Merry Christmas!
We just celebrated the Christmas holiday yesterday, but I wonder if I am the only one who wants to enjoy Christmas just a little bit longer this year. Is there anyone else here who wants to dwell in the cheerful happiness of Christmas just a little bit longer? Well, I have some good news for you! In the Christian calendar, Christmas isn’t a one-day event; it’s actually a whole period of time, covering the 12 days during which the shepherds and wisemen traveled, coming to worship God and present their gifts in celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There could be a number of different reasons why we might feel like dwelling a little longer in the Christmas spirit. Maybe it’s the fact that we only had one day between our Christmas eve service and Sunday worship service this year. Personally, I think it has more to do with the fact that we’ve been stuck in a pandemic for close to 2 years now, and we could all use a little extra Christmas cheer as a result. There’s no avoiding the fact that for many of us, life during this pandemic has been hard. We’ve been limited in terms of places we could go and the people we could hang out with regularly. We rarely get to see anyone’s full face, and we don’t get to experience the rich non-verbal expressions of human communication. We don’t get to give hugs and kisses to the people we love in the ways we used to be able to anymore. Our church did not resume in-person worship until just this last month, and it has been hard to go for such a long time without seeing each other, and worshipping with our church family together in the sanctuary. And, especially for those of us who are still worshipping online, it is still hard. Some of us haven’t even been able to see our family for a long time too. Some of us have experienced loss of employment, or reduced paychecks, because of COVID-19. Some of us are struggling with medical diagnoses, perhaps brought on by the lifestyle changes that came along with the pandemic. Some of us found ourselves having to care for family members during this pandemic, wrestling with how to compassionately care for the people we love while still ensuring our own safety. Some of us had to face the brokenness in our family relationships, or confront those areas of our own lives that really needed work, because with us having to spend more time inside and less time out and socializing, we have been stuck face-to-face with those areas of our lives which are not working, not healthy; or maybe even toxic, and in need of healing. Psychologists have been looking at this season we’ve all been going through, and view it as the experiencing of a long-term trauma. Whether we are aware of it or not, what our hearts, minds, and bodies are going through is consistent with the symptoms of long-term trauma, such as constant anxiety, low-level depression, and chronic exhaustion. Because of all of this, and in particular the emotional heaviness that we are all experiencing, I think we just feel the need to hold on to these moments of positivity; those brief expressions of good and happy news that emerges to brighten our otherwise gloomy days. And the Christmas story is exactly that kind of good news! We tend to think that the arrival of our Lord and Savior means comfort and hope, because we have been given a Savior who comes to us with the assurance that, in the end, everything is going to be OK. In a time and place where we are dealing with the constant rush of bad news from COVID-19, it feels like all we need is to connect ourselves with the joy of the Christmas story, and the news that our Savior is with us, here and now. We want to experience what the shepherds did in the field when the angels visited and said, “Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) We need a divine encounter like this, need to be given a sign of the good news (Luke 2:12). We want to be inspired to glorify and give praise to God for all that we have seen and heard (Luke 2:20). We really need some good news to uplift us during this pandemic, don’t we? As much as I really want us to meet God in that divine, miraculous way that the shepherds did in the Christmas story, as much as I desperately want God to step into this situation with power and glory and strength, I think it’s important to remember that God’s revelation to the shepherds wasn’t just a quick, miraculous change to their lives. It was more than that. First off, shepherds weren’t the sort of people who were honored or respected back in those days. The shepherds that we read about today weren’t just sitting amiably on a hilltop watching sheep; they were responsible for slaughtering the lambs for temple offerings. This meant that they had to touch blood and dead animals, which was considered unclean and unholy according to traditional Jewish law. So, as a result of that, shepherds were despised, labeled as outcasts in their society. In fact, they were so unimportant that even though Emperor Augustus declared that ALL the world should be registered in the census, the shepherds weren’t considered important enough to be counted. They were just working as usual in the field that day. In the eyes of humankind, in the eyes of human society, the shepherds didn’t count as part of the world, forced to make their living almost as illegal residents, living on the outskirts of society. And this is whom God first presents God’s self. God delivered that “good news of great joy … for ALL the people (Luke 2:10)” not first to regular people in their homes, patiently dealing with the government mandate. It was to the outcast, the despised, the shepherds, sitting on their lonely hill, that God first delivered God’s wonderful news. Even though the entire society, the worldly king and all the people of the community did not recognize them as part of the world, in God’s eyes, they very much were. And upon receiving this good news of great joy, the shepherds decide to go down into Bethlehem to see this baby who they had been told about, this Savior and Messiah wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12). Fully aware of who and what they were in society, God appoints these shepherds to deliver this good news to Mary and Joseph who, despite bearing the Prince of Peace, had given birth in a lonely, smelly barn, surrounded by animals, in the countryside of Bethlehem. And this here is yet another divine example of God changing the story; a divine encounter, orchestrated by God, that reversed the social norm. When these outcast shepherds arrived to find Jesus’ family, they didn’t find some happy, pious, and holy family, with a baby swaddled comfortably and clean. No, what they found was Joseph, a carpenter, and his unmarried teenage fiancee, huddled in a barn and carrying the Savior of the world. Before this moment, the shepherds would have had no connection to Mary and Joseph, nothing likely in common with them at all. Despite everything they were going through at the time, Joseph was from the line of King David, and Mary had been (until her recent pregnancy at least) in good standing in Jewish society. There was no way that these two young parents would have ever happened to meet these outcast shepherds until this night, when God brought them together. And in that moment, both the shepherds and Mary and Joseph, found some common ground. Despite their different backgrounds, they had all been isolated from the society that surrounded them. Shepherds were such outcasts that they were excluded even from the Roman census, and even though Mary and Joseph were included in that census, they were also outcast themselves. Even though they were visiting Joseph’s family hometown, they found themselves with no place to stay, no relatives who would welcome them, and no room for them even at the inn. Even though Mary was pregnant, there was no one or no place that would have them except the stable. In this pandemic, we have learned the importance of social distancing, and I have to say that we have gotten fairly good at it. Even here, today, in this sanctuary, we are all seated as families, distanced a few seats apart from each other. We have had almost 2 years of learning and practicing social distancing; in another 2 years, we should be able to get a Bachelor’s Degree in social distancing! But in the case of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, their situation didn’t call for social distance at all. Rather, what they needed was a community to support them, to pray for them and uplift them; to show them compassion for all the struggles they had been facing in their lives. But they didn’t get that kind of support from the community around them; the world social-distanced from them. Heartbreaking, isn’t it? Maybe some of you can relate to what they must have gone through; maybe your nationality, job status, family, social, or financial situation places you in a similar place. Perhaps the world has social-distanced from you because of who you are or what you’ve done, and you find yourself sharing in the heartbreak of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. But that is what this “good news of great joy” is all about; the news delivered to the shepherds in the fields is given to us also through Christ. The good news is that, no matter what the world does, GOD NEVER SOCIAL-DISTANCES FROM US. Even when we are at our most alone and hopeless, God never leaves or abandons us. When we don’t have the means and resources to come to God, whether we are isolated from family or outcast on a hill, God chooses to come to us. God breaks through the barriers of social stigma, cuts through the painful and difficult conflicts and situations in our lives, and delivers God’s love directly to us, letting us know that God is always with us. God doesn’t choose to favor those who seem to have perfect lives, or show favor to those who human society has happily welcomed and chosen to honor. God chooses to come to us in the messiness of our lives, to sit with us in our brokenness. God wants to come into those places of our lives, and the life of the church, where things look so messy and unresolved, those places that we all just want to social-distance from because they’re too hard, too confusing, or too broken and impossible. God wants to meet us in all these places, and show us God’s transforming love. This is why God sent God’s son into the world as a child, took human form as part of a broken family, outcast and alone. God became real, became human, in this way; God’s Word became realized in Jesus, and in Jesus’ life we are shown what God’s love for us looks like in action. From the moment of Jesus’ birth, throughout the fullness of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and through his death and resurrection, we are told the same story; the story of a God who does not wish to leave anyone out. God doesn’t want anyone to be sitting alone, outcast on a hill, social-distanced from the world. God doesn’t want anyone to be banished to a barn because their family had no space for them, and there was no room at the inn. And that is why we celebrate Christmas. The fact God’s son came to us as a human, in all of the messiness and brokenness that entails, is a really big deal! Our God came to us when we could not come to God, finds us in our brokenness, and absolutely refuses to social-distance from us. And this is why we glorify and give praise to God, just like the shepherds in today’s Scripture reading did. We worship God not because God miraculously makes things better, not because God’s revelation means that our lives are going to change immediately, that our social distance is going to end, or miracles are going to rain down at this moment right now. Sure, those things happen, but our worship of God isn’t based on that. We worship a God who is with us; with us no matter how bad our situation might be. Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ honestly hasn’t done anything to change the current situation; COVID-19 is still here, and social distancing is still very much a thing. But, in a different sense, the situation has changed because we are not alone anymore. We welcome Jesus, who comes to tell us that even though we are broken, even though we desperately need the grace that only God can offer, we are not alone. Our God is Emmanuel, the God who is with us. God’s love is always steadfast, and always here. When all was said and done, the shepherds returned to their fields; the arrival of Jesus Christ didn’t change their role in society, or end their outcast state. But what changed is that they returned glorifying and praising God. Their experience with God moved them to worship, and inspired them to sing praises to the Lord first and foremost. Even though we will be taking a break from zoom classes and church programs over the next two weeks as we take winter break, we will never take a break from our ceaseless praise to God. Our worship of the Lord continues, and as it continues, we need to remember and declare the good news that has been given to us with great joy, through singing, prayer, and the sharing of communion. Christmas is here, and the Lord has come, but there is still suffering. There is still pain. There are still problems, struggles, and challenges in our lives. Like the shepherds, we still return to our fields, and are still socially-distanced from the world around us. But God has come to be with us, to enter into our lives in all these places of brokenness and pain. God wants to share unending and impossible love with us, and in response to that we give praise and glorify God, giving thanks and spreading that good news of great joy to all the world; that our God, Emmanuel, is not just a God who is for us, but God with us in all that we face every day of our lives. Amen
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Merry Christmas everyone! I want to share with you a story about the children in a small Sunday School who were putting on the annual Christmas pageant. Because the Sunday school was so small, a single girl was chosen to be all the Magi (the wise men). This little girl worked hard to practice her lines as did the rest of the Sunday School children. At the early service on Christmas Eve, they were ready to perform the play as part of the worship service. When it came time for the wiseman’s or in this case, the wisewoman’s entrance, she walked up the church aisle, draped in a flowing robe and all the costume jewelry accumulated over the years by the Christian education director. Pausing and bowing before the infant's crib she announced, “Greetings, baby, I bring you gifts. Gold, Circumstance, and Mud.” Now, isn’t that the truth! That is exactly what life brings us. Some “gold”—not just money, but the precious moments we occasionally encounter; circumstance—lots of that, and usually unpredictable; and mud—more than we want, the bad patches where we and our world sometimes get stuck. If God would have come with bright lights, trumpets blaring on a golden chariot through the clouds on a mighty wind, do you think anyone would have been surprised? Probably not. When we speak of the Holy and Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, it is these awesome images of power that were the images usually in the minds of people back in the time of Jesus because those were the images in the Hebrew scriptures. In this birth of a baby God finds another, very different way to come among us. God doesn't use blinding light or deafening wind. Instead, there are the cries of pain as a woman gives birth to a child and the cries of a newborn baby in the night. This is certainly not how the people of Israel had always thought their long-awaited royal descendant of King David would come. Their expectations were in what was said by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah appears to quote a royal enthronement ritual that was used every time a new king came to power. He describes this future Messiah as a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6). But the birth of this baby in Bethlehem did not fit these messianic expectations. This birth did not seem to be very becoming of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The birth in that dirty messy barn was certainly not godly. It’s not easy for us to know what this meant to God, what must have gone through God's heart and mind when he decided to come into this world in circumstances like this. In Bethlehem, the whole town was full of travelers, most of whom were not there by choice. The emperor wanted them all counted and taxed and he could have cared less where they slept. That was their problem, not his. Still, you have to wonder what happened to Joseph’s family. If Bethlehem was his hometown, then why didn’t his own people take him in? I don’t know, but they didn’t. No room at the inn so Joseph and Mary got a stable instead. Maybe the reason that our knowledge of God is so limited is because we’ve been looking for God in places we consider nice and pretty. Instead, God chooses the ordinary and messy. Now some Biblical scholars have said that back in those days, the animals were kept in caves so Jesus was born in a cave. But other biblical scholars have said that in those times a family living area would usually have hollows in the ground, filled with straw, in the living area, where the animals would feed and that was their stable. So, Jesus would not have been born in a detached stable, but in the lower floor of a peasant house, where the animals were kept. Noisy animals and messy! So perhaps not the cleanest of places. Mary was probably wishing that her mother was around to help her. Her only midwife was God. She was in a stable where she had to compete with the sheep for a place to sleep. Joseph may have tried to comfort her but it still probably wasn’t easy. They were both tired and hurt all over. It might’ve also been very cold. But do you know what? Even in those circumstances, God was still there - right there in the middle of it all. Peace was there, and joy and love and hope - which come not only in the best of times but also and especially in the worst of times. Emmanuel – it was God -With- Us. Not the “God- Up-There Somewhere.” It was the God who comes to us in the midst of whatever circumstances even if they are less than ideal. The God who comes to us no matter how messy are lives are. That is where God is born, in any cradle we will offer him. What we do know is that this birth represented a special kind of kenosis (In Christian theology, kenosis (Greek: kénōsis, lit. [the act of emptying]) is the 'self-emptying' of Jesus' own will and becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will)—— where God humbled himself to appear in this world in the most vulnerable way he could. And when you think about it, we can’t help but be shocked, amazed, and befuddled that God would love us so much that God would be so humbled as to come into a smelly, messy and dirty world. I believe Episcopal priest and author, Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, said it best: “I know...this is a hard time of the year for some of us… Christmas is the season you wait to see if the hurt has let up any since this time last year—and you want it to, so you can get on with your life—and you don't want it to, because that might mean you have stopped caring. Meanwhile, the memories rise up to meet you swamping you with a melancholy so sweet you can almost taste it in the back of your throat.” -- Barbara Brown Taylor, We have so many memories of past Christmases. Last year, Christmas was hard for many of us – due to Covid. Two years ago also may have been a difficult Christmas for some of us due to circumstances beyond our control. For others, this year may be a challenge. But we have had some blessings. We are back in the KUC sanctuary worshipping. Maybe new friends have been made. We connected with so many others across Japan and worldwide through our ZOOM classes. There have been glimpses of God’s grace in our lives. There is incredibly good news for us in this, and other muddy, messy Christmases, we meet God. Emmanuel – God is with us. It was in this birth in Bethlehem that God came to meet us and still comes to meet us now. When we find ourselves cold and muddy, our dreams unfulfilled, and our eyes filled with tears of pain because another year has passed and the problems are still there, all we need to do is look to the muddy birth in Bethlehem. Maybe we can have our Christmas be a little muddy. We don’t have to hide our hurt and pain. Real life can be muddy and messy. But because of that first muddy, messy miracle of a birth in Bethlehem, there is still a reason to celebrate. Emmanuel – God-is- with-us. God is with us in the mess and mud. For when we remember that the baby was born in a smelly, messy, muddy barn in Bethlehem, we know that our God isn't going to let real life and a little mud get in the way of God loving us. That child is Emmanuel, “God with us,” in the midst of the mud, muck and pain, to assure us that there is nothing too dirty to separate us from God’s love. God is with us to love us. Tonight, we are in God’s presence. Everyone in heaven is coming down tonight, right here, right into our own Bethlehem, bringing us the God who has decided to make God’s home in our arms here in our messy world. God is with us. This is good news for all of us. Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
In Matthew's Christmas Story, these three wise men play an important role to lead us to the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem. Same as the shepherds in Luke. Precisely speaking, we do not know who they are, what they are, nor how many they are, even we say “three,” since Matthew’s story does not tell these details, and only introduces them as “Magi.” In Greek, Magi is the plural form of the word Magoi, and since they were guided by the shining star, in a Japanese Bible translates Magi as “astrologer.” Or traditionally they are called “Wise Men,” or later “Kings.” Whatever their identities were, they were the men of status and scholarship. That is why they were allowed to meet King Herod with no difficulties and asked the key question, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? ” (Matthew 2:2) And they were told “the top secret of the state on a new ruler for the country” But how do you think they were feeling when they met King Herod? I cannot think but they were somehow disappointed and felt shame on themselves. If they were really masters of astrology, or men of wisdom, why did they lose and fail to follow the guiding star, the most important sign for their journey. It was some kind of losing face experience to ask that key question. “Where should we go?” Rather, they were the ones who should tell Herod the right answer. For them it was a very difficult decision to meet King Herod or not, I presume. To disqualify their scholarship or give up their long journey at that last moment. Even so they were determined to see Jesus, even though they might disqualify their credit as scholars or men of wisdom. At this moment, I believe that these three magi had changed their attitude for their life. Until that time, they had strong confidence in what they were doing. They had studies, learned, did research, and mastered everything they could, so they were assured, but losing the sight of star, their confidence had been seriously crushed, broken into pieces. At the last point of their achievement, they had to ask someone else's advice. They realized themselves not as men of full wisdom but appreciated Herod’s support. St. Paul warned us to discern the wisdom of this world and wisdom of God, quoting Prophet Isiah 29:14 as “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (I Cor 1:19) For wise men of this world never accept God’s wisdom but despise the truth of God. Paul insists not to push our own knowledge and wisdom, but to look up God’s guidance, humbly accept it and follow it. If we are solely dependent on ourselves, we may lose the guiding star as well. It is interesting to see that when these three men left Herod's palace, the star reappeared. They had not been able to keep the star by their knowledge, but by accepting someone’s help, that is being humble and obedient, they could find the star, guiding them to where Jesus was with Mary. And they, long learned scholars,” bowed down and worshiped” (Matthew 2:211) Jesus, new-born baby and offered their treasure acquired by their life long effort. That was a sign of their starting point of new life to serve the minors and weak, offering their wisdom and knowledge. Last week, we heard from Claudia-sensei, how Mary together with Joseph, Elisabeth, and Zechariah had to face the challenge to accept God's will and force to change their course of life. Christmas is the time of challenge and change. Every year of the season of Advent and Christmas, I enjoy my annual Christmas tradition by listening to my favourite Christmas music, watching movies, reading books, and so on. One thing I don’t want to miss is to read the novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, a Christmas Classic. Or sometimes I enjoy watching the movie, titled “Scrooge” (1970) based on that novel. Of course, many of you already know and read well, and Scrooge is the central figure of the story. He was a money lender, strict, hard, severe, rigorous, and with no mercy. For him Christmas was “Humbug” or nonsense to lose one working day, that is to miss the chance for his business. More and more he worked hard, he was disliked, hated, and isolated from the people and society, even from relatives. And on the night before Christmas, he was visited by three ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. After meeting these Spirits, Scrooge’s life, attitude to the people and society had drastically changed. During that night, when the second spirit came to him, he had some conversation with the Ghost as below; I quote: “You have never seen the like of me before!” exclaimed the Spirit, “Never” Scrooge made answer to it. “Have never walked forth with the younger members of my family; meaning (for I am very young) my elder brothers born in these later years?” pursued the Phantom. “I don’t think I have,” said Scrooge. “I am afraid I have not. Have you had many brothers, Spirit?” “More than eighteen hundred.” said the Ghost. “A tremendous family to provide for,” muttered Scrooge. It is interesting that the Spirit of Christmas Present explained that his brother has been visiting Scrooge every year, every Christmas time, but Scrooge was never aware of that. And he never changed his attitude to his life and society, even though he had been spending Christmas through his life up to that year, but it has no meaning, nothing, just thought it as “Humbug.” to him. He had been never challenged and changed by Christmas. And this is somewhat similar to us, don’t you think? I have been passing many Christmases, this is my 71th Christmas in my life, and how much my Christmas Past has meant to me, I have to ask myself sincerely. It should be enough to have One Christmas which could change my way of life and attitude. Do I have one yet? Why is it so difficult to have a real and meaningful One Christmas in our lives? I know many things about Christianity, the Church, and Christmas. But that kind of knowledge does not work to see the Christmas Spirit, even though they have been repeatedly visiting me and us. Maybe because we are celebrating, understanding and taking Christmas in our own familiar way. Just as the wise men lost the guiding star when they were confident in their own wisdom and knowledge. They came very near the point, and they were almost missing the point. And we, I may have been missing the real point of Christmas. Not looking up God’s guidance, and hearing some other suggestions or advice. Merry Christmas, Welcome Christmas of 2022! Facing the challenge of Christmas, we can be real worshippers of the newborn Jesus as our Savior Christ. We shall never lose our Guiding Star! Let us pray: Dearest Lord, please make us possible to have one real Christmas this year, which will give us change not focusing on our own cause, but to accept your way to live on. Please make us new by meeting this infant Jesus. In the name of our savior, born on Christmas day, Jesus Christ, Amen. We are in the midst of the season of Advent. Advent is the four weeks in the church calendar in which we wait in hope for the incarnation, the moment in which God upends history by taking on human form through the birth of Christ. In this season, an increasing number of people are coping or struggling with loneliness, grief, anxieties, economic woes, and uncertainties about their future during this pandemic. This year, we are in need of Advent. As the candles on the Advent wreath remind us on this third Sunday of Advent, we in need of hope, we are in need of love, and we are in need of joy (the meaning of the rose - colored candle that we lit today). We are in an Advent adventure with Christ, Emmanuel which means “God is with us.”
Today we heard in our scripture Mary the Prophet who is destined to become Mary the Mother of Jesus. In today’s reading, she has not had the baby yet. Her cousin is Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s husband is Zechariah whom you learned about last week from Pastor Akiko’s sermon, remember? Zechariah is a priest in the order of Abijah (1 Chronicles 24:10) and there were 24 divisions of the priests and they would rotate in their priestly duties. He was also the father of John the Baptist. (See (Luke 1:67–79). Zechariah is the husband of Elizabeth who is a cousin of Mary (Luke 1:36). Zechariah is quite an old man married to an old Elizabeth. (Luke 1:7). Yet God blessed them and answered their prayers to finally have a child. (Luke 1:18-25). But Zechariah was made mute after questioning the Angel Gabriel about the news that they would have a child and his name would be John. (Luke 1:13) It seems Mary’s annunciation went a whole lot better than Zechariah’s did. She was not made mute by the angel Gabriel after her questions. When Gabriel tells Mary of God’s plan in Luke 1, Mary asks Gabriel in verse 34, “How can this be?” Mary asks this question because she is aware of the social implications of her being pregnant out of wedlock. What sticks out to me about this exchange is how Gabriel explains God’s plan to Mary: Mary’s pregnancy will be miraculous and controversial, but instead of facing public scrutiny alone, Mary will have the support of her relative, Elizabeth, who is also miraculously pregnant (v. 36). Therefore, God, through Gabriel, attempts to put Mary’s anxieties to rest by letting her know that she will have a trusted person who believes her and supports her during these vulnerable stages of pregnancy. When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary telling her that she has found favor in God’s sight, it is important for us to understand why that affirmation was radical. God’s affirmation of Mary is radical because her social status as a woman, an ethnic minority, and a poor person marked her as a social outcast After Gabriel explains God’s plan, there is a holy pause. Gabriel, the pantheon of angels, and God await Mary's response. Then in verse 38, Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Mary said “yes.” There is no coercion to force Mary to say “yes” to God. Through Mary, God shows humanity that justice and liberation are predicated on a person having the ability to make their own decisions. Mary’s own plans changed after that visit from an angel. This young woman, probably a teenager, planned to marry Joseph, have a couple of kids, join the women’s fellowship group at the local synagogue and have a quiet life as the wife of a carpenter. But God had other plans. So, Mary had to pivot. How many times have you had your plans change then had to pivot? You may have your plans for your life but then something happens to change your best made plans such as an illness, or a death, or your health, or a move, or an unexpected surprise (good or bad). You had to pivot. But the good thing is that God is with you. Emmanuel, God is with us in every twist and turn even if our plans change for some reason. Even if we (or someone else) are the ones that mess up the plans. God doesn’t leave us stranded. God may have had a plan for us but as humans with free choice, we might do something else than what God initially wanted. God probably goes to Plan B or Plan C or Plan D. Are there any changes going on in you right now? Is there something underway that you cannot predict the end of? Be inspired by our scripture for today and the adventure that happened to Mary and Elizabeth. Whatever happens, keep praying for the Holy Spirit to guide you. “Adventus” in Latin means “coming.” Therefore, Advent means “coming.” During the season, Christians prepare for Jesus' coming. The four Sundays preceding Christmas, which is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, are recognized for four virtues. The candles on the Advent wreath symbolize hope, love, joy and peace. Advent is a most fitting word to describe the period leading up to Christmas. For what we celebrate is the coming of a king, one who was both fully human and fully God. Another thing I think about with Advent and the meaning of “coming” is that when Mary’s plans changed and she didn’t know what was coming! Well, she knew she was going to have God’s Son but she may not have known all that the future would entail. Like the song “Mary, Did You Know?” Well, did she know? Did she know what was coming? Hard to say. Anyway, Mary hears the news from the angel Gabriel and whether she knows the future or not, she deices she should visit her much older cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Zechariah are the first to hear the news but Zechariah cannot offer offering oral verbal congratulations to Mary and can only maybe wave at her because he was made mute by the angel (until his son John is born). Elizabeth can talk though and she does rather loudly and excitedly when she exclaims; “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Elizabeth’s baby leaps for joy inside of her! She ( and baby John inside her) are so happy that Mary has been given this gift – a precious gift – the gift of God’s son inside of her! Mary breaks into song, a prophecy. This song she sings right there in Elizabeth’s living room is known as the Magnificat. (Latin for “to magnify.”) The Magnificat is the longest set of works by a woman in the New Testament. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, echoes the Song of Hannah fond in 1 Samuel 2:1–10 which was a prayer giving thanks for the birth of Hannah’s son Samuel. There are also some similarities with Psalm 113 and the Magnificat as both talk about the high and the humble. German theologian,*Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words about the Magnificat were: “The song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn, it is at once the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings; this is the passionate, surrendered, proud, enthusiastic Mary who speaks out here. “This song,” Bonhoeffer continues, “has none of the sweet, nostalgic, or even playful tones of some of our Christmas carols. It is instead a hard, strong, inexorable song about collapsing thrones and humbled lords of this world, about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind. These are the tones of the women prophets of the Old Testament that now come to life in Mary’s mouth.” The Magnificat begins with these words, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Elizabeth and Zechariah may be the first to hear her song, but it is not for them. It is also for Mary, and for the Mighty One who has done great things for her. It is for Angel Gabriel, who first gave her the Good News and for all who will benefit from it - for the proud and powerful and rulers who will be toppled from their thrones, for the hungry who will be filled with good things, for the rich who will be sent away empty. Her song is for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – for Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel – for every son and daughter of Israel who had thought God had forgotten the promise to be with them to love them forever, to give them (and us) new and eternal endless) life. Mary was living as a Jewish woman in an occupied territory under the oppression of Roman rule. Her words were radical words. Mary is calling out people in power although she is powerless in the socioeconomic system of the time, but she is the one God picked to announce the coming of God to humanity. Mary was not meek but was a woman of great courage. The God that waits with us to grow and is with us always is with us in this Advent adventure of the here and now and also in the God who will come again in this Advent time. Just as a side note I wish to tell you some history of the Magnificat. During the British rule of India, for example, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in church. And in the 1980s, Guatemala’s government discovered that Mary’s words about God’s preferential love for the poor was inspiring the poor in their country as so, believing that it was too dangerous and revolutionary, they banned any public recitation of Mary’s words. Similarly, Mary’s song was outlawed in Argentina after is a group of mothers, referred to as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose children ”disappeared” which meant they were most likely tortured and killed during the military dictatorship placed the words of the Magnificat’s words on posters in protest throughout the capital plaza. The reason that these governments and those who seek to control others fear Mary’s words is because she and other prophets in the Old Testament, inspire people to believe that change is possible. We do not know our future and cannot predict how things will be. But Christians are people of hope. God’s reign of righteousness, steadfast love, peace, and justice is not just a promise in the future. Instead, we see glimpses of that heaven in the here and now, even as we face the realities of suffering and grief all around us. This means that Christ’s birth in Bethlehem makes it possible for us to co-labor with God in taking pieces of heaven and bringing them closer to Earth. Like the Lord’s Prayer says, “they kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Perhaps that heavenly future won't be fully realized until Christ’s return, Christ’s birth reminds us that it has been promised. Let us adventure with God during this Advent and into the future. Emmanuel, God is with us. Amen. (Footnote: *Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, supporter of ecumenism. and key founding member of the Confessing Church, a movement that fought against the nazification of the German Evangelical Church. He was arrested in 1943 and executed in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. His book, “The Cost of Discipleship” is a modern classic.) Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together this morning be pleasing in your sight O Lord. You are our rock and redeemer. Amen.
Have you ever had a situation in Japan, when you ask something, and the other person says, “hmmmmm….that is difficult,” usually while touching their foreheads with their hands. [gesture] If you’ve lived in Japan for a while, you know what this really means, right? It actually means “no”. Back in seminary, in my intercultural communication class, I learned that there are at least 20 different ways that Japanese people express “no,” mostly through implication. This means that people do not usually say the word “no” in Japan, but will do many different things to indicate, or suggest, that their answer is actually “no.” Of course, this can be really confusing for people who are unfamiliar with all the various indirect ways of saying “no” in Japan. For people who come from cultures where your yes means yes and your no means no, it can be very confusing. But is this an issue that we see just in communicating with modern Japanese people? Maybe not. After all, in the book of Matthew it says, “Simply let yes be yes and no be no.” (Matthew 5:37) So we know that this issue is not a new one, by any means. Today, I want to talk about someone in the Scripture who said no, that is, the mother of John the Baptist, Elizabeth. The birth of John the Baptist is a part of the Christmas story we often touch on briefly during the Advent season, being contrasted with the conception and birth story of Jesus. John the Baptist was born to his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of whom were descended from priestly families; the families of people who served in the temple, in the sanctuary, for God’s people. In modern terms, you could say that they came from generations of pastors. The Scripture says of them that they “were both righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6) Zechariah and Elizabeth were known as Godly people, people who did the right things, followed God's rules, and live up to the expectations set upon them by their priestly families. But within their faith community they were not considered truly blessed, because they did not have children. At the time, being unable to have children was considered a sort of disgrace. Despite being right and blameless in the eyes of God, they were not given the kind of blessing that the community would perceive as God’s blessing and grace. They were getting old, so they might have given up becoming parents. But one day, when Zechariah was serving and offering incense in the sanctuary, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and told him that Elizabeth would bear a son, and that they would name him John. The angel explained to him what his son, John, would do for God and God’s people. The angel told Zechariah that John would be given important work for God; that John will “turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16-17) Zechariah will have a son and his son will be given a purpose; a call to serve God. This might sound all amazing to any of us, an announcement from the divine about the miraculous life that is to be born to us. But because of their old age, Zechariah could not believe what the angel had said. He asked, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years. (Luke 1:18) Because of Zechariah’s disbelief, the angel muted him, making him unable to speak until he witnessed the birth of his child with his own eyes. (Luke 1:20) Moving forward, against all odds, just as the angel said, Elizabeth got pregnant. Elizabeth was overjoyed, and shared that joy with Mary, her cousin, who was pregnant with the baby Jesus at the time. They spent time together and praised God, both having the unique experience of being blessed with an unexpected pregnancy announced by the angel of the Lord. Then, the time came for Elizabeth to give birth. Knowing that Elizabeth had been barren, and knowing the suffering that came from that barrenness, Elizabeth’s friends and family rejoiced with her at the birth of her child. And here you can see the real goodness of the community she was a part of. Even though at the time they fully believed that her barrenness had been a sign of God’s disgrace to her, that it was a sign of some deep and unknown sin, the community did not abandon her. Instead, they remained with her and Zechariah and mourned with them, sharing in their suffering. Now that the disgrace was lifted, they joined them in rejoicing at the birth of their son. But even in this time of great, communal celebration, there was a challenge for Elizabeth and Zechariah to face. On the eight day after the birth of the child, Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives gathered together for the ritual circumcision of this child. Like baptism is for us today, this ritual was a time where the whole community came together in joy to celebrate the acceptance of this child as a member of their community of faith. The tradition of course, would be to name the firstborn son after his father, Zechariah, too. (Luke 1:59) To honor God and honor the father in doing that was something which was expected, something understood. And the people who surrounded them, these people who had seen Elizabeth in her barrenness, stayed with her throughout, and rejoiced with her at the wondrous turnaround God had brought about in their lives, they expected that Elizabeth and Zechariah would name their child in the way that culture and tradition suggested. Knowing well the kindness and goodness of her community, Elizabeth might have felt bad about what she had to do next. She might even have felt scared. But there was a truth to be told from God. Elizabeth said, “No; he is to be called John.” (Luke 1:60) We don’t know how Elizabeth heard about the need to call her child John from God. Zechariah received verbal instructions from the angel about this (Luke 1:13), but Elizabeth was not there when that happened. Maybe Zechariah wrote down what he heard for her somehow. Or maybe it was the Holy Spirit who spoke to her and shared what had been said to Zechariah. We don’t know. But the bottom line is that, when it came down to it, she spoke up. Despite all the reasonable expectations, suggestions, and implications of her community, she stood firm and said, “No he is to be called John.” What must have this felt like for Elizabeth? Especially given that her husband had been muted and she knew she could not rely on any verbal support from him. Did she even know that her husband also fully intended on naming the child John? It’s also not like their friends and family had mean or selfish motivations; they weren’t necessarily pushing their own personal agendas after all. It’s just that naming a child, especially the firstborn male child, after the father on the day of circumcision was what was normal. It was what had been done in their community from generation to generation. It’s just the way things were done. The community reminded Elizabeth of this tradition gently, saying to her that “none of your relatives has this name.” (Luke 1:61) In saying this of course, they’re really just suggesting, implying, that she should choose a family name like Zechariah. By the way, isn’t this a totally Japanese way of indirectly indicating something? And, just like in modern Japanese society, it must have been easier for her to just go with the flow, and do what the vocal majority suggested. It would be easy. It would make sense. It would not have to cause conflict. If she just did what everyone wanted her to do, things could be easy. But that was not what Elizabeth decided to do. She kept to what she was told by God to do instead. The assembled family and friends couldn’t believe that she was breaking tradition in this way, so they took their concerns to Zechariah, and asked him what he thought. Still unable to speak, he asked for a writing tablet to bring in, and he wrote on it clearly and plainly, “His name is John.” This remark was even more assertive than what Elizabeth had said. In this he declared that the name of the child had already been decided, a decision made long before by a higher authority. This name - John - means in the Greek, “God is gracious.” And in this moment, all of them were amazed (Luke 1:64). The Scriptures don’t tell us what they were amazed at though. Maybe they were amazed at how a name like John came about despite no one in the family having that name. Or perhaps, they were amazed that both Elizabeth and Zechariah had the exact same name in mind with complete certainty despite not being able to communicate with each other. Whatever it was that they were amazed at, something even more amazing happened. Right then, Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was freed. At last, he began to speak (Luke 1:64)! And the first thing that came out from his mouth was NOT an effort to convince them of the rightness in naming their child John. No. It was praise for God! So now, after all this, everyone is agreed that the child’s name should be John. God’s way of bringing people together in their thoughts and actions rarely happens in the way we expect, does it? It’s not really about following along with what has been done just because it is what has been done in the past, nor is it about the great struggle to convince others of those things you strongly believe. Instead, the story shows us how people are brought together when they listen to God. (Luke 1:13) And not just when they listen to God, but when they share with each other what it is that God has said (Luke 1:60). Moreover, it shows us how people come together when they listen to what others have to say as well (Luke 1:66). But, perhaps most importantly, it shows us what happens when you take the time to ponder, to discern, to think about what you have heard (Luke 1:66). God was at work in Zechariah’s doubtful heart, helping him to keep the faith. God was at work in Elizabeth’s heart, giving her the boldness and courage to stand her ground in a pressuring, male-dominated society, and say with conviction that “this child is to be called John.” God was at work in the hearts and minds of Elizabeth’s friends, neighbors, and relatives, who were so completely sure that this child must be named for his father because of tradition, but instead became open to the new ways in which God was speaking and acting among them. This is what happens when God is at work in our own hearts and minds. We become able to let go of those things that we hold so tightly and inflexibly to in our hearts and minds, and which keep us from moving closer to God. Whether it’s doubt, fear, traditions, our own personal beliefs about what is right or good, or what to do next in the community, when God is at work within us, we can let go of these heavy things, and make room for God to be at work in and among us again. And when we do that, we open the door to even greater possibilities, bigger dreams and farther visions, all which come about because we embraced openness, eagerness, and a willingness to listen more. Near the end of today’s story, after all their amazement, listening, and pondering, those neighbors and relatives ask,“What then will this child become?” (Luke 1:66) You see, if they had remained the same, limited people, stuck in their ways and rooted in their traditions, they never could have asked this question. Since John had been born into a priestly family, and priesthood was the “family business” so to speak, they never would have even thought to ask the question, because of course John would be a priest just like his father Zechariah. But when they embraced what God was doing in and among them, when they let go of their expectations and deeply held beliefs, they opened themselves up to a much larger vision; to questions and ideas they never would have considered before. So how is today’s reading speaking to us today? Here are some questions for us to ponder this morning. Are there areas in our own lives where we are holding on strongly to our own firmly-held beliefs or traditions, and where we have not yet fully invited God to enter in? Maybe we’re hesitant to let God into our financial lives, afraid that God’s radical and uncustomary ways will put our finances at risk? Maybe we’re afraid of letting God into our relationships, knowing we’ll be called to love more radically, and forgive more completely, than we’re comfortable with. Maybe it’s the future, because if we open that up to God then how will we know what’s coming next? Are their doubts, fears, or long-held beliefs about what should be done that are preventing us from listening, pondering, and wondering what God could be doing in our lives? Are we saying yes to things that are just human traditions, ideas and plans, and in doing so, saying no to God’s? Are we listening to God? Or are we just giving God our many requests instead? Do we yield to the many requests of the people around us, giving everyone what they want regardless of whether it’s a good or godly thing to do? Or do we pause and ponder, considering how God might be at work right in front of our eyes, taking the time to reflect and entertain the possibility that it might be our own personal agendas or those of others, rather than God’s divine will, which should be guiding us. And of course, we should ask ourselves these questions, take time to pause and ponder, when it comes to our church life as well. Do we let our fears, doubts, and strongly held convictions keep us rooted to past traditions, dominating our hearts and blinding us to the possibilities of the future? Or do we have the openness that Elizabeth’s relatives and neighbors showed, as they were transformed through God’s active spirit, into a people who could look beyond their expectations and ask“what will this child become”? Instead of asking, “what will happen to our church?” have we ever thought to ask, “what will this church become?” When we ponder what we could become, we start to embrace growth, and ongoing transformation. When we “let go and let God,” we find that God has the power to unite all our hearts and minds. When we accept that “no” from the world, we embrace a “yes” from God, and we become a transformed people who are able to start looking ahead to greater works of God on the horizon; greater ideas and possibilities that we never could have imagined before. Let us all look to today’s story. In opening ourselves up to how God might speak to us, let us become a people who can ask “what will we become together?” And when we do that, we will hear mute voices speak, filled with the Holy Spirit, telling us that the grace of God has already come to us all. Let us pray. Dear God, we come to you, confessing our strong desire to hold onto our doubts, fears, pride, our possessions, our own expectations, our plans, and our opinions. We are sorry. Please help us to listen, to be open to your guidance and direction and obedient both in our lives and the life of our church community. May your will be done. Amen. |
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