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.  

Advent week 3: Who needs Joy?

“Bah Humbug, who needs Joy?”

            Bah Humbug, who needs joy?  Not Ebenezer Scrooge, or at least he does not think he does.  He has built up such an incredible emotional wall around himself that he feels nothing.  But that wall is beginning to crack after visits from the ghost of Christmas past and the ghost of Christmas present.  Now, the third ghost is upon him, the ghost of Christmas future. 

            What is the future?  Is it a predetermined path that we are all set upon?  Or can we influence our future in how we make choices in the now?  As Scrooge is tormented by this ghost, as he faces the reality of his own death, he cries out asking if this is the only outcome to his future or if there might be another way.  Is this the way it shall be or is it the way it may be?  Scrooge does not like what his future holds and has awakened within himself that he is ready to change, if only it is not too late. 

How can this be connected to the Advent theme of Joy?  There is no joy, only the fear of death. 

            Isaiah 35: the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom.  Scrooge is not the first one to experience a dry and empty life.  The prophets spoke of a better future.  They did not believe that the future had to be the reality of their current situation.  They believed through God, through a life of faithful living, God’s creating power for this world .  The prophets sought to bring hope to the people, that their future was not barren, but life giving. 

How is it that God can work out of death to bring new life?  How is it that God works out of barrenness and brings a new future?  How is it that God chooses the hardest places in the world, in our lives, to break in and create flowers and fruit and life giving resources?  Advent is all about the ways in which God is at work in the world to change the future into something full of life.  We move closer and closer to Christmas day, where we celebrate the fullness of God’s light in this world, we move out of the darkness, we move out of the despair, we move out of the fear, into the promise that God is still creating a future, a future for the Israelites, a future for Scrooge, and a future for us. 

Scrooges’ future, if he remains chained in fear, has been determined and he will die a lonely, mean, cold hearted man.  But, but, the future has not yet been written, and Scrooge has choices.  As he fights not just the ghosts that have visited him over the night, he has to fight his own inner demons.  He has to choose to let go of everything that he has built is life around.  As he sheds these things, as he chooses life over death, he finally understands joy.  According to Matt Rawle:  Joy is a passion filled experienced.  Joy is the steadfast assurance that God is with us.  Joy does not mean being happy, but joy is awakening to the understanding that no matter where we are in this life journey, God is with us.  In the midst of our tears, in the midst of our pain, in the midst of the worst news we could ever receive, God is with us. 

As we examine the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, each of the ghosts meets him where he is.  He is home, he is in bed, he is broken and unrepentant, but they come to him because his future does not have to be that way.  God is with us, and God meets us where we are.  Whether we are in the wilderness, or the dry land, or the desert, our future is not determined.  Taking the time to actually slow down and think about our actions and the ripple effect that they have upon the world is a spiritual act.  Just as a bell reverberates its toll out into the world, the bells that awaken Scrooge to a new future, our actions reverberate out into the world as well.  God calls us to make those actions, actions of faith, actions of love, actions of kindness. 

Today, in a couple of little ways, we are changing the future for the better.  What if, what if we did not have the toy march today?  What if, what if the deacons did not purchase sweatshirts for those facing challenging times in the Dover area?  What if.  What if we only focused on ourselves?  But we don’t.  We look out into the world and we see places and people that are facing hard times and we give.  And in our giving, we change the future.  Our love is reverberating out into the world, to families that can now give their children a few more toys for Christmas.  Our love is reverberating out into the world, to men living on the streets. 

Joy, the steadfast assurance that God is with us.  As we share the good news of the Christmas season, that Emmanuel has been born, that God has entered into our world, that God has been, is with, and always will be with us.  Perhaps, perhaps, we are a little bit like Mary.  Perhaps we can be those that bear Christ into this world, so that others can feel within themselves a movement, a movement of joy, leaping within them, just as the infant in Elizabeth’s womb leapt in joy as soon as Mary greeted her cousin Elizabeth.  Or perhaps, perhaps, just like Scrooge, you have felt something within yourself leap, something within yourself move, and called you to pay attention to the joy in your midst. 

Scrooge awakens a new man.  A man grateful to be alive, a man ready to celebrate life, a man ready to change the future.  He is ready to be the rain that falls upon the dry land so that the flowers will bloom.  And he has a specific family in mind.  He must do something, he must do anything, he must do everything within his power to give Tiny Tim a fighting chance to survive.  

Advent Week 2: The Redemption of Scrooge

Matthew 3

Bah Humbug, Who needs Peace?

Bah humbug, who needs peace? 

Scrooge doesn’t need peace, he has created his own.  He has insulated himself in a fortified bubble of his own financial security that guarantees him peace.  How many times do we wish we could do the same?  Insulate ourselves into our own bubble of peace, keeping the worries and concerns of the world away?  Every time I go on vacation, I joke about how great it would be to sell the house and just move to tropics.  To just ignore all the pain of the world and just be, just soak in the sun, eat yummy food, swim, read books, that would be the life. 

The bell tolls

Bah humbug, who needs peace?  Pop, the insulated bubble around Ebenezer Scrooge pops, as the bells toll and the Ghost of Christmas Present beckons him to come and hear what is happening in the world that very night.  Earlier in the night, Scrooge has turned away from his office men seeking donations for the poor, he had said: —the poor have only themselves to blame and would be better off dead.

So when he is visited by the spirit of the present, he is admonished to “look!” He must really see the truth of the suffering world and his own hand in it.  One of the places he is taken is to the home of his worker:  Bob Cratchit.  There, Scrooge gets a glimpse into the life of this family.  Poverty suddenly has a face, a connection, to Ebenezer, this is a direct connection to someone he knows. 

 ‘Spirit,’ said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, ‘tell me if Tiny Tim will live.’

Ghost:   ‘I see a vacant seat,’ replied the Ghost, ‘in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.’

 ‘No, no,’ said Scrooge. ‘Oh, no, kind Spirit. say he will be spared.’

Ghost: ‘If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other will find him here. What then. “If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.’”

Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

Pop, the bubble of peace Scrooge had fortified around himself no longer exists and he is overcome with penitence and grief.  Amazing what happens when we see how our life, how our choices, can directly impact the future of someone else. 

            In those days, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming;  Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.  Repent, come and confess your sins.  I love the song from Godspell:  Prepare ye the way of the Lord.  What must we do to be prepared?  John calls us to repent and confess our sins.  The Kingdom of God is drawing near, the Prince of Peace has arrived, we desire to welcome him into our hearts, into our homes, into our lives and so we must prepare. 

            Whether Scrooge knows this or not, his heart changes, he makes the connection that his actions have consequences and he does not like what he sees.  And so he is overcome with penitence and grief.  Peace begins with us, it begins with how we view ourselves in the greater web of life.  Our choices, our actions have a ripple effect out throughout the world.  Whether it is the food we buy, the clothes we wear, the things we throw away.  It all ripples out and impacts others.  Just this morning on the news, there was a spot on truckers and the person interviewed stated:  we put profits over lives as he spoke about how tired so many drivers are working the long hours that they work.  Profits over lives.  That is the message of the life of Ebenezer Scrooge and if we are willing to see it in the world today, it still rings true. 

We don’t have to live that way, the Prince of Peace calls us not to live this way.  Just as Scrooge began to have a change of heart, we, as the people of God can model a way of living where we seek to do the least amount of harm.  It is not easy, but we can begin to be a part of a change to be more responsible consumers where we put the lives of others first. 

Open us to your miracle just begun

and in this season transform us into those whose giving

brings peace in a turbulent world.

Blessings sent us from above guide us on our way.

We raise our voice as we rejoice, bow our head and pray.

A miracle has just begun. God bless us everyone!

Two] candle’s light dispels the night; now our eyes can see.

Burning brighter than the sun, God bless us everyone!

Advent - week 1: The Redemption of Scrooge

“Bah Humbug, who needs Hope?”

            Bah, Humbug, who needs hope?  In Charles Dicken’s a Christmas Carol, the main character Scrooge seems to have hope in nothing but money.  Bah humbug, who needs anything but money?  Dickens is writing this novel in a time of great disparity between the wealthy and the poor.  For the poor, there is very little hope in the world, there are debtor prisons and labor houses,  For so many, the only hope came from the generosity of others.  And so Dickens writes this classic tale of a man that is so heartless, so hardened, so selfish, so greedy to illustrate that perhaps, just perhaps, hope is at work in the world and can transformed even the coldest hearts.  Dickens had hope.  He had hope for a better future, he had hope that people would awaken to generosity, he had hope that the message and meaning of Christmas can and will transform this world. 

            Seven years after Scrooges’ partner Jacob Marley has died, Scrooge is hard at work on Christmas Eve and is visited by his nephew, Fred, inviting him to Christmas.  : “[Christmas is] a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when [people] seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”   Scrooge will have nothing to do with his only living relative and the famous line, bah humbug is his response.    His next set of visitors are men seeking a generous donation to feed the poor and hungry.  Scrooge refuses to donate anything and proclaims it would be better for those to be dead as to help the issue of over population.  What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer?”   Out of his abundance, he refuses to give to the poor, wishing them dead.  He is a true illustration of selfish greed. 

            Leaving work, and returning to his home alone, when others are gathered together with family and parties, he is encountered by his former partner Marley.  The ghost of Marley is covered in chains and warns Scrooge that this too will be his fate.  He has been chained for all eternity of the sins he committed in life.  He second warning is that Scrooge will be visited by three ghosts to expose to him the hardness of his life and how his choices have a great impact on those around him. 

At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the candle-like Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his early life. They visit Scrooge's boarding school where Scrooge remembers how his friends all returned home for Christmas but his family did not send for him.  One begins to understand why he has become so hardened towards the Christmas season.  The ghost then shows him another year where his sister Fanie, comes to bring him home.  This is the first glimpse to a moment of happiness, perhaps he was not always a mean, selfish, and cold person.  He is shown a few more happy memories, and one begins to wonder what happened to him that made him so miserable.  The ghost of Christmas past shows us a young man with the potential for a happy and successful future.  Until, until he and his fiancé Belle come to their separation.  She sees that he is more concerned and occupied with his career, with money than for her.  So she leaves him.  What was once a life filled with endless possibilities seems to have established itself as one focused not on family, not on relationships, but merely on money. 

Living with God or living without God.  Living with hope and living without hope.  Others all around him have less than he does, but they are happy, yes, they have worries and concerns and fears but they have not given up on the world. 

Each of us can visit our past, we can look backwards in our own lives and reflect on the events that have impacted us and molded us into the person we currently are.  Some of us can look back and see how we leaned heavily into God’s arms during hard and trying times, others can still feel the pain of a broken heart or the grief of loss over someone or something.  Some turn away from God because of the hardships of life, while others anchor themselves into the hope that God promises and grow stronger through tragedy.  How will we be inspired to share hope in the midst of the world’s heartbreak?

In this first Sunday of Advent, we hope.  We too hope for a better future.  We join the long chain of the human story, of people waiting and hoping.  The prophet Isaiah speaks of a future time, he speaks of a time of peace, shedding hope upon the people that there will be a better future, that indeed there will even be a future.  There will be a time when wars cease and swords will be turned into plowshares and the way to get there is to walk in the light of the Lord.  We still wait for that day, they day when wars will cease and God continues to call us to walk in the light as we journey together into that future day. 

As we wait for the day, God calls his people to stay awake, as we live into God’s hope for this world, we must stay awake.  Scrooge could not stay awake, both literally and figuratively.  He knew the spirit was coming but still he feel asleep, and had he stayed awake in his own life to the Hope of God in his own life, he never would have become such a cold hearted person.  But sleep he did, and sleep we often do too.

Come, all you who are haunted by past disappointments and scattered dreams.

Come, you who feel burdened by the patterns set up early in life.

Come, you who yearn to start anew.

We often set aside New Years as the time when we name our resolutions, the ways in which we seek to change our lives for the better, but Christmas is the time to let our faith be born within us once again, to remind us of God’s presence in our life, not just in the past, not just on the pages of scripture, but alive within each of us.  We light one candle because we understand the human journey, that this is not an instant gratification moment of life, this is a process, a journey of time.  One candle burning bright, chasing away the darkness.  One candle cannot chase away our past, but it can shed light on our hurts and allow us to either find the path of God’s love if we feel we are lost, or the light can help us remain on the path when we are tempted to stray in another direction. 

            God’s hope for us is that in this journey, we will receive the Christ child into our lives, into our hearts and that, just like Scrooge, we will find moments of transformation and redemption as we engage this world.  Where are our fears, our places where we too hold too tightly, where we depend upon ourselves instead of on God’s abundance? 

            In so many ways, life is so different than in the times of Dickens, but in so many ways it is still the same.  There are still hungry people, there are still families seeking places to live, there are still many who rely on the generosity of others for their very survival.  In and through the church, God has called people to be agents of love to make a significant difference in the world around us.  We are called to be those that listen and hear what others are hoping for.  What are the hopes and fears that surround us and how can we be that place of God’s hope as the Christ child is born once again in this world reminding us of God’s presence in each and every life? 

            Dickens had hope for a better future and he illustrates this through the redemption of Scrooge.  Let us too be agents of hope for a better future, and let it begin with us.  Amen.