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Pastor Eric Fjeldal's December 2011 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.
December 24, 2011 "Receive the Gift”
Luke 2: 1-20
We have all watched the commercial where a toddler walks around playing with a box. It is a Master Card as about priceless gifts. In this commercial it is not the designer gift that is priceless but the box. For most of us this commercial brings a smile to our faces as we are reminded of our children doing similar things. I am not sure the same can be said for the one who bought the gift for the child. He or she had different expectations that were not met as the giver hoped the child would focus on the gift and not the box. Stuck in those expectations the giver could not appreciate the moment. He or she could not truly receive the gift the child was offering.
I fear that Christmas is like that for too many. I am not speaking about the material Christmas but rather the spiritual. We have expectations of what this Christmas is to mean, what this Christmas is supposed to be about. These expectations vary depending on what is going on in our lives. For some, because of grief or loss or unhappy memories it is about just getting through the holiday. For others it is about the joy of having our families together. For others in the midst of change and transition it is a mixed bag. The point is too often our expectations or situations prevent us and others from appreciating the moment. They prevent us and others from truly receiving the gift God offers in Christmas.
In order to receive the gift we need to embrace the radical nature of the gift; how God truly does work in ways we don’t expect or anticipate.
God sends Jesus as a baby into a world that is not safe. The trust that God places in
humanity (despite humanity’s long history of failing God) is often overlooked. The
precious Son is sent to a bunch of people who could harm or even kill him, and indeed,
that is eventually what happens. Yet God loves us enough to do it anyway. God’s greatest
gift is placed in the hands of ordinary people.
(New Proclamation, Year B 2012, Advent through Holy Week, pg. 29)
But that is not all that is happening, for earlier in the story
The angel Gabriel does not go to the halls of power but to tiny Nazareth, to a
young woman. Then she and Joseph must make a long journey to another small town,
Bethlehem. These places are not inhabited by men of power.
Jesus could have been born to the high priest; after all, his cousin (John the Baptist)
was born to a priest in the Temple. God could have placed the birth of this baby in
such a way that the whole world would take notice. Instead, the news is delivered by
angels to a bunch of shepherds in a field.
(New Proclamation Year B 2012, pg. 29)
It is easy for us to lose sight of what the story is proclaiming. We have heard the story so often and have filled it with such pageantry that the vulnerability and smallness of it is lost on us. Like the gift-giver who knows that children love boxes, our being reminded of the vulnerability present in the Christmas story can lead to disappointment because the story is not about greatness as we define greatness. The Good News is if we can move beyond the disappointment we can then truly hear, appreciate and receive the gift this story offers.
One part of the gift is the awareness that small places are often the places where God chooses to appear; Nazareth and Bethlehem in the Christmas story but the Old Testament is full of other examples. God appears to Abram in Haran, to slaves in Egypt, to a people on a mountain in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula. (New Proclamation, pg. 29) Even in our own lives the ways and places we discover God are not generally speaking going to be found on the 6 o’clock news. Time and again we are reminded that we most often find God when we do not strive for spectacular actions; but rather when we do small things with great love; (because) (W)hat counts is the gift of yourself, the degree of love you put into each of your deeds. (Mother Teresa)
A second part of the gift is the promise that no one’s life goes unnoticed. The good news that for God everyone matters and is important; just another reminder of how God’s love is countercultural.
In popular piety it is often assumed that God’s favor is earned by our good behavior,
in either the moral or the political arena, or both. In other words, the theory goes that
God’s favor comes to those who give something to God; or, conversely the ones blessed
by God are those who have the power to bless God back.
(Kimberly Long, Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 1, pg. 95)
The Christmas story reminds us that God continually works through those the powerful overlook. God uses Mary. God chooses Mary because she has nothing – she is a young girl in a society that value
men and maturity; in her song of praise (1:47-55) she identifies herself as lowly and poor. In other words, this is not one favored in the human realm, but God has shown favor with her. (Long, Feasting, pg. 95)
God uses the shepherds. Shepherds were held in low esteem in those days: they lived outside the boundaries of polite society, were assumed to lead shiftless lives, and would hardly be considered
trustworthy sources for any news of import. And yet they were the first to hear, the first to see, the first to tell of Jesus’ birth. (Long, Feasting, pg. 119)
In this same spirit, God continually calls us to reach out to “the least of these”; to remember that no one’s life goes unnoticed by God which means no one’s life should go unnoticed by us. This can be a powerful and disturbing message to a culture that puts great stock in following the ways of the influential, the good-looking and the wealthy. (Long, Feasting, pg. 121) Our understanding of this powerful message increases in proportion to our ability to truly receive the gift of Christmas, Emmanuel, God being with us.
This does not mean that God is only a God of “the least of these”, but it does mean that serving God is about embracing and welcoming in all year round those “proper people” prefer to ignore. Such is the nature of receptive hospitality which is another part of the gift. Receptive hospitality leaves us open to the truth that even today God continues to come to the people and offer them love and presence in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. (New Proclamation, pg. 29) All God asks is that we remain open to receiving the gift.
We remain open to truly receiving the gift of Christmas whenever we
celebrate God’s grace, look with anticipation to God’s coming, occupy (y)our time
by not looking always in the past or into the future, trust God for that future, do not
lose sight of what is of humans and what is of God, tend to (y)our work and relationships
in the moment, and strive to be at peace with all. (New Proclamation, pg. 23)
The gift has been offered. Christmas is here. God has done God’s part, now it is up to us; for it has been said that “we get the Christmas we expect.”
Christmas is not merely an anniversary celebration of Jesus’ birth – that is, it is not
just the marking of an event in history-but the active remembering of what God has
already accomplished in Jesus Christ and the promise of the coming completion of
God’s reign. (Long, Feasting, pg. 117)
Those who truly receive the gift expect the promise. They expect God to be present in the here and now. They remain open to appreciating the moment and in so doing receive the gift and celebrate the promise that is being proclaimed throughout the world this very night.
December 11, 2011. "Bearing Witness."
Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; John 1: 6-8, 19-28
Last week the Gospel of Mark described John the Baptist’s role as one of a messenger who proclaims the way of the Lord. Today, the Gospel of John describes John’s role in a slightly different way.
In this Gospel, John is not introduced by family name or place of origin. He is not
principally a baptizer, a prophet, an exhorter, or even a messenger from God. John
is a witness sent by God to testify to “the Word made flesh”, “the Light” that no
darkness has or will ever extinguish. The principal vocation of John in this Gospel
then is to bear witness.
(Gary W. Charles, Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 1 pg. 71)
Two things are clear about the first human that is introduced in the Fourth Gospel –
he is sent by God not to compete with the Word of God coming into the world,
but to bear witness to him; not to be the light of God to the world, but to testify to
the light of God. (Gary W. Charles, Feasting, pg. 73)
This distinction while subtle is significant. It reminds us that there is no one way, no right way to prepare the way, while at the same time reinforcing that truly it is all about Christ which means our role is to proclaim and bear witness to Christ. (We are) a witness to someone else; someone people go “through” rather than “arrive at.” (John Shea, Eating with the Bridegroom, Liturgical Press pg. 29)
We do this by always keeping the focus on Christ. This means that while we enter into a covenant relationship with God in Christ it is by no means a relationship of equals and we are being faithful to when we recognize and live within our role.
To say that as Christians we bear witness to Christ is a far cry from saying that we
are somehow “little Christ’s”. To say that the church is Christ’s body does not
simply conflate his lordship with our service. We point to him; we serve him, and
we stand entirely under his judgment.
(w)e are invited to follow Jesus – at a distance – more than to imitate him.
“What would Jesus do?” the button asks. He would walk on water, give sight
to the blind, and raise the dead. Our text suggests the better question: “what
would Jesus have us do?”
(David L. Bartlett, Feasting pg. 70-72)
This means the good works we do, the songs we sing and the financial stewardship we practice is all to the glory of God as we bear witness to the transforming power of God and how Jesus’ incarnation makes possible the human ability to love in relationship with one another in ways that we incarnate God’s love for humanity. (Marcia Y. Riggs, Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 1 pg. 70) For as Fredrick Buechner has written:
You can survive on our own.
You can grow strong on your own.
You can even prevail on your own.
But you cannot become human on your own.
(Fredrick Buechner, Listening To Your Life, pg. 13)
As we read today’s passage from Isaiah we are reminded of the behaviors that help “bear witness to the light.” Much of what Isaiah proclaims is captured in the response we use often, “Love Them Anyway” and affirms that the story of God’s love is experienced and expressed through acts which offer healing and hope. We also know that many do not appreciate the kindness we extend. Our acts of kindness and compassion are often met with an indifferent or any angry response from those we seek to help. Add to this the apathy and selfishness that is present by so many who don’t even care to respond to those in need and if we are not careful we can find ourselves perpetuating an attitude that does not bear witness to the light. A constant danger is the temptation to adopt the philosophy of the cynic which says “no good deed goes unpunished.”
We stand a better chance of “bearing witness” if we “as we do what we do” we keep our reasons for doing, our motivation in check by asking two questions; “In this action, is God being worshipped? “In this action, is God being proclaimed?” Asking and answering such questions can be tough, but it can also be helpful. Doing so reminds us of our own need for God’s grace and the healing, transforming hope only God can offer.
It is humbling to think that our role is to “bear witness” to God in Christ; in part because we are not as good at it as we would like to believe, but also because given our baggage, it is a very difficult thing to do. The recognition, praise, gratitude and appreciation expressed by those we seek to help can distort our understanding of our role. This is why it is so important for us to understand our identity.
Just as John knew who he was in relation to who Christ was, we must claim our identity, especially remembering that we are not the Christ but witnesses to him. Our role in our
time is, like John’s role in his time, to confess who we are not and proclaim the One to
whom we testify. (Marcia Y. Riggs, pg. 72)
For such confession allows us to be healed by the very grace and love to which we bear witness and affirms that God is not through with us yet.
As we move through this Advent season we are aware of the cultural pressures of the season. At the same time we hope for so much more as we seek to find ways to “bear witness.” In the Advent study book we are using on Wednesdays, Alex Joyner offers this insight.
Once again it is a call to incarnation. We are called to be the Christmas we are
waiting for. The world will try to co-opt this holy day and make it merely a holiday.
The world will try to take away its threatening character and repackage Christmas
solely as sweetness and light. The world will domesticate Christmas, but it needs
to hear something more from the people who know what it is all about.
What does the culture need to hear from Christians this Christmas? It does not
need to hear an assertion of Christian rights; it needs to hear and see and experience
a witness to whom this baby in a manger is. Only people who have had their lives
turned upside down by the God who comes to a manger can faithfully proclaim and
live out this message.
Who will tell the story? Who will share the word? Us? We seem an unlikely lot.
We are no better than the next, but we can be the sort of signpost that John became.
We can point the way. We can incarnate the message of Jesus in the world. We not
only need to be the Christmas we are waiting for, we get to be the Christmas we are
waiting for.
(Call Him God’s Son, Advent 2011, Abingdon Press, pg. 34-35)
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him”. (John 1:6,7) We who have gathered here this morning also are a people sent by God. Like John, we are not the light, but we also testify to that light; and we do. We do every time we seek to ask and hear the answer to one simple question, “What would Jesus have us do?” For in answering the question we become a witness; one who testifies to the light so that one more might believe. Amen.
December 6, 2011. "It Begins Before."
Isaiah 40: 1-11, Mark 1: 1-8
The Gospel that is good news Mark proclaims was not proclaimed in a vacuum. Those encountering and hearing John and those hearing Mark’s story had a context with which to “hear” the message.
The good news of Mark’s Gospel begins not with a birth story of Jesus (as in Matthew),
not with the birth story of John the Baptist (as in Luke), and not with the beginning of
time (as in John). Rather the good news of the Gospel of Mark begins with a heartening
back to the words of the prophets.
(Judy Yates Siker, Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 1 pg. 45)
The call to repentance and words of comfort and restoration would have resonated deep within their faith tradition. They knew all about Malachi who proclaimed, “See I will send my messenger who will prepare the way” (Malachi 3:1) and all about the promise of Isaiah 40, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.” (Isaiah 40:3) And so the good news of Jesus Christ begins before it begins. (John Shea, Eating with the Bridegroom, Liturgical Press, pg. 25)
In much the same way we who hear these words from Mark in 2011 do not hear them in a vacuum. We have journeyed through Advent before spending the 4 Sundays preparing for the good news. We know something of what Advent is about and also what our faith tradition tells us Christmas is to be about, the birth of the hope of the world. And yet for too many what gets lost in our preparations is the call to repentance and confession. The call to turn around, to change our lives; to look at ourselves and begin to wrestle with attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that separate us from God, our neighbor, even we ourselves.
We don’t really like this particular aspect of Advent and have a hard time connecting good news, repentance and confession. From where we stand they don’t seem to go together because
repentance and confession entail facing the truth about ourselves and changing the
directions of our lives. And who wants to do either of these things? So the good news
can often sound like bad news at least at first.
(Martin Copenhaver, Feasting, pg. 47)
But repentance and confession are crucial if we ever hope to hear the good news. We can only truly begin to appreciate the vastness and faithfulness of God’s love when we recognize how deeply we need this love. As Isaiah 40 reminds us:
We transgress the boundaries and disobey God and, instead of destruction, God
offers love and peace. We can count on it again and again. We are powerless to
repair the cracks in our relationship. Only God’s grace will allow there to be a future.
God does not barrel into the world with loud pronouncements. God’s message of
forgiveness is quiet and comes to the brokenhearted. It comes not when we feel
powerful and in charge of our lives, but when we feel the most out of control and lost.
(New Proclamation, Year B 2012, Fortress Press, pg. 13)
Our need to repent and confess is an on-going, continual process. How often have we heard someone talking about confessing saying, “I did a complete 360.” I believe this more than a phobia. I think it is an attitude that says a great deal about us. Repenting means turning around; doing a 180, not a 360. The problem is most of us don’t stop there. We keep going and wind up right back where we started. No wonder we have a hard time fully embracing the good news.
We also have a hard time with the notion of preparing the way in part because our culture encourages us to live with no connection to the past.
Our culture loves everything new and easily forgets our debt to history. So our leaders
portray themselves as the master of the turnaround. To hear today’s stories of leadership,
you would think nothing good happened until they got there to turn it around.
(Lillian Daniel, Feasting, pg. 44)
John did not make it about him. He knew his role. “He proclaimed, ‘The one more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thing of his sandals.” (Mark 1:7) The scriptures tell us that people came from all over to hear and be baptized by John. They thought he was the one and no doubt after being baptized they could easily have wanted to follow him. His appearance and message combined with the people’s desire for a messiah made John an attractive option, but John did not let it go to his head. John understood the importance of being faithful to God including not falling prey to the praise of all who came to see him. Hopefully this reminds us the work we are called to do as the Church is not about us. It is about telling the story of God’s redeeming love. I fear that too often the institutional Church loses sight of this, which is just another reminder of the importance of repentance and confession as we seek to prepare the way for God.
As we sit here on this 2nd Sunday of Advent we know something about what we are preparing for. We have some sense of what is going to happen, but there is a lot we do not understand, much we do not know. I believe this is a good and important thing for us to confess. It is a starting point for us to begin to repent, to change, to a do a 180 instead of a 360 because that is how it begins, even before it begins. So heed the words of the messenger and begin to prepare the way of the Lord that we may discover more of what God has to offer.
