Month: December 2023

Light.

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Luke 2:1-20 

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

14 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Here we are again friends.  Christmas Eve.  What a year we’ve had…and now moving into a time of change for me and for Fleming Road UCC…  I know that for me, this year has been a time of tremendous growth, and I believe for this congregation as well.  Experiencing deep growth coming out of a year of birth pains in 2023.  As we come to the end of 2023, I love that we read this passage.  Really, we read this same passage almost every Christmas Eve.  It’s traditional, it’s the Christmas story…and it’s the promise of new birth coming to us in the darkest of nights, the darkest of days.

My dad would read this passage every Christmas Eve…from the King James Version no less.  He went to church every Sunday, was a church leader, but this was the only time I really ever remember him reading Scripture.  Yet, he did.  One thing about my dad, he was pretty consistent!  

I don’t know where we all are in our lives as we come to this night…maybe you feel stuck, a place that is dark, without hope.  Yet, if we allow the work of new birth to rise within us, and receive the gift that Christmas offers, of light in the midst of darkness, we can break out of being stuck in this loop.  

We have been through a lot these past couple of years, but tonight, here we are,  together in some way, whether here in the sanctuary, or on Zoom, Facebook, we have gathered to hear this story again!  

This year, many of us have had to ponder on a deeper level what Christmas is about, it’s about something new being birthed…in us and in the world around us.  Childbirth isn’t easy, it’s painful…yet, what do we call babies after they’ve arrived?  “Little bundles of Joy”.  Possibility, mystery, love, struggle, suffering, growth, and presence are all wrapped up into babies.

Babies grow into adulthood through the throes of life.  Our faith does as well.  Sometimes we have to remember that things are formed in dark places, like the womb.  Faith, also is birthed in darkness.  And, faith is not about certainty…it is simply believing, deeply, that you are not alone in this world…that there is a God who resides within you and all around you that is with you…a God who entered humanity, became human, in the form of Jesus.  

December 25 was decided by the early church, really our Germanic and Celtic ancestors, because it is close to the annual winter solstice.  It was actually a pre-Christian celebration, and our Christian ancestors borrowed a lot from their ancestors because it simply made sense with the story of the incarnation of Christ…which is a story that is also incarnated, birthed within us.  

The winter solstice is also known as the “longest night”.  It is the day of the year where it’s darkest the longest.  It is to remind us of the darkness of life.  And also that there is hope, because after the longest night, when it is the most dark, the light shines forth, dawn comes…and we can see what was birthed in the night more clearly.  

Uki MacIsaac says this:

The longest night of the year bears within itself the promise of the return of the light, the ‘rebirth’ of the sun. Thus, the Winter Solstice is a time to celebrate the darkness of the womb from which creation arises. We honor the cycles of life, death, and rebirth, the dark night of the soul and the rebirth of new hope and vision. When we move deeper into the darkness instead of avoiding it, we find the gifts the darkness holds. To some, that may mean moving into the shadow aspect of self. What needs to be released, to be brought into the light of our awareness? Even in our darkest moments we can find the seeds of growth and healing within.

…The journey into the darkness prepares the way for celebration: in gratitude we rejoice in the return of the light, the promise of the sun lighting our path, the promise of new beginnings.

The symbolism is great.  Throughout history, people and culture have known “dark times”.  Times when things are in upheaval.  Unless we aren’t paying attention, we must know that we are also in a time of great change and upheaval.  And, let’s be honest, all of us go through dark times in our lives.  The question is, are we going to try and ignore the darkness, or live into it and grow and find God in the depths of it?  

Friends, the reality is that the church has so often preached a message of hope, of joy, of peace, of love, and even a message of Jesus without the darkness that we see around and in us, without struggle…but that’s simply not life is it…we have to have both…struggle and growth go hand it in hand.  God is saying to us on the symbolism of this night…to look into the darkness in order to see a candle, a flame, of love…of promise, of relationship, of incarnation…

Into this season, God has called and placed us.  We are asked to embrace the dark night, because in the darkness we can learn so much.  

In the darkness of Christmas night, there is a great stirring, movements towards hope and something new.  There are shepherds seeing and hearing miraculous news while dutifully minding their flocks.  There are wise men and women seeking knowledge and growth.  

The passage that we read tonight is full of subversive beauty!  Caesar August, the Roman emperor was the head of a political cult that set him up to be divine, a savior, the lord, one who didn’t have any failings, a winner at all costs…and he lived in imperial power exacting a census that was a sign of his authority and ability to collect taxes and contribute the wealth of Rome.  Yet, Jesus comes to us impoverished, on the run, and in a dirty stable.  His coming is announced to a group of outsiders, literally, shepherds and not some great proclamation to the entire empire, this proclamation came from the heavens to a few shepherds and wise men and women so that it can be carried to and for all of creation.  Amazing!

Into that dark night, a baby is born.  Emmanuel or “God with us”!  Jesus, Emmanuel, born to us, humanity.  God, entrusting God’s self to us, in darkness, and to a couple of teenagers who were still trying to figure things out!  God, who gives hospitality and relationship receives hospitality and relationship.  The “uncreated” creator giving over itself to its creation.

Into the night, a small light came on to the scene of history that grew to a blazing fire illuminating hope, peace, grace, friendship to ALL, welcoming the outsider, showing radical hospitality.  This Jesus that says he will be with us in the darkness birthing new life and possibility to us and to those around us!  We are becoming more and more radiant as we acknowledge the hard and struggle of life, share that life together, and look at each and see the “glory on each face”!  

One of our German Christian mystics from the 1400’s, Meister Eckhart, says this:  “The light is satisfied only in the innermost place, where no one dwells. It is within you even deeper than you are in yourself. It is the ground of simple silence that is motionless in itself. Yet from its stillness, all things move and all things receive their life, that they may live in accordance with this reason (vernunftecliche) and be conformed to it within themselves.”

We have opportunity after opportunity to meet God in the stillness of the night, this night and every night…really every moment in the deepest parts of our lives and in every life.  May we lean into the darkest places, the darkest night, and grow into people of radiance as we wait for the morning light!  

The shepherds, wise men, and even Mary and Joseph, had to wait…to let things emerge.  And, yet, there was promise.  Friends, as Fleming Road UCC embarks into a new chapter, as I embark into a new chapter, allow yourselves to wait on God’s timing.  You have some amazing stories yet to be written and told.  As you allow yourselves to embrace what the night brings, there is a light shining and leading you into a future.  A future where there are possibilities.  You could have in a short time, maybe 2-3 years, a congregation that is community engaged and reflects the diversity of the neighborhood.  A future where your German traditions are mixed in with Ukrainian traditions, Nepali traditions, African-American traditions…stories meshing together to reflect the Kin-dom of God.  You could see this congregation flourish as it merges with the community as we have stated in the past.  And, you could see your faith grow in beautiful ways as you face the uncertainty of the times we all live in.  Personally, I do not know the future for Fleming Road, but I believe you have found a star in the night, the promise of God with you, and you are charting a course to find this promise of God in the most unlikely ways and persons.

So friends, as we look into the darkest nights of our lives for the hope of Christ to be born again in us and around us…may we proclaim and rejoice in this king, this savior, this lord, this ever deepening Presence being born in us, and this friend to us.  And, in this looking in, may we experience the birth of Christ that is happening within us, all of the time.  As we go into the night, here more words from Meister Eckhart:  

“This birth which takes place unceasingly in eternity is the very same birth which has taken place within human nature.” 

May the joy of the promise of new birth, the story of Christmas, be with you every day, every moment of your life.  Amen and Merry Christmas!

Love.

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Old Testament Readings 

Micah 5:2-5a 

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
 who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me
 one who is to rule in Israel, 

whose origin is from of old,
 from ancient days.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
 when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return
 to the people of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,
 in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. 

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
 to the ends of the earth;

5 and he shall be the one of peace.
If the Assyrians come into our land
 and tread upon our soil,

we will raise against them seven shepherds
 and eight installed as rulers. 

New Testament Readings 

Luke 1:39-55 
Mary Visits Elizabeth 

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill
country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 

Mary’s Song of Praise 46 And Mary said, 

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
 
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49  for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
 
and holy is his name.

50  His mercy is for those who fear him
 
from generation to generation.

51  He has shown strength with his arm;
 
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
 
and lifted up the lowly;

53  he has filled the hungry with good things,
 
and sent the rich away empty.

54  He has helped his servant Israel,
 in remembrance of his mercy,
 

55  according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
 to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 Sermon:                                               

Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent, the Love Sunday! This Sunday is often called the Sunday of birth, and also the waking of the church. That fits, because joy, hope, and peace, are a part of love and “love gives birth to new things”, it also awakens us to new realities. Now, in full disclosure, I’d have to say that last comment about the church being awakened could have also been influenced by the Star Wars movie, “The Force Awakens”. 

But, still, Love is an interesting word. It gets tossed around quite a bit in our culture. 
I also found this description online: 

Love is unconditional affection with no limits or conditions: completely loving someone. It’s when you trust the other with your life and when you would do anything for each other. You hide nothing of yourself and can tell the other anything because you know they accept you just the way you are and vice versa. 

Regardless of how love is defined, it’s safe to say that love has lots of meanings to different people. I would say, at its core, that love is a deeply relational term that has a meaning of commitment, loyalty, joy, faith, compassion, grace, honesty, and deep affection. 

In our gospel passage today, we see this kind of love expressed in many ways. Mary, a soon to be teenage mom, is pregnant with Jesus. She takes a journey to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who is much older, and is also pregnant with John. She is much further along than Mary. 

Mary is also from a working class family, she doesn’t have much status in society. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is married to a priest and she comes from a priestly line. She has standing in society. 

Yet, that didn’t matter. They have a close relationship that transcends societal barriers and Mary goes to visit her. 

The authors of Luke are not trying to give out facts, they are telling a story of promise and deliverance for all who are enslaved to something, which is everyone. They make a point to say this is a journey, just like the Israelites were on a journey in the wilderness. This deliverance is a process that takes time, but something good is being produced in us in the journey. Both of these women have been promised that they’d be blessed with pregnancies, although both pregnancies have difficulties: one has the stigma of being a teenaged mom who isn’t married yet, the other is an older woman well past her child- bearing years. Yet, they trust God and God’s love. 

Mary goes, she is moved to action, she takes a journey to Elizabeth, out of relationship, out of love, and a need for comforting each other in what could be a difficult, albeit hopeful and joyful time. This passage is conveying to its readers that God makes promises to us, dreams big dreams for us, yet those dreams involve risk and may bring some anxiety…and seem complicated. Yet, God has given us God’s self, and God’s self, at God’s core, is about a crazy love for all of us, we can move through life with purpose and peace even in complicated, anxious times. 

When Mary greets Elizabeth, the words we read of greetings, multiple greetings, indicates an excitement, a joy, to be together. They are bond together. They can’t wait to see each other. There is an emotional response from both of them, as well as from Elizabeth’s womb. The baby John leaps! 

Maybe some of us can relate with that sense of love. I know there are folks who I can’t wait to see. When we made the journey to England a while back, I couldn’t wait to see our friends the Sextons, the Gravelings, the Kenny’s and so many others whom we’ve shared community with…when we saw each other, we were filled with excitement because of the love we shared for each other. There are family and friends we are going to see over Christmas, and I’m looking forward to that as well. 

John, while still in his mother’s womb, senses Jesus, and leaps for joy…and for love!

I believe that this is a lover’s leap! 

The love that John experiences is carried to him through the Spirit of God that embodies love. God’s Spirit fills all spaces and is present whether we recognize it or not. This love can be experienced through friendships, moments of great importance, during hard times when we feel like giving up yet something holds us together, through simple things like sunsets, music, or a small gesture of kindness. This love permeates everything and always wins! And, it’s for everyone! 

I found it interesting as I prepared this message reading and often seeing people that claim to be followers of Jesus, the very expression of God’s love for humanity and creation, talking about excluding others of different faiths, skin color, nationalities, etc.., even advocating for violence, denying safety for others, gossiping about folks, saying incredibly offensive statements, and encouraging division. 

Friends, if someone makes a statement that isn’t motivated by deep love for another, it isn’t a Christian statement. 

We have come to this Advent season to celebrate the coming of Christmas, the coming of God into humanity as a human. We come to celebrate a God who keeps promises of being with and of loving us radically and unconditionally. As my friend Brennan Manning would say, “God loves you just as you are, not as you should be, because you never will be as you should be.” This is the kind of message that should permeate our thoughts about ourselves and others. This is the kind of message that people should be hearing from Jesus followers, and experiencing! 

We should be telling others, as well as ourselves, that NOTHING can separate us from God’s Love as it says in the book of Romans. Nothing. This love is like a stream that keeps on flowing. It carries things, moves things, shapes things, fills every nook, and is relentless. This love changes us, just as streams grow into rivers and rivers flow into oceans…it is unstoppable. We can even nail that love to a tree, try to kill it, yet even death can’t overcome God’s love…it keeps moving! 

So many times we try to change situations or others through other means rather than love. God’s way, the way of love flows differently. We can be reflections of that love in beautiful ways if we can simply trust and let God’s love flow through us, loving us, changing us. 

I don’t know if this was on purpose, but New Year’s follows Christmas. Change happens as love is birthed into us and the world around us. 

Friends, may the Love of Christ cause us to leap with joy. May we be awakened to God’s delight and God’s Spirit washing over us and be reminded of God’s faithful and loving relationship with us. 

Joy.

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John 1:6-8, 19-28 

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”[the Christ] 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”

as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,[the Christ] nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Sermon Manuscript:

A couple of years ago, good friends of ours, the Zimmers and the Bronsinks, along with us, rented an Airbnb in Lexington for a weekend at Keeneland.  

We needed that short trip!  Life had been crazy, all of us were dealing with so much in our lives and in our families.  We were in a place of deep transition.  Being together brought a lot of joy, even in the midst of a hard season.  We shared, a lot!  We had fun at Keeneland with the horses, and then we came back to our Airbnb for dinner.  Over dinner, someone suggested we all share our top 5 favorite songs of all time.  Our friend Troy put together a playlist of those songs on his iPhone.  He then started playing them, and a little dance party broke out!  We danced like wild people in a time of uncertainty in our lives…there was so much joy in that moment!  It was like we were all swirling dervishes it seemed at times!

Our gospel lesson in John is set against the backdrop of uncertainty.  First century Palestine was a place of unrest.  There was a recent revolt against the Roman Empire by the Jewish Maccabees.  They reigned for a while, but the might of the Roman Empire eventually crushed them.  Jewish zealots were still active, and there was a Jewish religious and political structure that appeased to a certain degree both the zealots and much more the Roman rulers, as well as trying to maintain the cultural status quo and their place of comfort within it.

And, there was this backdrop of a Messiah, or the anointed one, the Christ, a concept that was in Jewish tradition and in their religious imagination.  A savior that would deliver them from their oppressors, bring justice to those on the margins, restore Israel as a sovereign nation, and place it on a hill, a light for all nations and peoples.  Pretty grand images.

So, the legal scholars and priests come to John, a strange man who had wild hair and a crazy sense of fashion…sounds familiar…and my kind of person!  But, these folks wanted to know if John was the Messiah, the Christ.  Not only were the living in uncertain times, they were uncertain of who John was…and they so wanted to believe that their visions of grandeur would be coming to their nation.  And, if he wasn’t the messiah, the Christ, was he Elijah, the prophet coming to proclaim the coming Messiah?  

Who are you?  They ask.  

John responds.  No, he’s not the Messiah, he’s not the Christ.  But, he does say that he is a voice crying out in the wilderness.  And, that the one who is coming, John is not even worthy to tie his sandals.  John also says that he baptizes with water.  And, we know that baptism symbolizes dying, being buried in the waters…and rising again to life, a new life.  A new identity, one based on the story of Jesus, the story of God, our story.

Friends, we’ve said this before, we are also in the wilderness.  This is an in-between time, not only for our culture, our church, but also, maybe for each of us.  If we are willing to be honest, deep down, we are also searching for a Messiah, the Christ.  

And, we are uncertain about where to look…maybe we look for it in political leaders, or celebrities…maybe it’s something else.  We want someone or something to deliver us.  Maybe the wilderness we are in is deeper than we could ever imagine and there’s no way we can dig ourselves out.  

Maybe we are also asking the question , not “who are you?”, but “who are we?”  “Where are we going?”  “Will we ever get out of this wilderness?”  Maybe we are uncertain if we can or will get out.  Maybe we don’t even know where we are heading or who’s on the journey through the wilderness with us.

At some point, we realize that the worldly systems that we have adhered to, the “isms” that we have put faith in, don’t work as well as they used to.  Maybe we have come to a point that looking for a messiah in someone else or some thing has not given us peace, joy, love, or hope.  

Maybe it’s time that we, again during this advent season, look to this Jesus that John is pointing to, this Jesus who will come to us with a baptism of Presence, of God self.  

A Presence that brings Joy in the midst of uncertainty, even despair.  A joy that shapes and reshapes us, Joy that stays with us in the wilderness, that walks with us, that struggles with us, a Joy that is above and more dangerously beautiful than any ism, politician, celebrity, country, ideal can offer us.  A Joy that persists in hardship that lasts forever.  

A Joy that is present in the Christ, exhibited in a God emptying God’s self into a baby called Jesus.  A Joy in Christ that God also put into each one of us.  Again, as Paul states, Christ is all an in all things and people in the book of Colossians.  

People ask sometimes in this season randomly, “do you ‘believe’ in Christmas?”  Well, maybe a better question is do you know that the Christ in Christmas BELIEVES in you and that belief is wrapped up in a deep Joy.

Friends, this Christ believes in you, loves you, and has come, is here, and will come to give you Joy.  You already have it!  What are you waiting for?  Cultivate, go deep in the soil of your lives, let God love you unconditionally!  And, dance with Joy!

Peace.

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Mark 1:1-8  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

1 The beginning of the good news[a] of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[b]

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[c]

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,[d]
    who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

4 John the baptizer appeared[e] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with[f] water; but he will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit.”

Peace!  The Second Sunday of Advent, our second candle gives us the word Peace.  Peace is better defined as “shalom, and that is defined as follows:

In Hebrew, the word “peace” is translated as “well-being”, “well”, and “in good health” is all one word – Shalom.

That last definition seems to fit this season of “giving”.  We fritter about doing things, looking for gifts to give, and we receive gifts from others.  

Yet, do we experience peace, or well-being?  It seems to me that oftentimes when we look for peace or think that things will bring us peace.  We are disappointed or disillusioned and settle for lives filled with despair and a lack of peace.  

In Scripture and even in the world around us, we find that there is a great sense of well-being in announcing the coming of Jesus.  Jesus is coming to bring restoration, wholeness, justice, peace, forgiveness.  The very meaning of the word Advent is “appearance,” “arrival,” “dawn,” and “return”.  

Most in this culture know that Christmas has something to do with the arrival of Jesus.  Yet, we can’t seem to remember why we should have peace in a world of division and violence.  We are reminded often in this culture with clever phrases like “Jesus is the reason for the season”.  Sometimes commentators on some channels or so called news outlets will talk about a “war on Christmas”.  Based on the amount of spending and consumerism…and the number of times of seen Christmas movies reappearing in ad nasuesum, I’m not exactly sure what war is being fought and who’s winning.  

All of this to say, it is oftentimes hard to find peace when we are being pushed so many messages trying to break through to us to distract us and even divide us.  We are busy, we have things to do, we can’t slow down and expect everything to be done by December 24.  

We have expectations of what Christmas peace should be, yet we may not always experience it.  We need time to slow down and experience peace.  It takes making space in the midst of craziness to be still.  What we need in this season is to simply stop, to contemplate or become contemplatives.  To look and notice things and people around us as infused with God.  That can be hard, but it’s so necessary.  When we slow down though, we often are faced to sake some hard questions around life.  

In our passage this morning from Mark, John the Baptist is announcing the arrival of Jesus, of whose sandals he’s not worthy to tie.  I’m not sure what John was expecting, but I’m sure it wasn’t to face a horrendous death at the hands of King Herod just a short time afterwards.  When he was sitting in a jail cell, waiting for death, he had some hard questions to face.  I wonder, did John, in the midst of his expectations being dashed, in the midst of his sorrow, did he find peace?  It seems like he certainly found some courage, but, I have to admit, I don’t know how I’d feel in the place of John.  

And yet, it seems like he had peace and was still searching for shalom within himself and within others.  He did not blame others, but in his uncertainty, he still found faith and, I believe, found peace.  He knew that this Jesus would call forth the shalom, the peace and well-being of humanity.  

I had the privilege of hanging out with a church member this past Monday night.  We talked briefly about how this world is always trying to find a scapegoat.  A group of people to blame our problems on.  Jews, Palestinians, Russians, Ukrainians, Black folk, Hispanics, Trans kids, women, Democrats, Replublicans…just go down the list.  Given the events of the past few years, it’s important for us to have a discussion on how we can be a better community with each other.  It could be easy to pass judgment as well on some of what we’ve seen or heard based on propaganda.  Yet, I believe that there has been generations of oppression, of sexism, and racism experienced and felt by so many of our brothers and sisters.  As a white male, I cannot say that this has been my experience.  However, what I can do is not pass judgment, and go into my community and listen while practicing being a friend or a good neighbor.   And, I can find peace even in the midst of this sorrow.  

Why?  Because I believe that the message of Jesus bringing freedom does give me peace and a desire for shalom or the well-being of all.  How?  Because Jesus demonstrates to me a God who isn’t far off, isn’t affected by what we experience.  God knows what it’s like to be oppressed, to be captive, to be brokenhearted.  God has experienced all that we experience.  God has experienced sorrow, deep sorrow.  Yet, God still came to us, God listened to us, God demonstrates throughout history and through Jesus, and even now through God’s Presence and Spirit, in and through our communities and each other, that we are not alone.  

Jesus did come, he did arrive.  And, he did also die and have many of his expectations shattered.  Yet, there was something deeper.  Something more beautiful than we could ever imagine.  This Jesus’ power was not found in conquering Rome or forcing himself over us, his power was loving deeply.  Loving to the very core of all of us.  Not giving up on us, even in death.  This love that God has for us and that we can share in does lead to sorrow, but sorrow always gives way to peace, a deeper joy than simply a song or words can describe.  

I don’t always get it, but, at times I catch glimpses of this peace.  It can come in the midst of a run, or in the gift of listening.  Listening, however, can be hard.  Our Mark passage has the word “repentance”.  Repentance in Greek is metanoia, it literally means the changing of one’s mind.  To experience this change, one must be open to the gift of change and growth.  That starts with a sense of knowing that things may not be right within us, a deep sense that there has to be something more to our lives as persons, and as a community called Fleming Road.  

As we listen to our community, we will hear so many things that can cause growth, but  that starts with commitment, just like being a parent, we don’t know how things will turn out, but, as we listen to one another, to our community, and to a God who has entered into our experience and calls us into experiencing life together.  At times it will be painful, filled with sorrow, yet there is a deeper joy welling up within us as we listen, work towards justice and forgiveness, and actively expect God’s Presence to come to us now and in the future when everything is restored to what it should be.

Seasons.

/ jonesyuk / Leave a comment

Mark 13:24-37 

The Coming of the Son of Man

24 “But in those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light,

25 

and the stars will be falling from heaven,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26 “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels and gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The Necessity for Watchfulness

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”

If you are like me, when this passage comes up in the liturgy, and especially on the first Sunday of Advent where we light the candle of Hope, this passage seems to be a bit more harsh, that there is an apocalypse upon us, like watch out, be ready, there’s something about to happen and it sounds terrifying.  

I would propose that those things are true, and that this is a very appropriate passage for the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent means to wait, to know that we cannot force the coming of Christ in this season or any season of our lives, but it is coming to us nonetheless.

This passage today is about three things:

  1. Change is coming and change is always disorienting.
  2. With change, like the changing of the seasons, brings the hope of new life.
  3. The change is going to happen, are we awake in the deeper sense of who we are to have ears to hear and eyes to see?

Do you ever go out at night and look up at the moon?  Do you marvel at its brightness, the moon shadow that comes over the landscape and even in the sky?  Do you ever get up in the morning and see the sun rise and marvel at its shedding brilliant light on the landscape?

Recently, I was up for an early morning run, and it was great to see both the moon and the sun going down and rising at the same time.

Now, what if the sun did not rise or was totally eclipsed, blacked out?  And, what if the moon did not have the sun to be a reflection in the night?

It would mean that we were living in pitch darkness, we could not see anything.  We would be disoriented, confused, and certainly uncertain on what would come our way!

It is a apocalypse.  And, remember what that word means, its not the end of the world, it is simply that something is ending so something new can begin.  It literally means an uncovering or revelation, something is being revealed.

The gospel writer seems to be giving a very descriptive metaphor that God is being revealed in times of change, that God comes to us when things are the darkest, the most disorienting, and the most uncertain.  So, when things seem completely lost, thank God!

And also know that this is part of the cycle of living that gives hope as the gospel writer continues to tell us.

In times of change, like the seasons, there is birth, life, death, rebirth…and that we cannot cause the seasons to change, but we can wait and trust that they will, and fruit will be produced.

Friends, I am in a liminal space, so are you, and so is this congregation.  We can think that everything is lost, give up hope, and close up shop or run away…and, honestly, sometimes we need to run away for a bit and rest and renew.  But, we have to remember this, that God is always flowing in and around us in the struggles of life, in the uncertainty of our lives and in our times, and is calling us to pay attention, to wait, and to listen.  

This past week, on November 30th, was St. Andrew’s Day, the patron saint of Scotland.  That made me think of at story about waiting that one of the greatest Scotsmen in history, Sir William Wallace did.  Wallace led the fight for freedom for Scotland in the 1300’s.  One of his first battles, a pivotal battle, he led his ragtag group of highlanders with homemade spears and swords and farm tools against the very well trained and outfitted English army that outnumbered greatly his Scotsmen.  

He led his men to the battlefield and told them to wait.  As the Englishmen came running towards them with a ferocious attack, he continued to tell his men to wait…and they did, looking at this well-equipped army storming towards them.  They were afraid, they did not know the future, they were uncertain for their very lives, yet they trusted their leader and waited.  At just the right time, William Wallace told his men to throw their spears and engage in the battle.  They routed the English that day.

We may not be in pitch battles with the English anymore, but we do find seasons in our lives where things seem bleak and dark…where we don’t know the future.  In those moments, we step into a liminal, threshold space.

Rev. Dr. Ruth Haley Barton says this: 

“Because we have met God in that frightening, liminal space we are able to stand firm and believe God in a way that makes it possible for others to believe as well.”

Friends, this God resides within you and all around you.  Give yourselves grace to wait, to stay away, or maybe for some, to wake up to this reality of God’s Presence for the first time.  You cannot force this God to arrive or not to arrive.  God is coming to us no matter what, it is the apocalypse, it always has been, and things are revealed and uncovered.  Wait for it, look for it, receive it, and live in that hope.