Sermon Notes for January 14th

January 14th, 2007
“The Fountain of Life”
Psalm 36:5-10; John 2:1-11

1. The scripture reading from John about the miracle at the Wedding feast in Cana can be discussed in a variety of ways. For this morning, I have chosen to look at it in terms of change -- or, more correctly, TRANSFORMATION.

Coming to the wedding feast, Jesus discovers a major problem – there is not enough wine. This would have been an embarrassment and a detriment to a proper celebration of what was supposed to be a joyful event.

And so, after thinking about, Jesus transforms the water into wine. A sign, we are told, of his Divine Power. After that, the party goes on and Jesus goes on his way.

Among other things, what this event indicates for the readers is that Jesus has the power to transform things. Even ordinary everyday things. For this is no dramatic earth changing miracle. It takes place in the commonplace everyday world in a small village among ordinary people.

In other words, the story indicates that Jesus can be anywhere and everywhere. Even here among us in Bemidji. And the power of God is such that it can transform even us …even our church in small ways and perhaps even in large ways.

2. We live in a world that is rapidly being transformed right around us in so many ways that it makes us dizzy at times.

This past week I was talking with some clergy friends who are all my age. We were discussing and lamenting how difficult it is to keep up with things.

For instance, the recent development of YouTube which is an internet device for downloading home produced videos. It only came on the market less than 2 years ago.
During the summer of 2006, YouTube was one of the fastest-growing websites on the World Wide Web,[9] and was ranked as the 10th most popular website. According to a July 16, 2006 survey, 100 million clips are viewed daily on YouTube, with an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded per 24 hours. The site has almost 20 million visitors each month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings,[11] where around 44% are female, 56% male, and the 12- to 17-year-old age group is dominant.[12] YouTube's pre-eminence in the online video market is staggering.

On October 9, 2006, it was announced that the company would be purchased by Google for $ 1.65 billion.

This event was particularly disturbing to my daughter who happens to have been a classmate at Central High School in St. Paul of one of the young men to who invented YouTube. He is now a multi-millionaire. And he is only 28 years old!

3. Youtube is already having a tremendous impact on the world. Last fall, for instance, the Republican candidate for senate in Virginia made a racial comment to a person who was videotaping him on the campaign. Within a day the video was on YouTube and was seen by thousands and millions of people when the major news networks picked it up. Because of the closeness of that election, many think that this one incident may have cost this person the election. And, not only that, but because of the closeness of the national election – it may have cost the Republican Party control of the United States Senate. All, because of YouTube.

As we know, change is often more difficult as we get older and set in our ways. Young people, it seems, have an easier time learning new technology because they don’t have to overcome old habits and patterns of behavior.

Take the cell phone, for instance. Young people live by it. When my daughter and her friend were here last weekend – they both had cell phones and they were going off every 30 minutes.

Lyle Schaller, a church consultant, says, in his most recent book (he writes a new book every 12 to 18 months) that with cell phoneswe will very soon be able to withdraw cash from ATM machines; purchase items on the internet; watch television; buy and sell stocks; and even listen to sermons!!! Imagine that!

We haven’t gone that far at our church, yet, but the other day Alice Collins emailed me to say that I hadn’t updated my sermons on my blog site (since I was gone over the holidays and have gotten behind). In fact, that is one of the problems … it is hard to keep up nowadays.

4. Yes, the world is being transformed right around us in many, many ways. And this is causing problems for many institutions in our society. For instance, how about newspapers. Statistics show that especially among young people – they get their information from the internet. This last year, alone, the Minneapolis Star and Tribune was sold twice – and the day may be coming when printed newspapers as we know them – may be obsolete.

Or, at least, only limited copies will be produced for us older folks who still feel that there is nothing more relaxing, as one of my clergy friends put it, than “to sit in your chair in the morning with a good cup of coffee reading the paper.” How nostalgic that may be some day.
Yes, things are changing. As we were talking last week, two of the pastors were reminiscing about Star Lake Wilderness Camp down near Pequot Lakes. Star Lake, unlike the other Methodist Camps, like Northern Pines is more rustic and outdoors. And it still features outdoor toilets – or outhouses – as we used to call them. Well, many kids nowadays don’t even know what they are and some are so used to modern indoor plumbing that they can’t handle it all. Let’s face it, the outhouse is a thing of the past. Although, I am not sure anyone is that nostalgic about that piece of technological change.
5. Schools and Universities are being changed, medical practice is changing, and now some cars have GPS systems and actually can talk to the driver and tell them when to stop and exit the freeway.
And so, it is not to be unexpected that religious practices and our theological understanding is also affected by change. And this was the topic of the conference I attended last week. It was interesting and very exciting, really.
The topic was in response to the downward trend in membership in main line Protestant denominations (Lutheran, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian) which has been going on for the last 30 years and what to do about it.
The presenter’s (Diana Butler Bass) main point was that the conventional idea -- that the main line churches are losing out to the more conservative/evangelical churches because we are too liberal and don’t make enough demands on our members is not correct. Not necessarily – at all.
The real reason she said is that we have been moving away from a tradition based society to an intentional society in many ways. And now, the locus of authority is no longer in institutions but in individuals.
6. This was not true during the hey-day of American Protestantism when the church was the guarantor of American values such as hard work (the Protestant Ethic); patriotism; respect for parents; public education; and all the rest. All of this, she said, was beginning to be challenged in the 1960s and 70s for a wide variety of reasons. Then, as I mentioned, came the advent of television and now the internet and cell phones and all the rest.
In short, we are living through a time of unprecedented change which is impacting us in the way we live, think, and understand the world.
As a result, everyone is having a hard time keeping up.
And these changes are often subtle and yet critical to how we understand the church, our faith, and the role of the minister in our life.
And it can be very stressful – as expectations change and we become confused and unable to adapt.
7. For instance, the rate of clergy burn-out is higher now than at any time in the last 60 years. In fact, as I returned to the ministry, I met many of my colleagues leaving the institutional ministry at the same time. Now wonder, I think now, that the Conference was happy to see me!
When I came to Bemidji in 1999 I asked one of my good friends what was the biggest change in the ministry in the last 20 years. And he said, “It’s all about relationships. It’s all about relationships.”
Seems pretty obvious, today, but how many of your remember the days when the minister was supposed to be rather above everyone. You know, someone set apart, who was respected but kept a little at arm length. And who was supposed to act in some sort of “religious way” – being overly pious or talking kind of funny and letting you know all the time that he was probably a lot closer to God than you were.
In fact, when I first came here I went to visit a long time member in the hospital. And the first thing he asked me was, “Are you another one of those phony ministers?” And I said, “Well, I am about as phony as the rest of them!” After that, we got along great.
8. But, this little anecdote reveals a great deal about how the church has and is changing. Imagine saying that to a minister 40 or 50 years ago. It would have been unthinkable.
No, whether we realize it or not, or whether we like it or not, the church is changing, being transformed right around us … and, naturally, it is making us confused, uncomfortable, and wondering where this is all going. And it is not helping that so many younger people, born after 1960 or 70 or 80 have left the church or at least find it somewhat irrelevant to their lives. And some of those are looking elsewhere for spiritual guidance.
Others, naturally have responded by blaming society or the change in values or liberals or television or feminism or the decline in the stability of marriage or any number of things. But, according to Diana Butler Bass, “IT’S NOBODY’S FAULT.” And this is the most hopeful thing, because instead of trying to blame it on something or trying to hold on to the past she suggests that we need to go forward into the future with faith and hope and the willingness to try new things, experiment with new ways, and, at the same time to look back to the past, not the recent past, but to spiritual practices that were part of the church a long time ago and are now been rediscovered like meditation, contemplation, hospitality, and the renewal of the sacraments in worship.
9. About five years ago, a young man walked into my office who I had never met before. Inside of an hour he told me he had grown up in the Presbyterian Church, left it, become a born again evangelical Pentecostal charismatic, graduated from Oak Hills Christian College and after long and careful thought he had decided to join the Methodist Church. He then proceeded to tell me that he had come the conclusion that John Wesley’s doctrine of the Quadrilateral (Reason, Tradition, Scripture, and Experience) was the best way to function theologically in the Post Modern World. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
Well, you all know that this was Brian Manly, and now he is a Duke Seminary in Durham, NC. Brian also was instrumental in starting the EPIC postmodern worship which has now evolved into a blended contemporary postmodern worship on Wednesday nights. And it is still evolving.
When I got back last week, I emailed Brian about Diane Butler Bass and he replied (via the internet):
Butler Bass and others are writing about the postmodern world and the renewal movement among mainline churches.
And he goes on to say:
And you thought I was just some crazy ex. Evangelical coming to his senses by joining a mainline church). Nope, I'm riding the wave man. The emerging church is about to explode and I want to be among the pastors in the UMC who are apart of the renewal movement. Some call it a renewal movement, some call it the emerging church, others just say that it is reclaiming our heritage and practicing old traditions while using 21st century technology. Either way the mainline churches are on the verge of a revival.
Yet, I don't think this movement will catch on everywhere. Some churches are too established in their current methods and models to be renewed. I see a lot of Methodist Churches here in the South that are doing very well financially and will not be so inclined to change anything. I think the renewal will really only happen in those churches that are struggling financially and willing to take some risks with the hopes of attracting more people.
By the way, Brian is doing quite well – and got a 3.0 in his first semester.
The big question, I think, is whether the Methodist Church is ready for Brian.
10. Turning water into wine. Transforming the church. This is at the heart of the question for the church as we move into the postmodern world of the twenty first century.
We can react to it with despair and pessimism and blame others or we can go forward with excitement and accept the challenge to be transformed in our thinking and our practice of Christian life and grow in our hospitality toward others.
Diana Bass spent over two years interviewing and studying 50 mainline churches all across the country that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, we growing and reaching out to others – in other words – were successful. This included all the major denominations. And none of these churches were fundamentalist/conservative evangelical churches – whatever that means.
These were moderate to liberal churches that included conservatives as well as liberals in a new kind of post-traditional church model. Among the characteristics of these churches were the following attributes:
a. they were intentional rather than traditional … in other words while they retained certain values and beliefs of the past they also were willing to go in new directions if they weren’t working any more.
b. They practiced radical hospitality – welcoming people from all walks of life
c. They involved as many members as possible in some kind of personal bible study, prayer, meditation or other spiritual practice outside of Sunday worship
d. They were committed to helping others in the surrounding community through outreach to the poor and other disadvantaged minorities
11. But, intentionality seems to be the key. For instead of saying, “we always done it this way … and repeated the customs of the past, they said, “is it working?” – and if not, created new programs that met the needs of today’s changing world.
Let me illustrate by giving you some examples right here in this church of how we have been and are being intentional:


a. Easter breakfast becomes Palm Sunday dinner
b. Abandoning the monthly church council meeting
c. Changes in UMW
d. Men’s group – Romeos
e. EPIC worship becomes Wed Nite Live
f. Secret Prayer Partners
g. Home communion by lay people
h. Extending our Building Use to a variety of groups including the soup kitchen, yoga, Zen meditation, Evergreen house, the Quakers – in other words – practicing radical hospitality – even to groups we may not understand or agree with completely.
i. And last week we had our first annual meeting without the District Superintendent being present. And it was a lot of fun with a puppet show and better attended than any annual meeting in a long, long time.

12. What is radical hospitality? The author, Dr. Bass, presented two extreme examples that occurred during her research.

A. First – at one church in Arizona that prided itself on its hospitality they pad a male cross dresser to attend church. Afterward he said he was amazed that they treated him like a "real human being."

B. Second – they also studied a big successful mega church where they had a big marketing campaign to recruit new members saying that they were a hospitable church (and they even had signs all over the church which proclaimed how open they were) and yet no one talked to them. And, in addition,they built a $ 750,000 fence all around the property to keep out the poor and homeless in the neighborhood.
Now these are pretty extreme … but you get the idea …

13. And the other thing she talked about – which Brian is so big on … and which I have been getting more and more into is the way in which the changing world is altering our basic assumptions about how we understand God and Who Jesus Christ was and is…

Now, notice I didn’t say that I think we or I should begin to question our basic faith in God or anything like that … not at all … but, what I said was that we may be forced to transform the way we think about and experience who God is and how we practice our Christian ways of spirituality in order to survive as individuals and as a church in the new world we are beginning to live in.

And I am not even saying that Postmodernism is the answer, as some in the secular world seem to being saying. Postmodernism is not THE answer – it is just a way of seeing things which seems to make sense in an increasingly post-traditional world.
And it is hard, if you are older (like me) to get your hands around it. But, let me tell you another story.

The speaker said that she had recently attended a program at a large Episcopal Church on the east coast. It was well attended. After the presentation there was a Q & A time. Suddenly, the group got into a big arguement about Bishop Spong who is extremely liberal and has written books about how the Virgin birth didn't really happen etc. etc. Some accused him of being a heretic. Other defended him saying that he was a hero. Finally, things calmed down. Just then a young boy about 16 came to the microphone and asked the speaker what she thought of the Virgin Birth. But the speaker responded by asking the boy what he thought. And here is what he said:

"I don't understand what this arguement is all about because I think that it is such a beautiful story that it must be true WHERE IT HAPPENED OR NOT.

Now, if you understand this concept -- then you begin to understand postmodern thinking. Because the truth of the story is not in the facts or in the literalness of the Bible -- but in the story itself -- for the story contains a window into Divine Truth told in a narrative form and it has nothing to with the facts because God cannot be explained by facts.

14. Whether it happened or not! And does it really matter? Because what really matters is how we relate to one another:

Do we love and care for each other and for the poor in the world. Are we committed to spreading the good news that God is hear among us in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, healing, teaching, reconciling, and forgiving … that we might become more whole in body, mind, and spirit.

That’s what it is all about. That’s what the Kingdom of God means in our midst … not whether or not we have the Easter Breakfast on Easter or a week early.

The Gospel message, then, for today is that Jesus did turn water into wine … and as far as we are concerned – we are the water – waiting to be transformed again and again.

And, just in case you think I am totally out of it, I just learned on Friday how from Charity (our secretary/bookkeeper) how to do text messaging on my cell phone. Onward and upward!

Sermon Notes for January 7th

January 7, 2006
Ephesians 3: 12-1-12
“The Boundless Riches of God”

1. As a minister, one of my responsibilities is to visit people in the hospital as I did last week (two people from Cass Lake). How many of you have been in the hospital at one time or another? Or, at least visited someone in a hospital?

Today’s theme for communion is hospitality. We have used it before.

Paul links hospitality with Love, as he writes in Romans 12: 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

In Hebrews 13, we read also:

1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

The word there is entertain, but Eugene Peterson changes it back in his translation which goes like this:

1-4Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!

2. I bring this up, in part because, the word hospitable is derived, originally from the Latin word Hospitalia or Hospitalis which originally meant: HOSPITAL – WHICH WAS A PLACE OF REST FOR A STRANGER OR TRAVELER OR A PLACE FOR TAKING CARE OF THE INFIRM, THE SICK, OR THE NEEDY.

Hospitality is then derived from Hospital. It means to take care of and be generous toward those in need, who are sick, or in prison.

Of course, regarding hospitality we are reminder most specifically of the words of Jesus in Mathew 25:

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

3. It sounds good, but as we know, we must be careful about how we go about being generous for it must be done in a spirit of humility – and not for the sake of making us feel important or self righteous.

As someone said, nobody really wants a hand-out … what they want is a hand – up.
Nobody really wants to stay sick or destitute, what they want is a chance to get back on their feet. So, we must be careful about how we show hospitality especially to those who we feel the desire to help.

When I was recently in the Twin Cities I was having coffee with a friend and his wife. As we left the coffeehouse a rather strange looking street person approached me asking for money. However, I decided to try to talk to her as I desired to go beyond a handout and see if she could get a referral to some place that would provide more comprehensive assistance. But, she would hear nothing of it.

At this point my friend Larry came over and gave her a twenty dollar bill.

You can imagine her response … but Larry wanted no accolades … and so we left … And, he refused to tell his wife how much he gave her. Later, as we were walking, I asked him about it, I said, “Sometimes you are always so tight fisted about money (and he is) and then, you turn around and just give it away.” And he said, I was down and out once … and so, you never, know, that woman could have been me>”

4. And I told him the story which was told to me by another Larry …the Rev. Larry Nielson. :This Larry is a graduate of Northwestern University - a very prestigious school. In his last church assignment he was at Wesley Methodist church in Minneapolis. The church runs a soup kitchen on Saturdays for the many homeless and low income people in the area. One day Larry was standing around talking to the people waiting in line and he spotted a man with a Northestern Univ. sweat shirt and learned that the man was suffering from some emotional condition and could not work. He was on disability. Later, Larry had a revelation when he, too, realized that "it could have been me!"


5. Perhaps we all have a story like that.

My story is about the time I was in 9th or 10th grade and one of my classmates was burned badly by a fire in a wood stove when his sister threw kerosene on it and it exploded. He lost most the skin on his back and in those days there were not the kind of skin graft treatments we have today. For weeks and months he lingered in the hospital. His church's youth group bought him a baseball glove to cheer him up but that was about it. So, concerned that he had few friends, I began visiting him in the hospital. Mostly we just sat and talked. After a while I began to realize that I was one of the only people who were seeing him. Later, after school was out in the summer I continued to see him. Then, I went away with my father on vacation. When I came back I was told that he had died of pneumonia.

When I look back on it, it was perhaps my first opportunity to really practice hospitality … in a hospital setting.And, looking back, I think now, although I didn’t really know it at the time, it was probably the very beginning of my ministry – for it was, by no means, the last time I was to ever visit someone in the hospital.

6. These are human stories, of course, but there is also a greater dimension to hospitality. And this is the hospitality of God. And this was demonstrated, of course by Jesus. For instance, hear these vivid words describing the situation very early in the Jesus ministry in Galilee by biblical scholar Dominic Crossan:
Jesus comes into an unknown village in Lower Galilee. He is watched by the cold, hard eyes, of peasants who have been living long enough at the subsistence level to know where the line is drawn been subsistence and destitution. He speaks about the rule of God, and they listen as much from curiosity as anything else. They know all about rule and power, about kingdom and empire, but they understand it in terms of taxes and debt, malnutrition and sickness and demonic possession. What they really want to know is what can this kingdom of God do for a lame child, a blind parent, a demented soul screaming in isolation among the graves at the edge of the village.
And then Jesus heals someone … or exorcises a demon … and people are impressed, they don’t quite know what to say … And, as would be expected, they invite him to stay at the home of the village leader … but, instead Jesus stays at the home of the disposed woman.

What kind of kingdom is this, they wonder?

7. What kind of Kingdom is it, we wonder?
For not only did Jesus preach the Good News about God’s kingdom, but he acted it out. He practiced radical hospitality. He ate with the sick, sinners, tax collectors, and all manner of people. And not just the poor, but also the rich, too. Everyone.

For we forget that the rich and well to do … need God’s kingdom, too.
Hospitality for the rich. Hospitality for the poor. Hospitality for everyone.
That is what the Eucharist, the communion is all about. Same food for everyone. Same bread. Same juice. All in equal amounts. Everybody being welcome at the table of the Lord.

Can it be any other way? Are some to favored. Are the poor better than the rich … the rich better than the poor?

Who, shall be first in the Kingdom of God?

8. And what are the “boundless riches of Christ” which Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians which we read this morning?

What is the plan of the mystery of hidden for ages in God who created all things?
Paul, was in prison at the time he wrote this by the way, awaiting trial in Rome. Let us hear it again, in the Eugene Peterson paraphrase:
1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody in his kingdom. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
What Paul means here is that the message of Christ would be extended to the Gentiles … to the whole world … and was not just of the Israelites.

Then he continues:
4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, and same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. 8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and hospitality of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! 11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

9. Doesn’t Peterson make things so clear … so easy to understand?
And this is the task of the church … to make it easy to understand. To help everyone to understand how important they are in the eyes of God. To reach out in word and deed to those who are lost, confused, sick, and in need of care. To practice hospitality in the name of Christ.

And to do it well … and in love … and in humility.

And in return we will receive abundant riches … love, peace, mercy, generosity, joy, and faith … all that we need and could ever want … all through, as Paul says, through the Mystery of Christ. Whose spirit we celebrate and call upon … with open hearts … today … as we participate in the Holy Eucharist with thankfulness and gratitude.

Let us pray …

Sermon Notes for December 31st

December 31, 2006
The Peace of Christ
Colossians 3:12-17

1. As we know, the Apostle Paul wrote a number of letters to various churches throughout the ancient world. The beginning of each letter goes like this:

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, my word to you today, on this last day of the year 2006 should be the
same:

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

These words form the beginning of Paul's letters to Romans, Corinthians, Colossians (the one we read today), Ephesians, Philippians, Thessalonians, and they even appear at the beginning of some of the non-Pauline letters such as First and Second Peter and the book of Revelations.

2. It is commonly thought, of course, that the very early church was all of one mind about who Jesus was and that things today have gotten out of hand.
How amazing, how strange, it is that here today, for instance, in Bemidji that we have some 26 different churches -- all with different attitudes and practices in worship and belief -- all derived from the same person -- Jesus Christ.

But, the reality is that divisions and disagreements over who Jesus was and is were prevalent from the very beginning. This was largely forgotten. And even now, quite often, people will say, "We need to get back to the religion of the early church -- as if that were some kind of Golden Age." But the reality is that the Christian faith has had to struggle from the very beginning with many competing concepts and ideas. Some were outrightly hostile to Christianity ... and others sought to more subtly corrode the faith from within.

3. Paul, in his letter to the church in Colosse (which we just read) is trying to counteract some of these contradictory attitudes which included Gnosticism, astrology, asceticism, and certain philosophical ideas. Paul reminds the church that they need to stick to the basics - to practice the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, and patience. And they are to forgive others and to cloth themselves with Love. This will come about, he says, if they let the Word of Christ dwell in them. Lastly, they are let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts.

And certainly, Peace is one of the attributes of the church (which Paul calls the body - the body of Christ). Imagine that! The church at peace!



Seems like quite often churches are anything but at Peace! Quite often churches are filled with disagreements and controversy. And because religious faith, it seems, is so important, so close to our hearts and minds, we can quite easily become upset and threatened whenever someone disagrees with us on religious matters. Isn't that right? Religious faith is no trivial matter because it goes to the heart of who we are and why the world is the way it is ... it is a very difficult and extremely important matter in our lives.

And I suspect that some of you may have spent the holidays with relatives and friends and had to be very careful not to talk about religion (or
politics) because it might have started an argument or caused people to be uncomfortable. This was necessary in order to preserve PEACE in the family.
And this comes under the common sense truth that "discretion is the better part of valor."

4. Peace, Peace, and there is no peace, or so it seems. "Where is the peace?" We ask. Certainly not in the world today. Certainly not in the world ever ... for since the beginning of time there have been wars and conflicts throughout history.

Yet, there have been times of relative peace in the world. Strange as it may seem, the larger world in Jesus time was at peace. At lest on the surface. It was called Pax Romana. Latin for the Peace of Rome. The Roman peace. This lasted from just before the birth of Jesus well into the second century – over 200 years more or less.

Now this does not mean that there were no wars or uprisings. In fact, it only demonstrates how large and powerful the Roman Empire was that historians can say that it was a time of peace. Tell that the Jews. For in 70 AD they revolted and were subsequently crushed by the Roman Legions, the Temple was burned, and 100s of thousands were slaughtered. Not exactly peace in Israel during that time. But, what was Israel to the Roman Empire? Just a small far away country of little consequence. Kind of like Afghanistan, is today. Some place that few have heard of and even fewer have been too. In truth, Israel didn’t count for much back then – at least not until Jesus appeared on the scene.

5. The peace of Rome is compared to another time of world peace -- which lasted for 100 years from the end of the Napoleanic wars in Europe in 1815 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. During that time, the British Empire flourished. The British Navy ruled the seas (despite the fact that they had not succeeded in subduing the American colonies). This period was called Pax Britannica. And it was said that the "Sun never set on the British Empire."





I was once in the British Museum in London. There you can see artifacts and treasures from all over the world (like mummies from Egypt, for instance) which were brought back to London from the far flung colonies and territories which were under the British rule. Pax Britannica.

Now, today, or at least since World War II, when the United States emerged as the real victor, America is the one great superpower in the world -- at least for now. This has lead some commentators to compare us to the other great Empires. Not that we, as a democracy, are out to conquer other nations, but because of our wealth and power we are able to wield great influence in the world. No other nation in the world spends anywhere near the amount of money on military weapons and soldiers. No other nation has bases and troops stationed in every part of the world. No other country has the burden of trying to maintain peace in the world. Therefore it may be argued that, as the major superpower in the world, we live in a time of American Peace - the Peace of America - Pax America.

6. But is it real peace? What is the real peace? And what does Paul mean when he says ...let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." What does Paul mean when he begins each letter with the words: "Grace to you and Peace from God our father and Jesus Christ our Lord."

One thing is clear, this peace of Christ is not the same as the Peace of Rome. It is not an earthly peace. It is, as Jesus put it, not of this world. No, Jesus sharply distinguished his powers, his realm, from that of the worldly powers -- such as Rome. For when the Pharisees tried to trick him, he said, "Render onto Caesar what is Caesars, and unto God, what belongs to God." And elsewhere, he said, "My kingdom is not of this world."

No, the Roman Peace was established by military force – whereas Jesus’ kingdom is non coercive and non violent. For instance, the famous Roman poet Virgil describes the Roman peace in these words:

Roman, remember by your strength to rule earth's peoples -- for your arts are to be these: to pacify, to impose the rule of law, to spare the conquered, and battle down the proud.

Not everyone, of course, saw it that way. Especially those who were subjugated by Rome ... as we see in the words of conquered general in Britain who said: “To plunder, butcher, steal, these things they misname empire: they make a desolation and they call it peace."

7. So, how on earth, we might ask, could Jesus stand up to this kind of political and military power? How would Jesus kingdom fair against such a superior force?

And how does Jesus’ Kingdom stand up in our lives today? How does the Peace of Christ compete with the the powerful forces of modern day politics, economics, social customs, controversial ideas, television and the media?

How, in today’s world, can compassion, kindness, humility and patience compete with a world where we are advised to look out "for number one." A world where we admire the one among us who can be so clever as to out smart all the rest and become the final "survivor?" While all the rest are regarded as "losers." Or a world where everyone's most admired person is an "American Idol" and we make fun of those who are failures?

So, let us not suppose that it was any different in the time of Paul and Jesus. For theirs was a world oppressed by many forces. So much so, that many people believed that the world was totally evil (which included the body itself) ... and that only the spirit was good and only through special secret knowledge and practice could one be liberated from this dark world. This was called Gnosticism and was very popular in the time of Paul.

8. For the rest of the people, especially the Jews there were two popular solutions to the problem of Roman oppression:

A. One was to fight back. And so they did. Every now and again a Jewish
Messianic leader would arise who claimed to be anointed by
God -- and would lead the people in an armed revolt. Often
They also believed that God would assist them supernaturally. But,
these revolts failed again and again.

B. The other was to put the matter in God's hands. And so we have
the apocalyptic prophets of the Old Testament and other later
testimonies that claimed that God would act supernaturally
in a final day of judgment which would destroy the oppressor
and restore Israel to its just and rightful kingdom

Both, the people hope, would bring peace. But, it didn’t happen.

And into this world Jesus came proclaiming a different message, so different, so unexpected, so radical, that no one was prepared for it.
Especially since they were so intent on the messiah beging either one of the other solutions ... military or supernatural.

No, Jesus wasn't exactly what they wanted. But, God was up to other things.

But, how would Jesus really bring peace to the world?


9. Now, back in the 1950's when I grew up, we were in the midst of the cold war with Russia. In fact, just because World War II ended in l945 -- didn't mean that peace broke out around the world ... it just meant that the shooting and killing had ended. What happened next was the arms race, the nuclear arms race, and smaller wars ... like Korea and Viet Nam ... and growing up back then I worried about the Russians (and they worried about us.). It was a Cold War. Each side loaded up with missiles with nuclear warheads. It was a scary time ... being a kid. I wondered if we would be alive in 20 or 30 years time. And, some days, I am still pretty amazed, sometimes, that I am here today.

Back then, ministers and other people tried to calm peoples fears. Be calm, they said, be not afraid. Have peace of Mind. Norman Vincent Peale became famous for his book about Positive Thinking. And successful ministers also talked a lot about psychology and anxiety ... and pastor counseling was big. People were very worried. People were anxious. I remember one very successful pastor who could say the words of Paul in Philippians 4:7 "May the peace of God, which passeth all ...
understanding guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."

Try saying that quickly... the peace of God with passeth all understanding ... He said it so smoothly and so gracefully ... you could just feel people kind of relax ... which it was meant to do.

About that time, another book acalled Peace of Mind, by Rabbi Joshua Lieberman, became a best seller, as well.

10. Wouldn't you like to have peace of mind today? What would that be like?
Would it be the absence of pain? Would it simply be peace and quiet? Would it be world peace? Would it be a good night's sleep? Would it be a caring loving family? Would it be a secure job? Would it be a cabin in the woods?

What would it be? We can think of lots of things, can't we?

But how to achieve it? -- that is the question.

Often, the cause of dissention, disappointment, pain, and trouble in our lives has to do with conflict. We are torn this way and that by desires and worries and concerns. We love this person, we want that possession, we don't know who we can trust. So we toss and turn at night -- somehow lacking the wisdom, the courage, the certainty to decide what it is we must do. In short, we have no peace. So, what can we do?

William Barclay, in his commentary, provides this advice:





If we are to heed Paul's admonishment: "Let the Peace of Christ rule in our hearts," then the key word here is rule. Instead of “rule” Barclay substitutes the
word -- umpire -- or arbiter. In other words, we need to have a basis or criteria on which to set our lives straight and make good decisions. And this is love. The love of God in Christ.

If we put this first, then we will cease to be pulled in different directions, according to Paul. To put it simpler, it comes down to that slightly overused slogan: "What would Jesus do?" WWJD

Well, Jesus said that the great commandment was to "Love the Lord Your God and Your Neighbor as Yourself." John Wesley also said this is the single best summary of the Christian life. And the truth is that it's not that difficult to understand – is it? What more do you need? What is it that you don't get?

11. But not everyone get’s it. Today, for instance, a lot of people are looking for peace in some form of spirituality and mediation or another. Everyone is looking and evidently not finding it because the bookstores are filled with books on spiritual practices old and new ... the choices are endless: Attend a Bible study, Go to a prayer meeting ... join a men's group ... go through a twelve step program ...
study Eastern religions .... go to a monastery ... get in touch with nature ... develop your inner potential ... the list goes on.

And I am not necessarily ... knocking these ideas ... I think it is good that a lot people are searching ... and trying new things ...

In fact, a couple of summers ago, I had an instructor who had been brought up as a Protestant and who left the Christian faith because of some traumatic experiences and practiced Buddhist meditation for many years ... then, one day, she woke up and said, I need to go back to church. And she went on to be a spiritual director and seminary instructor. And her years of meditation were not wasted ... because today she brings to her work a wealth of experience and the knowledge that people can grow and change and that God is always at work in our lives even when we don't know it.

12. Sometimes, nowadays, we seem to get so wrapped up in our religion that we forget that God is also at work in the world, too. And sometimes what we think we want or what God is doing ... isn't what God's purposes are at all. After all, we are not God.




sd

A few days ago I had coffee with a former co-worker who is a very spiritual person who is a kind of free thinking person. Yet, at the same time, she is always wanting to grow and has lots of questions about Jesus and God and religion. On the other hand, her husband, who is a recovering alcoholic has a more practical and black and white approach to religion. It's either this way or that, in his opinion. And while it works for him --- it drives her nuts. But, after we talked, it was clear that they loved and cared about each other and it wasn't worth fighting about. So, she told him she was not going to go to his Bible study group any more... but that she loved him anyway.

Isn’t that the way it works sometimes? Isn’t that a good way to handle it? For sometimes we are just not on the same page. But this should not stop us from loving and caring for them even if we disagree.

In addition, I learned that their grown up daughter is dabbling in Buddhist meditation. This also upsets her husband, who loves the daughter very much. What do I say to him? she asked me. What did you say? I asked her. "I told him to have more trust in God and things will work out. After all, it may just be a phase. Maybe she needs to explore something new a different to get some perspective.” Well, I said, that sounds sensible to me. After all, trying to argue with the daughter and getting all upset will only make matters worse.

So, in the end we need to understand, as Paul says, that Love is the final arbiter. That is what Christ is all about. The love of God in Christ surpasses all things. And it is in this love, above all things that we find peace of mind, heart, and soul.

13. Now, last summer, as you know, I stopped in the Black Hills to climb to the top of Harney Peak. Quite a spectacular place. You can see every direction
-- a full 360 degrees. This was once the holy place for Indian people. One of them, Black Elk, started out as a traditional medicine man. At the age of nine, he fell gravely ill and went into a trance. This last for several days. Not unlike, in a way, the famous vision of Julian of Norwich in England. This vision of Black Elks was recorded in a famous book by John G. Niehardt, in l932 called Black Elk Speaks. Some years later Black Elk also went up on the top of Harney Peak where he prayed for peace and understanding among all the nations and people's of the earth.

So, in addition to being a Souix Indian holy man, who was Black Elk? Well, what is not so widely known is that Black Elk later became a Christian under the influence of Catholic missionaries. Now, to this very day, there is a continuous controversy about whether Black Elk was a Christian or not and no one knows for sure. I personally think he was both.

14. Well, Today, and in the coming year, regardless of our personal concernsa we certainly all need to pray and hope for peace in the world. What kind of peace? Well, that is a really good question.

Will it be peace imposed by the sword, by the conqueror. Will it be the Peace of Rome ... Pax Romana? or will it be the Peace of Christ -- the peace of God -- created by love?

Which kind of peace will it be?

Before he died, Black Elk said this:

There are three forms of peace in the world.

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the Universe and all its Powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men and women.

15. What kind of God is it we believe in? A God of judgment, who turns people away because their religion makes no sense and does not help them live better and more loving and caring lives. Or a God of Peace and Compassion ... in who we can live and have our being. A God who, in Christ Jesus, entered this world ... that we might become closer to Him and to one another. And that we might find, at last, the true peace which only God can give.

Sermon Notes for December 17th

December 17, 2006
“Shout and Sing for Joy”
Isaiah 12:2-6

1. In the big scheme of things, artists communicate with pictures and have to pay close attention to color, shape, and size. On the other hand, musicians communicate with instruments and voice and must pay close attention to sound. And ministers communicate mostly with words. Only words. Oh yes, I can lower and raise my voice and talk faster or slower and things like that. And like an artist I can try to create some image in your minds. Some ministers can be very theatrical and even entertaining. This has led one person to remark that there are really three doctrines of the God.

a. God b. Gawd and c. Gaaawwwd!

In this regard, I once heard the former mayor of St. Paul, George Latimar
say that whenever he hears a minister say Gaaawwwd! He immediately
sends to reach for his checkbook!

But, whatever the case, words come with the business. And, what
We are really concerned about is, after all, THE WORD OF GOD isn’t it.

2. While I am not an English major, I do occasionally write poetry, and I
Try to pay close attention to words. Yet, sometimes, I get it wrong.

Words, words, words …

Today, one of the problems we face is the mis-use of words by advertising.
It is often very subtle. Also, in politics, we have what is called the “spin factor” as officials try to answer questions in ways that avoid giving a straight answer. This happens in business as well. Lawyers do it, public relations people do it. We all do it … sometimes.

And so, the language we use gets confusing. We want to say something and yet somehow we can’t seem to find the right words to say. Who has not had that happen? A friend or co-worker has a tragedy in their life – a loved one who dies – and we want to offer consolation – but somehow we don’t know what to say. Or, it is we who are suffering, and suddenly we find that others avoid us … and we wonder if they really care --- or is it the case that they don’t know what to say?

3. Speaking of words … I once ran across a quotation which has had me thinking ever since. This is what it said:

The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.

Now, there is one to ponder, isn’t it? The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.

It was only this past week that I discovered who said it. It was Leslie Weatherhead the famous Methodist preacher in England. Weatherhead served at City Temple in London during the 1940’s and 50’s and wrote many books. During WWII the church was completed destroyed and later rebuilt. Weatherhead is not well known anymore in this country.

The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.

4. Quite commonly if I asked you what the opposite of Joy is … you would answer “sorrow.” Is that not right? So, would I. So, how can this be?

So, I went to the dictionary, but even there I found no answer except other than both happiness and joy on the one hand and sadness and sorrow on the other are separated only by a matter of degree or depth. Joy, in short is something greater and more profound than happiness. At this point I ran across and mediation by Father Ron Rolheiser, a Catholic spiritual director, whose book I have been reading. Here is what he says:

Too often we confuse joy with good cheer or with a certain rallying of the spirit that we try to crank up when we go to a party or let off steam on a Friday night. We tend to think of joy this way: There is ordinary time in our lives, when duty, work, emotional and financial burdens, tiredness, worries, and pressure of all kinds keep us from enjoying life and from being as cheery and pleasant as we would like.

This is kind of the way it often is, isn’t it. We work hard all week, there are worries and responsibilities … so we look forward to the weekend … to play golf or go out and “have a good time.” But, then, its back to work and the temporary happiness wears off again in the daily routine. This is not joy.

5. So what is it? The great Christian writer, C.S. Lewis said:

"Joy, must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again...I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is."

Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard suggests that joy is to be completely in the now. He said that “joy is the present tense…the whole emphasis is on the present.”
And Rolheiser concludes by saying: This is joy: Imagine walking to your car or to the bus after a day's work, tired, needing some rest. But, just as you reach your car or the bus stop, you fill with a sense of life and health; in some inchoate way, all jumbled together, you feel your body, mind, soul, gender, history, place within a family, network of friends, city and country, and this feeling makes you spontaneously exclaim: "God, it's good to be alive!"

That's joy. As C.S. Lewis puts it, it has to surprise you. You can't find joy; it has to find you. That's its real quality.

6. Which leads me to conclude that while happiness is about pleasure and “feeling good.” Joy is a profoundly spiritual thing which is connected, somehow to God, and ultimately involves love and even suffering.
For we must understand that real love is not always going to bring us happiness. Real love, in fact, may bring responsibilities, worry and anguish as well has pleasure and enjoyment.

Take for instance, last week we had our children’s Christmas pageant, it’s supposed to be a rather light hearted and happy time … and yet, at one moment when finally all the little children were front sing in all their costumes and posing for the pictures … for a brief moment, at least for me, it went beyond happiness. As I said, later, it was priceless!

And that is also what joy is – it is priceless. And it can’t be bought at the store. It can only happen because we are in tune with the deeper truth about life and understand the Love of God for all people. Oh yes, it was a cute picture … but what you don’t see on the surface is all the parental worry, and effort, and caring, and even suffering to raise children and to do it right. All, so, for one brief moment, it all seems worthwhile.

7. Now it has been my observation over time that often when I perform weddings which I do … that mothers, particularly, and sometimes fathers will be moved to tears sometime during the wedding. Sometimes, even the bride or bridegroom.

Tears at a wedding. Why is that? At a funeral, yes, but weddings are supposed to be happy times. What is going on here?

Can it be that what is happening is a case not merely of happiness but of joy. For the tears are not from sorrow but from joy! Or is it a sense of loss – that ones child is fully grown and no longer a child – thereby releasing the parent of further responsibilities. Well, it is many things, no doubt.

Or take the famous story of the prodigal son, who takes his inheritances and foolishly squanders it … bringing no end of grief to his loving father. And yet, the father never gives up, never stops caring, hoping that someday his son will return … and then he does … and the father is filled with joy … no, it is much deeper than happiness … it is joy … nourished by love.

It could have ended differently. The father could have disowned his son. But this would not be the way of love, would it.

8. As a result, we may conclude that hard-heartedness does not go along with joy. No, just as in Dickens’s immortal story of Scrooge -- the true secret of Christmas joy is revealed in his new found generosity and love.

Yet Scrooges uplifting transformation can make us all want to outdo each other in celebrating the holidays. As one blogger on the internet put it:

The thing about joy is that it cannot be bought and sold in the marketplace. We can’t train for it or plan for it. We can’t build our schedule around it and we certainly can’t force it, like a Christmas Amaryllis, to bloom in our lives. And because we can’t control joy – something that we so desperately want - we spend much of our time working to prevent the opposite of joy.

And if those things don’t work, we put on masks. We disguise ourselves with giddiness and say we are “just so happy!” Our busy social calendars masquerade as joyful living and we run breathlessly from one holiday activity to another, telling our friends how excited we and how much we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the holidays. Our lifestyle becomes a magnificent façade, behind which we hide our pain. To top it all off, we have to meet the expectation of our culture which demands that we to shove our heartache in the closet, get out in the world and enjoy life.

9. No, you can’t manufacture joy. Nor can you avoid suffering or sorrow in this live. And you can’t be happy all the time unless you take a lot of drugs – and then you aren’t really happy -- just out of it.

And let’s face it, if you have lost a loved one this past year … or at any time, Christmas won’t be the same. It may not be a happy one. But it still can be a joyful one -- for joy comes from another place – and it is a spiritual condition not merely an emotion.

In his book, Seasons of Hope, David Butler writes that because “freedom can only be tasted in all its sweetness by those who know the feel of chains, so joy sings with its most full-throated glory only in spirits enlarged by the weight of despair and softened by the brine of tears.”

And this is what sets joy apart for it can be experienced even in the midst of sorrow. And this is what makes Leslie Weatherhead’s statement true … the opposite of joy is not sorrow … it is unbelief. It is really the lack of understanding and experiencing the love of God which cuts us off from Joy. For if our hearts are cold … we experience really nothing but temporary pleasure and pain.

10. Now we may ask, what can we do, if joy cannot be manufactured to find it at
Christmas or in life generally? Well, first of all we must understand that all the Giddy happiness, fretful busy-ness, and the bustling about that leaves us breathless – these come and go and often leave us feeling empty and in need of renewal.

For Joy is something entirely different. Joy comes to us in the midst of pain, when someone speaks a word of comfort or offers a shoulder to cry on. Some would call it gratitude. Joy comes when we feel utterly abandoned and someone offers to stand with us. Some would call it friendship. Joy is found in the deep sigh of contentment when we recognize the gifts we have been given. Some would call it peace of mind. For Joy truly grows out of gratefulness and generosity of spirit.

This year people filled Christmas baskets to deliver to those less fortunate here in Bemdiji. You will never see the recipients but you might be interested in this statement made by a development director from the Boys and Girls Club in another state regarding a similar project.

"It truly makes a difference. (Families) are usually so overwhelmed, they're left speechless or shedding tears of joy," said Christine Pouch, development director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Porter County. “Many people say their prayers have been answered when they receive the gift cards.”

11. Joy can occur any time, any place, in any circumstance. In ancient times and more primitive societies today … people still must go to a well to draw water. In many of those places, it was the work of women.
Even up till modern times this was true in the Hebrides Island off the north coast of Scotland where work patterns in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland tend still to be traditionally gender-based. Women domost of the child-caring, virtually all domestic chores, dairy tasks, carding, spinning and dyeing wool, and waulking (fulling) the cloth after it had been woven. Whatever the chore, it is made lighter by singing. Nowadays, with the increased interest in Celtic culture, you can buy CDs which illustrate the rich variety of their songs performed with breathtaking beauty and tenderness by women at work.
Today, in modern industrial and post-industrial society, people do not sing at work. And, so, with it, go the joy of community, comradeship, and the celebration of life in the everyday. And yet, we still sing together here in church – do we not.
Well, it was Isaiah, who heard the women singing at the well and compares it to life with God:

With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

No, Isaiah is not talking about happy times … for in the days when these words were written, the Hebrews had suffered captivity, abandonment, slavery … they had been alienated and homeless …

12. Through all this, however, God had been with them. God had not abandoned them. God had not thrown them unto the dust-heap of forgotten nations and civilizations.

And now they were returned to their homeland … at last. And, now they knew that God was once again in their midst and they rejoiced with Isaiah who said.
Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

This is the joy of the father of the Prodigal Son. This is the joy of the wife whose husband has just returned from Iraq. This is the joy of the mother at birth. This is the joy of sinner who was found salvation. This is the joy of the Christ being born in Bethlehem.

And so we come here today … to draw from the wells of salvation the deeper water … to nourish our souls and experience the joy.

13. And how can we spread that joy around and make it contagious this year?
Trouble is, so many people see the church as joyless or they have experienced religion in negative terms. A judgmental God. Unrealistic rules and expectations. Insensitive and bigoted people – that kind of thing.

Unfortunately, many today are turned off the message of the Jesus Christ. And yet they are still seeking, trying to find, searching … for something.
We are trying. You may have seen the United Methodist Ads again on CNN and some of the other channels. They are specifically run at Christmas because that is often when people look to the church. These are new ads, same message, “open hearts, open minds, open doors.”

It’s all there, but are we doing the best we can to reach out to people? What do you think?

14. A week from today, it will be Christmas Eve. Many of you will be gone, traveling to far away places to visit loved ones and friends.
Other people will take your place in church. People we seldom see the rest of the year. Many are here because they have come to Bemidji to visit relatives rather than the other way around. We will welcome them. And then there will be those who have no church, who are new to the community, and those who are curious, and lonely. They will come hoping to find something lacking in their lives. Some hope. Some Joy. Some mysterious connection to God.

And though we have all been through it many many time, there is always something of the unexpected, the unusual, the amazing for all of us as we wonder about the whole thing. The child in a manger. The Hopes and Fears of all people. A tiny thing. Yet a revelation from God on High to all people.

I have come to give you good news of great joy for all the people – to you is born this day in the city of David – a Savior.

Let us pray.