Holding Baby

 

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY

Do you like looking at and holding tiny babies? Everyone does. Mothers and fathers, grandparents and godparents, aunts, uncles and siblings – everyone – loves holding a baby.

When each of our four grandchildren were born, we couldn’t wait for our turn to hold them. When it was my turn to hold each one, I felt different.

When you hold a tiny baby, you feel different. You have this tiny baby in your arms, and you’re very careful with the baby, but you feel different. You feel love in your heart. Is that how you feel? That’s how I felt.

In our Gospel today, Mary and Joseph take their baby, Jesus, to the Temple. When they get there, they meet two people. They meet an older man named Simeon and an older lady name Anna.

Do you know what Simeon and Anna did when they saw and held Baby Jesus? They praised God. They. Praised. God.

Whenever you hold a baby, make sure you praise God because God is the One responsible for giving that baby life and bringing him or her into the world.

When I held my grandchildren, I praised God, said a blessing and made the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads. Before two of them turned a year old, I baptized them. That was a thrill for me.

And when you come up with your parents who take Holy Communion, because you’re too young still, I make the Sign of the Cross on your foreheads and say this blessing: “May God, who has begun His good work in you through Holy Baptism bring you quickly to His Holy Table. Amen.” … Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Nunc Dimittis

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My focus is the Nunc Dimittis in Luke: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Christmas offers an opportunity to reflect upon important parts of life – family and faith. On those, I hang today’s sermon. Three Bs – baby, body and beauty. The baby Jesus beheld by Simeon; the body of Christ we receive; and the beauty we behold.

First, the Baby Jesus beheld by Simeon. … Grandparents and parents frame pictures of their grandchildren and children. Similarly, in our Gospel, Luke framed pictures of Baby Jesus. Luke framed Jesus around the faithfulness of his parents who fulfilled the commands of the Torah as they brought him to the temple. As He entered, two Old Testament saints, waiting in the temple for the Messiah to arrive, greeted him.

Joseph and Mary fulfilled the Torah by bringing Jesus to his true home. Being poor or of humble state, they sacrificed two pigeons because they could not afford a lamb; however, no lamb was necessary, because at 40 days, Jesus himself was the lamb brought to the temple.

Although Luke did not indicate Simeon’s age, he portrayed him like the other Old Testament saints in the infancy narrative – Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. Like them, Simeon, a righteous member of Israel, received and announced the consolation of Israel.

There are two parts to Simeon’s words. He began by intoning a canticle that sounded like the Old Testament, but was filled with New Testament themes announcing the presence of God’s salvation in Jesus. The Holy Spirit inspired his song about the messiah for whom he was waiting.

His canticle echoed Zechariah’s Benedictus, but he directed it at Baby Jesus and not Baby John. His song was a beautiful example of the immediate response to the inauguration of God’s consolation and redemption in the Christ Child. Simeon is now set free to depart in peace according to the Lord’s word for Jesus freed him – as he did others – through his presence in the world.

God opened Simeon’s eyes to the salvation cloaked in the 40-day-old Jesus, still wrapped in infant’s clothing. His opened eyes referred not to physical vision, but an understanding of Jesus’ work. Throughout his gospel, Luke wove the metaphor of closed and opened eyes for the motifs of minds closed or opened to the preaching of a crucified and resurrected Jesus.

Luke used the eyes as the means of illumination, and ended his gospel by telling us that his disciples walked in the light straight into the Book of Acts. Conversely, he ended Acts with Paul reciting Isaiah’s prophecy. “This people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed.”

Simeon’s eyes were opened to salvation, a salvation that is a light of revelation to all nations, but as he blessed the parents, he sounded a somber note when he said to Mary, “This child is why many people in Israel will be condemned and others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart.”

Simeon’s words coupled to the angels’ message to shepherds – “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger” – are dual signs of humility and poverty. That perfect image of humility and poverty, an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, foreshadowed Jesus’ crucifixion, the ultimate manifestation of humility and poverty. The world rejected Christ because he did not meet human expectations.

Jesus echoed Simeon’s words to the scribes and Pharisees in his final parable. “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.’ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Jesus’ word passed through Israel like a sword, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that said, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword,” and he compelled people to reveal their secret thoughts.

Every participant in Jesus’ life, including his mother, experienced sharp pain because of his teaching and death. Simeon’s announcement shocked readers who did not expect Jesus to lead people to conflict and upheaval and reveal their hearts.

Because of sin, people were – and are – scandalized and crushed by Jesus’ words and death, but through his death, his Father displayed the ultimate sign of revelation, the Resurrection.

Luke summarized the Law and Gospel in a brief song sung by Simeon. You now know why Simeon sung his canticle. Now, we explore why we sing it. We move from the baby Jesus beheld by Simeon to the Body of Christ we receive.

In some Lutheran congregations, it is customary that after people receive the Body of Christ, they sing Simeon’s Canticle. Have you ever wondered why Christians sing Simeon’s Canticle, also known as the Nunc Dimittis? Nunc Dimittis comes from the Latin of the Vulgate Bible, which reads: “Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum, in pace.” Because Simeon’s canticle implies fulfillment, peace and rest, the church viewed it as appropriate for the ending of the day. Since the 4^th century, the church used it in evening worship services – Compline, Vespers and Evensong.

Thomas Jefferson used the canticle in official correspondence. Novelists and poets T. H. White, T. S. Eliot, Joseph Brodsky, Ezra Pound and John LeCarre employed it in their works.

Within the context of our liturgy, it appears we take Simeon’s words out of context. After all, what does his experience have to do with ours? How can Holy Communion compare to Simeon's unique honor of holding the infant Jesus in his arms during the child's first visit to the temple?

Of course, we would love to have been in the temple and shared in the experience with Simeon. We would give anything to have been the first – along with the shepherds – to see the infant Jesus, or to be with the Magi as they offered him their gifts. However, as Luther insightfully taught, we do not find Christ in those places.

Through the events of his incarnation, birth, crucifixion and resurrection, our Lord accomplished our salvation; but the benefits of his saving work – forgiveness, life and salvation – are distributed to us through Word and Sacrament, his means of grace. We cannot go back to stand with Simeon, but the good news is that we do not have to. Christ is present here.

So, when, following the reception of the Lord's Supper, one sings Simeon's canticle, nothing could be more appropriate. Our eyes saw his salvation, and better yet, we tasted and saw that the Lord is good. So, what could be better than holding the infant Jesus in our arms? How about eating and drinking his body and blood given for the forgiveness of our sins? This truly is heaven on earth, because here we have Jesus and all his benefits.

We have Jesus and all his benefits because we believe and receive. That is the beauty of pure Christianity as expressed in the Lutheran tradition. We believe what we receive – Word and Sacrament. That in itself is pure beauty. Hence, my third point, the beauty we behold.

We define beauty as the combined qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. What pleases us? The literature of Shakespeare or Luther, sculptures of Michelangelo or Rodin, glasswork of Chiluly or the Cathedral of Chartres, music of Beethoven or Chopin, mom’s apple pie or dad’s grilled steak. The list is endless.

Then, there is nature. We are pleased to gaze at stars in the midnight blue or puffy clouds, to smell freshly cut grass or ocean’s breeze, to hear children playing or words of forgiveness, and to taste the fruit of the vine. In the words of Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”

As I said earlier, the beauty of Christmas is that it shifts our senses to the important parts of life – family and faith. Unfortunately, for some, Christmas is the fourth quarter of the calendar year – a period to calculate whether retail business can survive another year. For others, it is just another day. My brother, a self-employed handy man, told me on Christmas Day some guy called him to repair his washer. For many, Christmas is just a busy season to shop, bake and party – void of the reason Christians observe Advent, the Incarnation and Epiphany.

For me, Christmas is a marvelous time to meditate on God’s beauty; and an essential function of beauty is to give humanity a healthy shock! Whether beauty appears in talent, nature or an act of love – an infant cradled to its mother’s bosom or a dying man slumped in the arms of a Mother Teresa – it shocks us back to what is important in life and creates an ineffable moment we experience but cannot sometimes name. That is why we recall the Spirit-filled moment of a Simeon. In the moment and presence of true beauty, he responded, as we would love to respond.

The beauty of the first Christmas – the beauty of the first encounter with God incarnate – is enough of a healthy shock for a lifetime, and it leaves the shocked struggling for utterance. God entered our world as a human being, and in our world, God has places where he can hide and reveal himself.

In the beauty of art and nature and human relationships, God hides and reveals himself. In the people God put in your life, God hides and reveals himself. Where love and mercy are withheld, God hides. Where love and mercy are communicated, God appears.

In the Baby Jesus and in the Body of Christ, love and mercy are communicated. In the means of grace, given to you through Word and Sacrament, love and mercy are communicated.

When you communicate love and mercy to the people God put in your life, He is present. In that moment, when relationships are reconciled, like Simeon, you too can cry your own Nunc Dimittis to God for the beauty of His presence has set you free.

And so, I close with a request, and humbly ask you to consider it. … God gave you this Christmas to realize the blessing of forgiveness that comes to us through his means of grace. The Baby Jesus, the Body of Christ and a beautiful moment reflect God’s love, God’s mercy.

God gave you Christmas so that your eyes may be opened and you may be set free from any sin that binds you. If you have the benefit of family for Christmas, take a moment and embrace each person in your arms, and if there is an opportunity to offer forgiveness, please do. I guarantee you that when you offer another family member love and mercy, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christmas Manger

 

        Do you know the song, Away in a Manger? The first verses go: Away in a manger, no crib for his bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

Jesus slept in a manger. It’s called a manger because it’s related to our mandible or jawbone. We move our jaw or mandible to chew food. Cows do the same. So, a manger is the box where farmers put food for their cows.

        Most churches and homes have a little manger display like ours. Often, we see a stable, barn or cave with Jesus in the manger, Joseph and Mary on each side of him, and an ox, donkey and sheep. Some have angels, shepherds and wise men holding gifts.

        Churches did not always have nativity scenes like this. A man named Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene. He asked real people to bring their animals to a cave near his home in central Italy 800 years ago. There they acted out the birth of Jesus. And soon, these nativity scenes were everywhere.

        I think it’s interesting that Jesus was born in a manger because it is a feeding box, and God feeds us through His Word. Jesus is the Word of God, and He feeds us by teaching us the Word of God.

        We love and obey Jesus, who feeds us the Word of God, and we also remember that He feeds us His Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

        Before you eat your Christmas meal, make sure you take a few minutes and feel deep in your heart the love you have for Jesus as an infant and adult who feeds our hearts, minds and souls every time we hear His Word and take His Body.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas Eve

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. Merry Christmas …  My focus is the Gospel of Luke, Chapter Two. … Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!

Superman, my favorite superhero. I read Superman comic books, watched the TV series and the movies. Superman was born Kal-El on the alien planet Krypton to Jor-El and Lara. Rocketed to earth, found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, he was renamed Clark Kent. He grew up in Smallville, where he and his adoptive parents discovered his superhuman powers. Fortunately, for us, the Kents taught Clark to use these powers responsibly to help others and fight crime.

We want to know about people’s origins, even fictional ones. We inquire where this person was born, where he went to school and who his parents are. Aware that people want to know, parents proudly announce to the world the entry of son, daughter, niece, nephew and grandbabies. A few:

We joyfully announce the birth of Lauren Anne June 21^st at 5:15 p.m. 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Our home has grown by two feet! David Jonas Peterson born on November 22^nd. Weight: 8 lb. 3 oz. Length: 17 inches.

Look who dropped in! Please share our joy at the arrival of our daughter Meredith Teresa, May 23^rd. 6 lb. 11 oz.16 inches.

Who will ever forget this one? The Duchess of Cambridge has been delivered of a son. 22^nd July 2013. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm. The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight.

The announcement also named the medical staff who delivered the baby; the fact that he is third in the line of succession after His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge; and that a formal notice of the birth will be posted on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

What does all of this have to do with Luke narrating Caesar’s decree and the events in the life of Joseph and Mary? Well, just as proud parents and princes announce the birth of boys and girls, the angels announce the birth of the Savior in dramatic fashion, trumping any announcement by parents, princes or Caesar. Caesar? Were the ancient Christians comparing Jesus to Caesar? Yes. Archeologists discovered a proclamation in Turkey that dated back nine years before Jesus’ birth. The inscription says that it was good for the city to celebrate the evangelium, the “good news,” of the birth of Caesar Augustus, the savior of the world. Augustus was seen as the Son of God, since his father through adoption, Julius Caesar, had been deified. Some of the first instances of the term “good news” is used in relationship to Augustus, almost at the same time as the birth of Jesus.

Luke has angels announce the birth of Jesus as Son of God because He is the true Savior, the Son of God, one greater than the Caesar. With that, we turn to our text by examining first the message of the angels and then the response of the shepherds before discussing how we put our faith into action.

Who are the angels? In verse 9, the angel does not reveal his name, but given that the angel in 1:19 and 1:26 identifies himself as Gabriel, we can assume he is the same.

His message is, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Since fear was a common reaction to angelic appearances, a few words of reassurance and encouragement were given. Then the message - Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke used “today” at least 10 times. “Today” indicates a new era has begun and something urgent is happening at this very moment.

The titles applied to this baby include Savior, Messiah and Lord. He is the expected Messiah, but he is also Lord. Before this, the title Lord is applied only to God. The Jews did not view the Messiah as God. So, to announce that the expected one, the Messiah, is also Lord means that he is God.

The Jews were also expecting the Messiah to be a Savior who would deliver them from sickness and physical hardship. Instead, this announcement reveals the Savior would deliver them from sin and death. Humanity’s true Savior is not Caesar Augustus, but Jesus Christ.

The message continues. “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Some translations read “swaddling clothes.” Mothers swaddled or tightly wrapped infants for various reasons. The significance, however, is not that Mary wrapped Jesus, but the only other time we hear about Jesus wrapped in cloth is when Peter bent down to look into the tomb. “He saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Luke ties the birth of Jesus to His death and resurrection.

After that, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” We know this as “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” the first words of the Latin Vulgate translation and the root of the Church’s great liturgical hymn.

The words “on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” literally reads “To men (who are the object) of (God’s) benevolence” or “To men of benevolence.” There is debate on the exact meaning of this verse. Some commentators state that it means peace is assumed to all, while others state that peace is “only to those pleasing to God – the objects of his good pleasure.” The problem in determining the exact intention is that there is no comma in Greek and one does not know when to pause. Even if it means that God’s peace is extended to all people, Luke does not imply loose living is legitimate. More than any other New Testament writer, Luke issues the call of repentance.

If we tie the hymn, verse 14 to verse 20, we see, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” “Luke’s main point, which links God’s glory in the highest with peace on earth for the humble – those on whom His favor rests – would have been lost had the passage raised only the matter of Jesus’ identity.” Humbly born, Christ was a Savior for the humble, those with whom God was well pleased.

Now, what about the shepherds? Matthew says Magi were the first to the Christ, but Luke says there were shepherds. The shepherds live in the fields year-round protecting the flock reserved for temple sacrifice against thieves and predatory animals.

Shepherds echo David’s humble origins as a shepherd; and in keeping with Luke’s theme of poverty, the shepherds are lowly people. Shepherds also reflect Luke’s theme of joy in the face of God’s salvation breaking into humanity. God has saved you from your sins. That is reason enough to rejoice! … Are you smiling?

The shepherds could also be a stand-in for biblical Israel, since the Shepherd-Sheep image is a common metaphor to describe Israel’s relationship with God. However, in the first century shepherds were not highly regarded. They were not clean because they were with sheep all the time. So, depending on your point of view, the presence of shepherds is either very interesting or odd. But since Luke is always promoting the odd person out as the privileged one, it stands to reason that we’re supposed to see these shepherds as those privileged outsiders who acknowledge Jesus. That continues throughout the gospel. Tax collectors and prostitutes are favored. The people that you don’t think are worthy to be with Jesus really are.

Lastly, I see the shepherds as model believers. They are evangelists running to tell Joseph and Mary what was revealed to them. They are joyful apostles who just witnessed the Risen Lord’s birth, leaving that place praising and glorifying God. We are model believers, evangelists and apostles – believing, announcing and praising God.

So, there you have it – the message of the angels and the response of the shepherds. It’s like we removed the gift wrapping and opened the box, and saw what Luke gave the world – the most memorable birth announcement of Jesus through angelic choirs, and shepherds rejoiced heartily, glorifying and praising God! … But I would be remiss if I stopped there, wished you a Merry Christmas and dismissed you from this service. As I said, earlier, we would also discuss how we put our faith into action.

Friends, not only with the birth of Jesus did a new era begin. Not only did something urgent happen 2,000 years ago. Today, in our communities something urgent is happening at this very moment! A new era has begun.

Where is this happening? When did it begin? It’s happening here – in this church – and in your minds and hearts. You heard the Good News, the story of Jesus’ birth. You know the story of his birth maybe better than you know the story of your own. That’s great news! You know more about his origins than you know about your favorite superhero or superstar. That is wonderful news! You have received his peace. You have been granted salvation.

The shepherds glorified and praised God for all they heard and saw. What we hear and see each Sunday is greater than that – for they knew the Christ child, but we know the Christ man. The Christ child evoked jubilation. The Christ man accomplished salvation. Through his birth, the Christ child offers hope. Through the Paschal Mystery – His suffering, death and resurrection, the Christ man fulfilled that hope.

Through Christ, God accomplished our salvation and gave us Word and Sacrament as the means to remember that each Sunday. For that reason alone, should we not glorify and praise God? Should we not do that each day of our lives? Wouldn’t that be like celebrating Christmas every day? So, how do we put our faith into action and celebrate Christmas every day? The opportunities are endless – from a simple greeting of “God bless you,” to a response to a kind deed done unto you, “Thank you, and God bless you.” You can post inspirational Scripture passages online and refrain from liking politically correct or incorrect posts. Maybe the Holy Spirit is inspiring you to reach across the fence or across the ocean to someone in need of hope.

A couple of years ago, I read an article on the vanishing Christians in Iraq and Egypt. It began by telling the account of a group of neighbors who gather at a monastery founded in the fourth century. They unload baskets of food, and arrange themselves around a long table in a courtyard. A woman spreads out a tablecloth and put down a plate of food. “It’s a way of celebrating that we still exist,” she said. More people arrived—children, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and distant relations—members of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world who had not seen one another for three years.

It’s a way of celebrating that we still exist. Friends, how will we glorify and praise God as our fellow Christians are forced to flee their lands due to Christian persecution or a dismal future? Before the end of the week, the world will turn its eyes from Christmas and focus on 2021, how will we keep the Spirit of Christ alive in our hearts, minds, words and deeds?

I suggest that we thank God for the example of Christians who glorify and praise God simply because they exist amidst persecution and hopelessness, for when we do, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Advent Angels

 

Do you think that there are angels? The word angel means messenger, and most people do think that there are angels. The Bible teaches that angels were made by God during the six days of creation, although it doesn’t say on which day.

They do not have a body, but angels are powerful, intelligent spirits. Good angels guard and protect God’s children (Ps.91:11ff), but evil angels hold unbelievers captive (Luke 11:21f; Eph.2:2). Believers, however, can resist the temptation of evil angels through the power of God (Eph.6:10-17).

There have lots of books and songs and movies and shows about angels. As Lutherans, we sing about angels. Our songs include: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came; Angels from the Realms of Glory; and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Do you know any of those? Maybe your parents know them. … Some people say that they have seen angels and talked to them, but none of them has ever had a conversation with an angel like Mary did.

In our Gospel, the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary and told her that God chose her to give birth to a baby. Mary believed the angel and asked how this would happen. Gabriel told her that she should name her baby, Jesus. Jesus would be her son, and the Son of God.

 As important as angels are to God, do you know who is more important to God? You! God made you even higher than the angels. God loves you so much that He gave you His Son as your Savior. So, while it’s important to believe in angels, it is even more important to believe in Jesus and carry Him in your heart like Mary did because Jesus gives you life with God in Heaven.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Annunciation

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is based upon the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38. … Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Culture. Merriam-Webster said this about culture. It “allows us to identify and isolate an idea, issue or group with seriousness. … It's an efficient word: we talk about the 'culture' of a group rather than saying 'the typical habits, attitudes, and behaviors' of that group. … This newer sense of the word is catching people's attention and driving the volume of lookups.”

Merriam-Webster chose culture as its Word of the Year a couple of years back because it was used so much more frequently than other words. Meriam-Webster names its Word of the Year based on how often people research it. Through research, we learn the definition of words, family history or how to change headlights in a Buick LeSabre, my most read blogpost.

Researching today’s Gospel, we learn what Luke said about Jesus, what Mary and Gabriel said, and what it might mean to us.

First, what Luke said about Jesus had to do with culture. People in our culture are satisfied letting producers of shows on the History or Biography channels to present their research of Jesus. As a result, our secular culture accepts Jesus’ human nature, but questions his divine nature.

Conversely, people of Luke’s culture, Roman citizens who deified Caesars into gods, had an easier time accepting Jesus’ divinity than they did his humanity. This is why Luke narrated the human origins and birth of Jesus Christ.

During the first centuries, the church defended itself against heresies that denied Jesus’ true humanity (Gnostic Docetism, Nestorianism and Monophysitism). Martin Luther succinctly explained that Christ became man in order to redeem us from sin and death. The devil came close to us, but he did not come so close as to assume our nature. Luther confessed the Second Person of the Trinity was conceived by the Holy Spirit without means of a man, and was born of the pure, holy Virgin Mary as of a real, natural mother.

In addition to combating heresies, Luke illustrated how the Annunciation fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Mary received God’s promise of a child, which was similar to, but greater than, previous promises to women of God. These included Hagar (Gen 16:11) and Manoah’s wife (Judg 13), but most pertinent was God’s announcement through Isaiah of the sign given to Israel consisting of a virgin who would conceive. This showed the promised birth was not a private matter for the parents, but one of national concern.

Through Jesus, God came to Israel, was favorable toward her, claimed her as his very own, and was wedded to his people. Jesus and the New Testament authors often employed marriage imagery to imply the church is Christ’s bride.

The parallels between God’s promises to His people and His promise to Mary suggest that we can see her as representing the new Israel, the virgin bride of Christ, the church. In other words, without putting Mary on the same level as Christ, Luke showed that Christians have her as an example to consider. The unmerited grace poured forth into Mary is available to all.

The new era of salvation comes through the baby conceived by the gracious action of God upon Mary, who finds favor with God, not due to any superiority over other women or any merit in God’s estimation, but simply because of God’s grace.

Mary’s response was unlike Zechariah’s skepticism. Her pondering led to a simple, honest question, which Gabriel met with an explanation, a promise and reassurance. As the Holy Spirit came upon her, she conceived Jesus as holy, the Son of God. This was the moment of the Incarnation of our Lord.

Luther compared the conception of Jesus through the Word spoken to Mary with the real presence of Christ’s body in the Lord’s Supper, effected through the Words of Institution. In other words, as the first member of the early church who heard the Word Incarnate, she believed as we believe. Luke used the Annunciation as an instruction on the virgin birth, on the Son of God, and on the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ conception. We confess it in the Nicene Creed.

The passage also gives us a glimpse into how the early church incorporated new members. As its first member, Mary received her catechesis from Gabriel. The Holy Spirit came upon her, and she received the flesh of Christ. As the first to follow Jesus, she set the pattern for the apostles and all who followed her. We hear the Word, the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and we receive Christ’s Body and Blood. Like Mary, each of us is a servant of the Lord, humbly submitting to the will of God and his miraculous presence in and among us. That is what Luke said about Jesus, Mary and Gabriel. What might this passage mean to us?

First, we must be careful to notice that none of Mary’s qualities is offered as the reason God chose her; that reason is tucked away in the purposes of God. Luther taught that although we recognize Mary as Mother of God, we should not make too much of her, but ponder “in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God. … Her sole worthiness to become the Mother of God lay in her being fit and appointed for it, so that it might be pure grace and not a reward.”

It is hers to ponder in her heart, but ours to ponder as well. As church and individuals, what does it mean to hear the Word? To have the Holy Spirit comes upon us? To receive Christ’s Body and Blood? To be a servant of the Lord? To humbly submit to God’s will and his miraculous presence in and among us?

I asked several people what this passage means to them. My friend, Wendell, a lifelong Lutheran who teaches Old Testament Sunday School, responded with these words.

“I view Mary as an excellent example of a faithful servant. At her tender age, having undoubtedly endured horrible ridicule for a pregnancy out of wedlock, she was able to say the Magnificat. Truly a great example of humility, faith and servanthood. She is truly a great Christian.

Also, what a great story of how something that appears awful at the time (an unwed pregnancy), ended up being a great blessing and miracle. We should all look for the blessings in our “curses” like she did.

She also teaches me that God’s methods may very often be seen as ‘unorthodox’, but we must have the faith to believe that he knows what he is doing.”

Our culture is not prone to agree with Wendell, but we must have the faith to believe that God knows what He is doing. Even when we do not know what God’s plan is for us, we must have faith. And we must ponder things in our hearts.

I close with a story of my own mother, which I have told you once, but it bears repeating. My mother taught me how to be a Christian – a humble servant of the Lord – by showing me how to grow tomatoes. I realize how God’s grace worked through her after many moments of pondering these things in my heart.

Every spring our family planted more than 100 tomato plants, which sufficiently fed our family of five. When the weather broke, we tilled the garden for tomatoes and many other vegetables.

We dug holes, and planted, fertilized and watered our plants. Through the summer, we weeded and watered; checked for bugs and blight and discarded rotten tomatoes.

We harvested tomatoes for salad, sauce and juice. We buried the discarded skin and seeds, which produced a later crop. Since we were 4-H members, we entered our prize tomatoes in exhibits at local fairs.

Growing tomatoes taught me three practical necessities about Christianity: nourish, reserve and share. Parents, pastors, teachers, elders and all members need to nourish, reserve and share their faith.

First, nourish. By exercising our faith – by attending worship, reading God’s Word, taking Communion, seeking forgiveness and attending Sunday school – we nourish ourselves.

Second, reserve. 33 years of ministry has taught me there are times when we cannot nourish ourselves adequately. There will be times when troubles and temptations attack us. … We need a reserve. There will be times when caring for sick children or frail parents exhaust us. There will be times when completing projects, cramming for exams or meeting deadlines consume us. There will be times when we do not have the luxury to bathe ourselves in God’s Word or enjoy the feast of His banquet. We can only birdbath and eat on the run. During difficult times, we need that reserved Mason jar of tomatoes in the pantry. That is why my mother taught us how to can tomatoes. That is why she taught us to memorize Scripture passages and prayers because she knew we would someday need a reserve – of spiritual food that God provides to nourish our bodies and our souls.

Third, share. When God blessed us with plentiful tomatoes, we shared them with others. We shared tomatoes with friends, neighbors, pastors and the less fortunate. Mom taught me to practice charity by sharing God’s abundant blessing with others. How do we share God’s abundant blessings with others?

By teaching me how to grow tomatoes, mom taught me how to be a Christian, a servant of the Lord. She taught me to nourish, reserve and share. I am sure your mother taught you the same. As we close out another Season of Advent, ponder in your heart what it might mean for Mary to be the Mother of God, and honor your own mother by sharing the Gospel with others. Share with others how God blessed you today and ask them the same. When you listen to their blessed answer, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Advent Pink

 

Who remembers what color I talked about last week? Purple. This week, I am going to talk about the color Pink.

Pink comes to us from a flower with a great big word that I cannot even pronounce (Caryophyllales). It is also known as a carnation. Pink is usually pale red. We find in our world pink flowers and plants, pink flamingoes, elephants, salmon and pigs. Some people drive pink Cadillacs and others wear pink carnations on their white sport coats. My wife loves pink sunsets.

Since today is the Third Sunday of Advent, we lit the pink candle on our wreathe. Pink symbolizes joy and happiness because we are getting closer to celebrating the birth of Jesus. Christmas is only 12 days away! Can you feel the joy?!

In St. Paul’s Letter this morning, we heard him write about joy. He told people to rejoice. Jesus even told people to rejoice. He said, “Rejoice …  and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”

When we are joyful, our faces show it. We smile and laugh. Sometimes, we jump around and dance, or sing and clap our hands. As Christians, we do this because we rejoice that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – love us and are with us here and now. We feel them in our hearts, and we feel so joyful.

St. Paul tells us that we must also rejoice when we are suffering because we know even though we face trouble, we prayerfully thank God for His gift of salvation. So, pink reminds us to rejoice and pray.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rejoice Always!

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Paul, Pink and Prayer, and my focus is 1^st Thessalonians where we read: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.”

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

“Again!” exclaimed my niece, Simone, from the backseat of my brother’s white Volvo station wagon. Having heard, “again,” followed by a rewind of the cassette in order to play again, “The Wheels of the Bus,” my brother ingeniously created a special cassette with a continual loop of Simone’s favorite songs. My niece is now 25, and cassettes are no longer to be found, but the validity of my point remains.

And so, at my niece’s expense, we again revisit what we heard only last month – Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. And since the fruit falls not far from the tree, we again revisit three P’s: Paul’s passage, the Advent wreath’s Pink candle and Prayer.

Paul’s passage was an exhortation that appealed to the Thessalonians’ deep emotions. His last words dealt with their relationship with God, lifting them from this world’s mundane matters to focus on their conflict with supernatural powers. Paul knew if Thessalonian Christians were to persevere despite pressure and persecution, they had to pray to God.

Paul encouraged prayer and prophecy, which are interrelated. He saw prayer as God’s will and prophecy as God’s answer to prayer. Paul opposed pagan oracles and soothsayers, but knew that prophecy – or a word from God that comes through prayer – strengthened the Christian community.

In verse 18, Paul instructed the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances, but not necessarily for all circumstances. Paul never instructed Christians to rejoice, pray and give thanks for the evil that confronts the church. That would have been akin to us giving thanks for the smallest sin or a nuclear holocaust. Sin, as earlier chapters in Thessalonians taught, is not God’s will.

However, if Christians in 1^st century Thessalonica gave thanks to God for salvation through Christ, He would strengthen them to endure difficult circumstances.

A Simple first point: rejoice, pray, give thanks. Our second point, the Advent wreath’s pink candle.

Gaudete! Rejoice! Gaudete is Latin for rejoice and refers to the importance of Christian joy in the midst of a penitential season, the message of Paul’s letter. Like Lent, Advent is a penitential season.

The tradition of Advent candles originated in Germany. A pink candle surrounded by 3 purplish ones symbolizes joy amidst penance. Today, we light the pink candle based on our epistle.

We use different colors to teach and symbolize various feasts and seasons, and to evoke emotions. For example, white symbolizes light and purity. We use white during the seasons of Christmas and Easter. Red expresses the fire of the Holy Spirit and the blood of the Passion and martyrdom. We use red on Pentecost, Palm Sunday and Reformation Sunday. Green is the symbolic color of hope and serenity. We use green on the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost. Again, violet recalls penance. Black is the somber color used for Good Friday and funerals, in some churches. Pink or rose, which has never enjoyed frequent use, serves as a reminder, by using an unusual color, that we are halfway through a penitential season.

Color effectively expresses the specific character of the mysteries of our faith and gives a sense of the Christian's passage through the course of the liturgical year. If that makes no sense, imagine a white funeral suit, a black wedding gown or the Steelers in orange and brown.

Lighting a pink candle during a penitential season symbolizes Christian joy even when we do penance or suffer persecution. We rejoice in the midst of penance or suffering because we know that in spite of trouble or persecution, we prayerfully thank God for His gift of salvation. So, pink reminds us to rejoice, pray and give thanks.

Our third point, prayer. There is a lot to say about prayer. Martin Luther himself said much about it. In his Large Catechism, Luther wrote, “That we may know what and how to pray, our Lord Christ himself taught us both the way and the words.”

Luther confessed praying was more difficult than preaching. He offered advice on where to pray, how to deal with distraction, how to overcome the temptation to skip prayer, and how to deal with feeling unworthy, which, he urged, we must overcome.

Luther reminded pastors to encourage people to pray as Christ and the apostles prayed. He wrote, “It is our duty to pray because of God’s command.” They are delusional who say, ‘Why should I pray? Who knows whether God pays attention to my prayer?’” To such people, Luther said, “We have God’s promise that He will hear us.”

To quote Luther, “People who are experienced in spiritual matters have said that no labor is comparable to the labor of praying. To pray is not to recite a number of psalms or to roar in churches…but to have serious thoughts by which the soul establishes a fellowship between him who prays and him who hears the prayer and determines with certainty that although we are miserable sinners, God will be gracious, mitigate the punishments, and answer our petitions.”

God answers our petitions. … Now, my friends, tell me the difference between what Martin Luther believed in his heart and what you believe in yours? Does God answer every petition? Do I have the confidence to tell my children and grandchildren that God answers petitions? What do I mean when I say God answers petitions?

To say, “God answers my petitions,” means I reflect deeply on my relationship with God. In Luther’s words, it is to have serious thoughts by which the soul establishes a fellowship between him who prays and him who hears the prayer. I must reflect deeply on my relationship with God. Is my relationship authentic?

Are my petitions as authentic as those in the Psalms? Read Psalm 5, 43 or 51. Is my spirit like Jesus’ when he taught us to ask for daily bread? Read Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

When I surrender absolutely to God and His will – as Jesus did – not only at the hour of my impending death but throughout my life, I know God will provide my daily bread and every other worldly need. When I surrender unconditionally to God and his incomprehensibility – which I can do only in faith, hope and love – all my petitions are answered. On the other hand, if my prayer is not imbued with the spirit of Jesus’ words – Let your will be done, not mine – then it is not prayer at all, but a projection of a vital need into a void, or an attempt to influence God to execute senseless magic.

An authentic relationship with God does not mean I am free of needs and anxieties. However, when I place myself before God in prayer, for what do I ask? Daily bread? Health? Love? Success? Strength? Trust? Gratitude? Protection from evil and abuse?

Whatever the outcome of my prayer, do I give thanks to God in the circumstances I find myself? If I am pressured and persecuted for my faith, do I still thank God for the gift of salvation through Christ? …

Given the rancor that touches family and community, do I pray in the spirit of the Psalmist who begged God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”?

I close with the back-story of a song that has affected people’s lives because it touches on rejoicing, prayer and thanksgiving.

In 1967, Bob Thiele and George Weiss wrote a political song to calm our fears from the violence of the race riots that spread across a hundred cities from Newark to Los Angeles. They wrote it with one man in mind, and hoped his grandfatherly image would convey the song's message. In 1968, the song made it to #116 on the US pop chart, selling 1,000 records, but reached #1 in the UK, making Louis Armstrong the oldest male to top the UK Singles Chart, at sixty-six years and ten months old. The song? What a Wonderful World.

Armstrong's appeal transcended race, but since the ‘50s, he was accused of subserviently providing entertainment for white America. Naturally, Armstrong disagreed.

As he introduced a live performance of the song, Satchmo stated, “Some of you young folks been saying to me: ‘Hey, Pops - what do you mean, What a Wonderful World? How about all them wars, …, you call them wonderful?’”

“But how about listening to old Pops for a minute? Seems to me it ain't the world that's so bad but what we're doing to it, and all I'm saying is: see what a wonderful world it would be if only we'd give it a chance.”

Of course, Armstrong was speaking of love. Love comes in every color and fills the heart of every person created by God.

As we await the coming of Christ, take time today to reflect upon the joy that pink and all the colors of the rainbow evoke. Think about Paul’s passage: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;” and finally, petition God to create in you a clean heart and a right spirit. When you do, again may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.