“This Isn’t What We Expected!”

Here are my (belated) thoughts for the 4^th Sunday in Advent (19 December 2010). The Scriptures for this Sunday are Isaiah 7: 10 – 16, Romans 1: 1 – 7, and Matthew 1: 18 – 25.

As I noted in my piece for the 3^rd Sunday in Advent (“But Where Will we go?”) I am preaching next Sunday (26 December 2010) at Dover Plains UMC (Location of church); the title of the message will be “The True Gift of Christmas” instead of what I had previously announced. Service starts at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

There has been a constant discussion in our house lately about what it means to be a Christian. Is it enough to come on Sunday morning and nod appreciatively at what the pastor says? Or do you actually have to do something?

Lately, I have found myself doing more and listening less. The laws of physics still dictate that you cannot be in two places at the same time and we haven’t worked it out at my home church so that I can hear the Sunday morning services in the community room while I am serving breakfast. (As you know from early posts, my wife has started a feeding ministry on Saturdays and Sundays for the local children. On Sunday mornings, we hold the breakfast in the community room and anyone may have a breakfast, even if they are not a child. Because my wife teaches Sunday School, I get the task of watching the food and serving it. But it means that I don’t get to attend the first service and listen to the pastor; I do get to hear her message during the second service but I like hearing it twice when I can.)

But what I heard from one of the congregation who does attend the second service and had come early one Sunday morning bothered me. She asked if the food I was serving was for the “poor” people. My reply was that it was for all the people and there were no distinctions at this table. But her question/comment was atypical of many other comments that have been made about the viability of letting such people into our church.

Yes, we have had some visitors who have come and then stolen something. And we learned from those instances. We have also communicated to the people of the neighborhood and surrounding area that when these things happen, the attitude and air of trust has been broken. And it takes awhile to repair that trust.

I just wish the same could be said for those who call themselves Christians but then look upon others as not worthy of the same blessing they believe they have claimed. And it isn’t just in my church that I perceive this attitude.

I know of too many people who find solace and comfort in the words and preaching of Joel Osteen, Bennie Hinn, and all the other big-name, big-time, television-based preachers. They all preach a gospel of prosperity and dominion. They all imply in their words and actions that being a Christian is something special and that you will receive bountiful blessings from simply saying that you are a Christian.

We all know (or should know) that what they preach is a Gospel of the self and not the soul. It is a gospel that tells us Jesus will be a regal and royal king born in castle to people of privilege, not the son of a carpenter born in a stable. They expect Jesus to bring forth a kingdom where they have all the power and the ability to exclude those they feel are not worthy. Never mind where or how Jesus was born; they want a gospel message that doesn’t really exist.

Oh, they will get a king alright! Just like those who heard Isaiah’s word, they will receive a king but it will be the leader of an army that will destroy their world, not preserve it.

Ahaz was told that he could have just about anything that he wanted but he knew that one didn’t make demands like that on God. But the people today are quite willing to expect that God will give them anything they want, even if it is without reason or purpose. But why shouldn’t people believe this?

It isn’t just the television ministers that have done it; it is (and will continue to be) an outgrowth of what has been preached for some many years in the mainline and/or traditional churches. It is a message that was preached with and received with an attitude of “that’s fine for Sunday but don’t make me do it on Monday.” The people do not want to know that a child will be born who will lead them; the people do not want to know that a child will, as was stated in The Message, be able to make moral decisions for the people by the time he is twelve.

The people want the status quo, even when it means no hope, no promise for the future. And as they look around, in the darkness of this season of winter and Advent, all they see is darkness. There are no longer bright, smiling faces of the young to tell them there is a future. Those who would be the future of the church have left for other places, other venues where the message can be heard and told.

They know that the message of the present church is not the true message; they know that those who preach those words today are often time hypocrites in their own actions. This missing generation of church goers is willing to do the things that too many actual church goers do not want to even think about.

And when push comes to shove (or whatever euphemism you want to use), the modern day church member doesn’t do a thing. And one day, they look around and wonder what happened? They look around and exclaim that this isn’t what we expected. And they wonder what will happen next.

The story of Joseph as the husband-to-be of Mary is there for one reason. If Joseph had been left to his own choice, he could have abandoned Mary and no one would have though ill of him for doing so. But when it was explained to him what was to take place, he changed his course of action and stood by Mary. There isn’t a lot written about Joseph but he did what was expected of him and that should be enough for our story.

There are those of us who have the role that Joseph had, to play a part in the beginning but not necessarily the end. And sometimes we have to understand that ours is a minor role but one that is necessary for the completion of the mission. That was the role that Joseph had and one he understood.

Our role is expressed by Paul in his letter to the Romans. Not only are we to accept the gift that we will be given when Christ is born in Bethlehem, ours, like the shepherds and the wise men, is tell others what we have seen and what we have done. It may not be what we expected it to be but it is what we must do.

We can see Christmas as one day out of a year of days but then we have to ask ourselves why we have spent the last four weeks preparing for that one day. If we ignore these past four years, then Christmas will be nothing more than a single day of the year and we will get what we expected to get.

But if we take this time of preparation as it is meant to be, then we will find Christmas to be something that we didn’t expect. And it will mean all the difference in the world.

A Child Shall Lead Them

Here is the message I presented on the 1st Sunday after Christmas (26 December 2004) at Tompkins Corners UMC.  The Scriptures for this Sunday were Isaiah 63: 7 – 9, Hebrews 2: 10 – 18,  and  Matthew 2: 13 – 23.

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In a society where youth is emphasized over age, where the ultimate goal is youth, we tend to ignore the youth of this country. But we have always done this. Even in Jesus’ time, the children of society were second-class citizens, on par with the wild dogs that roamed the street. WhenJesus told his disciples to let the children come to him, he was going against the common perception of the role and place of children in the society.

Until John Wesley looked at the working conditions of the mines and factoriess of 18^th century England, children were looked upon as just additional workers in an early industrial society. We know that children as young as ten worked the same shifts as their fathers and mothers in the mills. Though I could not find any comments about the situation, I am sure that Wesley was appalled by this situation. It was, of course, this situation that lead him to create Sunday school as a way of reaching out to adults, youth, and children and bring them a few moments of time where they might learn the Gospel. The Sunday school of John Wesley quickly became the regular school that we employ today.

Throughout our history, we have marginalized our youth and today is no exception. Despite the fact that youthfulness seems to be a necessity for success, we give very little support to the success of the youth. Compare the amount of money spent on being young today with the amount of money spent on our schools. I would suspect that there is a major difference in these two amounts and the money spent on school is not the greater amount.

Against that backdrop, look again at the Gospel reading for today. In the Gospel reading for today, we read of the wise men leaving after their visit with Jesus, Mary and Joseph; but that part of the Gospel story doesn’t occur until next week. Still, this is an important part of the Christmas story because it tells of Herod’s reaction to the birth of Christ.

The wise men told him that they had come to his country to see the newborn king. He told them that he wanted to do so as well and commanded them to come back and tell him where the new child might be found. But, even then, his intentions were less than honorable and the wise men, as the Gospel will tell us next week, were told by an angel to take a different way home. Herod’s reaction to this was to order the murder of all male infants two years or younger.

Because the newborn Christ was a threat, Herod sought to erase all signs of Christmas. I sometimes wonder if that is not what society tries to do each year. We don’t mind Christmas but we want it to be a single moment in time or at best just a short season during the year. Once it is over, we want it eliminated until we need it again.

But Christmas can never be just a single moment in time or just a few short weeks during the year. God wanted Jesus to grow up in this world so that he would know this world. In the Epistle reading from Hebrews today, it is pointed out that if Jesus is to be our Savior, he had to be a part of our life.

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers’ in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”

And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again he says,

Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil –and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

If Christ was to have impact on our lives, he must be a part of our lives. We cannot trivialize what Christmas is or what it means. We cannot ignore a child who will later grow up to lead his people.

So, before we take down the Christmas tree and put up all the trimmings until we need them again, let us look and see if there is not one more present that we might have overlooked. Christ is our gift from God, a present to us to remind us of his love and care for us.

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is praised, according to all the Lord has done for us – yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.

He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior.

In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63: 7 – 9)

But unlike many presents that we get each year, this present is one that has to be used each day. But using this present means that we make Christ a part of our life. Each day we must keep in mind all that Christ is and we find that to be a very difficult task. No wonder it is much easier to only talk about Christ at Christmas.

Accepting Christ means that we regain our relationship with God and that means that we accept obedience to Him. When Christ speaks of following him, there are no alternatives.

“Man can never escape from obedience to God. A creature cannot but obey. The only choice given to me, as intelligent and free creatures, is to desire obedience or not to desire it. If a man does not desire it, he obeys nevertheless, perpetually, inasmuch as he is a thing subject to mechanical necessity. If he desire it, he is still subject to mechanical necessity, but a new necessity is added to it, a necessity constituted by laws belonging to supernatural things. Certain actions become impossible to him. Others are done by his agency, sometimes almost in spite of himself.

When we have the feeling that on some occasions that we have disobeyed God, it simply means that for a time we have ceased to desire obedience. (From Waiting For God by Simone Weil)

Joseph took his family to Egypt out of his obedience to God. Abraham took his family to the Promised Land without questioning God’s command to go. Neither one asked God what was there nor how they would survive. Our obedience to God has to be the same way. Faithful obedience to God allows him to work effectively in our lives, protecting us from dangers of which we may be unaware, and leading us into new and exciting opportunities we’ve never dreamed of.

We see Christmas as a brief moment in time, to serve as an escape from all the troubles of the world. But the problems don’t disappear. Christ came to save us from our most pressing problem – our sin. “Man’s greatest need is not for a new political or economic order. His primary problem is sin. He is alienated from God, bearing the burden of this guilt and loneliness, facing a frightening future. He needs to be liberated from the tyranny of his sins, reconciled to God, and given a hope that transcends the circumstances of his life. This is what the Gospel message is about.

We have a hard problem seeing the child Jesus as the grownup Jesus. But then we also have a problem relating to what the grownup Jesus will ask of us. But we know this. A group of shepherds had their lives changed because of an encounter with the baby in the manger; a group of wise men had their lives changed because of their encounter with an infant Jesus. Perhaps, our lives will change because we let a child lead us from Christmas to Easter and the ultimate gift of life.

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