Holy Infant, so tender and delicious

Christmas Eve, 2018

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, born to us this night…... Amen.

This year, Christmas 2018, marks the 200th anniversary of our most beloved Christmas Hymn, Silent Night.  No, this carol did not fall out of the sky – tradition says it was created by a young priest named Joseph Mohr in Austria. The poem was 2 years old, but in 1818 Mohr had his friend, organist Franz Xavier Gruber, wrote a guitar accompaniment - easy to sing, to evoke the beauty and serenity of Christmas. And boy, did they knock it out of the park. Can you even imagine Christmas WITHOUT singing Silent Night? Silent Night is ALMOST as essential to Christmas eve as baby Jesus …. (ALMOST!!)

And nothing is cuter than small children singing Silent Night… and trying to make sense of the lyrics:

Silent Night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright…

Round John Virgin, Mother and Child,

 Holy Imbecile, tender and Mild,

sleep in heavenly Peas (P-E-A-S), sleep in heavenly peas.

Honestly, sleeping in heavenly peas might have been a more comfortable option than where baby Jesus DID end up sleeping – swaddled up in strips of cloth, and laid to rest in a manger – a feeding trough for animals, full of bits of half chewed straw and hay covered in cow drool.

 But one line that always sounded strange to me is: “Holy Infant, so tender and mild.” What a strange way to describe a baby. We know what Father Mohr MEANS by “tender and mild” –adorable and sweet. But “Tender and mild”?

This is especially strange because in the original German, the line is better translated, “baby with the curly hair.” (you can see it in the German first verse that is right there in the bulletin – Lokigen Haar). It was an episcopal priest in New York City in the 1850s to translate the song into English, who must have wanted something good to rhyme with “Child.” Tada… Tender and Mild!  Which honestly makes Jesus sound like a delicious steak or a bread pudding.

But….. perhaps “Holy Infant, so tender and mild” is not actually far from the truth…. Please bear with me, I promise that is not nearly as weird as it sounds.

What we think of as the modern nativity scene – with a wood stable, figurines of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, sheep, Magi, camels, angels, and the odd cow or goat, was supposedly invented by none other than animal lover St. Francis himself. St. Francis, who they say wrote “Lord Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace,” pet blessings, and the guy Pope Francis got his name from.

Tradition has it that St. Frances dragged his entire congregation out to a cave outside of town, strew about some straw, gathered some farm animals and unsuspecting parishioners, and erected an altar in the center, and preached the first ever Christmas eve sermon. Later sources tell us he did this to combat the rise of rampant materialism - that apparently was happening way back in 1223 - and to refocus the meaning of Christmas back on the very real poverty of baby Jesus’ birth.

That hits a little bit close to home doesn’t it? Because it seems that some things never change. Since the day Jesus was born, it seems, we have misplaced his meaning, making the season about more and more presents rather than the real presence of Jesus in our lives… and our presence in the lives of the people we love. We bury the rough and rustic reality of the nativity under inflatable snow-globes and mountains of glitter and wrapping paper.

And despite the snow globes and glitter, I bet that today didn’t feel very silent and holy, with not a moment of calm and peace to be found. I bet all of us in one way or another, is searching for what makes the stress of this season worthwhile. What in the world can a 200-year-old song – though very beautiful – say to us in 2018? What is the point of getting dressed up in our best and stressing our families to visit a baby in a manger that was born 2000 years ago?

In 1223, instead of a wooden box full of straw, which is at the center of all of our modern nativity sets, St. Francis instead placed his altar. The manger - altar. Altar – table. A table from which all are welcome to gather, a table for which there will always be a place for you to sit and join in a feast of joy.

The host of this feast, the one seated at the head of this table, is Jesus. Jesus, who didn’t stay a baby forever, who grew up to be a teacher and a preacher, who fed the hungry and healed the sick…. Who dared to tell the religious authorities to take their rules and stick it in a place I can’t say at the 4 PM service. Jesus… who made the rule-makers so angry, that they punished him and tortured him and killed him. Jesus… who defeated death, the grave, and the powers of darkness, who’s light shone so brightly that he could not stay dead. Jesus, who lived, and is alive.

Jesus, who loves all people, the broken ones and the imperfect ones, the ones who aren’t completely done wrapping all their presents, who snapped at their spouse or their parents, who overcooked the potatoes, and who worries about how they are going to pay their credit card bill next month. Jesus feeds and sustains all of us, starting on the night he was betrayed, when he ate his last meal with his disciples and friends who would later betray, deny, and abandon him. 

That night, facing his own death, Jesus raised a loaf of bread, blessed it, and said to these imperfect people, take this and eat it – it’s my body, and I am giving you everything I have. And since that night, each Sunday we remember, and we are fed, and we are given the strength to love and be loved. Martin Luther supposedly said that our outreached hands as we receive communion become the manger for Christ arriving for us and to us.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild. Son of God, love’s pure light. Tonight, we celebrate that love – so tender and mild TOWARD US - being born into the world - the brightening dawn of redeeming grace. And as we light the candle of the people next to us, we get to see how the light grows, tiny flame by tiny flame, until the whole world gets to see that love’s pure light, today and always. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Artist Unknown. 

The Good News: "What can WE Do?"

Sermon 12-16-18

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Originally, I was going to start my sermon with yet another funny observation abut how, at the 3^rd Sunday of Advent, we still have no Mary, Joseph, angels, or shepherds, instead a second week in a row of John the Baptist….and add a clever quip juxtaposing John’s threat that the ax is at the root of the tree, while we over here are cutting down Christmas trees left and right  to decorate our homes.

But then we had A WEEK, and instead, I wonder, if John were here, what he would say about it. This week that included news of the death of a 7-year-old girl refugee while she was in the care of the US Boarder Patrol.

And what would John say to bomb threat reported at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the 6^th anniversary of that school shooting…. And what would he say about the fact that, Since Sandy Hook, we have had on average 1 school shooting EVERY WEEK.

After a week like this, the judgement and condemnation of John doesn’t seem so out of place. Honestly, at the moment, it feels like we might deserve John’s harsh words. Maybe John is right, we are no better than children of snakes.

From this passage I imagine John as a gritty, sweaty, towering man, thunderously pacing and preaching. He is dunking people left and right, and at the same time admonishing the people in power for their selfish ways. Everything about this guy just seems larger than life, and his challenge those with power and authority is pretty exciting to the average person.

The people listening to John around the river wonder too - is this the one whom we have been waiting for, for so long now? Is he the Messiah? Has he finally arrived to kick out their Roman oppressors? But John says to the people – you think what I’M doing is radical and life-changing? Just you wait! I’m only the messenger, people. The one who is coming after me is going to BLOW YOUR MIND.

John is laying the foundation and churning up the soil to make ready for the coming of Jesus and the beginning of his ministry. He is the warm up act to the headliner; he is the trailer to the full-length film of the coming of God. He is the last of a very long line of prophets stretching back through the ages, and their messages were one and the same – the Lord IS NEAR! And that can be both exciting and terrifying.

Whether it’s for that new movie to come out or for some heavy burden to be lifted from your shoulders, we all know the feeling of waiting, and that can fill us either dread or anticipation. So, as we sit in the middle of this Advent season, this season of waiting and anticipation, where do you find yourself? Are you eagerly awaiting the arrival of Christmas, with all the fun, food, and family it brings? Or are you feeling bogged down with the treadmill of preparations and events, with a sense of dread from all you have left to check off your to-do list? Are you weary from hearing about all the pain we inflict upon one another? Are you tired from feeling powerless in the face of all the Bad News in the world?

To us, John’s “good news” may not sound like “good news”… Or does it? At least the people listening to John thought it was encouraging, because they were emboldened to ask in response “what then should we DO?” Two interesting groups who respond to John’s good news that Luke chose to highlight are the Tax Collectors and the soldiers.

The Roman soldiers were like the bouncers of the empire – the muscle that the empire flexed to keep the oppressed populace in line. And yet, here they are – out there in the desert getting dunked and taking to heart all that John was saying. And similarly, the tax collectors did the Roman Empire’s dirty work – like the modern-day pay-day loan establishment that makes money by preying on people in desperate straits. The tax collectors had job security and permission from the Empire to skim and defraud on top of collecting crippling taxes. They too were moved, and asked “what shall WE do?”

So, what can WE do, as students, as accountants, as teachers and parents, as retirees, as homeowners, as coaches and pilots and cashiers and business owners and real estate agents – what should WE DO?

For all, the basic message of John is about this same – living within our resources, not to overstep, to minimize our footprint, and not take advantage of the power and privilege that we do have. Don’t try to be more than what we are called to be. Don’t impose on the human rights of other people, their right to live…  not just to survive, but to thrive, because that is what we deserve too. That’s good news for all – for us, and for other people too. Jesus came as a little helpless baby, so that we would not forget people who are helpless. And Jesus doesn’t forget US when we are feeling helpless either.

Today we lit the Joy candle. And today we heard Paul write to the Philippians, and to us -Rejoice ALWAYS. Which, on the surface, seems to be the opposite of John’s message.

Really Paul? Always? Are you sure? Surely this guy must have an awesome life to be saying such things. But then we remember that over the course of his ministry, Paul was often chased out of town, beaten, arrested…. and as he writes this letter, he is currently facing jail time for preaching the gospel. And yet, he still gives rejoices. Constantly. Perhaps even somewhat annoyingly. And he tells us to pray too… and give thanks. Even though Thanksgiving feels like a year ago. In fact, the word that we translate as “thanksgiving” in Greek is “Eucharistia.”: Eucharist. The same word we use for Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper.

You may have noticed on Sundays as you follow along in your red hymnals as we begin the Eucharist liturgy, the back-and-forth part after the offering prayer is called the Great Thanksgiving. Ever week, you hear, “It is indeed right, our duty and our joy that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our savior Jesus Christ.”

Sound a little familiar? We give thanks for the gift that Jesus has given us: his body. His blood. His death. And his resurrection. It’s not just something the pastor drones on about because we were taught it in seminary. We say it because it’s true. It is our RIGHT… our DUTY… AND our joy… to give thanks and praise to God, sometimes by asking the very important question: “What then shall I do?”

I’m not as cool as John the Baptist, because I don’t have a personal, tweetable answer for each of you. I can only tell you what I plan to do…. (or at least TRY!)

This Advent season, as a very busy pastor, I am going to make sure I reach out to the people I care about and make time to give them my presence over worrying about presents….

I’m going to remember to be kind to the strangers around me, because I don’t know what struggles they are having this season….

I’m going to try to do small things to work for justice, like shopping fair trade when I can, and supporting non-profits like ELCA Good Gifts or Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in PA, that align with the justice issues I feel passionate about….

I’m going to find joy in the small things, to focus on the important things, and remain open to the experiences and stories of others.

Jesus isn’t asking us for heroics. Just for us to be who we are – not children of snakes, and John said, but children of God. You’re a child of God, not a child of snakes – so what then will YOU do?

FOG Road Work Ahead

Sermon 12-9-18

Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

In the second year of the presidency of Donald Trump, when Tom Wolf was the governor of Pennsylvania, and Jim Kenny the mayor of Philadelphia, in the time of the iPhone IOS 12, …..During the Presiding Bishop-ship of Elizabeth Eaton, and the first year of Southeast -Penn Bishop Pat Davenport….the word of God came to Lydia Posselt, Daughter of Jeff the farmer, at her laptop, over a cup of coffee. Or at least, that his how this sermon came to be.

You may have noticed that the writer of Luke uses names and places in history that we can trace back and pinpoint, the famous and the powerful that history remembers, but we have forgotten. Honestly, I have no idea where Trachonitis is – which actually sounds like a medical term! – and I know nothing about Lysanias… do any of you? I didn’t think so!

But if John the Baptist had shown up today, here in Buckingham, Luke might have used these very same names that I did – names of people in power, names that might be familiar to us. You’ll notice though that the word of God did not come to any of these famous or powerful people that Luke listed. Instead, the word of the God came to John, the pastor’s kid, while he was hanging out in the wilderness AWAY from the centers of power.

So, where did this guy John come from, and why are we hearing about him instead of other things that we associate with Christmas… Mary, Joseph, angels, and shepherds? I don’t think too many of our nativity scenes include John the Baptist…. But maybe they should! And here’s why:

Earlier in Luke, before Mary was informed that she would be pregnant with Jesus, Mary’s relative Elizabeth also became pregnant with John. Elizabeth and her husband Zachariah, who was a temple priest, had been waiting and hoping for many years to have a child. 

When Zachariah, heard that Elizabeth was pregnant, he didn’t believe it…. and so the angel messenger temporarily took away Zachariah’s voice for doubting! The moment John was born, though, Zachariah burst into song – the very song that we read together as our Psalm for today. John is the child that arrives before the savior who will guide our feet into the way of peace. John is that prophet, who enters the scene to get us ready and prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival. Long before John, this arrival was foretold, and John is the last in a long line of prophets who have been getting God’s people ready over the centuries. Because apparently, we need a lot of time to prepare, and it’s been taking us a long time to get ready for Jesus …and that work is still going, because we’re never actually finished. In other words, the road is never completely done…

Sort of like road construction.

In Wisconsin, we have a joke about our state: there are 4 seasons, and they are winter, winter, still winter, and road construction. I think around here the joke is reversed: the 4 seasons in Pennsylvania is road construction, road construction, still road construction, and then winter.

When we see those yellow and orange cones, we all groan because we know what’s coming next: slower traffic, changing lanes, new traffic patterns, trucks and work vehicles, people standing around in yellow vests, unexpected detours, longer travel times. Until the new road is complete, we should drive carefully and patiently, and not get in the way of the people remaking the existing road into a better one.

Whenever I drive back and forth to New Jersey, I marvel that they are STILL working on that 95 bridge. Every time I drive that route, I see that they are a little bit farther, and I know that when it’s done, traffic will be – mostly – smooth sailing. I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks forward to the day when going across the river will be so much easier and faster.

What John is proposing in his preparation for the arrival of the Lord sounds very much like road construction. Smoothing out the rough roads, filling in the potholes, grading down the steep hills, straightening out the winding roads to make them more direct.  Think about driving to Allentown on the Northeast Extension verses on 313 and 309. Big difference, right? One way has hills, turns, rough patches, and takes a while, the other gets you there so easily it’s actually kind of boring.

But most of the time, our lives feel much more like 313 than 476. The road that life takes us on tends to lead us down a lot of winding detours. We face plenty of valleys and face lots of steep mountains to climb along our path. Our world feels more like a strange and scary wilderness every day – a dark, barren place where nothing is recognizable, and we feel lost. But the wilderness is also the very place that God arrives just when we are the most in need.

As the prophet Isaiah wrote, long before John the Baptism was born, as translated by Pastor Eugene Peterson in The Message: 

"Prepare God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!
Every ditch will be filled in, every bump smoothed out,
The detours straightened out, All the ruts paved over.
Everyone will be there to see the parade of God’s salvation.”

God is making away through the deserts of our world and in our lives by leveling the powerful and lifting up those who have been brought low. God is making a way through the world by reorienting God’s people to follow a different kind of road than the one traveled by powerful people. God is making a way for our savior to arrive and God’s kingdom to reign here on earth to ALL people.

BUT, this road to make way for Jesus is going to take some work, too. Some rough spots have to be paved over. Some detours and new routes need to be planned. Some different road signs are going up, and some of those familiar orange cones are coming out. It might even make us drive slower and more carefully than we were expecting.

Maybe God is leading us OUT of the highways and bi-ways that are tempting us toward “Bigger and Better” Boulevard. God might be leading us TOWARD Wilderness Way… a place that for now feels lonely and uncharted but is also the place where God hangs out and causes great things to happen. God just might be leading us OUT of a rut, where we have been spinning our tires for far too long. God may be leading us away from the winding detour that we might be lost on, where our GPS of Success has misguided is to, and instead toward the correct lane that we need to be in.

If the writer of Luke were also writing our story, it might go something like this: In the year the roof was replaced, in first year of the Bishop-ship of Pat Davenport, in the second year of the pastorate of Lydia Posselt, the word of the Lord came to Family of God. But has the road been paved and ready for us to hear this word? We may have a roof over our heads now, which is both necessary and something for us to be proud of…. But what happens when we are not inviting others, who are waiting out there in their own wildernesses, to be underneath this fantastic roof with us? What good is raising $$$ for a roof and at the same time we have been short in paying our staff? What good is a dry space outside of the elements if we do not have buy-in and investment in this community by the people who come here?

We have some construction ahead of us, I think, before we can travel the way that God is calling us. It’s not going to be easy, or fun. It will probably be slow going, with new traffic patterns and unexpected detours, and lots and lots of those orange warning cones. We have the invitation from God to walk this road – the way of the Lord – together, to be part of this work of God’s kingdom, in seeing the salvation of God in our midst. THAT is what makes it worth it – so that others many see and know and love and share.

Family of God: there is some necessary Road Work Ahead. Are you ready to get on your orange vests, fire up the backhoe and the drum roller truck, and get to do the hard work here at Family of God, so that others may know that there is “a Place For all people Here”?

I hope so, because I believe that God is calling us to some pretty awesome places along this road. Thanks be to God. Amen.

It's Advent, And I Feel Fine

Sermon 12-2-18

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it…and I feel fine!” Actually, no, I don’t feel fine! I fee stressed! There are too many cars on the road, to many people shopping in Acme, and every organization I’m a part of seems to think it’s a great idea to have a meeting or gathering the first two weeks of December! I would much rather stay home and watch “The Great Christmas Light Fight” on TV.

But, Jesus here seems to want to talk about the end of the world, so that’s what we got. No mangers or angels or Mary or shepherds on this first Sunday in advent… instead, “it’s the end of the world as we know it…” and nobody is feeling fine.

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that reads “Jesus is coming – look busy.” ? I usually seem them on cars going way under the speed limit. I know that it is a funny play on the “Jesus is coming – you better repent” idea… but I’m not sure how exactly I’m supposed to be “looking busy” … at least while I’m driving. I wonder if this means we should have some “holy busy work” at the ready. Maybe I should have some last-minute charities at the ready to donate to, or I should have my Bible out on the coffee table and occasionally move the bookmark forward.

Were you ready for Jesus the last time Jesus was supposed to come? Six years ago was December 2012 - the month the world was actually supposed to end, according to some – remember that? Well, I have a feeling that they were a little off.

While the end of the world failed to most of us, the end of the world did happen in December 2012, for the parents of children who attended Sandy Hook Elementary. Remember that tragic event? This was SIX years ago already. SIX.

And here we are, six years later, with Jesus yet again seeming to be quoting right out of the news. There is plenty for the nations of the world to be in distress about right now, plenty of confusion, chaos, and fear: mass shooting after mass shooting, refugees seeking asylum being teargassed, the effects of climate change harming farmers in the Midwest, ….  just to name a few of the events highlighted in the news recently.  So much pain, so much fear, so much suffering has happened just the last few weeks.

So much so, it might cause us to question whether or not these are the very signs Jesus was talking about. Should we be getting ready for the end? Is the son of Man about to come down from the clouds in judgement? Should we “look busy”? Or should we duck and cover? Stockpile our basements with Mac and Cheese and toilet paper?

Well, Jesus has an opinion about what we should do when he comes back. Not look busy. Not squirrel away supplies like a doomsday-prepper. But also, not to be weighted down by fear. Jesus tells us to stand up and raise our heads, be alert, full of prayer and hope. Because another kind of future is on our way to us – not our future, but God’s future, where we will live not as part of the kingdoms of this earth, but as part of God’s kingdom. Another kind of future has always been and is already breaking in. The kingdom of God is near. NOW.

During another time of great upheaval in human history, the prophet Jeremiah shared similar words of encouragement to a broken people. The people of Israel were conquered by a foreign nation – one of many during the centuries - and they were forced to become refugees in a strange land, where they TOO were not welcome.  Defeated, defenseless, and dejected, they might have given up on God and given in to their fear. Would God be faithful to the promises God made to their ancestors? How long would they have to wait for this coming day that Jeremiah describes?

Some things never change, I guess. We fast forward to the first followers of Jesus hearing these words written by Luke. When Luke was writing, Jerusalem had yet again been destroyed, this time by the Roman Empire. Their beloved place of worship was gone, their city devastated, countless people had been killed, and their world had become unrecognizable. As if the sun had stopped shining and the stars had fallen out of the sky.

Which left the early followers of Jesus wondering, can God still show up, even after all this? Is God’s kingdom still near, will God be able to break in to all the darkness that surrounds them?

If THIS kind of stuff is what we’re going to be getting during Advent, it’s no wonder we could rather not hear about it, and instead skip over Advent completely, and get right to Christmas carols and peppermint lattes. Especially when the things we hear in church on this first Sunday in Advent has nothing to do with Bethlehem, angels, shepherds, or baby Jesus anyway.

But I will let you in on a little secret. In Advent, time refuses to behave properly. I dare say, it becomes downright wibbly-wobbly.  

During the season of Advent, Jesus comes to us as a baby and as a grown man. He is on a cross and he is raised. He came, he is here, and he will come again…. but we don’t know just when and how until he shows up. Maybe tomorrow, two years, or two thousand years from now. And at the same time, Jesus already shows up all the time. His kingdom will come, and at the same time his kingdom IS ALREADY HERE among us. From the past we find hope for the future, and the future becomes the “now.”

From Bethlehem to Buckingham, God has given God’s people a head’s up, to lift our heads and look up, that from the dead stump of tragedy, a branch is going to spring up, to show us that despite all the chaos and the fear and the pain, God is still going to SHOW UP. Even when all hell breaks loose. While the rest of the world is telling us to duck and cover, or look busy and hustle for our self-worth, Jesus says to stand up and see where he is showing up. Because otherwise we might miss where Jesus and the kingdom are breaking into our world RIGHT NOW.  Look up, your redemption is drawing near.

In these dark days of violence and fear, this is where I have seen the kingdom coming near to us: In the blue hands on the altar, committing to our family here… in hearing about a friend wearing a dress every day for a month during December to raise money for victims of human trafficking in the United States…. In seeing a place like the historic park in Williamsburg deal with our country’s long history of racism head-on…. In yesterday’s naming of a newest Naval Battleship in Boston, the USS Thomas Hudner, named after the man who tried to save Ensign Jessie Brown, the first ever African American pilot.

And in most unlikely places, even in the full-on advent of the Christmas shopping season, there is plenty of opportunities to witness the kingdom come. We can remember the humanity in a cashier who had to work all weekend. We can make choices in our purchases that gives workers a far wage. Your family might even choose to forgo the gift-go-round all together and instead opt for giving to your favorite charity. I might even choose to be courteous of that slow car ahead of me, even if they have that bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming, look busy!”

Every Sunday when we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Kingdom Come,” we are looking toward a time where God’s justice and mercy will reign supreme. We look forward to a time when there is no more racism, sexism, classism, of any kind, where fear and war and violence and greed and death no longer rule us. And every time we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are allowing ourselves to be open to being part of that arrival. And not just by “looking busy,” but being aware, alert, and ready to LOOK for what and who is bringing in God’s kingdom.

Until God’s kingdom comes in its fullness, and Jesus does come back, surfing on a cloud, we wait, and we hope, and we shine as God’s lights in a very dark world. That is the heart and soul of the season of Advent. We don’t know what the world will bring to us around the next corner or in the next news cycle. But we can keep our heads up knowing God is going to show up, both in the manger and in the mundane. Thanks be to God, AMEN.