from my message on Christmas Eve, 2013, from John 1:1-14
(I start by lighting a candle and singing "This little of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, Let it shine, let it shine.)
(as the song ends, a spotlight goes on and shines on the rock wall behind me)
Oh, hello. Are you the light? (spotlight nods up and down for YES)
Did you hear us singing about you? YES
I'm glad you came here tonight. Are you glad that you came here? YES
Say, I was wondering, are the same light that was from the very beginning, when God said, "Let there be light? YES.
And nothing can put you out? (spotlight shakes side to side for NO)
Not even sin? NO
Not even when we hurt each other? NO
Not even when we hurt you? NO
Not even when lie or cheat or steal or love things more than people or for You? (light shakes faster and faster for NO)
So, it really is true that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it? YES
Are you the light that shone around the angels when they they told the shepherds about Jesus' birth? YES
Are you the light of the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem? YES
Are you the light of Christ? (slow and big) YES
So you are the light of Jesus healing and teaching and feeding the crowds and raising the dead? (light nods faster and faster) YES
You didn't go out when your closest friends denied you, betrayed you and deserted You? (big and slow) NO
You didn't go out even when you died? NO
(light moves to the cross while expanding....pause)
You rose again...for us.....to give us hope? (slow and big) YES
You really are the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it? YES
Thank you Lord Jesus for being our Light. May we carry your light into your world.
(start singing, "Hide it under a bushel? No, I'm gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No, I'm gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.)
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
The Day is Dawning
from my message on Dec. 22, 2013, from Romans 13:11-14
Do you know what today is? Yes, December 22. It is also the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the longest night. It is also the fourth Sunday of Advent. You nearly forgot that it is only 2 shopping days until Christmas. Then there is the classic poster, Today is the first day of the...rest of your life. For the Apostle Paul, today is also one day closer to the second coming of Christ.
I know we United Methodists don't spend a lot of energy during this season on the second Advent of Christ. We tend to focus on the sweet baby Jesus, the first coming of Christ. But Paul believed that Christ was coming again, and coming soon. The night is far gone, the day is near, he says.
I go to a Catholic retreat house, a house of quiet and prayer, called Lebh Shomea. Father Rocky (I am not making this name up) wrote in his newsletter that Advent is the season when we live each day as if Christ was coming that day. I know we don't have that same sense of immediacy and urgency, but I do believe that we believe that Christ is coming again. We believe that the God of creation is also the God of completion. We believe that the days are not just a series of random events but are actually leading to a conclusion.
I want to tell you some stories to back up this claim. There was a man who lived some time ago. I won't share his name or time just yet, because he seems to be quite contemporary. He was a spoiled child. I know we don't have any spoiled children around here today. He had lots of advantages. It allowed him to dabble in all of the esoteric mysteries of his day. He tried out all of the philosophies and mystery religions of his time. He was attracted to Christianity. A preacher named Ambrose had a special appeal as did the liturgy. Yet he was also drawn to sex and drugs and rock and roll. If there was something to stimulate his senses, he tried it. He would go to the church, and then go back to his wasting of life. He was really torn between the darkness and the light. One day, in a time of stress, when this conflict was raging inside him, he retreated to the backyard, to the garden of the house. There he heard a child singing. He could tell if it was a boy or a girl. He couldn't tell if the voice was across the fence or inside him. The child was singing, "take up and read. Take up and read." His friend had the letters of Paul in a bound book, which he handed to him. This torn man resolved to do whatever he placed his hand upon in the Bible. I do not recommend this method of Bible study to you. It could lead you to some dangerous places. Anyhow, he opened the book to Paul's letter to the church of Rome, to the 13 chapter, the 13 verse. "Let us live honorable as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy."
The light shone brightly in his life. Christ came in a powerful way. It was exactly the word that he needed to hear. He was never the same person again. He was immediately baptized. His name was Augustine. We call him Saint Augustine. He became a bishop in Hippo. He wrote extensively and shaped the life of the early church. He was the one who wrote, "our hearts are restless till they find their rest in thee."
Did you notice that the next verse after the one that got to Augustine said to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ?" This is baptismal language. We put on the light of Christ. In Godly play, the lesson on baptism involves giving each child a candle. Light is taken from the one Christ candle and is used to light each child's candle. The point is made that the light of Christ is not diminished even as it is shared. In fact, it only grows and grows. So it is with us and Augustine. We take on the light of Christ and grow into his likeness.
We believe that the fullness of the light of Christ will shine one day in hope. We believe in the second coming of Christ. I know we do, or else, why would we do some of the things that we do?
I will share some stories with no name mentioned but based upon actual events as they say in the movies.
You are an attractive female in your 50's. Your first husband has died, but you still have lots of life left. You meet another man, a widower. You fall in love and marry. Life is terrific, until after only a couple of years, he starts to forget things. Where are the keys? What did I just say? You go to all of the doctors. There cannot be a definitive diagnosis, but they say, "It appears to be Alzheirmer's." You cry......but you don't give up on the marriage. You said, "For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health." You hold up your light.
You are a man at a business conference. You are at the table with several persons from around the country. She's there at your side during the day, at your table. There's joking....brushes of the hand...it feels like flirting. At the end of the day at this convention center, she mentions that she has no dinner plans. It is innocent enough; you go to dinner together. She asks you to walk her to her room. You are a gentleman and do so. There at the door she has a line that means more than the mere words. She asks, "Would you like to come in?" And you have a wedding ring on, and here you draw the line, and you politely decline, "I need to get back to my room." And you hold up your light.
You are parents of grown children. You have brought them up well. You have brought them up in the Christian faith. These adult children have drifted away from that faith. In fact, they don't want to talk about that subject. When you bring it up, they get quite exercised in reaction to it. "We don't want to go there." You love them. You pray for them, by day and by night. You wait for them. You make every possible invitation to relationship. You hold up your light.
You are a student a school, middle school. And there's the kid the others like to pick on. You know the one. And most of the kids are pretty good, most of the time, but sometimes they can be mean, can be cruel. So this one day, when they are picking on the kid, you know the one, you stand beside the one being picked on and say, "Enough. He's my friend. Stop it." And you hold up your light.
You are here today. It's not Christmas eve; it's the fourth Sunday of Advent. School's out and you're here. It's cold outside and you're here. The Austin allergies are raging, and you're here. And you hold up your light.
Christ is coming. The day, His day is dawning. We are one day closer to the second coming. Life is not a series of random events, but moving towards His light.
The verse underlying this whole Advent series has been from the first chapter of John, talking about Jesus, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
Keep holding up your light until the light of Christ fully comes.
Do you know what today is? Yes, December 22. It is also the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the longest night. It is also the fourth Sunday of Advent. You nearly forgot that it is only 2 shopping days until Christmas. Then there is the classic poster, Today is the first day of the...rest of your life. For the Apostle Paul, today is also one day closer to the second coming of Christ.
I know we United Methodists don't spend a lot of energy during this season on the second Advent of Christ. We tend to focus on the sweet baby Jesus, the first coming of Christ. But Paul believed that Christ was coming again, and coming soon. The night is far gone, the day is near, he says.
I go to a Catholic retreat house, a house of quiet and prayer, called Lebh Shomea. Father Rocky (I am not making this name up) wrote in his newsletter that Advent is the season when we live each day as if Christ was coming that day. I know we don't have that same sense of immediacy and urgency, but I do believe that we believe that Christ is coming again. We believe that the God of creation is also the God of completion. We believe that the days are not just a series of random events but are actually leading to a conclusion.
I want to tell you some stories to back up this claim. There was a man who lived some time ago. I won't share his name or time just yet, because he seems to be quite contemporary. He was a spoiled child. I know we don't have any spoiled children around here today. He had lots of advantages. It allowed him to dabble in all of the esoteric mysteries of his day. He tried out all of the philosophies and mystery religions of his time. He was attracted to Christianity. A preacher named Ambrose had a special appeal as did the liturgy. Yet he was also drawn to sex and drugs and rock and roll. If there was something to stimulate his senses, he tried it. He would go to the church, and then go back to his wasting of life. He was really torn between the darkness and the light. One day, in a time of stress, when this conflict was raging inside him, he retreated to the backyard, to the garden of the house. There he heard a child singing. He could tell if it was a boy or a girl. He couldn't tell if the voice was across the fence or inside him. The child was singing, "take up and read. Take up and read." His friend had the letters of Paul in a bound book, which he handed to him. This torn man resolved to do whatever he placed his hand upon in the Bible. I do not recommend this method of Bible study to you. It could lead you to some dangerous places. Anyhow, he opened the book to Paul's letter to the church of Rome, to the 13 chapter, the 13 verse. "Let us live honorable as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy."
The light shone brightly in his life. Christ came in a powerful way. It was exactly the word that he needed to hear. He was never the same person again. He was immediately baptized. His name was Augustine. We call him Saint Augustine. He became a bishop in Hippo. He wrote extensively and shaped the life of the early church. He was the one who wrote, "our hearts are restless till they find their rest in thee."
Did you notice that the next verse after the one that got to Augustine said to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ?" This is baptismal language. We put on the light of Christ. In Godly play, the lesson on baptism involves giving each child a candle. Light is taken from the one Christ candle and is used to light each child's candle. The point is made that the light of Christ is not diminished even as it is shared. In fact, it only grows and grows. So it is with us and Augustine. We take on the light of Christ and grow into his likeness.
We believe that the fullness of the light of Christ will shine one day in hope. We believe in the second coming of Christ. I know we do, or else, why would we do some of the things that we do?
I will share some stories with no name mentioned but based upon actual events as they say in the movies.
You are an attractive female in your 50's. Your first husband has died, but you still have lots of life left. You meet another man, a widower. You fall in love and marry. Life is terrific, until after only a couple of years, he starts to forget things. Where are the keys? What did I just say? You go to all of the doctors. There cannot be a definitive diagnosis, but they say, "It appears to be Alzheirmer's." You cry......but you don't give up on the marriage. You said, "For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health." You hold up your light.
You are a man at a business conference. You are at the table with several persons from around the country. She's there at your side during the day, at your table. There's joking....brushes of the hand...it feels like flirting. At the end of the day at this convention center, she mentions that she has no dinner plans. It is innocent enough; you go to dinner together. She asks you to walk her to her room. You are a gentleman and do so. There at the door she has a line that means more than the mere words. She asks, "Would you like to come in?" And you have a wedding ring on, and here you draw the line, and you politely decline, "I need to get back to my room." And you hold up your light.
You are parents of grown children. You have brought them up well. You have brought them up in the Christian faith. These adult children have drifted away from that faith. In fact, they don't want to talk about that subject. When you bring it up, they get quite exercised in reaction to it. "We don't want to go there." You love them. You pray for them, by day and by night. You wait for them. You make every possible invitation to relationship. You hold up your light.
You are a student a school, middle school. And there's the kid the others like to pick on. You know the one. And most of the kids are pretty good, most of the time, but sometimes they can be mean, can be cruel. So this one day, when they are picking on the kid, you know the one, you stand beside the one being picked on and say, "Enough. He's my friend. Stop it." And you hold up your light.
You are here today. It's not Christmas eve; it's the fourth Sunday of Advent. School's out and you're here. It's cold outside and you're here. The Austin allergies are raging, and you're here. And you hold up your light.
Christ is coming. The day, His day is dawning. We are one day closer to the second coming. Life is not a series of random events, but moving towards His light.
The verse underlying this whole Advent series has been from the first chapter of John, talking about Jesus, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
Keep holding up your light until the light of Christ fully comes.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Let there be light
from my message on Dec. 8, 2nd Sunday of Advent, from Gen. 1:3-5 and Eph. 5:8-14
(sanctuary is dark) Let there be light! (lights come on with laughter) I have always wanted to do that. What joy God must have felt in creating light. Our Hebrew ancestors in telling the story of creation made sure that the very first thing God said, the very first thing God created was light. Even before there was sun or moon or stars, there was light. And God said it was good.
Light is good. I bet you have been camping, way out away from civilization. You spread your sleeping bag out. When the sun goes down, it gets really dark. Imagine all of those thousands of years of human beings living without artificial light. No electric light, no kerosene lanterns, no candles, no olive oil lamps, no campfire. When the sun went down, it was dark. What a gift sunrise was. What a gift light was.
Light is good. You don't step on that child's toy on the den floor in your bare feet. You can go to bed and read a book by that bedside lamp. Light to explore the Marianas Trench, some 7 miles deep below the Pacific Ocean. Light to explore a blockage or tumor in your body.
Light is good. Yet light is not always welcome. I have been listening to a series on National Public Radio on sleep. Before the invention of the electric light, we used to average 9 hours of sleep a night. After the invention of the electric light, do you think the average went up or down? Down! We now average 7 1/2 hours per night. I want that extra 1 1/2 hours back! Some of you have trouble with florescent lighting. It causes you to have migraine headaches. And what if you stay out in the sun too long without protection? You get sunburned. Light is not always welcome.
In Hebrew thought, light is good. Light was a symbol of life, blessing, peace, knowledge, understanding. The scriptures were called in Psalm 119, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The light of God enlightened us.
Light is good. In the New Testament, Jesus says in John's Gospel, "I am the light." In Matthew's Gospel, he says about us, "y'all are the light of the world." In today's scripture from Ephesians, we Christians are called no longer darkness, but "you are light." Not just "in" the light or "of" the light, but light. We are called to live as children of the light.
Light is good, but not always welcome. We have blind spots. They are unintentional. Our staff and church leaders went through a Partners in Ministry workshop recently that taught about communication, conflict resolution, visioning, and trust building. One exercise showed how we all have a part of us that is know to ourselves and others, a part that others see that we cannot see, a part that is know only to ourselves, and a part that is not known by ourselves or others, but only know by God. That part that others see that we cannot see is our blind spot. I know that when some at the workshop pointed out to me some of my blind spots, my first reaction was "ouch, that hurts." Only later, as I came to understand the depth of trust that took for those persons to share with me did I come to say, "Thank you." That takes a lot of love to shine a light like that. Light is good, but not always welcome.
We as a church may have had some blind spots pointed out to us in the Healthy Church Initiative. A group of consultants visited us 6 weeks ago and offered us 5 prescriptions to become a healthier church. Our first reaction may have been "ouch." Who are these people to tell us these things? Why are they so abrasive? I am hoping now we can say, "thank you. That took a lot of courage for you to tell us those things." Light is good, not always welcome.
Some of our hiddenness is intentional. We want it to remain in the dark, not bring it to light. I saw on the front page of our newspaper this morning, where the story of our D. A. driving under the influence of alcohol was there for all to see. This is not the kind of thing you want brought to the light. The next column over on the front page was of the city official in Jonestown caught in fiscal malfeasance, skimming money off a wind turbine project there. You don't want that brought out into the light.
Light is good, but not always welcome. However, there is no healing without the light.
For 16 years, I served on our board of ordained ministry. We were the group that qualified candidates for ministry. We read papers, we interviewed, we supervised. We also dealt with problems with ministers. For 8 of those 16 years, I served as the one responsible for clergy sexual ethics. This is an office that no one wanted. I was to insure that our clergy got training to keep them from acting out inappropriately. We had to intervene a couple of times. I remember one workshop I attended to get my guidance. A bishop in our church kept going back to this passage in Ephesians when it came to how to deal with incidences of clergy misconduct. We have to bring things to the light. Evil cannot exist in the light. Light cleanses and heals. Light is good, but not always welcome.
I need to gently bring some things to light for this congregation. We are too busy. We are trying to do too much. Instead of witnessing to the culture that we are saved by grace and not by our works, we look like the culture by being overfunctioning. I confess to you, I fall easily into this trap. On the scale from depression to mania, I lean on the manic side. I never met a need I didn't like! We need to slow down, we need to pare down. We need to focus on worship and doing a few things well.
Our Jewish friends may help us with the coming of light. Jewish sabbath begins 18 minutes before sundown on Friday evening with the lighting of candles by the woman of the house. It is time to slow down, to rest, to remember who God is. Being busy all the time is not the way to salvation. We need to welcome the light of sabbath.
Our Jewish friends just finished celebrating the holiday of Hannakuh, the festival of lights. The story goes that over 2,000 years ago, the Greek Syrians oppressed the Jewish people. They went so far to profane the Jewish religion that they sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabean rebellion was born to overthrow the oppressors. When they reclaimed the Temple, they found a cruse of oil for the lamp, with only enough oil for 1 day. A miracle happened in that the oil lasted 8 days. Hence, the menorah has 8 candles around the one central candle. We need to remember that God still does miracles through light today.
My hunch is that all of us have blind spots where the light of Christ needs to shine. My hunch is that all of us have darkness that we intentionally hide that needs the light of Christ. I believe that you were not made for darkness, but for light. I believe the light of Christ can overcome any darkness. A key verse for this Advent season comes from John's Gospel, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
Where does the light of Christ need to shine in your life bringing hope and healing. We may not always welcome it, but the light is good.
You may not have gotten anything out of the message to this point, so I want to share with you a song. It was written in 1948, by a man of the name of Hank Williams, Sr. You may have heard of him. The song was I Saw the Light. It was not a commercial success when it came out. Hank often closed his concerts singing this song. He suffered from alcohol problems. He was a follower of Christ. This is our situation too, I bet. We all have struggles with darkness. We all try to live in the light of Christ. Sing with me now.
I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin,
I wouldn't let my dear Savior in.
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
I saw the light, I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
Just like a blind man I wandered alone.
Worries and fears I claimed for my own.
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
I was a fool to wander and stray.
Straight is gate and narrow the way.
Now I have traded the wrong for the right.
Praise the Lord I saw the light.
Light is good. May you welcome it this Advent.
(sanctuary is dark) Let there be light! (lights come on with laughter) I have always wanted to do that. What joy God must have felt in creating light. Our Hebrew ancestors in telling the story of creation made sure that the very first thing God said, the very first thing God created was light. Even before there was sun or moon or stars, there was light. And God said it was good.
Light is good. I bet you have been camping, way out away from civilization. You spread your sleeping bag out. When the sun goes down, it gets really dark. Imagine all of those thousands of years of human beings living without artificial light. No electric light, no kerosene lanterns, no candles, no olive oil lamps, no campfire. When the sun went down, it was dark. What a gift sunrise was. What a gift light was.
Light is good. You don't step on that child's toy on the den floor in your bare feet. You can go to bed and read a book by that bedside lamp. Light to explore the Marianas Trench, some 7 miles deep below the Pacific Ocean. Light to explore a blockage or tumor in your body.
Light is good. Yet light is not always welcome. I have been listening to a series on National Public Radio on sleep. Before the invention of the electric light, we used to average 9 hours of sleep a night. After the invention of the electric light, do you think the average went up or down? Down! We now average 7 1/2 hours per night. I want that extra 1 1/2 hours back! Some of you have trouble with florescent lighting. It causes you to have migraine headaches. And what if you stay out in the sun too long without protection? You get sunburned. Light is not always welcome.
In Hebrew thought, light is good. Light was a symbol of life, blessing, peace, knowledge, understanding. The scriptures were called in Psalm 119, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The light of God enlightened us.
Light is good. In the New Testament, Jesus says in John's Gospel, "I am the light." In Matthew's Gospel, he says about us, "y'all are the light of the world." In today's scripture from Ephesians, we Christians are called no longer darkness, but "you are light." Not just "in" the light or "of" the light, but light. We are called to live as children of the light.
Light is good, but not always welcome. We have blind spots. They are unintentional. Our staff and church leaders went through a Partners in Ministry workshop recently that taught about communication, conflict resolution, visioning, and trust building. One exercise showed how we all have a part of us that is know to ourselves and others, a part that others see that we cannot see, a part that is know only to ourselves, and a part that is not known by ourselves or others, but only know by God. That part that others see that we cannot see is our blind spot. I know that when some at the workshop pointed out to me some of my blind spots, my first reaction was "ouch, that hurts." Only later, as I came to understand the depth of trust that took for those persons to share with me did I come to say, "Thank you." That takes a lot of love to shine a light like that. Light is good, but not always welcome.
We as a church may have had some blind spots pointed out to us in the Healthy Church Initiative. A group of consultants visited us 6 weeks ago and offered us 5 prescriptions to become a healthier church. Our first reaction may have been "ouch." Who are these people to tell us these things? Why are they so abrasive? I am hoping now we can say, "thank you. That took a lot of courage for you to tell us those things." Light is good, not always welcome.
Some of our hiddenness is intentional. We want it to remain in the dark, not bring it to light. I saw on the front page of our newspaper this morning, where the story of our D. A. driving under the influence of alcohol was there for all to see. This is not the kind of thing you want brought to the light. The next column over on the front page was of the city official in Jonestown caught in fiscal malfeasance, skimming money off a wind turbine project there. You don't want that brought out into the light.
Light is good, but not always welcome. However, there is no healing without the light.
For 16 years, I served on our board of ordained ministry. We were the group that qualified candidates for ministry. We read papers, we interviewed, we supervised. We also dealt with problems with ministers. For 8 of those 16 years, I served as the one responsible for clergy sexual ethics. This is an office that no one wanted. I was to insure that our clergy got training to keep them from acting out inappropriately. We had to intervene a couple of times. I remember one workshop I attended to get my guidance. A bishop in our church kept going back to this passage in Ephesians when it came to how to deal with incidences of clergy misconduct. We have to bring things to the light. Evil cannot exist in the light. Light cleanses and heals. Light is good, but not always welcome.
I need to gently bring some things to light for this congregation. We are too busy. We are trying to do too much. Instead of witnessing to the culture that we are saved by grace and not by our works, we look like the culture by being overfunctioning. I confess to you, I fall easily into this trap. On the scale from depression to mania, I lean on the manic side. I never met a need I didn't like! We need to slow down, we need to pare down. We need to focus on worship and doing a few things well.
Our Jewish friends may help us with the coming of light. Jewish sabbath begins 18 minutes before sundown on Friday evening with the lighting of candles by the woman of the house. It is time to slow down, to rest, to remember who God is. Being busy all the time is not the way to salvation. We need to welcome the light of sabbath.
Our Jewish friends just finished celebrating the holiday of Hannakuh, the festival of lights. The story goes that over 2,000 years ago, the Greek Syrians oppressed the Jewish people. They went so far to profane the Jewish religion that they sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabean rebellion was born to overthrow the oppressors. When they reclaimed the Temple, they found a cruse of oil for the lamp, with only enough oil for 1 day. A miracle happened in that the oil lasted 8 days. Hence, the menorah has 8 candles around the one central candle. We need to remember that God still does miracles through light today.
My hunch is that all of us have blind spots where the light of Christ needs to shine. My hunch is that all of us have darkness that we intentionally hide that needs the light of Christ. I believe that you were not made for darkness, but for light. I believe the light of Christ can overcome any darkness. A key verse for this Advent season comes from John's Gospel, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
Where does the light of Christ need to shine in your life bringing hope and healing. We may not always welcome it, but the light is good.
You may not have gotten anything out of the message to this point, so I want to share with you a song. It was written in 1948, by a man of the name of Hank Williams, Sr. You may have heard of him. The song was I Saw the Light. It was not a commercial success when it came out. Hank often closed his concerts singing this song. He suffered from alcohol problems. He was a follower of Christ. This is our situation too, I bet. We all have struggles with darkness. We all try to live in the light of Christ. Sing with me now.
I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin,
I wouldn't let my dear Savior in.
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
I saw the light, I saw the light.
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
Just like a blind man I wandered alone.
Worries and fears I claimed for my own.
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
I was a fool to wander and stray.
Straight is gate and narrow the way.
Now I have traded the wrong for the right.
Praise the Lord I saw the light.
Light is good. May you welcome it this Advent.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Unto Us, A Light has been born
from my message on the first Sunday of Advent, Dec. 1, 2013, from Isaiah 9:2-7
Darkness. The season of Advent begins in darkness. Maybe you know something about darkness. In Hebrew thought darkness stood for chaos, ignorance, sin, suffering. Is this where we get the term Black Friday? I am just asking.
Maybe you know something about darkness that goes beyond shopping. You may be here in worship today with the darkness of loneliness, or loss, you suffer from depression, or you are going through a divorce, or you have a terminal illness.
You may want to know the context of the scripture passage from the prophet Isaiah. Darkness here meant the government. I am not making this up. The king had been a great disappointment. We know something about the government disappointing us. Let's not beat up on those in government. We have people, members of this congregation, who have served and continue to serve at the national, state, and local level. God bless them for putting themselves on the line. But we know about the darkness of disappointment in government.
You may remember from our Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, our story. The people begged the prophet Samuel to give them a king. He said, You don't know what you are asking. You better think this through. No, we want a king like other nations have, the people say. If you get a king, yes, you can fight with more unity against your enemies, but you may turn your back on the LORD God. You will be oppressed by your rulers. You will be disappointed. No, the people cry, give us a king.
And down through Israel's history, they had some good kings and some bad ones. At this point, some 700 years before the birth of Christ, the people were dwelling in darkness, in the failure of their king. At this point, the prophet Isaiah says that "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined." What was the source of hope, what was the new light? It was the birth of a new ruler.
Remember this summer, what happened over in England? Now, we are Americans. We colonies broke away from England many years ago, but we still got all gaga over the birth of a baby. Kate and Prince William had a baby this July. We were wondering what gender the child would be. We were betting on the name of the child. Prince George came along. The third in line to the throne. We get so excited, so hopeful over the birth of any child, especially a royal child.
You can understand how the writers of the New Testament would pick up on this passage to connect it to the birth of Jesus, the one we call the Christ, our savior. In the midst of darkness, a light has been born to us.
How can we keep from falling into darkness? It is easy to blame the government, to blame others. But each of us must own the light and darkness within ourselves. How can we remove our blinders and look for the light of justice and righteousness?
I know what I am being called to do this Advent. I will be looking for light in the midst of darkness. I pick up my Austin American-Statesman this morning. There it is on the front page, the annual Christmas appeal to help 12 families. The article headline is "Light in midst of need." Thank you God for showing up in the newspaper. I go out walking early this morning, 5:30 a.m. It's dark. But overhead are tiny pinpricks of lights. Stars, like the star of Bethlehem, leading the wise men to Jesus' birth. Driving here, I got caught at a traffic light. Rats, I couldn't sail on through. Then I thought, the light can call me to prayer. Breathe, pray. You may see the brake lights of 2 miles of cars backed up on Loop 360, and instead of getting frustrated, use it as a call to prayer.
When we see Christmas tree lights, or houses with their Christmas lights, or reading light, or warning lights, may we pause and pray, and see the light of Christ.
More than that, may we carry the light of Christ into the world. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. But Jesus also said, Y'all are the light of the world. We bear the light of Christ. If we don't carry it, who will? We are to be on the side of justice and righteousness. How will you live that out this Advent? For whom will you advocate? What holy work will you do? How will you lift up the oppressed, those who live in darkness? How will you make the world a little lighter?
If you do these things for these days of Advent, they may become part of who you are. If you do something for 21 days in a row, it becomes imprinted upon your being.
You may be saying, it's too hard. The darkness is too big. Yet this is how God comes into the world, in Jesus, a tiny, vulnerable baby, to join us. That's how we do this ministry, in small hopeful ways.I am challenging you to look for the light this Advent. I am challenging you to carry the light to others. We are encouraged by the opening words of John's Gospel which talks about Jesus this way, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." May it be so for us this Advent.
Darkness. The season of Advent begins in darkness. Maybe you know something about darkness. In Hebrew thought darkness stood for chaos, ignorance, sin, suffering. Is this where we get the term Black Friday? I am just asking.
Maybe you know something about darkness that goes beyond shopping. You may be here in worship today with the darkness of loneliness, or loss, you suffer from depression, or you are going through a divorce, or you have a terminal illness.
You may want to know the context of the scripture passage from the prophet Isaiah. Darkness here meant the government. I am not making this up. The king had been a great disappointment. We know something about the government disappointing us. Let's not beat up on those in government. We have people, members of this congregation, who have served and continue to serve at the national, state, and local level. God bless them for putting themselves on the line. But we know about the darkness of disappointment in government.
You may remember from our Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, our story. The people begged the prophet Samuel to give them a king. He said, You don't know what you are asking. You better think this through. No, we want a king like other nations have, the people say. If you get a king, yes, you can fight with more unity against your enemies, but you may turn your back on the LORD God. You will be oppressed by your rulers. You will be disappointed. No, the people cry, give us a king.
And down through Israel's history, they had some good kings and some bad ones. At this point, some 700 years before the birth of Christ, the people were dwelling in darkness, in the failure of their king. At this point, the prophet Isaiah says that "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined." What was the source of hope, what was the new light? It was the birth of a new ruler.
Remember this summer, what happened over in England? Now, we are Americans. We colonies broke away from England many years ago, but we still got all gaga over the birth of a baby. Kate and Prince William had a baby this July. We were wondering what gender the child would be. We were betting on the name of the child. Prince George came along. The third in line to the throne. We get so excited, so hopeful over the birth of any child, especially a royal child.
You can understand how the writers of the New Testament would pick up on this passage to connect it to the birth of Jesus, the one we call the Christ, our savior. In the midst of darkness, a light has been born to us.
How can we keep from falling into darkness? It is easy to blame the government, to blame others. But each of us must own the light and darkness within ourselves. How can we remove our blinders and look for the light of justice and righteousness?
I know what I am being called to do this Advent. I will be looking for light in the midst of darkness. I pick up my Austin American-Statesman this morning. There it is on the front page, the annual Christmas appeal to help 12 families. The article headline is "Light in midst of need." Thank you God for showing up in the newspaper. I go out walking early this morning, 5:30 a.m. It's dark. But overhead are tiny pinpricks of lights. Stars, like the star of Bethlehem, leading the wise men to Jesus' birth. Driving here, I got caught at a traffic light. Rats, I couldn't sail on through. Then I thought, the light can call me to prayer. Breathe, pray. You may see the brake lights of 2 miles of cars backed up on Loop 360, and instead of getting frustrated, use it as a call to prayer.
When we see Christmas tree lights, or houses with their Christmas lights, or reading light, or warning lights, may we pause and pray, and see the light of Christ.
More than that, may we carry the light of Christ into the world. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. But Jesus also said, Y'all are the light of the world. We bear the light of Christ. If we don't carry it, who will? We are to be on the side of justice and righteousness. How will you live that out this Advent? For whom will you advocate? What holy work will you do? How will you lift up the oppressed, those who live in darkness? How will you make the world a little lighter?
If you do these things for these days of Advent, they may become part of who you are. If you do something for 21 days in a row, it becomes imprinted upon your being.
You may be saying, it's too hard. The darkness is too big. Yet this is how God comes into the world, in Jesus, a tiny, vulnerable baby, to join us. That's how we do this ministry, in small hopeful ways.I am challenging you to look for the light this Advent. I am challenging you to carry the light to others. We are encouraged by the opening words of John's Gospel which talks about Jesus this way, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." May it be so for us this Advent.
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