Happy New Year! Today is a day of new beginnings! New hopes! New dreams for the coming year!
In the New Year, we may think about time. There is a countdown in Times Square New York where the minutes are counted until midnight. In Japan, there an orchestra playing on NHK TV and they end their orchestra piece right at the stroke of midnight and it is amazing how they can keep time to the very last second! A month ago, I happened to watch on TV a movie about time. It was called “In Time.” The story was about people of a society in the future which uses time from one's lifespan as its currency, with each individual possessing a clock on their arm (a timer) that counts down how long they have to live. Time is transferred directly between people or stored in capsules. The country is divided into areas called “Time Zones” and there is a poor time zone area which is a ghetto where people rarely have more than 24 hours on their arm clock and the rich area where people have enough time to practically be immortal. It was an interesting movie talking about the value of time, literally, and the “has” and “has nots” of time. How do we value our time? For example, how do we value one year? Ask a student who failed a grade or ask a military person who has an extra year of deployment away from her or his family. How do we value one month? Ask a mother whose baby arrived prematurely. How do we value one week? Ask a student whose paper was due a week ago. Or ask a weekly newsletter editor with a weekly deadline. How do we value one hour? Ask someone who is terminally ill in the hospital and waiting for a loved one who is late. How do we value one minute? Ask someone who missed a plane, a train, a very important engagement that cannot be rescheduled. How do we value one second? Ask an Olympic Medalist, or ask someone who just missed having an accident. Time is something we think aabout lot.We cherish time and we complain about time. I know one family who often has said, “time is our enemy.” They said they seem to never have enough time due to their busy schedules. For some, time goes by too fast and for others, it is too slow. We have little time we have no time and some people have all the time in the world. How do we spend our time? Are we good stewards with our time? Do we value our time? Do we take enough time to pray? Do we take enough time to read the Bible? These are perhaps questions for us to ponder and pray about in the New Year. The theologian Henri Nouwen said this: “I often think: "A life is like a day; it goes by so fast. If I am so careless with my days, how can I be careful with my life?" “When the time was fulfilled” are inspiring and powerful words. “The time is fulfilled” means Christ has now come and is here as predicted by the Old Testament prophets. The ministry of Jesus and a new era of human's relationship to God had begun. This was the start of Jesus preaching the Gospel. The Bible reminds us that there is “a time and a season for everything under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We can know that God has perfect timing. God had perfect timing when God sent His son to save us. Paul makes reference to this in Galatians (“But when the fullness of time had come God sent God’s son…” ) regarding the birth of Jesus and reminds us that “when the fullness of time had come,” Jesus was born. God has planned it. The prophecies predicted the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament. But no one knew except God when that exact moment would come. For some people, the New Year is a time to do new things and to make new resolutions and it can also be a time to renew our resolution in faith. It can be a time to look at how God is shaping our lives, the lives of those around us, and our world today. We have God`s time. We have our own time. I have mentioned before about kairos and chronos. The ancient Greeks had these two contrasting words for time. They implied different things, “chronos” gives us the word “chronology,” which implies minutes and seconds (i.e., the clock) and refers to sequential time. Chronos refers to time as a measurable resource like a day or an hour. (e.g. like “the 40 years” mentioned in Acts 13:18 and “Since much time had been lost “ found in Acts 27:9). “Kairos” is God-ordained times throughout history, sometimes called the "right time" or "appointed time” or “opportune time.” Kairos is God's dimension—one not marked by the past, the present, or the future. Kairos time points to the right, or opportune, moment, a moment of time not exactly known or defined but in which events happen. Jesus' ministry was filled with kairos moments. Kairos is God’s time. Kairos time is often when God interrupts our routine and touches us so deeply that we are forever changed. It’s a key word used to describe Jesus’ ministry. He went into Galilee saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15). In the Bible, Zacchaeus, blind Bartimaeus, and the woman with the constant bleeding of blood were all seeking Christ. They recognized their need to experience what I would call a kairos moment. We, too, must be willing to seek God (“seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you..” Matthew 6:33) and seek our own kairos moments. By seeking God, taking time for God, putting God first, then we can be open to a kairos moment as well. Let me share a story of how we prioritize and open ourselves to Kairos moments. A while back an expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students. After speaking to them for a while, he aid, “Okay, it’s time for a quiz.” He set a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks & carefully placed them, one at a time, inside the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” “Really?” he said. Then he reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel into the jar and shook it , causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them said. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it filled all the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water & began to pour in the water until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked back at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit something more into it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.” What are the “big rocks” of your life? They should include these: Each day drawing nearer to God, spending time with God in prayer, and seeking God’s guidance for your life through reading God’s Word. Remember to put these “big rocks” in first or you’ll never get them in at all. The “big rocks” help us to prioritize our time. Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, “Be careful, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) Making the most of our time. The chronos mindset can make us miss what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5. Paul instructs us to redeem the kairos – to pay attention and take advantage of the opportune times and seasons. Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Numbering our days means evaluating the quality of our time spent. We consider not only where our time goes but also how we spend it and why. Our time on earth is brief (Psalm 39:4-6), and as God’s stewards, we really should be using every second to glorify God, putting God first in every area of our lives. Jesus sought God first, early in the morning (“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35) And Jesus encourages us to do the same. It is my prayer in this New Year that we try to use our time wisely, thereby experiencing many kairos moments. It is true that we live in a chronos world, but there are many kairos moments to be experienced if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us this New Year. Some moments are more valuable than other moments. The minutes that I have had a chance to share the gospel with an unsaved friend are more valuable minutes than when I’m looking at FaceBook or even going through all my emails. Use this coming year as a time to look for God-given opportunities. In addition, remember that putting God first is time well spent. God is the God of all time: the past, the present, and the future. Because of the uncertainty of life, the Bible says, "Now is the accepted time, Now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) We must take advantage of the time that we have. Christians can use our time wisely by praying, reading scripture, helping others, sharing resources, seeking peace, loving God and loving one another. Sometimes we might feel overwhelmed. It happens. The Apostle Paul did not let his circumstances overwhelm him. Rather, with the help of God, he was determined to “press on” for the Lord. His determination shines through in the words found in Philippians 3:12-14: (“12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s words help us in 2023. We can press on and look to the future but there may be things in the past we need to ask for forgiveness. There may be times we should, as scripture says, “forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Life is uncertain. We do not know what will happen tomorrow or the next day or the next but we do know God is with us. We “press on” toward the “call of God in Christ Jesus.” God has given us the ability to remember and your memory may be your friend or your enemy. When you remember, hopefully you’ll remember some good things about this past year, but chances are that you’ll also remember some bad things as well. But it is important to not let the past have a hold over you. Paul said, "I forget about what lies behind." (Phil. 3:12-14) Paul had a lot that was behind him. Paul had a somewhat shaky past if you recall. He persecuted the church and used his authority to kill Christians. He could have walked around all his life with this tremendous feeling of guilt and he then he would never have become the great apostle we love today. But Paul said, "…forgetting what is behind…" In other words, "God, I commit it to you. I seek your forgiveness for all the sins of the past, and I look forward to what lies ahead. And right now I’m going to live today the best I can." Paul also said, "but one thing I have laid hold of:" Now Paul obviously did more than one thing. He made tents. He preached sermons and established churches. He healed the sick. He wrote books. He did a lot of different things. He said, "The top priority in my life is to press on toward the goal for the prize for which God has called me." Let’s also do the same this coming year. When we are discouraged by our honest efforts or by the failure of this or the other person or by events in our world we should know - the time will be fulfilled. When we are distracted by noise, activities, busyness, we can stop and pause and listen for the gentle sound and movement of the Holy Spirit working in our lives we should know - the time will be fulfilled. When we pray, we should know - the time will be fulfilled. So let us not loose our hearts this year 2023. Let time be fulfilled. Let Jesus be with us in our hearts in each and every moment. The time will be fulfilled and has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. We will now pray the prayers of the people. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Prayer Lord of yesterday, today and tomorrow, we gather here this first Sunday of the New Year, in a mixture of uncertainty, hope, anticipation, potential, worry, and expectation. We do not know what the year holds for us. But we ask your Holy Spirit to guide us. Lord of New Adventures; Your light has come and your light shines over the earth, We pray for KUC and that we may be a beacon of light for others, We pray for our world, where there is darkness and despair, you can show us how we can bring light to those in need through our prayers and actions. We pray that your guidance and wisdom will lead us in this New Year; that your voice will encourage us to live in your ways and that your Spirit will enliven us as we grow, learn and work together. Lord of our Future; In this New Year, we pray that your Holy Light will shine upon all nations, all people and all of creation leading us in love, peace and joy. Lord of Hope, Whatever the year holds for us, though, we trust You, and we place every day of this year in your care knowing that, as in the past, You are with us, caring for us with constant love. Lord of Love, we ask that your healing light surround those who suffer alone this day - those who ache with pain or hunger - those who tremble in fear or anxiety - those who feel empty and unfulfilled - those who feel unloved and unwanted, -and those who mourn a loss in their lives. Bring these people comfort through your Holy Spirit. Lord of New Beginnings, In this year ahead, stretch our souls and move us into new awareness We praise you, O God, for pouring out your light upon us. We place ourselves into your keeping and dedicate our lives to your service. Grant us grace in this year ahead, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior who taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name… Amen. Notes below: Prayer for the New Year In the year ahead, Lord of New Beginnings, stretch our souls and move us into new awareness of the human family, their needs and their longings. Make these into our needs, our longings so we move more confidently from our small selves to a deeper sense of community where our resolutions reflect our interdependence. Help us recognize the possibilities you have offered to us as a people, so we can commit to practice the Hope that happens when we gather gratefully in your Name and we hold up to you this fragile, precious world. Grant us all the grace in this year ahead to sow the seeds of justice and to gather peace in our day. Amen. Scriptures: NRSVUE Ephesians 5:15-16 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition 15 Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Colossians 4:5 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition 5 Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Galatians 4:4-5 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. Mark 1:15 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman When the star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and Princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins. To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry To release the prisoner, To teach the nations, To bring Christ to all, To make music in the heart. Amen.
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Merry Christmas! Some of you may have been at our Candlelight Service last night and I am glad you made it to church again this morning!
Christ – mas – Christmas means the “mass” or worship for Christ hence Christmas. “MAS” in Greek means “A Big Gathering of People”. Thus, CHRISTMAS means “The Gathering of Christ” (The word is recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131 Today is December 25 Christmas Day. ‘Christmas,’ says the Encyclopedia of Religion, means ‘Christ’s Mass,’ that is, the mass celebrating the feast of Christ’s nativity or birth. The day Jesus was born is actually unknown, but there are ta few reasons Dec. 25 was chosen to celebrate his birthday. Some scholars have said that Christ was born in the spring during the Roman census. Rome held its census in the spring count the population and collect taxes. The Judaean shepherds paid their taxes after selling off their spring lambs.) Another theory is that scholars say maybe it was in the spring or summer because the shepherds were out in their fields sleeping with their sheep which they would possibly not have been doing during the intense cold winter months in Palestine. Also, shepherds would have been watching their flocks outside only during the lambing season in the spring. Some other new archaeological evidence indicates Jesus may have been born in late summer or early fall of the year 12 B.C., and the star that led the three wise men to Bethlehem was Halley's comet. But does it matter? It is ok we do not know the actual day. It does not change my faith. The early Christians, many of whom had accompanied Jesus in his ministry, never celebrated his birth on any date. Rather, in harmony with his command, they commemorated only his death. (Luke 22:17-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26). One reason Dec 25 was chosen was because Roman Magistrate Julius Aficanus believed that conception took place on March 25 and nine months later would be Dec. 25. Another reason was because long ago, when the Julian calendar was the followed in the Roman Empire, the winter solstice was on December 25. Often times there were pagan celebration of the solstice so when Constantine supported the Christian faith, Dec. 25 was chosen to lessen the pagan celebrations. The solstice is a turning point in the year. It’s the day in the winter that daylight begins to get longer rather than getting shorter. The solstice doesn’t make the days very bright. But it is the turning the point, the moment in the year when things start to change. So December 25 was chosen as a recognition that at Jesus’ birth the Light of the World came into this dark world of sin. Christmas in Japan is different than where I grew up in California. I first came to Japan after high school as an exchange student in 1976. Some of the traditions back then are still followed today. Like chicken and especially Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner which would be like having ramen for oshogatsu! In North America, we usually have turkey or roast beef for Christmas dinner. The Christmas cake tradition was also unusual for me as in the US we have Christmas cookies and fruitcake but not a cake with strawberries and candles on top. I asked back then why candles and was told because it was Santa’s birthday. It used to be that December 25th Japan cleaned up Christmas, took all decorations down, and put away the Christmas trees so they can get ready for the New Year. I thought that was early but nowadays, I couldn’t find Christmas cookies at some stores on December 15 nor Christmas stamps which had been sold a few weeks before at the post office. So, it seems many places were getting ready for the New Year. That is sad. I like to keep the Christmas decorations up for at least the 12 days of Christmas until Epiphany on January 6. Even if Christmas is being taken away by the stores earlier and earlier, Christmas for us Christians is not gone. Love remains. Christmas is not just for one day. The love of God which came down at Christmas is with us always. Emmanuel. God with us. This is the incarnation. Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian speaker, author and survivor of the concentration camp because she was hiding Jews in Holland, said these words about Christmas: “Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.” Christmas is a day when we can celebrate when the world changed because Christ was born. The day Jesus was born was the day when heaven touched earth and God chose to come nto this world in human flesh. This is known as the incarnation. God came down to earth to be with us and show us love. Last night I told a story to illustrate the incarnation about a famer and some birds- you can read my Christmas Eve message as there are copies in the foyer and the manuscript is in this Sunday’s church email newsletter. Today I will share another story. Once upon a time, a prince wanted to find a young lady suitable to be his queen. One day, he had to pass through the poor section in a nearby village, and as he glanced out of the carriage, he saw a young beautiful peasant girl. From then on, he made a point of driving through the village as often as he could and soon he fell in love with the young lady. But he had a problem. How could he get to know her and ask her to marry him? He could order her to marry him. But even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the young lady loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendour. No, the prince had to come up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved into the village, entering not with a crown but in the lowly clothes of a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the peasant girl grew to love him for who he was and because he had first loved her. That simple story was written by a brilliant and famous Danish philosopher and theologian from the mid 1800’s named Soren Kierkegaard. It was written to tell us what Christmas is really all about. It is a love– God loving us – and loves us enough to come and live amongst us. (John 3:16) Our response to that love matters to him. We have different views on what God may be like and what God’s love is like. Oftentimes are views are shaped by our own life experiences. When things go wrong it is easy to question how a loving God could allow such a thing. But Christmas tells us that God loves us enough to come to where we are, live amongst us and die for us so that we could know God’s love in the midst of our struggles and pain. I close with a poem by American Christian writer, Madeleine L’Engle with Lucy Shaw. The Risk of Birth (Christmas, 1973) by Madeleine L’Engle This is no time for a child to be born, With the earth betrayed by war and hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That time runs out and the sun burns late. That was no time for a child to be born, In a land in the crushing grip of Rome; Honour and truth were trampled by scorn- Yet here did the Saviour make his home. When is the time for love to be born? The inn is full on the planet earth, And by a comet the sky is torn- Yet Love still takes the risk of birth. Love came down at Christmas. Will you receive God’s gift of love? Sermon resources and notes: *Corrie Ten Boom is a famous speaker whom I had the honor of hearing at Asilomar, California at a retreat center when I was in elementary school. I can still remember her story of how she, a Christian and a watchmaker in Holland shared how her family she hid many Jews from the Nazis during WW II and were caught, was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts to save Jews as part of the Dutch underground Resistance and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned at the concentration camp. A film was also made called The Hiding Place. A sequel film, Return to the Hiding Place (War of Resistance), was released in 2013. The Yad Vashem Remembrance Authority in Israel honored her by naming her Righteous Among the Nations. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom) She was knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands (Holland) in recognition of her work. She also said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” (https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/jesus-probably-wasnt-born-on-december-25--and-other-christmas-myths-20161217-gtd8bg.html https://www.quora.com/What-the-real-meaning-of-Christ-mass https://aquietwalk.com/tag/light-of-the-world/ *Madeleine L’Engel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_L%27Engle I Will Light Candles This Christmas I will light candles this Christmas, Candles of joy despite all the sadness, Candles of hope where despair keeps watch, Candles of courage for fears ever present, Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days, Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens, Candles of love to inspire all my living, Candles that will burn all year long. ~ Howard Thurman Howard Washington Thurman (1899–1981) was an educator, Baptist minister, African American theologian, the grandson of a former slave, founder of San Francisco’s church for the Fellowship of All People. played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century. He was one of the principal architects of the modern, nonviolent civil rights movement and a key mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ---------------- Christmas Eve Sermon title: “Love Came Down at Christmas” / Preacher: Rev. Claudia Genung12/24/2022 It is Christmas Eve, and we are celebrating the birth of Christ together. We have actually been celebrating since November 27, the beginning of Advent, but now the time has arrived.
Christmas is a wonderful story of when love came down in the person of Jesus Christ. Christmas is all about love. God’s love. Scripture tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” -- John 3:16 This is the true meaning of Christmas - God’s love has come to us. After my message we will sing “Love Came Down at Christmas” which is a 19th century poem by Christina Rosetti (1830-1894). She suffered from poor health from the age of 16 but had a deep faith which she expressed in her writing. (The poem is based on 1 John 4:7-11, a passage that mentions “love” in some form 11 times: “7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”) Rossetti’s best-known hymns are the Christmas carols “In the Bleak Midwinter” (1872) and “Love Came Down at Christmas” (1885) which has many tune variations. You can find this hymn in our hymn book #242 and the line in this lovely hymn has stayed in my head these past weeks: “Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine. Love was born at Christmas. Star and angels gave the sign.” It is such a simple, yet deeply profound statement about what happened that special night when Jesus was born. We do know that God’s love has always been here but, on this day, we celebrate how God became incarnate and came down to us in the form of vulnerable human baby to be with us, live among us, and save us from our sins. I’d like to share a story to illustrate what I am saying. Perhaps you have hard of Paul Harvey who was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast News and Comment, and also his famous The Rest of the Story segments. (He would tell an uplifting story oftentimes about a famous person and sometimes about someone not famous but include little known facts and then always end with “and now you know the rest of the story.”) From 1951 to 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week. I grew up listening to him on radio.) One Christmas he shared this story called “The Man and the Birds.” It is a modern day parable that I will share with you now. There was a kind and honest man. He was generous to his family and friends. But the incarnation didn’t make sense to him. “Why would God become choose to come to earth and be born a human?” he asked skeptically. He just couldn’t believe the Jesus story, about God coming to earth as a vulnerable baby. On Christmas Eve he told his wife, “I’m truly sorry but I’m not going with you to church for the Candlelight Service.” He said he would feel like a hypocrite and that he would much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for the family. Sad, but understanding, she and the children left for church and he stayed home. Shortly after they drove off, snow began to fall. He watched from the window as the snowflakes got heavier and the winds harder, then he went to his favorite fireside chair to read the paper. No sooner had he sat down than he heard a thunk. And then another. He wondered if some neighborhood kids were throwing snowballs at his window. But when he went again to the window to investigate, he saw not children, but a flock of birds, huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the snow storm and were desperate for shelter, and they had been trying to fly through his picture window. Well, being that he was a compassionate man and a lover of all creatures, he couldn’t let the poor things freeze to death! Then he had an idea – they had an old barn in the back. This would provide a shelter for them if he could only direct them to it. He put on his coat and boots, and slogged through the deepening snow to the barn. Quickly, he put on a coat and boots and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light so the birds would know the way in. But the birds did not come in. So, he figured that food would entice them. He hurried back to the house and fetched some bread crumbs. He sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the barn. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them but could not. He tried to “shoo” them into the barn by walking around behind them and waving his arms wildly. They scattered in every direction except into the warm, lighted barn. And that’s when he realized they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. “If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so that they could see and hear, trust and understand.” At that moment, the church bells began to ring the Christmas hymn, “O Come all Ye Faithful” The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. He stood there listening to the bells, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he fell to his knees in the snow. He finally understood what God had done. God came to us in the form of vulnerability and humility in a way we would be able to understand. That was the greatest gift of all. Let us pray… God, you came to show us your love by sending us your son, our Savior. Show us how to be loving and lovely to the people in our lives this Christmas and always. Amen. Let us pray. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts together be pleasing in your sight. We wait upon you O Lord, that you will reveal to us the message we need to hear today. In your holy name, we pray, Amen.
Two weeks ago, I preached on the first 8 verses of today’s passage, the genealogy from Matthew, Chapter 1. The message was about how, through our faith in Christ, we are grafted into the same family line; we become part of the genealogy of Jesus. Our stories are all weaved together with each other’s, like Ruth, Rahab, Naomi, and Boaz, forming a single tapestry of family and community. Stories of different peoples, different nations, cultures, and backgrounds all come together, uniting into a single family of God. As I mentioned last time, this part of Matthew often gets ignored because for many of us, at first glance, it just seems like a bunch of meaningless names. I still remember the very first time I read the Bible. It was about 20 years ago now. Back then, I wasn’t yet a believer, but I became interested in reading the Bible because, through some friends, I had started attending church. When one of my friends learned that I was trying to read the Bible, they gave me some advice, saying, “Start from the New Testament, and when you do start from there, just know that the first thing you’re gonna come across will be a bunch of names that don’t make sense to you. Nonetheless, be patient, hang in there, and keep reading!” So I started to read. And, as most of you know, the very first verse of the very first book of the New Testament is Matthew, and Matthew 1:1 starts off with “An account of the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.” Of course, as you might have guessed, I was reading the Bible in Japanese at the time, and the word “Messiah” wasn’t a word I knew. And “Messiah” is written as “メシヤ” in katakana…which didn’t make me think of the savior of the world at all. I thought it might mean something like “飯” “屋”; like a server of food. Lunch-lady Jesus, maybe? Of course, now that I know Jesus as the bread of life, maybe this is more accurate than I realized… Anyways, back to the story, I think the point of my friend’s advice was that the genealogy can be hard to understand. It’s overwhelming, boring, and very tempting to skip because it feels entirely irrelevant to those of us who are living and working through our lives 2000 years after Jesus came into the world. The stories we’re talking about, and the people in them, come from so very long ago; they’re a part of a history that happened in a far away place, to a people so very different than our own. The first six and a half verses of Matthew Chapter 1 is the story of the birth of God’s people. God promises to his newborn people to be not just their God, but to be the God of all people, then chooses this particular group - the people of Israel - to show that promise, leading them on a journey to find a homeland, settle down, and get down to the business of building God’s kingdom right here on Earth. Today’s reading goes on from that place, covering the stories of ancient Israel fighting to secure that homeland, fighting great and terrible wars for the cause before being conquered by a foreign enemy, and driven into exile. When you hear about stories like this, you might feel a bit of distance from them. After all, most of us haven’t really been impacted by war and conflict; to us, these are either foreign stories, or historical stories. But, though we might not know war ourselves, these are stories shared by our great-grandparents, our grandparents, or even our parents, many of whom lived through war and violence. Even a few of us here today might have lived through times of war in the past and, as we know, this year the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, bringing war back into the forefront of many of our lives once again. This past week, I watched a show on Netflix called, “My Next Guest; with David Letterman.” For those of you who don’t know who he is, David Letterman is an American TV host most famous for hosting “The Late Show” for many years - a show now hosted by Stephen Colbert. On his new Netflix show, Letterman interviews famous people such as actors/actresses, athletes, musicians, scientists or political figures. In the latest episode, Letterman, the host of the program himself, went to Kiev, Ukraine, and interviewed Ukrainian President Voldymyer Zelenskyy. This interview was done in the still-used train tunnels underground, with an audience, which meant that trains were still passing by while they were recording. Of course, the exact location couldn’t be identified since that would put President Zelenskyy’s life in danger. But, having started his career as a comedian, Zelenskyy made several jokes and kept the audience at ease, before settling into more serious conversations about the war, the unprovoked Russian invasion still happening in Ukraine. During the interview, they showed a video of what Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, looks like today. It showed relics and other items such as tanks, destroyed armored vehicles, burned cars driven during the evacuation, even the abandoned shoes of long-lost soldiers, gathered together in the center of the capital as a reminder of the ongoing war. A reminder not to forget. During the show Yulia,who was accompanying the TV host and who works for World Central Kitchen - an NGO which provides food aid for people in the wake of wars and other disasters - said, “A lot of people in Kiev stay safe, And this (meaning collection of relics) reminds them (the people in Kiev) that the war still continues. People should remember that they have the possibility to go to work, drink coffee, but most of the Ukraine is under the war.” (My Next Guest with David Letterman and Voldymyer Zelensky, special episode, Radical Media Productions, 2022.) We humans are creatures who really don’t want to see the hard truths of reality, unless it’s placed directly in front of our faces. Unless it’s brought directly to our attention, unless it’s made somehow unusual, different, or off; we just don’t see it. Unless all the war-relics, all the symbols of violence, destruction, and brokenness are gathered together in the beautiful city center where we can’t help but see it, we skip right past the brutal reality of all the horrible things still going on in this world. We don’t think about the loss, the pain, and the suffering of war at all. When we read the genealogy of Jesus here in Matthew 1, you might notice a name mentioned even more than the name of Jesus; King David. Now, King David was a very special king to the people of Israel, because it was he who established Jerusalem as the capital of the great, United Kingdom of Israel. He was the man who unified the tribes of Israel into a single nation, who brought all the relics - all those things so important to the people of Israel - right into the capital, including the ark of the covenant, which contained the tablets on which the ten commandments were written. And God promised that King David would be central to God’s Kingdom, that David’s kingdom would be established forever, continued on through his descendants. (2 Samuel 7:12 and 16) So when we turn our eyes to King David, we expect to see a man known for his heart that followed after the ways of God. In the Genealogy of Jesus, we would expect to see the awesomeness, the godliness of King David highlighted here, but what we actually get is this line in verse 6b: “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6b) David’s house, his entire line and the line of Solomon, his son who would be king after him, is based on the wife of Uriah. The legacy of David in this genealogy is not conquest or victory, but his sinful actions with the wife of another man. The condition that starts this stage of the journey isn’t triumph; it’s sin. For those of you who don’t know the story, Uriah was a soldier in the service of David king, and the husband of a woman named Bathsheba. One day, King David was looking out from the palace and saw Bathsheba bathing. He was attracted to her, and he laid with her. And as a result of this, she became pregnant. Fearing that the truth would come out - since adultery is a sin written on those tablets in the ark - King David used his power and position as king to order his military commander to send Uriah to the most dangerous, intense part of the war, so that he would be killed. “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6b) When someone reads this genealogy who is familiar with the story of David’s affair with Basheba, and his murder of Uriah, they are reminded of David’s adultery, his murder, and his intent to hide all these things from the Lord and from the people of God. The cornerstone of his legacy here isn’t one of glorious divinity, but of broken, sinful humanity. Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amos, Josiah, Jechoniah….All these kings who came to succeed after King David were also no exceptions. They did not escape the weight of sin. They also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped other Gods, they disobeyed God’s commandments. They relied on the kings of other nations instead of the providence of God. They did not look after the poor and vulnerable among them, and they all shed innocent blood. God continued to send messages to each of these kings, and to the people of Israel who followed them. Prophet after Prophet, messengers of Gods came with severe warnings to them to return to the ways of God, and stop turning away from the Lord. But this is the reality of human leadership, the reality of all humankind; there is no one who is perfect, no generation who truly has it all figured out. Kings who were seen as great builders and reformers of Israel’s faith like King David (Matthew 1:1, 6 and 17), King Hezekiah (Matthew 1:9 and 10) and King Josiah (Matthew 1:10 and 11) still sinned against God. A Good faithful king might come to reign, just to be succeeded by an evil king. And a king might be hailed as good by the people, only for his actions against God to have unforeseen consequences in the long run. This repetition, this push-and-pull between sin and righteousness, is the very history of Israel; the very history of our world. Of course God knew all about the sinful patterns of human behavior, and so God warned through the prophets that if they were not careful, God would eventually drag people to a place where a foreign nation would rise up to conquer them. In 6BCE, this warning became reality for the people of Israel when the nation of Babylon invaded Israel, conquering it completely and taking many of the people back to Babylon as captives - prisoners of war - where they were held for more than 80 years. And this dark, traumatic part of the history of Israel is referred to here as the “deportation to Babylon” which we see in verses 11, 12, and 17. A time in which God’s people were broken, scattered, suffering, and in no way the victorious, conquering kingdom of God that we might expect. When we look at the genealogy of Jesus, we see stories of war, stories of people in power pursuing their own interests, we see stories of the young and the innocent sent or taken away to suffer and die, and the poor and the vulnerable oppressed and neglected. And today, as the year 2022 draws to a close, these stories continue to happen. Our world is still plagued by war, innocent lives are still being taken, families being separated, dreams set aside while the focus of the day is reduced to survival and finding a way through the coming winter without heat or electricity. Families are making impossible decisions every day, some choosing to stay in their broken nations to care for elderly parents who could never make the journey to a new home, while others flee into exile, always worrying about those left behind while continuing to seek whatever path forward they can find for themselves and their families. War is sin, the ultimate expression of violence and murder. And it’s a sin we all share. In Christianity, we call this “corporate sin.” This means that while we might not be dictators, political leaders, or even the people who started the war, as a people whose parents, grandparents, ancestors, and even ourselves are part of the nations and peoples involved - as a part of a world that allows such things to continue to happen to this day - we share in the responsibility for all that suffering, pain, and death. Maybe all this talk about war and sin doesn’t really strike a chord with you personally, but this genealogy is a record of human sins that are still familiar to us to this day. Abraham lied repeatedly about the identity of his wife for fear and profit. Isaac favored one son over the other. Jacob disguised himself to steal a blessing from his brother. Judah and his brothers were jealous of Joseph, bullied him, cast him out, and left him for dead. (Matthew 1:2) Lies, favoritism, jealousy, and revenge are all rooted in selfishness. We love to protect ourselves, love to follow our own desires over the needs of others. We all want to eliminate or ignore the people who get in the way of what we want to do. We don’t necessarily want to get along with people you don’t like, to hold hands, and walk together in peace. I am so glad, and so grateful that our Christian year doesn’t start with the celebration of Christmas Day. Instead, it starts with Advent, a season of expectation in anticipation of the arrival of Jesus, the one true Savior of the world. In this time and place, we get to realize that it’s not the kings and princes who save the world, not the generals or heroes who win wars who save the world. The world isn’t saved by us pushing our own interests and desires, by fighting for our own power or position, or by insisting on what our own limited minds are best for God’s people and God’s kingdom. Our salvation comes in the form of Christ Jesus, fully God and fully human, having come into the world to confront the sin, to share in our suffering, and through his divinity bring about the salvation of the world and all the people in it. Something which we could never do on our own. God showed us the ways of peace in a simple way that we can all understand. Our Savior didn’t emerge as a conquering king, or an angel descending from heaven; he came into the world the same way we all do, as a baby. The savior had earthly parents, just like we do, faced temptation just like we do. He was born a human, and suffered as a human, even died as a human, but instead of responding to that as a human with war, anger, hatred and conflict, he came to give us peace. Instead of a warrior-king in the model of David or Solomon, he modeled a peace that is not based on violence, strength, power, or retaliation, but on peaceful relationships full of love and forgiveness. If we celebrate Christmas without reflecting on our sinful nature, on all the ways in which we personally, and as a part of the whole human story, hav turned away from God - then we’re not truly celebrating Christmas. The whole reason why Jesus, God incarnate, came into this world as a baby was to show us the gravity of our sin, and to demonstrate the depths of God’s love by meeting us in the dark and broken places where we are. Our sin is great. But God’s love for us is greater. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, that is the thought we dwell on. Our sin is great. But God’s love for us is greater; greater than the sins of the whole world. Christmas is nearly here. We’re going to start winter break soon, we’re going to get presents, eat well, and celebrate a merry Christmas. Everything will be cheerful and jolly, but we mustn't forget the reason for all this celebration and joy. We are a people whose deeds are evil, who do not come to the light so that our evil deeds may not be exposed. (John 3:19-20) We are no different from the people of Israel, who turned against God again and again until they were so far off course that Babylon could come in and destroy, dragging the people off into exile. We are no different from David or Solomon, who allowed self-interest to consume them at the cost of the weak and vulnerable among them. We repeat the sins of war, violence, and discrimination, taking advantage of the less-fortunate, the poor, and the voiceless among us. We hold grudges, long for revenge, and let bitterness, anger, and sadness take hold of our hearts. According to the self-seeking deeds of our hands and the self-absorbed condition of our hearts, our destiny is judgment, and condemnation for our sin. But the good news given to us is this: “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16-17) I want us to take a moment now, and let that sink in. Instead of condemnation, we have been given grace, mercy, and salvation for no other reason than God’s great love for us. How wonderful is that? And what can we give back to someone who gives love so abundantly, who loves us so undeservingly? What can I give him, poor as I am? Let us give to him now the fullness of our hearts, our love, and our commitment to God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Freely we have been given, so freely we give. Let us now collect our tithes and offerings. 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; 50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Blessings on this Third Sunday of Advent. Let us pray: May our souls magnify the Lord, and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. For God has looked with favor upon all of us, and all generations will call us blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for us all, and Holy is God’s name. Amen. When I was pastor at West Tokyo Union Church (where I was pastor for 17 years), we did a Christmas pageant every year with the Sunday School children. The children would present the pageant on the second Sunday of December. The kids dressed up in costume and we had the little ones – the one to three-year-olds - be sheep and the other children were angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, the innkeeper, and kings. One year the child playing Gabriel approached the child playing Mary as Mary was pretending to sweep outside her pretend home just before the angel showed up. The child who was playing angel Gabriel said; “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your broom!” (“Broom” was said instead of “womb”) The congregation burst out laughing. “So, it was a little different twist on the actual story of the visitation by Angel Gabriel to share the good news with Mary. Actually “blessed is the fruit of your womb” is from Luke 1:42 and “when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Anyway, the scripture passage read today is often called, “The Magnificat.” “Magnificat” is Latin for “magnify” because she magnifies the Lord in it. It is actually a song sung by Mary. Perhaps we can say it is the first Christmas carol ever composed! Or, since we are still in the season of Advent, it is the oldest Advent hymn ever written down and the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. Episcopal priest Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor has said the following of today’s passage: “My soul magnifies the Lord,’ Mary sings right there in Elizabeth’s living room, ‘and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ Elizabeth and Zechariah are the first to hear her song, but it is not just for them. It is also for her, Mary, and for the Mighty One who has done great things for her. It is for Gabriel, who first gave her the good news, and for all who will benefit from it—for the proud and powerful who will be relieved of their swelled heads, for the hungry who will be filled with good things, for the rich who will be sent away empty so that they have room in them for more than money can buy. Her song is for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—for Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel—for every son and daughter of Israel who thought God had forgotten the promise to be with them forever, to love them forever, to give them fresh and endless life. It was all happening inside of Mary, and she was so sure of it that she was singing about it ahead of time—not in the future tense but in the past, as if the promise had already come true. Prophets almost never get their verb tenses straight, because part of their gift is being able to see the world as God sees it—not divided into things that are already over and things that have not happened yet, but as an eternally unfolding mystery that surprises everyone—maybe even God.” Mary was most likely surprised by her pregnancy and maybe scared. So perhaps was her elderly cousin Elizabeth. Both these pregnancies were miracles from God. Mary’s pregnancy was special as God was dwelling within her womb. When Mary visited Elizabeth, something special happened. “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41) Mary’s words are a spontaneous response upon being pronounced as “blessed” by her Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the expectant mother of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the person whose role in life was to prepare people for Jesus. Mary’s words were God-inspired. She may have alluded to Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. The similarities between the stories of the two women are reflected in the words of their two songs. They were both blessed by God. Mary is said to be “blessed” and Elizabeth tells her so. By our standards, she does not look at all blessed. She is a poor, peasant girl who is unmarried and pregnant. If people found out she was unmarried and pregnant, by Jewish law she could be stoned. But in her song, Mary rejoices that she has the privilege of giving birth to the promised Messiah, and Mary is overwhelmed by the goodness of God choosing her. She says God’s mercy is for those who “fear” him. (Luke 1:50) “Fear” meaning awe, respect, honor, and submission to God. But then her words get quite a bit more radical. Mary praises God for overturning society’s structures by bringing down the powerful and lifting up the powerless. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. Did you listen to these words? She doesn’t seem so obedient and compliant anymore. She is sharing some powerful words. Her song is good news to those who are poor and oppressed and who have oftentimes identified with this song - the longest set of words spoken by a woman in the New Testament. Her words have helped me to understand the true magnificence of how much God loves us but also cares about our political, economic, and social realities. We can help God in big and small ways. My husband and I were missionaries at the National Christian Council of Japan (日本キリスト教協議会) where we were part of Christian-related social issues such as human rights, peace, programs for people who suffer from natural disasters, and opposition to every kind of discrimination, etc. while being witnesses for Christ. 33 member organizations and church-denominations make up NCCJ and work together to improve society and our world. On this third Sunday of Advent and, as we wait for Christmas, we are living in the reality I would like to share some examples of Christians who sought justice and worked for a better society. Of course, many of us know about Rev. Toyohiko Kagawa. I preached about him before. Kagawa was born in 1888 and at the age of 21, moved into the slums of Kobe to live with the poor. He worked endlessly for the rights of the poor, children, workers, women, and farmers as he planted churches and medical clinics for the poor. Please go to the Kagawa Museum near Sannomiya to learn more about him. Oscar Romero was a priest and also an archbishop in El Salvador. Romero spoke out against social injustice and violence that led to the Salvadoran Civil War. In his homilies, he denounced the government for the various ways it oppressed the poorest of Salvadoran society. He appealed to them to end the killings and to begin reforming land ownership and allow for political representation of the poor. For this, he was killed in 1980 at church while giving mass. I recall reading some of his writings in seminary where Archbishop Romero drew a comparison between Mary and the poor and powerless people in his own community. By 1992, when the Salvadoran Civil War ended, the total number of Salvadorians killed was over 75,000. (Wiki) (There is an excellent biographical movie made in 1989 called “Romero” and I suggest you watch it if you get a chance. He spoke the truth and by doing so he was martyred but he left a lasting legacy.) Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a 39-year-old German Lutheran pastor and theologian who lived his theology - actively working against Hitler and the Third Reich, risking his life by embodying what he believed. His books are read in seminaries and one of his many books is “The Cost of Discipleship.” Let me share one of his quotes (from Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community) "The exclusion of the weak and insignificant, the seemingly useless people, from everyday Christian life in community…may actually mean the exclusion of Christ; for in the poor sister or brother, Christ is knocking at the door." Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis just a few days before the Americans had liberated the POW camp. He is considered a Christian martyr. He called the Magnificat “the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary hymn ever sung.” The words of Mary in the Magnificat have been viewed as dangerous and even subversive by people in power. (https://enemylove.com/category/biblical-basis/ ) In India, during the British rule of India, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in church. In the 1980s, Guatemala’s government banned the Magnificat after they discovered Mary’s words to be too dangerous and revolutionary especially since the poor in Guatemala had been inspired by her words. In Argentina, from 1974–1983, there was a war when the military junta (civic-military dictatorship) seized power and many human rights violations occurred. (Some 30,000 people were killed or forcibly disappeared during what was called the "Dirty War.” (In response, the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” whose children and grandchildren had disappeared during the war would gather and peacefully walk around the capitol plaza on Thursday afternoons wearing white headscarves holding posters with the Magnificat’s words written on them which is why the military junta of Argentina outlawed any public display of Mary’s song. Theologian Warren Carter (an ordained New Zealand Baptist minister with membership in the Disciples of Christ in the US), writes that in the time of Jesus, 2 to 3 percent of the population was rich, while the majority lived a subsistence-level existence. There was a big division between the rich and the poor. “Mary articulates an end to economic structures that are exploitative and unjust. Mary speaks of a time when all will enjoy the good things given by God.” Mary says God has “lifted up the lowly” and “filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:52-53) Is God speaking about the powerless and the powerful changing places? Or perhaps God is speaking of social leveling. The rich and powerful are taught to love their neighbors as they love themselves, give up oppressing others, share resources, and humble themselves before the Lord. Every person is treated with dignity and respect, and no one uses power to harm. As someone who is trying to take the Bible seriously, I know that loving my neighbor is the way I can love God in our world. The Magnificat might not relate to all of us here at KUC. But Mary and her song are good news for many people. We have people in our community who are poor or lonely or may feel they are on the periphery of society. There are people here and worldwide who are exploited and vulnerable. How can we reach out? May we take Mary's words to heart, sing them out, and make a better world. Prayer/ Benediction: Gracious God, as we go forth in this Advent journey, may we wait with Mary's joyful anticipation and powerful song as we prepare to welcome your Son, our Savior, into this broken world in need of his redeeming. Gather us, guide us, and keep us as your people. Send us into the world that Christ's hands might be our own, and his mind one with ours in all that you would have us do. Show us again and again during this Advent season how to love one another. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, let the words of my mouth and meditations of all our hearts together this morning be pleasing in your sight. You are our Messiah; our long-awaited King. Amen.
Back when I was in college, in my English writing class, I received an assignment one day to write something about my heritage; something to do with my roots. So, after some consideration, I decided to interview my grandmother on my father’s side, the only surviving grandparent I had then. At the time, I was living in Missouri in the USA, and my grandmother lived in rural Nagano. Of course, this will date me a little but, in those days there was no such thing as a smartphone. In order to interview her, I had to use what was called an “international calling card.” I had to call a toll-free number, input a pin code and, so long as I had enough credits, I could then input her number to make an international phone call. Definitely not as easy as it is today! When I was still a kid, my grandmother would make at least a few trips every year to come out and see our family, who lived in Chiba. My grandmother and I were very good friends. We talked a lot together; we would watch sumo wrestling, and cheer for the Tokyo Giants together. (Sorry if I offended any hardcore Hanshin Tiger fans here, but I did grow up near Tokyo after all!) After World War II, my grandmother and grandfather started an apple farming business out in the countryside. Of course, after their defeat in the war, Japan was a very poor country in those days and, out in the countryside, my grandparents struggled to get by day after day. The soil wasn’t fertile for farming after the devastation of war, and they had a big family to support. They had three children, one of which was my father, and my grandfather’s siblings were living with them as well. As the mother of the house, it was up to my grandma to cook and care for everyone living in the household. She was never even able to sit and eat with the family at meals because she was too busy cooking and serving. By the time she finished everything, and sat down at the table, there was often no rice left for her to eat. Sometimes, she would have to cook some grass from the field, just to have something to eat for herself. As they struggled to make a living, they borrowed money from their neighbor, a well-known rich family. This helped them to purchase the farming tools they needed to make the land grow again and, eventually, the apple farming business took off. Even still, they didn’t finish repaying all their debts until they were in their 60s. Unfortunately, it was right around that time when my grandfather died of leukemia, so I don’t really remember him well. But I know what he looked like, because my grandma always carried a picture of her and him together whenever she came to visit. I had seen that picture many times in my life but, when I interviewed my grandma for this English class project, she revealed something I never knew about that picture. The picture was taken while they were on their honeymoon. “Their honeymoon??” I thought to myself, surprised when she told me. I knew they had married young, but the picture she carried showed them just as I had always known them - old. What she was telling me didn’t seem possible. It didn’t make sense. Then, my grandma revealed something to me that I never knew. She told me that they didn’t take a honeymoon when they were first married, but after they had paid back all their debt at the age of 60! They waited on their honeymoon until they were in their sixties! For most of my childhood, when my family would go visit them in Nagano during the summer, my grandfather would take all the grandchildren - six in total - shoe shopping, and let us choose whatever shoes we wanted. After my grandpa died, whenever my grandma would come to visit us, she would always give me and my brother a little spending money. These two were hard-working people, and they never forgot to share love. When Don and I got married, back in the United States, in order to get a marriage license we needed to turn in copies of our birth certificates. Of course, Japan doesn’t do birth certificates the same way the US does, so what I needed was to have a different document, my Koseki Tohon - a “family registry” - sent from Japan instead. In that document, there is information covering your entire family going back three generations. My father was listed as the head of the household, and showed his name, his date of birth, the names of his parents, and the names of the people who turned in his record of birth too. Also on the registry was my mom’s name, along with the information about when my dad married my mom, her full maiden name, and the city in which they were married. After that came the same sort of information on my brother, and then me too. This family registry showed, clearly, the relationship that I had with my grandmother. I am related to her by blood, and it showed that on paper. It showed the marital relationship between my grandma and grandpa, the fact that my dad was born to them as their eldest son. It showed the date my parents married, the date my brother was born, and the date I was born. But it didn’t say a single thing about shoe shopping. Or honeymoons. Not a word about long conversations, sumo wrestling, or the Tokyo Giants. Not a mention of long nights eating boiled grass. The registry showed the relationship, but it gave no indication of the stories - stories about their struggles, their perseverance, and their generosity. These things never make it into the official record, and they can easily be forgotten, unless we pass those stories on ourselves, from generation to generation. Today’s Scripture passage from Matthew 1 is one that often gets overlooked. The book of Matthew is the very first book of the New Testament, and this is the very first chapter of that book and, because it comes right before the story of the birth of Jesus, you might think it’d be a good passage to read and reflect upon as we start to approach the Christmas season. But when we actually heard and read the passage this morning, some of you might have found it overwhelming, or even boring. After all, it’s just a bunch of names! We can find so many similar lists of names throughout the books of the Old Testament, in Genesis, Numbers, Chronicles, and elsewhere. So…why is this so important? What’s the point? Actually, the writer of Matthew carefully selected every name in this chapter in order to share their particular stories, and to demonstrate how God touched each of their lives, weaving all their stories together as part of the greater story that is just about to begin. All their stories, including Jesus himself, belong to the same family of God. Take a look at verse 3, where it says “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar.” When you look a little closer, you can see that this is a bit of an unusual way to explain that relationship because family records - official public records - in ancient Israel didn’t usually include women. And if you know who Tamar is, if you know her story, you can’t help but be surprised to see her name right at the beginning of the very first chapter of the very first book of the New Testament. Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah, who married his eldest son, Er. But Er “was wicked in the sight of the Lord” (Genesis 38:6-7), and he died. Judah’s next-oldest son was then supposed to take care of her and her offspring, but he refused. And when Tamar patiently expected her father-in-law Judah to tell his third son to take her in, Judah refused to do that! So, in response, Tamar pretended to be a prostitute in order to conceive a child with Judah, just so that she and her offspring would continue to be cared for by Judah and his family. Hearing this story, I can understand if you might be shocked. It might seem like Tamar just used her sexuality to get what she wanted from a family she wasn’t really a part of any more. But, in the context of the time, it was the obligation of the family to care for the widows in their house, since there was no way for women to live and function independently in Jewish society. So, what Tamar did there was to use what little she had at her disposal to fight for justice, God’s justice, to be done for her and her children. Now look at verse 3 again, and imagine that this sentence was given without mentioning Tamar at all. Imagine that the sentence instead said “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram…” We would still have the list of names, but that woman who refused to give up, who fought for God’s justice to be done and for God’s righteousness to have its day in her life and the lives of future generations…her stories would be completely erased. And, in fact, there would be no “Perez, father of Hezron”, no “Hezron, father of Aram,” and more beyond that, because it was through her that this line went on. Now let’s look at verse 5. “And Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth.” Rahab was a Cannanite - a non-Jew - and a prostitute, who was living in the land that the Israelites were about to conquer as part of their settling into the land God had promised to them. Now, because of the war raging between the Cannanites and the Israelites throughout the land, Rahab’s life, and the lives of her family, were in imminent danger. But Rahab, who had faith in the Lord, negotiated with Israelite spies and allowed them to stay in her home, on the condition that her life, and the lives of her family, would be spared. To make a long story short, her and her family were saved because of the faith they shared in the Lord with the Israelites, and they continued to live in their land after the Israelites conquered. Now Ruth was a Moabite woman and, in the history of Israel, Moabites were a people who were despised by the Israelites. Tragedy hit her and her husband died, but this foreign widow nevertheless confessed her strong faith in the Lord, and came to her aged mother-in-law’s hometown - Bethlehem - in order to support her. There she met a man named Boaz. Boaz took notice of this foreign, Moabite widow who had traveled to a new land just to support her mother-in-law, and saw how she followed God’s heart. Boaz, who was related to the family of Ruth’s mother-in-law, decided to take Ruth as his wife. I think many of us are familiar with the stories of Rahab and Ruth individually, but how many of us noticed that Rahab also became Ruth’s mother-in-law through her marriage to Boaz - joining Naomi, her mother-in-law from her first marriage? So, now they are family too, not only by blood and through marriage but, more importantly, through their faith in God. When her life was in danger, Rahab said to the Israelitie spies. “The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above on earth below.” (Joshua 2:11) When Naomi, an old woman who lost her son, told Ruth, her foreign daughter-in-law, not to bother caring for her and to live her own life, Ruth said, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) Boaz, who saw Ruth’s dedication to following the heart of God in taking care of her aging mother in law and preparing for her own future offspring, said to Ruth, “All that you have done for your mother in law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to people that you did not know before. May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” (Ruth 2:11-12) God weaved together all these stories of young and old, men and women, rich and poor, Israelites and foreigners, despised and well-respected, all into a single family of God: The genealogy of Jesus Christ Messiah, Savior of the world. 2Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. 1Jesus the Messaiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew Chapter 1) From the very beginning, God’s family is an inclusive family. All are welcome. There is nothing so impossible, nothing so scandalous, and no story so broken that God cannot weave it into the great story of God’s beloved family. Stories of prostitutes, stories of widows, stories of war - these stories are often marked with pain, suffering, and trauma, but God appoints people to go into these stories, into those places of pain, so that somehow, they can manage to keep going. Somehow, even those who suffer the most can continue being part of God’s story. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, who came to us as Savior of the world, we too have joined into the great story. Our names are added into the book of God, grafted into the genealogy of Jesus whose pages are absolutely endless. In addition to the names of the billions who have had their page in the story, your name is there as well. And your stories matter just as much. In the great story of God’s people, there are as many people as there are stars in the sky - just as God promised to Abraham so long ago - but God cares so deeply for each and every one of us. Despite being just one out of billions of stories, your story matters to God because you matter to God. The stories of your life, the things that brought you to where you are today and the things that have yet to come, they are all part of the great story that God is still telling. The stories of your biological and spiritual parents, midwives, partners, siblings, children and grandchildren; they all matter to God. I want you to take a moment and look around you, and see the faces of the people here with you in the sanctuary today. Each one of you is here for a reason that only God knows, and only God can reveal. But, for my part, I think I can say this: I believe that everyone who is here today (and those joining us online) are all a part of each other’s stories, just as much as our own. We are each other’s spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers, mentors, partners, brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren, grafted into God’s story and united as a family of God. We are family. I think this might be my favorite thing that I hear people say in our community. We are family. Yes, families sometimes fight. Families sometimes distance themselves from each other, have uncomfortable moments with each other, offend each other, and even hurt each other. But we also share together, both joys and sorrows. We mourn together and dance together because we are all stories in the same book; lines in the same divine genealogy. We are part of an account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham, Savior of the world, Son of God, and the head of our beloved family. Let us pray. Thank you Lord for calling us to this place of belonging, for welcoming us to be a part of your story, united as one family. Help us to walk together as a family, sharing in joys and sorrows. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. |
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May 2024
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