Joice Again!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For December 16, 2018:
by Tom Willadsen
Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7
The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, after the first words of the Latin mass for this day, “Gaudete in Domino semper” (”Rejoice in the Lord always”), which comes from Philippians 4:4-5. [Google can make anyone pass as a Latin scholar!] So why should we rejoice, joice again? There’s still eight more shopping days. Well, there’s restoration, the Lord’s promise to be in our midst…and even John the Baptizer’s message with its clear (though not easy to follow) instructions may make a person joy-filled. There’s a road map to joicing, even for the most notoriously corrupt professions. That might even be hope stronger than cynicism.
In The News
In our current climate of fear, suspicion and distrust of the media, cynicism is a comfortable response. “They’re all crooks!” we say of politicians. Don’t like what news is reporting? Not to worry, it’s all fake news anyway. Neither side is innocent, they’re all bums!
Last summer following the death of a protester in Charlottesville, Virginia, by a white supremacist, our president remarked, “…hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” And that there are “many fine people on both sides.” Somehow this lacked the comfort of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney singing precisely the same sentiment 35 years ago on “Ebony and Ivory.”
If everybody twists facts and makes up data to support their own biases and world view, the sensible thing to do is simply ignore them all. Nothing will ever change.
The surge in activism following the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in February did not lead to the election of legislators likely to toughen gun laws. Regular mass shootings are just the price we have to pay for freedom.
Was that judge appointed by my predecessor? He’s corrupt, flawed and incompetent.
Latest study showing global warming is caused by human activity, accelerating faster than anyone had predicted and already affecting communities and food production? Nah, I just disagree with the conclusions.
Find that drummer who’s pounding out the rhythm you want to march to and ignore everything else. These issues are complicated; isn’t it just better to ignore all the different viewpoints because no one tells the truth?
In The Bible
There’s a remarkable thing happening in the gospel lesson for today: the people listen to the preacher, in this case John the Baptizer, and ask what they can do. Think a little here. Name another prophet, or prophetic figure in the Bible whose words were accepted and heeded. The only one that comes to my mind is Jonah, the prophet who went in the opposite direction when God called, who slept through a tempest, who got vomited up on shore after being in the belly of the big fish, then went and spoke one sentence to Nineveh, then waited on a nearby hill to watch the fireworks. But wait…the Ninevites repented! Even their farm animals put on burlap! They were spared! The Lord was merciful! Okay, so Jonah was a little steamed about that, but that’s the way it went. Nineveh was spared, Jonah was disappointed because God was merciful. Jonah was disappointed because he was successful! Oh, and while I’m on a roll, I’m pretty sure Jonah is the only book in the Bible that ends with a question: “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” [Jonah 4:11, NRSV]
“Teacher why do you always answer our questions with questions?
“What’s wrong with questions?”
Right, so back to John the Baptizer, he got the crowd’s attention by calling them a brood of vipers and implying that the only reason they were repenting at all is because someone warned them to. Judgment was coming, he told them. And there was no security in their pedigree.
But they did not run away; they did not withhold their pledges for next year as protest because of this personal message. They asked, “What then should we do?”
John gives them a road map, a recipe for repentance. Share. If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have a coat. If you have more food than you need, share. Then he is asked by two notoriously corrupt professions: tax collectors and soldiers. Here it’s jarring how different this scene is from the United States in the 21st century. No one says, “Not all tax collectors are criminals! Not all soldiers use their power to exploit people!” It’s accepted that these professionals are corrupt, that they take advantage of the people. Even the tax collectors and soldiers do not defend themselves. Note, John does not tell people not to pay taxes; he does not advise the tax collectors to quit their jobs, he merely says they should do their jobs ethically. He says the same thing about soldiers who appear to use their positions to bully and profit from their positions of authority.
This raises an interesting question: What professions are the most trusted in the United States? According to a Forbes, January 4, 2018 article, nurses are the most trusted profession in the United States. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed regard nurses as high or very high in honesty and ethical standards. Lobbyists, who finished last, were regarded this way by only 8% of respondents. Clergy finished in eighth place, out of 15, with 42% regarding them as high or very high in honesty and ethical standards. We were 1% behind judges. It appears that John the Baptizer had a fairly high score as well. Those who heard his message asked what they should do to avoid the coming wrath.
I’ll get to wrath in a minute. I want to break in here and share something that I’ve found helpful, a little acronym: NALT. It stands for “not all like that.” The next time you hear someone make a blanket condemnation of a group of people -- who hasn’t heard “Those people are all terrorists!”? -- try replying, “They’re not all like that.” I had a very satisfying encounter last month when I said, “The last Muslim I met was a caterer.” One reason this is disarming is that it implies one has actually met an individual in the group that has been disparaged en masse. Perhaps this will cause the person who shared this sentiment to ask in his heart, “Hmm, do I know any of those people, or am I basing my opinion on what I hear online?” As I said before, no one stepped forward and “NALTed” the tax collectors or soldiers; they were the lobbyists of first-century Palestine.
Okay, now wrath. The Book of Zephaniah is filled with wrath. Judgment and devastation were coming because the people were complacent. They were luke warm.
At that time I will search
Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who rest complacently on their dregs,
those who say in their hearts
“The Lord will not do good,
Nor will he do harm.” (Zephaniah 1:12-13, NRSV)
The dregs were the syrupy by-products of wine that had been strained, in contrasted to the lees. The prophet is telling the nations they are numb, groggy, indifferent. The fear of the Lord is not in them. They’re in trouble, but there’s still hope for those who repent and embrace humility. That’s the context of today’s joy-filled prophetic message, it’s the glimmer of hope, the possibility of joy in the face of the looming, severe judgment of the Lord. The stakes are high.
The rest of Zephaniah, all 46 other verses are about destruction, vengeance, devastation…really, really bad things. What the lectionary gives us this morning is the potential joy-filled denouement if they shape up and get humble.
In The Sermon
More than hope, there’s vindication in the prophet’s message.
The Lord, Zephaniah promises, will be in the midst of Israel…that phrase appears twice. We hear that same idea in the words of other prophets…Immanual…God-with-us. But more than that, God promises a military victory, a turning away from the humiliation that Israel had known in battle. “The Lord has turned away your enemies,” and “[the Lord] is a warrior who gives victory.” Some translations render the prophet’s words this way, “The accumulated sorrow of your exile will dissipate.” Isn’t that an arresting idea? The accumulated sorrow …will dissipate.” Hold onto those words. Imagine that God is speaking to you personally. What sorrows, or disappointments or even wounds do you carry every day? I know this was a word of comfort to the nation of Israel, but I want you to know, and feel and trust, that God loves you with that same renewing, intense, personal love.
But wait, it gets better…the prophet says, “God will rejoice (there’s our word again!) over you with gladness, and renew you with his love, [the Lord] will exult over you with loud singing.” These are powerful words, and it’s hard to get them to penetrate our defenses. God’s love is so strong that God delights in us. Do you ever think that God delights in you? Someone sent me an email -- and I expect you’ve gotten this one too, that says, “Your picture is on God’s refrigerator.” (Rejoice!) The prophet reminds us that God delights in us. Imagine, those of you who are parents, delighting in your children. In watching them grow and become independent and responsible for themselves. That’s the type of thing that fills God with delight and joy, bringing the people back home, gathering outcasts, removing our shame. And when we share our food, share our clothes and do our jobs ethically. God’s love is relentless and tenacious in calling us back to God. God’s love is revealed to us in the birth of Jesus. God-with-us -- Immanuel. And that love sent in Christ frees us to respond with an open and light heart to God’s desire for us to live as God’s children.
And then, we get a little bit more of John the Baptizer. He’s the one who came to point the people toward Christ, to guide the people toward hope. And he started a movement out there in the wilderness. People were coming from every direction to get baptized as a sign that they wanted to make a new beginning. Let me stress this -- it was the people who were striving to be faithful, the ones who took their faith seriously who were going out to be baptized. This was a movement of renewal from within.
Here’s what John said to them:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
And he told them that just being a descendant of Abraham, having the right pedigree didn’t mean a thing. The important thing, the only important thing was to live a life that showed that they had truly begun to live their faith in their daily lives. The stakes were very, very high, if they didn’t bear fruit they would be cut down like a tree and burned up. And the ax was right there ready to cut them down!
Okay, this got their attention; they asked what they should do. Share. If you have more than enough clothes, give some away. If you have more than enough food, do the same thing. Then he singled out tax collectors. Tax collectors were not a popular group in first century Palestine. Come to think of it, tax collectors aren’t a popular group in 21st-century United States. Maybe tax collectors have never been popular. But in this case, tax collectors were most likely Jews who had been hired by the Romans to collect the Roman taxes. They were seen as traitors to their own people -- and they had a reputation for charging too much tax and keeping the extra for themselves. The soldiers who had gone to John to be baptized -- they had a reputation for taking advantage of their authority to intimidate and extort money from people. Imagine a corrupt police department in the United States. Okay, so John spoke plainly and honestly to those groups who had reputations for corruption and told them to shape up. His presence was so strong and striking that people started to think that maybe he wasn’t the one preparing the way…maybe John was the messiah. Well, nuh-uh. John told about one who was coming who was more worthy and mightier, one who would clear the threshing floor -- that is gather the grain that has been harvested, and that the same one would burn up the chaff. This gets us back to the image of having one’s repentance bear fruit. It is a violent and even frightening set of images.
And then we heard these words: “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” Did the contrast startle you? Here’s John using dire words of warning…and it’s called “Good News.” It’s possible that Luke simply didn’t write down the parts that we would consider to be good news. Maybe there’s something else here, perhaps you see a word of hope. That is, that we can still repent. There is still time. Yes, the stakes are high; yes, the consequences are dire and real. Yes, God demands repentance that really does make a difference to the people around us. That true religion is not just what we say, but what we do. John is giving people instruction in how to live in light of the coming of the Christ.
The Christ is coming. God hasn’t given up on humanity, or forgotten us, or abandoned us, or forsaken us…the prophets have been telling us that God is weary with our lack of faith…but God is loving and patient still.
So there’s still time to put down the heavy burden of sorrow or disappointment that we carry with us. There’s still time to accept the freedom and new life that God offers us everyday -- freedom and new life that we celebrate in this season.
Here’s the hardest thing about Christmas: accepting that the Good News is really for each of us. That God did an amazing, crazy thing in sending a baby to show us the depth of God’s love. And that love is a gift to every single person. That love is Good News... news that there is still time. As scripture says, “The proof of God’s amazing love is this: while we were still sinners, God sent Christ into the world.” That’s the proof, and tomorrow, right here, we will celebrate the birth of that truth. So rejoice! Joice again! Amen.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Three Easy Answers
by Dean Feldmeyer
Luke 3:7-18
“Sing loud!” says Zephaniah (3:14)
“Shout aloud and sing for joy!” says Isaiah (12:6)
“Rejoice in the Lord!” Says Paul to the Philippians (4:4)
“Repent!” says John the Baptizer. (Lk 3: 7-18)
Wait! What?
Everyone is so happy this week. Why does Luke, via John the Baptizer, have to throw in such a downer? Threatening, cursing, warning, ridiculing. Brood of vipers, indeed!
But maybe there’s more, here, than meets the eye. Maybe Luke is giving us some good news but he’s couching it in terms of faithful living.
In The News And Culture
In his novel, Needful Things, Stephen King offers a brilliant, instructive, parable for our times.
Kindly, gentle, old Leland Gaunt comes to the little town of Castle Rock, Maine, and opens a new “curiosity and gift shop” called Needful Things. Curiously, anyone who enters his store finds the object of his or her lifelong dreams and desires: a prized baseball card, a healing amulet. In addition to a token payment, Gaunt requests that each person perform a little “deed,” usually a seemingly innocent prank played on someone else from town. These practical jokes cascade out of control and soon the entire town is doing battle with itself. Only Sheriff Alan Pangborn suspects that Gaunt is not just a kindly old man but the force behind the population's increasingly violent behavior, behavior that doesn’t abate until the citizens come to an understanding of the difference between what they want and what they need.
It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to realize that King’s Castle Rock is a rather transparent symbol for modern, American culture. We live in the midst of great excess, so much so that we often can no longer tell the difference in what we want and what we need.
A Snickers bar isn’t just a sweet treat; it’s a necessary reliever of hunger that keeps us from turning into an oddly aggressive Betty White. A pickup truck isn’t just a tool that is handy for light hauling; it’s the source of happiness and contentment such that the owner wants to sleep in the bed of the truck on Christmas night.
Americans throw away nearly half their food every year, waste worth roughly $165 billion annually.1
That’s, essentially, every other piece of food that crosses our path. Americans discard 40 percent of the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food. Consumers and restaurants are also to blame, preparing large portions that result in leftovers that often go uneaten.
Just a 15 percent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough to feed 25 million Americans annually. It also would lighten the burden on landfills, where food waste makes up the largest component of solid waste.
We watch “Man vs. Food” and laugh as, every week, a man sits down at the biggest meal he can find and tries to eat it all. That’s it. He just eats and we watch.
We laugh and shake our heads at a $5-million bra made of diamonds and jewels.
We snicker at the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book that offers a life-size likeness of yourself made of Legos, or a portrait of yourself in chocolate syrup. How about a two-man submarine? A backyard waterpark? If you have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to burn, all of these delights could be yours. And, yes, people actually buy them.
And weddings! Don’t get me started! “According to Condé Nast’s American Wedding Survey, the average American wedding cost $28,082, for a grand total of about $161 billion spent on tooth whitening, personalized M&Ms, monogrammed bridesmaids’ tracksuits, favors for every guest, and, of course, plastic surgery to look perfect on Your Most Special Day. It’s no longer enough to throw a nice party with good food for your nearest and dearest -- nowadays, if you don’t have a second dress for the reception, a horse-drawn carriage to transport you to the ceremony, a midnight milk-and-cookies bar, and a Sadducees, decorated with $10,000 worth of Peruvian orchids, you might as well accept that your entire marriage is doomed to fail.”2
Okay, point made. We, Americans, live and work and love and thrive in a land of excess and, often, we don’t even realize how excessively we are living.
In The Scripture
So, John the Baptizer is doing his “baptism thing” (Jesus Christ, Superstar) and he looks around and it suddenly strikes him that a bunch of the folks who have come down, today, to see what he’s about are not the poor and the powerless people (most of the population if you want to know the truth) who usually show up at his services. No, today, we are being honored by the presence of power people: Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, priests, centurions. Cream of the crop types.
So, not to let an opportunity go by, John levels his withering gaze upon them.
“You brood of vipers!” Although it was probably more like, “You brooooooooooooood of vipers!”
And, then, he’s off -- “What makes you think that you can escape the wrath of God by coming down here and going through the motions of repentance, doing religious stuff like you really mean it when we all know that you don’t. And don’t give me that ‘We’re children of Abraham’ routine. You think Abraham will save you? Ha! YHWH doesn’t need you! YHWH can make children of Abraham from this rock!”
He’s on a roll, now.
“God’s getting ready to thin this forest that God calls Israel. The ax is sharpened and poised at the roots of the trees that aren’t producing good fruit. They’re going to be cut down and thrown into the fire!”
And then, just as he’s really getting into it, something strange happens.
Someone in the crowd says, rather sheepishly, I think: “What should we do?”
“What?”
“Uh, what should we do if we don’t want to be cut down and thrown into the fire?”
“Really? You want to do something? You’re serious?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, if I’m doing it wrong, tell me how to do it right, okay?”
“Oh, well, okay. Okay, first, share.”
“Share?”
“Yes. Remember kindergarten? Just like that only bigger. If you have two coats and your neighbor doesn’t have any, share one of your coats with your neighbor. You can’t wear both of them at the same time, after all. So share one with the person who needs one.”
“Okay, share. Out of my excess. Good. What else? What about us tax collectors?”
Now this was a particularly despised group so everyone thinks that John is going to lower the boom on them. They were Jewish lackies of the occupying, repressive Roman government. Collaborators! And they got rich by cheating people when they came around to collect the taxes. So people can’t wait to hear what John’s going to say to them. And here’s what he says. You ready?
“Don’t cheat people.”
That’s it. “When you collect the taxes, collect only the proscribed amount which includes your commission. Don’t take any more than that.”
“Oh, okay.”
Someone in the back. A soldier. “What about us?” (Really! A Roman soldier! This is too good.)
“Well,” says John. “You know, how the law allows you to compel a citizen to carry your pack or shield for a mile when you’re on the march?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Well, let a mile be the end of it. Don’t make the poor schlep carry it further than a mile. After that, find someone else.”
“Oh, okay.”
So, does everyone have it? Three easy answers:
In The Pulpit
Writing for the pop culture web site, Care 2.com, in 2011, Allison Ford and Divine Caroline conclude their piece about American excess with this paragraph:
“America may be the Land of Plenty, but seeing a restaurant serve chocolate cake topped with twenty-four-karat edible gold leaf suggests that we’ve turned into the Land of Slightly Too Much. Any one of these obnoxious displays of our nation’s wealth and security should give us pause and make us think about those in the world who’d be grateful for our table scraps. Surely, many immigrants would love to come to this country to make a better life for their families by working hard year after year until they, too, can achieve the American dream and buy their teenage daughter a Brazilian wax and her own petting zoo. U.S.A. #1!”3
John the Baptizer probably would have agreed. After all, most of us have lots of “coats.” And maybe, just maybe, there is some real joy to be found in sharing.
1 Reuters, Food Waste: Americans Throw Away Nearly Half Their Food, $165 Billion Annually, Study Says Oct 21, 2012.
2 Ford, Allison and DivineCaroline, 8 Shocking Signs of American Excess care2.com
3 Ibid.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Luke 3:7-18
Joy vs. Anger
This is the Advent Sunday dedicated to joy, but John the Baptist is more angry than joyful. He sees the systems of corruption around him, and he uses his anger to move people toward change. Quaker writer and leader Parker Palmer says that he is so often angry about the evil around him that a friend recently gave him a t-shirt emblazoned with one the phrase “One Mean Quaker.” Even on a Sunday dedicated to joy, we can learn from our anger, and learn to use it the way John the Baptist does.
Palmer says, “Occasionally, I’m taken to task by people who regard anger as a spiritual flaw to be eliminated. But I beg to differ: When something is morally wrong, it does more harm than good to put a spiritually positive spin on it. Whitewashing in the name of God doesn’t improve the world -- it discredits religion as yet another source of delusion… I agree with those who say that forgiveness is key to carrying on, and I love Anne Lamott’s quip that, “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.” But forgiveness, I’ve discovered, is not always mine to give.”
He adds, “I know that anger has the potential to harm the person who’s angry, and others in his or her orbit. But three deep dives into depression have taught me that anger buried under piosity poses more threats to my well being -- and that of those around me -- than anger expressed non-violently. Repressed anger is dangerous. Anger harnessed as an energy we can ride toward new life for all concerned is redemptive.”
Perhaps in the same spirit that fueled John the Baptist, Palmer says, “I want to ride the energy of anger toward work that brings citizens together in life-giving live encounters.”
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
Truth
“You brood of vipers” is John’s greeting to the religious leaders who have come out to see what he’s up to. No doubt they weren’t used to hearing that very often! John is nothing if not truthful, laying out the facts as he sees them without holding back. Author Elizabeth Lesser says that truth became an important commodity for her when her sister was ill. Her sister needed a bone marrow transplant, and it turned out that Elizabeth was a perfect match. As she tells it, “My sister and I had a long history of love, but we also had a long history of rejection and attack, from minor misunderstandings to bigger betrayals. We didn't have the kind of the relationship where we talked about the deeper stuff; but, like many siblings and like people in all kinds of relationships, we were hesitant to tell our truths, to reveal our wounds, to admit our wrongdoings.” In that context, she felt they needed more than medicine for the body. “But when I learned about the dangers of rejection or attack, I thought, it's time to change this. What if we left the bone marrow transplant up to the doctors, but did something that we later came to call our "soul marrow transplant?" What if we faced any pain we had caused each other, and instead of rejection or attack, could we listen? Could we forgive? Could we merge? Would that teach our cells to do the same?”
To get at the truth of the past, the two sisters went to therapy together. “People have said I was brave to undergo the bone marrow harvest, but I don't think so. What felt brave to me was that other kind of harvest and transplant, the soul marrow transplant, getting emotionally naked with another human being, putting aside pride and defensiveness, lifting the layers and sharing with each other our vulnerable souls. I called on those midwife lessons: uncover your soul. Open to what's scary and painful. Look for the sacred awe.” The process brought them unexpected blessings. “My sister said the year after transplant was the best year of her life, which was surprising. She suffered so much. But she said life never tasted as sweet, and that because of the soul-baring and the truth-telling we had done with each other, she became more unapologetically herself with everyone. She said things she'd always needed to say. She did things she always wanted to do. The same happened for me. I became braver about being authentic with the people in my life. I said my truths, but more important than that, I sought the truth of others.”
Lesser says we can all do this, John the Baptist style, all the time. Eventually, the treatments ran out for her sister, and she died of her illness. Lesser says, “My sister left me with so many things, and I'm going to leave you now with just one of them. You don't have to wait for a life-or-death situation to clean up the relationships that matter to you, to offer the marrow of your soul and to seek it in another. We can all do this. We can be like a new kind of first responder, like the one to take the first courageous step toward the other, and to do something or try to do something other than rejection or attack. We can do this with our siblings and our mates and our friends and our colleagues. We can do this with the disconnection and the discord all around us. We can do this for the soul of the world.” We can let John the Baptist lead us into a deeper relationship with the truth.
***
Luke 3:7-18
New Ways to Worship God in the Desert
John the Baptist draws people out to the wilderness to proclaim his message of repentance, telling them to seek God in new ways. Similarly, the people of Paradise, California, are finding new ways to worship, after the recent fires destroyed many church buildings in town. Even where the church building is still standing, “face the same harsh reality as the rest of Paradise; the vast majority of their pastors, staff, and congregation have lost their homes.” Now they have to answer the same question that John the Baptist is posing to the people around him: how to worship God apart from the buildings and the familiar structure. “After last week’s evacuation, church leaders spent the past several days checking in on families, coordinating an overwhelming wave of relief supplies, and rethinking what ministry will look like in the short-term. “Our church is spread out all over California and the surrounding states. That’s been the hardest part because being the shepherd, you now have no idea where your people are even at,” said Josh Gallagher, pastor of Paradise Alliance Church. He left Paradise last Thursday, initially for a shelter at Neighborhood Church in Chico. He later learned that his family had lost their home, along with 18 of 21 families on the church’s staff--a proportion that corresponds with the degree of loss across the community.”
Pastor Josh Gallagher says that what happened in Paradise will challenge his congregation for years to come. Just as John the Baptist calls people to a new way of being faithful, the fire left behind the same challenge. “One of our city representatives was able to meet with FEMA, and he shared that conversation with me. They said, “We’ve never seen an entire city completely wiped out like this.” They said that for the best chance of reviving this city, the faith community needs to be engaged moving forward because the faith community is where people find belonging, they find acceptance, they find hope…I feel like God has given us an opportunity to experience revival on a church-wide level, but also a community-wide level. He’s put all of the churches in Paradise, not just ours, at the center of that revival. I would say, pray for revival -- in a spiritual sense, absolutely, but also in an economic sense, in a building sense, across relationships, all of it.”
Being in the desert, in an empty place, in a place of deep grief, leads us toward God in different ways.
* * * * * * * * *
From team member Ron Love:
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
God / Worship & Respect / God of Salvation / God who is Near
Boston had been under siege for nine months by the British and the commander of the colonial forces was journeying to Cambridge to break the impasse. Though three frontal assaults by the Red Coats were recently repelled at Breed’s Hill, mistakenly recorded as Bunker’s Hill, the coastal city still remained in possession of King George.
As the general journeyed north, a lesser known yet more significant development occurred by legislative fiat, far surpassing the victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Both the New York and Massachusetts legislatures wrote congratulatory letters to General George Washington, addressing him as “His Excellency.” This became his official title throughout all the colonies for the remainder of the war. Less imposing than “His Majesty,” as one would approach a king, it still carried the hallmarks of European elitism. Semi-royal status was bestowed upon the designated sovereign of the American Revolutionary War.
The war was won, a constitution ratified, and it came the day before the inauguration and the issue arose: how was the new President of the United States to be addressed? Should the first president continue to be hailed as “His Excellency,” known for this throughout the war years? John Adams, the presiding officer over the senate and a man of great vanity, desired to keep with European formalities advocated, “His Highness.” Washington refused such high-mindedness as unfitting for a democratic state that purposely separated itself from royalty, and settled for the more subdued “Mr. President.” It was a simple enough title, but he reasoned it would acquire dignity and respect.
“His Excellency.” “His Highness.” “Mr. President.” All three are titles with very distinct meanings and implications. Interchangeable they are not. If George Washington would have adhered to the advice of his vice-president, the occupant of the Oval Office would be viewed much differently today, not only by the citizens of our own nation but by foreign dignitaries.
* * *
Philippians 4:5; Luke 3:18
Lord is Near / Preach the Good News
Mark Scandrette is the executive director of ReIMAGINE, which is a center for spiritual formation located in San Francisco. He also developed the program called “Jesus Dojo,” which is a yearlong intensive process of spiritual formation inspired by the life of Jesus. He discusses this practice in his book titled, Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love, which was published in June 2011.
In Japanese, the word dojo means “place of the way.” We may be most familiar with the word as the arena in which the martial arts are practiced, but it can also refer to a sewing group or any other meaningful gathering where people come together to learn.
The purpose of the “Jesus Dojo” is to prevent an individualistic approach to spiritual development, instead allowing spiritual development to take place in a community setting. The “Jesus Dojo,” according to Scandrette, is a community that practices living by the teachings of Jesus. The group consists of people who are willing to commit the time and energy to transform their lives into the image of Jesus. Then, as a group, they emerge from the dojo to bless the world that they have been entrusted with.
In his book Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus, published in 2007, Scandrette wrote, “It may actually be more healthy to be disturbed, confused, or searching than confident, certain, and secure.” He also wrote in that volume, “Fragile creatures we are, and not always good and reliable containers for divine goodness and wisdom.”
* * *
Philippians 4:5; Luke 3:18
Lord is Near / Preach the Good News
On February 24, 1742, Peter Bohler gathered a group of Moravians who would sail to the American colonies. There they would establish a settlement in what became known as Bethlehem in Pennsylvania. Once in Bethlehem they first began their missionary work to the black slaves and American Indians. Since they had to cross the Atlantic Ocean to settle in Bethlehem, the Moravians became known as the “sea congregation.”
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
Deliverance / Restoration / God’s Authority
President Ronald Reagan, who took office in 1981, always enjoyed telling this story. It is an apocryphal tale that reflected his outlook on life.
There were once two identical twins. They were alike in every way but one. One was a hope-filled optimist who only ever saw the bright side of life. The other was a dark pessimist, who only ever saw the down side in every situation.
The parents were so worried about the extremes of optimism and pessimism in their boys that they took them to the doctor. He suggested a plan. “On their next birthday give the pessimist a shiny new bike, but give the optimist only a pile of manure.”
It seemed a fairly extreme thing to do. After all the parents had always treated their boys equally. But in this instance. they decided to try the doctor’s advice.
So, when the twins next birthday came around, they gave the pessimist the most expensive, top of the line racing bike a child has ever owned. When he saw the bike his first words were, “I’ll probably crash and break my leg.”
To the optimist, they gave a carefully wrapped box of manure. He opened it, looked puzzled for a moment, then ran outside screaming, “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s just gotta be a pony around here somewhere!”
* * *
Philippians 4:5
Lord is Near
Samuel Langhorn Clemons is better known to us by his pen name Mark Twain. Four years after his birth, in 1839, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a thriving port city. It was from this locale along the banks of the Mississippi River that Clemons became enamored with the mighty river and the steamboats that traveled to and fro. At the age of 17 he left home for St. Louis to work as a newspaper reporter. However, the siren call of the river never parted from his ears, so pursuing his passion he secured his river pilot’s license in 1858. With the outbreak of the Civil War river trade was no longer profitable and Clemons returned to his other ardor, writing.
Clemons wrote a humorous travel story and elected to sign his name to the article as Mark Twain, the name under which he wrote thereafter. Mark Twain was adopted from a term frequently used and heard by riverboat captains. The minimum depth of the water needed for a boat to pass unobstructed was 12 feet, or two fathoms. “Twain” was slang for two. “Mark” referred that the depth had been measured. When the helmsman heard the cry “Mark Twain” he knew the river passage was safe for further navigation.
As many of us have read the books by Samuel Clemons we know the name on the title page of Mark Twain is most appropriate. The books are equally as lighthearted as challenging, causing one to think and question preconceived notions. The writing style coupled with the story provides for easy passage from page to page.
* * *
Luke 3:7
Brood of Vipers / Wrath / Judgment
The Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, similar to many evangelical and non-denominational Protestant denominations today, sought to control their constituency through the fear of hell and damnation. To render obedience to the Pope a parishioner would give monetary gifts or perform specified acts of service, and in turn be rewarded with an indulgence. For each indulgence acquired, incarceration in Purgatory was lessened by a day. Pope Urban IV, who reigned from 1261 to 1264, granted an indulgence of thirty days to any individual who would add the name of Jesus to the Hail Mary, or would either bow the head or bend the knee every time he/she heard the name of Jesus spoken. Pope Sixtus V, on July 2, 1587, granted an indulgence of fifty days by responding to “Praise be to Jesus!” with the answer, “Forevermore,” or “Amen.” Pope Benedict XIII, reigning from 1724 to 1730, granted the same number of days to anyone who pronounced the name of Jesus reverently. Pope Pius X, on October 10, 1904, offered the greatest gift of all when he dictated as often as a patron invoked the name of Jesus and Mary together, he/she would be the recipient of a papal indulgence of 300 days. The repetitious reciting of the name of Jesus coupled with the perpetual bobbing of heads, begs the question if anything else of substance was ever accomplished. This, of course, is very Pharisaical; a legalism Jesus adamantly opposed since it does nothing to care for the widows and orphans, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and liberate those who are oppressed.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
Rejoice / Lord is Near
George Savile (1633-1695), an English statesman and author, wrote, “The invisible thing called a Good Name is made up of the breath of numbers that speak well of you.” The multitude of great things that have been associated with the name of Jesus goes unopposed. It is a name that must reside constantly upon our lips.
Since childhood Lydia Baxter was bedridden with a debilitating disease. One of the activities she enjoyed the most, passing hours of solitude, was to be a student of the Bible. When friends came to visit they would conduct contests and quizzes as to who might be the most biblically knowledgeable. One of the games that Lydia most enjoyed was the interpretation of names and their spiritual implication. She would be forthright in her rendition: Samuel means “asked of God,” Hannah is “grace,” Sarah is called “princess,” and Naomi “pleasantness.” But, of course, the name she esteemed the most was Jesus.
She attached special significance, as well she should, to that name. During difficult times she would share, “I have a very special armor. I have the name of Jesus. When the tempter tries to make me blue or despondent, I mention the name of Jesus, and he can’t get through to me anymore.”
In 1870, at the age of 61, four years prior to her death, she wrote a hymn on the beauty of that name. The hymn became the staple of Dwight L. Moody’s evangelistic rallies. It is a hymn that is still sung in our sanctuary with passion for the calmness and reassurance it disseminates. The hymn is “Take The Name of Jesus With You.” With a peaceful calm we sing, “Take the name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and woe; it will joy and comfort give you -- Take it, then where’er you go.”
* * *
Luke 3:18; Luke 3:8
Evangelism / Bear fruits worthy of repentance
With sanctimonious pride the token was boldly laid upon the table of our Lord. The candidate was indeed deemed worthy to receive the sacrament of forgiveness. Having been previously visited by the church elders with an accompanying inquisition into the worthiness of the patron’s soul, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper could be received at Seceder Church in Ireland. It was the annual observance of the service that focused on the solemnity of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Only the pure in heart were welcome to participate. The days previous were always approached by communicants with trepidation and fear. Who would want to be damned as ignoble, condemned to remain seated with the scourging eyes of the righteous are fixed upon the hideous ones.
Things changed in May of 1809 with one bold act of refutation. Alexander Campbell, a student at the University of Glasgow, placed his esteemed token on the altar before the clergy arose and walked out, renouncing his allegiance to the Church of Scotland and all institutionalized religions.
In September of that year he arrived in America where he partnered with his father Thomas in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to establish a religious community absent of creeds and hierarchy. Each individual was granted the liberty to interpret the Bible as he/she best understood it. Their motto became, “Where the scriptures speak, we speak. Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.” Their goal was to restore unity among the sects. “Let unity be our polar star,” became the mantra for a universal Christian community.
This began the early nineteenth-century “Restoration Movement” in America. One outcome of this endeavor was the establishment of the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, derogatorily called Campbellites in one era. Like most denominations it has since lost the vision of the founders Thomas and Alexander Campbell, but be assured that one need not approach the altar of Christ this day with a token in hand. In the spirit that blest the original adherents, let us always adulate its pioneering principle: “Christians only, but not the only Christians.”
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
Wrath / Judgment
The absence of Jesus from secular writings during the first century is reflective of his small role on the contemporary scene. Though, Jesus as the Christ, his celebrity did not go entirely unnoticed. Josephus, a Hebrew, who was contracted by Rome to write a history of the Jews, described the death of James as “the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.” (Ant 20.9.1)
Two Roman historians provide additional affirmation. Suetonius mentions public disturbances instigated by a Chrestus forced the hand of Emperor Claudius. Suetonius specifically wrote: “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.” (Life of Claudius 25.4) The translation is unclear if this is in reference to Gentile Christians or a Jewish Christian; in either case it is an acknowledgement of the use of the title Christ among members of the church. The word Chrestus shows how little understanding the Romans first had regarding Jesus and the church. The word “Chrestus” meaning “excellent” was sometimes scribed for “Christ” which means “anointed.”
Roman historian Tacitus reports that Christus, the one from whom Christians take their name, how Jesus suffered death at the hands of Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Tacitus wrote his passage reflecting on how Nero blamed the Christians for the great fire in Rome on July 19, 64. The fire, by the way, was started by Nero himself to distract the populace from their economic depravity and the opulent spending of his administration. Incriminating the Christian community was meant to divert political attention from the real culprit. Tacitus historical account reads: “Hence to suppress the rumor, he fastened the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.” (Annals 15.44.4) This again attests that the understanding of the presence of one who was known as Christ was prevalent, but not prominent.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
God / Worship & Respect /God of Salvation / God who is Near
Iesous Christos is Jesus Christ in Greek. Through the eons of time the title of Christ acquired symbolic significance. His name was often abbreviated in art monograms as IC or XC. The Chi-Rho symbol, explicitly displayed on the stained-glass windows at Central United Methodist Church, is derived from the first two letters for Christ in Greek. It is the symbol that Constantine saw in the heavens in 312 before leading his troops to victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, the engagement which secured his empire. It is avowed to be the moment of his conversion experience and the forerunner to the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.
Prior to the Guttenberg Press and movable type transcribing by hand was inexorably time consuming and the cost of printing prohibitive. Therefore, Christ was abbreviated as Xt or simply X, and Christian as Xn. “Xmas” has not taken Christ out of Christmas, only our lack of historical understanding has demonized a symbol once commonly employed.
XOXOXOXO. Hugs and kisses, perhaps accentuated with a pink Cupid sticker. A touching way to sign a letter to our precious beloved; but, it is sorrowful to dilute the real meaning of sincere, committed and covenantal love with such shallowness. Through most of history illiteracy prevailed, even to the extent that an individual could not even write one’s own name. To secure a legal document the signer would instead pen an X, sealing the document in the name of Christ. Then, in reverence, the individual would kiss the X. In time the kiss was substituted by encircling the mark. The next time you sit down to write a love letter, allow the significant other know that XOXOXO goes beyond the reaches of hugs and kisses, for the words in this correspondence are sealed in the name of Christ.
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Surely God, our God, is our salvation.
People: We will trust, and will not be afraid.
Leader: God is our strength and our might.
People: God has become our salvation.
Leader: With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.
People: Give thanks to God, call on God’s name.
OR
Leader: Rejoice! Rejoice in the love and presence of our God.
People: We sing with joy because we are loved eternally.
Leader: Open you hearts and lives to God’s joyful Spirit.
People: We welcome God’s Spirit that brings joy and peace.
Leader: Share God’s joy and love with all God’s children.
People: As we have received we will share with all.
Hymns and Songs: (Several carols included for those who need them.)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Especially the chorus)
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELA: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT: 225
Rejoice, the Lord Is King
UMH: 715/716
H82: 481
PH: 155
NCH: 303
CH: 699
LBW: 171
ELA: 430
W&P: 342
AMEC: 88/89
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELA: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice
UMH: 224
H82: 107
PH: 28
NCH: 129
CH: 164
LBW: 55
ELA: 288
W&P: 198
Joy to the World
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
ELA: 267
W&P: 179
AMEC: 120
STLT: 245
Pues Si Vivimos (When We Are Living)
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
ELA: 639
W&P: 415
Dona Nobis Pacem
UMH: 376
H82: 712
CH: 297
ELA: 753
STLT: 388
Renew: 240
He Has Made Me Glad (I Will Enter His Gates)
CCB: 3
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created with love and joy:
Grant us the grace to find true joy in our lives
even as we struggle with sin and excess;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for the love and joy with which you created. Help us to find the joyful love in our lives in the face of sin and excess. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to find the true joy that God offers us.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We turn away from the true joy that God offers us through communion with God and with God’s children. Instead we try to find it in things that do not bring joy at all. We use others and we gather things. We buy the latest gadgets hoping they will make our lives better but they just distract us from God even more. Open our eyes, O God, and help us to see that you are the source of all true joy. Help us to focus on our relationship with you so that we can share joy and love with others. Amen.
Leader: God wants us to be joyful. God delights in being part of our lives. Receive God’s presence and find the joy God intended for you. Then share that joy with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory be to you, O God, the One who brings joy to all creation. You created out of love and we rejoice in that love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We turn away from the true joy that God offers us through communion with God and with God’s children. Instead we try to find it in things that do not bring joy at all. We use others and we gather things. We buy the latest gadgets hoping they will make our lives better but they just distract us from God even more. Open our eyes, O God, and help us to see that you are the source of all true joy. Help us to focus on our relationship with you so that we can share joy and love with others.
We give you thanks for all the ways you offer your joy to us. We thank you for the wonder of worship and the joy of music. We thank you for sending us Jesus who teaches us how to live joyfully in the midst of a world not yet fully redeemed.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children. We pray for those who find the troubles of life have blocked their sensing of the joy you offer them. We pray for ourselves to be more faithfully in sharing your joy with others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about getting ready for Christmas. Ask about activities they think they will participate in. Will these happen with other people or will they be alone. We celebrate with other people because that makes our joy even better. God loves to share our joy and to see us share it with others.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
A Time to Rejoice
by Chris Keating
Gather ahead of time:
Emotions chart (can be downloaded here.)
Nativity scene or picture of the nativity.
A pink candle (optional).
Traditionally, the third Sunday in Advent is known as “Gaudete Sunday.” Noted hymn writer and church musician Marty Haugen notes that the Latin name for this Sunday is derived from the beginning of the Philippians reading for this week: “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete,” (“Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, Rejoice!”). As our anticipation of Jesus’ birth grows, we rejoice for all of God’s gifts. Themes of rejoicing and joy are found in both the Epistle and Old Testament readings, and offer worship leaders a chance to help children identify and understand some of the many different emotions they may be experiencing as Christmas gets closer.
Children may need help naming emotions. One teaching tool can be an emotions chart, such as this one. I like this one because the images are simple and cartoonish. It names different ways that we experience feelings such as sad, angry, happy, sick, and so forth. It also avoids using lifelike faces so that children can see that emotions are universal and not associated only with a particular gender or race.
Feelings are neither bad or good; feelings just are. It’s okay to feel differently, but it can be helpful if children know how to put words to their feelings -- remember that this is an evolving developmental task which some children may understand better than others. Sometimes it is helpful to look at a chart like this so we can point to the face that describes how we are feeling at the moment.
Invite them to look at the Advent wreath (if your church doesn’t use an Advent wreath, invite them to look at the pink or rose-colored candle you have brought). Remind them that traditionally, Advent wreaths have four candles which are usually blue or purple, and one that is pink, and one in the center that is white. Can they remember why we light the pink candle on this Sunday, and the purple colors on other days?
Because Advent is a time of preparing for Jesus’ birth, we often think of “purple” as a royal color as well as a color symbolizing repentance (“saying we are sorry”). Asking for forgiveness is one way we prepare for Jesus to be born. As we wait, we also know our hearts are full of gladness! We sing fun songs, and put up pretty decorations. All of this is a reminder that Advent is also a time of feeling joyful.
Why do we rejoice? One reason could be that Christmas is a lot of fun and is very exciting. That certainly is true. But Christians rejoice in Advent because we know that we are about to get the best gift any of us could ever imagine.
Pick up one of the nativity figures. Invite the children to wonder what some of the emotions the different characters might have felt. Would Mary and Joseph have been excited? Happy? Could they have also been scared? (Sometimes parents feel many different emotions when their children are born.) What about the shepherds. Do they feel fear or surprise? If there is an angel in the nativity, what sort of feeling are they expressing?
We don’t know exactly how those who saw the newborn Jesus would have felt, though Luke says the shepherds returned to their homes filled with praise. Later, when he was facing a very difficult time, the apostle Paul learned that he could find joy by knowing that God was always with him. That gave him peace even in a hard time of life, and it is a good reason for all of us to rejoice. Invite them to say the Philippians verse with you, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice,” and close with a prayer rejoicing in God’s love for each of us.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 16, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Joice Again! by Tom Willadsen -- Rejoice! I can’t hear you, rejoice!! Joice again. “Joice” isn’t a verb in English, but “rejoice” is. Oh, and rejoicing is commanded. Just take a look at the Philippians reading.
- Second Thoughts: Three Easy Answers by Dean Feldmeyer -- On the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy, Luke reminds us that true joy comes not from the things we accumulate but from living the good life.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin and Ron Love
- Worship resources by George Reed that focus on rejoicing in the midst of systemic sin; excess.
- A Time to Rejoice Children’s sermon by Chris Keating -- It’s time to rejoice! Jesus will be born soon, and we can be happy that the world will be filled with signs of God’s love.
by Tom Willadsen
Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7
The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, after the first words of the Latin mass for this day, “Gaudete in Domino semper” (”Rejoice in the Lord always”), which comes from Philippians 4:4-5. [Google can make anyone pass as a Latin scholar!] So why should we rejoice, joice again? There’s still eight more shopping days. Well, there’s restoration, the Lord’s promise to be in our midst…and even John the Baptizer’s message with its clear (though not easy to follow) instructions may make a person joy-filled. There’s a road map to joicing, even for the most notoriously corrupt professions. That might even be hope stronger than cynicism.
In The News
In our current climate of fear, suspicion and distrust of the media, cynicism is a comfortable response. “They’re all crooks!” we say of politicians. Don’t like what news is reporting? Not to worry, it’s all fake news anyway. Neither side is innocent, they’re all bums!
Last summer following the death of a protester in Charlottesville, Virginia, by a white supremacist, our president remarked, “…hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” And that there are “many fine people on both sides.” Somehow this lacked the comfort of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney singing precisely the same sentiment 35 years ago on “Ebony and Ivory.”
If everybody twists facts and makes up data to support their own biases and world view, the sensible thing to do is simply ignore them all. Nothing will ever change.
The surge in activism following the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in February did not lead to the election of legislators likely to toughen gun laws. Regular mass shootings are just the price we have to pay for freedom.
Was that judge appointed by my predecessor? He’s corrupt, flawed and incompetent.
Latest study showing global warming is caused by human activity, accelerating faster than anyone had predicted and already affecting communities and food production? Nah, I just disagree with the conclusions.
Find that drummer who’s pounding out the rhythm you want to march to and ignore everything else. These issues are complicated; isn’t it just better to ignore all the different viewpoints because no one tells the truth?
In The Bible
There’s a remarkable thing happening in the gospel lesson for today: the people listen to the preacher, in this case John the Baptizer, and ask what they can do. Think a little here. Name another prophet, or prophetic figure in the Bible whose words were accepted and heeded. The only one that comes to my mind is Jonah, the prophet who went in the opposite direction when God called, who slept through a tempest, who got vomited up on shore after being in the belly of the big fish, then went and spoke one sentence to Nineveh, then waited on a nearby hill to watch the fireworks. But wait…the Ninevites repented! Even their farm animals put on burlap! They were spared! The Lord was merciful! Okay, so Jonah was a little steamed about that, but that’s the way it went. Nineveh was spared, Jonah was disappointed because God was merciful. Jonah was disappointed because he was successful! Oh, and while I’m on a roll, I’m pretty sure Jonah is the only book in the Bible that ends with a question: “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” [Jonah 4:11, NRSV]
“Teacher why do you always answer our questions with questions?
“What’s wrong with questions?”
Right, so back to John the Baptizer, he got the crowd’s attention by calling them a brood of vipers and implying that the only reason they were repenting at all is because someone warned them to. Judgment was coming, he told them. And there was no security in their pedigree.
But they did not run away; they did not withhold their pledges for next year as protest because of this personal message. They asked, “What then should we do?”
John gives them a road map, a recipe for repentance. Share. If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have a coat. If you have more food than you need, share. Then he is asked by two notoriously corrupt professions: tax collectors and soldiers. Here it’s jarring how different this scene is from the United States in the 21st century. No one says, “Not all tax collectors are criminals! Not all soldiers use their power to exploit people!” It’s accepted that these professionals are corrupt, that they take advantage of the people. Even the tax collectors and soldiers do not defend themselves. Note, John does not tell people not to pay taxes; he does not advise the tax collectors to quit their jobs, he merely says they should do their jobs ethically. He says the same thing about soldiers who appear to use their positions to bully and profit from their positions of authority.
This raises an interesting question: What professions are the most trusted in the United States? According to a Forbes, January 4, 2018 article, nurses are the most trusted profession in the United States. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed regard nurses as high or very high in honesty and ethical standards. Lobbyists, who finished last, were regarded this way by only 8% of respondents. Clergy finished in eighth place, out of 15, with 42% regarding them as high or very high in honesty and ethical standards. We were 1% behind judges. It appears that John the Baptizer had a fairly high score as well. Those who heard his message asked what they should do to avoid the coming wrath.
I’ll get to wrath in a minute. I want to break in here and share something that I’ve found helpful, a little acronym: NALT. It stands for “not all like that.” The next time you hear someone make a blanket condemnation of a group of people -- who hasn’t heard “Those people are all terrorists!”? -- try replying, “They’re not all like that.” I had a very satisfying encounter last month when I said, “The last Muslim I met was a caterer.” One reason this is disarming is that it implies one has actually met an individual in the group that has been disparaged en masse. Perhaps this will cause the person who shared this sentiment to ask in his heart, “Hmm, do I know any of those people, or am I basing my opinion on what I hear online?” As I said before, no one stepped forward and “NALTed” the tax collectors or soldiers; they were the lobbyists of first-century Palestine.
Okay, now wrath. The Book of Zephaniah is filled with wrath. Judgment and devastation were coming because the people were complacent. They were luke warm.
At that time I will search
Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who rest complacently on their dregs,
those who say in their hearts
“The Lord will not do good,
Nor will he do harm.” (Zephaniah 1:12-13, NRSV)
The dregs were the syrupy by-products of wine that had been strained, in contrasted to the lees. The prophet is telling the nations they are numb, groggy, indifferent. The fear of the Lord is not in them. They’re in trouble, but there’s still hope for those who repent and embrace humility. That’s the context of today’s joy-filled prophetic message, it’s the glimmer of hope, the possibility of joy in the face of the looming, severe judgment of the Lord. The stakes are high.
The rest of Zephaniah, all 46 other verses are about destruction, vengeance, devastation…really, really bad things. What the lectionary gives us this morning is the potential joy-filled denouement if they shape up and get humble.
In The Sermon
More than hope, there’s vindication in the prophet’s message.
The Lord, Zephaniah promises, will be in the midst of Israel…that phrase appears twice. We hear that same idea in the words of other prophets…Immanual…God-with-us. But more than that, God promises a military victory, a turning away from the humiliation that Israel had known in battle. “The Lord has turned away your enemies,” and “[the Lord] is a warrior who gives victory.” Some translations render the prophet’s words this way, “The accumulated sorrow of your exile will dissipate.” Isn’t that an arresting idea? The accumulated sorrow …will dissipate.” Hold onto those words. Imagine that God is speaking to you personally. What sorrows, or disappointments or even wounds do you carry every day? I know this was a word of comfort to the nation of Israel, but I want you to know, and feel and trust, that God loves you with that same renewing, intense, personal love.
But wait, it gets better…the prophet says, “God will rejoice (there’s our word again!) over you with gladness, and renew you with his love, [the Lord] will exult over you with loud singing.” These are powerful words, and it’s hard to get them to penetrate our defenses. God’s love is so strong that God delights in us. Do you ever think that God delights in you? Someone sent me an email -- and I expect you’ve gotten this one too, that says, “Your picture is on God’s refrigerator.” (Rejoice!) The prophet reminds us that God delights in us. Imagine, those of you who are parents, delighting in your children. In watching them grow and become independent and responsible for themselves. That’s the type of thing that fills God with delight and joy, bringing the people back home, gathering outcasts, removing our shame. And when we share our food, share our clothes and do our jobs ethically. God’s love is relentless and tenacious in calling us back to God. God’s love is revealed to us in the birth of Jesus. God-with-us -- Immanuel. And that love sent in Christ frees us to respond with an open and light heart to God’s desire for us to live as God’s children.
And then, we get a little bit more of John the Baptizer. He’s the one who came to point the people toward Christ, to guide the people toward hope. And he started a movement out there in the wilderness. People were coming from every direction to get baptized as a sign that they wanted to make a new beginning. Let me stress this -- it was the people who were striving to be faithful, the ones who took their faith seriously who were going out to be baptized. This was a movement of renewal from within.
Here’s what John said to them:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
And he told them that just being a descendant of Abraham, having the right pedigree didn’t mean a thing. The important thing, the only important thing was to live a life that showed that they had truly begun to live their faith in their daily lives. The stakes were very, very high, if they didn’t bear fruit they would be cut down like a tree and burned up. And the ax was right there ready to cut them down!
Okay, this got their attention; they asked what they should do. Share. If you have more than enough clothes, give some away. If you have more than enough food, do the same thing. Then he singled out tax collectors. Tax collectors were not a popular group in first century Palestine. Come to think of it, tax collectors aren’t a popular group in 21st-century United States. Maybe tax collectors have never been popular. But in this case, tax collectors were most likely Jews who had been hired by the Romans to collect the Roman taxes. They were seen as traitors to their own people -- and they had a reputation for charging too much tax and keeping the extra for themselves. The soldiers who had gone to John to be baptized -- they had a reputation for taking advantage of their authority to intimidate and extort money from people. Imagine a corrupt police department in the United States. Okay, so John spoke plainly and honestly to those groups who had reputations for corruption and told them to shape up. His presence was so strong and striking that people started to think that maybe he wasn’t the one preparing the way…maybe John was the messiah. Well, nuh-uh. John told about one who was coming who was more worthy and mightier, one who would clear the threshing floor -- that is gather the grain that has been harvested, and that the same one would burn up the chaff. This gets us back to the image of having one’s repentance bear fruit. It is a violent and even frightening set of images.
And then we heard these words: “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” Did the contrast startle you? Here’s John using dire words of warning…and it’s called “Good News.” It’s possible that Luke simply didn’t write down the parts that we would consider to be good news. Maybe there’s something else here, perhaps you see a word of hope. That is, that we can still repent. There is still time. Yes, the stakes are high; yes, the consequences are dire and real. Yes, God demands repentance that really does make a difference to the people around us. That true religion is not just what we say, but what we do. John is giving people instruction in how to live in light of the coming of the Christ.
The Christ is coming. God hasn’t given up on humanity, or forgotten us, or abandoned us, or forsaken us…the prophets have been telling us that God is weary with our lack of faith…but God is loving and patient still.
So there’s still time to put down the heavy burden of sorrow or disappointment that we carry with us. There’s still time to accept the freedom and new life that God offers us everyday -- freedom and new life that we celebrate in this season.
Here’s the hardest thing about Christmas: accepting that the Good News is really for each of us. That God did an amazing, crazy thing in sending a baby to show us the depth of God’s love. And that love is a gift to every single person. That love is Good News... news that there is still time. As scripture says, “The proof of God’s amazing love is this: while we were still sinners, God sent Christ into the world.” That’s the proof, and tomorrow, right here, we will celebrate the birth of that truth. So rejoice! Joice again! Amen.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Three Easy Answers
by Dean Feldmeyer
Luke 3:7-18
“Sing loud!” says Zephaniah (3:14)
“Shout aloud and sing for joy!” says Isaiah (12:6)
“Rejoice in the Lord!” Says Paul to the Philippians (4:4)
“Repent!” says John the Baptizer. (Lk 3: 7-18)
Wait! What?
Everyone is so happy this week. Why does Luke, via John the Baptizer, have to throw in such a downer? Threatening, cursing, warning, ridiculing. Brood of vipers, indeed!
But maybe there’s more, here, than meets the eye. Maybe Luke is giving us some good news but he’s couching it in terms of faithful living.
In The News And Culture
In his novel, Needful Things, Stephen King offers a brilliant, instructive, parable for our times.
Kindly, gentle, old Leland Gaunt comes to the little town of Castle Rock, Maine, and opens a new “curiosity and gift shop” called Needful Things. Curiously, anyone who enters his store finds the object of his or her lifelong dreams and desires: a prized baseball card, a healing amulet. In addition to a token payment, Gaunt requests that each person perform a little “deed,” usually a seemingly innocent prank played on someone else from town. These practical jokes cascade out of control and soon the entire town is doing battle with itself. Only Sheriff Alan Pangborn suspects that Gaunt is not just a kindly old man but the force behind the population's increasingly violent behavior, behavior that doesn’t abate until the citizens come to an understanding of the difference between what they want and what they need.
It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to realize that King’s Castle Rock is a rather transparent symbol for modern, American culture. We live in the midst of great excess, so much so that we often can no longer tell the difference in what we want and what we need.
A Snickers bar isn’t just a sweet treat; it’s a necessary reliever of hunger that keeps us from turning into an oddly aggressive Betty White. A pickup truck isn’t just a tool that is handy for light hauling; it’s the source of happiness and contentment such that the owner wants to sleep in the bed of the truck on Christmas night.
Americans throw away nearly half their food every year, waste worth roughly $165 billion annually.1
That’s, essentially, every other piece of food that crosses our path. Americans discard 40 percent of the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food. Consumers and restaurants are also to blame, preparing large portions that result in leftovers that often go uneaten.
Just a 15 percent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough to feed 25 million Americans annually. It also would lighten the burden on landfills, where food waste makes up the largest component of solid waste.
We watch “Man vs. Food” and laugh as, every week, a man sits down at the biggest meal he can find and tries to eat it all. That’s it. He just eats and we watch.
We laugh and shake our heads at a $5-million bra made of diamonds and jewels.
We snicker at the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book that offers a life-size likeness of yourself made of Legos, or a portrait of yourself in chocolate syrup. How about a two-man submarine? A backyard waterpark? If you have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to burn, all of these delights could be yours. And, yes, people actually buy them.
And weddings! Don’t get me started! “According to Condé Nast’s American Wedding Survey, the average American wedding cost $28,082, for a grand total of about $161 billion spent on tooth whitening, personalized M&Ms, monogrammed bridesmaids’ tracksuits, favors for every guest, and, of course, plastic surgery to look perfect on Your Most Special Day. It’s no longer enough to throw a nice party with good food for your nearest and dearest -- nowadays, if you don’t have a second dress for the reception, a horse-drawn carriage to transport you to the ceremony, a midnight milk-and-cookies bar, and a Sadducees, decorated with $10,000 worth of Peruvian orchids, you might as well accept that your entire marriage is doomed to fail.”2
Okay, point made. We, Americans, live and work and love and thrive in a land of excess and, often, we don’t even realize how excessively we are living.
In The Scripture
So, John the Baptizer is doing his “baptism thing” (Jesus Christ, Superstar) and he looks around and it suddenly strikes him that a bunch of the folks who have come down, today, to see what he’s about are not the poor and the powerless people (most of the population if you want to know the truth) who usually show up at his services. No, today, we are being honored by the presence of power people: Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, priests, centurions. Cream of the crop types.
So, not to let an opportunity go by, John levels his withering gaze upon them.
“You brood of vipers!” Although it was probably more like, “You brooooooooooooood of vipers!”
And, then, he’s off -- “What makes you think that you can escape the wrath of God by coming down here and going through the motions of repentance, doing religious stuff like you really mean it when we all know that you don’t. And don’t give me that ‘We’re children of Abraham’ routine. You think Abraham will save you? Ha! YHWH doesn’t need you! YHWH can make children of Abraham from this rock!”
He’s on a roll, now.
“God’s getting ready to thin this forest that God calls Israel. The ax is sharpened and poised at the roots of the trees that aren’t producing good fruit. They’re going to be cut down and thrown into the fire!”
And then, just as he’s really getting into it, something strange happens.
Someone in the crowd says, rather sheepishly, I think: “What should we do?”
“What?”
“Uh, what should we do if we don’t want to be cut down and thrown into the fire?”
“Really? You want to do something? You’re serious?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, if I’m doing it wrong, tell me how to do it right, okay?”
“Oh, well, okay. Okay, first, share.”
“Share?”
“Yes. Remember kindergarten? Just like that only bigger. If you have two coats and your neighbor doesn’t have any, share one of your coats with your neighbor. You can’t wear both of them at the same time, after all. So share one with the person who needs one.”
“Okay, share. Out of my excess. Good. What else? What about us tax collectors?”
Now this was a particularly despised group so everyone thinks that John is going to lower the boom on them. They were Jewish lackies of the occupying, repressive Roman government. Collaborators! And they got rich by cheating people when they came around to collect the taxes. So people can’t wait to hear what John’s going to say to them. And here’s what he says. You ready?
“Don’t cheat people.”
That’s it. “When you collect the taxes, collect only the proscribed amount which includes your commission. Don’t take any more than that.”
“Oh, okay.”
Someone in the back. A soldier. “What about us?” (Really! A Roman soldier! This is too good.)
“Well,” says John. “You know, how the law allows you to compel a citizen to carry your pack or shield for a mile when you’re on the march?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Well, let a mile be the end of it. Don’t make the poor schlep carry it further than a mile. After that, find someone else.”
“Oh, okay.”
So, does everyone have it? Three easy answers:
- Share.
- Don’t cheat.
- Don’t be a bully.
In The Pulpit
Writing for the pop culture web site, Care 2.com, in 2011, Allison Ford and Divine Caroline conclude their piece about American excess with this paragraph:
“America may be the Land of Plenty, but seeing a restaurant serve chocolate cake topped with twenty-four-karat edible gold leaf suggests that we’ve turned into the Land of Slightly Too Much. Any one of these obnoxious displays of our nation’s wealth and security should give us pause and make us think about those in the world who’d be grateful for our table scraps. Surely, many immigrants would love to come to this country to make a better life for their families by working hard year after year until they, too, can achieve the American dream and buy their teenage daughter a Brazilian wax and her own petting zoo. U.S.A. #1!”3
John the Baptizer probably would have agreed. After all, most of us have lots of “coats.” And maybe, just maybe, there is some real joy to be found in sharing.
1 Reuters, Food Waste: Americans Throw Away Nearly Half Their Food, $165 Billion Annually, Study Says Oct 21, 2012.
2 Ford, Allison and DivineCaroline, 8 Shocking Signs of American Excess care2.com
3 Ibid.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Luke 3:7-18
Joy vs. Anger
This is the Advent Sunday dedicated to joy, but John the Baptist is more angry than joyful. He sees the systems of corruption around him, and he uses his anger to move people toward change. Quaker writer and leader Parker Palmer says that he is so often angry about the evil around him that a friend recently gave him a t-shirt emblazoned with one the phrase “One Mean Quaker.” Even on a Sunday dedicated to joy, we can learn from our anger, and learn to use it the way John the Baptist does.
Palmer says, “Occasionally, I’m taken to task by people who regard anger as a spiritual flaw to be eliminated. But I beg to differ: When something is morally wrong, it does more harm than good to put a spiritually positive spin on it. Whitewashing in the name of God doesn’t improve the world -- it discredits religion as yet another source of delusion… I agree with those who say that forgiveness is key to carrying on, and I love Anne Lamott’s quip that, “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.” But forgiveness, I’ve discovered, is not always mine to give.”
He adds, “I know that anger has the potential to harm the person who’s angry, and others in his or her orbit. But three deep dives into depression have taught me that anger buried under piosity poses more threats to my well being -- and that of those around me -- than anger expressed non-violently. Repressed anger is dangerous. Anger harnessed as an energy we can ride toward new life for all concerned is redemptive.”
Perhaps in the same spirit that fueled John the Baptist, Palmer says, “I want to ride the energy of anger toward work that brings citizens together in life-giving live encounters.”
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
Truth
“You brood of vipers” is John’s greeting to the religious leaders who have come out to see what he’s up to. No doubt they weren’t used to hearing that very often! John is nothing if not truthful, laying out the facts as he sees them without holding back. Author Elizabeth Lesser says that truth became an important commodity for her when her sister was ill. Her sister needed a bone marrow transplant, and it turned out that Elizabeth was a perfect match. As she tells it, “My sister and I had a long history of love, but we also had a long history of rejection and attack, from minor misunderstandings to bigger betrayals. We didn't have the kind of the relationship where we talked about the deeper stuff; but, like many siblings and like people in all kinds of relationships, we were hesitant to tell our truths, to reveal our wounds, to admit our wrongdoings.” In that context, she felt they needed more than medicine for the body. “But when I learned about the dangers of rejection or attack, I thought, it's time to change this. What if we left the bone marrow transplant up to the doctors, but did something that we later came to call our "soul marrow transplant?" What if we faced any pain we had caused each other, and instead of rejection or attack, could we listen? Could we forgive? Could we merge? Would that teach our cells to do the same?”
To get at the truth of the past, the two sisters went to therapy together. “People have said I was brave to undergo the bone marrow harvest, but I don't think so. What felt brave to me was that other kind of harvest and transplant, the soul marrow transplant, getting emotionally naked with another human being, putting aside pride and defensiveness, lifting the layers and sharing with each other our vulnerable souls. I called on those midwife lessons: uncover your soul. Open to what's scary and painful. Look for the sacred awe.” The process brought them unexpected blessings. “My sister said the year after transplant was the best year of her life, which was surprising. She suffered so much. But she said life never tasted as sweet, and that because of the soul-baring and the truth-telling we had done with each other, she became more unapologetically herself with everyone. She said things she'd always needed to say. She did things she always wanted to do. The same happened for me. I became braver about being authentic with the people in my life. I said my truths, but more important than that, I sought the truth of others.”
Lesser says we can all do this, John the Baptist style, all the time. Eventually, the treatments ran out for her sister, and she died of her illness. Lesser says, “My sister left me with so many things, and I'm going to leave you now with just one of them. You don't have to wait for a life-or-death situation to clean up the relationships that matter to you, to offer the marrow of your soul and to seek it in another. We can all do this. We can be like a new kind of first responder, like the one to take the first courageous step toward the other, and to do something or try to do something other than rejection or attack. We can do this with our siblings and our mates and our friends and our colleagues. We can do this with the disconnection and the discord all around us. We can do this for the soul of the world.” We can let John the Baptist lead us into a deeper relationship with the truth.
***
Luke 3:7-18
New Ways to Worship God in the Desert
John the Baptist draws people out to the wilderness to proclaim his message of repentance, telling them to seek God in new ways. Similarly, the people of Paradise, California, are finding new ways to worship, after the recent fires destroyed many church buildings in town. Even where the church building is still standing, “face the same harsh reality as the rest of Paradise; the vast majority of their pastors, staff, and congregation have lost their homes.” Now they have to answer the same question that John the Baptist is posing to the people around him: how to worship God apart from the buildings and the familiar structure. “After last week’s evacuation, church leaders spent the past several days checking in on families, coordinating an overwhelming wave of relief supplies, and rethinking what ministry will look like in the short-term. “Our church is spread out all over California and the surrounding states. That’s been the hardest part because being the shepherd, you now have no idea where your people are even at,” said Josh Gallagher, pastor of Paradise Alliance Church. He left Paradise last Thursday, initially for a shelter at Neighborhood Church in Chico. He later learned that his family had lost their home, along with 18 of 21 families on the church’s staff--a proportion that corresponds with the degree of loss across the community.”
Pastor Josh Gallagher says that what happened in Paradise will challenge his congregation for years to come. Just as John the Baptist calls people to a new way of being faithful, the fire left behind the same challenge. “One of our city representatives was able to meet with FEMA, and he shared that conversation with me. They said, “We’ve never seen an entire city completely wiped out like this.” They said that for the best chance of reviving this city, the faith community needs to be engaged moving forward because the faith community is where people find belonging, they find acceptance, they find hope…I feel like God has given us an opportunity to experience revival on a church-wide level, but also a community-wide level. He’s put all of the churches in Paradise, not just ours, at the center of that revival. I would say, pray for revival -- in a spiritual sense, absolutely, but also in an economic sense, in a building sense, across relationships, all of it.”
Being in the desert, in an empty place, in a place of deep grief, leads us toward God in different ways.
* * * * * * * * *
From team member Ron Love:
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
God / Worship & Respect / God of Salvation / God who is Near
Boston had been under siege for nine months by the British and the commander of the colonial forces was journeying to Cambridge to break the impasse. Though three frontal assaults by the Red Coats were recently repelled at Breed’s Hill, mistakenly recorded as Bunker’s Hill, the coastal city still remained in possession of King George.
As the general journeyed north, a lesser known yet more significant development occurred by legislative fiat, far surpassing the victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Both the New York and Massachusetts legislatures wrote congratulatory letters to General George Washington, addressing him as “His Excellency.” This became his official title throughout all the colonies for the remainder of the war. Less imposing than “His Majesty,” as one would approach a king, it still carried the hallmarks of European elitism. Semi-royal status was bestowed upon the designated sovereign of the American Revolutionary War.
The war was won, a constitution ratified, and it came the day before the inauguration and the issue arose: how was the new President of the United States to be addressed? Should the first president continue to be hailed as “His Excellency,” known for this throughout the war years? John Adams, the presiding officer over the senate and a man of great vanity, desired to keep with European formalities advocated, “His Highness.” Washington refused such high-mindedness as unfitting for a democratic state that purposely separated itself from royalty, and settled for the more subdued “Mr. President.” It was a simple enough title, but he reasoned it would acquire dignity and respect.
“His Excellency.” “His Highness.” “Mr. President.” All three are titles with very distinct meanings and implications. Interchangeable they are not. If George Washington would have adhered to the advice of his vice-president, the occupant of the Oval Office would be viewed much differently today, not only by the citizens of our own nation but by foreign dignitaries.
* * *
Philippians 4:5; Luke 3:18
Lord is Near / Preach the Good News
Mark Scandrette is the executive director of ReIMAGINE, which is a center for spiritual formation located in San Francisco. He also developed the program called “Jesus Dojo,” which is a yearlong intensive process of spiritual formation inspired by the life of Jesus. He discusses this practice in his book titled, Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love, which was published in June 2011.
In Japanese, the word dojo means “place of the way.” We may be most familiar with the word as the arena in which the martial arts are practiced, but it can also refer to a sewing group or any other meaningful gathering where people come together to learn.
The purpose of the “Jesus Dojo” is to prevent an individualistic approach to spiritual development, instead allowing spiritual development to take place in a community setting. The “Jesus Dojo,” according to Scandrette, is a community that practices living by the teachings of Jesus. The group consists of people who are willing to commit the time and energy to transform their lives into the image of Jesus. Then, as a group, they emerge from the dojo to bless the world that they have been entrusted with.
In his book Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus, published in 2007, Scandrette wrote, “It may actually be more healthy to be disturbed, confused, or searching than confident, certain, and secure.” He also wrote in that volume, “Fragile creatures we are, and not always good and reliable containers for divine goodness and wisdom.”
* * *
Philippians 4:5; Luke 3:18
Lord is Near / Preach the Good News
On February 24, 1742, Peter Bohler gathered a group of Moravians who would sail to the American colonies. There they would establish a settlement in what became known as Bethlehem in Pennsylvania. Once in Bethlehem they first began their missionary work to the black slaves and American Indians. Since they had to cross the Atlantic Ocean to settle in Bethlehem, the Moravians became known as the “sea congregation.”
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
Deliverance / Restoration / God’s Authority
President Ronald Reagan, who took office in 1981, always enjoyed telling this story. It is an apocryphal tale that reflected his outlook on life.
There were once two identical twins. They were alike in every way but one. One was a hope-filled optimist who only ever saw the bright side of life. The other was a dark pessimist, who only ever saw the down side in every situation.
The parents were so worried about the extremes of optimism and pessimism in their boys that they took them to the doctor. He suggested a plan. “On their next birthday give the pessimist a shiny new bike, but give the optimist only a pile of manure.”
It seemed a fairly extreme thing to do. After all the parents had always treated their boys equally. But in this instance. they decided to try the doctor’s advice.
So, when the twins next birthday came around, they gave the pessimist the most expensive, top of the line racing bike a child has ever owned. When he saw the bike his first words were, “I’ll probably crash and break my leg.”
To the optimist, they gave a carefully wrapped box of manure. He opened it, looked puzzled for a moment, then ran outside screaming, “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s just gotta be a pony around here somewhere!”
* * *
Philippians 4:5
Lord is Near
Samuel Langhorn Clemons is better known to us by his pen name Mark Twain. Four years after his birth, in 1839, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a thriving port city. It was from this locale along the banks of the Mississippi River that Clemons became enamored with the mighty river and the steamboats that traveled to and fro. At the age of 17 he left home for St. Louis to work as a newspaper reporter. However, the siren call of the river never parted from his ears, so pursuing his passion he secured his river pilot’s license in 1858. With the outbreak of the Civil War river trade was no longer profitable and Clemons returned to his other ardor, writing.
Clemons wrote a humorous travel story and elected to sign his name to the article as Mark Twain, the name under which he wrote thereafter. Mark Twain was adopted from a term frequently used and heard by riverboat captains. The minimum depth of the water needed for a boat to pass unobstructed was 12 feet, or two fathoms. “Twain” was slang for two. “Mark” referred that the depth had been measured. When the helmsman heard the cry “Mark Twain” he knew the river passage was safe for further navigation.
As many of us have read the books by Samuel Clemons we know the name on the title page of Mark Twain is most appropriate. The books are equally as lighthearted as challenging, causing one to think and question preconceived notions. The writing style coupled with the story provides for easy passage from page to page.
* * *
Luke 3:7
Brood of Vipers / Wrath / Judgment
The Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, similar to many evangelical and non-denominational Protestant denominations today, sought to control their constituency through the fear of hell and damnation. To render obedience to the Pope a parishioner would give monetary gifts or perform specified acts of service, and in turn be rewarded with an indulgence. For each indulgence acquired, incarceration in Purgatory was lessened by a day. Pope Urban IV, who reigned from 1261 to 1264, granted an indulgence of thirty days to any individual who would add the name of Jesus to the Hail Mary, or would either bow the head or bend the knee every time he/she heard the name of Jesus spoken. Pope Sixtus V, on July 2, 1587, granted an indulgence of fifty days by responding to “Praise be to Jesus!” with the answer, “Forevermore,” or “Amen.” Pope Benedict XIII, reigning from 1724 to 1730, granted the same number of days to anyone who pronounced the name of Jesus reverently. Pope Pius X, on October 10, 1904, offered the greatest gift of all when he dictated as often as a patron invoked the name of Jesus and Mary together, he/she would be the recipient of a papal indulgence of 300 days. The repetitious reciting of the name of Jesus coupled with the perpetual bobbing of heads, begs the question if anything else of substance was ever accomplished. This, of course, is very Pharisaical; a legalism Jesus adamantly opposed since it does nothing to care for the widows and orphans, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and liberate those who are oppressed.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
Rejoice / Lord is Near
George Savile (1633-1695), an English statesman and author, wrote, “The invisible thing called a Good Name is made up of the breath of numbers that speak well of you.” The multitude of great things that have been associated with the name of Jesus goes unopposed. It is a name that must reside constantly upon our lips.
Since childhood Lydia Baxter was bedridden with a debilitating disease. One of the activities she enjoyed the most, passing hours of solitude, was to be a student of the Bible. When friends came to visit they would conduct contests and quizzes as to who might be the most biblically knowledgeable. One of the games that Lydia most enjoyed was the interpretation of names and their spiritual implication. She would be forthright in her rendition: Samuel means “asked of God,” Hannah is “grace,” Sarah is called “princess,” and Naomi “pleasantness.” But, of course, the name she esteemed the most was Jesus.
She attached special significance, as well she should, to that name. During difficult times she would share, “I have a very special armor. I have the name of Jesus. When the tempter tries to make me blue or despondent, I mention the name of Jesus, and he can’t get through to me anymore.”
In 1870, at the age of 61, four years prior to her death, she wrote a hymn on the beauty of that name. The hymn became the staple of Dwight L. Moody’s evangelistic rallies. It is a hymn that is still sung in our sanctuary with passion for the calmness and reassurance it disseminates. The hymn is “Take The Name of Jesus With You.” With a peaceful calm we sing, “Take the name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and woe; it will joy and comfort give you -- Take it, then where’er you go.”
* * *
Luke 3:18; Luke 3:8
Evangelism / Bear fruits worthy of repentance
With sanctimonious pride the token was boldly laid upon the table of our Lord. The candidate was indeed deemed worthy to receive the sacrament of forgiveness. Having been previously visited by the church elders with an accompanying inquisition into the worthiness of the patron’s soul, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper could be received at Seceder Church in Ireland. It was the annual observance of the service that focused on the solemnity of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Only the pure in heart were welcome to participate. The days previous were always approached by communicants with trepidation and fear. Who would want to be damned as ignoble, condemned to remain seated with the scourging eyes of the righteous are fixed upon the hideous ones.
Things changed in May of 1809 with one bold act of refutation. Alexander Campbell, a student at the University of Glasgow, placed his esteemed token on the altar before the clergy arose and walked out, renouncing his allegiance to the Church of Scotland and all institutionalized religions.
In September of that year he arrived in America where he partnered with his father Thomas in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to establish a religious community absent of creeds and hierarchy. Each individual was granted the liberty to interpret the Bible as he/she best understood it. Their motto became, “Where the scriptures speak, we speak. Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.” Their goal was to restore unity among the sects. “Let unity be our polar star,” became the mantra for a universal Christian community.
This began the early nineteenth-century “Restoration Movement” in America. One outcome of this endeavor was the establishment of the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, derogatorily called Campbellites in one era. Like most denominations it has since lost the vision of the founders Thomas and Alexander Campbell, but be assured that one need not approach the altar of Christ this day with a token in hand. In the spirit that blest the original adherents, let us always adulate its pioneering principle: “Christians only, but not the only Christians.”
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
Wrath / Judgment
The absence of Jesus from secular writings during the first century is reflective of his small role on the contemporary scene. Though, Jesus as the Christ, his celebrity did not go entirely unnoticed. Josephus, a Hebrew, who was contracted by Rome to write a history of the Jews, described the death of James as “the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.” (Ant 20.9.1)
Two Roman historians provide additional affirmation. Suetonius mentions public disturbances instigated by a Chrestus forced the hand of Emperor Claudius. Suetonius specifically wrote: “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.” (Life of Claudius 25.4) The translation is unclear if this is in reference to Gentile Christians or a Jewish Christian; in either case it is an acknowledgement of the use of the title Christ among members of the church. The word Chrestus shows how little understanding the Romans first had regarding Jesus and the church. The word “Chrestus” meaning “excellent” was sometimes scribed for “Christ” which means “anointed.”
Roman historian Tacitus reports that Christus, the one from whom Christians take their name, how Jesus suffered death at the hands of Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Tacitus wrote his passage reflecting on how Nero blamed the Christians for the great fire in Rome on July 19, 64. The fire, by the way, was started by Nero himself to distract the populace from their economic depravity and the opulent spending of his administration. Incriminating the Christian community was meant to divert political attention from the real culprit. Tacitus historical account reads: “Hence to suppress the rumor, he fastened the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.” (Annals 15.44.4) This again attests that the understanding of the presence of one who was known as Christ was prevalent, but not prominent.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6
God / Worship & Respect /God of Salvation / God who is Near
Iesous Christos is Jesus Christ in Greek. Through the eons of time the title of Christ acquired symbolic significance. His name was often abbreviated in art monograms as IC or XC. The Chi-Rho symbol, explicitly displayed on the stained-glass windows at Central United Methodist Church, is derived from the first two letters for Christ in Greek. It is the symbol that Constantine saw in the heavens in 312 before leading his troops to victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, the engagement which secured his empire. It is avowed to be the moment of his conversion experience and the forerunner to the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.
Prior to the Guttenberg Press and movable type transcribing by hand was inexorably time consuming and the cost of printing prohibitive. Therefore, Christ was abbreviated as Xt or simply X, and Christian as Xn. “Xmas” has not taken Christ out of Christmas, only our lack of historical understanding has demonized a symbol once commonly employed.
XOXOXOXO. Hugs and kisses, perhaps accentuated with a pink Cupid sticker. A touching way to sign a letter to our precious beloved; but, it is sorrowful to dilute the real meaning of sincere, committed and covenantal love with such shallowness. Through most of history illiteracy prevailed, even to the extent that an individual could not even write one’s own name. To secure a legal document the signer would instead pen an X, sealing the document in the name of Christ. Then, in reverence, the individual would kiss the X. In time the kiss was substituted by encircling the mark. The next time you sit down to write a love letter, allow the significant other know that XOXOXO goes beyond the reaches of hugs and kisses, for the words in this correspondence are sealed in the name of Christ.
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Surely God, our God, is our salvation.
People: We will trust, and will not be afraid.
Leader: God is our strength and our might.
People: God has become our salvation.
Leader: With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.
People: Give thanks to God, call on God’s name.
OR
Leader: Rejoice! Rejoice in the love and presence of our God.
People: We sing with joy because we are loved eternally.
Leader: Open you hearts and lives to God’s joyful Spirit.
People: We welcome God’s Spirit that brings joy and peace.
Leader: Share God’s joy and love with all God’s children.
People: As we have received we will share with all.
Hymns and Songs: (Several carols included for those who need them.)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Especially the chorus)
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELA: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT: 225
Rejoice, the Lord Is King
UMH: 715/716
H82: 481
PH: 155
NCH: 303
CH: 699
LBW: 171
ELA: 430
W&P: 342
AMEC: 88/89
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELA: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice
UMH: 224
H82: 107
PH: 28
NCH: 129
CH: 164
LBW: 55
ELA: 288
W&P: 198
Joy to the World
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
ELA: 267
W&P: 179
AMEC: 120
STLT: 245
Pues Si Vivimos (When We Are Living)
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
ELA: 639
W&P: 415
Dona Nobis Pacem
UMH: 376
H82: 712
CH: 297
ELA: 753
STLT: 388
Renew: 240
He Has Made Me Glad (I Will Enter His Gates)
CCB: 3
Shine, Jesus, Shine
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created with love and joy:
Grant us the grace to find true joy in our lives
even as we struggle with sin and excess;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for the love and joy with which you created. Help us to find the joyful love in our lives in the face of sin and excess. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to find the true joy that God offers us.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We turn away from the true joy that God offers us through communion with God and with God’s children. Instead we try to find it in things that do not bring joy at all. We use others and we gather things. We buy the latest gadgets hoping they will make our lives better but they just distract us from God even more. Open our eyes, O God, and help us to see that you are the source of all true joy. Help us to focus on our relationship with you so that we can share joy and love with others. Amen.
Leader: God wants us to be joyful. God delights in being part of our lives. Receive God’s presence and find the joy God intended for you. Then share that joy with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory be to you, O God, the One who brings joy to all creation. You created out of love and we rejoice in that love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We turn away from the true joy that God offers us through communion with God and with God’s children. Instead we try to find it in things that do not bring joy at all. We use others and we gather things. We buy the latest gadgets hoping they will make our lives better but they just distract us from God even more. Open our eyes, O God, and help us to see that you are the source of all true joy. Help us to focus on our relationship with you so that we can share joy and love with others.
We give you thanks for all the ways you offer your joy to us. We thank you for the wonder of worship and the joy of music. We thank you for sending us Jesus who teaches us how to live joyfully in the midst of a world not yet fully redeemed.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children. We pray for those who find the troubles of life have blocked their sensing of the joy you offer them. We pray for ourselves to be more faithfully in sharing your joy with others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about getting ready for Christmas. Ask about activities they think they will participate in. Will these happen with other people or will they be alone. We celebrate with other people because that makes our joy even better. God loves to share our joy and to see us share it with others.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
A Time to Rejoice
by Chris Keating
Gather ahead of time:
Emotions chart (can be downloaded here.)
Nativity scene or picture of the nativity.
A pink candle (optional).
Traditionally, the third Sunday in Advent is known as “Gaudete Sunday.” Noted hymn writer and church musician Marty Haugen notes that the Latin name for this Sunday is derived from the beginning of the Philippians reading for this week: “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete,” (“Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, Rejoice!”). As our anticipation of Jesus’ birth grows, we rejoice for all of God’s gifts. Themes of rejoicing and joy are found in both the Epistle and Old Testament readings, and offer worship leaders a chance to help children identify and understand some of the many different emotions they may be experiencing as Christmas gets closer.
Children may need help naming emotions. One teaching tool can be an emotions chart, such as this one. I like this one because the images are simple and cartoonish. It names different ways that we experience feelings such as sad, angry, happy, sick, and so forth. It also avoids using lifelike faces so that children can see that emotions are universal and not associated only with a particular gender or race.
Feelings are neither bad or good; feelings just are. It’s okay to feel differently, but it can be helpful if children know how to put words to their feelings -- remember that this is an evolving developmental task which some children may understand better than others. Sometimes it is helpful to look at a chart like this so we can point to the face that describes how we are feeling at the moment.
Invite them to look at the Advent wreath (if your church doesn’t use an Advent wreath, invite them to look at the pink or rose-colored candle you have brought). Remind them that traditionally, Advent wreaths have four candles which are usually blue or purple, and one that is pink, and one in the center that is white. Can they remember why we light the pink candle on this Sunday, and the purple colors on other days?
Because Advent is a time of preparing for Jesus’ birth, we often think of “purple” as a royal color as well as a color symbolizing repentance (“saying we are sorry”). Asking for forgiveness is one way we prepare for Jesus to be born. As we wait, we also know our hearts are full of gladness! We sing fun songs, and put up pretty decorations. All of this is a reminder that Advent is also a time of feeling joyful.
Why do we rejoice? One reason could be that Christmas is a lot of fun and is very exciting. That certainly is true. But Christians rejoice in Advent because we know that we are about to get the best gift any of us could ever imagine.
Pick up one of the nativity figures. Invite the children to wonder what some of the emotions the different characters might have felt. Would Mary and Joseph have been excited? Happy? Could they have also been scared? (Sometimes parents feel many different emotions when their children are born.) What about the shepherds. Do they feel fear or surprise? If there is an angel in the nativity, what sort of feeling are they expressing?
We don’t know exactly how those who saw the newborn Jesus would have felt, though Luke says the shepherds returned to their homes filled with praise. Later, when he was facing a very difficult time, the apostle Paul learned that he could find joy by knowing that God was always with him. That gave him peace even in a hard time of life, and it is a good reason for all of us to rejoice. Invite them to say the Philippians verse with you, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice,” and close with a prayer rejoicing in God’s love for each of us.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 16, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
