Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

This Christmas, I'm thinking about Christmas memories. In my family, most Christmas mornings, we would get up (sometimes as early as 5:30 AM, much to my parents chagrin), and run downstairs to the Christmas tree, opening stockings and presents.
Then, my family would pile into the car together, and drive the hour or so to Grandma and Grandpa Schrag's
house in Pretty Prairie, Kansas.  There we would gather with family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and Great-aunt Ida for a wonderful Christmas lunch. In the afternoon, we would exchange gifts, but before that happened, we would all sit quietly while Grandmother read the Christmas story for Luke, King James version. 

Further thoughts on Isaiah 9

Yesterday I focused on my favorite things about the Isaiah 9 passage. But there are a couple of aspects of this passage I’d like to at least mention.

First, while this passage is about God’s gift to humanity, obviously it does not always feel like we have already received a gift from God. Which is the pattern of our lives-sometimes we are the people who are walking in darkness, sometimes we see a great light. When we find ourselves in the walking in darkness side of things, when our warriors are still trampling with their boots, and there are still garments rolled in blood, then it is harder to celebrate the hope of this passage.

Isaiah 9:2-7

This text from Isaiah 9:2-7 is one of the classic Christmas scriptures from Isaiah.  His Messianic visions were always ripe for use by early Christians as they sought the Old Testament for stories that they could use to describe and understand Jesus' work in the world.

A child has been born for us, to us a son is given. My theology is often focused on how human beings ought to engage God-how we act, how we serve, how we worship, what we believe. This is because I think the most important question that human beings need to answer is ‘what shall I do’ in relationship to the world around us. Also, I usually feel like the attempt to fill the ineffable mystery of our creator with specific content is a dangerous practice,  one that leads to creating God in our own image.

However, it is worth remembering that the heart of the Christmas story is not us doing things for God, but God doing things for us. A child is born for us. A son is given to us. This is at its heart a story of God at work, caring for the world, working out our salvation in partnership with humanity, with concern and tender mercy.  This does not mean that we don't have to work at it-sometimes gifts can be a lot of work-take a new puppy on Christmas morning. Christmas asks us to become disciples of this child born for us, Jesus of Nazareth. But this is a story of God at work. God has broken the yoke of the oppressor, God has increased the nation’s joy, it is the zeal of the Lord of hosts that will do this, not our zeal.

Luke 1:39-56









We had the children’s Christmas program this Sunday, so no sermon. It was my first ‘directing’ experience, and I think it went pretty well.
The gospel text for today is the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise that she delivers after visiting her relative Elizabeth (Jesus and John are often called cousins, but there is no reason to think that Elizabeth and Mary were sisters-they are clearly very different in age).
The Magnificat is one of the most quoted texts in liberation theology-the movement started in Latin America in opposition to Dictatorships (backed by American military technology) in Central American countries. These dictators, and our relationship to them were popularized most in the Iran-Contra controversy in the Regan years, and the oppression in these countries (that does still continue) is an issue that comes up annual in protests at the School of the Americas in Fort Bennings Georgia.

energy use over time

This is a striking graph from CNN about energy use and CO2 output for the globe. Most interesting is noting what happens when 1/3 of the world's population gets much richer in Asia, and just how much energy North America (us) is using.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/environment/energy/

From an Advent perspective, this is 1) a reminder of how much better off billions of people are now than they were 20 years ago. That is something to celebrate! 2) The advent call is to 'turn around.'  We have not slowed our use of energy or our production of CO2 much in the last 20 years. What might 'turning around' look like for us?

Sermon 12/13/09

Here is my sermon for this Sunday-hope you enjoy it.
There are two questions I'd invite conversation on in the comments 1) what do you do to inspire/practice joy in your life? How do you act to increase your joy? 2) do you have an answer to my closing question-a memory that continues to give you joy, or a plan you are particularly looking forward to this holiday season?


Isaiah tells the people “Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah always goes back and forth between the glorious future that God is preparing for the people and the dangerous moment that Israel is in currently. Here, we are at the very far end of the pendulum, being assured that we will draw water from the wells of salvation, and be able to celebrate God’s mercy, that because God is in our midst, we can celebrate, in the face of all our difficulties.
In the Philippians text, Paul invites everyone to rejoice, because they have been blessed with the Holy Spirit and the peace of Christ, because as he puts it, “God is near.” Philippians is one of the most positive of Paul’s letters, (the people of Philippi have sent him some money) and he pours love upon them, calling them “my joy and crown” and tells them “I rejoice in the Lord greatly” because of their love.

Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This short verse from the book of Philippians is only tangentially related to Advent. The rather opaque ‘the Lord is near’ is the only real Advent connection. But the whole book of Philippians in some ways captures the Christmas spirit better (as it is most commonly understood) than many of the more dour Christmas texts about God coming in wrath.
The book of Philippians is upbeat, Paul is in a tremendous mood (he only goes on a few rants against people he disagrees with). Philippi was the first Greek city he preached in, and it was one where he had great success. The church flourished, the people of Philippi supported Paul in his mission financially, (which he appreciated) and he in return gushed about them. Paul is writing from prison in Rome, but that does not seem to dampen his spirits in the least.

Luke 3:7-18

Our text today is Luke 3:7-18
7John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Zepheniah 3:14-20-Rejoice Greatly!

Hello,
I hope this finds you all well. This morning, I’d like to look at Zepheniah 3:14-20
This is a wonderful text that we have this morning, that has been put into song in many different ways (for two totally different examples, here are some YouTube clips Messiah, Mighty to Save). It is full of the presence of God, and invites all its readers to experience joy. “The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst” is a testimony about God’s abiding presence, even when God sometimes feels distant.
There is a three-fold promise here. First, there is the promise that God’s judgments will be removed (sins forgiven), second the promise that the enemies of Judah will not succeed (important, as Israel had only recently been destroyed by Assyria) and third, that justice will be done (the lame and outcast saved, and the social system of shame/honor overturned).
This is good news indeed of Emmanuel, God with us, so it is little wonder that it was adopted by early Christians as a messianic promise foreshadowing Jesus. We too can celebrate, rejoicing as children of Jerusalem that God offers forgiveness for sins, and that God will indeed rejoice over us with singing.

The image here, by the way is quite over the top-think about David, dancing in the streets rejoicing in bringing the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, or the father of the prodigal son running to meet his child-this is an image of divine love overwhelming all bounds of propriety, the sense of self control, and breaking out into songs of joy. Unmitigated joy is something of an uncomfortable thing in our society-we aren’t really supposed to express it, because self control (at least self control of positive emotions) is highly valued. This is not dissimilar to the situation in ancient Israel, so the image of God breaking out in songs of joy (who, then as now, was often seen as a serious, important, dour kind of figure) would have been striking.
I wonder what the words of the song of praise that God would sing about you might be?

Being Informed

The link goes to a TED presentation on health and wealth in the world in the last 40 years. I cannot stress enough how amazing it is. In the first 2 minutes, you'll have your mind blown, the next 15 share what our globe looks like today.

What has happened to the world in the last 40 years?

I found myself learning A LOT here.  Speaking of hope in the world at Advent, the fact that 1.8 billion people (give or take) in China and India are several times richer now than they were then is something to rejoice about.  Considering our commitment as Christians to caring for the poor and the sick, it is worth knowing who the poor and the sick are, and how that has changed.

In a more theological framing, as people we are defined by our stories. Right now, I'm caught up in the story of Advent, of power coming from poverty, of God present in the messiest parts of life, of emperors and governors taking a back seat to an unwed mother and some shepherds on a hillside.  It is a story that defines me and my life.  But we need to choose our stories carefully discerning how they shape us, and reflect the reality around us. This presenter asks us to update some of our stories about wealth and power, because they no longer cohere with reality.  I notice that there are many stories we might consider updating in our lives. I've been praying for the climate conference in Copenhagen right now, that there might be new stories of cooperation and trust and common interest among nations that allow them to reduce their carbon emissions, rather than presuming that international cooperation in the face of a grave exestential threat is impossible.

Blessings

Sermon 12/6/2009

Here is my sermon from this morning.
In particular, I'd be curious about what ethical tasks you are committed to trying to be prepared for-those things you try to envision yourself handling well, or those things you have a hard time imagining yourself doing.

Enjoy! Grace and peace,
Samuel

Good morning! I hope that you have found yourself touched by the energy and the spirit of Christmas this time of year.

Rachel and I put up Christmas decorations this weekend, in preparation for the holiday. We haven’t been settled enough in our married lives to know exactly what our Christmas routine consists of, but so far we’ve usually had a tree, some lights outside, and either a star or an angel on top of the tree-a point that has yet to be resolved. But one thing that is always clear-the preparation for the holiday season is part of the fun-going out to Eckerts, picking out the scraggliest tree we can find, putting on Christmas music to decorate it, it’s all a magical experience. When this is what preparation is like, its very hard to describe the process as work. So as we thinking about preparing the way for the Lord, I hope that its more like the good conversation that happens while cooking meals, the music playing during house cleaning, or the sense of satisfaction from yard work or gardening, rather than a burden, a chore, done out of a sense of guilt.

Kind of like how John the Baptist experienced preparing the way of the Lord. Sure, we might not envy his lifestyle, out in the desert, eating locusts and prophesying impending doom, but there is no doubt he worked with gusto, and in his passion, people came. Think about what that would have been like-leaving the small town where you lived nearly all of your life, going to the wilderness to see the holy man. It would have been completely out of the ordinary, exciting and full of interest, a great break to the routine, but it would also have been a preparatory event, a chance to hear the invitation to repent, to be reenergized for the work of God.

So as we think about preparing the way of the Lord this season, I hope we keep in mind that part of the salvation for which we prepare is wrapped up in the joy we find in preparation.

Conflicting Advent Messages

I’m in the middle of sermon writing, so we’ll skip the scripture focus for today. I’ve been thinking a little bit about the complicated function of advent theologically in the church year. It wears a lot of hats!

Advent is designed to give a time of preparation for Christmas. Like Lent, it was originally a time of fasting, a darker time, one of preparation and introspection as humans considered their own sinfulness and the world’s brokenness before Celebrating God’s enduring forgiveness and mercy in light of Jesus’ coming.

The lectionary texts focus on the expectations in the Jewish world that a messiah would come-a redeemer sent by God who would lead the Jewish people into a glorious future, and Christians have from the beginning connected these prophecies with Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection.

Advent is also a time to remember Jesus’ promise to come again in glory at some point in the future, when the world might be changed, a time to reflect on the already/not yet that we live in now, remembering that Gods’ work is not done, and our world continues to fall short of the glory of God.

In conjunction with this, of course, there is the actual preparation for Christmas-the biggest party of most people’s year, when family gets together, traditions are lived out, and we try to jam a whole year’s worth of joy into a week and a half. There is the shopping, the tree trimming, the cooking, the planning, and all of this energy, emotion, and passion means that we very much feel the anticipation that is part of the theology of this time of year, but that the ‘not yet’ part of already/not yet is a little off key.

I always wrestle with just how to handle this pastorally. My first advent in Saint Louis I actually leaned toward the dark side of things, acknowledging our sense that God is not always present, and that we are actively yearning for new beginnings. Last advent, I was in Kansas.

This year, I’m trying to focus on the more joyful parts of advent-celebrating what we have, the grace, love, and hope that are the reason we celebrate the season, while still acknowledging the imperfections of the world.

Where are you this Advent season? Are you anticipating with hope or fear? Are you feeling the darkness of this world’s continued distance from our hopes and dreams? Or are you feeling thankful for God’s work in the world and your lives, the blessings of family, friends, and an upcoming holiday?

Grace and peace,
Samuel

Luke 1:68-79

The book of Luke begins as a melodrama-everyone, from Mary to Elizabeth to Simeon and here Zechariah breaks out in song because of Jesus' presence in the world. You can imagine it working a little bit like West Side Story. The text is regularly broken with songs of praise, that speak to the larger themes of Luke and the gospel.
In our text today, Zechariah has been speechless for 9 months, because he doubted the angel who promised he would have a son. So this song has been stored up for a long time.

Lets look at it verse by verse:

Isaiah 40:3-5

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together,”

I thought it might be appropriate to look a little more closely at the Isaiah text that is quoted about John the Baptist this week. The sermon this week is on John, and his role in the advent story (including the song of Zechariah which we’ll look at tomorrow). I encourage everyone to look at the whole context of this quote, from Isaiah 39-40. It is a fascinating read, because of where Isaiah wanders. In chapter 39, there is a little historical narrative: King Hezekiah is visited by emissaries of the King of Babylon, and he shows these emissaries all of the treasures of Jerusalem. Isaiah thinks this is a tremendously bad idea. We’re left with the impression that Hezekiah’s bragging has brought the potential jealousy of Babylon into play, and Isaiah gives a prophecy of doom for Jerusalem.

Then, immediately afterwards this promise of exile, Isaiah goes into the famous “Comfort, Comfort Oh My People” which is the prelude to the text a highway in the wilderness. It is this context that convinces many that the highway for the Lord is not just a way for God to get from point A to point B, but a road of deliverance-it is the promise that while there will be pain from Babylon, God will create a highway to bring people back to the land, to Israel.

From this point, Isaiah moves on to a claim about God’s sovereignty and creative power, reminding all his readers that God is capable of doing great things for those who are faithful.

So we’ve got something of a three-fold movement: Hezekiah is reprimanded with a prophecy of woe, followed by the promise that things will get better eventually, followed by the evidence that God is able to make this restoration happen. It’s a cozy little argument, and it is useful to consider how this all plays together when we hear ‘comfort comfort’ or ‘A voice cries out, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord’ (or, just as accurately, “A voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord”-Hebrew is notoriously lacking in punctuation).