Merry Christmas! Here is this week’s scripture and sermon, followed by a few questions. I pray God blesses you in exciting ways this Christmas!

SCRIPTURE – Luke 1:39-55

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted When heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Mary’s Song
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
      and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
      for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
      for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
 He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
 He has helped his servant,
      remembering to be merciful
 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers.”

SERMON
I have a confession to make, and this day of all days seems like the perfect time to make it. I’m a present-shaker. Any other present shakers out there? It’s OK, the first step to healing is admitting you have a problem. As a child, each December I would wait for the floor under the tree to begin filling with presents, and then when no one was around, I would dive in. When I had found one of mine, I groped it like a finicky shopper massages a cantaloupe. I’d feel for corners, I’d listen for rattling parts, I’d judge their weight in my hands. I’d search for any odd sounds and shapes with the intensive scrutiny of a crime scene investigator. Books and puzzles were no-brainers, but I got so good that I could tell the shuffle-shuffle-slide of a sweater from the shifting swish of a shirt.

Who can blame us present-shakers? What kid isn’t brimming with excitement and anticipation at this time of year? I can remember sitting on my living room floor in spring, flipping through the pages of the J.C. Penney catalog, circling all the toys I hoped to get at Christmas. Almost a year’s worth of waiting culminated at this time of year. Can you blame a kid for wanting to get a little head start on the joy?

Of course, now that I’m an adult, I look forward to this time of year because it means experiencing a different kind of joy: the joy of Christ’s birth, which brings with it hope and love and the promise of new life. I realize now that Christ is greater than any gift I could find in the toy section of the Penney’s catalog. But I still shake my presents.

My pastor friend David Shirey said his children also like to engage in present-shaking and catalog-perusing, and he called this behavior “running your fingers through the prospect of promises fulfilled.” The prospect of promises fulfilled. The expectation that what you hope for will indeed happen. As David says, to be expecting is truly one of the blessings of Advent.

If that is so, then Mary is indeed blessed, as her relative says. This story in Luke takes place right after the angel announces Mary’s divine pregnancy and Mary’s world is turned upside down. She rushes off to be with her relative Elizabeth, who has also found out that despite her old age, she is expecting a baby who will grow up to be John the Baptist.

So here’s the scene: an older woman beyond child-bearing years who is enduring a risky pregnancy that could threaten her life and the life of her child, and a younger woman facing harsh social criticism and banishment for being unwed and pregnant. This is not a casual visit between two women in happy circumstances. This scene is ripe for tense words of desperation and anguish.

And yet, we hear, “Blessed are you among women!” “When I heard you the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” “My soul glorifies the Lord.” Those are hardly the words of two women facing such anxious unknown futures, not to mention swollen ankles and morning sickness. Why are these women so happy?

I would submit to you that it is because of the prospect of promises fulfilled. As Elizabeth says, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” They were in the midst of what Dr. Virginia Hoch called a “stable time.” That doesn’t mean “stable” in the sense of steady or constant or secure. Mary and Elizabeth’s situation was far from stable in that sense. But what Dr. Hoch means by “stable time” is a time when we can glimpse God breaking into our world, as God does at the stable in Bethlehem. Mary and Elizabeth, as they met to share their divine secrets, were experiencing a “stable time.”

God had come to them and worked a miracle in their lives, and they were simply overwhelmed with the joy of the moment. In ancient times, a relationship with God was not a casual affair. God was not seen as a buddy or a friend. Rather, being in relationship with God was an honor, and it called for a deep sense of respect, much like a person might respond to hosting a famous dignitary. In a sense, both Mary and Elizabeth were hosting God’s presence within them.

This fact so overwhelmed Mary that she bursts into song. That’s a fairly common occurrence at this time of year. I’m sure we could all name a favorite Christmas song without much trouble. Molly has started requesting a Christmas song each night at bedtime. Of course, it’s “Jingle Bells,” because she likes doing the “ha ha ha!” after “laughing all the way.” As a church, we’ve done a lot of singing so far this Advent, and there’s still a lot more to go before this day is over! Singing praises is a natural response to what God does at Christmas time.

Mary’s song is what we have come to know as the “Magnificat.” Her song details God’s grace and mercy to her, and the promises God has made through the prophets. In fact, almost every word in Mary’s song is a biblical quotation from the Old Testament, which Mary would have heard read her whole life. Her song echoes the prophets with its theme of redemption, freedom, and justice.

I want you to notice something interesting about the Magnificat. She starts off in the present tense – “My soul magnifies the Lord” – but quickly shifts to the past tense – “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” These past-tense promises Mary sings about were believed to be fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah, who had yet to be born. What Mary is doing is singing about these promises in the past tense as if they have already happened. She’s running her fingers through the prospect of promises fulfilled.

The book of Hebrews tell us that faith is “assurance of things hoped for,” and Mary is expressing her assurance in one simple fact: God will do what he says. It would have been easy for Mary to doubt this. In many ways, her situation was one of the last places you’d expect God to show up. An impoverished land, a backwater village, a run-down stable, a teenage mother, a poor child’s birth. You can’t put that on a Christmas card, but that’s what it was. And yet, as Mary says, “the Mighty One has done great things for me.” In the midst of all her struggle, she celebrates, she sings.

We can learn from Mary’s sense of trust and faith, but it’s especially comforting for those who find Christmas to be less than a joyous time of year. Because this is a festive season, if you are anything other than bubbling with Christmas cheer, you may think there’s something wrong with you. “I shouldn’t feel this way; it’s Christmas!” But for some of us, the reality is that this is the first Christmas without a loved one who died, or this Christmas is a reminder of the struggle to buy even a few presents, or it marks the ending of another year of spinning your wheels or enduring small failures that continually add up. Elvis is not the only one who knows what it’s like to have a blue Christmas.

What Luke’s story tells us is this: God knows your pain and hears your struggles. You are not alone if this Christmas is less then a merry one. There is no stable, no place in our world or in our lives that is too poor, too remote, too embarrassing, too painful, too messy, that God cannot be found at work there creating, bringing forth new life.

If you wonder how God can be present to you as you struggle with your pain, look at the characters of the Christmas story: an older woman who had given up hope of having a child; a young woman, unmarried and pregnant; the socially outcast shepherds who are the first invited to see the Christ child. Christ’s coming is not a pie-in-the-sky promise that all will be well; it’s a very real promise that God is in all things, working to bring about his purposes.

Mary and Elizabeth believed that God was with them. Their faith allowed them to see that God had not abandoned them to their troubles but was working in them and through them to bring new life. They believe that, in spite of the potential despair of the circumstances, God is at work and that this is part of the plan. Do they understand it? No. But they believe it. Running their fingers through the prospect of promises fulfilled. Assurance in things hoped for.

As we continue to try and make sense of our unstable world, I pray that we are blessed to experience some stable time this Christmas, time when we can glimpse God breaking through into this world, reminding us again of the promises he has made to us, whispering once again through a baby’s cooing, “I will do what I say.” May the hopes and fears of all the years be met in him tonight. Merry Christmas!

QUESTIONS

1 – Mary made an important journey to be with Elizabeth. Do you have any memorable Christmas trips?

2 – What word would you use to describe Mary’s song?

3 – What’s one promise that you are still waiting for God to fulfill in your life?

Hi all! Here is this week’s sermon post and discussion. I look forward to your thoughts!

 SCRIPTURE - Luke 3:7-18 -John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” ”Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

SERMON – Prepare the Way

As some of you may know, in my former life I was a journalist, and one of my writing gigs was reviewing movies for the Louisville Courier-Journal. You know, it was a tough job watching one or two movies each week, but people died so that we could enjoy freedom of the press, and I figured it was my civic duty to exercise that freedom. Plus, I like popcorn.

One of the things I liked about watching movies was the previews. I was always interested to see what was coming out next and whether I’d like it or not. The previews were also fast-paced, which appealed to my MTV Generation mind. “In a world where evil reigns…” Punch, kiss, explosion. “Coming soon!” The previews were also a great way to warm me up for the feature presentation, except they were usually so long that I had finished my large vat of buttered popcorn before the actual movie even started.

What we have in today’s passage is the biblical form of a preview. John the Baptist is not the main event, and he’s quick to tell us so. He is only the trailer, giving us glimpses of what the real thing will be like. In a world where evil reigns, John the Baptist says that “one more powerful than I” is coming soon.

Here’s the problem: if John is the trailer, I’m not sure I want to see the feature presentation. You may be asking yourself why we’re talking about John the Baptist on Dec. 17, and frankly, I’d like to know myself. For our preaching, Tim and I often use something called the lectionary, which is a three-year schedule of scripture readings for each Sunday of the year. The lectionary helps guides us on what to preach each Sunday. And this Sunday, Luke 3:7-18 was the recommended text.       

I feel like I owe you an apology. This probably isn’t what you came to hear today. It’s Dec. 17, for goodness sakes! We come expecting to hear “God bless us, everyone,” and instead we get Scrooged. We come expecting a heaping plate of roast beast and choruses of “Ya Hoo Lor Rey,” and instead we get the Grinch. We come expecting to hear about herald angels singing and babes in swaddling clothes, and instead we get “You brood of vipers” and burning chaff in unquenchable fires. Merry stinkin’ Christmas! Why John the Baptist now? Couldn’t we just sing the cantata again this week.

I think the lectionary creators put John the Baptist in Advent because his message is about preparation. And that’s what Advent is about, right? “Let every heart prepare him room.” How do we prepare for Christ’s coming each year? We’ve decorated our sanctuary. We’ve put up Christmas trees and lights. We’ve bought presents and attended parties. That may prepare us for Christmas, but does it prepare us for Christ? Is that all we need to do to prepare him room in our hearts, or is there something more?

John is talking about a different kind of preparation. The crowds were coming to be baptized because John was gaining in popularity, and being baptized by him was becoming the “in” thing to do. But he recognized the people were not prepared; he saw in their way of living that they weren’t showing signs that they were getting the message.

So after calling them a brood of vipers, which I’m sure got their attention, he says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” That’s an interesting word, “repentance.” We often associate it with the season of Lent, don’t we? We repent of our sins so we can be prepared for the glory of the Resurrection. And yet, repentance is also a theme for Advent. The color purple, which is used for both Advent and Lent, is not only a color of royalty, but also the color of repentance. And John tells us that part of preparing ourselves to receive the gift of Christ is repentance, clearing out the junk in our hearts to make room.

When we put up our Christmas tree this year, we decided to put it in a new spot in our family room. Making it fit meant moving some furniture around. When we moved my recliner, I noticed that it was a little dirty under there: candy wrappers, tissues, a coupon that expired in 1993. So to make room, we had to do a little cleaning.

What needs to be cleaned out to make room for Christ this Christmas? Like the situation with my recliner, I wonder if it’s been awhile since we’ve looked inside to see what’s been collecting there. John doubted that his audience had done much soul-searching; he knew that they felt their faith was clean simply by virtue of their birthright. You see, it was believed that if you were a Jew, a child of Abraham, then you were secure, regardless of how you lived your life.

But John brings a more disturbing message. “Just because you’re a child of Abraham doesn’t mean you are producing fruits.” To translate it for us, just because you were born in a Christian country, grew up in a Christian home and go to a Christian church doesn’t make you a Christian. What makes us Christian, John says, is acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior, genuine repentance of our sins, and living a life that produces fruit. A writer once said that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

We all need to share this awareness. When we’re young, we often adopt the faith imparted to us by our parents or grandparents. But at some point in our lives, we have to step out from under their protection and being to discover for ourselves what we believe. John is saying that we don’t inherit faith like we inherit hair color or personality traits. “Aw look, she’s got her father’s eyes and her mother’s spirituality.” John is saying that preparing our hearts to receive the Messiah means coming to an understanding of what we believe, and then committing to live that out by cleaning out of our hearts all the things the impede us from a genuine relationship with God.

That’s what John is encouraging here. To make room for Christ in our hearts, we have to clear out the things that are taking up room right now. John doesn’t get all theological on us here; he’s a very hands-on guy. When the crowd asks him what they should do, he doesn’t launch into some discourse on spiritual disciplines; he says, “Clean out your selfishness. If you have two coats, give one away.

John drew the kind of crowd that had some cleaning to do. He’s approached by a tax collector, one of the most hated people in Jewish society. These folks were often Jews who had gone to work for the Roman government, and they earned their living by applying large fees to the taxes and keeping them for themselves. The fact that tax collectors are often mentioned alongside sinners in the gospels gives you an idea of how despised they were. So when the tax collector asks John what he needed to do, John says, “Clean out your greed. Don’t collect any more than is required of you.

Soldiers also came to see John. These were probably not Roman soldiers, but Jewish soldiers working for the Roman government. Like the tax collectors, they had a privileged position over the common folk, and often used that power to take advantage of other people, like extorting money from them. When the soldiers ask John what needs to be done, he says, “Clean out your deceit. Treat people fairly, and be happy with what you have.”

John closes this passage with a word of warning: those who don’t bear fruit will be separated like chaff from wheat. Chaff is the outer shell of the wheat grain. In the process of threshing, the farmer takes a winnowing fork and he tosses the wheat and the chaff up in the air together. The wind blows the chaff away, leaving only the wheat itself. The useless chaff is then gathered and burned. John compares fruitless believers with chaff, and says those who don’t live out their faith are destined for the unquenchable fire.

Doesn’t quite make you want sing “White Christmas,” does it? And yet, it’s a word we desperately need to hear, because this aspect of Christmas has been completely lost. Let’s not forget that the original Christmas story isn’t all cuddly and warm and fuzzy. The coming of Christ was revolutionary, and called for dramatic change in the lives of all who accepted him as King of King and Lord of Lords.

Christ came to make the kingdom of God known here on earth. That kingdom is characterized not only by love, but by justice, and to be citizens of that kingdom, to pledge our faith in the King, we must live out those characteristics in our own lives. Following Jesus is much more than romantic visions of a babe in a manger. It also includes a commitment to compassion, justice, and to being Christians first. Those things are harder to achieve now than at any other time of year, which makes our commitment to them that much more important.

Are you prepared? I’m not asking if you’ve finished your Christmas shopping or baked all your cookies. I’m asking if you’ve prepared to receive your Savior. Christ is coming once again, bringing a message of hope and love and justice. Let every heart prepare him room. Is there room? 

QUESTIONS
1 – What’s your favorite part of preparing for Christmas?
2 – Who do you think most influenced your faith while growing up?
3 – What’s one thing you can do this week to prepare room in your heart for Christ’s coming?