To Become the Child of God - Christmas I 2023

 Christmas I 2023 – St. Mark’s – Dec. 31, 2023- JTCO

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. (John 1.1.12)

(Link to audio file is HERE)

Christmas blessings to you all… I hope you are continuing to celebrate the great twelve days.. this season of light…

At our house, son Max has headed back to his marine base in Hawaii,  presents have been purchased and opened, the cookies and meals prepared and mostly eaten.. and finally, just last night, we had a moment to light the fire, to put on some Christmas music, to lower lights and light the candles - to be still and to let Christmas truly come.  I recommend it.  Celebrating holidays, as you know, can be exhausting.. and it can lead one to wonder – why are we doing all of this dashing around? And perhaps, more to the point, what difference does it all make – what difference can  Christmas make this year?

As I pondered that question – this passage from our gospel reading came to mind – But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…

I want to warn you that this may be two sermons in one – so please stay with me. It should come together at the end.

What can it mean to become a child of God? 

Here is a story that speaks to this question most beautifully.

It comes from the Rev. Fred Craddock – minister, preacher and seminary professor- now with the Lord - and is recorded in his book The Craft of Preaching.   He tells about a trip he made with his wife, Nettie, when something remarkable happened...

[They] were vacationing in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, eating hamburgers in a restaurant. An old guy comes up to them and asks them who they are, what Fred does for a living, how long they plan to be there, etc., all making Fred antsy. Then, after finding out that Fred [was] a preacher, the man says he has a story to tell. Fred asks him to sit down with them. And the man tells his story.

 He told them that he was born in these mountains to a single woman. [Early 20th century] In those days that meant shame, a lot of shame. Boys at school had names for him. They guessed at who his father was and knew who his mother was, and they made his life hell. He ate his lunch at school alone every day.

He started going to a little church in Laurel Springs pastored by a large, bearded, craggy, big-voiced preacher, who scared the boy but drew him as well. The boy would go just for the sermon and then sneak out before anybody could corner him and say, “’What’s a boy like you doing in church?’” But one Sunday he couldn’t get out in time. The aisle was blocked by church members. And he was scared, because at the end of the aisle was the preacher. Then came the confrontation: the preacher looked at him and said, “’Well, boy, you are whose child?  ’” And the boy flinched. What would be next? ‘Whose child . . .’ was his whole nightmare. But then the gruff, rough, preacher paused and said “’Boy, you are a child; you are a child of God. I see a striking resemblance.’” 

The preacher “swatted the boy on the bottom and said, ‘go, claim your inheritance.’”

“[The old man] said ‘I was born that day.’ [Fred] said to the old man, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Ben Hooper.’ And then he left. [Fred said to himself] Ben Hooper? Ben Hooper? [That name rings a bell.]

“Oh, yes. I remembered my father telling me about how the people of Tennessee twice elected a governor named Ben Hooper who had been born to an unmarried mother.” Fred writes, “Ben Hooper had told me a story. No, Ben Hooper had told me the story.” 

YOU are a child a God – beloved – because of Jesus and how through him – his birth, his life, his death and the power of his resurrection – you have the power of being a child of God.

Hear this today - Whatever happens to you in this life, if anybody tries to run you down and make you feel less than – whatever befalls you - Remind yourself – I am a child of God…  (pause a moment and repeat that to yourself)    Now, that is something can make a difference this Christmas for you – 

And the preacher also said to the boy – go claim your inheritance – We could spend a lot of time on this – on what our inheritance is as a child of God – but I want to back up in our gospel and point to just one thing – 

John says of Jesus Christ that what has come into being  in him is LIFE and the life is the light of the world.. and that light shines (the verb gives the sense of continuously shining) and the darkness does not overcome it – then, now and forever.

So, when we belong to Jesus as members of his family, that light surrounds us, dwells in us and leads us…what an inheritance!

Three thoughts about the Light of Christ which has come to us..our inheritance

That light can lead us in times of confusion where it’s hard to see the way forward –no one puts this more beautifully than Cardinal John Newman  who wrote in the first verse of a poem – the title is the same as the first line…

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom

Lead thou me on

The night is dark, and I am far from home

Lead thou me on

Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see

The distant scene, one step enough for me

The kindly light of Christ can lead us through whatever darkness surrounds us  (and there is plenty of it today).  This is part of our inheritance as Children of God.

The light of Christ leads and also can reveal the truth of a situation or can give us insight or wisdom – Have you had this kind of experience?  You get an intuition or a hunch or a whisper of the spirit about a situation – not something that would ordinarily be seen or known… that  is also part of our inheritance as Children of God..

And, finally John tells us that what has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people –

The light of Christ which can live in us – is life itself.. eternal life, resurrection life – and what an inheritance that is..

So, beloved of St. Mark’s, something that can really make a difference this Christmas is for you to get it down into your bones that you are a beloved Child of God with a present inheritance of nothing less than the Light of Christ…

I want to invite you into a moment of silence and then I’ll offer a prayer…

Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word.  Grant that this light , enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reign with you, in the unity of the Holy Sprit. One God now and forever.  AMEN.

Advent 1C - 2024 - But YOU, when you see these things

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 Advent I- Year C- 2024- St. Mark’s, Charleston

Happy New Year! Happy New Church Year! We have entered a whole new Church year, and it is a new beginning — an opportunity for a reset in our relationship with the God of our hope.

This morning, I’d like to offer some thoughts about Advent - this mysterious season -, to look at our gospel reading a bit, and to explore the idea of judgement as a part of the last days.

Advent is a strange season, and today we are invited to push out into its deep waters. There is noise and cloud - shouting in the desert and heavy fog-like cloud, sounds like the roaring of waves, darkness, and, then, finally, silence...all giving way, at Christmas, to the light of a single flame burning in the enveloping darkness.

Now, in our time, its fairly normal to mark the New Year with fireworks and Jesus is revealing some of his own as we will hear in our reading from Luke...

One would think that it would make sense to begin at the beginning with this story of how God came to be with us but, instead, we begin with a vision of the end of all things.  It’s a little like reading the last chapter in the book before we start the first chapter.  So, let us step out and listen and see what the Holy Spirit might be saying to us this day.

Today, we’re in the Gospel of Luke and the disciples and Jesus are in Jerusalem. It’s a few days before his arrest and death, and they must have been asking about the end times.. .what it would be like and when it would come..

Jesus says, as we heard, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations —  there will be chaos caused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  Listen to this: People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

The experience of the end will be so intense that people will literally faint from fear.. .1 wonder if you have ever been that afraid?

And then Jesus says, but YOU, when these things start to unfold, don’t try to hide, you don’t need to be afraid, look up because your redemption, the great day of reckoning, where justice will be done and the healing of all that is broken will begin and the new creation will come into glorious flower. But YOU, look up!

These word remind me a little bit of those blessed first responders who run toward a crisis when everyone else is trying desperately to get away.. WE don’t need to be afraid on that day. .because the spiritual veil separating heaven and earth will be drawn aside and we will see him - the Beloved - our Jesus- the one who loves us and who treasures us - the one who is ever present although we cannot see him physically.  Although, perhaps, we can sense him with the eyes of our hearts.  Yes, we will see him, and it will a time of unbounded joy.

And then, Jesus switches from this cosmic imagery — from the terrifying sounds and fury to a humble, earthy example. Perhaps they were standing by a fig tree when he made these remarks- Look at the fig tree and all the trees.  When they come out in leaf... when they begin to green up, you know that summer is coming...

But here’s the thing, you won’t be able to see it if you are swallowed up with the cares of the world or with drunkenness or all of the myriad of ways we distract ourselves... NO, he says stay awake., pay attention, keep watch..

So, Jesus, what exactly are we looking for?

In the here and now, we need to keep looking for the signs of the kingdom breaking in and O they are all around us when we have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts that are not distracted. So what keeps us from seeing the Kingdom that Jesus says is right here- (although, only in part) ?

I think we can’t see it most often because of fear so I’d like to come back to the fear response.   Jesus says people will faint out of fear. I want to suggest that part of this is the fear of judgement.  This is something, I believe, many of us wrestle with.

I’m reminded of the billboards I used to see all over the highways with words like — Jesus is coming back! Are you saved? - and words to that effect....

In our Collect for the Day, one of the most beautiful of them all, we pray, (this is the last part) - that “in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal;

To be judged is a frightening prospect., but, here’s the thing, it all depends on who the judge is...

Here’s a story - Many years back, one of our sons - when he was in high school- got into a fist fight with another young man over comments made about our son’s girlfriend. Our son broke several bones in his hand, and the other boy ended up with a broken nose. They both ended up in the emergency room. That young man’s mother decided that they should press charges for assault and battery against our son. So, our son got a phone call saying a warrant was out for his arrest. This was not good. We lawyered up and they did too.

On the day of court, we arrived and sat at the back of the courtroom. There were other cases being heard at the front.  At one point I looked up and realized with a terrible shock that I knew the judge. He was a former parishioner. I was horrified., what was he going to think of our son, of us - you can imagine... I felt shame, humiliation, along with great fear for our son and I prayed that somehow a miracle would happen, that he would excuse himself and someone else would hear our case. And, he would not ever know that we had been there. No such luck.

Finally, it was our son’s turn and we went forward and stood behind him. The judge looked at us and it was not the terrible, critical, judgmental look I had feared, but there was compassion. He asked both young men to come forward and tell him what had happened. They both admitted their fault. After listening carefully, he spoke sternly to them both, dismissed it, and required our son to get some anger management therapy. A good call.

Later, in addition to feeling a deep sense of relief, I realized., he knew us. He knew what kind of parents we were as he had seen our family Sunday in and Sunday out for years.  He knew our son.   Gradually, my personal sense of shame and fear for my son diminished., the judge knew us and he cared for us. I don’t think the way he handled our case was unusual - for, as we waited in the courtroom, I heard and witnessed his compassion in dealing with other cases. It turned out that was his reputation as well.

This is the point I believe Jesus is trying to make - yes, there will be a kind of judgement because what happens to us at the hands of other matters.  The injustice, the injuries we have suffered have consequence.   And, how we treat others matters BUT here’s the thing, we do not need to be afraid because Jesus—the one who knows us, who loves us is our judge and his compassion is unbounded and his remedies are grounded in love. Jesus says when these things begin - look up and raise your head because your redemption is drawing near.

So Advent is a time when we think about the last things and the first things - in my end is my beginning - noted TS Elliot, We hear the words of the prophets, and the words of an angel to a young woman.

So, We begin again in Advent.

We can run towards what is scaring other people ... And we can know that

The star is already tracing its path through the heavens...

 The wisemen are already on their way

The shepherds are already in the fields

 Mary is pregnant and Joseph is trying his best

The prophets have spoken

And John the Baptist has been born

Caesar Augustus has already declared a census.

The time of our Lord’s nativity has approached..

and his coming in glory at the end of time is already approaching...

So, beloved, let us wake up, keep an eye out for the presence of the Lord, let us love and trust the One who will be our judge and not fear him... 

Let us push out into the depths of Advent, let us love God, each other, and all those we meet along the way and above all let us stay awake and hold onto the God of our hope - the one who is and has always been in the boat with us.. 

For, in him is our hope.. ..St Augustine wrote “And when we say ‘God’ what have we said? That one syllable contains all that we hope for” .

May our God in Christ bless you with renewed hope, love and vigilance this Advent. Amen!

JTCO

 

Tomorrow, December 6, is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra - one of my all time favorite observances.  Here is a prayer (Lesser Feasts and Fasts),  a picture and a poem. 

Grant, Almighty God, that your church may be so inspired by the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, that it may never cease to work for the welfare of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through  Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Street Corner Icon

Street corner Santa,

with your padded red and polyester finery,

ill-fitting boots and occasional beard,

look who stands behind you.

Street corner Santa, do you know who you are?

Santa Claus, St. Nicholas in other times and places,

Bishop of Myra, champion of children,

protector of sailors and all those afloat

where benevolence is rare and sanctuary needful.

Street corner Santa, do you know who you are?

Consider a bishop’s garb and gear, then look

at your crimson and white and candy canes.

Beneath them are saints’ robes and shepherd’s crook

and where you walk or beg, so does he.

Street corner Santa, do you know who you are?

And behind you both, stands yet another.

The shepherd himself, his icon you are.

So, beckon the little ones to come unto you,

ring strong your bell and plead for us to care.

Then, help us, dear Santa, to see who you are.

© JTCO 1990