With Bells On

December 30, 2018 Colossians 3:12-17 With Bells on 1st Sunday of Christmas Year C Children’s time Lesson: So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. Object: A kite, balloon, flower, candle Good morning, boys and girls. Isn't this a wonderful day? Do you all know what special festival we are celebrating today? (Let them answer.) That's right. Today is Easter Sunday -- the day that Jesus rose from the dead. We are especially happy today as Christians because of this wonderful thing that God allowed to happen. Today all of us are supposed to remember that we are special to God, too. We are all going to rise from the dead, like Jesus did, so we should keep our minds on heaven. Paul tells us today that we should always be looking at the things that are above -- the things of heaven. To help us do that I brought some things along that have something in common. (Pick up the kite.) What can kites do, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Kites can fly high above the ground, can't they? When we fly a kite, where do we keep our eyes? (Let them answer.) That's right. We keep our eyes on the kite, up in the sky, because kites usually want to keep going up and up. (Pick up the balloon.) Here is a balloon. Balloons have something in common with kites, don't they, boys and girls? What do they have in common? (Let them respond.) Balloons like to fly above the ground, too. They help us to keep our eyes on heaven, too. (Pick up flower pot.) Here we have a flower. How did this flower get started, does anyone know? (Let them answer.) Probably this one got started from a little seed that got buried in the dirt. Pretty soon that little seed began to sprout, and it grew up and up until it reached the air. Then it just kept growing up toward the sky until it looked like it does now. So kites and balloons and flowers all like to reach for the heavens, don't they, boys and girls? (Let them respond. Light the candle.) Finally, here is a candle. I want all of you to watch the flame. Which way is the flame reaching? (Let them answer.) That's right. The flame is reaching up toward the sky, also. It is sending its little light right up toward the heavens. All of these things today remind us of Jesus' Resurrection, of his coming out of the tomb and reaching up to his heavenly Father. He wants us to remember that we belong up there, too, with himself and with his Father. That's why I want you to think a lot about heaven this week by remembering this kite, this balloon, this flower, and this candle. In fact, you can probably find a lot of other things that keep reaching toward the heavens, toward God. Let's all try to keep our eyes opened for those kinds of things this week -- and then praise God for this wonderful day of Jesus' rising from the dead. Will you do that, boys and girls? Good. God bless you all. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, WE ARE THE CHURCH, by Wesley T. Runk Colossians 8-17 8 But now set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language.9 Don’t lie to each other. Take off the old human nature with its practices 10 and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. 11 In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people. 12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. 16 The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Bells are a big part of our celebrations this time of the year. We have all heard the songs about sleigh bells. And we have images of the sleigh going over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. But have you ever wondered why the sleigh would need bells? If you are travelling alone, with no stop lights, who is it that actually hears the bells. Unlike the horns on our modern sleigh’s, bells actually have a deeper purpose. Other people can hear the bells coming. But there is a deeper meaning behind the bells. spirits don’t like noise. The bells are a warning not to people, but to all of the elves and fairies living in the woods, to tell them to get out of the way, so that the sleigh can travel safely to its destination. It is a common understanding across many cultures – that spirits don’t like noise. And noise is used in many if not most cultures to keep the spirits away. In Africa, the drum is used to keep the beat and to keep the spirits away. Asian cultures tend to use gongs, or something that makes an off key noise. I have here a native American noise maker. You use this to cleanse a space of spirits. The spirits, will disappear in order to avoid the noise. European cultures tended to favor a more harmonious sound, so they use bells for that purpose. Another interesting addition in European spirituality, is that Europeans believed that not only could you cleanse space of spirits, but you could also cleanse time. If you ring the bell at the beginning of the church service, then any spirits that were hanging around hoping to get in church to cause trouble were scared away and you could worship in peace. If you rung the bell at the very beginning of a marriage, then any spirits hoping to get in the marriage and cause havoc would be scared away and not have a change to ever enter the marriage. And if you rang the bell at the very beginning of the new year, any spirits hoping to get in and wreak havoc in your year were scared away, and you had a good year all year. Not only do spirits, not like noise, but they also hate light. And they hate crowds of people. They really hate to be around crowds of people that are having fun, making a lot of noise, and celebrating. So now does the New Year’s Eve celebrations make sense. We gather together, have fun and celebrate, and at the stroke of midnight, fireworks go off, and we make a lot of noise, and sing. It is a way of bringing good luck into the year, and keeping evil and negativity at bay. So you thought I was just being annoying wearing bells on my shoes for Christmas. And all of the time, I was cleansing the space, and getting rid of the negativity. So I wanted to make sure that everyone got a bell, to ring in the new year, and keep the negative thoughts at bay. On the positive side, we can think of the bells as a reminder that this is a new year, and we can put the old year aside. Our scripture from Colossians actually encourages us to put the old year aside, and to start anew. That is what Christianity is all about – willingingly accepting a new way of life in Christ. I find it interesting that this understanding of the spiritual world stands up across all cultures. I actually learned that spirits don’t like noise in a Tibetan culture – as they were explaining why they got together to celebrate the new year, and have found that all cultures do the same. Have you noticed that we all have some type of celebration to mark the stages of life. Whenever there is a significant event in your life, what do you do – you have a party and invite your friends over to celebrate. You don’t celebrate alone, in the dark, in silence. – that would be inviting trouble. When we worship God, we don’t stay at home and do nothing. We gather together in worship, and we make a lot of noise and sing. Some cultures look forward to gathering and clapping and celebrating the light of life. The louder and the more boisterous the better. And when we leave, our spirits are in a much better place. Just like the bells in church have a dual purpose – of calling the people in and keeping the spirits out. I think that negativity can creep into our lives in many ways. Some of it is inside of us, and some of it may indeed be around us. But there is something sacred about gathering together. There is something even more sacred about gathering together in the spirit of Christ. The message of Colossians is perfect for the new year. It starts our by acknowledging all of the negative things that we as humans do to one anothers. But once you are a gathering in Christ. You take off the old and put on the new. In Christ, we are all one, and there are no divisions. Paul encourages us to be clothed in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. These are all important qualities, because these are the attributes of God. These are things that only come from God. But these are things which make a difference in the world. These are the things which ensure good luck in our lives, because they are positive and they give positive vibes in the world. If we are forgiving, peaceful and loving – it makes a difference to everyone that we meet in the year. We are encouraged to worship – by listening to the word, singing, and showing gratitude. But the message for us is that what we do as we gather together – doesn’t make a difference unless we live it out there. We don’t just ring the bells on new years, but every Sunday. And we don’t just worship for one hour on Sunday, but every day, in all times and in all things. It is Christ who keeps the evils spirits at bay. But we have to power to bring Christ with us whereever he is needed. As we gather for worship, we will celebrate new years in many ways – some of us alone, some of us with loved ones, some of us in a crowd. Some of us will be sleep way before midnight, and others may be up late into the night. Some of us will watch tv, some of us prefer to sit in silence. Whereever we are, let us know that we are united in Christ. And that when we show compassion, kindness, forgiveness and patience – that we are cleansing the earth and keeping negativity at bay. Colossians reminds us that in Christ, we are chosen, we are holy and we are loved. Let us remember how important that is – this coming year. Let us pray. Amen.