The Lesson – Deuteronomy 18:15-20:  The time of wandering in the wilderness is nearing an end.  Moses realizes his work and life, also, are nearing the end.  He reminds the children of Israel that God will continue to speak through servant prophets.  There will be many claiming to speak for God, so Moses tells how we can discern the truth.  Of course, his formula requires faith as we move into the future.  Christ-followers believe this prophecy points, especially, to Jesus.  (See John 1:45; Luke 9:30)

The Gospel – Mark 1:21-28:  Do we hear this story with curiosity about exorcism? … or with disdain for such a naïve world view?  We cannot deny the reality of evil.  How does Jesus confront evil?  And why, when so many fail to recognize Jesus, does this “unclean spirit” get it?

Key Verse  … and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus…I know who you are…” (Mark 1:24)

Message:  Who gets it?

Texts:  Mark 1:14-20; Jonah 3:1-5,10;

Perhaps you heard the story about the man trying to find a certain place in a back woods area, where the roads were not straight, nor were they clearly marked.  He stopped and asked a couple of old timers for directions.  They thought a minute and started to give directions.  Then they stopped, paused, and started with different directions.  Again they stopped, paused, and finally said, you can’t get there from here.

A reason or purpose or value for my life; directions for living…  Perhaps that was never a question for you.  Perhaps you wrestled with that some time ago and you have it resolved.  Perhaps you are needing some direction now, or know you will sometime soon.  Perhaps you feel that the question of profession or career is pretty well settled for you, and yet there needs to be something more.

Today we continue reading in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. We find there a string of stories, moving very fast.  It is best to look at these together, an introduction to this Jesus of Nazareth.  The Gospel starts with the very concise statement:  That this is the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  We must continually remind ourselves:  the word that is translated good news is “evangel.”  The proper meaning of the term evangelical must come by looking at Jesus – not what we think about him, but what this story truly says about Jesus.

Our Gospel reading today includes two big ideas.  And we must keep these two ideas together.  We hear Jesus’ proclamation, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near...  If we want to consider this first chapter of Mark as sort of a resume, this might be like the lines were we are told to write our objective.  Frankly, I think that is really questionable.  We want to say, my objective is to get a job that is fun, doesn’t take much work, and pays a lot of money.  So how does one say that to make it sound like I’ll do anything you want so you make a lot of money off of me.  Well, the objective of Jesus’ life and ministry is nothing short of the kingdom of God.  And, we must remind ourselves, this was a radical statement.  When Jesus stated that, Caesar claimed to be both emperor and god.  The nasty king Herod used the little bit of power he had to act like he was right there next to the emperor. Today we hear Jesus’ claim about the kingdom and think the individualism of democracy.  Or, we think some future existence after we die.  That fails to understand the power and importance of what Jesus declared.  He was declaring that the powers of this world are not the most powerful.  The values of this world are not the most worthwhile.  The mess of this world is not the final word.  Jesus is declaring that God’s ways are going to prevail, and if we are willing to set our hearts in the right direction, we can experience that here and now.

Then comes the encounter that could be so very challenging.  Jesus declares the kingdom and then turns to these four guys and says, follow me.  Why do they drop what they are doing and follow?  The Gospel of Mark does not take time to go into the psychological or familial or economic factors that may have been involved.  The Gospel of John, in our reading last week, suggests today’s encounter may not have been out of the blue, that the relationship was forming before Jesus challenged Andrew and Peter, James and John to follow.  

As a kid, I guess I heard this story as either concrete – have a career in the church – or as abstract, go about your life in a Christian sort of way.  Today I read this story also in terms of course corrections in mid-life.  Were Peter and Andrew tired of this career and wanted some sort of adventurous road trip?  Were James and John tired of working for their old man?  Maybe, maybe not.  Whether their motivations were fully positive or touched with negative reasons is not that important in the long run.  They realized there had to be something more to life.  Maybe this was the answer.

Or the puzzling story of Jonah.  Really, the most challenging part of that whole book is not the issue about the digestive processes of a fish.  It is the interaction of Jonah with the needs of the world, including people he did not like.  And would he be part of God’s involvement in that.  Even more puzzling is that sentence in verse 10, that God changed his mind about the destructive judgment on Nineveh.  This challenges our understanding of God’s control over events.  This challenges the view that many have, even Christians, that God set things in motion and then the natural forces took over.  To me, this story of Jonah, this statement about the future God will bring about, ties directly with Jesus’ call and the way you and I answer that call.  Jesus’ call to these four had two parts.  The first was to follow; the second was to help gather others.  Jesus’ call is not just a private matter.  Jesus’ call to each of us is very personal.  And, this call also automatically includes the social dimension of inviting others. 

The word, repent, has a lot of connotations.  Among the most important is that God is less concerned about where you have been and most concerned about where you are going.  Your questions about the future can lead you to believe that God wants you to be involved in forming the future, what we might call, God’s preferred future.  And, if we are willing to hear Jesus calling us into that future, we quickly realize others will be there.  Others will help us hear Jesus’ call, even as we are part of them following him.  That is how you and I will experience God’s kingdom.  That is how you and I will help God’s kingdom grow.

Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God has come near.  How near?  The kingdom comes into our hearts as we daily answer Jesus’ call to follow him.  The kingdom comes into our world as we share that call with one another.

I remember a time when I was not sure how to get to the place I was needing to go.  I stopped and asked for directions.  Someone overheard my request and interrupted.  I’m going that way; just follow me.  Such is the call Jesus gives to each of us.  And this is the call Jesus wants to give others through us.          

Old Testament Reading – Jonah 3:1-5,10:  Perhaps an ancient legend?  Could someone really survive in the stomach of a whale or big fish?  To assume God could not do such a thing requires a significant act of faith.  Perhaps this short story has a point more challenging to us:  How do we respond to God’s call, especially when it involves dealing with people we do not like.  And, how does our commitment (or lack of commitment) interact with God’s purposes.

Psalm 62:5-12:  The ancient poet expresses an experience common to humanity throughout the ages.  People let us down – close friends as well as persons of great importance.  In the midst of such loneliness, one may grow in greater trust of the God whose love is steadfast.

Gospel – Mark 1:14-20:  The Gospel of Mark moves quickly.  To proclaim the kingdom of God was a politically dangerous statement, because Caesar claimed ultimate power.  This “thesis statement” of Jesus’ life is absolutely connected to the call to follow.  Each of us must answer:  What does this mean for me?  

Key Verse:  Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming…”the kingdom of God has come near.”  [Mark 1:14-15]

Sermon:  How near?

Texts:  Mark 1:4-11; Genesis 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7

You have seen those bumper stickers that announce, My child is an honor student at…  – or some such statement of parental pride.  I have a cartoon that imagines a scene in Nazareth, if such bumper stickers existed then.  You see three women riding camels or donkeys.  On the back side of one animal, it states, Our son is an honor student.  On the second, Our son is in medical school.  And on the third, Our Son is God.  And the two women look with disdain, expressing, Well!  If it isn’t Joseph and Mary.  [http://www.inheritthemirth.com]  Every child needs proper affirmation, from parents and from others in the community.  Today we hear a voice over baptism that affirmed Jesus.  Does that voice say something to us?

The other day I was up on the roof, enjoying all the work going forward as we are building for Christ’s mission.  I saw some of the extra details needed to get water off of the roof.  There are a couple of sections of the existing roof that are receiving extra detail, because the water has not drained well.  We know that water is both essential and a problem.  Our region is very dry due to a shortage of precipitation.  Yet even a tiny amount of water can cause great damage. 

Both aspects help us think through our readings on this day when we remember the Baptism of our Lord.  We move from the stories of his birth.  January 6 is the Epiphany, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the coming of the Wise Men, symbolic of Jesus being revealed, not just to a select few, but to all nations.  The Gospels state that Jesus began his public ministry only after this encounter with John, the Baptizer.  In this story we overhear a voice – a voice of affirmation and of direction.  We consider this further.

In our reading from Genesis, note the statement that a wind from God swept over the face of the water.   As we read the story of creation in Genesis, we do not let details get us bogged down due to our lack of imagination.  We take this as an affirmation that creation is God’s work.  Wind could be translated Spirit.  Swept over, in the Hebrew implies a bird like movement.  Perhaps most important is to try to see a picture of Spirit and matter, God and creation.  We best understand the word water here as chaos.  The Spirit of God moves over chaos. 

In our Gospel story, notice that the Spirit moves downward, like a dove.  Yet the symbol of the Spirit came by tearing open the heavens.  This phrase sends us back to the ancient prophet’s call, Oh that you would tear open the heaven and come down.  This connects with anyone who asks how it is possible to fix the god-awful mess of the world.  There is chaos, symbolized by the damaging power of water.  Yet there is a voice, speaking.  Genesis says it is the Spirit of God.  The Gospel story of Jesus’ baptism says it is the Spirit of God. 

We glance quickly at the passage from Acts.  This story is an example of the different problems Christians have, figuring out what is the proper way to do baptism, and what is the proper understanding of baptism.  The answer is that the Bible does not give us the answers we might like.  Therefore, while we can believe our practices are good, we cannot say ours is the only way.  We do have to ask, whether we give proper attention to the Holy Spirit – both at the time of baptism as well as in our life after baptism.  Again, think chaos in our everyday existence, and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

Considering these stories we need to ask about chaos – what is the chaos of the world today?   What is the chaos in our lives today?  And then, we need to think of that voice – like a wind sweeping, like a bird coming down.  This voice of the Holy Spirit affirmed Jesus.  Not necessarily like a bumper sticker about an honor student, but the affirmation of God’s gracious will.

How important is it in this world today to hear that voice of affirmation.  The words are not the same in our ritual of baptism.  Yet, as we observe the water of baptism, we can hear the words of affirmation.  In a world with great masses of people, where we are easily lost in the crowd, baptism tells us that God has made each one of us.  In a society that is quick to jump on the mistakes others make, baptism tells us that God forgives us and gives us a fresh start.  In a society that says if you are not Number One, you are a loser, baptism reminds us that we have a role in God’s work to restore the world.

The other day I was talking with one of our neighbors about the new appearance of our building.  Among his comments, he suggested that the people of our congregation must be very good at praying since the weather has been so good for the construction.  I suggested that we may not have the power to alter atmospheric patterns.  I know, however, that the people of Saint Andrew’s are faithful in prayer.  I know that our prayers join that Voice over the water of baptism.  Our prayers join with the Holy Spirit, moving over the chaos of our world.  Our prayers join us to the Holy Spirit, as God’s beloved children.  Our prayers join us to the Holy Spirit, to do God’s work in the world.

Old Testament Reading – Genesis 1:1-5:  The Bible begins with a poetic description of our origins (beginnings, genesis).  In the Hebrew language, wind and spirit are used interchangeably.  See Acts 2:2.

Psalm 29:  Can we see God at work in nature?  To be sure, the results of powerful winds can be so devastating.  Our faith challenges us to see that God has not abandoned creation. Yet God is much more than – is above – creation.  Can we let the Holy Spirit help us see the natural world with humility and wonder, leading us to greater wisdom and greater praise for our Creator?  See also Psalm 104:30; 1 Kings 19:11-12.

New Testament Reading – Acts 19:1-7:  The early church experienced baptism in various ways.  Thus we do not find the precise answers to specific questions about different practices that we may desire.  Here we learn that John the Baptizer had followers who went out to spread his teaching.  We also see two purposes in baptism:  to wash away sin and to fill us with the life-giving Holy Spirit.

Gospel – Mark 1:4-11:  Of the four gospels perhaps written first, Saint Mark is fast moving and short on detail.  Most of the book (five of the sixteen chapters) is devoted to the last week of Jesus’ ministry. How does Jesus’ encounter with the baptizer help us understand Jesus?  How does this story, including the recurrent theme of a voice over the water, help us understand ourselves, our identity and our purpose?

Sermon:  Water, Words, Spirit

Key Verse:  …a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.  [Genesis 1:2]

Text:  Luke 2:8-38

Have you ever wondered what the angels did after, as our Christmas story tells us, they “had…gone into heaven.”  Did they go back and practice their harps?  Did they get new assignments as guardian angels?  Did they try out for their great reality show, Dancing on the head of a pin?  For some reason, that question struck me.  I do believe, when we are reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses strange questions to help us realize the Bible is alive for each new day. Then I wondered if Jesus himself gave us a clue to my question when he taught us to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I wondered if the angel’s announcement of peace on earth – given to a world where there seems so little peace – suggests there is a heavenly peace, and it is our task, following our Savior, to be working for that – on earth as it is in heaven.

A few days before Christmas, while listening to Christmas music on the radio, I caught another rendition of one of the most popular songs for the season:  Have yourself a merry little Christmas.  We might note that that song does include the word Christmas.  For some reason I was paying attention to the words. If this song is particularly meaningful to you please understand the reasons for my reaction.  I could not help but notice how flat is the message offered in that song.  I had been thinking of some of the lines from the carol, Hark the herald angels sing.  A couple of comparisons:  Have yourself, a merry little Christmas… Let your heart be light…  Now, that is a good wish; but as we know, it is very hard to make Christmas merry by one’s self.  In contrast, peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.  Or, Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow… Again the contrast: veiled in flesh the God-head see!  Hail, incarnate deity!  Pleased as man with us to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.  The fates – or God with us?

As we enter the new year, we have read summaries from the year 2011.  One of the biggest stories, perhaps the biggest story of the old year is what is called the Arab spring.  We have watched – I trust with prayer – as various peoples have risen up against tyrants.  Last spring we heard that Lutheran World Relief was very involved in the mission to refugees from the uprising in Egypt.  As the year progressed, however, just because a tyrant is deposed, does not automatically mean peace will settle in.  What about the angel’s message?

Today we read more of the stories from the earliest days of Jesus.  We can see the segments of the story – the shepherd went back, excitedly sharing what they had seen.  Then come a couple of events, all because Mary and Joseph wanted to observe the rituals of righteousness, that is, human acts that show they are trusting God to be faithful to his promise to save the world.

We read that on the eighth day, the name was formally given to the infant.  We recall that this name was not just a label.  This showed Mary and Joseph trusted in the word that came before the birth, the trusted God was indeed, taking new steps to save the world.  Accompanied with this was the ritual of circumcision.  Now this is a very personal thing.  We come across that term quite a bit in the Bible.  What we may fail to realize is that this was not just a religious ritual; this was also a political statement.  Sometime before the birth of Jesus, an outside conqueror had prohibited this ritual.  We understand that, though that ban was lifted, not all folks of Jewish descent resumed the practice.  As Jews who desired to live righteously before God, Mary and Joseph did not separate their daily life from their religious life from the outward implications toward the community. They knew the potentially deadly consequences.  But they knew God’s righteousness was the only way, and would ultimately bring peace.

Forty days after the birth came more rituals.  I’m not sure what comparison we can make to customs we have today.  Perhaps we need to be reminded that birth and life are not to be taken for granted.  The offering of sacrifice emphasizes that all of life includes some cost.

There in the temple we meet two special persons.  It sounds like both had lived a good life.  In their retirement years they hung around the temple.  Their faith led them to live expectantly.  They believed that God would, one day, show up.  They believed that the rituals of their religious faith were important.  They also believed the Holy Spirit would use those rituals to help them see God at work.  Simeon spoke words that, no doubt, puzzled the parents, perhaps even cast a shadow over their joy.  Yet Mary and Joseph knew that God’s work was not without its cost.  They knew the story of Moses, the escape from Pharaoh’s slavery, and the freedom that came as a result.  They also knew this freedom carried a great price of faithfulness.  Mary and Joseph had seen the pain inflicted by the swords of the Roman tyrants, the swords wielded by the petty but cruel king Herod.  They knew that God’s liberating peace would come only with a steep price.  So perhaps they heard Simeon’s words as assurance – not easy, but assurance that God was at work through their faithfulness.  And blessed Anna – every child needs some older person to remind the parents how precious that child is.

We also can take to heart Simeon’s song of praise.  To be sure, we hear words of someone who feels such great joy that his waiting is over.  At the same time, we can hear one who is experiencing the peace the angel’s proclaimed.  I don’t think he was retreating into his own private little world.  He saw God’s whole salvation presented in this forty day-old child.  He saw God’s peace – which includes his own people and all people.

So, perhaps the angels continue to listen for our prayers – on earth, as in heaven.  Perhaps the angels hum along with us when we sing, Hail the heav’n born Prince of peace!…Light and life to all he brings, ris’n with healing in his wings…born that we no more may die.  Perhaps the angels are ready to work with us, as we work for this peace.

The unfolding of your word gives light.  [Psalm 119:130]

Text:  John 1:1-14; Isaiah 60:1-7, 19-20

Perhaps you have been paying attention to news coming out of the world of physics.  I am totally fascinated, even as I continually become more bewildered.  In high school physics, I learned that matter is made up of atoms, which can be broken down to another level of sub-atomic particles.  About the same time I was doing the best I could in high-school physics, theoretical physicists were speculating that there was at least one more level below that.  The search for those even smaller particles led to a really big research tool called the Large Hadron Collider.  It is a circular tunnel, seventeen miles in circumference, built several hundred feet below the Swiss and French Alps.  Its purpose is to allow sub-atomic particles to move so fast, that when they collided they will break into even smaller particles.  This has been in the news because a week ago those researchers working on this project were announcing results thus far.  The theory guiding all of this work says that there is one teensy tiny particles that has to exist, but has never yet been found.  The results seem to be saying it is there, we just have not proven it, yet.

Now, why should this be of interest to you?  First of all, all this theoretical physics does impact us.  This includes the atomic bomb developed in the thirties and forties, which continues to keep our world in the valley of the shadow of death.  This also includes the semi-conductors that made it possible for my wife to listen to a Christmas Eve service from England, transmitted through Minnesota Public Radio – as it was happening yesterday morning.

You can also ask why you should have to listen to my amateur science report on Christmas morning – when we need to play with presents and pray for peace.  Two things:  One – some folks refer to this sub-atomic particle as the God-particle.  One scientist said he really wanted to call it the goddamn particle because no one could find it.  So, will this theoretical yet elusive thing resolve all questions?

The second reason I am pulling this all into our Christmas worship is this.  From the experiments, we now know there may be something faster than light.  For the last almost a century, our understanding of the world around us, the material world, was based on theories that said there is nothing faster than the speed of light.  So what happens when a foundational assumption is shaken?

One conservative columnist wanted to jump on this, claiming Einstein’s theory of relativity is now refuted and, she thinks, that will prove her set of values is absolute.  Well, relativity in values is a huge question in our society.  But what is the answer?

Another guy who preaches passionately against religion pompously pontificated, that reality now shows people who believe in religion are both naïve and stupid.  But when is skepticism just another form of rigid belief?

I hope you love, or will learn to love our Gospel reading.  We need the gentle story from Luke 2 – of a manger and shepherds and the marvel of a birth.  We also need the power offered in the Gospel of John.  Why should this birth matter?

In him was light…  I am not saying Jesus is the answer to all physics questions.  I am saying that all the exciting questions, which arise when we are open to further knowledge, point somewhere else, beyond ourselves.  I don’t want to jump in like some Christians and assert that science will prove God.  I do want to suggest that if we bring to all of life a mind that is curious and a heart that wonders, then we may find a reality seen and unseen, a reality filled with surprise and joy.

This is true of the spiritual world – for God is Spirit.  This is also true of the material world – for in the universe that God created, matter matters.  And, Christmas means that the God who is Spirit took concrete steps to be with us, to be seen and touched, to be known and trusted.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

I believe that God created that elusive particle we are seeking.  I believe that God created those forces we are trying to understand.  I also believe that God chooses not to remain an elusive particle or impersonal force.  We can believe that God chose to become visible in Jesus.  We can believe that God chooses to show that the greatest force in the world is his love.

This is the light that shines in our gloomy world.  And nothing in this sin-filled world can overcome this light.

Any child who is afraid of the dark and wants a night light knows this.

Any scientist who sees that the latest answers lead to more questions is open to this.

Any skeptic who does not want to become a cynic is open to this.

Anyone who has sat through the night with a loved-one who was dying knows this.

Anyone who loves looking into the manger and who loves looking into the empty tomb knows this with great joy.

THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD — CHRISTMAS EVE

Texts:  Luke 2:1-20; Isaiah 9:2-7

What important announcements have you heard this past year?  To which announcements have you given your attention this year?  Our world is filled with announcements and pronouncements.  Some are important; some merely claim importance.  Some are very important, but seem so distant that it is difficult to see connection to our everyday lives.  We just heard news from North Korea of the death of their long-time ruler.  That may have profound consequences on international relations – yet it is remote from the every-day matters that concern most of us.  Earlier this summer some group that claims to know a lot announced that the credit rating of the United States is not so good.  Now for many of us the effect of that came closer to home.  But what can I do about it?

I think of the announcements one hears at the airport – about not leaving bags unattended, and that if you see one, report it.  That announcement is really quite important.  But it becomes background noise.  What announcements shout at us?  What announcements fade into the background noise?

I invite you to look at two announcements we heard in our scripture readings for this Christmas Eve.  Maybe they are so familiar, they, too, have become background noise.  Or, we may not be familiar with the details, yet the whole Christmas thing is just the incomprehensible noise of seasonal sales and seasonal customs and seasonal frenzy.

In the story of Jesus’ birth, we move from the stable turned into a birth room, to the hillside.  In that natural setting of animals eating, from what we would call a supernatural source, an announcement comes.  And we get to overhear, to you is born a savior…

Earlier, the prophet Isaiah lived in a time of political turmoil.  He saw the devastation of power politics between nations, of political intrigue within ruling families.  He saw the muddied boots and the bloodied uniforms of warriors – symbols of the belief that might makes right.  The prophet’s poetry offers an image, carries a cadence that sounds like hope yet really evokes the fear of history marching uncaringly forward.  But then the motion of the poem stops; almost like a new beginning.  For a child has been born to us.  Now, we easily miss the impact of that little phrase, what it meant to those who first heard the prophet’s words, what it meant to the faithful Jews, like Joseph and Mary who wanted to believe that sometime God would remember the promise and make things right again.  A lot of folks were really excited when a child was born to president elect John Kennedy.  But that did not change the course of our nation’s history.  We will hear a lot when Kate and William have a baby over there in England.  But that probably will not change the course of world history.  The only thing comparable is wondering how crazy is the son who will probably succeed the crazy leader in North Korea – that could affect us.  So remember, the words of the prophet are not just posting a sonogram picture on facebook – as heartwarming as that can be.  Realize it or not, the announcement of the birth of this child has implications for the politics and the economics of the world, has implications for the hearts and minds of each and every person.

We might also contrast the announcement told at the beginning of our Christmas story.  A decree went out from the Roman emperor.  Now we know the difference between announcements and commands.  We know when we can let it go in one ear and out the other.  We know when we can take it in, but really do not have to do anything differently.  And, we know when, like it or not, we better do what has been said.  Caesar Augustus said jump, and a lot of soldiers made sure folks knew how high.  Yet Caesar’s decree was not the most important announcement.

Rather, echoing the ancient prophets, the messenger of God (for that is the meaning of the word angel in the Bible) said, to you is born a new king.  Yes, this is just a child lying where you would not expect a king to be.  But here you will find the One who will save the world, the One who can save you.

And, we, this night, could simply believe that this is part of an old fairytale.  We could believe this is just religion fabricating some sweet story to control people.  Or, we can trust this comes from the Creator of the Universe, telling us we are not forgotten, telling us he will make things once more right, inviting us, challenging us to be part of his work to save the world.

Here is the One, who, in the words of the prophet, will be Prince of Peace.  This is not just one more over-blown claim because a powerful person has a baby.  Here is the one who will save the world. 

And, Martin Luther would remind us, we can focus on the words, to you.  Not just to someone else, but to you.  Amidst all the world’s claims for exciting life, to you is born the Savior who brings life-giving counsel.  Amidst all the world’s judgments weighing us down, to you is born the Savior who forgives.  Amidst all the dead-ends and reasons for despair, to you is born the Savior who leads you into hope.  Amidst the loneliness and sorrow, perhaps felt poignantly at this time of year, to you is born the Savior who gives comfort, who gives the joy of the resurrection.

The angel’s announcement is for the world.  The angel’s announcement is for you.  The angel’s announcement promises to make a difference in my life, in your life. 

To hear with my ears; to believe in my heart; and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live this announcement, this good news, every day, now and forever.

Texts:  Habakkuk 1:1-2:4; also Luke 1:39-56

My mother told of an incident from her childhood.  It may have occurred more than once.  In the evening, after it was time to go to sleep, she wanted to keep talking.  Her parents would call upstairs and threaten to come up and extinguish the lamp light.  (This was before electricity came to the area where they lived.)  Her brother did not want to be in the dark.  She was not concerned about the dark and wanted to keep talking.  So she just went and blew out the flame.

I don’t know what threats your parents had to use to make you behave.  I don’t know what threats you parents use for your children.  I trust this process of guidance is both corrective and grace-filled.  I pray that any scars received from past generations are touched with God’s powerful love, so that they are not passed along to younger and future generations.

Perhaps you remember a billboard displayed some years ago.  It was rather plain, but with words conveying a stark message:  Don’t make me come down.  Then came the word, as if a signature or accreditation, God.  The folks sponsoring this may have had good intent.  Their message was partially correct.  The part that is incorrect, however, may completely pervert the message of the Christian faith.

Today we continue our Advent season of preparation.  We are using the poetic words of the great hymn writer, Paul Gerhardt.  Working with the musician, Johann Cruger, he brought the powerful truths of Reformation faith into the worship and teaching of the church.  We are considering four verses of the hymn, which asks the question, Oh Lord, how shall I meet you?  Our verse today begins with the most powerful assertion:  Love caused the Incarnation…  That statement of faith is totally contrary to that billboard.  Rather than a frightening threat, God comes to us because of great love.

To be sure, God’s love is not the squishy sentiment too often associated with lust or romance.  This is not the semi-demented old guy going, whatever.  This is God, speaking through the prophet Habakkuk.  As we saw last weekend reading through Isaiah 29, so today; we could take these chapters from the Hebrew Scripture and lay them along side news reports and commentary today.  There are all kinds of reasons to condemn what is happening in our world, including misuse of power and perversion of justice as the wealth-gap widens.  It is so easy to picture God off in some distant heaven, ignoring the reality of the world today as he waits for people to die, so the ones with the right password get into heaven.  A favorite verse of mine is in the tenth Psalm.  There, too, the poet laments the injustice, the cruelty in private lives, warfare among nations.  Finally, however, in faith the poet exclaims, But you do see!  Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.  The result of God seeing is not to carry out a threat.  Rather, God desires to take this all into his hands. 

The prophet Habakkuk brings this same challenging and hopeful word.  He sees a picture contrary to that of the recent billboard.  In the face of all the world’s injustice, he is told to write a vision in letters so big that a person running by can read it.  And the message he is to write on his billboard:  The righteous live by their faith.  The righteous do not despair of what is wrong in the world.  Rather, like Mary in our Gospel, they see God coming to make things right, to care for the lowly, to embrace the fallen.  And this God did out of love.

Our hymn does not leave this in the abstract.  Rather, our verse implies the arms of God that reach out, reach down, to embrace.  I invite you to focus on the beautiful cross in front of our Fellowship Hall, our place of worship as we are building for Christ’s mission.  You certainly see the cross and the crucified Jesus.  Remember, that as the God of love came to us with outstretched arms, we nailed those hands to the cross.  Even so, as a contemporary song writer asserts, nails were not necessary because God’s love would have held them there.

This is the Good News of the Incarnation.  The all powerful God came to embrace us in the only way that we could understand.  Concepts and philosophy and theology have their place.  But God was not willing simply to observe from a distance.  God knew the only way to accomplish his purpose of saving us was to become one of us.

This invites us to consider the Holy Trinity.  The church’s teaching of God as Three-in-One recognizes our human need for both this transcendence and this imminence.  The teaching of Trinity affirms that, indeed, God has become one of us even while remaining the infinite God.  Though we can neither understand nor explain, the Triune God holds the whole world in his hands, even as he comes into the warm embrace of his mother, Mary.  To me, this teaching about the Incarnation, this teaching that holds together both transcendence and imminence, is why Trinity trumps all other religions.  I don’t want to say this like I’m winning the argument.  I hope we can proclaim this with humility and with joy.

This way, whenever there is trouble and strife in the world – be it world-wide issues or personal issues – the Incarnation means that God is both over the troubles of the world, but not aloof from the suffering in the world.  God is with us in the world’s pain, in the misery experienced in individual lives; but God is not lost in that.  We can use theoretical words:  God is both transcendent and imminent.  That means, God is both above it all and God is right beside us.  Sometimes we need to pray to the One who, as the Bible describes, rules above the clouds.  Sometimes we need to pray to the One who is closer than a best friend.  That is the meaning of the Incarnation; that is the true meaning of Christmas.

Love caused your incarnation; love brought you down to me.

Your thirst for my salvation procured my liberty.

Oh, love beyond all telling, that led you to embrace

in love, all love excelling, our lost and fallen race.

The Lesson – Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-2:4:  The prophet Habakkuk lived around 600 B.C.  At this time, the once great nation of Israel had been reduced to a small country, caught between the superpowers of Babylon and Egypt.  In Jerusalem itself, the rich were getting richer and the poor poorer.  In face of these international and local conditions, could one keep faith?  Within the prophet’s lament about all this, we find key words about God’s working and our response.  The right relationship with God continues as we, regardless of outward circumstances, trust God’s promise of grace and live faithfully.  Saint Paul emphasized this in Romans 1:17.  Upon this foundational truth Martin Luther based his assertion that we are saved by God’s grace, received through faith.

The Gospel – Luke 1:39-56:  In this prelude to the Christmas story, we see the response of two women who have been waiting faithfully for God’s saving power to be at work in the world.  Again, God stirs up his power through miraculous birth (see Genesis 17:17; 1 Samuel 1).  For one, it was long after the biological clock had run down; for the other, younger woman, this was the direct power of the Holy Spirit.  Consider Mary’s song (verses 46-55) in comparison to the woes expressed in Habakkuk’s lament.

Key Verse: And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:45)

Message:  Embracing the Fallen