December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve Service
The Incarnation
Isaiah 9
Luke 2:1-20
When is Santa going to die – asked 4 ½ year old Jonathon to his uncle. He is not going to responded his uncle. How do you know- asked Jonothon. Mommy says that everyone dies and Santa is getting pretty old. So one day, Santa has got to die. His uncle responded that he knew that Santa was magical – so he was not going to die. And if you talk to 4 ½ year olds – they have a wisdom that we lose in our older years- because they are never satisfied with just any answer. How do you know asks Jonothan again – because I live next door to his cousin – and he told me that santa has been alive forever. This story takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The uncle is in America. In the mind of his nephew – was a strange place where anything is possible. So it would make sense that his uncle from America would like next door to Santa’s cousin.
But my friend tells me this story because it bought back memories of his own childhood and the questions that he had asked his mother about santa. He had just moved, and his burning question to his mom was how was santa going to find him in a new house. His mom told him that all children are born with a little star inside of their heads. Santa uses this little star to keep track of us wherever we may be – that’s how he knows what we have been doing all year.
Christmas is a magical mysterious time of the year. Christmas is a time when fantasy and reality meet in the traditions of our lives. We have all kinds of traditions that we do this time of year, some are universal, some are unique to our family. Santa Claus has always been an important part of Christmastime. Santa Claus is a real man – with a real history in the life of Saint Nicholas. And sometimes we make up all kinds of stories about santa – such as living next door to his cousin. But the important stories about Santa are the ones that we witness every year.
In my friends story about santa – he remembered the magic of Christmas for his family. He remembered going to cut down the life tree – which in his neighborhood in Denmark was not a big deal – he remembered the popcorn garland his mother would spend so much time on, he remember the ornaments that he would make out of construction paper. He remembered the special Christmas dinner his mother would make, and the time that he would spend with his family. In those memories he knew in his heart that santa would live forever. There was no way Santa was going to die. But he would never share the real reason that he was so sure of that fact to his nephew. He knew that Christmas would never die because his mother would never allow it. As he and his sister grew up – his mother made sure that they carried on the traditions of their family. And now that his mother was gone, his sister still cooked the traditional Dutch Christmas meal of duck, and roast pork and rice pudding. And he would go out and pick a Christmas tree that his mother would be proud of , and make sure that is was decorated and taken care of. He and his sister were the next generation of the keepers of the dream. And as long as the dream was there at Christmastime – santa would always be a part of the magic of Christmas.
How did he know that Santa would never die – he knew for sure because he knew in his heart that his mother would never allow it.
That story stuck out at me this year, as someone commented that as for someone who says that they don’t like Christmas, that I seemed to be awfully caught up in the spirit. And that I seemed to be doing a an awful lot to celebrating. I too realized in my heart – that my mother would never allow me to do anything different. I am grateful that my mother is still with me – when most of my friends do not have their mother’s with them anymore. The truth is that I don’t have to really like Christmas to celebrate it- because I really have no choice. In my house – celebrating the birth of Christ was something that you did. Putting up the Christmas tree, and hanging the stockings, and playing Christmas music is something that we did in my family. The truth is, Christmas was my mother’s holiday. But in the moment that I was questioned, I realized that as my mother’s child – I was and in reality have always have been a pretty spoiled child. A child who was always blessed as a child – not just by my gifts – but by the love that I received from the magic of the time. And as an adult – things have not always turned out the way I wanted them to, My life has been a time of gaining much, and losing much. Even today I could lose my collection of 50 santas, I could lose the Christmas tree, and the ornaments to mark the years of my life, I could lose the angel at the top, and even the presents under the tree. But no matter what – they one thing that can never be taken away from me – are the memories of my mother’s Christmas. I will always be my mother’s child – and all of the wonderful things that we did to celebrate Christmas will be with me. How do I know that santa will never die – because my mother will not allow it.
Christmas is a magical time of year. But it is also a time of many mixed emotions. We all go through a lot of trouble to make the holiday special. We spend a lot of money, we do a lot of preparation. There are many others of other religions who criticize us as Christmas as getting caught up in materialism and overindulgence at this time of year – we take celebrating Christmas to an extreme.
We are all guilty of doing too much for Christmas – but isn’t because we are all looking for something deeper – something more – something special. The special moment with our families – the connection of love and care that we don’t feel for the rest of the year. That special reason to say I love you, that special reason to believe that the future will be more, that special reason to believe that we really do live in a wonderful world filled with wonderful people. In a world that sometimes seems cruel and out to get us – wouldn’t it be nice to know that God is with us. That God is one of us – that God understand us, that santa will put what we really want in our hearts under our tree this year – good health, dreams come true, a secure future, true love.
The good news is that we celebrate not because of what we wish for – but for what we already have. Santa bought us the greatest gift that we could ever imagine
A baby boy – born in a manger – Immanuel – god with us - wonderful counselor, everlasting father, prince of peace. God right here with us – constantly reminding us that no matter what it’s always going to be okay.
Tonight we celebrate the incarnation – the indwelling of God in our lives. A magical experience – something that we cant explain, much less always relate to. But something that will last far beyond the magic of tonight and tomorrow. A spirit of love, peace , hope joy, that you can feel now – but take it with you in your life, your relationships, your worries, your fears, your hopes and your dreams. The spirit of Christmas never ends – it just recreate, reinvents itself, renews itself whenever you need it. How do you know that santa wont die – it goes deeper then our mothers, and our mothers mothers. It goes even further back then a baby in a manger – it goes back before the beginning of time – when God loved so much that God thought of ways to be with you – to relate to you, to speak to you in the language of your heart. Keep the memory alove – there is are many behind you – waiting, listening, hoping for God to be present with them in the spirit. Tell them that santa
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Things We EnJOY about Christmas
December 20, 2009
Things we Enjoy about Christmas
Luke 39-55
The Magnificat of Mary
Hebrews 10:5-10
Year C
As we have been talking about the advent wreath – we have been talking about the 4 themes of advent- which are?...... hope, love, joy and love. And guess which one we are going to talk about today? Joy, Joy, Joy.
That was God’s message to me this advent – to focus on joy. This is a tough time for the world – there is a lot of darkness, a lot of sadness, a lot of questions about the future, there is truly a lot going on in our lives to mourn and be worried about. But the message of Christmas is to look beyond all of that – and to focus on the real intention of the season – the coming of Christ into our lives – bringing a promise of salvation, healing and love to a hurting world. To have hope for the future- that the world that we see today – is not the world the God is creating.
But in order to have the hope, peace, and love – that we have to have joy – we have to be willing to celebrate the Christ in Christmas. The book of Hebrews is not really a Christmas book – but it is used today – because it reminds of that in order to save us from sin, that God had to come into the world and put on flesh, in order to get rid of the old ways – and show us the pathway to a new life – a life of salvation.
As I pulled out my Christmas books, I found one of my favorites. 3001 things that I love about Christmas - It is a cool little book with stories of people’s favorite Christmases, of Christmas carols and a list of 3001 things about Christmas – such as Frosty the Snowman, Christmas cards with music, Christmas cards without music, furry santa claus hats, the smell of baking Christmas ham, telling the night before Christmas story from memory.
Actually one of my favorite parts of Christmas is the 4th Sunday of advent. I don’t mind preaching about the second coming, and about John the Baptist – but I love being able to preach about the story of Mary. Mary is my favorite bible character, and her story is the one that I identify with the most. And I love the version of her story in Luke the most. As I look back on my 15 years of preaching, I have a lot of 4th Sunday sermons – partially because the sr pastor doesn’t like to preach on the Sunday before Christmas, and partially because it is always the Sunday that I ask to preach – because I love this story.
You would think that with all of those sermons, that I would not have had to stay up until 6 this morning writing a new sermon. But usually I focus on the mystery of Mary’s pregnancy – and today I wanted to focus on Mary’s joy. Mary’s magnificat.
The first words that come out of her mouth are that God shall call her happy for what God has done to her. She is grateful to be considered God’s servant.
She is excited to be used by God, excited to be given a new vision, excited to see promises fulfilled in her lifetime.
In honor of Mary’s song I am wearing my flip flops – Mary says that everything will flip flop. Those who are on the bottom of society will be honored and elevated and put on top. I have a version of Handel’s Messiah which says that the the top becomes the bottom and the bottom becomes the top and even there it doesn’t stop.
I share in Mary’s celebration of the flip flop God. A God whose capable of doing anything.
Last night we watched the movie – the Nativity Story – it is an excellent visual of the story of the first Christmas. In the movie one of the plots was of the insecurity of King Herod. He needed to be in control and did not want to be challenged by anyone. When he heard there would be a new king of Israel – he was looking for a man who was strong enough to challenge him – he never in a million years thought to look for a teenage mother from a peasant background – traveling with her husband – carrying not only a baby – but a dream, a promise , a mission.
A flip flop God can use the lowest times in our lives, and the most unexpected people to not only change the world – but to change our lives and our paths. A flip flop God can do anything.
Linzi was an 80 year old woman who lived in a nursing home. When Linzi announced that she was expecting, people thought that it was dementia. That was three months before Stephanie came to work at the nursing home as a nursing assistant. That was three months before Stephanie found out that she was pregnant. When Linzie would talk to Stephanie about being pregnant – she thought nothing of it. She was very polite and understanding of Linzie until she discovered that she was having a baby herself. All throughout the pregnancy – she would share stories with Linzie. Linzie was a hair dresser in her earlier life and she had never had a baby. But she and Stephanie always seemed to have a lot to talk about. Stephanie would let Linzie feel her stomache, and feel the baby jumping. When Linzie would talk about her pregnancy – she was always willing to listen and to go along with her story. Finally Stephanie had the baby – and of course she brought the baby to work so that everyone could see him. Linzie was the first person she took him too. Linzie was very excited about the baby – she started to ask Stephanie about the birth experience – what did it feel like, what happened, how did she react, who was there to help. Stephanie felt close enough to Linzie to share all of these experiences. When it came time to show the baby to everyone else – Stephanie asked if Linzie wanted to go with her as she showed off the baby – Linzie was delighted. They put Linzie in her wheelchair and handed her the baby. And as they went throughtout the nursing home – Linzie told everyone that her baby was here. She told people that she was pregnant and here was the baby - This was baby Joshua. Stephanie’s baby was not named Joshua – but Stephanie knew that Linzies baby was Joshua. And that for some reason God had brought the two of them together, so that they could share their journey together.
I don’t know about you, but I worship an amazing flip flop God. A God who can do anything – even allow 80 year old women to give birth for the first time. If my God can do that, surely God can address anything going on in my life. As amatter of fact, the bible is full of the stories of women who could not have children, having children – and those babies of promise going on to do amazing things. If God can make an 80 year old woman give birth – what can god do for you. God flip any flop and turn it into a miracle.
As a matter of fact you would have thought that it would have been Elizabeth’s magnificat and not Mary’s. Elizabeth was the woman past her prime – who was having a baby – not Mary. Elizabeth had something to celebrate. But the flip flop God wanted to move beyond the obvious to something new.
But God’s work in all in or perspective. How we choose to see things.
When Elizabeth saw Mary she could have chosen to see a teenager in trouble. When Joseph saw Mary, he could have seen an unfaithful Fiance, when Mary saw the angel, she could have seen a situation that was impossible in her culture. A story that would never work.
Instead she saw the hope of God’s future. Revolutionary change was all in her perspective, her willingness to be used by God.
When Elizabeth saw Mary – the baby inside of her jumped for joy. The baby’s were excited to see each other. Elizabeth was excited to be a part of that moment in time. Who was she to be a part of God’s plan. Who are any of us to be a part of God’s plan – and yet we have been chosen to touch the presence of God and celebrate. When we touch God, when we are touched by God – do we jump for joy – or do something else. It all depends on our perspective. What we chose to see about life.
In my last example of why joy is so important – I want to point out that in the daylight, you can take a quarter out and put it up to the sun and totally block it out. But in reality – which is bigger – the coin or the sun? Which is more brilliant - the coin or the sun? From our perspective – the coin is bigger, the coin is right in front of us – but the sun is out there somewhere. We can touch and feel the coin – but we can only imagine the sun. Henry Fosdick says that a penny can hide the sun if we hold it close enough to our eye. And a passing difficulty can shut out from a fearful soul, all of life’s blessings and all of the endless horizons of God’s divine will. It is all in your perspective. It all depends on what you choose to see.
This Christmas – what will you see in the manger? A crying baby, another worry, all of the darkness of the world, all of the bleak things to deal with in January? All of the things in life that can’t possible happen? Or the promise that God is making you a part of a transformed world beyond anything that makes sense to you now? Why you? Why now? Why have a reason to enjoy the seaon? Let us pray…. Amen.
Things we Enjoy about Christmas
Luke 39-55
The Magnificat of Mary
Hebrews 10:5-10
Year C
As we have been talking about the advent wreath – we have been talking about the 4 themes of advent- which are?...... hope, love, joy and love. And guess which one we are going to talk about today? Joy, Joy, Joy.
That was God’s message to me this advent – to focus on joy. This is a tough time for the world – there is a lot of darkness, a lot of sadness, a lot of questions about the future, there is truly a lot going on in our lives to mourn and be worried about. But the message of Christmas is to look beyond all of that – and to focus on the real intention of the season – the coming of Christ into our lives – bringing a promise of salvation, healing and love to a hurting world. To have hope for the future- that the world that we see today – is not the world the God is creating.
But in order to have the hope, peace, and love – that we have to have joy – we have to be willing to celebrate the Christ in Christmas. The book of Hebrews is not really a Christmas book – but it is used today – because it reminds of that in order to save us from sin, that God had to come into the world and put on flesh, in order to get rid of the old ways – and show us the pathway to a new life – a life of salvation.
As I pulled out my Christmas books, I found one of my favorites. 3001 things that I love about Christmas - It is a cool little book with stories of people’s favorite Christmases, of Christmas carols and a list of 3001 things about Christmas – such as Frosty the Snowman, Christmas cards with music, Christmas cards without music, furry santa claus hats, the smell of baking Christmas ham, telling the night before Christmas story from memory.
Actually one of my favorite parts of Christmas is the 4th Sunday of advent. I don’t mind preaching about the second coming, and about John the Baptist – but I love being able to preach about the story of Mary. Mary is my favorite bible character, and her story is the one that I identify with the most. And I love the version of her story in Luke the most. As I look back on my 15 years of preaching, I have a lot of 4th Sunday sermons – partially because the sr pastor doesn’t like to preach on the Sunday before Christmas, and partially because it is always the Sunday that I ask to preach – because I love this story.
You would think that with all of those sermons, that I would not have had to stay up until 6 this morning writing a new sermon. But usually I focus on the mystery of Mary’s pregnancy – and today I wanted to focus on Mary’s joy. Mary’s magnificat.
The first words that come out of her mouth are that God shall call her happy for what God has done to her. She is grateful to be considered God’s servant.
She is excited to be used by God, excited to be given a new vision, excited to see promises fulfilled in her lifetime.
In honor of Mary’s song I am wearing my flip flops – Mary says that everything will flip flop. Those who are on the bottom of society will be honored and elevated and put on top. I have a version of Handel’s Messiah which says that the the top becomes the bottom and the bottom becomes the top and even there it doesn’t stop.
I share in Mary’s celebration of the flip flop God. A God whose capable of doing anything.
Last night we watched the movie – the Nativity Story – it is an excellent visual of the story of the first Christmas. In the movie one of the plots was of the insecurity of King Herod. He needed to be in control and did not want to be challenged by anyone. When he heard there would be a new king of Israel – he was looking for a man who was strong enough to challenge him – he never in a million years thought to look for a teenage mother from a peasant background – traveling with her husband – carrying not only a baby – but a dream, a promise , a mission.
A flip flop God can use the lowest times in our lives, and the most unexpected people to not only change the world – but to change our lives and our paths. A flip flop God can do anything.
Linzi was an 80 year old woman who lived in a nursing home. When Linzi announced that she was expecting, people thought that it was dementia. That was three months before Stephanie came to work at the nursing home as a nursing assistant. That was three months before Stephanie found out that she was pregnant. When Linzie would talk to Stephanie about being pregnant – she thought nothing of it. She was very polite and understanding of Linzie until she discovered that she was having a baby herself. All throughout the pregnancy – she would share stories with Linzie. Linzie was a hair dresser in her earlier life and she had never had a baby. But she and Stephanie always seemed to have a lot to talk about. Stephanie would let Linzie feel her stomache, and feel the baby jumping. When Linzie would talk about her pregnancy – she was always willing to listen and to go along with her story. Finally Stephanie had the baby – and of course she brought the baby to work so that everyone could see him. Linzie was the first person she took him too. Linzie was very excited about the baby – she started to ask Stephanie about the birth experience – what did it feel like, what happened, how did she react, who was there to help. Stephanie felt close enough to Linzie to share all of these experiences. When it came time to show the baby to everyone else – Stephanie asked if Linzie wanted to go with her as she showed off the baby – Linzie was delighted. They put Linzie in her wheelchair and handed her the baby. And as they went throughtout the nursing home – Linzie told everyone that her baby was here. She told people that she was pregnant and here was the baby - This was baby Joshua. Stephanie’s baby was not named Joshua – but Stephanie knew that Linzies baby was Joshua. And that for some reason God had brought the two of them together, so that they could share their journey together.
I don’t know about you, but I worship an amazing flip flop God. A God who can do anything – even allow 80 year old women to give birth for the first time. If my God can do that, surely God can address anything going on in my life. As amatter of fact, the bible is full of the stories of women who could not have children, having children – and those babies of promise going on to do amazing things. If God can make an 80 year old woman give birth – what can god do for you. God flip any flop and turn it into a miracle.
As a matter of fact you would have thought that it would have been Elizabeth’s magnificat and not Mary’s. Elizabeth was the woman past her prime – who was having a baby – not Mary. Elizabeth had something to celebrate. But the flip flop God wanted to move beyond the obvious to something new.
But God’s work in all in or perspective. How we choose to see things.
When Elizabeth saw Mary she could have chosen to see a teenager in trouble. When Joseph saw Mary, he could have seen an unfaithful Fiance, when Mary saw the angel, she could have seen a situation that was impossible in her culture. A story that would never work.
Instead she saw the hope of God’s future. Revolutionary change was all in her perspective, her willingness to be used by God.
When Elizabeth saw Mary – the baby inside of her jumped for joy. The baby’s were excited to see each other. Elizabeth was excited to be a part of that moment in time. Who was she to be a part of God’s plan. Who are any of us to be a part of God’s plan – and yet we have been chosen to touch the presence of God and celebrate. When we touch God, when we are touched by God – do we jump for joy – or do something else. It all depends on our perspective. What we chose to see about life.
In my last example of why joy is so important – I want to point out that in the daylight, you can take a quarter out and put it up to the sun and totally block it out. But in reality – which is bigger – the coin or the sun? Which is more brilliant - the coin or the sun? From our perspective – the coin is bigger, the coin is right in front of us – but the sun is out there somewhere. We can touch and feel the coin – but we can only imagine the sun. Henry Fosdick says that a penny can hide the sun if we hold it close enough to our eye. And a passing difficulty can shut out from a fearful soul, all of life’s blessings and all of the endless horizons of God’s divine will. It is all in your perspective. It all depends on what you choose to see.
This Christmas – what will you see in the manger? A crying baby, another worry, all of the darkness of the world, all of the bleak things to deal with in January? All of the things in life that can’t possible happen? Or the promise that God is making you a part of a transformed world beyond anything that makes sense to you now? Why you? Why now? Why have a reason to enjoy the seaon? Let us pray…. Amen.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Heart of Joy
This advent I told you about the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. The daily examine is a big part of that. Setting aside the end of your day to look at what happened and to see how God is working in your life. One of the challenges of the examine is to also look at the emotions that you felt that day – what was going on for you and why.
For me this has been a week of looking at some of the difficult emotions. Happy, sad, worried, stressed out, angry – concerned. Those are actually easy – because usually you know the cause of those emotions. And you don’t have to explain or justify why you feel the way you feel. Because the feeling is not about you – it is about something out there.
The hard emotions are jealousy, resentment, guilt, rejection, inadequacy. Those are hard because they are about you and what is going on inside of you. They are all feelings that we feel, but it is a little harder to justify where they come from, and why we feel that way. And often if you share those emotions with someone else, they will try and talk you out of them as if you shouldn’t feel that way.
When every feeling that we have is justified within our own soul. And sometimes it may not be appropriate to act on that emotion out in the world – but it is always important to examine that emotion and to see for ourselves what it is saying about our soul and our needs in the world.
This has been a week of examining hard emotions for me because of certain events. In October, I participated in a spiritual workshop for pastors. We are supposed to take our knowledge and go and start support groups for other pastors. In applying for this program, we were all told about another program that we could also sign up for. A writer’s support group for pastors. We had to send in our writing samples to be a part of the group. What they didn’t tell us until we were all together that this was a chance to fly to a retreat center in San Antonio every three months for a weekend retreat. We would write and critique the writing of others, and at the end of a year we would be treated to a book deal with a publisher looking for pastors to write on their experiences. A writers dream experience. Well it turns out that half of the group applied for this special group – 25 people, and there were only 7 positions open. So we were told that we would have to compete for those 7 positions. I got all of my paperwork in on time and waited for an answer. On Thursday I get this email saying more info on the writing group. So I know that email is a confirmation that they liked my application and would be accepted. But as I read the letter attached to the email – it is a rejection email. I didn’t make the cut for one of the 7 spots. And I am devastated. I was really looking forward to being a part of this group. I thought I had did such a good job on all of my writing samples, and explaining why I would be a good asset to the group.
So this week I have been reliving all of the rejections on my life. All of the bad relationships, all of the times that I was turned down by the board of ordained ministry, all of the jobs that I didn’t get. Every time in my life when I really wanted something and it just didn’t turn out. What does that say about me, when do I get my turn, when do I get to win, when , why how – and all of those questions and emotions that come along with being rejected.
And of course it didn’t help that I saw that one of my facebook friends, had befriended an old boyfriend. And this old boyfriends profile was a picture of his smiling wife and their two beautiful children – when I saw the picture I couldn’t help but think to myself – o isn’t that special.
Rejection, jealousy, resentment, anger, - this has been a week of tough emotions.
And of course I am left with the ensuing conversation of how do you move on from here. That writing group would have been a perfect opportunity – but will I find something else that is just as fulfilling? Just because they turned me down does that really mean that I am a bad writer. Or was I too good a writer and they thought I was showing off? Who knows. And what is God telling me in the midst of this experience, I am being called to perhaps start a local group for pastors who want to write and get published. Of course I have had this conversation with God before, that I learn much quicker if I just get my way and what I want, then from the times when I have been turned down. But of course God doesn’t listen to that conversation.
And yet God reminded me that it has been those times of moving on that have become the fundamental shape of my character. That in those times of moving on (and I have not always been willing to move on) I became stronger, more confident, more willing to work on myself, and able to even show my talents in skill in the face of the chance of being rejected. Those times of moving on and going forward have been the times when I was most willing to listen to God and to walk with God in a new and different way- In ways that I never thought possible.
Zephaniah talks about the journey of his people from darkness to light. Zephaniah is the cousin of King Hezekiah if that means anything. King Hezekiah had a reputation for bringing reform to the people of Israel. They had gotten comfortable with themselves and stopped thinking about their relationship with God. King Hezekiah and his son Josiah set them straight and reminded them to let God be the center of their lives and their worship. Today we celebrate what quality in the advent cycle? Joy – Joy comes from knowing that whatever you are going through – wherever you are in life, whatever you are feeling – God is with you. The opposite of joy is not sadness – it is apathy. It is that feeling that you have no reason to celebrate or to be happy. The opposite of hope is not the feeling that there is no hope – it is the feeling that it really doesn’t matter what I feel or what I do.
The people of Israel were guilty of those feelings. God didn’t matter to them anymore. God being with them didn’t matter anymore. They could do what they wanted – because they just didn’t care that God was in their midst. Zephaniah is made up of 7 sections, where Zephaniah is trying to straighten up the people. And tell them that they have got to do better. That they have got to care about God and if they don’t then them are going to be punished. The ultimate punishment fo the Hebrew people was being banished from their own land by the babylonions. The story of faith is the story of how they were able to move on from that experience and recognize that God was leading them to a new place. Our whole bible is a story of them moving on. But Zephaniah’s prophecy comes even before that. Zephaniah worns the people that they have to get out of their apathy and turn their lives toward God. And in the midst of that journey – Zephaniah and the people realize that indeed God is with them. And they can go on with their lives. Finally Zephaniah is able to tell the people to rejoice because the journey is over – they can celebrate that God allowed them to struggle, but today the struggle is over. All of their troubles will have meaning, all those who fought them will honor them, all that they attempt will happen, all that they have lost will be restored. Simply because they have come out of their apathy and realized that God is with them on the journey. Joy is knowing that God is with you on the journey. Joy is not in whether good things or bad things happen, joy is in knowing that everything that happens for a reason, and that God will reveal that reason.
Joy is in having a deep longing for change and knowing that change is about to come. Joy comes when you can see for yourself that joy is coming- it doesn’t have to be here just yet, but you know that it is coming.
Someone once said that joy is the flag flown from the heart when the king of glory is present there. Joy is looking into the face a baby for the first time, joy is sitting down to have coffee with a friend and having a good conversation, Joy is watching an amazing sunset, joy is coming home after a long day and smelling fresh bread in the oven, Joy is watching the man down the street who yells at everyone being willing to help older neighbors shovel the snow from their driveways. Joy is not a feeling, joy is an experience in life that brings you closer to god. I have mentioned what joy is to other people, I invite you to think about what joy is for you. When have you felt the overwhelming presence that God is with you and that all is right with the world? Joy is our peace in the midst of the storm. Joy is knowing that whatever happens, no matter how many rejections you get, that does not change who you are and how much God loves you. It is usually in our deepest moments of sorrow and pain that we learn the true meaning of joy. The truth is that You can’t separate the two. And you can’t have one without the other.
A woman- who was relatively young – 53 passed away after a long battle with cancer. At her funeral – they did a presentation of her life. There were baby pictures, pictures of her growing up, pictures of her family, pictures of her prom, her graduation, her wedding, pictures of her when she had children. Actually she had a pretty normal life. There was nothing really noteworthy about her life or about her pictures. The pastor noticed that while this was going on, her husband was holding the hands of his children. And he was smiling. He was actually very excited and happy, he was really enjoying those pictures. And as he watched the montage on the screen, he was reliving his life with his wife. All of those memories and good feelings were coming back to him in this touching moment of grief. The pain and sorrow of his loss had carved an empty space in his heart. It created a longing for relief. And ache for healing. And God was filling that woundedness with joy in that moment. If God can enter into that moment and heal the pain of death, then surely God can heal the pain of the difficult emotions in our life.
C.S. Lewis – a Christian writer writes a lot about joy he said that joy was the guiding principle of life for his. In his book surprised by joy he says that joy is not a pleasure or happiness, joy is a longing, perhaps a deep satisfaction in life that all is cared for.
C.S. Lewis talks about another image ... at the end of a long
dusty road (life) -- being bathed in the Presence of God.
Bathed not in the sense of dutiful washing... but bathed as in a child's
bath time - full of gleeful splashing and playing with the water upon and around
them - enjoying the water (the Presence), enjoying the 'wet-ness', enjoying being refreshed more than 'merely' being washed.
He reminds us that just being aware of the presence of God in our lives is the difference between joy and something else going on. As long as we know God is with us- anything we go through is a learning experience to make a better person. We don’t have to stay stuck in those difficult emotions that something must be wrong in our lives. The symbols of advent are hope, peace, joy and love. Joy is the heart of every one. Without joy you cant even begin to think of the others, much less feel them and put them in your lives.
Joy is not some frivolous emotion, it is knowing that God is here with you – so sing Cornerstone – rejoice with all of your heart. Let us pray…. Amen.
For me this has been a week of looking at some of the difficult emotions. Happy, sad, worried, stressed out, angry – concerned. Those are actually easy – because usually you know the cause of those emotions. And you don’t have to explain or justify why you feel the way you feel. Because the feeling is not about you – it is about something out there.
The hard emotions are jealousy, resentment, guilt, rejection, inadequacy. Those are hard because they are about you and what is going on inside of you. They are all feelings that we feel, but it is a little harder to justify where they come from, and why we feel that way. And often if you share those emotions with someone else, they will try and talk you out of them as if you shouldn’t feel that way.
When every feeling that we have is justified within our own soul. And sometimes it may not be appropriate to act on that emotion out in the world – but it is always important to examine that emotion and to see for ourselves what it is saying about our soul and our needs in the world.
This has been a week of examining hard emotions for me because of certain events. In October, I participated in a spiritual workshop for pastors. We are supposed to take our knowledge and go and start support groups for other pastors. In applying for this program, we were all told about another program that we could also sign up for. A writer’s support group for pastors. We had to send in our writing samples to be a part of the group. What they didn’t tell us until we were all together that this was a chance to fly to a retreat center in San Antonio every three months for a weekend retreat. We would write and critique the writing of others, and at the end of a year we would be treated to a book deal with a publisher looking for pastors to write on their experiences. A writers dream experience. Well it turns out that half of the group applied for this special group – 25 people, and there were only 7 positions open. So we were told that we would have to compete for those 7 positions. I got all of my paperwork in on time and waited for an answer. On Thursday I get this email saying more info on the writing group. So I know that email is a confirmation that they liked my application and would be accepted. But as I read the letter attached to the email – it is a rejection email. I didn’t make the cut for one of the 7 spots. And I am devastated. I was really looking forward to being a part of this group. I thought I had did such a good job on all of my writing samples, and explaining why I would be a good asset to the group.
So this week I have been reliving all of the rejections on my life. All of the bad relationships, all of the times that I was turned down by the board of ordained ministry, all of the jobs that I didn’t get. Every time in my life when I really wanted something and it just didn’t turn out. What does that say about me, when do I get my turn, when do I get to win, when , why how – and all of those questions and emotions that come along with being rejected.
And of course it didn’t help that I saw that one of my facebook friends, had befriended an old boyfriend. And this old boyfriends profile was a picture of his smiling wife and their two beautiful children – when I saw the picture I couldn’t help but think to myself – o isn’t that special.
Rejection, jealousy, resentment, anger, - this has been a week of tough emotions.
And of course I am left with the ensuing conversation of how do you move on from here. That writing group would have been a perfect opportunity – but will I find something else that is just as fulfilling? Just because they turned me down does that really mean that I am a bad writer. Or was I too good a writer and they thought I was showing off? Who knows. And what is God telling me in the midst of this experience, I am being called to perhaps start a local group for pastors who want to write and get published. Of course I have had this conversation with God before, that I learn much quicker if I just get my way and what I want, then from the times when I have been turned down. But of course God doesn’t listen to that conversation.
And yet God reminded me that it has been those times of moving on that have become the fundamental shape of my character. That in those times of moving on (and I have not always been willing to move on) I became stronger, more confident, more willing to work on myself, and able to even show my talents in skill in the face of the chance of being rejected. Those times of moving on and going forward have been the times when I was most willing to listen to God and to walk with God in a new and different way- In ways that I never thought possible.
Zephaniah talks about the journey of his people from darkness to light. Zephaniah is the cousin of King Hezekiah if that means anything. King Hezekiah had a reputation for bringing reform to the people of Israel. They had gotten comfortable with themselves and stopped thinking about their relationship with God. King Hezekiah and his son Josiah set them straight and reminded them to let God be the center of their lives and their worship. Today we celebrate what quality in the advent cycle? Joy – Joy comes from knowing that whatever you are going through – wherever you are in life, whatever you are feeling – God is with you. The opposite of joy is not sadness – it is apathy. It is that feeling that you have no reason to celebrate or to be happy. The opposite of hope is not the feeling that there is no hope – it is the feeling that it really doesn’t matter what I feel or what I do.
The people of Israel were guilty of those feelings. God didn’t matter to them anymore. God being with them didn’t matter anymore. They could do what they wanted – because they just didn’t care that God was in their midst. Zephaniah is made up of 7 sections, where Zephaniah is trying to straighten up the people. And tell them that they have got to do better. That they have got to care about God and if they don’t then them are going to be punished. The ultimate punishment fo the Hebrew people was being banished from their own land by the babylonions. The story of faith is the story of how they were able to move on from that experience and recognize that God was leading them to a new place. Our whole bible is a story of them moving on. But Zephaniah’s prophecy comes even before that. Zephaniah worns the people that they have to get out of their apathy and turn their lives toward God. And in the midst of that journey – Zephaniah and the people realize that indeed God is with them. And they can go on with their lives. Finally Zephaniah is able to tell the people to rejoice because the journey is over – they can celebrate that God allowed them to struggle, but today the struggle is over. All of their troubles will have meaning, all those who fought them will honor them, all that they attempt will happen, all that they have lost will be restored. Simply because they have come out of their apathy and realized that God is with them on the journey. Joy is knowing that God is with you on the journey. Joy is not in whether good things or bad things happen, joy is in knowing that everything that happens for a reason, and that God will reveal that reason.
Joy is in having a deep longing for change and knowing that change is about to come. Joy comes when you can see for yourself that joy is coming- it doesn’t have to be here just yet, but you know that it is coming.
Someone once said that joy is the flag flown from the heart when the king of glory is present there. Joy is looking into the face a baby for the first time, joy is sitting down to have coffee with a friend and having a good conversation, Joy is watching an amazing sunset, joy is coming home after a long day and smelling fresh bread in the oven, Joy is watching the man down the street who yells at everyone being willing to help older neighbors shovel the snow from their driveways. Joy is not a feeling, joy is an experience in life that brings you closer to god. I have mentioned what joy is to other people, I invite you to think about what joy is for you. When have you felt the overwhelming presence that God is with you and that all is right with the world? Joy is our peace in the midst of the storm. Joy is knowing that whatever happens, no matter how many rejections you get, that does not change who you are and how much God loves you. It is usually in our deepest moments of sorrow and pain that we learn the true meaning of joy. The truth is that You can’t separate the two. And you can’t have one without the other.
A woman- who was relatively young – 53 passed away after a long battle with cancer. At her funeral – they did a presentation of her life. There were baby pictures, pictures of her growing up, pictures of her family, pictures of her prom, her graduation, her wedding, pictures of her when she had children. Actually she had a pretty normal life. There was nothing really noteworthy about her life or about her pictures. The pastor noticed that while this was going on, her husband was holding the hands of his children. And he was smiling. He was actually very excited and happy, he was really enjoying those pictures. And as he watched the montage on the screen, he was reliving his life with his wife. All of those memories and good feelings were coming back to him in this touching moment of grief. The pain and sorrow of his loss had carved an empty space in his heart. It created a longing for relief. And ache for healing. And God was filling that woundedness with joy in that moment. If God can enter into that moment and heal the pain of death, then surely God can heal the pain of the difficult emotions in our life.
C.S. Lewis – a Christian writer writes a lot about joy he said that joy was the guiding principle of life for his. In his book surprised by joy he says that joy is not a pleasure or happiness, joy is a longing, perhaps a deep satisfaction in life that all is cared for.
C.S. Lewis talks about another image ... at the end of a long
dusty road (life) -- being bathed in the Presence of God.
Bathed not in the sense of dutiful washing... but bathed as in a child's
bath time - full of gleeful splashing and playing with the water upon and around
them - enjoying the water (the Presence), enjoying the 'wet-ness', enjoying being refreshed more than 'merely' being washed.
He reminds us that just being aware of the presence of God in our lives is the difference between joy and something else going on. As long as we know God is with us- anything we go through is a learning experience to make a better person. We don’t have to stay stuck in those difficult emotions that something must be wrong in our lives. The symbols of advent are hope, peace, joy and love. Joy is the heart of every one. Without joy you cant even begin to think of the others, much less feel them and put them in your lives.
Joy is not some frivolous emotion, it is knowing that God is here with you – so sing Cornerstone – rejoice with all of your heart. Let us pray…. Amen.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
It all begins with joy
Just a few days ago while walking through the North Riverside mall, a woman was passing out flyers, telling everyone to bring their old gold to her, and she would give them money for it. Everyone seems to want you to sell you old rings, jewelry, even the gold fillings in your teeth for money. I have even heard of gold parties – like a Tupperware party – but you bring in all of your gold – a salesman tallies it all up and gives you money on the spot for your gold.
And that don’t care what it is that you are selling, because they are just going to take it and melt it all together into one lump of gold. Gold is a rather malleable metal, so when you put it into the fire – it melts and refines itself pretty easily.
Malachi speaks of we as people being put into the fire and refined ourselves – so that we can come out as pure. Sounds pretty painful. Someone said it is a lot like being put through a carwash without a car – you might get pretty beat up – but at least you have had a really good bath.
Malachi is the last book in the Hebrew bible. We don’t know who Malachi is, or even what he was trying to address. From his language, we can guess that he was probably a priest in the temple, who realized that things needed to change. People were going through the motions of being religious, but no one was sincere. Not the people, not the priest. Something had to change. Malachi is not a proper name, but a generic term for a messenger. People were beginning to ask, where is the god of justice? The message was that God was sending a messenger who would make everything right. The question is not where God is – but where are you? What part do you play in the present situation of injustice? And are you really doing what God calls you to do, or are you going along with the flow? Are you following the path that God made for you, or are you following the path of everyone else.
Story of lady visiting the silversmith
A group of women in a bible study were looking at this verse from Malachi, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Malachi 3:3), and they wondered what on earth it could mean. One of them decided to find out about the process of refining and purifying silver, and promised to report back to the women in the Bible Study at their next meeting.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you k
Now when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy-when I see my image in it."
The question is not where is God – where are we? We are the silver –being refined to reflect the image of God.
Advent is a time to reflect on how our lives reflect God to others.
I am so excited – this advent the united Methodist news service started a program reminding churches of the importance of prayer and getting back into prayer ministries. Prayer is our way to see how god is working in our lives, and where God is leading us to, what god is calling us to leave behind, and what we are being called to turn away from as we turn to god.
That is the message of Malachi – God is coming the god who promised us salvation is coming- in order to be prepared we have to turn away from whatever we have been doing and be willing to turn to god – to repent and receive god’s forgiveness.
Going through the carwash with a car may indeed by a challenge, it may even be painful but it is not meant to punish us. Saying things that challenge us is not always a bad thing – it is often an act of love. Only those who love us are willing to be perfectly honest with us and tell us that we need to change.
God loves us enough that God is not going to let us get away with being incomplete and not living up to our full potential. If there is something that God sees in us that needs to be worked on, God is not going to leave us alone until it is finished. God’s work in this world is salvation, he began it long ago, and he continues to bring people in the world and in our lives to work with us so that we can be a part of the great work. God made a promise that God would fulfill all of our needs and give us all grace, peace, love and joy. And God will not stop until that promise is fulfilled. That work begins here in our hearts, but it is fulfilled amongst the people. Philippians says that God began a good work in you and will complete it in Jesus Christ.
Advent is the season of hope, peace, love and joy. I still believe that everything starts with joy and is interspersed along the way with joy.
At the thanksgiving service – Rabbi Weiss told three stories of the abiding joy of faith in our lives. My favorite was a question – like that asked of Malachi – where is the god of justice. Why should we praise God in the good times and the bad? Why should we thank god for bad news, just as well as good. Why should we treat god the same when things go our way as well as when things don’t. there was a man who set out to ask that question – he went to all of the rabbis to get understanding, he read all of the books and someone told him to visit a farmer – and ask him – why should we love and honor god in all things – why should we feel the same things about God no matter what happens. The farmer replied – that is a very good question, but I don’t know why someone would ask me – I wouldn’t know the answer to that. Perhaps you should ask someone who gets depressed all of the time – because I don’t know why you I wouldn’t praise and worship God in all things in all times. There is never a time in my life when I don’t love God and long for a relationship with God.
The message in that story for me is that in order to have hope, peace and love – it all has to start with joy. Joy is the condition of our hearts. Joy is the good work that begins in us and gets completed in Jesus Christ.
Philippians is actually called the epistle of joy. Paul is writing to his favorite church and praising them for supporting him while he is in prison. He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving for them. And he encourages them to continue to good work that they started – God will complete it. My prayer is that your love will overflow with knowledge and insight to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless and produce a harvest of righteousness.
God is about to do a new thing – a terribly new thing. New because it is different, terrible because it is challenging. It will challenge our sense of wellbeing, our understanding of us, and our sense of normalcy in the world. Who can stand and endure the pain of that day.
Those who begin their advent season with joy, and are able to carry it all the way through. Let us pray…… Amen.
And that don’t care what it is that you are selling, because they are just going to take it and melt it all together into one lump of gold. Gold is a rather malleable metal, so when you put it into the fire – it melts and refines itself pretty easily.
Malachi speaks of we as people being put into the fire and refined ourselves – so that we can come out as pure. Sounds pretty painful. Someone said it is a lot like being put through a carwash without a car – you might get pretty beat up – but at least you have had a really good bath.
Malachi is the last book in the Hebrew bible. We don’t know who Malachi is, or even what he was trying to address. From his language, we can guess that he was probably a priest in the temple, who realized that things needed to change. People were going through the motions of being religious, but no one was sincere. Not the people, not the priest. Something had to change. Malachi is not a proper name, but a generic term for a messenger. People were beginning to ask, where is the god of justice? The message was that God was sending a messenger who would make everything right. The question is not where God is – but where are you? What part do you play in the present situation of injustice? And are you really doing what God calls you to do, or are you going along with the flow? Are you following the path that God made for you, or are you following the path of everyone else.
Story of lady visiting the silversmith
A group of women in a bible study were looking at this verse from Malachi, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Malachi 3:3), and they wondered what on earth it could mean. One of them decided to find out about the process of refining and purifying silver, and promised to report back to the women in the Bible Study at their next meeting.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you k
Now when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy-when I see my image in it."
The question is not where is God – where are we? We are the silver –being refined to reflect the image of God.
Advent is a time to reflect on how our lives reflect God to others.
I am so excited – this advent the united Methodist news service started a program reminding churches of the importance of prayer and getting back into prayer ministries. Prayer is our way to see how god is working in our lives, and where God is leading us to, what god is calling us to leave behind, and what we are being called to turn away from as we turn to god.
That is the message of Malachi – God is coming the god who promised us salvation is coming- in order to be prepared we have to turn away from whatever we have been doing and be willing to turn to god – to repent and receive god’s forgiveness.
Going through the carwash with a car may indeed by a challenge, it may even be painful but it is not meant to punish us. Saying things that challenge us is not always a bad thing – it is often an act of love. Only those who love us are willing to be perfectly honest with us and tell us that we need to change.
God loves us enough that God is not going to let us get away with being incomplete and not living up to our full potential. If there is something that God sees in us that needs to be worked on, God is not going to leave us alone until it is finished. God’s work in this world is salvation, he began it long ago, and he continues to bring people in the world and in our lives to work with us so that we can be a part of the great work. God made a promise that God would fulfill all of our needs and give us all grace, peace, love and joy. And God will not stop until that promise is fulfilled. That work begins here in our hearts, but it is fulfilled amongst the people. Philippians says that God began a good work in you and will complete it in Jesus Christ.
Advent is the season of hope, peace, love and joy. I still believe that everything starts with joy and is interspersed along the way with joy.
At the thanksgiving service – Rabbi Weiss told three stories of the abiding joy of faith in our lives. My favorite was a question – like that asked of Malachi – where is the god of justice. Why should we praise God in the good times and the bad? Why should we thank god for bad news, just as well as good. Why should we treat god the same when things go our way as well as when things don’t. there was a man who set out to ask that question – he went to all of the rabbis to get understanding, he read all of the books and someone told him to visit a farmer – and ask him – why should we love and honor god in all things – why should we feel the same things about God no matter what happens. The farmer replied – that is a very good question, but I don’t know why someone would ask me – I wouldn’t know the answer to that. Perhaps you should ask someone who gets depressed all of the time – because I don’t know why you I wouldn’t praise and worship God in all things in all times. There is never a time in my life when I don’t love God and long for a relationship with God.
The message in that story for me is that in order to have hope, peace and love – it all has to start with joy. Joy is the condition of our hearts. Joy is the good work that begins in us and gets completed in Jesus Christ.
Philippians is actually called the epistle of joy. Paul is writing to his favorite church and praising them for supporting him while he is in prison. He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving for them. And he encourages them to continue to good work that they started – God will complete it. My prayer is that your love will overflow with knowledge and insight to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless and produce a harvest of righteousness.
God is about to do a new thing – a terribly new thing. New because it is different, terrible because it is challenging. It will challenge our sense of wellbeing, our understanding of us, and our sense of normalcy in the world. Who can stand and endure the pain of that day.
Those who begin their advent season with joy, and are able to carry it all the way through. Let us pray…… Amen.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)