Texts used – Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39

• Everyone has secrets – secret stories, secret passions, secret fears, secret wishes, secret struggles. And secrets are a funny thing because when we have a secret, we are both driven to keep it to ourselves (for this is, indeed, the nature of a secret – “something not known or not meant to be known by others”) … we are both driven to keep that secret to ourselves and to share the burden of that secret with someone else – to lighten our own load, even if just by the smallest margin – by sharing our secret with another.
  • Quote from Italian poet and essayist Fausto Cercignani: “A secret remains a secret until you make someone promise never to reveal it.”
  • PostSecret Project[1]
    • Started as a community art project by Frank Warren in 2005 à handed out 300 blank, self-addressed postcards to people on the streets of Washington, D.C. and invited people to anonymously send him a secret
      • Also invited them to decorate the front of the postcards
    • Featured on CBS Sunday Morning a number of years ago
    • Has received over a MILLION postcards from people all around the world
    • Created PostSecret Community
      • Blog – new mailed-in secrets shared every Sunday
      • 6 PostSecret books, all of which have hit the NY Times Best Seller list
      • Traveling interactive theater production – “PostSecret: The Show”
      • Raised over $1,000,000 for suicide prevention
    • The beauty and the intrigue of the PostSecret project is the wide variety of secrets that people send in.
      • Some are raw: “I’m jealous that my sister got to donate her kidney to our Dad!!”
      • Some are sweet: “I have been sending uplifting anonymous cards to random people in the phonebook. I hope they have helped in some small way.”
      • Some are painful: “I can’t pay my bills anymore. My credit card made a nice postcard. I wish I wasn’t in debt.”
      • Some are ordinary: “It’s cold outside. And I wonder what I’m doing in a place like this.”
      • Some are humorous – most common (according to Frank): “I pee in the shower.”
    • All of these postcards are ways for people to anonymously relieve the burden of their secrets … because even though we all have them, that’s what secrets often become: a burden.
      • Created to be a relational people – to build and strengthen our bonds with others and to grow and thrive off those bonds → part of building and strengthening those bonds is sharing with one another … but the nature of secrets hinders that sharing, that bonding. Secrets can often isolate us and even imprison us in our own thoughts and struggles.
  • Over the last few weeks – talking about Jesus, Man of Mystery: how Jesus continues to insist on maintaining secrecy about his identity (mostly in Gospel of Mark) and yet continues to reveal who he is through his actions → Today’s passage is about Jesus and his secret, but it’s also ultimately about the secrets of those whom Jesus heals and how he sets them free of the prisons that their secrets have created.
• [READ GOSPEL PASSAGE] → Once again throughout this text, Jesus is both trying to maintain the secrecy of his identity and at the same time, revealing his true nature through his actions – healing, casting out demons, teaching in synagogues. And people are obviously starting to take notice.
  • Dichotomy illustrated pretty succinctly in our text: That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. The whole town gathered near the door. He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.[2]  → This is exactly it. In his actions, Jesus is revealing more and more about his nature as the Son of God, about the goodness of the Kingdom of God, and about his mission and purpose among the people. And yet, he continues to refuse to let anyone spread the word.
    • Spent quite a bit of time throughout this sermon series talking about Jesus and his secrecy as well as that sense of urgency/immediacy that is so prominent in Mk’s Gospel → today’s passage is no different
      • Scholar: We feel that urgency in the swift healing of Simon’s mother-in-law and in the pressing of the crowds. Jesus’ time is limited, and yet the Gospel repeatedly tells us that not even the people closest to Jesus really know who Jesus is.[3]
• So today, instead of focusing on Jesus, we’re going to take a closer look at those whom he has healed – those whom he has set free – and how that interaction with Mark’s Jesus – a Secretly Urgent Man, as it were – changes their lives.
  • Something incredibly important and incredibly telling about the first person that Jesus chooses to heal in today’s passage: Simon Peter’s mother-in-law
    • Woman without a name
    • Woman without another mention anywhere in Scripture
    • Most pointedly: a woman → We have to remember that in Jesus’ time, women were regarded as property. First, as the property of their fathers or, if their fathers died before they came of marrying age, the property of an older male relative – a brother, an uncle, etc. Once they had reached marrying age and indeed were bartered into marriage (always arranged and little more than sold for some cattle or a parcel of land), they were the property of their husbands. And if their husband should pass away before them, they either became the responsibility of another male relative (again, a brother or perhaps, if they were lucky, a son) or they were forced to live lives of destitution on the street, begging for whatever they could get to help them survive and harvesting the leftover grain from the fields once the fieldworkers had completed their task.
      • All to say that women held no status whatsoever – no importance, no significance, no power → And yet we see Jesus choose to heal this woman. Again and again, we see Jesus choose the women – for healing, for teaching, for disciplining. Women play a more prominent role in Jesus’ ministry than they ever have before, and in Mark’s Gospel, that role starts with Jesus healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law.
    • Her response to that significant encounter = service
      • Scholar: Now that her healing is complete, she arises and begins serving. She demonstrates for those disciples present and for millennia of future disciples the proper response to an encounter with Jesus’ gospel. We respond to the gospel by sharing it. We respond through ministry. The woman’s ailment robbed her of an important ministry role – that of showing hospitality to friends and strangers.[4]  → Through his healing, Jesus allows Simon Peter’s mother-in-law to once again live freely – free from burdens, free from illness, free from whatever limitations her mysterious ailment imposed.
  • But Jesus doesn’t stop there – text: That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. The whole town gathered near the door. He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.[5]  → Again and again and again, people brought their friends and loved ones literally to Jesus’ doorstep for healing. And while we aren’t told much about the diseases that were presented to him, we know that according to Jewish custom, most if not all of those brought before Jesus would have been considered unclean … untouchable … unwelcome in “normal society.” And that is to say nothing of those who were presented as demon-possessed – those who were most likely suffering from a wide variety of both physical and mental illnesses that we have names for today: epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and so on.
    • People who had to live their lives and struggle with their illnesses in secret – forced to the fringes of society, to live on the margins → secrets of their darkest days caused them to be incredibly isolated and trapped
      • Isolated from all who knew and loved them for fear of making others unclean
      • Trapped in a cycle of unhealthiness – in mind or in body – that they were powerless to escape on their own
    • But then came Jesus’ healing.
      • Freed their afflicted bodies
      • Freed their troubled minds
      • Freed their broken spirits
      • Instead of condemning and shunning them because of their infirmities, their imperfections, their inabilities, Jesus acknowledges them … touches them (possibly the first touch many of them had felt in a long, long time) … and sets them free.
• Friends, we know well that there are all sorts of things in our lives that hold us captive: illnesses, injuries, prejudices, fears, compulsions, addictions, obsessions, relationships, grief, pain, brokenness, distrust, contempt, apathy. We all have something that holds us back from living our lives to the fullest – something that makes us hesitate, something that pulls us away, that makes us want to hide ourselves away, that tries to convince us that even the love and grace of God are not powerful enough to heal our brokenness and set us free.
  • OT Scripture this morning reminds us just how all-encompassing and all-reaching the love and grace of God can be – text: Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, my God ignores my predicament?” Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach, giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted.[6]  → Even in the face of the deepest, darkest struggle … the most painful grief … the most appalling secret … the most isolating inner dialogue, God is greater. God is stronger. God is understanding. God is loving.
    • Scholar: What secrets are keeping you from living fully? Is shame keeping you in the shadows? Jesus understands and can bring healing. Freed from all that holds us back, we can connect to one another and live fully in community and openness.[7]  → This is why, in a few moments, we’ll come together at Christ’s table – a table that offers wholeness in the face of whatever brokenness you bring to it, not because we have earned that wholeness by coming but simply because we come seeking it.
      • Table that reminds us that Jesus died to set us free – free to live in loving relationship with our God
      • Table of healing
      • Table of abundance
      • Table of grace
      • And so we come to the table, bringing our whole selves – all that we are, all that we’ve been, all that we’ve done, all that we hide – into the Light of Christ. Alleluia. Amen.

[1] https://postsecret.com/.

[2] Mk 1:32-34.

[3] Marianne Blickenstaff. “Mark 1:29-34 – Theological Perspective” in Feasting on the Gospels: Mark. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 40.

[4] David Michael Bender. “Mark 1:29-34 – Pastoral Perspective” in Feasting on the Gospel: Mark. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 40.

[5] Mk 1:32-34.

[6] Is 40:27-29.

[7] Theresa Cho. “Epiphany Series: Jesus, Man of Mystery – Fifth Sunday after Epiphany: Secrets, Secrets, Secrets” in A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 99.

Texts used – Deuteronomy 18:15-22; Mark 1:21-28

• There’s a phrase that has snuck its way into our common lexicon, seeming to grow exponentially in popularity and usage with the explosion of social media over the past decade.
  • Phrase = “spoiler alert”: a warning that an important detail of the plot development of a movie, book, TV show, etc. is about to be revealed
  • Phrase that apparently originated back in Apr. 1971 with an article by Doug Kenney in a publication called National Lampoon[1]
    • Article entitled “Spoiled”
    • Purpose of the tongue-in-cheek article was to give away the endings for an entire lifetime’s worth of reading and movie watching → included critical plot points for thing like Citizen Kane, Psycho, all the Agatha Christie novels (among many others)
    • Presented (sarcastically) by author as a public service to “save time and money”
  • Phrase that has grown in popularity ever since but has exploded with the insertion of social media into our everyday lives → frequently see posts on Facebook from someone who’s just been to a popular new movie (for e.g., the newest Star Wars movie that came out about 5 weeks ago) who wants to talk about some crazy plot twist but doesn’t want to ruin it for others
    • “SPOILER ALERT” → big giant space underneath (gives people a chance to avoid reading if they so desire) → begin discussion
  • Shows up in lots and lots of media now as well, especially online articles, blog posts, etc.
    • Maelstrom of articles and blog posts that began with this phrase when the last book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was finally released in July 2007
• Now, for the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about Jesus as a Man of Mystery in the gospel of Mark – about how Jesus continues to reveal more and more about himself while insisting that those around him remain silent about his true identity as the Son of God. And up until now, with the exception of the localized pronouncements of John the Baptist, maintaining that secrecy has been a fairly easy task for Jesus. But today is different. Today is Spoiler Alert Sunday. Today is the first big step in Jesus’ identity becoming the worst-kept secret in Galilee.
  • Gospel text this morning begins innocently enough: Jesus and his followers went into Capernaum. Immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and started teaching.[2]  → While it wasn’t necessarily common for random people to enter the synagogue on the Sabbath and start teaching, it wasn’t unheard of either.
    • Travelers
    • Visiting rabbis and other experts in the law (Pharisees, etc.)
    • Scripture does give us slight inkling that there is already something different about Jesus’ teaching: The people were amazed by his teaching, for he was teaching them with authority, not like the legal experts.[3]
      • Gr. “authority” = an interesting word – wrapped up in layers of meaning: freedom of choice/right to act or decide, capability, official power (that exercised by political rulers by virtue of their office) → This is the way that Jesus taught that day – with command and knowledge but also with a freedom and an ease that the people hadn’t seen before. So already, Jesus is starting to get noticed.
  • But then, there’s a disturbance, a commotion. – text: Suddenly, there in the synagogue, a person with an evil spirit screamed, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one from God.”[4]
    • Spoiler alert! Jesus’ secret identity has been screamed out in the middle of the synagogue
    • Sort of like all those times in all those superhero movies when someone has that momentary flash of recognition
      • Clark Kent is Superman?!
      • Peter Parker is Spiderman?!
      • Bruce Wayne is Batman?!
      • This Jesus guy is “the holy one from God”?!
  • Now, in all fairness, Jesus could have sidestepped this incident. He could have laughed it off as some guy spouting off – not any kind of situation to be taken seriously. But instead, Jesus reacts: “Silence!” Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. “Come out of him!” The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out. Everyone was shaken and questioned among themselves. “What’s this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands unclean spirits and they obey him!” Right away (immediately!) the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee.[5]  → And there it is – the crucial tipping point.
    • The action – the possessed man calling Jesus out in front of the crowd
    • The reaction – Jesus casts the demon out → This is one of those places that we lose a little bit in the English translation, all. Our text describes Jesus as “speaking harshly to the demon.” But Jesus is doing more than just shouting at the man.
      • Gr. “harsh” carries the promise of action behind the words = rebuke, censure, warn → Because of the word that is used, all those who heard Jesus’ admonition would have understand that this was not an empty declaration.
    • “And immediately the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee.”
      • Belief of the people rested not just on Jesus’ words but on his actions as well → surely would have triggered the warning from our OT text this morning for them: The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me from your community, from your fellow Israelites. He’s the one you must listen to. … Now, you might be wondering, How will we know which word God hasn’t spoken? Here’s the answer: The prophet who speaks in the Lord’s name and the thing doesn’t happen or come about – that’s the word the Lord hasn’t spoken. That prophet spoke arrogantly. Don’t be afraid of him.[6]  → And on the flip side, any prophet that speaks in the Lord’s name and the thing does happen in acting and speaking on behalf of God. This is a Scripture that the people in the synagogue that morning surely would have heard before – something that would have stuck in their minds. And there it was playing out before them. Jesus spoke. The demon was cast out. He must truly be “the holy one of God.”
      • Scholar: [Jesus’] teaching and healing both cause the people around him to react in astonishment and respond with the same type of urgency and authority to spread the news of who Jesus is. His actions reveal a key element of Jesus’ identity: he is one with authority.[7]
      • Sort of like an anti-bullying activity that’s popular with schools and youth groups today – [EXPLAIN TOOTHPASTE ACTIVITY] → Once those words were out of Jesus’ mouth, they couldn’t be unspoken. Things had been set into motion.
        • Maybe it was intentional – this was the right time and the right place to begin to unveil Jesus’ true identity and purpose
        • Maybe it was Jesus being so wrapped up in the work of the Kingdom that his actions spoke before his brain could stop him
• Either way, Jesus was acting with urgency and authority for the work of God’s Kingdom on earth, and that, friends, is where we find our inspiration – our call – for today. Jesus acts, not thinking about his own self-preservation or how to make things easiest for himself, but as one who immediately wants to do the most amount of good in the lives of the people around him. And he does this, not to garner that honor and attention for himself, but strictly for God’s glory.
  • Sounds like our OT text this morning – text is all about one who would come speaking and acting on behalf of God: I’ll raise up a prophet for them from among their fellow Israelites – one just like you. I’ll put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.[8]
    • The command is God’s command
    • The words are God’s words
    • The message is God’s message
    • It’s not about making life easier. It’s not about making life safer or cushier or more luxurious. It’s not a message about getting a higher return on what you give or about lifting up those who are already in power. It’s a message of hope in unexpected places. It’s a message of strength in the most weakening circumstances. It’s a message of sight for the blind and healing for those who are suffering – in body, mind, or spirit. It’s a message that spoke to people the minute Jesus said it 2000 years ago, and it’s message that continues to speak to us today – to spur us on in God’s mission the way it spurred Jesus on, despite whatever challenges may arise because of that sacred word. It truly is a message meant to change lives, the lives of those who speak it and the lives of all those with ears to hear. It is a message to change the world.
      • Scholar: Jesus spends much of his ministry teaching, healing, loving, and speaking truth in a way that creates space for people to wonder alternative possibilities for their life than what is dictated to them with rules, laws, and commandments. People are compelled to follow to see if they can figure out for themselves who Jesus is. People are open to believing the impossible because they see the impossible happen before their eyes.[9]
• But what about when we’re not good with words? What if we’re less like the verbally acrobatic Paul and more like Moses at the burning bush, saying to God, “I’ve never been able to speak well, not yesterday, not the day before, and certainly not now since you’ve been talking to your servant. I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue.”[10]  → story from the gospel this morning is less about words and more about immediate action
  • Yes, Jesus’ actions are precipitated by the words he speaks, but it is the action itself – the driving out of the demon, the healing of the man – that causes those around him to marvel and begin to spread word about this “holy one of God” like wildfire.
    • Not about being able to explain the event
    • Not about being able to explain the intricacies of exactly who Jesus is
    • Not about finding the right words or the right turn of phrase
    • All of these are reactions that we tend to prize in our society today. If you can’t explain it … if you can’t put it into the exact right words … if you can’t defend your point eloquently and effectively … if you don’t have “proof” to back up your point … if you can’t convince me in 60 seconds or less, then when you have to say must not be valid. But in Mark’s gospel of immediacy, in this story in which Jesus reveals more than he may have wanted to about himself for the sake of healing a man in need, it’s not about words. It’s about actions. Not as a way to earn God’s favor or grace. Not as a way to somehow secure our salvation.
      • Paul in Eph: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.[11]
      • Actions for the sake of embodying that message of grace in a way that can truly affect and change people’s lives
      • “How do our actions reveal who Christ is to the world, not by shouting explanations of Christ’s identity, but instead by acting in a ways that creates space, compels, and opens others to believe the impossible?”[12]  How do our actions reveal that Christ? Amen.

[1] Ben Zimmer. “Spoiler Alert! Revealing the Origins of the ‘Spoiler.’” https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/spoiler-alert-revealing-the-origins-of-the-spoiler/. Written Oct. 14, 2014, accessed Jan. 28, 2018.

[2] Mk 1:21.

[3] Mk 1:22.

[4] Mk 1:23-24.

[5] Mk 1:25-28 (extra translation added).

[6] Deut 18:15, 21-22.

[7] Theresa Cho. “Epiphany Series: Jesus, Man of Mystery – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: Extra! Extra! Read All about it!” in A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 97.

[8] Deut 18:18.

[9] Cho, 98.

[10] Ex 4:10.

[11] Eph 2:8-9 (NRSV).

[12] Cho, 98.

Yesterday, on Sunday, January 28, 2018, the church that I was raised in held it’s very last service. For years, the attendance has been declining, so the session (church board, for you non-Presbyterians) and the congregation decided it was time to close the doors. And yesterday afternoon was the very last service.

It was an incredibly difficult day. I was baptized, confirmed, and ordained in this church. So many memories of my childhood are wrapped up in this congregation – the building and the people. During the service yesterday, there were a number of former pastors participating as well as 3 women raised up by the church (myself included) who are now ordained and serving the church in various capacities. Each of us was asked to speak for 5 minutes on our memories of The Presbyterian Church of Le Sueur. I basically cried my way through my reflection, but I wanted to share the words. Because even though it’s now closed, this congregation deserves it. So here’s my reflection:

“Our lives begin before our lives.”

A friend recently posted this on Facebook as she reminisced about a beloved grandmother who had just passed away. It was her way of honoring how the life that came before her – her grandmother’s life – molded and shaped and blessed her own life.

Our lives begin before our lives.

That’s a powerful sentiment for me today as I stand in this sanctuary for the last time – a place in which my life began before my life in so many ways. My family helped build this church. The Pinneys were some of the founding members of this church way back in the 1800s. And there are pictures of my grandpa standing just out there with a shovel and his trademark hat as they broke ground on this building more than 60 years ago.

But it goes so far beyond that for me. My life quite literally began before my life because my parents met here, shared the news of their engagement here, married here, raised their family here. Were it not for this congregation – for this church that had been my dad’s home since he was born and became my mom’s home-away-from-home when she moved here – I probably would not exist today.

And of course, the life of my faith began before my life in this congregation. I was baptized, confirmed, and ordained within this beloved sanctuary. As a child, I toddled down these hallways, sang Sunday school songs (off-key) at the top of my voice, participated in all the Christmas and Easter pageants right up there, read liturgy as a layreader and counted heads as an usher. I taught Sunday school in those rooms back there and was enriched by the adult Sunday school class in ways that still influence and inform my life and my faith today. The first sermon I ever preached was in that pulpit right behind me.

As I spent 18 mos. seeking my first call, this congregation gave me a safe space – to preach, to teach, to try out all manner of crazy worship ideas! Y’all were so patient and so forgiving! In all its openness and compassion, this congregation helped me find and develop my voice – as a Christian, as a strong woman of faith, and eventually as a pastor. This congregation taught me the value of relationships in ministry, the power of the bond that is created when we work and worship and pray and praise together in true, loving, engaging community.

Our lives begin before our lives.

All of that faith formation – all of that grounding in the sacred and the sustaining love of God – began before my life in the people who were pillars of faith here: the people who shared their faith through teaching, the people who shared their faith through service, the people who shared their faith through music and worship, the people who shared their faith through love and compassion. I could stand here all day naming names, but I probably wouldn’t be able to get through that list. Many of those people are gone now, but the impact of their faith remains. The impact of their faith – their legacy – has touched each and every one of us in some way or another, informing and inspiring and shaping our faith into what it is today in so many different and meaningful ways.

And that goes in the other direction as well. Even though we are preparing to go our separate ways and the rolls of this congregation will soon cease to exist, our lives and the life of faith that we have developed here will live on in many forms – in the ways that we stay connected with one another, in the ways that we connect with new congregations and church homes, in the ways that we continue to learn about and enact our faith, and in the ways that we share that faith with others. No matter what happens, the life of this congregation will live on in us long after the last key has been turned in and the doors have been locked one final time. The life of faith that began here 152 years ago will nurture and form and bless countless other lives, some of whom haven’t even been born yet, because God is a God who does not walk away, does not close doors, does not forget. God is a God of presence and purpose, in this life and the next … whatever that “next” may be.

Our lives begin before our lives, and I will be forever grateful that this congregation has played such a significant part of my life.

Texts used – Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20

• The idea and importance of “following” is engrained in us as children, isn’t it?
  • Elementary school: following in a nice, quiet, straight line from classroom to lunch … art … music … gym … everywhere you’re going
    • “Top Banana” from 2^nd grade
  • Games that we play
    • Simon Says
    • Follow the Leader
    • New video games like Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band (the better you follow what’s going on on the screen, the more points you get)
    • Progressive movement/name games: first person either says their name or does an action → 2^nd person has to repeat the 1^st person, then add their own name/action → 3^rd person repeats what both the 1^st and 2^nd person said/did → And so on.
  • Also a powerful method of teaching young children things
    • “Can you use your spoon like Daddy?”
    • “Can you brush your teeth like Mommy?”
    • Imitations/following = critical tool in play therapy for things like speech correction, occupational therapy (both gross and fine motor skills), physical therapy, music therapy (think about teaching a new song or “call and response” songs)
  • From a very early age, we are taught the power of following – of modeling behavior after someone else’s example. → no different in the church
    • Called to follow Scripture – read, interpret, embody
    • Called to follow some basic tenets
      • Scriptural e.g.s – 10 commandments, Jesus’ commandments
      • Church e.g. – confessions (Apostle’s Creed, Heidelberg Catechism, Brief Statement of Faith, Confession of Belhar) → As Presbyterians, we are a confessional church. We place value in the interpretations and statements of faith of those who have come before us.
    • And, of course, we are called to follow Christ, not just in name but in thought, word, and deed. But when it comes to following Christ, how do we follow? Do we follow blindly? Do we follow half-heartedly? Do we follow enthusiastically? Do we even follow at all?
  • Today’s Scripture readings = three very different examples of ways in which to follow the call of God
• First e.g. = Jonah → I think if we were to boil Jonah’s form of following down into one word, it would be: reluctantly.
  • Today’s reading comes from ch. 3 → literally halfway through Jonah’s story (only 4 short chapters in the OT)
  • Reminder of Jonah’s backstory
    • Jonah = rock star prophet enjoying a cushy life of notoriety and praise → abnormal because most prophets were scorned, reviled, and mistreated, even threatened
    • Out of this life, God calls Jonah to Nineveh the first time: The LORD’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come to my attention.”[1]
    • Jonah’s response: So Jonah got up—to flee to Tarshish from the LORD! He went down to Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.[2]  → Now, let’s put this journey in perspective a little bit. If you picture a map of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East …
      • Joppa – city from which Jonah departed = located just 40 miles west of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean Sea.
      • Nineveh = located in what is northern Iraq today (just across the river from Mosul)
      • Tarshish – city to which Jonah was trying to flee from God’s call = all the way across the Mediterranean Sea in the southern tip of Spain.
      • So from Iraq all the way to Spain – 2641 miles. That is how far Jonah was trying to run. That is how far Jonah was willing to go to avoid following God.
    • While Jonah’s on the ship headed for Tarshish, God causes a great storm → sailors on the ship draw lots to see whose bad luck is causing the danger → lo and behold, Jonah draws the short straw! → admits that he is trying to run away from his God → sailors throw Jonah overboard → Jonah is swallowed by the giant fish → in the belly of the fish, Jonah has a change of heart → fish spits Jonah out on the shore
  • Come to today’s text: The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word.[3]  → So Jonah does indeed end up eventually following God, but he does so reluctantly. Jonah has to basically be dragged into following by God.
    • Sometimes like the way we follow God → We feel God’s pull down one path or another, but it looks hard … it looks scary … it looks intimidating. In all honesty, we want to go any way but that way!
• Second e.g. of following = Ninevites → I think we can categorize the way that the Ninevites follow as “reminder following.”
  • Jonah’s only being called there because the Ninevites have forgotten God’s call and commandments → Remember God’s words to Jonah the first time he is called to Nineveh? “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come to my attention.”
    • The Ninevites know about God and all God’s commandments, but they have fallen away – distracted and corrupted by other things → So Jonah goes with the message that God sent him to deliver – text: Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!”[4]
  • Ninevites response: And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant. … God saw what they were doing – that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.[5]  → So once they’ve been reminded of the way they should go – the way they should follow – the Ninevites are once again “back on track.” They acknowledge their mistake, ask for forgiveness, and turn their eyes, hearts, and lives back toward God.
    • Not so different from the Israelites wandering in the wilderness after being freed from Egypt
    • Not so different from the disciples – especially Peter – returning to Jesus after they scattered following his arrest and crucifixion
    • Not so different from the way we follow sometimes, is it? → We get distracted. We lose our way. We stumble and fall. We need to be reminded of the way that God is calling us to go.
• Final e.g. of following today = disciples in our Gospel story → I definitely think we can categorize the disciples’ following as urgent.
  • Story comes on the heels of what we read a couple of weeks ago – Jesus’ baptism in Mk → talked a few weeks ago about the secrecy of that – how, at least according to Mk’s telling – Jesus was the only one to witness the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove and hear God’s pronouncement: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”[6]
  • Today’s scene = Jesus sort of wandering around proclaiming, “Now is he time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”[7]  → Jesus may remain secretive about the part that he will play in the coming of this Kingdom, but he is definitely not subtle in his approach!
    • Interesting scene because at this point, no one really knows who Jesus is yet! → just some random guy walking around and hollering about God and the Kingdom and repentance
  • But then Jesus comes to the seashore. And things start to happen – text: As Jesus passed along the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” Right away (immediately!), they left their nets and followed him. After going a little farther, he saw James and John, Zebedee’s songs, in their boat repairing the fishing nets. At that very moment (immediately!) he called them. They followed him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers.[8]  → There is so much urgency in this text. Maybe not in the way Jesus in traveling – simply strolling along the beach – but Jesus is undeniably urgent in the way he calls the disciples, and they are undeniably urgent in their response to follow.
    • Andrew and Simon (who will become Peter) drop their nets – their very livelihood – the only life they’ve ever known → Remember, these men are simple fishermen. They’d never had any schooling. They probably couldn’t even read or write. They’d probably never been more than 10 miles from the home in which they were born. But they dropped all of that and started following.
      • Apprehensive? Probably.
      • Afraid? Sure.
      • Uncertain? No doubt.
      • But still, they immediately left their nets and followed.
    • James and John literally walked away from their family → father in the boat with them and hired hands mending nets, but when Jesus called (urgency being on Jesus’ part this time: “Immediately he called them”), they followed him, leaving their father behind
      • Leaving the familiar
      • Leaving the comfortable
      • Leaving the strongest tie they could possibly have – that familial, tradesman, pass-down-my-knowledge-and-my-business-to-you-when-I’m-gone kind of tie
        • Bond can be strong today but was absolutely crucial to survival back in Jesus’ time → Remember, there were no colleges or trade schools for these disciples to go to if this “Jesus thing” didn’t work out. The only way they could learn a trade was either from family or to apprentice under someone else. So abandoning their father and that business so abruptly pretty much obliterated whatever livelihood, whatever life they thought they were going to have up until that very moment.
        • Were there others they were leaving behind? Siblings? Fiancé? Wife? Children? We don’t know, but it’s certainly possible. That is how strong God’s call was for them. That is how urgent God’s call was for them. Without question, without hesitation, they followed.
  • I think this is the hardest example of following for us to relate to this morning. We are so used to weighing options, analyzing decisions, taking everything into consideration – every possible scenario and outcome, every possible pitfall and downside – before we make a decision, that’s it’s hard for us to imagine just dropping our lives and following.
    • Important point: Not about blind following but about following with a purpose
      • Scholar: From their ordinary work on the seashore, Jesus awakened the disciples to a new sense of meaning and life-changing purpose that compelled them to drop what they were doing right away and follow him. This deep sense of urgency overrode any need for full understanding of what was at stake or even a complete grasp of whom they were following. It was enough to take a step of faith.[9]
• This intense, life-altering purpose behind the disciples following made me thing of a new therapy method for children with autism that I heard about just last week: Son-Rise Program. [10]
  • Instead of trying to correct various repetitive behaviors, Son-Rise therapy sessions based on the counselor joining the child in whatever safe, non-destructive motions/actions he or she is engaging in – spinning, pounding on something (e.g. – a table), etc.
    • Provides moments of powerful connection
    • Allows these children to be seen, and more importantly, to feel seen in a way they never have before
  • From the program website: “The Son-Rise Program is an alternative autism treatment based upon the idea that the children show us the way in, and then we show them the way out. This means that, rather than trying for force our children to conform to a world that they don’t yet understand, we join them in their world first.” → Friends, this is what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. God came down to first join us in our world – a world that can be full of challenges and pain, wrong turns and frustrations, misunderstandings and dark corners – to show us the way out: a path of love, a path of forgiveness, a path of grace, a path of light and hope and life after death. God joins us in our world but asks us to follow. Will we? Amen.

[1] Jonah 1:2.

[2] Jonah 1:3.

[3] Jonah 3:1-3a.

[4] Jonah 3:4.

[5] Jonah 3:5, 10.

[6] Mk 1:11.

[7] Mk 1:15.

[8] Mk 1:16-20 (alternate translations added).

[9] Theresa Cho. “Epiphany Series: Jesus, Man of Mystery – Third Sunday after Epiphany: An Urgent Mission” in A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 96.

[10] http://www.autismtreatmentcenter.org/contents/other_sections/index.php.

Texts used – 1 Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51

• One of the most enthralling, awe-inspiring forms of magic acts performed today is illusion. Headlining names like David Copperfield and Penn and Teller make their living on elaborately and convincingly tricking your eye – and, more importantly, your brain – into believing one thing is happening while there is something else happening entirely. This technique is called the “misdirect.” The magician gets your attention focused on one specific thing – an object, an action, a sequined and smiling assistant or a cute, fuzzy rabbit in a hat, perhaps – and while your attention is focused there, the magician performs a different quick and often simple action. Voila! Magic!
  • Often part of Penn and Teller’s schtick = actually explaining the simpler parts of the trick and misdirection itself as their misdirection à keep us focused on their explanation while they perform the trick
  • Works incredibly effectively – even when we know this is what’s happening! – because our eyes and minds are initially presented with one solution which we readily accept → that “false solution” distracts us from what is really going on
    • On psychology of magic: People look for confirmation that their own theory is correct. … The false solution is, therefore, used as a distraction from the real solution. Research in problem solving shows that once we have one solution in mind, it is very difficult to consider alternatives.[1]  → In a way, it’s all about assumptions and expectations. The magician plays on our assumptions that whatever is going on with the misdirect is more important than anything else that might be going on and on our expectation that something amazing will happen … as if by magic.
• This week, we’re going to explore a little deeper into this idea of Jesus as a Man of Mystery – the ways in which, throughout his ministry, Jesus continues to reveal more and more about himself and his mission while at the same time insisting that his identity remain a secret.
  • Spent a lot of time last week talking about the gospel of Mk because this idea of Messianic secrecy is especially prevalent in Mk → And we will re-immerse ourselves in the Gospel of Mark next week … However, this week, we’re jumping to the gospel of John – to this interesting story about expectations and assumptions about who Jesus is and what he could possibly be doing.
• Set-up for gospel passage
  • Today’s story follows 3 other short but important stories in Jn’s gospel
    • STORY 1: John’s testimony to the Jewish leaders[2]  → John the Baptist had been stirring up all sorts of crowds and disciples with his message of baptism and repentance and a coming Messiah, so much so that the Jewish leaders were starting to get a little worried. So they sent a few of their own to question John – basically a “who do you think you are?” mission.
      • John’s response = I am NOT … the Christ, Elijah, a prophet
      • Testifies to the coming of Christ: Those sent by the Pharisees asked, “Why do you baptize if you aren’t the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered, “I baptize with water. Someone greater stands among you, whom you don’t recognize. He comes after me, but I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps.”[3]
      • Important story because John the Baptist is basically acting as Jesus’ misdirect at this point → John’s the one creating the spectacle and all the drama. John’s the one with the huge group of disciples. John’s the one publicly (and loudly!) speaking out about God and God’s Kingdom. John is the one garnering all the attention. John is the distraction. And while he’s doing that, Jesus slips onto the scene almost completely unnoticed.
    • STORY 2: baptism of Jesus[4] (talked about this last week) → important because in this encounter as recorded in Jn’s gospel, John the Baptist verbally witnesses to Jesus’ encounter with God: John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”[5]
      • Important because of the expectations that this lays out for the people → The Messiah was supposed to be the one to come and free them from Roman oppression, not in any sort of quiet, spiritual, grace-filled way like God and Jesus had in mind but in a mighty, warrior, overthrow-the-oppressors sort of way. The people expected a gladiator on a white horse with a sword in one hand and a scepter in the other – someone to give the Romans what for and banish them from Israel’s holy home. Instead, what they eventually got was a rabbi on a donkey with bread in one hand, a cup in the other, and nail scars to boot – someone who gave death what for and banished the power of sin and death. Not what they expected.
    • STORY 3: calling the 1^st disciples[6]  → John the Baptist is standing around with a couple of his disciples and points Jesus out to them (not super subtle about it either: “Look! The Lamb of God!”), and the disciples – Andrew and Simon – decide to follow Jesus
      • Encounter in which Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter
      • Important because this is the encounter that gets the snowball rolling → First two join Jesus. Then, in today’s passage, two more. Then, later on, a few more. And a few more. And a few more. This is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In a way, already here in John 1, this is the beginning of the end for Jesus.
        • Again, upending people’s expectations and assumptions about who the Messiah would be – turning those expectations on their heads with a whole new message and whole new reality
• Idea of blown-away expectations = part of our OT text this morning, too
  • Poor little Samuel asleep in the temple à Now, remember that Samuel is sleeping in the temple and living with the priests because his mother, Hannah, has given him to God’s work.[7]
    • Hannah prayed and prayed for a child → God finally gives her Samuel → to show gratitude to God, she gives Samuel to God’s service when he is only 3 yrs. old
  • So in the middle of the night, Samuel hears his name being called. And as per his expectations and assumptions – because who else would be calling him?? – Samuel runs to the bedside of Eli, the priest, and says, “I’m here! You called me?” Eli, patient but puzzled says, “No. I didn’t call. Go back to bed.”
    • Happens a 2^nd time: Samuel hears God calling → thinks it’s Eli → runs to Eli’s side → Eli says, “Nope. Wasn’t me. Go back to bed.”
    • Happens a 3^rd time → And this time, Eli tumbles to what is happening. He realizes that Samuel is hearing the voice of God calling him, so he instructs Samuel to once again go back and lie down and, when he hears the voice calling yet again, to say, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.”[8]
  • This is such a clear story about expectations and about how God can and often does function completely outside of what we could even begin to expect or fathom. According to our text, Samuel “didn’t yet know the LORD, and the LORD’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him,”[9] and yet, that lack of knowledge, that lack of understanding did not stop God from calling him – from calling this little boy who, though he lived in the temple and served the priests, didn’t even know God yet.
    • Often expect our OT prophets and servants to be giants among people – heavy hitters like Abraham and Jacob and Elijah → people who had strong relationships with God
    • And yet in this story, God also turns our own expectations and assumptions about those Old Testament roles on their heads and calls a child. → just another illustration that God can do whatever God wants to do, call whomever God wants to call, work through whatever crazy situation God wants to work through … no matter what we may think about it.
• Brings us back around to today’s NT story from Jn
  • Day after Jesus calls Andrew and Simon Peter, he decides to go to Galilee → finds Philip along the way → Jesus: “Follow me!” … and Philip does! But before he joins the crowd, Philip runs to get Nathanael, excitedly proclaiming to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”[10] You can almost feel Philip’s enthusiasm and passion jump off the page!
  • But let’s talk about Nathanael’s response for a minute. It’s less-than-excited to say the least. Skeptical … even rude and condescending. “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”[11]  → all kinds of layers of assumptions and expectations wrapped up in that statement
    • Assumption that Nazareth isn’t significant enough – isn’t a big enough player on the local stage
    • Assumption that Nazareth isn’t powerful enough
    • Assumption that Nazareth isn’t prestigious enough
    • Assumption that the little, paltry, inconsequential blip that is Nazareth simply isn’t good enough to produce something as worthy as the Messiah
      • Scholar: Nazareth was a village of 200-400 people. … The Hebrew Scriptures never mention Nazareth, much less associate it with messianic expectations. … In Nathanael’s view, Jesus could be nothing more than a simple new from an insignificant village in Galilee. The Messiah would certainly be of more prominent parentage and come from a more significant town.[12]
  • Friends, as someone who stands up here Sunday after Sunday preaching and praying about the love of God for all people and how grace is a gift given freely with no strings attached – including geographical strings, including racial ethnic strings – I cannot read this passage today and not address this week’s headlines. I cannot speak with you about God’s justice and mercy … I cannot claim a Savior born into the desolation and filth of a stable … I cannot honestly proclaim a Word and a table and a community for all and not denounce the words spoken and condoned by the people in power in this country this week calling Haiti and African nations a name that I won’t say in church.[13] Let’s just say “latrine countries.” First, we need to call out in no uncertain terms how truly racist and prejudiced those statements are. It is no coincidence that those “latrine countries” are all populated mostly by people with darker skin. And we need to name the assumptions being made about those countries and their contributions to the world: that they are not significant enough – not big enough players on the world stage, that they are not powerful enough, that they are not prestigious enough, that these nations and the people in them are paltry, inconsequential blips incapable of producing anything worthwhile. And in the face of those horribly unfair assumptions, we also need to recognize that everyone that Jesus chose to minister to – everyone that Jesus chose to go to in their time of need – found themselves in less-than-perfect circumstances … in “latrine” places in life: lepers cast out of their communities because of their disease, sinners shunned by their communities for their actions, women devalued by society for their gender, Gentiles reviled by Jesus’ own people for their “wrongness” – wrong thinking, wrong worship practices, wrong belief. All of these people were deemed worthless just like the people from these nations were deemed worthless by those in power this week. How often do we make assumptions walking down the street about the person who’s dressed differently than us – the man in the kaftan or the woman in the hijab? How often do we make assumptions when we hear another language being spoken in line at the grocery store or at Target? How often do we make split-second assumptions based on nothing more significant than skin color?
    • NT story today shows just how prevalent those assumptions can be when Nathanael turns them on none other than the Christ himself: “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”
    • Scholar: It seems natural that people were disillusioned with who Jesus is. Jesus was unlike anything they had encountered before. Yet, like any good illusionist, Jesus is not forthcoming with evidence or clues that give away all fo who he is. All he does is invite us to come and see. … I wonder if it is Jesus’ way of shaking us up so that we are open to the possibilities instead of distracted by our own conclusions and assumptions.[14]  → Y’all, we cannot deny that assumptions are part of our world, and that very often, just like the assumptions Nathanael made of Jesus, those assumptions are completely unfounded and wholly unfair. But Jesus came, not to reinforce those assumptions, but to obliterate them by revealing the truly grace-filled, all-encompassing nature of God’s love for all people, no matter where you’re from.
      • Find promise of hope and redemption even in the midst of our mistakes – Jesus to Nathanael: Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these!”[15]

[1] Dr. Jeremy Dean. “Psychology of Magic: 3 Critical Techniques” on PsyBlog, http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/08/psychology-of-magic-3-critical.php. Published Aug. 28, 2008, accessed Jan. 14, 2018.

[2] Jn 1:19-28.

[3] Jn 1:24-27.

[4] Jn 1:29-34.

[5] Jn 1:32-34.

[6] Jn 1:35-42.

[7] 1 Sam 1.

[8] 1 Sam 1:9.

[9] 1 Sam 1:7.

[10] Jn 1:45.

[11] Jn 1:46a.

[12] Leslie J. Hoppe. “Second Sunday after the Epiphany: John 1:43-52 – Exegetical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary – Year B, vol. 1. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 261, 263.

[13] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/us/politics/trump-shithole-countries.html.

[14] Theresa Cho. “Epiphany Series: Jesus, Man of Mystery – Second Sunday after Epiphany: Now You See It, Now You Don’t” in A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 95.

[15] Jn 1:50.

The Baptism of the Christ by Daniel Bonnell (oil on canvas)

Texts used – Mark 1:4-11; Acts 19:1-7

• It all started with a simple book in 1953 – a book that became so wildly popular that the release of another book following every year through 1966. The storyline was later taken up by three other authors who produced 27 more novels. The first movie debuted in 1962, and the franchise exploded, eventually producing 23 other movies, the most recent of which was released in 2015, making it one of the longest-running film series of all time. Something tells me Ian Fleming had no idea what he was starting when he first introduced the world to none other than 007: James Bond.
  • Bond = popular for a lot of reasons, but MYSTERY plays a huge part in the popularity
    • What’s he going to do?
    • Where’s he going to go?
    • Who’s he going to be with?
    • How’s he going to get out of this tight spot when it looks like death is the only option?
    • One of the most popular, longest-running, most well-recognized storylines in the whole world has been built on perpetuating these questions. Every plot line, every movie script, every element of who James Bond is is built on keeping the answers to these questions a mystery for as long as possible – to keep us turning page after page, to keep us on the edge of our seats, to keep us coming back for more … to keep us following.
• And when you think about it that way, James Bond shares a little bit in common with Jesus. Bear with me here. Advent is over. Christmas is over. Lent is around the corner but still about 6 weeks away. And so we find ourselves in this in-between time in the church calendar. So as we wander through the gospel lessons – as we start out on our journey from the rough wood of the manger to the rough wood of the cross – we’re going to take a more in-depth look at this Jesus guy. → original Man of Mystery, especially since our lectionary readings come mostly from the gospel of Mark
  • In Mark, Jesus is mysterious.
    • Gospel of Mark = probably the oddest of the gospels
      • Shortest by far (Mt = 28, Lk = 24, Jn = 21, Mk = 16)
      • Also the earliest gospel – probably written around 70 C.E., less than 30 yrs. after the death of Christ → important because a lot of the theology that appears in the other gospels (especially Jn) hasn’t been developed yet, so Mark’s gospel is more of a moment-by-moment account without much of the theological explanation that came later as people began to process who Jesus really was.
        • Reads a less like a developed storyline and more like a news briefing
        • In fact, the authors of both Matthew and Luke probably used the gospel of Mark as a reference for their own writings.
      • Mk = gospel of immediacy
        • Written for Gentiles – likely heard about Jesus but may not have understood his significance
        • Probably written in Rome during a time of great persecution and upheaval for Christians under emperor Nero
        • Mark is always telling us things happen “immediately.”
          • Used 11 times in the 1^st alone, 27 times throughout the whole gospel
          • And let me tell you, this is not one of those Greek words thick with all sorts of different meanings. “Immediately” means immediately. Period. Mark is not mincing words.
      • Mk = gospel of secrecy → Time and time again throughout Mark, Jesus insists that those who discover and declare him to be the Messiah must not tell anyone about what they’ve seen or heard.
        • E.g. from later in Mk: A man with a skin disease approached Jesus, fell to his knees, and begged, “If you want, you can make me clean.” Incensed, Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean.” Instantly, the skin disease left him, and he was clean. Sternly, Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t say anything to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifice for your cleansing that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them.”[1]
    • So you see, throughout Mark, Jesus’ identity is built on similar questions to those we asked of James Bond:
      • What’s he going to do?
      • Where’s he going to go?
      • Who’s he going to be with?
      • How’s he going to get out of this tight spot when it looks like death is the only option?
      • And like Bond, these questions about Jesus keep us coming back for more. Jesus reveals just enough in Mark to keep people wondering, to keep us guessing, to keep us following.
• Today’s gospel reading = perfect e.g.
  • The passage begins with a description of a crowd, but at this point, the crowd isn’t there for Jesus. Frankly, at least according to Mark, no one knows who Jesus is yet. Instead, the crowd has gathered for Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. – text: John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins.[2]
  • And in the midst of all this baptizing, John makes a powerful prediction: He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”[3]  → In the literary world, this would be called foreshadowing. John realizes that the people are devoted to him and his teachings – that they look to him as a spiritual leader. But he wants to be sure that they are prepared for something different, something new, something extraordinary.
    • Trying to get them to ask questions
    • Trying to keep them on the edge of their seats
    • Trying to point them in a wholly unexpected direction
  • And into that scene comes Jesus, followed closely by the unexplainable: About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”[4]  → This is Jesus’ very first appearance in Mark – no birth narrative here. In Mark’s storyline, this is his big reveal, and it does not disappoint.
    • DRAMATIC MOMENT – sort of like that moment everyone waits for in James Bond … that first time that 007 introduces himself (say it with me): “Bond, James Bond.” → This is Jesus’ BIG REVEAL! Or is it?
    • Encounter of mystery → When we read the other gospel accounts of Jesus’ baptism, I think we often assume that the Spirit coming down like a dove and the voice from heaven were witnessed by all present – heard and seen by John, by the crowd, and, of course, by Jesus himself. In fact, John’s gospel explicitly says that at least John the Baptist witnessed these things. But Mark’s account is a little different.
      • Explicit = “Jesus saw heaven split open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him.” → Jesus … not necessarily anyone else in the crowd.
      • Mystery = Who heard the pronouncement? → Are we supposed to infer that because only Jesus saw that Spirit that Jesus was also the only one to hear the voice from heaven? Or did others hear it, too?
        • Hard to glean any answers from the text – just following today’s reading: [Immediately] the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.[5]
• But it’s clear, both from our 2^nd Scripture reading this morning and from the fact that we’re all sitting here 2000 years later, that there is something miraculous, something powerful, something active and compelling about baptism. Something happened that day that Jesus was baptized that has kept believers coming intrigued for centuries.
  • NT text: While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took a route through the interior and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to believe?” They replied, “We’ve not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “What baptism did you receive, then?” They answered, “John’s baptism.” Paul explained, “John baptized with a baptism by which people showed they were changing their hearts and lives. It was a baptism that told people about the one who was coming after him. This is the one in whom they were to believe. This one is Jesus.” After they listened to Paul, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in other languages and prophesying. Altogether, there were about twelve people.[6]
  • Here’s the thing about baptism. It’s a mysterious event. It looks simple from the outside – just a little bit of water – but the act itself is shrouded in layers of meaning and questions. If it were truly as simple as it looks, it wouldn’t be one of the most prominent theological sticking points as far as differences between denominations and branches of Christianity are concerned, right? Infant or adult … baptize once or more than once … sprinkle, dip, or full-on immersion … in a public service of worship or in private … necessary for salvation or not … The debates have raged throughout the millennia, and they will continue to go on.
    • PC(USA): God’s faithfulness signified in Baptism is constant and sure, even when human faithfulness to God is not. Baptism is received only once. The efficacy of Baptism is not tied to the moment when it is administered, for Baptism signifies the beginning of life in Christ, not its completion. God’s grace works steadily, calling to repentance and newness of life. God’s faithfulness needs no renewal. Human faithfulness to God needs repeated renewal. Baptism calls for decision at every subsequent stage of life’s way, both for those whose Baptism attends their profession of faith and for those who are nurtured from childhood within the family of faith.[7]
• Friends, our baptism – modeled after Christ’s own actions in the Jordan River 2000 years ago – continually draws us into the mystery of faith. It is the continuous claim that God lays on us. It is the continuous call that beckons us to walk with God. When we ourselves were baptized, and whenever we baptize someone in our midst – no matter the age – we know nothing about the life that lies before the one being baptized: the decisions he or she will make, the trials and tribulations or joys and celebrations that lay in his or her path. But instead of fearing that mysterious future, we welcome it in faith, knowing that whatever is to come, through the waters of baptism, God is there.
  • Scholar: Baptism is not the final reveal, but simply a stop on this human-transformation trail we are on. For Jesus, it was one significant moment that revealed just enough of his identity to compel others to start the journey to know him more. Baptism is a reminder that where we are going is more important than where we have been.[8]
  • The one being baptized is welcomed into a family of faith that will hold him up and shelter him, teach her and walk with her. So let us continue onward in this mystery together. Amen.

[1] Mk 1:40-44.

[2] Mk 1:4-5 (emphasis added).

[3] Mk 1:7-8.

[4] Mk 1:8-11.

[5] Mk 1:12-13.

[6] Acts 19:1-7.

[7] “Sign and Seal of God’s Faithfulness,” Book of Order 2015-2017: The Constitution to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Part II. (Louisville, KY: The Office of the General Assembly, 2015), W-2.3007.

[8] Theresa Cho. “Epiphany Series: Jesus, Man of Mystery – Baptism of the Lord: The Reveal” in A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), 94.

Text used – Luke 2:1-20

• It’s a busy time of year, isn’t it?
  • Shopping
  • Wrapping
  • Cooking
  • Baking
  • Decorating
  • Visiting
  • Cleaning
  • Mailing
    • Packages
    • Christmas cards
  • I know I can’t be the only one in this room this evening who feels like they’ve been running, flitting from one task to the next like a crazed hummingbird. This is a busy time of year, full of to-do lists and expectations.
    • Expectations we place upon ourselves → list of cookies that you “have” to make every year because “it’s tradition … it’s what we do at Christmas time”
    • Expectations placed on us by society → perfect-looking house inside and out – lights, garland, Christmas tree, decorations, etc.
    • Expectations placed on us by loved ones → one of my best friends from high school has 5 family Christmases to get to between her family and her spouse’s family!
  • It doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy these activities. Some of them are indeed traditions that we treasure – the things that “make the holiday” for us. For example, I love sending Christmas cards – designing the photo card, writing the yearly update letter, stuffing the envelopes, attaching the special Christmas seal, and even addressing them. It’s one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. But as those boxes of cards and sheets of stamps and seals and everything sit on my dining room table (or floor) day after day as I work my way through our list, even this beloved activity becomes another thing on the to-do list. Another expectation.
• But when we stop to think about it, are these truly the things that “make the holiday”? What would we do if we couldn’t bake those 14 types of cookies? What if we couldn’t engage in the hunt for that “perfect” Christmas gift? What if we couldn’t decorate or wrap or even visit? Would it still be Christmas?
  • According to the sage and ever-entertaining Dr. Seuss, the answer is yes:

So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow.
But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY!
He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”
“It came without ribbons! It came without tags!”
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”[1]

• Friends, as much fun as all the trimmings and trappings of this holiday season can be, all of those things are not what bring us here to these pews tonight … to this sanctuary … to this sacred space and time. We do not gather to sing and pray and celebrate communion together because of the shopping sprees and the tinsel and the chaos of Christmas. We come for the manger. We come for the baby. We come for the miracle. We come for the holy moment. We come in search not of another thing to do but a place to pause. We come in search of our kneeling places.
  • Poem by Ann Weems: “In Search of Our Kneeling Places”[2]
  • Yes, it’s true that even our Scripture reading this evening – even that familiar Christmas story that we know and love – is bustling with activity.
    • Mary and Joseph knocking on doors, searching and searching and searching for that place to rest their weary heads
    • The exertion and anxiousness and excitement of the birth
    • Angels appearing in the darkness of the hills and filling the sky with light and song
    • Shepherds hurrying to the manger-side
    • Mary and Joseph welcoming the shepherds into what was surely an awkward and personal and precious moment just after the birth of the Christ Child
    • The incredible, audacious nature of the shepherds’ report
    • But in the midst of all that holy hustle and bustle, there is Mary, quietly and steadfastly remaining in her kneeling place despite all that is going on around her and even inside her – text: But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.[3]
      • Scholar: Finally, we have a blessing of peace. God sends us peace. God does not desire huge festivals, frantic preparations, or wish us boundless energy to do everything. Rather, God wishes us peace.[4]
• On Sunday mornings in this congregation, we take a few moments of silence at the beginning of every service. It’s meant to be a time when we can refocus ourselves, when we can set aside all of those things that distract us – worries, to-do lists, and everything else. We set aside that special time so that we can prepare our hearts and our minds to intentionally encounter God in our worship. That time at the beginning of our service is our kneeling place. And tonight is no different. Yes, there are certainly still things to do – gifts to open, meals to prepare, Christmas songs to sing and stories to read, family Christmases to attend, and so on. But let this time … this night … this worship be your kneeling place – your time to pause, to reflect, to open your heart and your whole self to the worship of the miracle of the birth of Christ. Friends, let us go to Bethlehem and find our kneeling places so that we can wholly and committedly say, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Holy Child.” Amen.

[1] Dr. Seuss. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (New York, NY: Random House, 1957), 42-48.

[2] Ann Weems. “In Search of Our Kneeling Places” in Kneeling in Bethlehem. (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1987), 19.

[3] Lk 2:19 (NRSV).

[4] Aaron Klink. “Christmas Eve: Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) – Pastoral Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary – Year A, vol. 1. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 120.

Texts used – Isaiah 9:2-7 and John 1:1-18

• During the Christmas season, we spend a lot of time and energy on finding The Perfect Gift, don’t we? Trying to come up with what that “perfect” item might be … hunting down that “perfect” item, be it in a store or online … fretting about whether we’ve made the “perfect” decision or whether we should have come up with something else. For some, this hunt can become all-consuming.
  • Not necessarily a bad thing – most often comes from a place of love → We love our family and friends, and we want to find a gift that’s going to make them happy – something that will make their faces light up.
  • The problem = when we become so preoccupied with the gift itself that we forget why we’re giving it
    • Too wrapped up in the hunt itself
    • So fixated on the “perfect” part that we lose sight of the “gift” part
    • Giving in order to get the accolades for finding the “perfect” gift instead of giving for the sheer joy of giving
    • Giving should be an act of selflessness, an act of love, right?
• I want to read you a story this morning. – [READ “THE GIFT OF THE MAGI”[1]]
  • Story of giving and receiving not from a place of lavishness or excess but a place of pure love, pure selflessness
  • Hmmm … I think I know another story about a precious gift given in pure, selfless love.
• Friends, today we’re talking about giving and receiving – a concept that has become oh so commercialized during this Christmas season but which has a whole different meaning when it comes to the Christmas story we know and love as Christians. For it was at Christmas – that very first Christmas in Bethlehem of Judea, in an obscure and drafty stable, in a rough and dingy feeding trough filled with straw – that God sent humanity the greatest gift of all: Love Incarnate. Hope Incarnate. Grace Incarnate. God With Us in the humble, unassuming, vulnerable form of a baby.
• Gift proclaimed in clear and powerful language in our OT passage this morning – text: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy. … A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.[2]
  • Echoes of this gift in our NT passage as well: Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.[3]
    • Gift of grace
    • Gift of peace
    • Gift of hope in dark places
    • Gift of inextinguishable Light → Notice that the verse says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish it.” The rest of the passage is written in past tense, but that single verse is in the present active That’s a tense that is a little too nuanced for English, but in Greek, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It is present – it is existing, it is current, it is unceasing. And it is active – it is dynamic, it is involved, it is stirring. This Light is brighter than even the most persistent darkness, and it is this Light that surrounds us. It is this Light that holds us and keeps us. It is this Light that comes for us, born tonight in that humble manger and laid to sleep in that feeding trough. This Light – a light of hope and joy and forgiveness and reassurance – is the greatest gift ever given in the history of the world.
      • Given freely
      • Given from a place of pure love and selflessness
      • Given without strings attached
      • Given willingly by God
• Now, I want you to notice something else this morning: In both our Old Testament and New Testament readings that there are no qualifications placed on that gift. Neither Scripture readings says anything about meeting a laundry list of requirements in order to be worthy of this gift. So why is it that so often, we feel like we have to earn it? We feel like we have to do something … say something … be something specific in order to receive this gift that God simply want to give to us … just because we are us?
  • Song that we’re going to listen to this morning speaks to that → [PLAY “Little Drummer Boy” sung by Pentatonix[4]
    • Song begins with those expectations placed not by God but by others, “Come, they told me … a newborn King to see … Our finest gifts we bring to lay before the King … so to honor him when we come.” → The implication is that only the finest gifts are appropriate and acceptable. And so often, we get that message from the world around us, especially this time of year.
      • Jewelry commercials
      • Electronics commercials
      • store commercials
      • Perfume/cologne commercials
      • Car commercials (I literally no nobody who has ever actually gotten a brand-spanking, shiny, new car for Christmas)
      • You name it, someone will be trying to convince you that your life will be better, brighter, fuller, whatever-er if you buy this gift. It will show your loved one just how much you truly care.
    • But then we come to the sticking point: Little baby, I am a poor boy, too … I have no gift to bring, to lay before the King à Pause there for one second. “I am a poor boy, TOO.”
      • Recognizes the humble estate into which Jesus – God Incarnate – was born → not a palace, not even a wealthy merchant’s home, not even the actual paid-for room of an inn!, but a stable
        • Probably not the pristine stable that artists like to depict either → Y’all either are farmers or you know farmers. Have you ever seen a consistently-used stable that was that clean? That tidy? Spoiler alert: It doesn’t exist. That stable was messy. That stable was dirty. That stable was stinky. But it was warm, and safe, and the perfect place for God to enter into not only the pristine moments of our lives but the truly mucky, messy ones as well.
          • Jn: The Word became flesh and made his home among us (messy and crazy and messed up, though we are). And we have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.[5]
• Friends, we know how the song ends: Shall I play for you? Mary nodded. The ox and lamb kept time. I played my drum for him. I played by best for him. Then he smiled at me, me and my drum. → It’s not about the shiniest gift. It’s not about the most elaborate gift or the most expensive gift. It’s about the genuineness and the love behind the gift. And it’s about the grace and gratitude with which the gift is received.
  • Jn: From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace; as the Law was given through Moses, so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.[6] Alleluia! Amen.

[1] O. Henry. “The Gift of the Magi,” https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/1-the_gift_of_the_magi_0.pdf.

[2] Is 9:2-3, 6.

[3] Jn 1:3-5.

[4] “Little Drummer Boy” as performed by Pentatonix from the album “PTXmas: Deluxe Edition,” RCA Records, 2014.

[5] Jn 1:14 (with embellishment).

[6] Jn 1:16-17.

Texts used – Psalm 126; Luke 1:26-55

• Reminder of our Advent sermon series this year (since we missed last week … thank you, laryngitis!)
  • In the midst of all the busyness and activity of the Christmas holiday season, Advent = special, sacred time of waiting à time to pause – to take a breath or two – and focus on our thoughts and words and actions in this in-between time
  • This year: considering familiar songs/hymns of the season and how they help us wait
• Now, before we listen to our song for this week, I want to touch on where we are in the Advent cycle. During our Advent candle lighting this morning, you may have noticed something a little different. For the past few weeks, we’ve lit only purple candles, but today, we lit the pink one as well. That’s because today is a special Sunday in the Advent cycle. In many traditions, it’s called Gaudete Sunday.
  • Each Advent candle = dedicated to a theme → themes vary BUT most common: 1^st) hope, 2^nd) peace, 3^rd) joy, 4^th) love
  • Back in the early days of the church, Advent was treated more like Lent
    • Time of repentance and atonement
    • Time of intense self-reflection
    • Somber, earnest season → far cry from lightheartedness we often seek to experience in this season today
    • And in the face of all this serious reflection and repentance, this 3^rd Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday – became a bit of a break: a time to relish the joy and lightness of the coming of the Savior.
      • “Gaudete” = “break” in Latin
  • But we have to admit that sometimes, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes, that seriousness, that severity, that darkness – of the world around us, of the headlines that vie for our attention every morning, of the thoughts and worries that consume our day-to-day … sometimes we can become too overwhelmed by all of those fears and unanswered questions to be able to fully acknowledge and appreciate that joy.
    • Part of the reason = we are functioning with a confused definition of “joy” → If I were to ask you what “joy” means, I would guess that a lot of people would tell me something like, “Joy means happiness,” or “Joy means being happy.” But the late Henri Nouwen – priest, prolific author, and spiritual mentor – outlined the crucial difference between happiness and joy: Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing — sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death — can take that love away. Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God’s love for us.[1]
• And especially in light of our New Testament reading this morning, that definition – “joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing can take that love away” – brought Mary starkly to mind for me this week.
  • Mary, mother of Jesus = interesting figure in religious history
    • Mentioned only a handful of times throughout Scripture[2]
      • Vast majority of those times happen during the birth narratives in Mt and Lk
      • Two brief appearances early in Jesus’ ministry
      • Disappears until we see her again at the foot of the cross
    • And yet, despite this sparse Biblical presence, Mary has been a point of fascination and great theological development and debate for millennia.
      • Especially lifted up in Catholicism – veneration began as far back as the 4^th CE and was declared doctrine at the Council of Ephesus in 431[3]
      • Quick and simple Amazon search for books on “virgin Mary” = 5333 hits
  • As Protestants, we probably think about Mary, the mother of Jesus more during this time of year than any other. But how often do we really think about the circumstances that Mary was facing?
    • Very young woman (marrying age at that time was early teens)
    • Engaged (probably an arranged marriage at the time)
    • Suddenly visited by an angel and told that she was going to bear the child of God → So Mary was going to be pregnant … and unmarried … at a time when any kind of pre-marital relations was a punishable offense – punishable almost exclusively on the part of women, might I add.
      • Text: The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule of Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. …” Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.[4]  → “Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God’s love for us.” What was running through Mary’s head at that moment? What was she unhappy about? What fears and worries plagued her heart? What crucial questions sprang to her mind just after “the angel left her”? We cannot deny that even in all her grace-filled obedience, Mary is put in a truly difficult position here. She was already engaged to Joseph. She most certainly had a life that she had been envisioning – plans and dreams and expectations. And I think we can be sure that a pre-marital baby from God wasn’t a part of those dreams. That was a lot to come crashing down on Mary all in the span of a few seemingly-simple sentences: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. … The one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son.” And yet, in the face of all of that, Mary expresses JOY.
        • Words to Elizabeth: With all my heart I glorify the Lord! In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant. Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. He shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors him as God.[5]
          • Echoes the words of our psalm → ancient words of Hebrew worship with which Mary would have been familiar: When the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming. Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts. It was even said, at that time, among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them!” Yes, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are overjoyed.[6]
  • Not surprisingly, as I think about Mary and all that she may have been going through, the more recent Christmas song “Mary, Did You Know?” came to mind. [PLAY “Mary, Did You Know?” sung by Pentatonix[7]]  → The song itself is powerful in the way it’s written – the way the music progresses, the strength and haunting quality of the minor key in which it’s written. But while the musicality of the song draws us in, it is the words that catch us and hold us and tug at our hearts – the potent combination of joy and anxiousness that they convey, the questions that I wish I could ask Mary myself. Yes, Mary was told by Gabriel that her child would be called the Son of God. Yes, Mary was told by Gabriel that her son would be “great … He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” But did she know …
    • The miracles that Jesus would perform?
    • The healing that would come from his very fingertips?
    • That he would not only be called the Son of God but that he would indeed be God Incarnate?
    • Did she know about the fate that awaited her precious baby boy? The arrest, the mocking and torment, the horrors of the crucifixion, the unimaginable glory of the resurrection? Gabriel didn’t mention anything about the specifics of what Mary was in for raising this Son of the Most High. He simply told her that she would be blessed … and she trusted. She believed. She even rejoiced.
• End today with a picture of Mary that I want to encourage you to ponder: part of poem “Annunciation” by Denise Leverov

She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child – but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence
fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
the astounding ministry she was offered:

to bear in her womb
Infinite wisdom and lightness; to carry
in hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power –
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love –

but who was God.

This was the moment no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.

A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.

She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy.’
Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.

Amen.

[1] http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/reviews/excerpts/view/14116.

[2] http://home.earthlink.net/~mysticalrose/marian17.html.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneration_of_Mary_in_the_Catholic_Church.

[4] Lk 1:30-35, 38.

[5] Lk 1:46-50.

[6] Ps 126:1-3.

[7] “Mary, Did You Know?” as performed by Pentatonix from the album “That’s Christmas to Me,” RCA Records, 2014.

This sermon is from Dec. 3, 2017. Due to illness (thank you, laryngitis), we had a hymnsing this past Sunday as opposed to a traditional service with a sermon. Hopefully, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week! 

Texts used – Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Mark 13:24-37

• I want to ask you all a question this morning … and yes, you can actually answer it – like – out loud … with your voices. What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? [PAUSE] Okay … and why are they your favorite? [PAUSE] Music and songs evoke powerful memories and emotions in us, don’t they?
  • Music activates many different regions in the brain all at one time – the auditory region (processes sound), the motor region (processes rhythm), and the limbic region (processes emotional response)
    • Hymns/songs are very often used in nursing homes and memory care facilities for those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia as a way to reach people who often feel beyond reach → Even people who have lost the ability to convey coherent sentences will still be able to sing along or tap out the rhythm to old familiar songs.
      • Story of Margaret – nursing home resident who could no longer speak but would hum and tap out the rhythm to old, familiar hymns and songs and mouth the words to familiar prayers
  • Holidays and Christmas music are especially prone to this sort of lyrical nostalgia → For whatever reason, Christmas songs almost always bring us back to former times and places, making us smile, laugh, dance, sing, and maybe shed a tear or two.
• So throughout Advent, we’ll be looking at and listening to some of these favorite Christmas songs, thinking about how they enhance and inform our faith as we wait for the coming of the Christ Child. – key word = “wait” → So many of our “typical” Christmastime activities include busy, hustle-bustle, glitz-and-glitter preparations – decorating houses, baking cooking, wrapping presents, and so on. And those are all wonderful, joyful, fun holiday activities. BUT those are also all activities focused on Christmas itself – on the day 23 days from now. In the cycles and seasons of the church, Advent is a special time – a different kind of time.
  • Time for preparation, yes, but a different kind of preparation → time for intentionally waiting
    • Time for self-examination
    • Time for prayer and reflection
    • Time to pause from all the busyness of the world around us and focus on our thoughts and words and actions in this in-between time
    • Similar to Lent in its attitude of preparation – often called “Little Lent” in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions
    • So throughout Advent, we’re going to be approaching these favorite hymns and songs from the angle of how they help us wait, how they help us prepare not our houses and our trees but our hearts and our souls.
• Today’s song = O Come, O Come Emmanuel
  • A bit of an odd song for Christmastime
    • Not upbeat, bells-a-jingling sort of Christmas son we’re used to
    • Slow tempo and minor key making it a haunting, pensive, pondering sort of song
    • Includes odd phrases like “ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here”
  • But in terms of celebrating Advent – this in-between time of waiting and pondering – the message of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is crucial because it reminds us what it is that we’re waiting for: the coming of the Christ Child.
• [LISTEN TO THE SONG – “O COME, O COME EMMANUEL” sung by Penatonix[1]] → powerful song because it speaks to so many aspects of our waiting
  • Speaks to the waiting of the past – the history of faith (story of the Israelites)
  • Speaks to our current waiting – “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emannuel shall come to thee, O Israel”
    • Especially some of the other verses (#116 in black hymnal[2]):
      • 6: O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your Advent here; Love stir within the womb of night and death’s own shadows put to flight.
      • 7: O come, Desire of Nations, bind all people’s in one heart and mind; make envy, strife, and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
  • Speaks to the spirit of our waiting
    • Waiting and pondering
    • Waiting and reflecting
    • Waiting in that haunting, powerful mystery of God coming down to earth not in the form of a mighty and magnificent conqueror but a helpless, vulnerable human child
• Hear all of this echoed in our Scripture passages this morning, too
  • Ps 80 = call for God to come into our waiting
    • Text: Shepherd of Israel, listen! … Let your hand be with the one on your right side – with the one whom you secured as your own – then we will not turn away from you! Revive us so that we can call on your name.[3]
    • Text: Restore us, God! Make your face shine so that we can be saved![4] (repeated 3 times in just a few short verses)
    • In this passage, we hear the desperate plea of God’s people for God’s presence among them – a presence that saves and protects, that strengthens and lifts up. Even though they acknowledge that there have been hardships – “You’ve fed them bread made of tears; you’ve given them tears to drink three times over! You’ve put us at odds with our neighbors; our enemies make fun of us!”[5] – despite those hardships, they cry out for God’s presence among them. They cry out for Emmanuel, God With Us. “O come, o come, Emmanuel!”
• Gospel passage = a tough one – not a passage we usually associate with the Christmas season → But again, this is when we have to remember that Advent is a season not just about Dec. 25. Advent is a season about preparing for the coming of Christ, both that first time in a manger … and when Christ comes again.
  • 2^nd coming of Christ, final in-breaking of God’s Kingdom here on earth = not something we often talk about in mainline churches
  • Certainly not something we talk about often at Christmastime BECAUSE the whole idea of the 2^nd coming has been co-opted by ideas of doom and gloom, of fire and brimstone, of the end of the world and rapture and things like that – not things we want to think about among the glitz and glitter of the holiday season → And when we read our passage from Mark this morning, we can see a glimpse of where that idea comes from – text: In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then they will see the Human One coming in the clouds with great power and splendor.[6]
    • Purpose of this language discussed in our Coffee and Conversation material last week: This language is designed not so much to foretell specific events as to emphasize with mighty language the universal and final import of the end of the present age and the inauguration of the age to come.[7]
      • More light-hearted comparison = the way the boys use “never” for everything → doesn’t actually mean they’ve never had ice cream, just means they haven’t had it for a while, but the language is much more dramatic and attention grabbing
  • So Jesus is trying to grab our attention with all of this apocalyptic imagery. But we have to remember that this imagery is not the end of the passage … it’s just a short beginning! – Jesus’ continued conversation with the disciples: Nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. … What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert![8]
    • Not about what is ending (as is so often emphasized in contemporary end-of-the-world, apocalyptic thinking) but about what is beginning: the kingdom of God on earth – peace, justice, mercy, hope → We believe that Jesus came that first time to teach us about these things – about God’s love for us, about the beauty and everlasting peace of God’s kingdom, about hope and salvation, and to extend God’s immeasurable grace to us. So why, in the face of all that goodness and blessing, would we believe that when he comes again, Christ will bring horror and pain and destruction?
      • Again, Coffee and Conversation material: The emphasis of [this passage] is on being ready to participate in the fulfillment of history; the fullness of what the gospels call the kingdom of God. The message is clear: the priorities of our lives must center around the will of God – justice, love, mercy, forgiveness, life, wholeness, reconciliation, joy. … Until we are consciously aiming our lives toward the promises of God we are not ready to celebrate Christmas.[9]  → That is what Advent is all about. That is what we are preparing ourselves for throughout this season in the life of the church as well as throughout the span of our lives: the fulfillment of the promises of God: justice, love, mercy, forgiveness, life, wholeness, reconciliation, joy. We’re not supposed to know when Christ is coming back. Not even Christ himself knew that! During Advent, we talk a lot about being “people of the promise. And we are. People of the promise of a Savior – a promise of hope and grace and everlasting peace. People of the promise of a Savior who has come, yes, but also of a Savior who will come again to reveal God’s glorious kingdom in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine. We are to wait in the mystery. But beyond that, we are to wait embracing the mystery because each new day gives us the chance to embody God’s love and hope and mercy in this world. Each new day gives us the chance to bring about a new sliver of God’s Kingdom. And so in all our watchful and expectant and mystery-soaked waiting, our spirits sing, “O come, o come, Emmaneul!” Amen.

CHARGE: Last nugget from last week’s Coffee and Conversation: The season of Advent which prepares us for Christmas focuses our minds, wills, and hearts not on the “end of the world” but on the beginning of life as God would have it lived – the kingdom in all its fullness, “abundant life.”[10] Friends, as you go from this place, go both looking for that kingdom and looking to be that kingdom.

BENEDICTION:
May starlight guide your steps towards this place of wonder,
May angels sing their news as you travel to the manger,
May promise fill these days as we watch at the edge of birth,
And may faith tell you, Emmanuel will be with us soon, in human skin. Amen.

[1] “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” as performed by Pentatonix from the album “PTXMas: Deluxe Edition,” RCA Records, 2014.

[2] “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” New Century Hymnal. (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1995), hymn #116.

[3] Ps 80:1a, 17-18.

[4] Ps 80:3, 7, 19.

[5] Ps 80:5-6.

[6] Mk 13:24-26.

[7] Carol J. Miller. “Watchful Expectancy” in The Light Will Shine: A Study for Advent – Leader’s Guide. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1999), 6.

[8] Mk 13:32-33, 37.

[9] Carol J. Miller. “Watchful Expectancy” in The Light Will Shine: A Study for Advent – Resource Book. (Pittsburgh, PA: The Kerygma Program, 1999), 5.

[10] Miller, Resource Book, 6.