I enjoy weddings. Last year I had the honor of officiating
at more than 20 weddings. There is something special about being present to
witness the covenant relationship between two people; it is a sacred, intimate
moment that can also be rather amusing. I could stand here and share a hundred
stories about incidents that have taken place during weddings, but we would be
here all day. Let’s just say, although I have not seen it all, I have come
close to seeing it all.
In the Gospel passage from John we heard read this morning,
we find Jesus, and his mother Mary, at a wedding in the City of Cana in
Galilee. In the first century, Palestine weddings were quite a social affair.
They would usually last seven days and be filled with great food, wine, music,
and all the rest. The very fact that the wine was running out was not a good
thing, in fact, it was a social mistake that the family probably would not
recover from.
The Steward comes to Mary, so obviously, the wedding was for
a close family member and informs her that the wine is running out. She turns to Jesus for help, and he asks,
“what does this have to do with us?” Ignoring the remark, Mary tells
the steward to do whatever Jesus tells him. Then the miracle takes place.
I have said before, there is always more to a story than
what we see on the surface. We tend to focus on the miracle of the story but
miss the true meaning because we are dazzled by magic rather than what is
spiritually going on in the background.
There were six stone water pots available to Jesus.
According to Jewish tradition, seven is the number which is complete and
perfect; and six is the number that is unfinished and imperfect. In this story,
the six water pots stand for all of the imperfections in the Jewish law. Jesus
came to do away with the imperfections of the law and put in their place the
new wine of the gospel of his grace. Jesus turned the imperfections of the law
into the perfection of grace.
But we can go deeper into this passage.
The six waterpots held between twenty and thirty gallons of
water each; Jesus turned that water into wine. That would provide up to one
hundred and eighty gallons of wine! This is an example of why we do not take
every passage of scripture literally. What John is saying here is that when the
grace if Jesus comes to us, there is enough to spare for all. No wedding party
on earth would be able to drink one hundred and eighty gallons of wine. No need
on earth can exhaust the grace of Jesus Christ because there is a glorious
superabundance in it.
What John is telling us is that in Jesus, imperfections have
become perfection, and the grace has become illimitable, sufficient, and more
than enough for every need. Whenever Jesus comes into our lives, there comes a
new quality which is like turning water into wine.
What I like about this story is that it is about abundance,
an abundance of grace and abundance of love. In Christ, all of our
imperfections are removed through his grace and love for us, and then we can be
filled with an abundance that we can then share with others.
The Rev. John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, has a weekly podcast called Into the Mystic. In this podcast, Rev. Dorhauer explores current events and spirituality and how we can enter more deeply into the mysticism of Christianity. He believes as I do that mysticism is something that is lacking in the church today and that we need more mystics in the church, as well as a few prophets thrown in for good measure.
Shortly after the mid-term elections, Rev. Dorhauer released
a podcast called “I’m Tired.” He spoke from his heart about how tired
he is at the division on our country and in our church. He laments that
although we speak in terms of all are welcome, and it is getting more
challenging to welcome those who stand in direct opposition to what we, you are
I, believe on a fundamental level. The church needs to be a place of healing,
but at the same time, the church cannot be a place that harbors hatred of
others. He is afraid, as am I that friendships are being laid waste in the
process. However, sometimes sacrifice is what is called for when we are called,
as all Christians are, speak the truth.
The Gospel passage we heard this morning show just what
speaking the truth can cost. The passage comes at the end of the ministry of
John the Baptist and just before his arrest. He is handing off his ministry to
his cousin Jesus, and he is fading away, well not quietly anyway. John stands
up for what is right, and he speaks the truth to power, he calls Herod an
adulterer, and for that, he is thrown in prison and eventually killed. This is
a foreshadowing of Jesus own arrest and murder at the hands of political power.
Both Jesus and John knew the cost of their ministry, and
they took up the mantle and carried it out.
This past week I was involved in a conversation about
opinions. I am a firm believer in the notion that everyone has the right to
their own opinion. I never try to force my opinion on others, I present
evidence, and let you decide for yourself. I encourage people to ask questions
and to challenge what I present for I believe that through questioning we
clarify our own beliefs, but in the end, you have to decide for yourself.
However, I am also of the belief that not all opinions are
valid nor are all opinions equal. Opinions based on lack of evidence or fact
are not equal to opinions based on fact. You can, for example, be of the
opinion that 2 + 2 equals 5. You are, of course, entitled to that opinion.
However, facts prove otherwise, and therefore I am going to reject your opinion
based on evidence that 2 + 2 equals 4. This is a very simplistic example I
know, but it shows that not all opinions are valid.
Theological opinions are another area. Get any group of
theologians in a room, and there will be as many opinions about things are
there are theologians. This is why we have so many denominations and
independent churches in the world today, everyone has an opinion, but not all opinions
are equal or valid.
One of the things that drive me crazy is proof-texting. This
is where I take a line from Scripture to try and prove my argument as being
biblical, and I am attempting to use the text as the proof of my argument. The
study of Scripture needs to include not only the text itself but an
understanding of what was going on at the time these things were written. As
much as we want to believe these texts speak to us today, and I believe they
do, they were written to particular groups of people dealing with specific
things in their history. An understanding of those things becomes of paramount
importance if we are going to understand what is being written.
We also an understanding of the literary forms of the day.
Allegory and imagery were a large part of the writing of the day so not
everything is to be taken literally or we would believe that Jesus was a vine,
a door, a lamb, etc. The imagery was a common form of literary use in the first
century, and an understanding of that is essential.
We also need to drill down on passage. Not every passage of
Scripture says what we think it means on the surface, so we need to drill down.
What came before and what comes after are all critical questions. Sometimes
what is not said is more important than what is being said. So just picking a
verse from Scripture to prove your point, or disprove my point, can be very
dangerous indeed.
There have been many times in history when men and women of
faith have been called upon to be beacons of hope in a world gone mad, and I
believe we are in one of those times now. Christianity is being used by all
sorts of people to say all sorts of things, some of them right and some of them
bad. I am a simple theologian that weighs everything by the simple principle of
love. Is what I am doing showing love to God and love to neighbor or is it
harming. Is the policy I support showing love to God and love to neighbor, or
is it damaging. Is my belief based on love or hate, because if it’s based on
Christianity, it has to be based on love we have no other option.
However, love brings risk, and we have to be willing to take
that risk.
In my From the Pastor column this week I wrote about the
start of our Confirmation program. I am excited about this because six young
people have decided that they are going to make a public profession of their
belief in Jesus Christ and reaffirm the promises that were made for them years
ago in their baptism. This will not be an easy journey for them, and they might
have to make decisions, some might even make the decision not to make a
Confirmation, and that is okay as well. However, they understand, and we need
to understand, that any decision to stand and say this is what we believe just
might cost us.
In Rev. Dorhauer’s podcast, he speaks of his worry of losing
relationships based on his beliefs and the stances he has taken on issues, and
it is something I also worry about. I know I have lost friends over my
positions, and with some family members we have to avoid specific topics, and
all of this makes me uneasy. My views are not always popular but I have to do
what I believe is right and if it costs me, well, so be it.
I am not a big fan of the Book of Revelation. I believe it
is an incomprehensible book that has caused much trouble and turmoil in the
Church and in the world. I had to study this book while in seminary, and I have
not looked at or read from it since, but there is one passage that sticks in my
mind above all others. It comes from the third chapter and the 16th verse:
“So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot,
I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.”
This passage is a warning not only to the church
but to church folks, we cannot be lukewarm, we cannot be fence-sitters, we have
to stand up for what is right, we have to be the voice of the voiceless in
society no matter what it costs us because, in the end, I want to hear God say
to me, “well done good and faithful servant” and not the line from
Revelation.
It has been said that the Christmas Eve sermon is the Super
Bowl of Sermons. Ministers, of all denominations, have been worrying about this
one sermon for months, writing, rewriting, editing, and all rest. There is a
ton of pressure to get it right.
When preparing for “the big show” as I like to
call it, I remember the immortal words my seminary professor told me,
“When preparing for any sermon remember the 3 b’s, be brief, be brilliant,
and be gone! I am not so sure about the brilliant bit, but I am going to try
and be brief, so we can all be gone.
One of my favorite Christmas specials is Charlie Brown
Christmas, I mean it ranks right up there with the Great Pumpkin. It is
incredible to me how a complex theological concept as the Incarnation of Jesus
Christ can be summed up in such a beautiful and simple way. The other thing I
like about the story is that it pretty much sums up how we prepare for
Christmas.
We see the kids all gathered to put on the school play.
Charlie Brown is the director, I believe he reluctantly takes on the role, but
when he does, he grabs it with both hands. But he wants it to be perfect to
include the ideal Christmas tree. So he sets off in search of that tree but can
only find manufactured ones, not the perfect tree like the silver ones with the
color wheel that I remember from my childhood, but some metal monstrosity.
Then, like magic, there it is, the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
Sure, it has its problems, and perhaps it has seen better
days, but Charlie is optimistic that all work out, so he talks it back to the
school where all the children are rehearsing for the play. Well, the tree is
not all its cracked up to be, and after placing one ornament on it, it looks
even worse. Charlie goes on, in a lament that would make the writer of the
Psalms proud, about the real meaning of Christmas. Then Linus, with blanket on
tow, comes on stage and recites to story. It ends with them all dancing, not
unlike this service will finish tonight.
The point of all of this is that in the hustle and bustle of
the world and preparation we forget what the true meaning of Christmas is all
about. Sure, it’s about family and exchanging gifts but it has to be more than
that what we are commemorating is an extraordinary act, God, the creator of the
universe, becomes part of his creation to show that there is a better way and
that this better way is the way of hope, peace, joy, and love.
In the first reading tonight the Prophet Isiah spoke of the
light and that the people who have been walking in darkness will now see this
light. We began this service tonight by lighting the final candle of the Advent
Wreath. Each of the four weeks before this, we have lit one candle, each one
with its own theme, hope, peace, joy, and love but tonight we lit the central
candle, the one that represents Christ and is the culmination and fulfillment
of all of the others. Sure, each one brings light into the world, but when
brought together they all shine bright and light the way for us to follow.
It is that central light that makes all of the other lights
possible for it is the light of life.
In the Charlie Brown story, Linus reminds the kids, and us
watching, what the true meaning of Christmas is all about, God so loved the
world that he send his only son that all who believe in him may have eternal
life. This story, this Greatest Story Ever Told is a love story. We, and by we
I mean us religious people, have made the story way too complicated with all
the rule about who is in the club and who is out of the club. We have caused wars
and a tremendous amount of suffering in this world because of what some people
feel this story means. But what the story suggests is a radical sense of love
and welcome so extreme that is made people nervous.
This is a story of inclusion. He was born to the poorest of
the poor in one of the worst places on earth. He was turned away at every door
his parents knocked on until the only place left was one where the animals
lived. But even with all of that, he is the King of Kings and the Lord of
Lords, the Prince of Peace and the one that brought in a radical new way to
live.
This story is about hope, hope that we are not alone and
even when things in our lives are at their worst, God is still with us, right
beside us walking with us and sometimes carrying us.
This story is about peace, the peace that passes all
understanding, the peace that comes when we realize that we are accepted by God
no matter what.
This is a story about Joy, the joy that Mary felt when she
sang to her cousin Elizabeth that her soul magnifies the Lord and her spear
rejoices in the God who has saved her.
And this is a story about love, radical love, love that
knows no class system or status, the love that God has for each one of us just
the way we are. This love that summed up all the law and the prophets with his
new commandment to love God and love your neighbor, yes your neighbor and not
just the ones next door and your neighbor includes those who hate us and don’t
love us back.
In a few moments we will turn the lights off, and the only light
will be that of our Advent Wreath. From that center candle, the one
representing Christ, the flame will be brought out to all of you to light your
candles. As the flame passes to each of us the room will move from darkness and
into light, and we will sing the song Silent Night.
The symbolic act of passing the light from one to another is
in the hope that the light of Christ will never go out and that we, each of us,
will take that light out into the dark world, the light of hope, peace, joy and
love that this world we live in so desperately needs.
Let us pray.
On this day, Gracious Lord, you come to us as Word, as
light, as flesh. Teach us to know you so well that our lives may befriend this
world you have made, in the name of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hanging on the wall, downstairs in my study, are two
hand-painted Icons that I brought back with me from a trip to Romania many
years ago. They have made every move with me and are usually the first things I
hang on the wall when I move to a new church. They are Icons of Jesus and his
Mother Mary. It might sound strange that a minister of a Reformed/Protestant
theological tradition would have icons hanging on the wall of his study, but
for me, they are a constant reminder of why I do what I do.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a believer in the much of the
Reformed theological understand of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the role
that his mother played in all of that, however, at the same time, I am also
critical of the seeming removal of Mary from the theological understanding of
the story of Christmas for Mary is not just a player in the story, she is the
beginning of the story and if we take her out or reduce her to some meek and
mild participant, we lose a large part, if not the central part of the story.
I say a central part because if this young girl, from a
backwater part of the Roman Empire, had not said yes to the Angel when he
visited her, we would not have the rest of the story. This may shock you, but
Mary had to say yes, she had to give her consent to God for the rest of the
story to unfold, and by doing so she repaired a breach in the relationship
between God and humanity that goes back to the time of Adam and Eve.
I know we like the sweet story of two people, naked and
afraid in the Garden of Eden looking for something to eat. God comes along and
tells them that they can eat from any tree or plant they want, except this one,
so naturally, that is precisely what they do. Now I know we also like to blame
Eve for what happens next but Adam, like Mary, was a willing participant. Eve
did not hold him down and force feed him whatever it was they ate I don’t think
food had anything to do with the story, it came down to the arrogance that
humanity knew better than God, a sin, if you will, humanity is still guilty of.
However, along comes Mary, and she says yes and changes it
all.
However, what about Mary and why should we care about her or
this particular passage that has been described as boring? For starters, Mary
is the Mother of God.
Since the third century, Mary has been called the Theotokos,
the Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 decreed that Mary is the
Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man: one divine person with two
natures (divine and human) intimately and hypostatically united. That is
theological speak that means because of our Trinitarian theological
understanding of the nature of God, Jesus is God, and therefore Mary gave birth
to God in Human flesh. As it says in the opening verses of the Gospel of John,
“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
So we honor Mary because she is the mother of Jesus but, we
also admire her for what she did in saying yes to God.
Mary bursts on the scene in the opening passage of the
Gospel of Luke. Luke’s Gospel is the only one that contains the story of the
Angel coming to Mary. Tradition tells that Mary since she was the only one
present, told the story herself to the writer of the Gospel. We do not get much
a glimpse into her life other than what tradition tells us. Mary was the only
child of Joachim and Anna, an older couple that had prayed to God for a child.
We are told that she was raised in the temple and at a certain age was set to
be married as young girls would have been. She was not more than a teenager of
13 or 14 years when the Angel came to her.
Mary was from Galilee, which has been described as the
armpit of the Roman Empire. As a female, she would have been considered
property first of her father then of her husband. She had no say in what
happened to her or whom she would marry. She could own no property and had no
money of her own. She was utterly dependent on others for her care and
wellbeing, and this is what makes this story so extraordinary.
We know the story, the Angel comes to Mary and tells her
that God has favored her and that she has been chosen by God to bring his Son,
the Savior of humanity, into the world. At first, she is confused as I am sure
any of us would be, and she asks how this is possible. How is it that she is going
to give birth since she “knows not a man?” The Angel proceeds to tell
her that it is the power of the Holy Spirit, which I am sure, does not make the
situation any more comfortable. For the sake of space the story is condensed
and seems only like a few moments in time, but I imagine that this was not a
quick or easy decision for Mary.
Mary knew the consequences of what she was contemplating.
Mary knew the fate of a woman who found herself “in the family way”
and did not have a husband. The Jewish law of her day would have seen her
stoned in the center of the city while her parents watched or maybe even
participated. This was a death sentence for Mary, and she knew full well what
would happen to her. Scripture tells us that when she told Joseph he was “going
to send her away quietly” to spare her life but also spare him any
embracement. Everyone knew they were engaged and everyone knew that he would
have been the father. Of course, he would not meet the same fate as Mary; only
the woman was killed for adultery.
However, after wrestling with the question Mary says to the
Angel, be it done according to your will, a sentence her Son would utter the
night before his crucifixion. Mary agrees, give the Angel the go ahead and she
is trusting in God, and an unbelievable amount of trust, she is entrusting her
very life to God. God has, in one sense, asked her to sacrifice her very life
for God and she, this young girl, said yes.
Other than the brief mentioned of what happens next that I
have already said the only other thing we know is that the same Angel came and
visited Joseph and told him all would be well.
He is also being asked to risk everything by taking her as his wife and
raising this child as his own.
Then we come to today’s beautiful Song from the Gospel of
Luke. This is a song of praise, it is a song of defiance, and it is a call to
action. This is the statement of a young girl, with no voice in her society,
that a moral, social, and economic, as well as a spiritual revolution is about
to begin and the world will never be the same. The voice of a young,
Palestinian woman, is calling for a new way to live.
Mary, now “great with child” goes off to visit her
cousin Elizabeth, the soon to be the mother of John the Baptist. Scripture
tells us that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, her baby leaped in her womb
with joy. She encounters Elizabeth and recites the passage of Scripture we
listened to this morning.
She beings with praise:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in
God my savior.”
Mary does not complain about any of it; her first words are
to praise God for the gift that has been bestowed upon her. She is joyous that
God has chosen her and she wants to tell the world about it.
“for he was looked with favor upon the lowliness of his
servant.”
As I have already said, Mary was from the back of beyond.
Forget for a moment her gender and all that came with that she was the poor of
the poor. God did not choose the daughter of the King or even the daughter of
some middle-class person; he chose the poorest of the poor. He came to Mary,
just as she was and found favor with her. God has come to the worst place and
found his servant. The message for us is God loves us just as we are.
She then tells Elizabeth that “surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed.” Not because of anything that she has
done, other than saying yes, but because of what God has done to her and
through her, “for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and Holy is
his name.” It has never been about Mary; it is always about Jesus. In the
icon I mentioned earlier, Mary is not depicted on her own, in fact, Mary is
never depicted on her own because it is not about her, and it is always about
her Son. In the icon, Jesus is sitting on her lap, and Mary is pointing to him,
just as a prophet points the way, Mary, who in some ways is a prophet, is
pointing toward Jesus. We honor Mary not for what she has done but because she
pointed the way to Jesus.
She goes on to say why this is happening, “His mercy is
for those who fear him.” A better word would be awe but let’s stick with
fear for now. Then the revolutionary statement begins.
“He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their
hearts.”
I mentioned already the link between Eve and Mary, who is
also called the Second Eve. The sin of Adam and Eve was arrogance and pride.
Arrogance and Pride are the root of all sinful behavior and what Mary is saying
that it has been reversed. If we set our lives besides that of Christ our last
vestige of pride will be taken away. Christ enables us to see ourselves, and
that is a deathblow to pride. Through these words, Mary is announcing that the
moral revolution has begun.
“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and
has lifted up the lowly.”
Christianity has, or at least it is supposed to have, put an
end to the label of the world and prestige. The problem is we do not honestly
believe this. Some have taken Christianity and held it so tight they refuse to
let others in. The message of Christmas and Mary’s Song is that Jesus was born
for all of humanity not just a particular sector of it. Remember, Jesus was born in the worst place
on earth, he was born with no roof over his head, he had to flee persecution to
another country, and he was unjustly convicted of a crime and killed for political
reasons. Mary is announcing that a social revolution is beginning.
“He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich
he has sent away empty.”
The world of first century Palestine was not unlike our
society today. The message our world sends is it all about the stuff we have,
the big car, the big house, etc. The very way we have chosen, as a society, to
celebrate the birth of Jesus is by giving gifts and going into a massive amount
of debt to show our loved ones how much we love them. Mary has come to tell us
that a change is coming and economic revolution is upon us when all will have
what they need, some of us are still waiting for that revolution to begin.
The point of this is to remind us that the Christmas story
is not only about the birth of a tiny baby that would change the world, but it
is also the story of a defiant young girl standing the public square and
shaking her fist and saying “no more.” This person who was considered
no more than property has just announced to a world that would be happy to see
her stoned to death for adultery, that the world as they know it is about to
change.
The story of Christmas begins with a young girl saying yes.
The story of Christmas continues with that same young girl announcing to the
world that change is coming and we better be ready for it. The story of
Christmas is about a baby being born so poorly that he has no place to lay his
head other than a place where animals get their food, also an indication that
he will feed us spiritually with his very life. So the story of Christmas ends
with the reassurance that no matter who you are, no matter where you are on
life’s journey, Christ was born for you, just as you are.
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:veni, et salva hominem,quem de limo formasti.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 2:4
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
And as we think of those leaves, and the passing of Winter through to the hope of a Springtime when life will emerge from the frozen earth, we remember that we also are a part of that cycle of death and rebirth, that the seeds we sow in this life will fall to the ground with the potential to grow and be fruitful.
As a part of nature’s wondrous cycle Of new birth, growth, fruitfulness and death We rejoice in the creation of new life, For parenthood, the passing on of knowledge, For understanding and the wisdom of years. We are grateful for those who have gone before Passing on to us our spiritual heritage. May our lives blossom as the apple tree in Spring May we become fruitful in thought and deed And may the seed of love that falls to the ground Linger beyond our time on this earth.
God of Winter, Springtime Summer and Autumn, God of Light God of Warmth God of Love God of Potential God of Hope Who in the darkest days Enters our lives As you entered this world Bringing Love Healing and Wholeness All: We praise your glorious name!
O Oriens,splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darknessa light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Isaiah 60:1-2
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;qui aperis, et nemo claudit;claudis, et nemo aperit:veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
“I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
Isaiah 22:22 (NIV)
“Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
Isaiah 9:7 (NIV)
“…to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
The father of King David was Jesse, the prophesy of Micah says that the Messiah will come from the House of David.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Micah 5:2 (NIV)
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
Isaiah 11:1 (NIV)
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
