this earth.
Now I will admit to you that I have a pet peeve, and that pet peeve has to do with well-meaning Christians who focus all their energy on thinking about what it will be like in heaven—I respectfully and lovingly say to them, “You’re missing the point!” Jesus calls us clearly to make a difference in this world. That’s what I like about some of the old hymns—hymns like “I’ll Fly Away!” that we just sang with gusto. “Some glad morning when this life is o’er—I’ll fly away”. When this life is over—not now—not when I am still busy doing God’s work but when my work on this earth is done. So the altitude of gratitude is found in this higher calling—this bringing taste to this world—this transformation of life on this earth from bland sameness to the exciting in-breaking of God’s reign on this earth—this day, this time!
In this same passage, Jesus also calls us to be the light of the world. Some translations render this calling to be the “light for ALL the world”. The metaphor of light is used in both the old and new testaments. We, in the era of bright manufactured lighting have a hard time truly understanding the importance of light—why, if it’s dark, we just flip a switch and, poof, it’s light. But in the ancient world, when the sun went down and the moon was new, it was dark, really dark and so light and the lamp stands on which that light is placed take on a special importance. It is to that level of importance that Jesus challenges us to light the world—not merely shedding additional light—but to shine light into the deepest of darkness, to illuminate those corners where light never shines—to root out injustice from the recesses of our world. Jesus says, with logic that pierces all our excuses for inactivity: No one lights a light and puts it under a basket—no, they light a lamp to give light to the whole house.
Next week we begin Advent—the four weeks before the coming of the Christ child. For those four weeks, we will look together at what it means to “come to the Light”. The prophet Isaiah calls the people of God like this: “Arise, shine, for your light has come!” In the beatitudes we see a God who comforts those who mourn, cares for the weak, and satisfies the needs of the poor and hungry. To be grateful, is to be a light into this same world, where God satisfies our needs. To be grateful, is to work to right the injustice that brings darkness into this world—to be grateful is to be the reign of God on this earth!
How does this get us to Thanksgiving? Walter Brueggemann, once a seminary professor and now a contributor to the writings of the social justice organization, Sojourners, says this about Thanksgiving: “It is characteristic in American Thanksgiving that we look back and remember the pilgrims and God's providential care for them. Lodged next to Advent, Thanksgiving is not only for remembering; it waits and it expects. Faithful gratitude believes that the God who has given good gifts has more good gifts to give. While God’s gifts are welcome, in fact they do disrupt” Bruuggemann challenges us to see that God’s gift of justice and truth interrupt our complacency in the face of worldwide injustice. God’s generosity calls us to face our own self-centeredness and God’s merciful love flies in the face or our own indifference to the rest of the world. One final quote sums it up for those of us who care. Brueggeman says, “God’s gifts amount to an inconvenient reality among us”… He goes on to suggest that God’s gifts remind us that what we think of as “normal”—that is that certain people have, and certain people have not, is not normal at all and that being light in this world demands that we expose just how far from normal those kinds of injustices are within the reign of God’s justice.
Perhaps one of the best thoughts on giving thanks comes from the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold: He said: For all that has been -- thanks!
For all that will be -- yes! Gratitude is the gift of the eternal “yes”—yes to what we have been given and yes to what we have to give. Gratitude, born of the knowledge that we are all interdependent, teaches us that what we do here in this place has the ability to touch those struggling to eat in towns and cities close at hand and far away. Gratitude lends its recognition of the importance of all those who have come before. As proof that the truly great are almost always the most humble, Albert Schweitzer had much to say about gratitude. And he understood that we are to bring light to this world. He also understood that we cannot do it alone. Here is what he said: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
Say “yes” to gratitude this Thanksgiving! Say “yes” and be the light of the world! Say “yes” and reach out to kindle or re-kindle the light of every person with whom you come in contact. At Thanksgiving and throughout Advent, be the salt that brings God’s love into the world; say “yes” and “yes” and “yes”! Amen and amen and yes!
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by everyone.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
"Let your light shine on this earth in such a way that all may see your good works, and glorify God, your Creator, who is in heaven.
Happy Thanksgiving--although the stores look more like Christmas and the snowflake street decorations are rapidly being hung everywhere you look. Did you ever wonder why we hang snowflakes in Leesburg? Wouldn’t that be like hanging palm trees in Boston? Anyway, I, for one, am going to hang on to Thanksgiving and refuse to let it get lost in the rush to make it to Christmas. I haven’t always appreciated Thanksgiving like I do now. For years I lived too far from family to make it home for Thanksgiving and so I celebrated Thanksgiving with whichever friend forced me to share their abundance, really preferring to spend a quiet day at home either alone or with my partner, when that was the case. This year, I’m happy to say, feels different. I find myself so profoundly grateful for everything that God is doing in my life and in the life of this church, that I look forward to the celebration and treasure the time we have together to express our thanks on this day.
You may have wondered about the scripture lesson chosen for today—not particularly about gratitude, but perhaps it is. This passage follows the beatitudes in Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Those same beatitudes were our centering meditation today. Many commentators believe that in our passage for today about salt and light Jesus describes our best response to the blessings of life just described in the Beatitudes. And so, what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving, indeed! Jesus tells us of the responsibility that goes along with receiving those blessings. We are all called to this responsibility, all of us who share in the blessings. The salt of the earth and the light of the world—this is who we are called to be.
And here is where we find the altitude of gratitude. We are not called to be merely a part of this world—we are called to a higher calling—we are called to change the world itself by our presence. And you thought, I would never get to the altitude of gratitude—here it is in this higher calling! A calling that places us in a special responsibility to make a difference in our world!
What is salt? When added to food, it both preserves it and gives it taste. Food without salt is considered so bland that millions have been spent by the condiment industry to develop salt substitutes for those who should not eat salt—but those substitutes are just that—never quite the same—mostly pointing out why we need salt in the first place. For centuries, salt was used as a preservative in all kinds of meats and other foods, and indeed still is. We talk about people we admire greatly as the “salt of the earth” and Jesus calls us all to be just that. In gratitude for blessings already received, we return the blessing, we pay it forward, by caring about our earth—we work towards reconciliation where there is discord, we give hope where there is none and we point to the meaning of life at a time when many despair. In other words, we give to life the taste of the blessings that Jesus says are ours when we are part of the reign of God on this earth.
Now I will admit to you that I have a pet peeve, and that pet peeve has to do with well-meaning Christians who focus all their energy on thinking about what it will be like in heaven—I respectfully and lovingly say to them, “You’re missing the point!” Jesus calls us clearly to make a difference in this world. That’s what I like about some of the old hymns—hymns like “I’ll Fly Away!” that we just sang with gusto. “Some glad morning when this life is o’er—I’ll fly away”. When this life is over—not now—not when I am still busy doing God’s work but when my work on this earth is done. So the altitude of gratitude is found in this higher calling—this bringing taste to this world—this transformation of life on this earth from bland sameness to the exciting in-breaking of God’s reign on this earth—this day, this time!
In this same passage, Jesus also calls us to be the light of the world. Some translations render this calling to be the “light for ALL the world”. The metaphor of light is used in both the old and new testaments. We, in the era of bright manufactured lighting have a hard time truly understanding the importance of light—why, if it’s dark, we just flip a switch and, poof, it’s light. But in the ancient world, when the sun went down and the moon was new, it was dark, really dark and so light and the lamp stands on which that light is placed take on a special importance. It is to that level of importance that Jesus challenges us to light the world—not merely shedding additional light—but to shine light into the deepest of darkness, to illuminate those corners where light never shines—to root out injustice from the recesses of our world. Jesus says, with logic that pierces all our excuses for inactivity: No one lights a light and puts it under a basket—no, they light a lamp to give light to the whole house.
Next week we begin Advent—the four weeks before the coming of the Christ child. For those four weeks, we will look together at what it means to “come to the Light”. The prophet Isaiah calls the people of God like this: “Arise, shine, for your light has come!” In the beatitudes we see a God who comforts those who mourn, cares for the weak, and satisfies the needs of the poor and hungry. To be grateful, is to be a light into this same world, where God satisfies our needs. To be grateful, is to work to right the injustice that brings darkness into this world—to be grateful is to be the reign of God on this earth!
How does this get us to Thanksgiving? Walter Brueggemann, once a seminary professor and now a contributor to the writings of the social justice organization, Sojourners, says this about Thanksgiving: “It is characteristic in American Thanksgiving that we look back and remember the pilgrims and God's providential care for them. Lodged next to Advent, Thanksgiving is not only for remembering; it waits and it expects. Faithful gratitude believes that the God who has given good gifts has more good gifts to give. While God’s gifts are welcome, in fact they do disrupt” Bruuggemann challenges us to see that God’s gift of justice and truth interrupt our complacency in the face of worldwide injustice. God’s generosity calls us to face our own self-centeredness and God’s merciful love flies in the face or our own indifference to the rest of the world. One final quote sums it up for those of us who care. Brueggeman says, “God’s gifts amount to an inconvenient reality among us”… He goes on to suggest that God’s gifts remind us that what we think of as “normal”—that is that certain people have, and certain people have not, is not normal at all and that being light in this world demands that we expose just how far from normal those kinds of injustices are within the reign of God’s justice.
Perhaps one of the best thoughts on giving thanks comes from the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold: He said: For all that has been -- thanks!
For all that will be -- yes! Gratitude is the gift of the eternal “yes”—yes to what we have been given and yes to what we have to give. Gratitude, born of the knowledge that we are all interdependent, teaches us that what we do here in this place has the ability to touch those struggling to eat in towns and cities close at hand and far away. Gratitude lends its recognition of the importance of all those who have come before. As proof that the truly great are almost always the most humble, Albert Schweitzer had much to say about gratitude. And he understood that we are to bring light to this world. He also understood that we cannot do it alone. Here is what he said: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
Say “yes” to gratitude this Thanksgiving! Say “yes” and be the light of the world! Say “yes” and reach out to kindle or re-kindle the light of every person with whom you come in contact. At Thanksgiving and throughout Advent, be the salt that brings God’s love into the world; say “yes” and “yes” and “yes”! Amen and amen and yes!
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Attitude of Gratitude: Thanks (Again)! 11-14-2010
Isaiah 12: 1-6: You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; God has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on God’s name; make known all the deeds of God among the nations; proclaim that God’s name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for God has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
I used to think that the surest way to identify someone with gratitude was to know if they wanted to give back. Now I’m beginning to think that the easiest way to know if someone is grateful is to ask them about what they plan to do in the future. I think that, most of the time, we really don’t have the ability to repay folks for what they have done and we certainly don’t have the ability to repay God. So what’s a grateful person to do? According to our prophet, Isaiah, they invest in the future from the wellspring of gratitude for the past.
Last week we talked about learning gratitude—of gaining an aptitude for gratitude. This week in our continuing series, we are looking at what an attitude of gratitude looks like to the naked eye. Plain and simple, the attitude of gratitude results in action—the action of changing the world. Now less you think that Carol has gone all “corny” as the holiday season approaches, let me tell you what I mean.
Gratitude that does not result in action is merely a mental and spiritual exercise. It is about feeling and it is about us. It is a good place to start. It is not a good place to end. Ultimately, gratitude is not about us. Gratitude is about bursting forth from that place of thankfulness to pass on the gospel of God’s radical goodness and love that we experience every time we are truly grateful. And that, my friends, is a gratitude that can’t keep quiet.
This is exactly the point of our scripture this morning. Isaiah 12 is a song of praise to God; and, more importantly, it follows Isaiah 11. After the first 10 chapters of Isaiah where he describes the judgment of God on a sinning Israel, chapter 11 describes what God’s reign of peace will look like. In Isaiah 11, God promises to raise up a new leader, most likely, the messiah. Then Isaiah describes what the reign of God’s justice under the leadership of this new leader will look like. This new reign of God will transform relationships between people and societies and the peace is described symbolically as animals who usually hate each other lie down together in peace. You know, lions and calves, wolves and lambs, cows and bears…and this change will come about because “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” The prophet knows that this change comes about through the work of God’s spirit, but that God’s people, if they are led by the spirit, can bring this change into the world through their very actions. And here is where we hear the prophet say—“At that time you will say; “I will praise you, Lord.” And concludes with, “Let all the world know what God has done. Shouth and sing for joy, those whom God loves, because Yahweh, your God, does great things before your eyes. “
Notice that Isaiah does not say, sit here and enjoy this sense of gratefulness—no, he says “Let the world know!!!” As we receive our ongoing salvation from the well of God’s grace and love with joy, we go forth to spread the news to “the whole world.” Looking forward, not backward, we seek ways to do just that. And so, as God’s people, our attitude of gratitude causes us to pay forward rather than pay back, as we look for adequate ways to say ‘thank you’ to God and to each other.
I suspect that most of you know about the book, movie, and even foundation called “Paying It Forward”. It starts with an assignment to a bunch of junior high students to figure out how to change the world. And one child, Trevor, gets it. Setting out to do good, he encourages others to do good to someone else to repay his kindness; and, in the movie, people do just that. It’s a pyramid of gratitude resulting in small kindnesses which multiply literally exponentially. It’s a simple premise—you do good to three people, each of those people does good to three people, now you are at nine; and each of those nine people do good to 3 people and, almost without trying 27 people’s lives have been impacted. We’ve almost reached the end of my multiplying talents, but you get the point.
This past week, we celebrated Veterans’ Day and as I was praying and thinking on this sermon, I began to think about how veterans paid it forward with their very lives. President John F. Kennedy said this about gratitude: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” This week as we said “thank you” to veterans and those still serving, we live those words by doing good in our own way in the world. We have a lot to learn from veterans, and teachers, and nurses, among others. All of these people pay it forward every day. Out of the veteran’s gratitude for freedom comes the courage to serve. Out of the teacher’s gratitude for knowledge and education comes the ability to lead little and not so little children on the path of learning. Out of our nurses’ gratitude for health and wholeness comes their passion for helping others regain their health.
Each of us, in our own way, pay it forward with our lives, leaving a legacy, if you will. About 2/3 of the way through my 25 year career in child welfare. I made a conscious decision to focus on the legacy that I was leaving behind me knowing that there would come a time when those who had worked for and with me would be doing the primary work. I went out of my way to find young, competent, workers to train and to, hopefully, pass on my passion for helping children and parents that was born from my own gratitude to those adults in my life who had long ago told this little girl that they cared.
We are, here together, doing the same thing, here in Open Circle. Planting a new church is the ultimate legacy leaving. We build not only for ourselves, but we build for future generations of LGBT and other marginalized people who will want and need a place to find the gospel of radical acceptance and extravagant welcome that we already experience every week. And I believe that our passion for building this church body comes from our gratitude for having found such a place. You are a generous and loving congregation—more generous and loving that I have ever experienced—you pay it forward every week. Someday this church will not be planning its first anniversary, it will be planning its twentieth. I want to pause for a moment and let that sink in—20, 30, 40 years and more from now, people, including some, at least a few, of us, will be sitting here celebrating the legacy that this very room full of people left to them. That feels sweet, indeed!
But think with me for a moment about what would happen if we decided to become more conscious and deliberate in our paying forward. Right here, right now! What if I challenge each of you to find three people or families between now and Christmas to deliberately seek out to do good with? That, in itself, will be life-changing for all of us—but here’s the thing—in order to start a movement, you must respond to their thanks with a challenge for them to pay it forward as well. As I told you my math skills are limited, but even by my rough calculations, if the cycle was repeated once every week between now and the end of the year, over 2100 people would be touched by each one of us by our first acts of gratitude. That means if most of us participate, more than 100,000 people will be touched by our initial acts of generosity between now and the dawn of 2011. Think of the power we hold in our hands. Last week, the choir sang “More love, more power, more of You in my life”. This, my friends is that love and power. And so, after praying about it, I have decided to give all of us just such a challenge. We have the power to change the lives of over 100,000 folks in the Lake, Sumter, and Marion county area! And as we share what is happening with each other, we start a revolution of gratitude right here, right now.
And so, my friends, today we put feet and hands to our gratitude. We say thank you for all that we enjoy by walking boldly forward, out of our comfort zones of quiet meditative thanksgiving into the world at large, at least our world at large right where we live. And we call each other to come along with these words: “Let all the world know what God has done!” Amen and amen.
I used to think that the surest way to identify someone with gratitude was to know if they wanted to give back. Now I’m beginning to think that the easiest way to know if someone is grateful is to ask them about what they plan to do in the future. I think that, most of the time, we really don’t have the ability to repay folks for what they have done and we certainly don’t have the ability to repay God. So what’s a grateful person to do? According to our prophet, Isaiah, they invest in the future from the wellspring of gratitude for the past.
Last week we talked about learning gratitude—of gaining an aptitude for gratitude. This week in our continuing series, we are looking at what an attitude of gratitude looks like to the naked eye. Plain and simple, the attitude of gratitude results in action—the action of changing the world. Now less you think that Carol has gone all “corny” as the holiday season approaches, let me tell you what I mean.
Gratitude that does not result in action is merely a mental and spiritual exercise. It is about feeling and it is about us. It is a good place to start. It is not a good place to end. Ultimately, gratitude is not about us. Gratitude is about bursting forth from that place of thankfulness to pass on the gospel of God’s radical goodness and love that we experience every time we are truly grateful. And that, my friends, is a gratitude that can’t keep quiet.
This is exactly the point of our scripture this morning. Isaiah 12 is a song of praise to God; and, more importantly, it follows Isaiah 11. After the first 10 chapters of Isaiah where he describes the judgment of God on a sinning Israel, chapter 11 describes what God’s reign of peace will look like. In Isaiah 11, God promises to raise up a new leader, most likely, the messiah. Then Isaiah describes what the reign of God’s justice under the leadership of this new leader will look like. This new reign of God will transform relationships between people and societies and the peace is described symbolically as animals who usually hate each other lie down together in peace. You know, lions and calves, wolves and lambs, cows and bears…and this change will come about because “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” The prophet knows that this change comes about through the work of God’s spirit, but that God’s people, if they are led by the spirit, can bring this change into the world through their very actions. And here is where we hear the prophet say—“At that time you will say; “I will praise you, Lord.” And concludes with, “Let all the world know what God has done. Shouth and sing for joy, those whom God loves, because Yahweh, your God, does great things before your eyes. “
Notice that Isaiah does not say, sit here and enjoy this sense of gratefulness—no, he says “Let the world know!!!” As we receive our ongoing salvation from the well of God’s grace and love with joy, we go forth to spread the news to “the whole world.” Looking forward, not backward, we seek ways to do just that. And so, as God’s people, our attitude of gratitude causes us to pay forward rather than pay back, as we look for adequate ways to say ‘thank you’ to God and to each other.
I suspect that most of you know about the book, movie, and even foundation called “Paying It Forward”. It starts with an assignment to a bunch of junior high students to figure out how to change the world. And one child, Trevor, gets it. Setting out to do good, he encourages others to do good to someone else to repay his kindness; and, in the movie, people do just that. It’s a pyramid of gratitude resulting in small kindnesses which multiply literally exponentially. It’s a simple premise—you do good to three people, each of those people does good to three people, now you are at nine; and each of those nine people do good to 3 people and, almost without trying 27 people’s lives have been impacted. We’ve almost reached the end of my multiplying talents, but you get the point.
This past week, we celebrated Veterans’ Day and as I was praying and thinking on this sermon, I began to think about how veterans paid it forward with their very lives. President John F. Kennedy said this about gratitude: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” This week as we said “thank you” to veterans and those still serving, we live those words by doing good in our own way in the world. We have a lot to learn from veterans, and teachers, and nurses, among others. All of these people pay it forward every day. Out of the veteran’s gratitude for freedom comes the courage to serve. Out of the teacher’s gratitude for knowledge and education comes the ability to lead little and not so little children on the path of learning. Out of our nurses’ gratitude for health and wholeness comes their passion for helping others regain their health.
Each of us, in our own way, pay it forward with our lives, leaving a legacy, if you will. About 2/3 of the way through my 25 year career in child welfare. I made a conscious decision to focus on the legacy that I was leaving behind me knowing that there would come a time when those who had worked for and with me would be doing the primary work. I went out of my way to find young, competent, workers to train and to, hopefully, pass on my passion for helping children and parents that was born from my own gratitude to those adults in my life who had long ago told this little girl that they cared.
We are, here together, doing the same thing, here in Open Circle. Planting a new church is the ultimate legacy leaving. We build not only for ourselves, but we build for future generations of LGBT and other marginalized people who will want and need a place to find the gospel of radical acceptance and extravagant welcome that we already experience every week. And I believe that our passion for building this church body comes from our gratitude for having found such a place. You are a generous and loving congregation—more generous and loving that I have ever experienced—you pay it forward every week. Someday this church will not be planning its first anniversary, it will be planning its twentieth. I want to pause for a moment and let that sink in—20, 30, 40 years and more from now, people, including some, at least a few, of us, will be sitting here celebrating the legacy that this very room full of people left to them. That feels sweet, indeed!
But think with me for a moment about what would happen if we decided to become more conscious and deliberate in our paying forward. Right here, right now! What if I challenge each of you to find three people or families between now and Christmas to deliberately seek out to do good with? That, in itself, will be life-changing for all of us—but here’s the thing—in order to start a movement, you must respond to their thanks with a challenge for them to pay it forward as well. As I told you my math skills are limited, but even by my rough calculations, if the cycle was repeated once every week between now and the end of the year, over 2100 people would be touched by each one of us by our first acts of gratitude. That means if most of us participate, more than 100,000 people will be touched by our initial acts of generosity between now and the dawn of 2011. Think of the power we hold in our hands. Last week, the choir sang “More love, more power, more of You in my life”. This, my friends is that love and power. And so, after praying about it, I have decided to give all of us just such a challenge. We have the power to change the lives of over 100,000 folks in the Lake, Sumter, and Marion county area! And as we share what is happening with each other, we start a revolution of gratitude right here, right now.
And so, my friends, today we put feet and hands to our gratitude. We say thank you for all that we enjoy by walking boldly forward, out of our comfort zones of quiet meditative thanksgiving into the world at large, at least our world at large right where we live. And we call each other to come along with these words: “Let all the world know what God has done!” Amen and amen.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
"The Aptitude for Gratitude: Thanks (A lot!)
Reading: John 6: 3-13
Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take almost a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
Lord, lead us in the way of gratitude—fill our spirits with a longing to thank you and each other for all that graces our lives, indeed for all our life of grace. Amen
Here we are in November—the month traditionally connected to harvest, and coming together to say “thank you” to God and maybe even “thank you” to each other. And every time I think of the season of gratitude, I think of singing songs like “Come ye thankful people, come” or “We gather together” in the old country church I attended as a child and I think of times from my past where 30 some odd relatives would gather round long tables and pass the bowls of mashed potatoes and dressing and green beans canned earlier in the fall from my grandmother’s garden. And I wonder “what happened to the season of gratitude?” With Christmas already upon us in the stores, it seems to get lost between the ghosts of Halloween and the angels of Christmas. But I want to tell you, that the experience of moving to The Villages and starting this church has, quite frankly, completely transformed my commitment to learning the fine art of gratitude and to understanding the role it plays in spiritual and emotional maturity—the blessings generated by gratitude that come and will continue to come as we grow together as people and as a church. To that end, I decided to spend the first three Sundays in November talking about gratitude. This week, I want to look at an aptitude for gratitude or put another way, “how can I learn to be grateful for each moment of my life”? I’m not really sure that many of us are born grateful. And I well remember my mother complaining because her grandchildren failed to write her ‘thank you’ notes when her children (yes, that would include me) were taught better. She was right, I was taught to say “thank you” and to even compose lovely thank you notes—I’m not so sure about the gratitude part, I think that may come with a certain amount of reflection and struggle. By the way, the old country church now masquerades as a small time mega-church and the only time my relatives all come together is when somebody dies. So much for the romantic times gone by—but my own gratitude journey began there and was nurtured there and it continues to reflect that primitive gratitude today.
Let’s look at what Jesus showed the folk about gratitude in today’s scripture. Look at the scene with me—over 5,000 men and since the women and children weren’t even counted, there was more than likely at least twice that many people gathered in that Woodstockian gathering on the hillside. But there was no planning for this gathering—no caterers, or food trucks, no bottles of water, no nothing; oh, and no money to send out for supplies—only one small boy whose caring mother had packed him a lunch for the day. 5 loaves of bread and two fishes—even the disciple who brought the child’s lunch to the attention of Jesus thought it was useless. But Jesus knew better. He knew that in expressing gratitude for the food (he gave thanks) the miracle would occur. And so we have, in this story of amazing proportions, proof that the presence of gratitude radically alters our lives.
Melody Beattie, author of numerous books for those dealing with disastrous childhoods, painful presents, and uncertain aftershocks of trauma and terror says this about gratitude: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Would not Jesus agree with her? He knew that the act of gratitude would bring all that was needed to meet the hunger of these many thousand people—in fact, he had them sit down before he even said thanks. That was a daring and dangerous act, an act that said to these people, something good is coming—God is going to deliver what we need—you sit down and be ready for it. We see it as a huge risk—Jesus saw it as the logical thing to do, given that he believed in God’s ability to satisfy our every need. For Jesus, gratitude was both the logical consequence of belief and the very act that brought his belief into being. This is a hard thing for us to grasp. And so, we must learn to equate gratitude with belief in God’s ability to meet our every need and, indeed, we struggle as we learn.
Come with me to that hillside where Jesus moves to the rhythm of God’s constant presence. For Jesus, the presence of God is everywhere—and how do we get there for ourselves? Albert Schweitzer, one of the world’s true saints draws our attention to the need to learn gratitude: “To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you.”
What do you think would happen if we learned to be constantly grateful—to see the proof of God’s grace to us—to know that all of earth and heaven was put here for our pleasure? I believe that our lives would be so radically changed that we would see new people in the mirror each morning as we allowed God to teach us more and more about the wonder of God’s love reaching out to provide all that we need.
Sarah Ban Breathnach (pronounced Bon Brannock) may well be the woman who has taught the modern world the most about gratitude. She wrote the NYTimes best seller, Simple Abundance. She is the person who first called us (though the Oprah show and elsewhere) to write 5 things down each day for which we are grateful. This is learning the aptitude for gratitude. She calls us to identify, to celebrate those things we have to be grateful—and promises us that as our willingness to live out this commitment to gratitude is consistent, our recognition of that which inspires our gratitude increases and multiplies. This is her mantra, if you will: "Gratitude is the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, reconnection... every time we remember to say 'thank you' we experience nothing less than Heaven on earth." And so we learn, we learn that God is waiting for our “thank you” just as the earth and those around us are waiting.
Our own Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson calls us to this season of gratitude. She writes: As we approach a very busy season that includes many religious and cultural celebrations, as a person of faith, as a Christian, lesbian and long time minister and member of MCC, I can tell you, I am grateful!
I invite you to make a list of things for which you are thankful: because it is a way to practice the spiritual discipline of giving thanks. This spiritual discipline strengthen us, and shields us against the power of disappointment, loss or discouragement. Gratitude lifts our heads, and connects us to the Power Greater than Ourselves, who we know as the “Spirit of the Living God.”
That Spirit longs to “fall on us today,” and practicing gratitude hastens that fall! Gratitude is fuel for living and for ministering in the midst of the challenges of today. Especially in times of economic hardship or uncertainty, when we may feel helpless or stressed, getting in touch with the things for which we are grateful puts everything in perspective. At least it does for me…”
And so I say to you today: Life is amazing! Celebrate the sky, the stars, the flowers, and the rain. Celebrate the food you have to eat. Be thankful for the body that gives your spirit a place to be at home. Rejoice in the difference you make in the lives of others! Open your hands to receive the love that exists in this very room and elsewhere—love that encircles you with care and compassion. Turn your sighs into expressions of wonder at the beauty of the universe. Seek the aptitude for gratitude. Challenge each other to be grateful—call yourself to a higher place of praise.
When asked what seeking the way of gratitude had taught her, Sarah Ban Breathnach answered: “I don’t limit God anymore!” Let us go forward this day, rejoicing in the ever watchful and caring presence of God in our lives, knowing that living a life of gratitude and trust is the best response we can ever make to God’s gifting in this world. Let us lift the loaves and fishes to the sky, say thank you, and go forth to feed the thousands. Amen and amen!
Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take almost a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
Lord, lead us in the way of gratitude—fill our spirits with a longing to thank you and each other for all that graces our lives, indeed for all our life of grace. Amen
Here we are in November—the month traditionally connected to harvest, and coming together to say “thank you” to God and maybe even “thank you” to each other. And every time I think of the season of gratitude, I think of singing songs like “Come ye thankful people, come” or “We gather together” in the old country church I attended as a child and I think of times from my past where 30 some odd relatives would gather round long tables and pass the bowls of mashed potatoes and dressing and green beans canned earlier in the fall from my grandmother’s garden. And I wonder “what happened to the season of gratitude?” With Christmas already upon us in the stores, it seems to get lost between the ghosts of Halloween and the angels of Christmas. But I want to tell you, that the experience of moving to The Villages and starting this church has, quite frankly, completely transformed my commitment to learning the fine art of gratitude and to understanding the role it plays in spiritual and emotional maturity—the blessings generated by gratitude that come and will continue to come as we grow together as people and as a church. To that end, I decided to spend the first three Sundays in November talking about gratitude. This week, I want to look at an aptitude for gratitude or put another way, “how can I learn to be grateful for each moment of my life”? I’m not really sure that many of us are born grateful. And I well remember my mother complaining because her grandchildren failed to write her ‘thank you’ notes when her children (yes, that would include me) were taught better. She was right, I was taught to say “thank you” and to even compose lovely thank you notes—I’m not so sure about the gratitude part, I think that may come with a certain amount of reflection and struggle. By the way, the old country church now masquerades as a small time mega-church and the only time my relatives all come together is when somebody dies. So much for the romantic times gone by—but my own gratitude journey began there and was nurtured there and it continues to reflect that primitive gratitude today.
Let’s look at what Jesus showed the folk about gratitude in today’s scripture. Look at the scene with me—over 5,000 men and since the women and children weren’t even counted, there was more than likely at least twice that many people gathered in that Woodstockian gathering on the hillside. But there was no planning for this gathering—no caterers, or food trucks, no bottles of water, no nothing; oh, and no money to send out for supplies—only one small boy whose caring mother had packed him a lunch for the day. 5 loaves of bread and two fishes—even the disciple who brought the child’s lunch to the attention of Jesus thought it was useless. But Jesus knew better. He knew that in expressing gratitude for the food (he gave thanks) the miracle would occur. And so we have, in this story of amazing proportions, proof that the presence of gratitude radically alters our lives.
Melody Beattie, author of numerous books for those dealing with disastrous childhoods, painful presents, and uncertain aftershocks of trauma and terror says this about gratitude: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Would not Jesus agree with her? He knew that the act of gratitude would bring all that was needed to meet the hunger of these many thousand people—in fact, he had them sit down before he even said thanks. That was a daring and dangerous act, an act that said to these people, something good is coming—God is going to deliver what we need—you sit down and be ready for it. We see it as a huge risk—Jesus saw it as the logical thing to do, given that he believed in God’s ability to satisfy our every need. For Jesus, gratitude was both the logical consequence of belief and the very act that brought his belief into being. This is a hard thing for us to grasp. And so, we must learn to equate gratitude with belief in God’s ability to meet our every need and, indeed, we struggle as we learn.
Come with me to that hillside where Jesus moves to the rhythm of God’s constant presence. For Jesus, the presence of God is everywhere—and how do we get there for ourselves? Albert Schweitzer, one of the world’s true saints draws our attention to the need to learn gratitude: “To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you.”
What do you think would happen if we learned to be constantly grateful—to see the proof of God’s grace to us—to know that all of earth and heaven was put here for our pleasure? I believe that our lives would be so radically changed that we would see new people in the mirror each morning as we allowed God to teach us more and more about the wonder of God’s love reaching out to provide all that we need.
Sarah Ban Breathnach (pronounced Bon Brannock) may well be the woman who has taught the modern world the most about gratitude. She wrote the NYTimes best seller, Simple Abundance. She is the person who first called us (though the Oprah show and elsewhere) to write 5 things down each day for which we are grateful. This is learning the aptitude for gratitude. She calls us to identify, to celebrate those things we have to be grateful—and promises us that as our willingness to live out this commitment to gratitude is consistent, our recognition of that which inspires our gratitude increases and multiplies. This is her mantra, if you will: "Gratitude is the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, reconnection... every time we remember to say 'thank you' we experience nothing less than Heaven on earth." And so we learn, we learn that God is waiting for our “thank you” just as the earth and those around us are waiting.
Our own Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson calls us to this season of gratitude. She writes: As we approach a very busy season that includes many religious and cultural celebrations, as a person of faith, as a Christian, lesbian and long time minister and member of MCC, I can tell you, I am grateful!
I invite you to make a list of things for which you are thankful: because it is a way to practice the spiritual discipline of giving thanks. This spiritual discipline strengthen us, and shields us against the power of disappointment, loss or discouragement. Gratitude lifts our heads, and connects us to the Power Greater than Ourselves, who we know as the “Spirit of the Living God.”
That Spirit longs to “fall on us today,” and practicing gratitude hastens that fall! Gratitude is fuel for living and for ministering in the midst of the challenges of today. Especially in times of economic hardship or uncertainty, when we may feel helpless or stressed, getting in touch with the things for which we are grateful puts everything in perspective. At least it does for me…”
And so I say to you today: Life is amazing! Celebrate the sky, the stars, the flowers, and the rain. Celebrate the food you have to eat. Be thankful for the body that gives your spirit a place to be at home. Rejoice in the difference you make in the lives of others! Open your hands to receive the love that exists in this very room and elsewhere—love that encircles you with care and compassion. Turn your sighs into expressions of wonder at the beauty of the universe. Seek the aptitude for gratitude. Challenge each other to be grateful—call yourself to a higher place of praise.
When asked what seeking the way of gratitude had taught her, Sarah Ban Breathnach answered: “I don’t limit God anymore!” Let us go forward this day, rejoicing in the ever watchful and caring presence of God in our lives, knowing that living a life of gratitude and trust is the best response we can ever make to God’s gifting in this world. Let us lift the loaves and fishes to the sky, say thank you, and go forth to feed the thousands. Amen and amen!
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