ADVENT 4B 2008

This week I had a hard time coming up with a sermon that had one central theme. So this morning I am going to do one of my random thoughts sermons, which I don’t think I have done in a long time. So here goes.

• First, did you notice which character in the sketch that best reflects my outlook on life. Yes, you are right, the one who was bubbly and optimistic and saw the best in life. No, of course, in my natural state, I think more like the character Kathy – Christmas makes her cranky, it is all about selling and buying, there doesn’t seem to be much love joy and peace around, people are still hungry and there are still wars and famine and on and on.

Any honest person who listens to the Christmas story, has to ask the question, where is the good news and joy and peace that is supposed to come with the Messiah? How come people still mourn in lonely exile all over the world, like captive Israel? How come, if the prince of peace has come, there are still so many wars and so much brutality in the human race? How are the hungry being fed, and how are the mighty being cast down from their thrones, as Mary sang?

I sympathize with any person who has a hard time believing in the Advent and Christmas story. .. The Christmas story is not always easy to embrace.

• Every year during the Advent and Christmas season, I try and capture a sense, even if for a moment, the magic and joy and wonder of this season that I felt as a child. I can remember the sheer joy and wonder of it all when I was little. Belief in the round, jolly fat man who brought presents on Christmas Eve was no problem. It all made perfect sense to me. The lights, the food, the candy, the feeling of family and church, the anticipation.. all of these were joy and magic.

And though I am a cynic by nature, the miracle of God’s grace is that for many years now, in my day to day life, I have experienced this same sense of joy and wonder and love at various times in my life in my hope and faith in the gospel story. The miracle for me is that this story of Jesus has infused into my heart Christmas joy. Of course it does not make me into a raving optimist, but it has saved me from a life of depression and doom and hopelessness.

• I love the image of Jesus coming into the world as a light which scatters the darkness. As we will read on Christmas Eve, the great prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 9:2 ( NRSV ) ^2£    The people who walked in darkness

    have seen a great light;

    those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

    on them light has shined.

Jesus said that he was the light of the world. I envision wherever he went, the darkness had to flee in his presence. I also see, wherever Christians live out their faith, this same thing happens. As Christians love and give and serve all over the world, the darkness is pushed back, and cannot triumph.

As Jesus came into the world to be a light, so he came into my life and changed it. I don’t know how, or why, nor do I understand why there is still so much pain and suffering in the world.. All I know is that when I called out to Jesus in a time of lostness and darkness, my life was changed.

• I have been thinking a lot lately about how our view of life and the world changes as we grow older. Now that I can go to Denny’s and order off the senior menu, I guess I am can say that I am kind of, sort of, an old guy. And I wonder at times if when I preach, this fact totally skews the truth of life. This morning we read about the angel Gabriel coming to Mary. What a story! Whatever was going on in her mind, I would guess that she, and Joseph, experienced that same joy and excitement of the anticipation of, and the birth of, a new baby. And then the process of watching this baby grow as a young child. This whole experience is true and real.

While this process of the birth and raising of a young child is not always easy, it is qualitatively different than raising a teenager. Do you remember the story of Jesus when he was twelve years old and he left his parents and family and stayed in the temple. His mother says to him:

Luke 2:48 ( NRSV )….. “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 

You parents of teenagers, isn’t it nice to know that the Holy parents struggled with their almost teenage son Jesus? He caused them “great anxiety?”

And then Mary watches her son’s public ministry, causing her confusion and wonder, and which then ends in great suffering and death. After this whole process, Mary’s view of life is a lot different than when she was a young mother.

I few weeks ago we had a young couple, Chris and Melissa (Erin Campbell-Craven) here who were living at an orphanage in Mexico. In them I could see myself many years ago. There is great power and joy in youthful faith and energy. Things are done in youth which we older folks don’t often attempt, or can’t do, or rationalize why they can’t be done. Youthful faith, which I think Mary had when she said: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.” .. this type of radical commitment often occurs in youth, when life seems less complicated and the issues clearer.

How does an old guy preach to the young in such a way as to kindle this type of radical commitment and faith? I don’t really know, but I would like to be able to do it. The truth of life is found in all stages of our life. There is excitement in the radical idealism of youth and beauty in the wisdom of age.

• Another thing I think about during this season is my family and traditions. I loved the order and traditions of this season. Maybe that is why I am still an Episcopalian. But I believe that every child loves to have order and ritual during this season, even if some of them are pretty dumb! If you bring a child to a Christmas Eve service from day one every year, and in that service Silent Night is sung with the lights out, they will never be able to experience a full Christmas Eve service without that. Good ritual can create good results in us.

A few days after Christmas, both my mother and mother law died.. not the same year. And I can remember seeing my mother sitting out in the living room, a few days from death, while we decorated the tree. As I get older, I realize how fortunate I was to have a safe and caring family system. Not all people have this. As a child I took it for granted, but now, I am thankful. Family can be both a blessing and a curse. But whichever it is to us, this season causes us to deal with our family systems in a deeper way.

• If you listen to the news much, you get the sense that things are spinning out of control, at least financially. I am sure that many of you are affected by what is going on in the economy. I am reading a book about President Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office, in, I believe 1933. I just read how the banks in Michigan collapsed, Ford laid off tons of workers, and the collapse spread across the country. I don’t really understand it all, but the truth that I realize as I grow older is that these things have been happening over and over again in all countries. In this country, which we think is so secure, only 70 years ago was facing huge financial struggles, hunger, unemployment and more.

The truth is, in this life, there really is no security, no place to be safe, no guarantee of a long healthy life.

This is why I believe that it is wise and prudent to daily surrender our lives, as Pastor Liz said last week, to the Lord. He is the only safe place. He is our rock, our fortress, our high tower, our guard and shepherd. We can experience in this life a real sense of peace when we place our lives in God’s hands. We are not in control of our lives. I try and remind myself of this fact when I am on a ride along with an El Dorado county sheriff and he or she is driving a 100 miles an hour code 3 to a call. As I sit there, I realize how out of control I am, and I remind myself that this is the truth even when I am sitting safely in my chair watching TV. I could just as easily die in my chair as in that car, through a heart attack or a stroke or whatever.

Mary said to the angel: “Here am I… let it be with me according to your word.”

• So in closing, Mary’s attitude of surrender is a great model for all of us.

Here I am Lord. I know that I did not make myself. I know that there are forces in life more powerful than I.. governments, employers, capitalists, banks, nature, and more…. So Here I am… let me live with this truth in mind. In life and in death, I am yours.. let it be with me according to your word.

Have a blessed Christmas season… We will see you all on Christmas Eve AMEN!