Ash Wednesday - meditation

“Buoyancy”

As many of you know, I enjoy scuba diving.  In order to have a good dive, I must figure out how much weight to add in order to obtain a place of buoyancy about five feet above the floor of the ocean.  It seems rather strange to have to actually add weight to oneself since the scuba gear, itself, is rather heavy.  It would seem as if I would sink to the bottom like a rock, but, without the additional weight, I would be constantly fighting to stay down near the bottom.  We are, in a sense, naturally buoyant, and even more so in salt water. 

              Someday, I will write my devotion book for Scuba divers, but until then, I will share how I feel scuba diving connects to Ash Wednesday.  Finding that place, that place where you are not sinking but also not fighting to stay under water, that place of freeness, that place of underwater floating, to me is like finding one’s center with God. 

But, life seems to give us dramatic ups and downs.  There are times when we feel like we are drowning and there are times when we feel like we can barely keep our head above water, there are times where we yearn to be in the boat where all is safe.  And during those times, perhaps we made choices that were not God centered, that might have been self-centered or we may feel angry at God, that God is punishing us, or that God is not present with us for whatever reason we may think up.  Sometimes we don’t even know how life has gotten so out of control and we just freeze out of fear, out of despair, out of hurt, or out of doubt.  Up and down we go, looking for an anchor, looking for a rope, looking for something to grab hold of, looking for salvation. 

            We begin tonight with the story of Peter.  Peter is one of the twelve disciples, a leader among the group.  The twelve have just witnessed the amazing miracle of the loaves and the fishes.  Jesus sends his disciples off in a boat to cross the lake and Jesus takes time in solitude to pray.  While the disciples are sailing across the lake, a storm sets in upon them and we are told that the boat is being battered by the waves.  We are then told that early in the morning, perhaps the sun is not yet up but there is the beginning whisper of light at the edge of the sky, they see an apparition on the water coming towards them.  Now, they probably had not gotten any sleep due to the storm, and the fuzz of night mixing with day might have made them rub their eyes, what in the world was going on?  I don’t blame them for being fearful.  Why, in a million years, would they expect Jesus to be walking on the water towards them?  So, they cry out.  And Jesus responds – do not be afraid. 

            Now, instead of just relaxing and being reassured that Jesus is on his way to join them, Peter seems to challenge this moment in time as he speaks out:  if it is you – command me to come to you on the water.  Really Peter?  But out of the boat Peter climbs and begins to walk towards Jesus.  That is, until a wind blows and he panics and well, you know what happens, he sinks.  But as he is sinking, he reaches out his hand towards Jesus and calls out – Save me!  In the midst of his sinking, he reaches out and cries:  Save me. 

            Ash Wednesday, here we are.  A day that marks the beginning of Lent, but a day where we too can say, Lord, I am afraid, Lord, if you are really there command me to come to you, a day where we can name where we have been so afraid and lost that we feel like we are going to sink and be lost forever, a day where we can reach out our hand and cry- Save me.    

Tonight we begin a sermon series that we will continue through the Sundays of Lent.  In this season, we will be journeying through the Dark Woods of life and finding the moments where God is there with us.  Now, just the mention of the words “Dark Woods” may bring to mind all kinds of mental imagery: scary, lost, danger, night, wild, elements.  All of which can, in one way or another, connect to the season of Lent.  Lent examines the realness of life: deceit, loss, sacrifice, sin, and even death. 

            But the dark woods offer us moments of grace, moments of divine interaction, moments where the hand of God reaches out to us, and lifts us back into the boat.  In Scuba diving, one seeks to find the place of buoyancy, the place where one is neither sinking nor rising to the surface but just floating, as if weightless, under the water.  One writer shares this:  “The human spirit possesses natural buoyancy.  It can be held down by enslavement to the senses, by ambition, by anger and violence, or by cares and worries.  It can be held down, but is natural tendency remains dramatically oriented toward God.  It can never be satisfied until this upward impulse is allowed.”  There are so many things in life that can hold us down.  Ash Wednesday is a day where we can ritualize those things, name those things, cry out to God and ask to be saved from those things: such as anger, and addiction, and despair, and loneliness.   It is here, in these places where we need to listen to our soul.  Where we need to hear that we are not where we are suppose to be.  Peter was not where he was suppose to be, he thought he was, he thought he could walk out on the water, but his fear overtook him.  His place  of natural buoyancy was reaching out to the hand of Jesus and being pulled back into the boat. 

            Where is your soul yearning to be?  Each of us has a place of buoyancy.  A place where our soul and God connect, where we are not stressed but released in the trust that God is present with us. 

On this Ash Wednesday, I invite you to take a rock and place it in the water for those things that are weighing you down, and I invite you to take a ping pong ball and place it in the water naming the places in your life that are buoyant, connected to God, free and unencumbered.  

sermon - Impossible love

Impossible Love

            The past few weeks, the New Testament readings have been from the Sermon on the Mount.  These are a collections of teaching given by Jesus which call us into a deeper spiritual way of living.  The Beatitudes begin the collection of teachings, and last week, we heard the teaching of the wise man building his house upon the rock.  Jesus is encouraging those that hear his words to also live them out.  Those that hear and do are like the wise man.  Those that hear but do not live out the word, are like the foolish man that builds his house upon the sand. 

            Today, we have another set of teachings, giving guidance to people in how to live specifically within their current cultural context.  Many of us have heard the saying:  an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  If someone attacks you and it results in you losing an eye or a tooth, the punishment for that person would be the removal of an eye or a tooth.  Right, fair is fair.  You caused this harm to me, so the consequences are the same harm back to you.  We believe in consequences for behavior, but rather than causing the same harm to people, the consequences could be jail time, financial retribution, community service, some form of punishment, but other than the death penalty, we don’t inflict bodily harm back to a person that has wronged us.  

            So, when people come across this passage that we read today, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, it just doesn’t seem right.  What do you mean, turn the other cheek?  I was just hit, I want justice.  But we have to remember the cultural context.  According to the Companions in Christ study on the Way of Forgiveness, turning the other cheek was not a sign of weakness, but rather a definite act of self.  People struck each other with the left hand, the left hand was considered unclean.  So, by turning your left cheek to someone, they would be forced to strike you with their right hand, which was a sign of being an equal opponent.  So, if a Roman soldier were to strike you, you would want to show that you are an equal and turn the other cheek towards him.  It was an assertion of non-violent power in a time where the people were feeling very powerless.

            If someone sues for your coat give them your cloak as well, and go the second mile are also nonviolent ways of asserting your power in a negative situation.  Depending on your wealth, you may only own a coat and a cloak.  Your coat was your outer garment and the cloak was your inner garment.  You may even use your coat at night for a blanket.  If someone takes your coat, and you give you’re your cloak, you are now naked.  In the cultural context, if someone sees another naked, it brings shame upon the person seeing you.  Roman soldiers were allowed to force people to carry their gear for up to one mile, but no farther.  So, by going the second mile, you were putting a Roman soldier into an awkward situation, and he could be punished by your actions.   All three of these teachings point out the injustices in the current system and expose them.  Giving power to the one being oppressed. 

            Okay, so examining things through the cultural context helps to make these teachings a little more understandable, but what about the next part:  Love your enemy.  This one can really hit home with us in today’s world.  Jesus, we know you are teaching about love, we know and understand that God is love, but this love that you speak of, is just too much, asking us to love our enemies is impossible love.  I cannot love the one that has caused great harm in my life, that has killed thousands of people, that seems to be a source of evil in this world.  I just cannot do it.  So why do you ask it of us? 

            Although Paul writes after the life and death of Jesus, Paul proclaims this:  overcome evil with good.  By at least trying to love our enemies, if at least by trying nonviolent ways of empowerment, we are not retaliating with greater force which is then met with greater force, snowballing the situation into even greater harm than with which it began.  We can play a role is escalating violence or we can play a role in calming the waters.  Remember, one of the Beatitudes is Blessed are the Peacemakers.  We are not to be doormats, allowing others to oppress us or walk all over us, but we have a role in how we allow situations to grow. Right, don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill? 

            So, on this day as we ordain and install our new leadership, these are good teachings for us to all follow, both the leaders of the church and the congregation.  There may be issues that come before us this year where we are ready to speak our mind, but we also need to remember that we are a community, which involves listening to the various voices and discerning what is best for the whole.  Jesus is teaching to a community, a community that he loves, a community that he wants to succeed in the harsh world in which they live. 

            We do want to be open and honest with each other, but we also don’t want to allow conflict to escalate.  It is a good practice to always honor each other, listen with respect, and agree to disagree.  

sermon - Souper Bowl of Caring

          A few weeks ago, we discussed looking for God in the world around us, and I sent you home with homework looking for kingdom of God moments.  Today, is a Kingdom of God moment.  Today, we take a cultural phenomenon, the Superbowl, and participate in a spiritual movement called the SouperBowl of Caring.  In the face of five million dollar commercials for potato chips, soda and beer, we take a step back and say not so fast.  We say, let’s not get caught up in this outrageous spending when there are some really important issues that need to be address.  Not so fast when there are hungry children right here in our own community.  I truly feel the Souperbowl of Caring is brilliant and God inspired and God at work.  It is a kingdom of God moment. 

            Today, I want to start with the passage from Isaiah.  Isaiah is talking to the people about a spiritual practice.  They have been taught that one of the ways to connect to God is to fast.  I don’t know if any of you have tried fasting, other than when our doctor requires it before blood work.  There are a variety of ways to fast.  One type of fast is to not eat for a day or for a set period of time.  Some practices allow you to have water through the day, some do not.  Some allow you to have a small meal at breakfast some do not.  Other types of fasts involve giving up a specific thing for a set period of time, such as the upcoming season of Lent.  People will fast from chocolate or soda. 

            Isaiah is calling into question the point of fasting.  He is questioning their motives, are they truly fasting to connect to God, or has it become a habit, something that is expected of them so they do it.  Well, Isaiah goes forward and explains what type of fast God is looking for.  God desires God’s people to be justice oriented.  To be aware of those that hunger, are homeless, and without clothes. 

 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

To be honest, this is the first time that I have made the connection to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 to this passage in Isaiah.  Look back to our call to worship.  Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, because when we do this, we do it to him.  These are sacred actions.  And in doing them, we may have to fast, we may have to fast from something that we were going to do for ourselves.  If I give ten dollars to the food pantry then I might have to fast from two cups of coffee at the coffee shop.  I might have to sacrifice something I was going to do for myself in order to ensure that someone else is cared for.  That, according to Isaiah, is a sacred fast.  That according to Jesus is a sacred act since in doing so, we are directly connecting our action to him. 

            Isaiah continues:  if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.

Does this sound at all like the season of Epiphany?  At all like last week when our children and youth shared about the ways in which we can let our little light shine? 

Offer food to the hungry and your light shall rise in the darkness.  Today, as we participate in the SouperBowl of Caring, we do so not as an act done out of habit.  We do it in response to a need within our own community, we dedicate it to Roxbury Social Services, we participate because our spiritual values are to partner with our community near and far, we participate because Jesus says when you do this to the least of these, you are doing it unto me. 

            Moving into the Beatitudes – each one of these could be a sermon unto itself.  This teaching is a snapshot of faithful living, of what it means to be a following of Jesus.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  This might sound like blessed are the ones with little faith.  But rather, it is blessed are the humble, those that stay grounded, that don’t get overly caught up in themselves but are willing to listen to God. 

            Blessed are the ones that pay attention to who are the hungry, who are the ones that need housing, who are the ones that need clothing.  Blessed is the one that listens to where the hurts of the community are and seeks ways to provide for those needs.  Not to lift themselves up as something great, but out of faith, out of compassion, out of the spiritual calling that God has placed upon their hearts.  Makes me think of Mother Teresa.  She was indeed blessed as one poor in spirit.  She fasted from the luxuries of the world in order to be present with the poor of India. 

            One translation states:  this beatitude could be translated as:  blessed are the pure in heart.  Pure in heart, those that seek to connect to the teachings of God and infuse them into their lives, those that seek to see God in the world around them and participate in where God is at work.  Both the teachings from Isaiah and the Beatitudes require us to participate, to be active, to be listeners to the community and to God.  In a way, we can be seen as the electrical conductor transferring God’s love from one place to the next.  The more our circuits are open, the more that God’s love will pour forth. 

            So, as we gather on this communion Sunday, let us participate in the gift of bread and cup set before us, not out of habit, not because we always do it, but because God has called us into a fast of breaking the bonds of injustice and oppression, a fast of letting go of the clutter and noise of the world so we can be poor in spirit or pure in heart.  Today, we break bread and share the cup to be reminded of our call not just to worship our loving God, but to go forth, nurtured and fed so that we can serve.  Let us be strengthened this day, as we go forth to partner with our community near and far to joyfully share the message and love of Jesus.  

Sermon - Epiphany

Living into who you Are

          During the Christmas Holiday, we took the girls to see the new Disney movie – Moana.  Now, I had no intention of going to see the movie and leave saying – hmmm, that just make a good sermon for Epiphany.  But, it does have some parallel themes within the story. 

          Moana is the young daughter of the Island chief, and it will be her role to become the next chief of her people.   From the time she is a young child, she and the other children have learned the myths and legends of her people.  One such legend is about a demigod, Maui, who has stolen the heart of the Goddess Te Fiti.  Ever since the heart was stolen, Islands throughout the region have experienced diminished fish and dying plants causing stress on the Island People.  Life, on Moana’s Island is wonderful, until one day.  One day the fisher men return home with no fish and the crops have some sort of disease.  There is a sudden awareness that something is wrong. 

          Moana must seek out the demigod Maui and convince him to return the heart to Te Fiti.  So, as her adventure begins, it begins with the night sky.  Maui can be found out at sea underneath his constellation of a fishing hook.  It is the star, or rather stars that will guide Moana on her way.  Does this sound like any story we know from the Bible?  A star, guiding people?  Last week, we talked about Epiphany as the celebration of God inviting all people of the world, into the covenant of God’s love, grace, and salvation, symbolicaly marked by the arrival of the three wise men who followed the star from distant lands to Christ Child. 

          So, off Moana goes, on her journey away from her homeland to seek the location of Maui so she can save her people.  When she arrives to the Island where Maui lives, she encounters the demigod with an announcement.  “Maui, shape shifter, demi God of the wind and sea, I am” but before she can finish She is corrected by Maui–“it’s actually Maui, shape shifter, demi God of the wind and sea, hero of men”.  Moana tries again and is interrupted once again, hero of men and women, hero of all people.  Finally, Moana can make her declaration:  "I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat and restore the heart to Te Fiti."  Throughout the movie, the viewer will find Moana struggling with her purpose and role in life, but she never waivers on her identity.  Over and over and over again she declares:  “I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my canoe, and restore the heart to Te Fiti.” 

          Is there power in names?  In identities?  In being able to declare who we are?  Well, yes of course there is.  When someone is married, at the end of the wedding, they are pronounced husband and wife and introduced no longer as single people but as Mr and Mrs.  This week, we have the inauguration, we put ritual around naming especially when it comes to naming people into positions of authority.  Would you go to see a physician if you knew they were not a doctor?  Names can give authority, and help us know who to trust. 

          Epiphany is more than the invitation of the world into God’s covenant, it also involves the naming of God in the world.  If all the world is invited to be a part of God’s community, they must know the name of God at work in the world.  Last week was actually the Baptism of our Lord Sunday, the Sunday in which we were supposed to recognize and celebrate John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the Jordon.  But, with the way the liturgical calendar fell, we would have missed the wise men altogether, so, I pushed the baptism of the Lord to today. 

In the season of Epiphany, God’s light in the world is named.  We are using the lighthouse as a symbol for God’s light shining into the world.  A light house serves no purpose if the light cannot be seen.  And so, in being able to see the light the light is given names.  

Jesus is named by John, in several ways, one of which is his quoting of the prophet Isaiah, to prepare the way of the Lord.  He then refers to Jesus as the one who is more powerful than I.  But then, as Jesus is baptized, and comes up from the water, a voice from heaven clearly defines for the people who this Jesus is.  suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,^[d] with whom I am well pleased.”  Just as in the Advent and Christmas stories, the angels clearly name who Jesus is, now, as Jesus has reached adulthood and is to begin his earthly ministry, he is named once again.  He is not named as the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, or the Good shepherd, but This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. 

          One definition of Epiphany is:  a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essentialmeaning of 

something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace  occurrence or experience.

          I remember learning about this in my English literature class, a moment in the plot when the main character has an aha moment, when something clicks and it makes sense, the lightbulb turns on.  These aha moments happen as we encounter the divine in our lives.  It can happen in Bible Study or worship, it can happen while volunteering or serving others.  It can happen in a moment of possible coincidence but not seeing it as a coincidence but rather a Spirit led moment.  These are Epiphanies in our daily lives, sacred in breakings. 

          The baptism of Jesus was just that, a sacred in-breaking into the world as Jesus participates in the human act of repentance and spiritually cleansing himself.  There is an aha moment of John proclaiming that he is the one Isaiah speaks of, there is the aha moment of him humbling himself in allowing John to baptize him, and there is the aha moment of God naming him.  If people did not make the connection through John the Baptist, if people could care less about the prophet Isaiah because they did not grow up Jewish and had no connection to these prophecies, they got it because God names him.  Both Jews and Gentiles are once again given the opportunity to know who Jesus is, the Lord spoken of by Isaiah and the Son of God given also to the Gentiles.  The light of God shines through the words of the prophets, through the actions of one who prepares the way, and in the voice of God.

          How do you name God in your life?  God the Father, God the mother, God the source of light and love?  Jesus, son of David, Jesus the Christ, Jesus the son of God?  The prince of peace, the Good shepherd.  It goes on and on, there are so many names listed throughout scripture. 

          Moana needs the demigod Maui to save her people by returning the heart to Te Fiti.  She is able to name who Maui is and she is able to name who she is.  In the on-line study that I have been using, it shares that the season of Epiphany is about Whose we are and Who we are.  Who do we belong to:  the son of God, and who are we:  children of the covenant.   Would we be able to approach God with the confidence of naming God followed by a proclamation of who we are?  God, creator of the wind and sea, giver of all life, redeemer of all people.  I am Carie, I am X and Y – child of the covenant, holy and beloved.  My family, my neighbors, my community, my world needs your salvation.  Board our boat, as we seek to make things right.  God, healer of the world, giver of salvation: we are FPCS a church that seeks to partner with our community near and far to joyfully share the message and love of Jesus, be with us as we pray for one another and share our gifts and resources with the greater community.  Let us continue the journey of Epiphany with confidence, by claiming our own names within God’s family and by naming the ways in which we encounter God in the world around us. 

Epiphany - sermon

“A Light to the Nations”

            Without blinking an eye, Christmas has come and gone already.  I took the ornaments off the tree yesterday and put many of the other decorations as well.  It feels so emptying, the celebration is over and now to clean up.  But, in the church calendar year, the message of Christmas is not over, this is the season of Epiphany, the season of naming and understanding the light that God has sent into the world. 

            In the early church, Epiphany was celebrated as the big holy day rather than Christmas.  It was celebrated on Jan. 6 as the wise men, arrive to the Christ child.  This was an important event in the life of the early church since it signified God’s presence, God’s salvation, extended beyond the Hebrew people to all people, to all nations.  The arrival of the magi signifies that the nations beyond Israel are not only invited into God’s grace, but have accepted that invitation and have come.  All of these generations later, the message and love of God has traveled the world.  It has been received by people of all nations. 

            So, does Epiphany still have a message for us today?  If the gift of God’s light, love, joy, and peace has been extended and received throughout the world, what message might it be for us today?  Just as we celebrate Christmas as the birth of God’s love and salvation in this world, we can celebrate Epiphany as the naming of how God’s light is shining, is shining, not was shining, but is shining. 

            The wise men followed a star, there was light in the night sky to guide them.  The Gospel of John speaks of Jesus as the light of the world, a light that shines through the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.  Epiphany is the time where the church celebrated the full inclusion of all people into God’s love, but it is also about light.  It is about how God’s light shines, and how it shines in the darkness. 

            If the star had not shone through the night sky, the wise men would never have found the Christ child.  They needed a map, a guide, a constant to ensure them they were headed in the right direction.  We too, we too need a map, a guide, a constant to ensure that we are headed in the right direction.  In a way, Epiphany reminds us that life is a journey, not a destination.  We may have lived in one place all of our lives, but we are still on a journey.  Life throws all kinds of obstacles in our way, and we need a map, a guide, a constant to remind us that we are still headed in the right direction.  The wise men had a star, God sent us a light that shines in the darkness, known as Jesus Christ, do we trust in that light to guide us through the dark nights? 

            Through this season of Epiphany, we are going to use the imagine of a lighthouse to be our symbol of how God’s light shines out into the world.  In our modern world, we have so many devices to navigate us, we have flashlights, gps, even night vision goggles, but everyone still seems to love lighthouses.   All along the coasts from nation to nation, light shines out in the darkness, warning ships in the sea of they are too close to the shore, as well as welcoming ships home after long journeys at sea. 

            We may be putting all the decorations away, but Christmas is not over, Ephiphany is not an event of the past.  The Christ Child continues to be born in the world and the light continues to shine in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.  For over 2,000 years people have wrestled with the darkness, plagues, wars, famine, extreme poverty, injustice, and oppression.  And for 2,000 years, people have fought the good fight, have risen to leadership, have spoken the voice of God, have embraced God’s light and become a beacon of hope to others. 

            As we embrace God’s gift of the Christ child in our lives, let us also embrace the light, the light of the star that guides, the light that shines in the darkness, the light the rights wrongs, the light that brings purpose and meaning and sacred love into all that we do.

Amen. 

Jan. 1 - sermon - the wise men

There is one last bah humbug to our story – and this time it is not Ebenezer Scrooge – it is someone by the name of King Herod.  When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, it seems like everything just happens, all of the prophesies from Isaiah and the other ancient prophets, just seem to align and it all just naturally falls into place.  But actually, there was road block after road block standing in the way of this birth: an unwed mother, a census close to the time she was to give birth, a long journey, no room in the inn, and now, a King that wants to do everything in his power to make sure this new born king does not rise to power.  Despite all of these road blocks, despite the world saying no to God’s yes, the child is born, and the prophecies are fulfilled, and the word spreads across the region that something amazing is happening. 

And so, as one last prophecy is being fulfilled: arise and shine, Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. They shall bring gold and frankincense,  and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. These Magi travel from distant lands.  Some say they are kings, some say they are wise, most likely they were astrologers, and it is possible there were more than three.  But whoever they were, they came from afar because they saw something of great interest in the sky and from it, they interpreted the star to signify the birth of the king of the Jews. 

Now, the lands from which they came had once been conquerors of Israel, so some even proclaim that these magi were spies, coming to seek information on the political future of Israel.  Yes, Rome was in control, but lands always seemed to be influx, rulers came and went, and nations rose and fell.  Would this new king be a future threat to their own lands?  It was definitely a day and age where you would not know who to trust.  And so, when these magi arrived in Jerusalem and questioned about the whereabouts of the birth of the king, Herod was greatly disturbed and so was all of Jerusalem. 

In a not so distant past, when the Greeks ruled over the land, there had been an uprising called the Maccabean Revolt, which is now partly celebrated through Holy season of Hanukkah.  Would this king be yet another rebel bringing together the people to try and overthrow the Roman rule?   One commentator writes:  Medes, Babylonians and Persians do not come to David’s town to worship, they come to spy and conquer.Yet on reaching, the place where Jesus is, they do what they say they came to do.  They offer him homage and present him kingly tribute.

Whether they were spies or not, they came, they came because of something in the sky.  How often do we even look at the sky anymore?  Would we even notice of a new star appeared?  Have we paid attention to when Mars or Jupitar are brighter than usual?  Just a a few weeks ago we had a super moon – maybe some of you saw it.  The next really big moon will be in 2034 – some people got some great pictures, but was it really a big deal?  Did people really pay attention.  Or what about Halleys comet – 1986 and returning in 2061  - or a solar eclipse –

As this story unfolds, what we learn is that it is foreigners that are paying attention to signs of God’s work in the world.  Foreigners are on the move and willing to travel and see what is happening at great expense for themselves.  They leave safety and come to the land of their enemies in order to encounter whatever it is that is happening.  They have an amazing openness to themselves.  Perhaps the sign was so intense to them that they were just sure beyond a doubt that this was a journey that they had to make.  And so they came, and God reinforced their journey by speaking to them in a dream. 

The Wise Ones found what they were looking for by following the lighted path. When we trust the “star” that God hung out for us, we move toward life in its fullest and discover joy beyond imagining. What paths is God shining light upon for you? We will take the next month to implement movement toward a brighter future than we can imagine.

Christmas Eve

There are no Bah Humbugs tonight.  For those that joined us through the Advent season, we journeyed through Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol.  Ebenezer Scrooge was encountered by the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future as his ice solid heart began to melt.  Through his visits from these three spirits, he learned that joy does not come through the self security of money.  Joy comes from engaging the community around him, using his resources as a means to bring healing and wholeness to others. 

One small voice, one small person, impacted him the most in this transition from selfish greed to overwhelming joy and that is the child of his employee, Tiny Tim.  Tiny Tim, gathers with his family on Christmas Eve, unable to walk without the use of a crutch, and even in his weakness, even in his slowly dying body, he proclaims:  God Bless Us Everyone. 

God bless us everyone.  God has blessed us everyone.  As the Angels break forth in the night sky and proclaim the Good News to the Shepherds that a Savior has been born unto them, the proclaim that this is good news for all the people.  All the people, extending away from Bethlehem, away from Jerusalem, away from Israel, to the far reaches of the land where the kings of foreign lands understand that they too are invited to witness what God is doing in the world. 

Mary and Joseph may have found no room in the inn, they may have had to dwell in a lowly stable stall, but God was not keeping this birth a secret.  There are no bah humbugs here, as shepherds are amazed and go with haste to see if what the angels have told them is true.  There is movement, there is hope, there is amazement, there is a sense of the sacred, the divine, the amazing power of God in this moment of time. 

God bless us everyone.  Ebenezer Scrooge emerges from his former self, a man on a mission, a man filled with life, because he finally understands, he finally gets it, he finally embraces that life is about community, about relationships, about blessings, and so he sings and he dances and he goes out into the streets and he goes to his nephew’s home and asks to be invited in.  The doors are opened, and a new day begins for Ebenezer and his nephew and for Tiny Tim.  Ebenezer learns that Christmas is more than just another day, a day, he would say is one without pay.  But rather, he learns that Christmas is a day that brings new life, a day where he falls in love with life, a day where, in his opinion, meaningless traditions fall away, but a day when he becomes family.  He does not just reach out to help Tiny Tim with costs for medical care, but, the story tells us, he becomes like an uncle to Tiny Tim.   They build a relationship, they become family. 

Christmas is the new day.  God has opened the door of love for all of us to receive.  We are all invited in.  We are to engage the community, and build relationships, and embrace the blessings, and leave the bah humbugs behind.  A baby has been given to us.  Babies are easy to fall in love with.  Will we this night, tomorrow day, find the gift of new life given to us in this baby?  Will we fall in love with him, fall in love with life, fall in love with the good news of God’s blessings?  For the message of Tiny Tim rings out above and beyond the bah humbugs, God Bless us Everyone.  Amen.