The Nativity

The night of caroling is over; selected families were blessed with financial gifts from the church; all the candles have been blown out from the candlelight service, and the nativity set I used yesterday is now put away.  Undoubtedly, Christmas is the busiest time on our church calander.  It's a far cry from the days of my youth when all Christmas activities were anathama at church.  One church I was with even moved the children's Sunday School lesson on the birth of Christ from December to June lest anyone get the idea that Jesus was literally born on December 25! 

Yesterday's Christmas service was so enjoyable.  Lots of children who grew up here came home as adult visitors.  Many families brought their out of town guests which made up for many in our number who were off visiting their families in other places. 

I was glad to see so many chlildren present.  I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that the last place children would want to be on Christmas morning was at church.  That is why I did the nativity sermon for the children followed by Christmas carols.  In spite of my assumptions, it certainly did not seem like anyone was there out of a sense of duty.  Rather, there was a wonderful spirit of celebration as all praised our Father and offered expressions of thanksgiving to Him for the wonderful gift of his son. 

My favorite part was watching people during family prayer.  A young lady came and blessed Liz and I with the gift of prayerful appreciation.  I saw others moving about hugging, smiling, talking and praying together.  I know God was smiling as his children recognized the gift he has given us in one another.  I still have some misgivings about the busyness that seems to have taken over the season, but I can't help but feeling a sense of "mission accomplished" when the last worship service of the year was one full of thankgiving, love, fellowship and sharing.  Thank you God, for Christmas!

The Gospel as Fairy Tale

"You give us so much hope!" said the elderly lady after today's sermon.  I replied, "Then I must have been preaching Gospel."  I admit when I first saw the title to Frederick Buechner's book, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale, my initial thoughts were negative.  However, as I read the work I realized that each of these dramatic styles do indeed have something profound to contribute to our understanding of the Good News of Jesus.

I especially have been looking forward to today's sermon.  Sometime ago C. S. Lewis helped me understand that Fantasy communicates truth about the unseen realities that make it easier to grasp and understand.  I wonder if the Apocalyptic literature of the Old and New Testaments were written for a similar purpose?  That was why I eagerly grabbed onto Revelation 2:17 as my sermon text.  To seek a literal meaning for the verse obscures it's ability to communicate.  The truth of the Gospel is that it is too good NOT to be true!

The Gospel as Comedy

Laughter and tears have a lot in common.  How often have you been laughing and laughed so hard you began to cry?  Or, have you had the opposite happen to you?  You are crying and suddenly something is said or done that makes your crying turn into laughter. I wonder about why these two very opposite reactions can sometimes occur at the same time. 

There is nothing funny about tragedy.  Tragedy is horrible and painful.  It is car accidents, drownings and hopeless diseases.  Tragedies are often so awful that that are unspeakable. 

Only God can turn a tragedy into something good.  The cross of Christ becomes salvation for hopeless sinners because of the resurrection.   The unexpected has happened and it makes us laugh!  The kingdom has broken into our world and now the last are first and poor are rich.  The blind are the ones who can see and the empty are filled.   We were all caught looking in the wrong direction but now that we've taken a turn on "unexpected road" we are all filled with laughter.

Come, Lord Jesus!  Bring your kingdom in fullness.  Fill your people with the laughter of Sarah and Abraham.  Give up the grace to expect the impossible. 

The Gospel as Tragedy

Preparing for the lesson today I had to work to stay on topic.  It's difficult to ponder the theme of tragedy.  It's tempting to rush through the bad things to get to the good stuff of the Gospel.  Unfortunately, reality does not allow us to do this.  Life in this world forces us to face the fact that pain, suffering and tragedy are real and eventually will touch everyone. 

As I prepared my lesson today I thought about the funerals I have conducted this year.  It's difficult to work with families struggling to accept the death of dreams and the unfairness of pain, suffering and death.  Platitudes are only helpful to those who give them.  For those facing the tragedy of living in a sin polluted world, the best words are often none at all.  Presence is more beneficial than filling the emptiness the words that are equally empty. 

But it is tragedy that sets up the comedy.  As we will see next week, those who don't allow themselves to understand the tragedy miss out on the comedy.  They are like the ones who don't get the joke and wonder why everyone finds it so funny.  So don't be afraid to be real.  Don't be afraid to think deeply and reflectively about the just how difficult it is to be human.   After all, Jesus didn't pretend life wasn't hard.  He fully embraced it and showed us how to life.  But he did more than that, he is in fact the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  He IS the way out of this mess.  And what comes next . . . . well, that's the comedy and the fairy tale.

Cultivating a Thankful Heart

On Sunday I was privilidged to stand at the front of the sanctuary as people began to share their thanksgivings with one another.  What began as a small rumble became louder and louder until there were hundreds of voices expressing their thanksgiving.  It sounded to me like a jumbled roar of noice.  However, upon reflection, I think it sounded to God like a beautiful symphony.  A chorus of thanksgiving.  An offering of thanks given by our church in honor of our magnificient God!

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2)

Come Lord Jesus

I loved the large blocks of scripture used in the last part of today's sermon.  While exegesis of those passages can be helpful, I wonder if thoughtful meditaiton might be more beneficial in terms of changing our hearts and lives.  When the NT writers speak of the return of Jesus it is always for the purpose of influencing how we live in this age.  We are to live with confidence, hope, and assurance as we look forward to his return.  Somehow the information contained in Scripture must move from our intellect to our hearts and then out through our attitudes and actions. 

When Peter wrote, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15) he was not necessarly saying that we need to be able to answer all the difficult questions non-believers ask.  Rather, we are to explain why we can have hope when everything looks bleak.  Faith in the unseen realities of Christ are a powerful witness to a world that has lost hope.  The second coming of Jesus is a promise we hold dear to our hearts.  It enables us to live right now in the kingdom of God that can only been seen by faith.  One day soon, however, it will be revealed and made known to all.  That will be the day of Christ's appearing.  "Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight."  Amen, Come Lord Jesus!

(If you want to meditate on this message of good news turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 1 Peter 1:3-12; and 1 John 2:28-3:3.)

We Believe in the Lord's Supper

The depth of meaning that is to be found in the Lord's Supper is beyond the scope of one simple sermon.  It is, in fact, beyond the ability of an entire series of sermons.  The reason is that bread and cup are not just elements to be dissected and thought through intellectually.  Bible messages, helpful as they are, fail to truly uncover the marvelous mysteries of the Communion.  Words themselves are inadequate (and thus this blogger is struggling!). 

Two comments made to me after the service today may clarify my meaning.  The first was made by a woman who has been a faithful servant of Jesus longer than I have been alive.  She simply said, "Today I truly worshipped."  The second was made by a gentleman of similar age.  He said that during one song he had to stop singing.  What he meant by that, I believe, was that he became so in tune with the "message" of the Lord's Supper that his emotions rendered him unable to sing.  When we reflect on the Lord's Supper as Memorial, Eucharist, Communion, and Anticipation it can easily become a rather overwhelming experience of the goodness of God.  Hallelujah!  Come, Lord Jesus!