WHAT IF?

I Cor. 7:29-31

Union Avenue

Truth in advertising is important.  We do not like to be conned into thinking we can get a really good deal – and then discover we were merely being lured into something different.  The opposite is also true.  Shaking the big stick loses its alarming value if nothing of consequence ever happens.

Paul’s words of utmost concern that the present form of this world is passing away to people living almost 2,000 years AFTER the words had been uttered can hardly be blamed for their nonchalance.  What difference do his words mean to us …is there anything relevant here?  This passage could legitimate the hue and cry that ancient Biblical texts are useless for people today.  Frankly, hearing which Republican candidate is winning a primary or getting out the race causes much more interest than a headline about the world coming to an end.

So…a big task for the next few minutes. Taking verses out of the context in which they were written and then to think they can be transferred to times and places so different from their original context is one of the major ways we abuse our Biblical texts.  Trying to understand our scriptures within the context in which they were written we can glean some truths – but this takes work and digging.

Paul was responding to matters that some folks in the Corinthian congregation had raised with him.  I would encourage you to read the whole 7^th chapter of this letter for the background of the two verses we have for our scripture today.  It is, however, PG 13, with conversation about sexual self-control, deprivation, virginity, and marriage being the better option than living aflame with passion.  Probably the best news within the chapter is Paul’s admission that his words are, in fact, his own…not words or thoughts he has received from Jesus.  This is a rare admission for Paul – who, more often than not comes across with over-enthusiastic authority and arrogance.

But, the end of time didn’t happen.  Paul and many of his early Christian colleagues fell into the timeworn pattern of literalism – hearing a truth that is coated with a contextual covering … then passing on the coating rather than seeking the truth that is deeper and often hidden.  The church – through the centuries – has been an expert at this.

There is a truth – within Paul’s thoughts and the concern he heard because of Jesus Christ.

Can we hear his concerns that we live as if… even though we are in relationships as if we were not consumed by that…even though we might be grieving or rejoicing to live as if we were not…even though we have possessions to live as if we do not?  The impending end of the world isn’t really necessary for those realities to be the true faith challenges for our lives right now and every day.

Consider how would we live differently IF:

- the people for whom we have deep responsibilities and love did not have first and total dibs on our energy and resources

- if we were not always fluctuating between the high points and low points (mourning and rejoicing) of our lives.

- If we did not have to concern ourselves so very much in protecting our assets (our homes, our health insurance, our cars, our savings accounts, our investments)

What if our lives were truly centered – first and foremost – on who God wants and needs us to be and through that relationship our energy and time would be extended to our families, our staffs, our students, clients, patients, our neighbors?  Even that sounds selfish – because it is all about us…but truly it is about the relationship WITH God that brings us and gives us life.  We can be far more valuable to all of the people in our lives if we are focused …and if we are focused appropriately.  Alternatively – and very easily – we fall into the routine of awaking each day to meeting the loudest or closest demands upon us.

Again, what if our lives didn’t wax and wane between our sadness and joy …or between our fixation with caffeine and sleeping pills …but our energy was always erupting from the knowledge of who we are as an integral and important part of this created universe of God’s?

And can you imagine if we could be released from worrying about or protecting the things we own…our material possessions?

That’s what Paul is suggesting …and that is precisely where the Christian faith calls us.  It is not about the planet earth blowing up.  It is about living lives like most everyone else in our neighborhoods or living a life that is focused, centered, and responsive to the call placed upon us.

The present form of the world will only pass away when and if those who are truly serious about the call placed upon them make a witness.  The present form of the world will only pass away when faithful people are dissatisfied with the present form of the world.  What if the church – those of us who are gathered together even within this congregation – reclaimed a serious centeredness in which our lives were absolutely focused on how to be the people of God needed in this world rather than occasionally remembering to attend to our faith?

The following was written about 50 years ago …but falls in this what if line of thought

There was a time when the church was very powerful–in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.”‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent–and often even vocal–sanction of things as they are.

 That was part of the response from one clergyman to several other clergymen who were annoyed because of “unwise and untimely activities” and the call to faithful action.  The timidity and moderation that Martin Luther King, Jr., saw within the church in those days was more of a stumbling block to him that even the Ku Klux Klan and so he wrote his letter from the Birmingham jail.

People of faith – Christians – we are called to rail against the present form of this world …that which allows and encourages us to be comfortable…that which demands that we are responsive to our possessions, our moods, our aches and pains, our clients, patients, students, staff and even those closest loved ones before we are responsive to God.

Jesus called for something entirely different, but 2000 years have relaxed us into the same old way of being.  What if we took him seriously…really, really seriously?  What if our lives were re-focused?  What if that started today?

CLOSE TO THE HEART OF GOD

 John 1:1-18

Union Avenue

The first time I stood on top of a snowy mountain, the experience was breath taking…. absolutely overwhelming.  I felt closer to the heart – the center – of all creation than I had ever known …at the same time knew I was a mere speck in the fullness of what I was taking in.  Touching the power of God, yet knowing I had only one small thread in the huge tapestry of what this creation holds.  It was an experience of faith.

Receiving my son into my arms and gazing into his eyes for the first time was a similarly overwhelming experience.  That time the touch of God was more personal and fragile.

We each have moments of our lives – that hopefully can be recalled – when we are overwhelmed.  They might be when we realized we were in love…or when someone proclaimed their absolute adoration of us … or even when we knew our work was precisely what we had been created to do in this life.

We can tell others about those moments – and that might bring genuine appreciation.  However, no one else can fully live the overwhelming nature of them. And no one else can work to deepen them and make sure they become foundational to our lives rather than fleeting images. And, they have not come without preparation within our lives, which allow us to be open to them.

Atop that mountain the first time, I had no clue the work it took to ski to the base – let alone pick myself up multiple times or steer way from trees, bushes, other skiers, or drop-offs.  Never mind in my skiing days did I EVER accomplish getting off the lift without falling or coming dangerously close to it.  In order to recapture that sense of being close to the heart of God, however, I had to dare to ski down, pick myself up, get on and off the lift …for the ecstasy of a moment.

Those of you who are fortunate enough to be parents can also relate to the preciousness of those first moments of life – as well as the immensity of work, anxiousness, and weariness of parenting that accompanies the joy.

Today’s scripture is a mountaintop a-ha.  Our Biblical canon has 4 Gospels – biographies of Jesus the Christ.  Scholars assure us that Matthew, Mark and Luke have used the same basic source for their writings.  Each begins their book with differences shaped by their own personalities and needs.  Matthew starts out with a genealogy – because lineage from Abraham and David was important to Matthew.  Mark – who is the ‘just the facts’ Gospel writer – begins immediately with the message of John the Baptist and then jumps into Jesus’ encounter with the Baptizer.  Luke has 2 sentences about why he thought it was necessary to have an orderly accounting of Jesus’ life and then begins the narrative of John the Baptist’s birth followed by the beloved rendition of Jesus’ birth.

Gospel writer John is an artist.  He does not give us genealogy…he does not start out with facts of the story …he does not need to introduce himself as the storywriter.  John takes us to the mountain-top – shows us the amazing panorama of God’s world and the glorious light emanating from God, whom he has come to know in Jesus Christ.

He does all this as prelude or prologue to his story telling.  Many of the stories about Jesus are the same as the other Gospel writers – and yet, there is always a sensibility of John’s writing that is different – poetic, artistic, spirit-driven.

In the mission/vision statement of Union Avenue Christian Church – there are three identifiers of the ways we seek to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ: becoming Biblically informed, socially responsible and artistically alive.  We could simplistically conclude that this means we have artists, social activists and Biblical scholars in our midst and we allow room for all of them.  In that sense we would tolerate each other and accept a common denominator of following Jesus in our own specific way. Or  - and hopefully this is more the intent of our mission – all of us know that sharing the love of Jesus demands: 1) digging deeply into what has been written as the foundational piece of our faith 2) conscientiously serving others in this world 3) allowing ourselves to become vehicles for God’s expression and artistry.

Today, reading this prologue to John’s Gospel challenges us – all of us – to not just be appreciators of art …but to nurture that gift that lives (sometimes closeted) within us … all.  John’s wrapping up of Jesus’ purpose, his life and work, his relationship with God in this prologue didn’t happen because of a one-time a-ha moment in John’s life.  He was able to talk about light infusing a darkened life because he experienced and lived through it.  Our Gospel writer could tell how we shift from being mere human creatures to knowing we are children of God because that change came to him by knowing Jesus.  Our author, John, was able to speak about grace because of the newness of life he experienced in his relationship with Jesus whom he knew as the Christ, and whom he called the very Word (the articulation) of God.

This prologue of John’s is an artistic masterpiece like Handel’s Messiah, DaVinci’s Mona Lisa, Monet’s Waterlillies, Beethoven Fifth Symphony…none of which were created instantaneously, without depth of experience, immense work and tangible relationship of artist to work.

Today we celebrate Epiphany – the time we acknowledge a new experience of Jesus Christ.  When the Magi arrived at Bethlehem, they had no clue who they would really be meeting.  When our Gospel writer first encountered Jesus, he had no idea how his life would be changed.  Yet they were all ready in some way – and their lives were altered because of it.

As surprising as mountain-top, first glimpse of baby, initial words of love might be none of them are life-changing unless there has been some preparation and then much work following.

If today would be an epiphany – a new experience of faith – it will be because we have opened ourselves to its possibility.  We have readied ourselves to see how the light can overcome those darknesses in our lives.  We have acknowledged the need of grace that could come.  We have allowed the possibility to be claimed as a true child of God and not our own creation.  And then we have signed up for the daily work, hourly challenges, momentary trials and joys of what the Christian faith can mean.

Today could be a true epiphany – an amazing beginning of new life with God because we have encountered Jesus Christ anew.  If it is – savor the moment – it certainly could become every bit as important as John’s prologue …if only for you … an epiphany can be, should be a turning point and celebratory moment in one’s life.  It comes when we have readied ourselves for the moment and committed ourselves to the work of deepening, savoring, using it to have our life changed.  John took us to his mountaintop.  May we all be so blessed to experience our own.

FAVORED, PERPLEXED, THOUGHTFUL AND AFRAID

Luke 1:47-55

Advent IV

Union Avenue

History has proclaimed and memorialized the words you just heard read and sung as mine …and called them The Magnificat.  History has also set me aside as unique – the church proclaimed me as the first saint.  All of this is honorable and humbling.

Today, I (Mary) would like you to hear more about me and why I believe we are not so much different from each other – even with our uniqueness.  My gift to you today – on this Sunday of love – is to explore the richness, the hardships, the complexities, the beauty, the satisfaction and the agonies of love …and how love shaped my life and hopefully shapes yours.

A portion of the church that some of you know (and others don’t) start my story with my mother – and rightfully so.  They claim that even during the time she was carrying me – in utero – she somehow protected me from the sin of the world and so I was destined to be set aside for a very special service to God.

My mother, Anne, was a wonderful woman – and I believe she did protect me from many of the ills of the world.  Mothers do that – or at least most mothers try to do that.  As soon as we know and feel new life within us, we realize there is nothing that compares to that reality.  So much of life is about nurturing and helping growth…from plants and crops, to animals on our farms, to students in classrooms, to visions in communities and businesses, to the children in our care.  But to know that – as women – we have been equipped with the miraculous ability to nurture a life within us is beyond comparison.  My mother took that gift and responsibility very seriously – and she taught me throughout her life about its importance.

The men of my time were not nearly as fortunate as the men of your time.  Responsibilities were much more compartmentalized.  Religious laws and cultural understandings prevented men (fathers) from having the degree of involvement with their young children or especially the anticipation and excitement before or during the birthing of babies.  It is my understanding that now – in your day – parents (mothers and fathers whether they are biological, adoptive, married, in relationship, heterosexual or homosexual) all take the opportunity and responsibility to nurture, care for, love and prepare for unborn children to give them the very best start in life – just as my mother did for me.

She also taught me the songs of strong women of our faith.  Thus, even though the words of the Magnificat are attributed to me, they came from my heart of hearts because I knew the song of Hannah, of Miriam and of Debra – all of whom carried out significant roles in our history …and whose songs are a part of our Word.

Each of those women knew that God’s message is often about turning things upside down …that people of power and wealth often lose their sense and appreciation of God’s desire and hope for the world.  Each of our songs sing about the disconnect between the proud who try to lord over others and the love God intends for us all to share with each other.

Some storytellers like to remember me as a poor peasant girl.  If you check my lineage you will discover this is not true. I am more like most of you.  My ‘lowly estate’ – rather than any kind of economic impoverishment – describes the willingness God discovered within me…the willingness to listen to and follow God’s desires.

Listening to and hearing God is difficult – no question.  It is a life struggle.  To believe that we are so loved and gifted …that we are unique and valuable …all of these are tenets of our faith – understandings of the creative power of God.  It is so easy, therefore, for us to fall over into a sense of self-importance.  That very, very fine line separating the understanding of our gifted uniqueness and prideful arrogance provides a constant challenge for most of us.

The only way I was able to serve as the mother of Jesus was reminding myself of that fine line and prayerfully trusting that God was helping me do the best I was able.  Sure, there were times I crossed over – as we all do.  One of those episodes is remembered in your scripture – when I took some of my other children and tried to convince Jesus to cease his ministry.  Although Jesus’ words stung me in the moment, I knew he was right …and I remembered what I had been privileged to teach him about God’s centrality to all life.

Privileged is undoubtedly a better word to describe me than favored.  Privileged – not in the sense of having all the money one would ever need or want, or living in the finest of homes …but privileged that I was asked to give my life in such a way that the world would be changed…. privileged that I got to be partnered with God for purposes way beyond the scope of any dream I had.

Every one of us has that privilege.  I did not know that when I was young and made the promise to carry out what God asked of me.  As I have watched through the ages, however, I believe that God asks each of us IF we are willing to care for others and thereby care for a portion of God’s creation.  Listening for that request is the first – and often the most difficult – requirement.  We are all fraught with listening to our own desires, looking for our friends or families’ admiration.  We are also afraid – afraid of life, of change, of stepping out into something strange.  Can you imagine how frightened I was …how terrified Joseph was?

Fortunately, my mother told me about Elizabeth.  Venturing to see her (oh dear women listeners if you can imagine walking for miles and miles on dusty, hilly roads, dealing with morning sickness and the weariness that is present in early pregnancy) …but going to see my dear, older cousin was so worth the agony of the trek.  She, too, was frightened, perplexed, astonished by what she had been asked to do…but she, too, knew it as a sincere privilege.  Her assurance to me was pure gift.

We all can do that for each other – whether or not it is a child we have been given to raise…or another responsibility God has opened for us.  Sharing with each other what we have heard from God helps us bear the loneliness, and gives us the strength to serve.  Elizabeth had heard …and even though she was still afraid, she had accepted.  She gave me the strength to go back home, to speak with Joseph, to help him through his own fears …and ultimately to give everything I had to bear and raise Jesus.

There is so much more to tell you – about the wearisome travel we had to make to Bethlehem …the fear on so many innkeepers faces.  They sensed I was about to give birth and knew religious law would then prevent them from renting their rooms for weeks if the birth happened in their place.

There is also so much I would want to share with you about raising Jesus – the little gifts of teaching I offered, but how he was able to magnify the little I knew into who he became.

Of course I could spend much time telling of the deep, deep agony of watching his horrific death.  The grace in God’s love never allows us to see ahead – otherwise most of us would quit listening for God and certainly not abide by God’s desire and hope in us.

For now, however, my gift of love to you is for you to know that God is speaking to every one of us.  God is asking each of us to serve in a very special way – that will be difficult and rewarding, challenging and wondrous, frightening and redemptive.  But God is asking us in love and will never let us go through our lives alone. First we must listen for that gift that God wants to give us …then stay assured that we will not be alone in carrying out the assignment.

May this day of love give you hope, peace and joy …and most importantly the assurance of God’s presence every moment of your life.

GETTING READY FOR THE GIFT

Mark 13:24-37

Advent I

Union Avenue

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout …our Gospel writer, Mark is telling us why!

As does William Wordsworth:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending,

we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away – a sordid boon!

This sea that bares her bosom to the moon,

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not – Great God!

(Wm. Wordsworth)

More than 40 people have died in the streets of Cairo… added to the war dead in many other places…earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires take lives every year.

Occupy Wall Street, St. Louis, and many other locations within this nation, including University of California, Davis are not dwindling but expanding even with increasing police reaction.

The congressional Super Committee has failed and tax cuts as well as unemployment benefits are in jeopardy …

The surge for Black Friday shopping boosts our economy and the possibility for businesses to stay afloat – at the same time masses of people continue to lose jobs and homes.  There is more hunger in the world, in America, and in this neighborhood than we are able to imagine.

Our Gospel for the day is another end-of-times passage, but points us to take cues from a fig tree and admonishes us to stay awake, for God is about to appear.

And yes, it is Advent – today we emphasize hope…and we are trying to ready ourselves for the coming of Jesus!

Who wouldn’t be confused and wonder about the relevance of any message of faith and hope in the midst of the world’s chaos?

So, let’s start with  ‘you better watch out’ and Santa Claus.  Nicholas was a 4^th century Bishop of the Church.  He served in Myra – now Turkey.  Best we know he did have a white beard – and sometimes wore his Bishop’s hat (which might have been red).  He was known for his generosity to the poor and for the miracles he performed.  One of his very specific gifts was that of coins to three impoverished young women…who, without that gift would have turned to prostitution.

Legend grew out of stories about Nicholas.  The Church honored him as a Saint and his feast Day is set on December 6^th.  Later in the Netherlands, the tradition started that Sinterklaus came to shore from Spain.  He carried a book with him which indicated which children had been naughty and which had been nice.  He visited children’s homes for three weeks in November and December (late at night) leaving presents.

Father Christmas was introduced in 17^th century Britain bringing good cheer and sprinkling the essence of joy to a depressed populace.  Charles Dickens was important in fueling this part of the legend.

Santa Claus didn’t enter the US and Canada until the mid 1800’s, mixing up all of the earlier traditions and legends.  There was never a massive conspiracy to over-ride the nativity story with a consumerist ploy. But as with any long-standing tradition we often forget the initial intention …and merely keep alive the framework changing it to fit the purposes of a given generation.

As mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles – the joy of giving that started with a 4^th century clergyman seeking to protect girls living on the street can certainly be interpreted faithfully to the children of today.

It might be easier to separate Santa Claus from the real meaning of Christmas except when we are awake and open to the tradition of St. Nicholas we can teach of the miracles of gift-giving … and how through the ages people are given life and opportunities because of the generosity of others who were inspired by God.

But it demands being awake to understand and make those connections.

Actually Santa Claus is easy compared to the other craziness pushing into our lives.  How do we stay awake in the midst of environmental disasters, governmental crises, economic woes that are unsettling this world?  We can certainly pretend they don’t affect us … and we have all known of a few people who have succeeded in living entire lives in that manner – which is fairly close to a miracle.

Others of us separate the world’s crises from our faith life.  We leave the newspaper and the Internet news at home when we come to church, when we move to prayer time, when we sing or celebrate as Christians.  The result is about as constrained and confusing as separating Santa Clause from the meaning of Christmas.

Keeping awake is the repetitive admonition to us today …it is not just keeping awake to the world’s craziness … or the world’s tragedies … or the increasing political upheavals!

It is keeping awake to the reality that life – all of life – is bigger than our own near sighted perspective.  Keeping awake means remembering that God is holding not just me, not just you, but the entire universe …and God’s presence and power are moving through everyone all of the time.  At any moment we are able to tap into that presence, but it takes staying awake to it, being alert to it, asking for its energy to open our minds and hearts.

When we are awake …if we are alert … if we choose to be open – the gift of God’s presence can be seen and can be felt.

There is no separation of life outside these church walls and inside this room.  We gather here to be strengthened for serving in the tumult.  We draw together so that we can be awakened to the needs that we cannot see on our own – but that need our attention.

As Christians we celebrate the incarnation of that gift in Jesus …born as one of us so that we might understand, feel, touch, taste, hear, see how God acts, works, loves, aches, suffers with the whole creation.

So, yes, Advent is all about staying awake.  It is the season we remind ourselves to be alert – to ask in every instance of our daily lives ‘how is God working in this situation…and how may I be a part of God’s work in this moment?’

The world is crazy – no question.  The world needs us – as people of God who are staying awake to the possibilities of how best to serve, how best to answer serious political questions, how best to involve ourselves in issues of conflict, how best to give of God’s gifts to us, how best to be the body of Jesus Christ living and breathing today.  Jesus has already come – but we need to stay awake to his daily appearance in this world.

Keep awake, keep alert – the world needs us working, breathing, serving.  God needs to know we can be used well for the gift God has given us and continues to give us in Jesus Christ.