Luke 2:1-20
“Close to Home: Invited Home”
Preached Friday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
Our Mission statement here at Grace is to invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community. And tonight, if you are worshipping with us either here in the pews or online, you have accepted that invitation. Accepted the invitation to worship together, to celebrate Christmas, to be surrounded by love and care this night.
Welcome. Welcome into this space, a space we know is physical for those here and a space that is intangible, a state of mind and heart and soul, for those joining us from afar. Tonight, wherever you may be, may you feel at home. Welcome home. May you find God here tonight. The God of Love, Emmanuel, God-with-us, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. May you wonder at the Christ-child. May you find joy. May you be part of a Christ-centered community. May you feel like this place here tonight is home.
And speaking of invitations: the Christmas story can actually be tracked in invitations extended and invitations accepted.
Zechariah and Elizabeth accept the angel's invitation to have a child, John, who would be the one to prepare people for the Messiah.
The crowds in the desert accept John's invitation to repent, be baptized, and change the way they treat each other to be more just and loving.
Mary accepts God's invitation to be the Mother of God, to accept the impossible, to bring God-with- us into the world.
And when there was no invitation for a hotel or a traditional room, someone, an unnamed person, invited Mary and Joseph into their space - maybe all they had to give, so that the Christ-child could be laid in a manger.
Due to an invitation, newborn Jesus had a place to rest his head. Christ is born. Merry Christmas.
The invitations, however, don't stop here. Angels appeared to shepherds in the field and invited them to come and see the Savior, the Messiah, a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. The shepherds accept the angel's invitation and are among the first to worship the Newborn king…but can you imagine Mary's face and reaction when the shepherds just showed up right after having given birth and wanting to see her baby? SHE didn’t extend the invitation. Mary, still bleeding, covered in bodily fluids, exhausted beyond comprehension, hormones flooding through her body , trying to get baby Jesus to just latch deeply, a first-time mom holding the son of God to her breast in a space that is already less than ideal and then these uninvited guests show.
Shepherds were not considered unclean in the ritual, religious sense but most likely were unclean in the physical, smelling like sheep literal sense. Shepherds were among the lowest workers and could have been men, women, or even children. And they might even have brought their sheep with them! Divine revelations don't wait for shift changes or stop at the pen to drop off the sheep first…
So there Mary is, in all her after-birth, post-partum glory and these uninvited shepherds, their sheep, and all the accompanying smells, noises, and crowd come pouring in.
Oi vey.
Now, the Little Drummer boy is not Biblical but the shepherds showing up reminds me of all the memes on this very subject: Basically the idea that Mary, exhausted, having just gotten baby Jesus to Sleep is approached by a young man who thinks to himself: what this girl needs is a drum solo.
(images)
And as one fairly new mom to another, I would not have faulted Mary for kicking that drummer boy out or, back to the Scriptures, to say to the shepherds and the sheep. What are you DOING here!?
The uninvited guests don't stop there either. Although not present at the birth, the magi, wise men, three kings - whatever name you would like to call them - show up at the home of Mary and Jesus. Strangers from strange lands - invited by a star - not by you - showing up at your doorstep.
And really, this uninvited guests thing is a huge point of the Christmas story
Because when you invite Jesus into your life, your home, your heart - expect Jesus to then invite others without checking with you first. When you invite Jesus into your heart or accept Jesus's invitation to know him - both, really - you lose all control of the guest list. Jesus tells us as much when he tells us that he came for the last, the lost, and the least. His ministry is focused on extending invitations to those who society leaves out.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that when we give the hungry food, when we give the thirsty a drink, when we see a stranger and welcome them in, when we give the naked clothes, when we visit the sick and the prisoner - we do these things to Jesus himself. When we welcome Jesus into our lives, we also welcome in the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and prisoner.
This Christmas as we welcome Jesus into this world and celebrate him in our homes, we are called to look towards the least, the last, and the lost. Christ truly invites ALL to his heavenly banquet table. We are also called to make our guests lists, our homes, our tables look more like Christ’s. This Christmas and beyond.
Knowing that uninvited guests show up at the nativity and in our lives when we invite Christ in, reminds us that we don't earn or deserve our spot on Jesus's invite list either. It's an invitation given not by merit, but by love. So this Christmas, let us all extend invitations of love - love to God, love to neighbor, love to all those whom Jesus came for, the last, the lost, and the least. Love to all. Period. There is the grace in knowing that none of us deserve our spots on the invite list - but they are given to us anyway, out of love. A love that God has for us that God came amidst great darkness, turmoil, stress - all the things of this world 2,000 years ago and our reality this night - God came in the midst of that to take on flesh, become human in the form of a newborn babe, God incarnate, God divine. Emmanuel. God with us. God loves us so much - that God came to Earth to invite us all home. Home with Jesus. This Christmas, you’re invited. Invited to know the love of God. So this Christmas, let’s extend that same invitation to all.
Merry Christmas. Amen.
Monday, December 27, 2021
Monday, December 20, 2021
"Close to Home: Seeking Sanctuary" a sermon on Luke 1:39-55
Luke 1:39-55
“Close to Home: Seeking Sanctuary”
Preached Sunday, December 19, 2021
This past Wednesday, bell hooks, prolific and profound feminist and womanist writer died at the age of 69. bell hooks wrote more than 30 about race, gender, religion, and class in ways that were both prophetic and deeply loving. While I encountered her work while in graduate school, her writing was accessible and jargon free. If you have not read any of her work, I highly recommend her to you and ask that you seek out her writings.
Her death is truly a loss for the world. The good news is that her work lives on in such titles as:
All About Love
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Communion: The Female Search for Love
Salvation: Black People and Love
When Angels Speak of Love
Just a few of her titles but you may have noticed a theme, yes, love.
bell hook’s writing was filled with love. Love for women, love for black women. Love too for men, black men, all men. Even in books where she deals with subjects of rage like the book “Killing Rage: Ending Racism” love undergirds all her writing. Love for self, love for others. That through lifting up the voices of women, of black people, and especially black women, all would find more room for love in their hearts and lives: Love that is not complacent with injustice, love that strives to end oppression, racism, sexism. That through the work of prophetic love, of speaking and writing truths, even hard truths, we all might come to be better, to do better, to love better.
On this Sunday that we light the candle of love, on this last Sunday of Advent, while we have been exploring the idea of home in worship and sermon series, “Close to Home” and while on this Sunday while many are missing the loving and prophetic voice of bell hooks I would like to quote her on the idea of homeplace in her book “Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics.”
The idea of home place is about Black people making homes for themselves. Homes for themselves where they could thrive and not just survive. Homes for themselves where they could be viewed as subjects not objects. Homes for themselves where they could seek sanctuary and refuge despite the racism, sexism, and hardship that the outside world would thrust upon them.
She writes, “the task of making a home place…. was about the construction of a safe place where black people could affirm one another and by doing so heal many of the wounds inflicted by racist domination. We could not learn to love or respect ourselves in the culture of white supremacy, on the outside; it was there on the inside, in that homeplace most often created and kept by black women, that we had the opportunity to grow and develop, to nurture our spirits.”
She goes on to write that by making the home a homeplace, a place of love, it also made the home a place of resistance. Resistance against a world that treats others as less than due to their race, gender, and class. Through the safe loving refuge, sanctuary, that homeplace provided, those who were loved and affirmed within its walls could work outside the walls for a world where all are loved and affirmed.
For, as bell hooks said elsewhere (paraphrase): Love is transformative and challenges us in both our civic and private lives. “Real love will change you.”
This idea of the home being a sanctuary for love and love spurring us to transform the world to end oppression are the same themes found in our Gospel reading this morning.
Our Gospel this morning picks up with two other women of color, Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant, seeking and creating homeplace together.
Mary had received news from the angel Gabriel that she was favoured by God and if she would consent, she would conceive and give birth to a Son, Son of the Most High! Holy Son! God’s Son! The Messiah. In this same news, she was also told that her cousin Elizabeth, through infertility and old age, had also conceived a child.
The text then says that Mary hurried - she went with great haste - to the house of Elizabeth. Like she got up from the angel talking to her and she went!
Why did she go? Did she go because she was afraid of how Joseph would react? Did she go because she needed the assurance and affirmation of Elizabeth? Likewise, did she want to offer assurance and affirmation to Elizabeth? Elizabeth who knew the pain of infertility, Elizabeth who herself may have been feeling the anxiety of her unlikely predicament…
I think it would be fair to say that the two women both needed each other. They needed to create a homeplace for the two of them and the unborn children in their wombs.
And so Mary “set out and went with haste…where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
When Elizabeth knows that Mary has come to her, to create a safe and loving place for them and their children, she and her child are overcome with joy. Filled with the Spirit. Filled with love in this space and the first thing she does is she blesses Mary - she gives her a blessing - blessed are you among women…You are blessed, you are welcomed her in the house, come, seek sanctuary here, here in this home where we have each other, where we can bless one another, love one another.
And Mary, having found the blessing, sanctuary, safe space and love that her soul needed, she starts singing a song, a song of praise for God, a song of love, AND a song that envisions a world of love for all:
“His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
Because Mary found a homeplace, a place of sanctuary, a place where she could be affirmed and loved, she then prays to God, envisioning a just world for all: for the lowly, the hungry, the poor. A world where the oppressor is brought down and the oppressed lifted up. A world where, as the prophet Micah says, “they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth…” for the Lord of Love and Peace has come.
Now, in our daily Advent devotional, one of the writers called Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, a protest song. And, it is a protest song because it is a song of love. And love, as bell hooks said, love changes our private and civic lifes. Love causes change and transformation because love means we can not be complacent with injustice. And that is what Mary sings about, what Mary prays to God about. Having found a place where she is loved and welcome as she is, pregnant, young, poor, unwed, a member of an oppressed people - she then envisions a world where all are loved and welcomed as they are. A protest against a world where that is not the case.
We’ve been using bell hooks word, homeplace. I would also offer up a word I’ve used several times, a more religious and familiar word to us: sanctuary.
I would define sanctuary not as 4 walls with an altar table and pews…I would define sanctuary as a place where love flourishes. For some, this is our homes. And still for others we know that homes are not a safe place. For some, it is the church, the literal sanctuary. And yet we know the sad truth that, again, for many church has not been a safe place. Sanctuary can be a place, a person, a state of mind.
Today I ask: where or who or how is your homeplace, your safe place, your sanctuary? Where is it where you feel entirely affirmed and loved, as you are. Where is it that love flourishes. Where is it that you become filled with the Holy Spirit - where you are led to bless others, where you are lead to envision a better world for all - to want all the world to know sanctuary - to know love - to know God’s love - and to flourish in that love?
“Close to Home: Seeking Sanctuary”
Preached Sunday, December 19, 2021
This past Wednesday, bell hooks, prolific and profound feminist and womanist writer died at the age of 69. bell hooks wrote more than 30 about race, gender, religion, and class in ways that were both prophetic and deeply loving. While I encountered her work while in graduate school, her writing was accessible and jargon free. If you have not read any of her work, I highly recommend her to you and ask that you seek out her writings.
Her death is truly a loss for the world. The good news is that her work lives on in such titles as:
All About Love
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Communion: The Female Search for Love
Salvation: Black People and Love
When Angels Speak of Love
Just a few of her titles but you may have noticed a theme, yes, love.
bell hook’s writing was filled with love. Love for women, love for black women. Love too for men, black men, all men. Even in books where she deals with subjects of rage like the book “Killing Rage: Ending Racism” love undergirds all her writing. Love for self, love for others. That through lifting up the voices of women, of black people, and especially black women, all would find more room for love in their hearts and lives: Love that is not complacent with injustice, love that strives to end oppression, racism, sexism. That through the work of prophetic love, of speaking and writing truths, even hard truths, we all might come to be better, to do better, to love better.
On this Sunday that we light the candle of love, on this last Sunday of Advent, while we have been exploring the idea of home in worship and sermon series, “Close to Home” and while on this Sunday while many are missing the loving and prophetic voice of bell hooks I would like to quote her on the idea of homeplace in her book “Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics.”
The idea of home place is about Black people making homes for themselves. Homes for themselves where they could thrive and not just survive. Homes for themselves where they could be viewed as subjects not objects. Homes for themselves where they could seek sanctuary and refuge despite the racism, sexism, and hardship that the outside world would thrust upon them.
She writes, “the task of making a home place…. was about the construction of a safe place where black people could affirm one another and by doing so heal many of the wounds inflicted by racist domination. We could not learn to love or respect ourselves in the culture of white supremacy, on the outside; it was there on the inside, in that homeplace most often created and kept by black women, that we had the opportunity to grow and develop, to nurture our spirits.”
She goes on to write that by making the home a homeplace, a place of love, it also made the home a place of resistance. Resistance against a world that treats others as less than due to their race, gender, and class. Through the safe loving refuge, sanctuary, that homeplace provided, those who were loved and affirmed within its walls could work outside the walls for a world where all are loved and affirmed.
For, as bell hooks said elsewhere (paraphrase): Love is transformative and challenges us in both our civic and private lives. “Real love will change you.”
This idea of the home being a sanctuary for love and love spurring us to transform the world to end oppression are the same themes found in our Gospel reading this morning.
Our Gospel this morning picks up with two other women of color, Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant, seeking and creating homeplace together.
Mary had received news from the angel Gabriel that she was favoured by God and if she would consent, she would conceive and give birth to a Son, Son of the Most High! Holy Son! God’s Son! The Messiah. In this same news, she was also told that her cousin Elizabeth, through infertility and old age, had also conceived a child.
The text then says that Mary hurried - she went with great haste - to the house of Elizabeth. Like she got up from the angel talking to her and she went!
Why did she go? Did she go because she was afraid of how Joseph would react? Did she go because she needed the assurance and affirmation of Elizabeth? Likewise, did she want to offer assurance and affirmation to Elizabeth? Elizabeth who knew the pain of infertility, Elizabeth who herself may have been feeling the anxiety of her unlikely predicament…
I think it would be fair to say that the two women both needed each other. They needed to create a homeplace for the two of them and the unborn children in their wombs.
And so Mary “set out and went with haste…where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
When Elizabeth knows that Mary has come to her, to create a safe and loving place for them and their children, she and her child are overcome with joy. Filled with the Spirit. Filled with love in this space and the first thing she does is she blesses Mary - she gives her a blessing - blessed are you among women…You are blessed, you are welcomed her in the house, come, seek sanctuary here, here in this home where we have each other, where we can bless one another, love one another.
And Mary, having found the blessing, sanctuary, safe space and love that her soul needed, she starts singing a song, a song of praise for God, a song of love, AND a song that envisions a world of love for all:
“His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
Because Mary found a homeplace, a place of sanctuary, a place where she could be affirmed and loved, she then prays to God, envisioning a just world for all: for the lowly, the hungry, the poor. A world where the oppressor is brought down and the oppressed lifted up. A world where, as the prophet Micah says, “they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth…” for the Lord of Love and Peace has come.
Now, in our daily Advent devotional, one of the writers called Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, a protest song. And, it is a protest song because it is a song of love. And love, as bell hooks said, love changes our private and civic lifes. Love causes change and transformation because love means we can not be complacent with injustice. And that is what Mary sings about, what Mary prays to God about. Having found a place where she is loved and welcome as she is, pregnant, young, poor, unwed, a member of an oppressed people - she then envisions a world where all are loved and welcomed as they are. A protest against a world where that is not the case.
We’ve been using bell hooks word, homeplace. I would also offer up a word I’ve used several times, a more religious and familiar word to us: sanctuary.
I would define sanctuary not as 4 walls with an altar table and pews…I would define sanctuary as a place where love flourishes. For some, this is our homes. And still for others we know that homes are not a safe place. For some, it is the church, the literal sanctuary. And yet we know the sad truth that, again, for many church has not been a safe place. Sanctuary can be a place, a person, a state of mind.
Today I ask: where or who or how is your homeplace, your safe place, your sanctuary? Where is it where you feel entirely affirmed and loved, as you are. Where is it that love flourishes. Where is it that you become filled with the Holy Spirit - where you are led to bless others, where you are lead to envision a better world for all - to want all the world to know sanctuary - to know love - to know God’s love - and to flourish in that love?
Moreover, how can you be or help create sanctuary for others? Are you someone that others feel safe coming to? Do you create welcome, safe, and affirming spaces for those seeking sanctuary. Does your presence give permission for love to flourish? And not just for those in your family, your inner circles…also for those outcast and marginalized, those who experience sexism, racism, homophobia, bigotry… If someone comes to you, do they know that you will be affirming of who God created them to be, in all their beloved uniqueness? That is my prayer for each of you. Admittedly, we all could use some work to be better conduits of sanctuary for others. To educate ourselves, to test our assumptions and norms, to do the inner work, alongside God with prayer and discernment, to become better, sanctuaries for others.
That is my prayer for each of us this Christmas:
That we each may find sanctuary, that we find places and are with people who allow God’s love to flourish in our lives
And that we would each be sanctuary for others.
May it be so that we all could sing with Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my Spirit rejoices in God my savior…”
Amen.
That is my prayer for each of us this Christmas:
That we each may find sanctuary, that we find places and are with people who allow God’s love to flourish in our lives
And that we would each be sanctuary for others.
May it be so that we all could sing with Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my Spirit rejoices in God my savior…”
Amen.
Monday, December 13, 2021
"Close to Home: A Home for All" a sermon on Luke 3:7-18, Zephaniah 3:14-20
Luke 3:7-18
Zephaniah 3:14-20
“Close to Home: A Home for All”
Preached Sunday, December 12, 2021
I know a lot of people got all their Christmas shopping done early this year because of shipping delays and supply chain shortages - or perhaps some decided to buy mostly local or off the shelves at stores to try and avoid those issues. Some of you may have been done with Christmas shopping for weeks while others may not even have started. Anyone here done with their Christmas shopping?
I got a lot of my shopping done already but I still have a little to go. While I was looking over wish lists for family members this year, I got into a conversation that there are really two kinds of gifts that people ask for - those that are wanted and those that are needed.
Some people like giving gifts that might be a little more indulgent - something the recipient would appreciate but maybe not spend money on themselves. A treat if you will. For me these kind of things are Starbucks gift cards, chocolate, face masks, fancy hand lotions and candles - stuff I may not buy myself but, you know, things I’m thrilled to get as gifts. Of course, what the indulgent gifts are vary from person to person! Sports tickets, power tools, cars, vacations, video games - you know the person you shop for.
Still others prefer to give or receive more practical gifts. What does this person need? It can be anything from socks to home improvements, to cooking utensils. Maybe this is the kind of person who appreciates practical gifts or, for whatever reason, doesn't send money on themselves for the necessities or practical items - even when they'll make their everyday life better. I was recently talking with a friend who was sharing how excited she was to get a new good chef knife for Christmas - it was just gonna make her cooking every day that much better. And I have definitely gifted someone a toaster oven before.
So which kind of gift do you usually prefer to get? Indulgent people? Practical people? I'm an indulgent gift person. I mean, sure, I'll buy gifts of necessity for others but I love that stuff that I just wouldn't buy for myself - and this is also because, and I say this coming from an immense place of privilege, I recognize that, I am not sure there is any gift that I really need. Like really *need.* Recognizing that there are those who daily struggle for things they really need - money for the gas bill, or debt collectors, the high cost of prescriptions, food on the table, clothes for the kids… As Christians we are called to meet the needs of our neighbors in this season of gifting and beyond. Out of love of God and love of neighbor, knowing that what we do to the least of these we do to Jesus himself.
I want to acknowledge these very real and pressing needs first so they are not diminished as I pivot and talk about another kind of need: our spiritual needs. I said there is no gift I really need this holiday. Of course, I think, there are things I need that aren’t tangible things you can wrap under a Christmas tree - for example: a nanny, more hours in the day, a date with my husband... And still, those are superficial, surface level things even if you don't buy them in a shop.
It can be hard to let people know what you need. When someone asks what you need, it may be hard to admit you need something physical to meet your basic needs. It might be a little bit harder to admit you need help or to invest in relationships.
And still there is another layer: What do you need? What do you really need? What does your soul need? These aren't the kinds of things we put on wish lists - they might be hard to admit to ourselves, or to confide in a friend, let alone broadcast to the world. So in an effort to model transparency and vulnerability, I reflected on this question for myself: what does my soul need? And I’ll share a little with you today.
(deep breath)
Right now, I believe at a deep level my soul needs:
To know that I am enough and that I am loved because of who I am, who God created me to be.
To know that I am no more or less worthy of love based on my productivity, my to-do lists, my never-ending tasks.
I am not my failures, faults and struggles. I am also not my successes, wins, and gifts.
I am a child of God, inherently worthy of love and life, as I am.
God loves me. God equips and empowers me. God leads me to serve the Lord and to rest.
And I have to chuckle because you have probably heard this very message from me before. We preachers really do only have a couple of core sermons and, most of the time, we preach to ourselves.
This talk about needs, of spiritual needs, about what we really need, brings me to today's Gospel lesson where John the Baptist says “Merry Christmas ya filthy animal"- oh no wait - that's not it. What John does say is:
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance..."
Has anyone ever wondered why so many people went out to the desert to hear a wild man wearing animal pelts call them snakes and then dunk them in water?
In reading the text, we don't have personality or inflection taken into account. I think because of his words, we imagine him yelling them. I sometimes wonder if John said them with a laugh or a wry smile? Or gently, with love… John must have been a charismatic man for people to come from near and far to hear him, to be convinced they needed to repent, to be convinced they needed to be baptized - to turn their lives around based on his words and the experience they had in his company. Due to his preaching those who heard him began to treat each other differently, to live differently - and began to be prepared to follow Jesus.
I think it can be stated like this: John gave people a gift they needed, he gave them what their souls needed. He said the things that they really needed to hear.
He tells them that there is a way back to God, even if they've messed up, drifted, fallen short.
He tells them that God is waiting for them with open arms.
He tells them that there is One coming who will bring justice to all the injustices, who will set things right, that will liberate them.
He tells them that another way of life is possible - for those with two coats and those with none. For the tax collector, for the soldier, for every one. He even calls out some of the most powerful rulers of the day, telling them that there is still time to repent! Now, that does end up costing him his life but it was still something their souls needed to hear.
The point is, John had the unique spiritual gift of telling people what their souls needed to hear.
Most importantly, he told people that someone greater than he was coming. He pointed them toward the thing they needed above all else: Jesus.
"One who is more powerful than I is coming... So with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the Good News to the people."
Indeed - what better news is there than for someone to give you what you really need? And when what you really need is Jesus, a Savior, a Messiah, one who forgives, who teaches, who guides, who walks with, who saves, who is Lord, Ruler, Redeemer of ALL, who above all Loves - that is indeed GOOD news.
And when you are given exactly what you need - there is a deep joy in that. And so people flocked to John to find not only the waters of the Jordan River in baptism but also to find a deep, deep reservoir of joy in being shown exactly what their soul needs. As I said, I think John was a charismatic figure who himself was filled with joy - we read in scripture that he leaped for joy in his mother's womb out of knowing that the one was coming who he would spend his whole life pointing others to, that the one was coming who would be the Savior of the world. That joy, trust in his Savior, carried him through his life and ministry so that he could give others what they needed.
So in the spirit of John the Baptist, today I ask: as the church, what message are we giving people? Are we giving them what they need? Both their pressing physical needs and what their souls need to hear?
We often talk about church as a home - a church home, a faith home, a place where we find what our souls need: community, hope, peace, joy, love - and above all, Jesus who brings and gives these things.
Now, if we want others to find a church home here, to find a home in Jesus, we have to ask: Are we giving them what they need? What their soul needs. Are we giving them the heart-felt, deep soul knowledge that Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God-with-us, God-Incarnate, human and divine. That Jesus loves us and wants us to love others. And that there is absolutely nothing, nothing you can do, no power in heaven or earth that can separate you from the love of God.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
“Close to Home: A Home for All”
Preached Sunday, December 12, 2021
I know a lot of people got all their Christmas shopping done early this year because of shipping delays and supply chain shortages - or perhaps some decided to buy mostly local or off the shelves at stores to try and avoid those issues. Some of you may have been done with Christmas shopping for weeks while others may not even have started. Anyone here done with their Christmas shopping?
I got a lot of my shopping done already but I still have a little to go. While I was looking over wish lists for family members this year, I got into a conversation that there are really two kinds of gifts that people ask for - those that are wanted and those that are needed.
Some people like giving gifts that might be a little more indulgent - something the recipient would appreciate but maybe not spend money on themselves. A treat if you will. For me these kind of things are Starbucks gift cards, chocolate, face masks, fancy hand lotions and candles - stuff I may not buy myself but, you know, things I’m thrilled to get as gifts. Of course, what the indulgent gifts are vary from person to person! Sports tickets, power tools, cars, vacations, video games - you know the person you shop for.
Still others prefer to give or receive more practical gifts. What does this person need? It can be anything from socks to home improvements, to cooking utensils. Maybe this is the kind of person who appreciates practical gifts or, for whatever reason, doesn't send money on themselves for the necessities or practical items - even when they'll make their everyday life better. I was recently talking with a friend who was sharing how excited she was to get a new good chef knife for Christmas - it was just gonna make her cooking every day that much better. And I have definitely gifted someone a toaster oven before.
So which kind of gift do you usually prefer to get? Indulgent people? Practical people? I'm an indulgent gift person. I mean, sure, I'll buy gifts of necessity for others but I love that stuff that I just wouldn't buy for myself - and this is also because, and I say this coming from an immense place of privilege, I recognize that, I am not sure there is any gift that I really need. Like really *need.* Recognizing that there are those who daily struggle for things they really need - money for the gas bill, or debt collectors, the high cost of prescriptions, food on the table, clothes for the kids… As Christians we are called to meet the needs of our neighbors in this season of gifting and beyond. Out of love of God and love of neighbor, knowing that what we do to the least of these we do to Jesus himself.
I want to acknowledge these very real and pressing needs first so they are not diminished as I pivot and talk about another kind of need: our spiritual needs. I said there is no gift I really need this holiday. Of course, I think, there are things I need that aren’t tangible things you can wrap under a Christmas tree - for example: a nanny, more hours in the day, a date with my husband... And still, those are superficial, surface level things even if you don't buy them in a shop.
It can be hard to let people know what you need. When someone asks what you need, it may be hard to admit you need something physical to meet your basic needs. It might be a little bit harder to admit you need help or to invest in relationships.
And still there is another layer: What do you need? What do you really need? What does your soul need? These aren't the kinds of things we put on wish lists - they might be hard to admit to ourselves, or to confide in a friend, let alone broadcast to the world. So in an effort to model transparency and vulnerability, I reflected on this question for myself: what does my soul need? And I’ll share a little with you today.
(deep breath)
Right now, I believe at a deep level my soul needs:
To know that I am enough and that I am loved because of who I am, who God created me to be.
To know that I am no more or less worthy of love based on my productivity, my to-do lists, my never-ending tasks.
I am not my failures, faults and struggles. I am also not my successes, wins, and gifts.
I am a child of God, inherently worthy of love and life, as I am.
God loves me. God equips and empowers me. God leads me to serve the Lord and to rest.
And I have to chuckle because you have probably heard this very message from me before. We preachers really do only have a couple of core sermons and, most of the time, we preach to ourselves.
This talk about needs, of spiritual needs, about what we really need, brings me to today's Gospel lesson where John the Baptist says “Merry Christmas ya filthy animal"- oh no wait - that's not it. What John does say is:
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance..."
Has anyone ever wondered why so many people went out to the desert to hear a wild man wearing animal pelts call them snakes and then dunk them in water?
In reading the text, we don't have personality or inflection taken into account. I think because of his words, we imagine him yelling them. I sometimes wonder if John said them with a laugh or a wry smile? Or gently, with love… John must have been a charismatic man for people to come from near and far to hear him, to be convinced they needed to repent, to be convinced they needed to be baptized - to turn their lives around based on his words and the experience they had in his company. Due to his preaching those who heard him began to treat each other differently, to live differently - and began to be prepared to follow Jesus.
I think it can be stated like this: John gave people a gift they needed, he gave them what their souls needed. He said the things that they really needed to hear.
He tells them that there is a way back to God, even if they've messed up, drifted, fallen short.
He tells them that God is waiting for them with open arms.
He tells them that there is One coming who will bring justice to all the injustices, who will set things right, that will liberate them.
He tells them that another way of life is possible - for those with two coats and those with none. For the tax collector, for the soldier, for every one. He even calls out some of the most powerful rulers of the day, telling them that there is still time to repent! Now, that does end up costing him his life but it was still something their souls needed to hear.
The point is, John had the unique spiritual gift of telling people what their souls needed to hear.
Most importantly, he told people that someone greater than he was coming. He pointed them toward the thing they needed above all else: Jesus.
"One who is more powerful than I is coming... So with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the Good News to the people."
Indeed - what better news is there than for someone to give you what you really need? And when what you really need is Jesus, a Savior, a Messiah, one who forgives, who teaches, who guides, who walks with, who saves, who is Lord, Ruler, Redeemer of ALL, who above all Loves - that is indeed GOOD news.
And when you are given exactly what you need - there is a deep joy in that. And so people flocked to John to find not only the waters of the Jordan River in baptism but also to find a deep, deep reservoir of joy in being shown exactly what their soul needs. As I said, I think John was a charismatic figure who himself was filled with joy - we read in scripture that he leaped for joy in his mother's womb out of knowing that the one was coming who he would spend his whole life pointing others to, that the one was coming who would be the Savior of the world. That joy, trust in his Savior, carried him through his life and ministry so that he could give others what they needed.
So in the spirit of John the Baptist, today I ask: as the church, what message are we giving people? Are we giving them what they need? Both their pressing physical needs and what their souls need to hear?
We often talk about church as a home - a church home, a faith home, a place where we find what our souls need: community, hope, peace, joy, love - and above all, Jesus who brings and gives these things.
Now, if we want others to find a church home here, to find a home in Jesus, we have to ask: Are we giving them what they need? What their soul needs. Are we giving them the heart-felt, deep soul knowledge that Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God-with-us, God-Incarnate, human and divine. That Jesus loves us and wants us to love others. And that there is absolutely nothing, nothing you can do, no power in heaven or earth that can separate you from the love of God.
And that this God, who loves you unconditionally also came for the redemption of the world, and that includes you. He came, to paraphrase the prophet Zephaniah that was read in church today:
To rejoice over you with gladness
To renew you in love
To exult you with song
To remove disaster from you
To free the oppressed from the oppressors
To save the lame and gather the outcasts
To change shame to praise
And to bring you home - home in Jesus, a place where the needs of your soul are known and met with love.
And this gift - the knowledge of Jesus’s Love - is not just a gift that people need but in a world that tells us that unconditional love is scarce, in a world that tells us to satisfy our longings with material things, in a world where we think our worth is based on how much we do or what we do, in a world that always tells us that we’re not enough - to be given the gift of becoming aware of God’s love for you in THIS world? That is a gift that is not only needed, but can feel indulgent too.
Church, we need to give this gift to people. Sometimes I think the message of Christianity that we try to give to others can get watered down to pithy sayings, surface level platitudes that do not bring deep joy because they are not what people need to hear. For example: Everything happens for a reason, God helps those who help themselves, God won't give you more than you can handle, Thoughts & Prayers, Christianity is about following rules, how you vote, and where you are on Sunday morning - these aren’t things that people want or need. None of these things are the Good News that our souls need and they mostly aren’t even biblical!
So today, I want to leave you with two things to ponder as we get nearer to the miracle of Christmas:
1 - What does my soul really need? Like *really* need. Spend time in prayer and reflection. Tell God your needs. Yes, God knows them - tell God anyway. Turn them over to God. And, share with a friend who it’s safe to be vulnerable with.
And 2 - how can you give people what they really need this Christmas? If able, to meet the needs of those who are struggling to have their pressing needs met this season. And, how to share the gift that is God’s love with a world that so badly needs the joy that the Good News of Christmas brings: that there is hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - and we call him Jesus.
Amen.
To rejoice over you with gladness
To renew you in love
To exult you with song
To remove disaster from you
To free the oppressed from the oppressors
To save the lame and gather the outcasts
To change shame to praise
And to bring you home - home in Jesus, a place where the needs of your soul are known and met with love.
And this gift - the knowledge of Jesus’s Love - is not just a gift that people need but in a world that tells us that unconditional love is scarce, in a world that tells us to satisfy our longings with material things, in a world where we think our worth is based on how much we do or what we do, in a world that always tells us that we’re not enough - to be given the gift of becoming aware of God’s love for you in THIS world? That is a gift that is not only needed, but can feel indulgent too.
Church, we need to give this gift to people. Sometimes I think the message of Christianity that we try to give to others can get watered down to pithy sayings, surface level platitudes that do not bring deep joy because they are not what people need to hear. For example: Everything happens for a reason, God helps those who help themselves, God won't give you more than you can handle, Thoughts & Prayers, Christianity is about following rules, how you vote, and where you are on Sunday morning - these aren’t things that people want or need. None of these things are the Good News that our souls need and they mostly aren’t even biblical!
So today, I want to leave you with two things to ponder as we get nearer to the miracle of Christmas:
1 - What does my soul really need? Like *really* need. Spend time in prayer and reflection. Tell God your needs. Yes, God knows them - tell God anyway. Turn them over to God. And, share with a friend who it’s safe to be vulnerable with.
And 2 - how can you give people what they really need this Christmas? If able, to meet the needs of those who are struggling to have their pressing needs met this season. And, how to share the gift that is God’s love with a world that so badly needs the joy that the Good News of Christmas brings: that there is hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - and we call him Jesus.
Amen.
Monday, December 6, 2021
"Close to Home: Laying the Foundation" Sermon on Luke 1:68-79 & Luke 3:1-6
Luke 1:68-79
Luke 3:1-6
“Close to Home: Laying the Foundation”
Preached Sunday, December 5, 2021
Each of the four Gospels start a little differently based on what the author felt was important; who they were trying to convey Jesus was and so forth.
Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus, which can actually give some really awesome insights - but that’s another sermon.
From there, as far as the Christmas story is concerned, we have a quick birth narrative, the visitation of the Magi and fleeing to Egypt
Now in Mark there is no birth narrative at all. Mark creates a feeling of urgency, a sense of getting right down to business, jumping in right at the start of Jesus’s public ministry.
Allow me to go out of order and skip to the Gospel of John. Of the four gospels, John is the most theological and doesn't have a birth narrative although he does include the beautiful line: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
John’s aim is to frame WHO Jesus is in relation to his divinity more than a story of how he came to be which leaves us with the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 3:1-6
“Close to Home: Laying the Foundation”
Preached Sunday, December 5, 2021
Each of the four Gospels start a little differently based on what the author felt was important; who they were trying to convey Jesus was and so forth.
Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus, which can actually give some really awesome insights - but that’s another sermon.
From there, as far as the Christmas story is concerned, we have a quick birth narrative, the visitation of the Magi and fleeing to Egypt
Now in Mark there is no birth narrative at all. Mark creates a feeling of urgency, a sense of getting right down to business, jumping in right at the start of Jesus’s public ministry.
Allow me to go out of order and skip to the Gospel of John. Of the four gospels, John is the most theological and doesn't have a birth narrative although he does include the beautiful line: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
John’s aim is to frame WHO Jesus is in relation to his divinity more than a story of how he came to be which leaves us with the Gospel of Luke.
Luke has most of what we've come to know as the Christmas story. But the interesting part (one of many interesting parts - the Gospel of Luke is my favorite) is that Luke doesn't start with the conception or birth of Jesus. He starts with the conception of John the Baptist, Jesus's cousin.
I ask your indulgence of me to summarize the story for you - for those who know it well, for those it’s a little fuzzy on the details, and for those who are not familiar with the story.
John's Father, Zechariah, was a priest and his wife, Elizabeth was a descendent of priestly lineage. Zechariah was praying in the temple alone, actually not just praying, but lighting incense in the holiest part of the temple with crowds and people waiting for him outside...and it is then when an angel of the Lord appeared to him, frightening him. The angel replied "Do not be afraid" And he told Zechariah that his and his wife's prayers would be answered and they would bear a son.
The Angel of the Lord said:
“Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. ...even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Zechariah, however, questioned the angel - How can this be? The angel who now shares his name - Gabriel - may sound familiar, replies:
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
And so Zechariah is rendered mute, unable to speak. The text says Elizabeth became pregnant after this vision - so for 9 long months Zechariah could not speak.
And then, John was born and still, he could not speak. On the 8th day the baby would be circumcised and named as was customary. And all gathered and asked what his name would be. They assumed Elizabeth would name him Zechariah - the naming right was the Father's, after all, and naming a firstborn son after the father was traditional, expected. Zechariah asks for a tablet so he could write out his response and he writes “His name is John.” - fulfilling what the angel Gabriel told him and with that his tongue was loosened and he regained the ability to speak.
And when he speaks, after many months of silence, the first words to escape his mouth are the words of prophecy that our liturgist read for us today. In Scripture they are often called Zechariah’s song. His words are a blessing, a promise of a savior, a trust in what the angel of the Lord had told him, and further trust in all that God would do through his son, John. As far as blessings, it was a powerful one.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
...to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Yes, this is the story that Luke starts his Gospel with, the story of John who would come to be known as John the Baptist. The one who is to lay the foundation for Jesus, for the Savior, the Messiah to come.
In our Advent worship & sermon series we are talking about the theme of “Close to Home.” Every Sunday we’re talking about ideas of home - and how we live into the tension of this Advent season of the already but not yet. Christ has come in the form of a babe, God-Incarnate, God-with-us...but Christ has not yet returned to establish her reign, a new heaven and a new earth. Close to home...but not quite home yet.
And today we are talking about the foundation of our homes, our spiritual, faith, and even, church, home that is. Elsewhere in the Scripture, Jesus shares a parable about building a house. Jesus says that those who hear his words and act on them is like a person who, when building a house, digs deep and builds on rock. The house is studying and stands up through a flood. But the one who hears and does not act is as one who builds their house without a foundation - that’s Luke’s wording, Matthew says on sand - and when the flood comes the house is swept away.
So today I’d like us to consider: is our faith built on a solid foundation? On hearing and acting on Jesus’s words? Is it built on one that will withstands the storms and floods of life? Is the foundation of the church? And I’m not saying, you know, our physical building. But the institution as we’ve come to know it.
With these questions in mind let us turn back to the Gospel story at hand:
Zechariah with his blessing and prophecy, lays the foundation of the solid trust in God's promises to make way for John. He trusts in God and from his birth on, lays the foundation for John to be who God has called him to be.
And then, John, through his ministry, paves the way for people to come to Jesus. That was his divine calling. All he did prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. He preached, he teached, he baptized. He lived a radically different life that caught people’s attention and made them want to know more. All he does points toward Jesus.
In the second Gospel lesson we read today we heard John doing just this - preparing people for Jesus. And even calling out, giving a command for others to do the same:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;”
I ask your indulgence of me to summarize the story for you - for those who know it well, for those it’s a little fuzzy on the details, and for those who are not familiar with the story.
John's Father, Zechariah, was a priest and his wife, Elizabeth was a descendent of priestly lineage. Zechariah was praying in the temple alone, actually not just praying, but lighting incense in the holiest part of the temple with crowds and people waiting for him outside...and it is then when an angel of the Lord appeared to him, frightening him. The angel replied "Do not be afraid" And he told Zechariah that his and his wife's prayers would be answered and they would bear a son.
The Angel of the Lord said:
“Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. ...even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Zechariah, however, questioned the angel - How can this be? The angel who now shares his name - Gabriel - may sound familiar, replies:
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
And so Zechariah is rendered mute, unable to speak. The text says Elizabeth became pregnant after this vision - so for 9 long months Zechariah could not speak.
And then, John was born and still, he could not speak. On the 8th day the baby would be circumcised and named as was customary. And all gathered and asked what his name would be. They assumed Elizabeth would name him Zechariah - the naming right was the Father's, after all, and naming a firstborn son after the father was traditional, expected. Zechariah asks for a tablet so he could write out his response and he writes “His name is John.” - fulfilling what the angel Gabriel told him and with that his tongue was loosened and he regained the ability to speak.
And when he speaks, after many months of silence, the first words to escape his mouth are the words of prophecy that our liturgist read for us today. In Scripture they are often called Zechariah’s song. His words are a blessing, a promise of a savior, a trust in what the angel of the Lord had told him, and further trust in all that God would do through his son, John. As far as blessings, it was a powerful one.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
...to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Yes, this is the story that Luke starts his Gospel with, the story of John who would come to be known as John the Baptist. The one who is to lay the foundation for Jesus, for the Savior, the Messiah to come.
In our Advent worship & sermon series we are talking about the theme of “Close to Home.” Every Sunday we’re talking about ideas of home - and how we live into the tension of this Advent season of the already but not yet. Christ has come in the form of a babe, God-Incarnate, God-with-us...but Christ has not yet returned to establish her reign, a new heaven and a new earth. Close to home...but not quite home yet.
And today we are talking about the foundation of our homes, our spiritual, faith, and even, church, home that is. Elsewhere in the Scripture, Jesus shares a parable about building a house. Jesus says that those who hear his words and act on them is like a person who, when building a house, digs deep and builds on rock. The house is studying and stands up through a flood. But the one who hears and does not act is as one who builds their house without a foundation - that’s Luke’s wording, Matthew says on sand - and when the flood comes the house is swept away.
So today I’d like us to consider: is our faith built on a solid foundation? On hearing and acting on Jesus’s words? Is it built on one that will withstands the storms and floods of life? Is the foundation of the church? And I’m not saying, you know, our physical building. But the institution as we’ve come to know it.
With these questions in mind let us turn back to the Gospel story at hand:
Zechariah with his blessing and prophecy, lays the foundation of the solid trust in God's promises to make way for John. He trusts in God and from his birth on, lays the foundation for John to be who God has called him to be.
And then, John, through his ministry, paves the way for people to come to Jesus. That was his divine calling. All he did prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. He preached, he teached, he baptized. He lived a radically different life that caught people’s attention and made them want to know more. All he does points toward Jesus.
In the second Gospel lesson we read today we heard John doing just this - preparing people for Jesus. And even calling out, giving a command for others to do the same:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;”
Make way for the Messiah in your lives and the world. Lay a solid foundation.
Now, of course John the Baptist cried out those words in the wilderness, making way for the one who will bring true peace, about 2,000 years ago. It is our job today too, to continue laying the foundation. A foundation that fills valleys. Lowers mountains and hills. Make the crooked paths straight. And the rough ways made smooth. A foundation that gets rid of all the stumbling blocks that keep people from God. There are too many to count but bigotry and any -ism, inequality, injustice, trauma, fear… And we can begin to see how hard the work of making a solid foundation for others, a path to Jesus may be. Filling valleys? Lowering mountains? These tasks are not easy.
And yet, we know, as Jesus tells us, faith the size of mustard seed can move mountains. And Jesus is, as a popular Christian song right now reminds us, the Way Maker.
Zechariah laid a foundation for John - with blessings, prophecy, supporting his son and God’s vision for him.
John laid a foundation for Jesus by everything he did pointing people to their need for a Savior.
Jesus laid a foundation for his disciples to lead a movement, to spread the Gospel, through empowering them with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A foundation has been laid all the way down to us today. But this is not where it ends.
What foundation are we laying that will continue to point others to Jesus? Are we continuing the ministry of Zechariah - blessing the young and helping them pursue the Lord with all their lives? Are we following in the footsteps of John the Baptist - especially in calling out injustices so that the way to God may be made level?
As I was turning over my sermon in my head this week, I stopped in to talk to The Ladies of Grace Bible study. The Spirit must have been doing something among them and within me as preparation for this sermon for when I popped my head in I was asked: Pastor, how do we get young people to come to church? Now inviting young people to church is not the same thing as God's Kingdom. But it’s also not incompatible, if each disciple of Christ sows seeds of hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - well, inviting others to know Jesus is part of that and with each new believer there is hope that the world would be a better place, more like God’s Kingdom.
And I want to share with all of you today what I tried to share with the Ladies this week when asked this question:
First, it’s important to know that there is no one size fits all answer and no easy answer. If you google this exact question you will find hundreds if not thousands of articles and think pieces with people scratching their heads and offering a variety of advice, good and bad. The following are my thoughts, shared with fellow people my age and vetted for feedback:
The first thing to know is that most people come to church because of an invitation and an existing relationship with someone already "in" the church. There are a bunch of different numbers and statistics out there on church visitation and they vary. But one provided by Discipleship Ministries, a ministry of the United Methodist Church, is that 40% of church visitors said they went to a church for the first time because they knew someone there who invited them. That was the biggest reason a visitor came to a specific congregation. In this same study it shows that an invitation from a congregant was actually six times more effective than an invitation from a pastor. It’s not by a coincidence that our mission statement includes the verb “to invite” in it!
2 - as a follow up to the first thing you should know: If you don't know young people or unchurched people, regardless of age, think about your life and how you can interact with others. If we want people to come to church, we first have to meet them outside the church.
Which leads us to 3 - The days of "build it and they will come" are over. That went out the door in the 90’s - 3 decades ago - if not before. We have to go to people. Be where the people are. Through service, through community, in all sorts of ways. Again, we can’t expect people to walk through those doors unless we walk out of them and do the work of building relationships and meeting people where they are.
4. Be prepared, if young or unchurched people are different from you, or from our congregation, and they come to church, we must not only welcome them but welcome the change they bring. I am not necessarily talking about organ vs. electric guitar. I’m talking about the language people use, the causes people support, the way they dress, their priorities and what’s important to them. Every time someone new comes to a church, the culture of the church changes slightly.
5. At a larger level, our institutions need to invest heavily in young adult ministry. Especially on campuses and church camps.
And finally 6 - back to what is within our everyday power: We need to show the world that we, as followers of Jesus, are a people of Love. We are not the image the media and movies has of Christians: of bigots and hypocrites and shamers. And unfortunately, we know this is not just a prevalent image on TV. Many people want nothing to do with the church based on the Christians that they know. However, we can actively counteract that. We need to actively show people that we do not wish to be complicit or bystanders in the injustices often perpetuated by those claiming the name of Christ. No, we need to show that we are people who seek to live on the path of peace that John the Baptist showed and shared. Not just a peace that is the absence of violence, but an active peace that is the presence of justice. That is the presence of Love. We do this by being outspoken proponents every day for the things we talk about in church during the season of Advent: Of Hope, peace, joy, and love.
So you know, 6 easy, simple steps to get young people to come to church….Yeah, I know they’re not easy answers. As I was thinking over it all this week I was reminded how hard it is to fill valleys and lower mountains, to make way for God's Kingdom here on Earth, to make the path straight, easier, for people to come to know God. Again, God didn’t say it would be easy - God has just promised to be with us on the journey.
Today, let’s leave with this thought:
What is important to us in sharing the Gospel and laying a foundation for others to come to know Jesus and to make our world more like God’s Kingdom? Where would you start? How would you start? The most important thing is...to start: to sing praises and give blessings like Zechariah, to preach and teach and rail against injustice like John the Baptist, to empower others, to build new relationships, to extend invitations...As long as we build a strong foundation that is listening to Jesus and acting on his words:
For me, I am going to work to lay a foundation of all those things we talk about during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I believe they will stand the test of time - so that many more will find their way to the one who we call Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
May it be so. Amen.
Now, of course John the Baptist cried out those words in the wilderness, making way for the one who will bring true peace, about 2,000 years ago. It is our job today too, to continue laying the foundation. A foundation that fills valleys. Lowers mountains and hills. Make the crooked paths straight. And the rough ways made smooth. A foundation that gets rid of all the stumbling blocks that keep people from God. There are too many to count but bigotry and any -ism, inequality, injustice, trauma, fear… And we can begin to see how hard the work of making a solid foundation for others, a path to Jesus may be. Filling valleys? Lowering mountains? These tasks are not easy.
And yet, we know, as Jesus tells us, faith the size of mustard seed can move mountains. And Jesus is, as a popular Christian song right now reminds us, the Way Maker.
Zechariah laid a foundation for John - with blessings, prophecy, supporting his son and God’s vision for him.
John laid a foundation for Jesus by everything he did pointing people to their need for a Savior.
Jesus laid a foundation for his disciples to lead a movement, to spread the Gospel, through empowering them with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A foundation has been laid all the way down to us today. But this is not where it ends.
What foundation are we laying that will continue to point others to Jesus? Are we continuing the ministry of Zechariah - blessing the young and helping them pursue the Lord with all their lives? Are we following in the footsteps of John the Baptist - especially in calling out injustices so that the way to God may be made level?
As I was turning over my sermon in my head this week, I stopped in to talk to The Ladies of Grace Bible study. The Spirit must have been doing something among them and within me as preparation for this sermon for when I popped my head in I was asked: Pastor, how do we get young people to come to church? Now inviting young people to church is not the same thing as God's Kingdom. But it’s also not incompatible, if each disciple of Christ sows seeds of hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - well, inviting others to know Jesus is part of that and with each new believer there is hope that the world would be a better place, more like God’s Kingdom.
And I want to share with all of you today what I tried to share with the Ladies this week when asked this question:
First, it’s important to know that there is no one size fits all answer and no easy answer. If you google this exact question you will find hundreds if not thousands of articles and think pieces with people scratching their heads and offering a variety of advice, good and bad. The following are my thoughts, shared with fellow people my age and vetted for feedback:
The first thing to know is that most people come to church because of an invitation and an existing relationship with someone already "in" the church. There are a bunch of different numbers and statistics out there on church visitation and they vary. But one provided by Discipleship Ministries, a ministry of the United Methodist Church, is that 40% of church visitors said they went to a church for the first time because they knew someone there who invited them. That was the biggest reason a visitor came to a specific congregation. In this same study it shows that an invitation from a congregant was actually six times more effective than an invitation from a pastor. It’s not by a coincidence that our mission statement includes the verb “to invite” in it!
2 - as a follow up to the first thing you should know: If you don't know young people or unchurched people, regardless of age, think about your life and how you can interact with others. If we want people to come to church, we first have to meet them outside the church.
Which leads us to 3 - The days of "build it and they will come" are over. That went out the door in the 90’s - 3 decades ago - if not before. We have to go to people. Be where the people are. Through service, through community, in all sorts of ways. Again, we can’t expect people to walk through those doors unless we walk out of them and do the work of building relationships and meeting people where they are.
4. Be prepared, if young or unchurched people are different from you, or from our congregation, and they come to church, we must not only welcome them but welcome the change they bring. I am not necessarily talking about organ vs. electric guitar. I’m talking about the language people use, the causes people support, the way they dress, their priorities and what’s important to them. Every time someone new comes to a church, the culture of the church changes slightly.
5. At a larger level, our institutions need to invest heavily in young adult ministry. Especially on campuses and church camps.
And finally 6 - back to what is within our everyday power: We need to show the world that we, as followers of Jesus, are a people of Love. We are not the image the media and movies has of Christians: of bigots and hypocrites and shamers. And unfortunately, we know this is not just a prevalent image on TV. Many people want nothing to do with the church based on the Christians that they know. However, we can actively counteract that. We need to actively show people that we do not wish to be complicit or bystanders in the injustices often perpetuated by those claiming the name of Christ. No, we need to show that we are people who seek to live on the path of peace that John the Baptist showed and shared. Not just a peace that is the absence of violence, but an active peace that is the presence of justice. That is the presence of Love. We do this by being outspoken proponents every day for the things we talk about in church during the season of Advent: Of Hope, peace, joy, and love.
So you know, 6 easy, simple steps to get young people to come to church….Yeah, I know they’re not easy answers. As I was thinking over it all this week I was reminded how hard it is to fill valleys and lower mountains, to make way for God's Kingdom here on Earth, to make the path straight, easier, for people to come to know God. Again, God didn’t say it would be easy - God has just promised to be with us on the journey.
Today, let’s leave with this thought:
What is important to us in sharing the Gospel and laying a foundation for others to come to know Jesus and to make our world more like God’s Kingdom? Where would you start? How would you start? The most important thing is...to start: to sing praises and give blessings like Zechariah, to preach and teach and rail against injustice like John the Baptist, to empower others, to build new relationships, to extend invitations...As long as we build a strong foundation that is listening to Jesus and acting on his words:
For me, I am going to work to lay a foundation of all those things we talk about during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I believe they will stand the test of time - so that many more will find their way to the one who we call Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
May it be so. Amen.
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