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News & Happenings2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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Pastor Eric Fjeldal's December 2010 Sunday Sermons
Pastor Eric's sermons are presented here in reverse chronological order...in other words, the most recent sermons are at the top of the list, working backwards through time.
Dec. 24. "Big Gifts." Christmas Eve Sermon
Luke 2: 1-20
“Let’s be honest, no one ever wishes for a smaller holiday gift.” These words begin this season’s very popular Lexus commercial. Their message is clear, despite the economy and so many people struggling, to truly be blessed you still need to receive big, expensive gifts. The trouble is, for too many, this becomes just another way of giving permission for holiday celebrations to withdraw from the everyday realities of life.
Contrast this with the events surrounding the holy day, the birth of Jesus; an event that happens amid the everyday realities.
Jesus is born to a family that is traveling for a census registration, not a vacation.
He is born to an unmarried couple who are marginalized, that is outsiders.
The good news of Emmanuel, God being with us, is proclaimed to shepherds keeping watch
over their flocks, that is those who are among the working poor.
On top of this, the shepherds were not expecting, nor were they looking for a Savior, so they
were terrified and needed to be told “Be not afraid for I bring you good news of great joy…”
They had to be convinced it was good news because their first reaction was not to grasp the holiness of what was being offered, but rather the fear that accompanies being caught unaware.
Thankfully, after the initial shock, the shepherds did embrace the good news. They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And (later) the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2)
The Gospel of Luke reminds us that God appears to the less than perfect and less than powerful. As Daniel Harris comments:
Did the angels take a wrong turn that first Christmas night? Had they intended to
announce the king of peace to movers and shakers, the important people? The angels
knew exactly what they were doing, of course. The new king born this night has brought
peace to all men and women, but especially to the poor.
(Daniel Harris, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1 pg. 121)
The message is clear, we won’t see this connection to the less than perfect and less than powerful, including the poor, if we are busy setting our sights on a bigger holiday gift, because such a focus causes us to underestimate God’s persistence and inventiveness. (John Shea, Following Love Into Mystery, pg. 22)
We won’t grasp the importance and significance of God “calling the shots” because we won’t appreciate how:
The shepherds had not withdrawn from the world to seek holiness; they were simply
going about their task and God appeared. Too often we look for God in the beautiful,
in the times and places we set out to seek God. It is also important to remember that
God seeks us. (Aaron Klink, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1 pg. 120)
God seeking us and all people is why Christmas is the big gift. It serves as a reminder that Christmas happens because God so loves the world.
Tonight, amid all of the stuff of the holiday, we are reminded of the holy. Amid the excess and frenzy there is this simplicity. Amid the brokenness of our lives, healing is born; love is brought to life. We discover this healing and love when we stop underestimating God’s persistence and inventiveness. All it takes is our being open to it happening.
When all is said and done, the promise of the light overcoming the darkness is what makes Christmas the big gift, as it brings a hope that is both universal and personal. The hope that this child who is born may actually be born in us and that his birth may help us overcome our darkness allows us to discover why it is more than okay to ask for smaller holiday gifts because doing so helps us focus on the bigger holy gift.
God’s gift is the big gift that heals and redeems the world; the big gift that calls us back to the real world where we live, work, play, struggle, love, forgive and seek to discover how to bring good news of great joy to all the people.
A friend sent me a story this week that I believe captures beautifully what this night is all about.
There was once an uncle with three nephews who stood to inherit his wealth. The uncle
gave each an amount of money and assigned them the task of searching for something
that would “fill an empty room” in the house. The first two men bought extravagant
items that certainly made the room look like the last minute of an HGTV home renovation
show. The third nephew gave the money he received to the poor, and brought back a
candle, which when lit, filled the whole room with light. Of course, as the story goes,
he got the inheritance. (Mac Speights from The Speights of Life #148 Light It Up)
I don’t know what you want or expect to receive this Christmas, but let’s be honest we really don’t need very much if anything at all. Let’s also be honest, we like big gifts, so we can be hooked by those words, “Let’s be honest, no one ever wishes for a smaller holiday gift.” Because we can be hooked it is easy to confuse needs and wants.
God knows what this world truly needs and offers it this night. What we need to decide is where our “big gift” will be found. Is it under the tree? Is it in the driveway? Or, is it here in the message proclaimed this night? Whichever you decide know this, despite what the world may say, God’s good news of great joy will still be proclaimed. That is God’s promise and God’s gift this and every Christmas. Behold I bring you good news of great joy which will come to all the people. Amen.
Dec. 19. "Christmas Letter."
Christmas Letter
Peace may be the one thing we all long for, or wish for, not just at Christmas but all year long. The kind of peace to which I refer is more than the absence of war; although how wonderful that would be. It is a oneness with God, neighbor and self that changes the way we deal with conflict and strife. The conflict and strife that exists between nations, communities, individuals, even within ourselves that causes us to waste so much of our time, energy and resources.
The world in which we are called to prepare the way for the coming of the Prince of Peace is more hostile than ever. This hostility is made known through the way people interact or fail to interact with one another. The rudeness and indifference, to say nothing of the open hostility in which people interact makes it more difficult to seek peace. It is hard to be a peacemaker when our guard is up. It is hard to seek and offer forgiveness and reconciliation when doing so leads others to believe you are weak and vulnerable. It is hard to be trusting as others seek an advantage or scheme to manipulate. “Preparing the way for the Prince of Peace” means we are to strive to not be so guarded and distrusting. It means we are to offer forgiveness and seek reconciliation.
It is easier to say, “Why bother?” It is easier to be jaded and indifferent, and not seek the healing, hopeful, peace-filled solution. It is easier, but deep down we know it is neither better nor faithful. Giving in and being guarded does not ease the stress and tension that drains us of energy and vision. Expecting little leads to our receiving little. Expecting sameness leads to our living sameness.
“You need to be the change you wish to see.” These words remind me that if I truly want peace, I need to be a peacemaker. I need to do the things that make for peace in all my relationships and interactions. I need to change the way I look at situations and events. I cannot expect to receive the Prince of Peace, or even recognize and appreciate the peace that does exist until I do a better job of modeling the peace I seek; that is become a non-anxious presence in the midst of all I do.
It could be said that this is not the best to time to begin such a process. Amid all of the busyness and chaos associated with this season, it is hard to focus on peace. And yet, this is exactly what is needed. Our goal is not to get through the season. It is to prepare to embrace the gift we say we desire. The way to do this is to open ourselves to it even as we discover its presence among us.
As we move through the remaining days of Advent and prepare for “the birth of peace”, my hope and prayer is that we recognize that the peace we desire cannot be imposed on the world. It can only be offered by God and then received by us as we seek to enrich the life we live and the lives we touch.
Dec. 12 "Knowing Where to Look."
Matthew 11: 2-11
Renee shared with me a “You Tube” video this past week called “Where’s the Line to See Jesus”. The refrain: “Where’s the line to see Jesus? Is He here in the store?” It’s Christmas time, it’s His birthday. Why don’t we see him more?” reminds us of the importance of being mindful of what we are looking for this Advent season and where it is we are looking. This same mindfulness is highlighted by the two questions which serve as the backdrop for today’s scripture. Those two questions are: “Are you the one or should we look for another?” and “What did you come out looking for?”
We experience a different John the Baptist this Sunday as compared with last. Last Sunday John had no doubt as to whether or not Jesus was the one; but a lot has happened to John since his pronouncement, and not just because he is in prison for challenging Herod. Jesus is not acting like the Messiah John had expected. There is no chaff being burned, no fruitless trees being set on fire. Instead Jesus is healing and proclaiming good news. Jesus is not fitting John’s theology so a disappointed John brings to question. He has doubts.
Many in our world wonder and doubt as John did, maybe even some of us. Our wondering if for a different reason, for as we all know:
(i)t is easy to believe in God in the bright sun light when all is joyful and free,
but let the iron doors of difficulty slam shut and doubt is there in the darkness.
(Mark Yurs, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1 pg. 71)
For many the sentimental holiday cry of, “O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy” does not help. Their world is broken; they are broken and damaged people. They are lonely, sick, dying, afraid, hurting, and grieving. They are hungry, homeless and unable to afford life’s basic necessities. They know only struggle and despair. There is no joy and little comfort, at least as the world defines them. Like john, too often they only know the old age, the old way of seeing life as defined by John’s prophetic words. Their world is a world where people are told you get the comfort and joy you deserve, nothing more.
Jesus response to John’s disciples is, “I am offering a different kind of comfort and joy; one that is grounded in love and grace.” In saying, “go and tell John what you see and hear”, Jesus is really saying, “see who I am and what I do, then decide if it is what you want.” The message is clear, each person must decide for him or herself if Jesus is the one for whom they are waiting.
Jesus then turns his attention from John’s disciples to the crowd. Three times he asks, “What did you come out looking for?” Each time he follows up the question. “Was it a reed shaking in the wind?”, “A man dressed in fine clothes?”, “A prophet?” Jesus then points out that John did what he was asked to do. As the last of the Old Testament prophets John served as the bridge between the old age and the new age, and no one did it better than John:
a God-grounded man who cannot be pushed around and confronts abuses of power
who live in palaces. This is a prophet who speaks the word of God. This word may
be a word of repentance, but there is a promise in the repentance.
(John Shea, On Earth As It Is In Heaven, Liturgical Press, pg. 39)
Jesus then tells the people who he is and what he represents.
Jesus is the promise at the heart of prophetic repentance, so Jesus is the ultimate
reason they went into the desert. They may not have known it, but what Jesus does
is what they want. (Shea, pg. 39)
The questions Jesus asks the crowd are important questions for us. They will help us decide what and for whom it is we are looking. They will help us decide whether or not we really want what Jesus offers; the only hope that truly heals, renews and restores, not some, but all.
I say this because we are very aware that they are many in our culture and world that do not live believing Jesus is the one. There are moments when we behave as though we don’t believe it either. These moments are revealed every time we do not see Christ in the eyes of those we encounter, but instead:
choose to oppress another;
choose to respond in ways that do not offer healing, hope, redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation;
turn our back on the marginalized, poor and needy;
act as though the hope that heals, renews and restores is only available to some and not all.
And yet, like those who went to see John, “we look for the line to see Jesus” even as we “wonder why we don’t see him more.”
The promise of Advent is he is here, right in front of us. We just have to know where to look and what to look for. The good news of God’s reign is discovered in those moments when we stop focusing on what we think we know and need to be doing. Once we stop doing this, it becomes possible to see the numerous ways God in Christ continues to heal, renew and restore a broken and damaged world that is filled with broken and damaged people. Then we see what God is proclaiming is a new understanding of what it means to truly offer comfort and joy. Amen.
