The Best Advent Ever?

12-11-22

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.

How is your Advent going? Are you going to finish strong, or did everything go off the rails starting the afternoon of the first Sunday in Advent? Are you behind on your Aldi Chocolate Advent Calendar? These texts for this 3rd week in Advent aren’t exactly helping foster any Christmas spirit- There is still no sign of Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, manger, or anything resembling the Christmas story. Instead, here’s John the Baptist, again!

This week, though, he is no longer “the preacher on fire” in the desert. Instead, John has been thrown in prison for his bold words. Last week John described righteous judging and fiery smiting… which by this point in Matthew’s gospel Jesus is NOT doing. So it’s no wonder that John sends people to ask Jesus, “are YOU the one who is to come? … or is it someone else?”  I wonder if John was just a little bit disappointed in the kind of savior Jesus is turning out to be. 

Disappointment is just par for the course around Christmas time, though, right? Though we DO get disappointed all the time, this is the time of year we may feel it most. This so-called “most wonderful time of the year” is instead full of family being difficult, friends letting us down, opportunities not panning out, the weather being iffy at best…not to mention the wreck that the world seems to be in at the moment, with the Triple Pandemic, violence on the rise, inflation is still a thing… Maybe we should just forget any hope of Christmas 2022 being anywhere close to “normal.”

And last, but not least, we can’t let God off the hook for being a disappointment. Think about all the “if-onlys” and “what-ifs,” even of just the past year – where you had wished that God would have acted more like a savior, both in your own lives and in the world in general. 

And so, we wonder along with John - is THIS the savior we’ve been waiting for?

The savior we WERE given came as a helpless baby, born to a teenage mother far away from home. He grew up to become a homeless healer and preacher and got on the wrong side of the people in power. Jesus disappointed John the Baptist, Jesus disappointed his family, he disappointed his own followers, and he died, disappointing the hopes of a nation waiting for God to act.

And in dying, Jesus was again a disappointment… This time, disappointing death itself. Because dead people are supposed to stay dead, after all. And - spoiler alert - Jesus did NOT stay dead. 

Today, though, Jesus asked the crowds what they had expected to see when they went out to the desert to see John the Baptist. What they got was the opposite of a man in soft robes – they got a man who lived his convictions with every ounce of his being – even down to his diet and wardrobe. 

Today we could also ask ourselves: What do WE expect this Advent season? Are we expecting a Christmas to arrive that is as lovely as sort of pre-2020 ideal, as pristine as most of our nativity sets? As lovely as they are, most of them depict the holy family well-rested, composed, and ironically enough, draped in soft robes.

But that is dead wrong. God is not just found in the perfect glittery Christmas cards and the Hallmark family channel movies. God is not just found among palaces with soft robes. Instead, here is our God, who sticks by us, no matter what, every year, through all the good and bad Christmases alike.  Here is our God, born to us as a tiny helpless infant, who probably had plenty of blow outs and days where he refused to nap. Here is our God, who died and rose again for you, even when you disappoint yourself and others. 

As we continue our march toward Christmas, we can remember some wise words shared by Pastor Sarah Scherschligt, Pastor of Peace Lutheran in Alexandria, who wrote a facebook post nearly every day for a year and a half during the height of Covid. She actually compiled her work into a book called “God Holds You.” Now available on Amazon! Makes a great Christmas gift! On December 23rd, 2020, Pastor Sarah wrote this: 

I always imagine on Christmas Eve, after everyone has gone to sleep, there's a …  moment…  in which God does something small and powerful and unstoppable. And it doesn't depend on us at all.

We can’t know exactly where the next year will take us. But we can know where God is in all the happenings in our lives. God is right here, in the beginnings and the endings, in the disappointments, and the busy-ness, in the starting strong and in the fizzling out, in the dying and in the rising. Our God is right here: in the arrival of our savior Jesus, in the manger, on the cross, at the table. In the bread and wine. And in the face of one another. Things that are small, but powerful, and unstoppable. Thanks be to God. Amen.

"Doing, Not Brooding"

12-12-21 

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.

I just love the “Advent meme season.” It seems that every year, social media jokes about Advent get funnier and more numerous. Like the classic John the Baptist picture from a few years ago that is the perfect ideal visual for today, captioned by: “Happy Advent, you brood of vipers!” How’s that for a festive holiday message? 

In a month where it kind of feels like nothing is festive and everything is on fire, so to speak, it feels like John the Baptist is so fired up that he just wants to let ‘er rip at everyone and everything. And after month like this, between things like another tragic school shooting and the continued onslaught on reproductive health care, rising cases of both Delta and now Omicron, and some parts of the country still refusing to get vaccinated and travel in flux for the upcoming Christmas holiday, I don’t blame John one bit. 

Honestly, at the moment, it feels like we, in the concluding weeks of 2021, might deserve John’s harsh words. Maybe John is right, in a world where not much has changed - and in many ways, we feel as though we are going BACKWARDS even. One example is these texts came up in 2012, the Sunday after the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre. And now, it’s only been a matter of days since the most recent deadly school shooting in Michigan. Maybe we are no better than children of snakes, as John says.

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

And so, they wonder - is this the one whom we have been waiting for? 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. Someone EVEN MORE potent is on his way!

John is laying the foundation and churning up the soil to make ready for the coming of Jesus and the beginning of his ministry. John is the warm-up act to Jesus the headliner; John 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 WILL ARRIVE! And that can be both exciting and terrifying.

To us, John’s “good news” may not sound like “good news” … Or does it? At least the people listening to John weren’t completely turned off, because many were emboldened to ask in response “what then should we DO?” Two interesting groups are specifically mentioned to respond: Tax Collectors and Roman soldiers – not exactly the type of people we would expect to show up to John’s fiery preaching. 

The Roman soldiers were like the bouncers of the empire – 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, betraying their own people and skimming more than a little off the top for their own profit. Both these groups were moved, and asked “what shall WE do?” The empire should be very nervous at this point, and rightly so – their muscle and their money people are starting to show a change of heart. 

And if we’re doing Advent “right,” if we are asking questions and using this time to reflect and prepare for the arrival of Jesus amid the lure of free two-day shipping and the barrage of buy-one-get-one deals, the empires of power around us should be shaking in their boots, too. 

Because the answer to the question of what we do in response to John is shockingly easy, if we too listen to John. So, what CAN we do, as students, as accountants, as teachers and parents, as retirees, as homeowners, as teachers, CPAs, nurses, cashiers, business owners, real estate agents, siblings – what should WE DO in the face of the arrival of God’s kingdom here on earth?

Oh, nothing major – live within our resources, not to overstep, to minimize our footprint on creation, and not take advantage of the power and privilege that we do have. In fact, give away that power, and use the privilege for others. Don’t impose on the rights of other people, their right to not just to survive, but to thrive, because that is what we deserve too. 

This Advent season I’m going to try to do my small part in dismantling the empires of consumerism, white supremacy, apathy, the mirage of success, the cult of busyness. To help do this, 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 find joy in the small things, to focus on the important things, and remain open to the experiences and stories of others.

I’m going to remember to be kind to the strangers around me. I’m going to try to do small things to work for justice, like shopping fair trade when I can, and supporting small local businesses, or non-profits like ELCA Good Gifts, or other retailers that align with the justice issues I feel passionate about. I can get some coffee from the fair trade fair after worship today, or pick a star off the star tree. I can sign up to take part in serving the local Vienna unhoused community by signing up for Hypothermia week and attending today’s adult forum to get ready, or pay for a month of internet for our Afghan family. 

We do this, not because this is how get into heaven. Instead, this is a response to the gift of our baptisms in Jesus, that we are chosen to be God’s children, baptized into Jesus’ death, and raised up as new people to live in this new way. This is what John means by repent – not simply feeling sorry but showing that we are sorry by showing a different kind of behavior than before.  And what John here is saying, is taking responsibility for our actions and seeking to make it right when we can.

Jesus isn’t asking us for heroics. We don’t have to give up everything and go hang out in a desert on his behalf– John already did that. Jesus arrives to invite us to be more fully who we are – not children of snakes, not children of tradition, not children of the empire, but beloved children of God… children to get to see and participate in the arrival of the Kingdom of Jesus here on earth, in advent, and every single day. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

"Look Up, Look Busy!"

11-28-21

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 feel stressed! There are too many cars on the road, too many people shopping at Giant, my packages are all delayed because of “supply chain issues,” covid cases are trending back up even though vaccinations among 5-11-year-olds are rolling out. I would much rather stay home and binge watch “The Great Christmas Bake off” on Hulu. 

Especially since this week even though it’s advent, and everyone around us has gone full-tilt Christmas with carols on the radio and Christmas trees up and decorated… here we are with nary a manger or angel or Mary or shepherd or even a scrap of hay … instead we have crabby Jesus and, “it’s the end of the world as we know it…” and nobody is feeling fine.

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker or memes that reads “Jesus is coming – look busy”? Like how dare Jesus find ou taking a nap or slacking off when he comes back. It reminds me of that Christmas song about Santa that is weirdly creepy… you know the one that goes  Santa “you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout...” you better look busy or Jesus may bring you something worse than coal. 

But I’m not sure how exactly I’m supposed to be “looking busy,” especially when it seems as though Jesus must be ready to come back any minute. Between the unpredictable acts of violence, refugee crisis stretching on, the effects of climate change getting really scary…. So much pain, fear, suffering has happened just the last few weeks.

It might cause us to question whether these are the very signs Jesus was talking about. Should we “look busy”? Or should we duck and cover? Stockpile our basements with Mac and Cheese and toilet paper (again)?

Well, Jesus has an opinion about what we should do to get ready for his impending arrival. Not look busy. Not squirrel away supplies like a doomsday-prepper. But also, not to be weighed 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 as part of God’s Queendom/ kin-dom/ kingdom.

During another time of great upheaval in human history, the prophet Jeremiah shared similar words of encouragement to an overwhelmed people. The people of Israel were conquered by a foreign nation – one of many during the centuries - and they were forced to become unwelcomed refugees in a strange land, defeated, defenseless, and dejected, they might have given up on God and given up on hope.

We fast forward to the first followers of Jesus hearing these words written by Luke. At this time, Jerusalem had yet again been destroyed, this time by the Roman Empire. Their beloved place of worship was gone, their city devastated, countless people died, and their world had become unrecognizable. 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 into all the doom and gloom of this present moment?

If THIS kind of stuff is what we’re going to be getting during Advent, let’s do as the rest of the world does and skip over Advent completely, right to Christmas carols and peppermint lattes. 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 was born, he is here, and he will return…. but we don’t know just when and how until he shows up. His Queendom/kin-dom 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 Vienna, 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 Queendom/ kingdom are breaking into our world RIGHT NOW.

And in most unlikely places, even in the full-on advent of the Christmas shopping season, there are still plenty of opportunities to witness Jesus. Today we recognized a historic moment of inclusivity for the Scouts in our first class of young women eagle scouts. Tomorrow night we will be a presence in the Vienna community during the annual church street stroll. We have been stepping up to help support our Afghan family, even though their arrival in our lives was a total surprise. 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 in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Kingdom Come,” we are looking toward a time where God’s justice and mercy will reign. We look forward to a time when there is no more racism, sexism, classism, ableism 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/ Queendom/ Kin-dom to arrive, we are allowing ourselves to be open to being part of that arrival. And not just by “looking busy” and being distracted, but instead by 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. 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 raised knowing God is going to show up, both in the manger and in the mundane. Thanks be to God, AMEN.

Disappointing December

12-15-19

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.

Every Advent I feel like I want to start strong, with the motivation to read daily devotions, taking time to really reflect on the Advent season. Most years though, like this one, I get to about this point and realize I have done exactly zero of the things that I had intended to do. Even when I was in WI during thanksgiving, though we did put up my family’s pre-lit Christmas tree and got down the boxes of decorations… but we never actually put them on the tree!

This is pretty funny, given that many years ago when I was home for Christmas break while in college, I apparently had insisted on decorated the tree that year, even when my mom was less than thrilled about it. When I left to go back for the January term… guess who was left to take all the ornaments down again? Not me! Oops! Most years, my mom likes to remind me of this time where I didn’t finished what I had started.

How is your Advent going? Are you going to finish strong, or did everything go off the rails starting December 2^nd? These texts for this 3^rd week in Advent aren’t exactly helping, either. There is still no sign of Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, wise men, star,  manger, no Christmas NOTHIN’. Instead, all we have is John the Baptist, for the second week in a row. And he is NOT one we usually associate with Christmas cheer.

This week he is no longer “the preacher on fire” in the desert, preparing the hearts and minds for the coming of the Lord. Instead, John has been thrown in prison for his bold words. A prison that was more like a dungeon, dark and damp and full of chains and despair. But how did he get from “Israel’s Most Famous” to “Israel’s Most Wanted”? Well, we’ve skipped over all the in-between chapters in Matthew where John made some very powerful people angry, resulting in his imprisonment and eventual exception.

Now, at death’s door, John wondered if his life’s work had been worth it. The Lord’s anointed was SUPPOSED to come with power and might, with lots of righteous judging and fiery smiting, and be a savior that basically kicks booty and takes names, with the kingdom of peace to come LATER. But so far, he doesn’t seem to be exactly living up to those expectations. He doesn’t seem to be finishing what JOHN started.

Instead, Jesus heals the blind, mute, lepers, and young girls, and Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount about peace and the Kingdom of God, where Jesus hangs out with fisherman and tax collectors and Roman soldiers. Which, spoiler alert, where NOT how he was supposed to act as the expected Messiah.

It’s no wonder that John the Baptist sends people to ask Jesus, “are YOU the one who is to come? … or is it someone else?”  And we might very well wonder right there with John, as he watches Jesus’ ministry unfold, and wonders if his prep work for the messiah has been premature.

But disappointment does not just come to us at Christmas time. Though perhaps right around this time of year is when we feel it the most.  Expectations are high to pull into December 25^th having just arranged the best Christmas ever, only it almost actually never happens that way. Instead, too often, real life happens.

This “most wonderful time of the year” can also bring up old hurts from people you might only see once a year. Families are complicated, and nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the ones closest to you, the very ones who should be supportive through thick and thin.

And last, but not least, we can’t let God off the hook for being a disappointment. Think about all the “if-onlys” and “what-ifs,” even of just the past year – where you had wished that God would have acted more like a Messiah, both in your own lives and in the world in general. And so, we wonder along with John, since the fulfillment of the promise is Jesus, the exact wrong kind of savior – that is, if you are looking for someone to bring fire and brimstone, Jesus is not your man. 

The savior we WERE given came as a helpless baby, screaming into the world with blood and placenta, born to a teenage mother in a dirty cave. This savior grew up and hung out with all the wrong kinds of people. He healed the sick and fed the poor and talked to those on the fringe. He was a homeless traveler who preached the wrong things, like peace and love, and got on the wrong side of the people in power. Jesus disappointed John the Baptist, he disappointed his family, he disappointed his own followers, and he died, disappointing the hopes of a nation waiting for God to act.

And in dying, Jesus was again a disappointment… disappointing death itself. Because dead people are supposed to stay dead, after all.

Dry and barren wildernesses, as Isaiah writes, aren’t supposed to be joyful and to blossom, either. We expect them to be, well, dry and barren, not full of life and joy and singing. There aren’t supposed to be streams in the desert, or pools of water where there once was only burning sand.

But then again, the blind aren’t supposed to see either, nor should the deaf be able to hear. The lame are not supposed to run like the dear, and the mute sing for joy. The poor are not supposed to be given food for free. There are not supposed to be fools on God’s highway! And if they somehow find themselves there, they need to GET LOST as soon as possible!

Except that, on God’s highway, even us fools will not get lost along the way. On this highway, sinners are welcomed. The poor are fed. The broken are healed and made whole again, and streams run where there was once a barren desert. There are cracks of hope in the stone that seals our tombs, a light shining through them in the darkness, and the dead don’t stay dead.

Jesus asked the crowds what they had expected to see when they went out to the desert to see John the Baptist. What they got was the opposite of a man in soft robes – they got a man who lived his convictions with every ounce of his being – with itchy camel hair to boot. What do WE expect this Advent season? Are we expecting a Christmas to arrive that is as pristine as most of our nativity sets? As lovely as they are, most of them depict the holy family in perfect repose, at peace, and, ironically enough, draped in soft robes.

But that not the most accurate. God is not just found in the perfect glittery Christmas cards and the Hallmark family channel movies. God is not just found among the palaces with those wearing soft robes. God is found among those who are not offended by the fight for what Jesus himself fought for - justice and equality and kindness and love.

Instead, here is our God, born to us as a tiny helpless infant.  Here is our God, who sticks by us, no matter what, every year, through all the good and bad Christmases alike.  Here is our God, who died and rose again for you, even when you disappoint yourself and others. Here is our God, who will see to the finish what has been begun in all of us.

I believe that God has been faithful to me, over and over again, in the journey that has brought me to this time and this place. It has not always been smooth going, but God has proven to me that great things happen to those who trust. …and God has always gone beyond my hopes and expectations.

We can’t know exactly where the next year will take us. But we can know where God is in all the happenings in our lives. God is right here, in the beginnings and the endings, in the disappointments, and the busy-ness, in the starting strong and in the fizzling out, in the dying and in the rising. Our God is right here. In the manger, on the cross, at the table. In the bread and wine. And in the face of one another. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Doorbusters and Dreams

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.

The last few weeks have been so busy, and we still have so many weeks to go before Christmas! Last Sunday we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath. And only a week before that, while we were still concerned about finding a big enough turkey and looking for Grandma’s stuffing recipe, we celebrated Christ the King Sunday…. But I’m forgetting a holiday or event of the last few weeks. Do you know which one I didn’t mention? Maybe this will give you a hint…and it’s not either of my weddings… though the reception with my family in Wisconsin also coincided with the first major snowstorm of the season in the Midwest.

having fun at the wedding!

Perhaps this story will help. While I was in seminary in Minneapolis, right after Thanksgiving I drove down to Iowa with a friend from college, to attend another college friend’s wedding. Ironically, there was a snowstorm that weekend too! At the time, the friend I drove with had a full-time job in the fine china and luggage department at Macy’s. In order to get the day off to attend this wedding, she agreed to come in to work at a ridiculously early hour the day before for this very special “holiday” I’m refereeing to.  

Between the hours of 4 AM and 1 PM, she alone sold approximately twelve thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise. Ninety-five percent of all employees of her Macy’s were needed that day. The next day, on Saturday, her voice was still nearly hoarse from saying over and over again, “Would you like a gift receipt with that?” all day long, on Black Friday.

Do you remember “way back” when people woke up in the darkness and wee hours of the morning to get a “doorbuster” deal? And now, just over eleven years later, that seems quaint. This year, I have seen “black Friday doorbuster deals” starting in early in November, not to mention the number of stores that are open all day on Thanksgiving.

We have entered into in the season of Advent, a time of brightness as the sun sets earlier every day.  It is a time of waiting as the world demands instant gratification. It is a time of reflection as our lives kick it into overdrive. It is also a time to celebrate our savior coming to us as a helpless baby born to a teenage girl in poverty, even as our society continues to treasure and seek only riches and power.

The whole idea of Advent is pretty much the opposite of what the “Christmas Season” has become. So, we are going to do the opposite of what you would expect. Instead of offering FEWER events in this busy time, we will offer one thing MORE to your plate: the space to pause, and a moment to remind ourselves that “Jesus is the reason WE celebration this season.”

We all could use a little renewal and reflection no matter what season we find ourselves in, but it seems that every year December reaches unheard of levels of busyness and stress. Between school plays, pageants, concerts, visiting family, dinner parties, exams, and the twelfth time in one day you’ve heard the song “All I want for Christmas is YOU,” who has the time or sanity to take even a moment to pause and think about what this whole season is for?

Isaiah today reveals to us the vision of what we have to look forward too, as we make room for the coming of a new kind of kingdom in our lives. Isaiah describes a world where mighty predators coexist with the most helpless and vulnerable among us. A world where the powerful and the powerless live together in peace.

We may even recast Isaiah’s vision in different ways. What do you imagine the coming kingdom of God to look like? I think it might look something like this, from the reflections of a colleague: “The CEO will dream with the peace activist … the senators will dance with the undocumented farm workers … the American military leaders will dine with Pakistani mothers… children from all nations will play together and learn together and grow in to their full God given potential … animals and the earth will be treated with respect and care … war will cease and they will not harm anywhere in this holy creation “ Now THAT would be a pretty amazing thing to see on a Christmas card, wouldn’t it?

This is the vision of how life can be that we are making room for - the vision of a new kingdom getting ready to be born in the world, a kingdom you are a part of. This is the kingdom we are turning TOWARD, turning to face as it arrives, like the dawn that comes after a long night, like a shoot growing up from a stump long thought dead.

And right now, when we in the church are celebrating Advent but the rest of the world is in full-blown Christmas mode, the voices tell us that our Christmases are supposed to look and feel like the most perfect Hallmark card. And we all know that deep down, that’s not true. But we can’t help feeling like inadequate failures compared to them.

Those voices do not deliver. Following these voices takes us down a road that ends in credit card debt, strained relationships, a planet in peril, conflicts and wars and poverty and national anxiety, leaving our lives as dead as a stump left behind after chopping down a Christmas tree.

Another voice, echoing Isaiah’s original idea, comes from John the Baptist - a voice from the wilderness cries out that the kingdom of heaven is coming near to us, and a new way of being is not only possible, but on it’s way to us RIGHT NOW. We are Children of the Promise, not “Children of Snakes,” and we belong to a kingdom where new shoots grow out of dead stumps. We belong to a kingdom where the old, “snaky” person in us dies, so that a new person, a new creation in Christ, can be born. It’s time to get ready for this kingdom to arrive.

But there is certainly a lot of junk left over from the old life, the “brood of vipers” life that is cluttering up the way and making our paths of following Jesus pretty crooked. This extra stuff needs to be given up and left behind …. Things like trying to keep up with the Joneses and having the picture-perfect Christmas.

Earlier this week I spoke at the annual Memorial Tree Lighting around the corner at the Leaver-Cable Funeral home. Every year, Lou Baynes, the owner, invites families that have lost someone in the last few years, to come and write their name on a dove to place on their Christmas tree, which is then lit up. This time of year is hard for many people for many reasons, and their space was filled with people grieving, one of things I shared with the group was that,

“When things look their darkest, when the way through is obscured in a dim fog, when the way that took you here has disappeared and the way forward is still hidden… at the time of the year when the night is the longest - THIS is when the hope is born… when we string lights on trees that remain green even in the coldest weather, and dream of a white Christmas because of sense of rebirth that fresh snow brings.”

I also read from a book that I find myself turning to more and more, “Ash and Starlight,” a book of prayers written by a Presbyterian pastor who lost her father in 2015. In a prayer called “The Parent’s advent prayer,” she writes:

“But, [Jesus] you came to me amidst darkness and stars— reminding me how darkness and light are most beautiful together. And, in that holy, mysterious and messy night, you redefined perfection, promising me that leaning into the mystery …  [is] the most faithful response…. This will be more than enough, because you’ve made a manger in which my heart will rest …” (128)

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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.

Photobombing for Jesus

Sermon 12-17-17

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.

How many of you have taken a selfie? Haha, a few of us. Selfies can be fun -  a way to share with the world when we’re with people we care about or having a good time. But they can have a downside too… when we only share with the world our very best “SELF-ie” self. Our “best hair day” self. Our “marriage is great all the time,” self. Our “handling the diagnosis well” self. Our “I’m just fine” self. Our “I don’t need help, thank-you-very-much” self.

It’s like that perfect photo Christmas card you always get from that one family…. You all know one. Or maybe you are the ones trying to BE “that family.” In your ideal picture, your children smiling, your pets behaved, house clean, tree perfect, everyone dressed in their best and on their best behavior. What usually isn’t included on these cards are the before and after. How the kids were fighting, the cookies came out of the oven burnt, the house is a disaster, the cat had knocked over the tree. THAT doesn’t make for a very good Christmas card.

We have become very good at editing our lives to look perfect inside that Christmas card frame. It takes a lot of energy. What’s inside our perfect frame becomes our world, and we ignore or try to hide everything else. But often, something surprising can sneak into the frame.

A few years ago, I remember an interesting Christmas publicity ad sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. It’s an image of a young woman taking a selfie, but on the screen of her phone you see someone else in the picture behind her… it’s fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be Jesus, with the tagline being “It’s never just a selfie – join us this Christmas.”

Also, this is not really how selfies work!

Ok, Creepy Jesus aside… but I think this ad is TRYING to say… that Jesus is present in with you and will show up when you least expect it, even when – or ESPECIALLY when – we are still stuck focusing on ourselves. Like when we are orchestrating our lives to be a Hallmark Christmas card.

Basically, God is photobombing us. Are you familiar with that term? It’s happened to most of us - you’re on vacation, taking a picture of your family in front of a beautiful vista, and later see that the view is spoiled because in the background is some random kid making a funny face. Or when you’ve set up a nice portrait, put the camera on a timer, and your cat sticks her face right in front at the last minute.

…. Or, apparently, when Jesus unexpectedly shows up in your selfie. Or when he shows up unexpectedly in your life. Or when Jesus’ forerunner sent from God shows up unexpectedly to tell the people that God is about to do something big. That the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world… spoiling the illusion of our “perfect selfie.”

John the Baptist seems to be the kind of guy who would never take a selfie. We really don’t know much of anything about him, at least if we were to base our facts in the Gospel of John. Here there is no indication of his wardrobe choices, hair style, or eating preferences, like we heard from Mark last week. Even the Pharisees knew next to nothing about him – so they sent their people to get the scoop on this guy: Who was he? Was he the messiah? Was he the prophet? Was he Elijah? Why was he baptizing? What did he have to say for himself?

They tried to get a read on him, tried to get him to write his biography, invited him to be interviewed on Oprah, tried to get him to write a bestseller, “Your Best Baptism Now.” 

After all, he was a smash hit, and people showed up to hear him preach and be baptized in droves. Had there been a Time Magazine, they might have even put his face on the covers as “Person of the Year.”

But nothing deterred him. He stayed on message. John knew who he was – not the promised Messiah, but the voice crying out in the wilderness getting the world ready for his coming.

John came as a witness to testify to the light, to prepare the way of the Lord and make the paths straight, to make the world ready for the one coming after him. In a great devotion from an advent devotional book shared in our council meeting the other night, it was said that John “likes to use his finger”… No not that finger! haha, his pointer-finger. In most of the paintings John throughout the ages, John is pictured pointing…. away from himself, up and out beyond the frame, toward the light. And just a little later in the Gospel of John (not the same John), as the light manifests in Jesus, John the Baptist points and cries out “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

Yes, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Yes, behold the light that is coming into the darkness of the world, the word who became flesh and lives among us. Behold, a little baby born to an unmarried teen mom far from home and placed in a manger. Behold, one who fed the hungry and healed the sick and cared for sinners. Behold the good shepherd, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Behold, the son of God lifted up on a cross, drawing all people to himself. Behold, the empty tomb and stone rolled away. 

Behold, the Lamb of God photobombing our selfies and interrupting our lives with bright beam shining out in the hopelessness and evil of the world.

John was not the light, and we are not the light either…. but we, like John, are sent from God to be witnesses to the light, to see it, and then tell others what we see. We are created in the IMAGE of God, revealing who God is and pointing to where God IS showing up in the world. And so, we show up too, to the places where cruelty and power holds sway. We are created to be photobombers, too.  

Our lives and are actions are to be like that of Jesus – spoiling the perfect picture that the world would like you to believe, that everything is fine, we’re fine, and nothing needs to change. But God is breaking into the world, and we are called to be like John and to break the silence of oppression and injustice.

What I wore in Namibia for
"Thursdays in Black"

Sometimes this work can even take the form of actually taking selfies. From the Lutheran World Federation staff I met while I was in Namibia, I learned about “Thursdaysin Black.” It’s a global movement started in the 70s to call attention to people who live in fear of being harassed, discriminated against, assaulted, raped, or other violence. It began before selfies were a thing, with women in Argentina protesting while wearing black on Thursdays….  but now has progressed to be a worldwide social media movement with people posted selfies every Thursday, myself included, using the hashtag “Thursdays in black.”

Apparently, the entire staff of the Lutheran World Federation headquarters in Geneva participates. And while we were all together in Namibia we were encouraged to pack black clothes to wear the Thursday we were all there. And many of us did just that.

When I choose to wear black on Thursdays, and to share picture on social media, I do it to speak up. Not just for women around the world who are facing threats of sex trafficking, rape as a weapon of war, and honor killings. I do it also to speak up for women closer to home, like my friend who was sexually harassed in seminary and was never believed. I do it for my female pastor colleagues who are the recipient of inappropriate comments or contact… or worse. I do it because women still aren’t believed or taken seriously. I never imagined that women like Taylor Swift and Ashley Judd would be like modern-day versions of John the Baptist, speaking out and facing push back from people in power. And just like back then, people are taking notice.

We don’t speak out and break the silence of the status quo because it’s easy or fun. We do it because it’s what we are called to speak out like John the Baptist, and be photobombers for Jesus. And there will be resistance. People aren’t always going to be on board. John too was questioned and not believed.

But he kept at it. He knew that the light is going to shine. The darkness will be overcome. Jesus is coming, and will break into the world, to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and release to those who are imprisoned. And that good news it that they are SEEN. God sees them, and we see them too, and we stand with them, pointing with John the Baptist…

Pointing to a world where all people are seen.

Pointing to a world where we don’t have to wear black on Thursdays anymore.

Pointing to where Jesus is photobombing our world - and in our lives - and showing up.

Thanks be to God. Amen.