I will have no wine before its time. Nope I’m not going to talk about making wine; I believe Jesus had that down pat without my help. Yes, today we will talk about wine because it’s sort of the center of todays’ Gospel from John. But is it really about wine?  

Before we talk about wine let’s talk about John’s Gospel. According to Theologians, Jesus performed 37 miracles, some say 33, either way that’s a bunch of miracles. But in John’s account there were only seven miracles mentioned and he never calls them a miracle, he calls them signs. In other words, John is trying to point us beyond the actual miracle that it leads us to something with more of a meaning, that there is something more important than let’s say a simple glass of wine.  

I believe John is trying to tell us that God is the source of all life, joy, happiness, and love. That God’s presence in our world is through the human presence of Jesus. But John seems to write from a different plane for a different audience which is not similar in nature compared to the other three Gospels of Mark, Luke, and Matthew which are called the Synoptic Gospels because the stories are very similar in nature.  

I was really worried about where is the beef in this Gospel today; y’all remember that commercial for Wendy’s? Where’s the beef? So, I had to do some real homework and digging as well as thinking, which gives me a headache.  

But I was able to find a lot of information looking way deeper than just the words of this Gospel. I received a new education about the Jewish life style and traditions. Then, all of a sudden, it was like I could see questions and something important in every sentence of this Gospel, it was a true awakening for me.  

The Gospel starts by saying that it was the third day of a wedding in Cana; now the first thing I discovered is that Jewish weddings back then lasted seven days which is different today but still has more than 13 traditions and rituals that exist today. So was it the third day when Jesus and the disciples arrived or were they there the entire time or possibly is this symbolic of the third day when Jesus rose from the dead. This could be John leading us down the road with Jesus to the cross.  

But Jesus and his disciples were there: it also says that Jesus’ mother was there in Cana with him. Now I looked up the distance from Nazareth to Cana and there were conflicting distances so I relied on my Bible which said it was about eight miles. If they were in Nazareth for their journey, I guess they could make it in one very long day. As I’ve said in other sermons, think about the terrain back then, I’m sure at best it was a challenge.  

Something I could not figure out, did Jesus and his mother travel together or separately, and where was dad? Because in John’s account, Jesus was busy finding his disciples until the wedding and he found them and they traveled with him showing that his ministry had started.

There was no mention of Mary in John’s Gospel until now, and even then she was not called by her name (Mary), it was the mother of Jesus or Woman. One thing was for sure either they were related to the couple being married or very close friends. It didn’t say who knew who.  But it does seem that we sort of invite people to a wedding the same way now as back then, we just don’t pick up a phone book and start picking names (y’all remember phone books, I still have one).  

Now it jumps right into the problem, mom says there is no wine they ran out so Jesus makes a profound statement, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come”.  

The other time Jesus calls his mom ‘woman’ was in John 19:26 on the cross, when he says “Woman, here is your son”.  Now, where I come from if you called your mom, ‘woman’ you’d be wearing a house slipper on the side of your head, even on a fun run mom could hit her target.  

Then I discovered that the term Woman when used by the Jewish and Greeks was a sign of respect which I was glad to discover because I just can’t see Jesus as being disrespectful to his mother. Technically Jesus is saying to his mom what exactly does this issue have to do with me and what would you have me do.  

Well Jesus’s mother knows the traditions of those days to run out of food or drink over those seven days would have major fallout for years to come for the host, the bride and groom as well as the chief steward. This would have been thrown up in their faces for any event they might attend.  

We all know how we judge weddings today: things like it was a beautiful day, the couple looked beautiful, the service was great the food was awesome and free bar was right on time. Now if they run out of beer no problem, I don’t like the stuff anyway but run out of wine or Tequila now we’ve got a problem but not a big one because I don’t really drink much but let something go wrong and we judge the success of the whole wedding.  

Then Jesus says “My hour has not yet come”, which in John’s gospel when Jesus uses this phrase he is implying his death on the cross. Jesus knows what his mother wants him to do; he also knows that once he does something like this, he truly starts his ministry and his march to the cross.  

So even though it wasn’t what we’d call a major miracle like; curing the sick, dying or diseased, feeding the hungry, the lonely or casting out demons. It is still very important, this is his first public miracle/sign which means Jesus is now starting his march towards the cross, it has truly started for him. It also means that Mary was present for his first miracle so technically she was there for his birth to his death. She was a witness to it all.  

As I said Mary knows exactly who and what Jesus is but not to the degree of what will happen to her son. Now in a typical Jewish mother’s way she doesn’t tell Jesus what to do, she looks at the servants and tells them do what he tells y’all to do. Well enough said on what she is expecting of Jesus. He shows the respect that any child should show their mother or father. You could also say Jesus understands the Torah and the 10 Commandments, you know number five, “Honor thy Father and thy Mother”.  

But before the miracle it talks of the six stone jars, please note the word stone, this is important in Jewish traditions and rituals. A well off Jew would have stone jars for the cleansing rituals that would occur before meals and going to temple. The stone jars would not allow for impurities to be imbedded in the jar. This would taint and prevent the ritual of purification. Most normal people would have had pottery jars for water not necessarily for rituals but for human consumption.  

Let me ask you this question, can you imagine the work required to carve or chisel out a stone jar that held 20-30 gallons of liquid? I don’t think they had any bridgeport milling machines or lathes and for that matter electricity to run those machines. So, the servants do what Jesus instructs them to do and they fill all six to the brim (that could be a reflection of God’s love for us) and took some to the steward.  

Well guess what, it was wine, now we don’t know if Jesus said or did anything to show others that this was a miracle or who he was. He just did it without drawing attention to himself or the need for thanks, which is the way he lived into his ministry; he didn’t need the attention to his presence but the presence of God through him for all of us.

Now the chief steward tastes the wine and tells the groom that he did the opposite of what most people do, he waited and served the best wine later in the celebration. I thought about it, and we would do the same, serve the top shelf stuff and wait till everyone is tipsy and break out the cheap stuff.  

Let’s also realize that only the lowly and poor as in the servants, the disciples, and the mother of God knew what he had done.  They are the ones that don’t matter much in the world of the rich and privileged. But in Jesus’ world and ministries they are truly the ones that matter because to Jesus, we all matter and he was here for all of us.  

Throughout all the Gospels Jesus shows us the importance of all living creatures even when it upset the powers to be. Then the Gospel ends by saying this was Jesus’ first sign and revealed his glory and the disciples believed in him.  

Well, I had a couple thoughts, we know that the four gospels always state that the disciples never really get it, so did they understand that he was the son of God or was he a great Prophet. Which we know that in the Hebrew Testament there were miracles performed by people like Moses. Or did they think Jesus really was just a good man. But we know through 2,000 years of interpretations that they loved him and followed him till the end and then it finally sunk in.

So, we put everything together, it was the third day of the wedding, is this a reflection of his Ascension into Heaven? Were they friends or family? We know that Jesus is 33 years old at this time and his ministries has begun because the disciples are with him. He shows his love and respect for his mother and the laws of Torah as well as all the people at the wedding by doing this sign.  

Then there is the importance of the wedding to his mom. The stone jars are important and what they were intended for teaches us something new about Hebrew rites. We have the people at the wedding that do not realize what Jesus has just done and the fact that this is more than just wine, it is his ministries, they are now in motion, he has revealed his glory and his divinity. Jesus’ ministry is to teach us and to help us build the church and to prepare us for his departure and the arrival of the Holy Spirit is now in full swing. Everything Jesus is doing is shifting the importance of the sign to the far greater reality which lies ahead for all of us today as it was then. The fact is Jesus manifested his glory and establishes that he truly is the Son of God.

AMEN

While he subsequently worked on several other high-profile cases, he eventually discovered that the law profession just wasn't right for him and didn't allow him to pursue what he was discovering as the north star of his soul, the values and ethics of his heart.  

So, Shawn went on a trip to find himself.  

He quit law and checked out a Trappist monastery, then a couple of odd jobs, before his heart led him to the world of... chocolate.  

Shawn had always had a passion for chocolate, but now he studied how chocolate was made, from the trees, to the harvest, and on through production. What he saw was injustice, unfairness, and an opportunity to bring his heart convictions to an industry and to a product that he had fallen in love with.  

Today, Askanosie Chocolates is considered the finest chocolate in the world, just Google it and read the reviews. And it's not just the chocolate that's appealing, it's the way Shawn has gone about structuring his company so that workers are fairly paid, land is respectfully cultivated, and chocolate is carefully produced. Shawn says he followed his North Star, put his values at the center, and what he finally discovered was fulfillment, purpose, love, and a life that more closely matched his gifts and convictions.  

His star led him to put:  

people over profit,  

sharing over hoarding,  

forgiveness over vengeance,  

charity over selfishness.  

This reminds you and me that there are many stars in the sky.  

There's the Anxiety Star, anybody here ever follow that one?  

There's the entertainment star  

There's the fitness star  

The travel star  

The food star  

The sleep star  

The book star  

The home improvement star  

The Apathy Star...  

Too many stars to name - all shining brightly and bidding us to follow them.  

And the question is, which one are you following today?  

What is your star?  

And where is it guiding you?  

The invitation of Epiphany is to follow the star that leads to Jesus - to hope, to courage, to gratitude, to faith that all will be well.  

To follow that star is not easy.  

The three kings remind us that following that star can be dangerous, inconvenient, uncomfortable, even lonely, as we trek across an unknown desert in faith, looking to find God.  

When we follow that star, we more deeply connect with that inner voice, the goodness of our souls, the better angels around us. And because faith is not just about belief, but about action, we must not just believe, but do. We must follow and go where that voice of faith, hope, and love takes us.  

-------------  

In the shadow of January 6th, and the one year anniversary of the scariest and most serious threat to democracy in a very long time, America needs to ask those questions of ourselves, our fellow citizens, and our government.  

What are we following?  

And where is it guiding us?  

If you've been reading the papers like I have, and you have considered what experts are saying; that we are divided, we are split, perhaps hopelessly so, some people predict a civil war, others see the country splitting up into five smaller countries. There are dire predictions out there, from very smart people, about where we are going as a country.  

Some of those eventualities may come to pass, we are best to consult political science experts - not clergy.  

My job is to be your pastor and in this sermon not to offer up perfect solutions for saving our democracy or shiny bromides to assure you America will always overcome its challenges. My job to preach Jesus Christ and his values, to remind us that we all have responsibilities and commitments to our shared life as Christians and as Americans, and to point out, remind, and assure each one of us that no matter what happens, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

Like most of you I believe that there can be no soft-pedaling of what happened on January 6th of last year and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy, and I agree with a Republican strategist named Karl Rove who wrote. “Love of country demands nothing less than calling to account those responsible for these despicable acts in accordance with our shared values as a nation - of justice, accountability, and the rule of law. That’s true patriotism.”  

And I would hope that each one of us, as Americans, as those who put our faith into action, has observed and prayed diligently about our shared citizenship in this great country and the ways in which we are called to make things better. The call of Jesus is not one of isolation and individualism, but one of participation, and forming community around our shared values with those in our communities.  

Standing up for our shared values of justice, fairness, equity, partnership amiddy differing opinions, these are values and hallmarks of our faith and our democracy.  

-----  

What Epiphany invites us to do is to shine a light on those shared values, and the deepest values of our hearts, looking to be motivated, encouraged, and propelled into the world by that which is deepest within us, pushing aside worldly temptations driven by fear, control, and a sense that God is not with us — and lifting up those values of love for ourselves, our neighbor - and even our enemies.  

------  

In his January 6 sermon in Washington, D.C., Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said the Capitol Riot offered both peril and promise - and suggested we do three things in response:  

First, that January 6th invites us to we renew our relationship with God.  

This is about finding our star.  

This is about following the star that leads us to God and God's values.  

‘We must each find our path to connect with God' - our God of ‘love’ - whose call is the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.  

We must look to Jesus Christ as our example and guide along the path of love.  

Second, Bishop Curry reminds us that we need to revive our relationships with each other.  

This is not about reaching out to friends with whom we agree, but with those with whom we disagree.  

The late South African archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man whom both Fr. Steve and I knew personally - incidentally, he once showed his legendary humor to me when he autographed a book for my father’s birthday with the inscription— ‘Dear Jim, you have good genes.’  

But Archbishop Tutu said this: “If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friend, you talk to your enemies.'  

Jesus was very clear in instructing us that we are to love all people, pray for all people, especially those with whom we seriously disagree, never forgetting that the way we treat other people is the way we treat God.  

There was a theologian in the last century named Martin Buber. He famously spoke about the ways you and I tend to relate to one another. Buber said we tend to treat people as either I-It or I-Thou, making the differentiation between the ways we can treat people as things, as impersonal, as simply means to an end - versus seeing people as sacred co-equal, partners in our shared job of living into our calling and making the world a better place.  

We cannot stress enough the human element and it's important in making our lives and democracy work.  

The truth is that there is no legislative solution, no military solution, no political solution to the deepest problem threatening American democracy, which is our profound lack of trust in the legitimacy of the opposition.  

And while we may not be able to change our broken system, we need to safeguard, and to take care that are broken system does not change us.  

Following our star means following Jesus, deciding not to follow all those other stars out there, especially those that lead to apathy, hopelessness, worry, and this sense that we are abandoned and that there is no hope.  

Third, Bishop Curry encourages us to resurrect our commitment to the ideals we share.  

"Flawed as he was, Thomas Jefferson gave voice to one of those ideals when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are all endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”"  

Abraham Lincoln would go on to echo these words in his famous Gettysburg address, as we do every time we recite our pledge of allegiance.  

I pledge allegiance to the flag  

of the United States of America  

And to the republic for which it stands  

One nation, under God, indivisible  

With liberty and justice for all  

"We may and will disagree on many things.  

We may and will strive and fail and wound one another and beg forgiveness along the way.  

But we do have some ideals and values that we share.  

One of those ideals, is our experiment in democracy itself, our representative form of government, based on the promise of liberty and justice for all, which itself is based on the hope that we may be one nation, even with our many differences."  

--------  

Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, when he took office at the start of the Civil War, he gathered his top generals, staff members, and military experts in his office in the White House to plan strategy.  

Lincoln, a small town Illinois lawyer, was not trained in military strategy, though he had pored over numerous books he had checked out of the library, autodidact that he was.  

And after calmly considering the advice and opinions of those gathered, he said to them, “Vicksburg is the key” - referring to the small but mighty Mississippi river town, which housed numerous rebels and was geographically located in an important place. “If we can just take Vicksburg, we can crack open the Confederacy, split up the enemy’s forces, and send them into a full retreat."  

It was that Vicksburg conviction that served as Lincoln’s guiding principle, his North star, for the entire war - that’s how resources were allocated, Generals assigned, and goals set. Despite pushback from numerous sides, Lincoln held firm to his resolve. And whether it was the only strategy, or one of many that would have led to the final result, the Vicksburg conviction proved effective - the war was won for the North - and a milestone for the end of slavery was set.  

The Vicksburg conviction was the guiding star that led the president away from war and closer to peace, truth, justice, and to a pinnacle moment in the freedom of slaves in our country.  

So let me end with these questions, which we can contemplate as we listen to our musical meditation in just a moment.  

What star are you following?  

How single-minded are we following it?  

Are we spending too much time following other stars?  

How does our star invite us to think about ourselves, our community, in our country?  

Amen.  

Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with stiffing the help...  

It’s centered around a delightful carved wooden waiter, who's posed as if he’s walking to a table, black bow tie, tails, and a white shirt - and the object is to stack plates and glasses and bowls on his hands without tipping him over.  

How many plates can he hold?  

How many bowls can he balance?  

How many different things can be put into his hands before he finally falls over and drops them all as he hits the ground?  

And for many of us gathered here this morning, this is what a second winter of COVID feels like.  

It’s a huge, uncomfortable, unsettling, precarious, balancing act.  

How do I handle yet another commitment?  

Where can I squeeze in that new activity?  

Am I staying safe enough not to get COVID?  

Why do I have to put off that trip for another year?  

What if kids have to go virtual school again?  

What if I can’t make yet another graduation?  

How do I handle the distance created between myself and unvaccinated loved ones?  

How many more hassles do I have to put up with before I tip over and break everything?  

Ya, a lot of us are at that tipping point.  

Only it’s not a game,  

It’s our lives.  

And if you made it to church this morning holding on by just a string - thank you.  

If you are feeling like you're clinging to hope with just the tips of your fingernails - thank you.  

If you overcame the temptation to stay in bed, isolate, and just go it on your own, to be here this morning - in-person or virtually - thank you.  

Because our message today is something you need to hear - that you can make it.  

Old man Joseph - St. Joseph - Courageous Joseph - yes, I have a thing for older dads…  

This morning he gets the Word from on high that trouble’s coming -  

That the Almighty King Herod is coming after his boy - His precious boy -  

But Joseph knows what to do -  

He’s heard the Word - his heart has guided him -  

And he doesn’t hesitate, he does what he needs to do.  

And in doing so, Matthew, who is famous for quoting Old Testament verses and how they’re fulfilled in Jesus - brings up this quote, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ - this, of course, alluding to the work of God in bringing the Israelites, unharmed, out of Egypt.  

We all know the story:  

After generations of oppression, God heard the cries of the suffering Israelites, who were slaves in Egypt, and sent Moses - who performed several ‘miracles’ to finally free his people.  

Matthew is trying to remind us that God has come through for God’s people before - so God can do it again.  

Your people have been enslaved before, and God has set you free.  

Your people have been desperate and felt forgotten, and God pulled them through.  

Your people have hit rock bottom before, and God has lifted them up.  

So, let’s think about us - and how God has gotten us through things.  

You went through that terrible break up with someone you thought you might marry.  

Your world had collapsed around you.  

You wandered through the valley of darkness and despair.  

But you’re here.  

God got you through.  

You went through that addiction thing.  

It was all you could think about.  

It was your entire world -  

Before it collapsed around you.  

And God got you through.  

How about that time you went bankrupt - or came close.

There was not enough money.  

There was no one from whom to borrow.  

You couldn’t pay, and so you sold your stuff, or someone came and took your stuff from you.  

But you got through it -

God got you through it.  

How about that divorce?  

Things were tough weren’t they?  

Didn’t know where you’d live -  

Didn’t know if you could trust again.  

Didn’t know things would ever improve.  

Yet you got through it.  

God got you through.  

Oh, and what about that illness?  

You were down for the count -  

You didn’t know what hit you - where it came from - or where it was going to go,  

But you made it this far.  

God has gotten you this far.  

We’ve made it before.  

We can make it again.  

We’ve come this far.  

We can go farther.  

This was God’s word to Joseph as he took the Holy Family to a foreign country, seeking refuge from Herod.  

And when Joseph and Mary took the infant Jesus to safety, I’m going to guess it was not that easy.  

Who did they know in Egypt?  

Where would they live?  

What would they wear?  

What would they eat?  

Where would they work?  

Yet, they got through.  

God got them though.  

Today many of us are feeling as uneasy and uncertain about our lives as Joseph and Mary were about theirs.  

We don’t know where the economy’s going.  

We don’t know where our politics is going.  

We don’t know where our health is going.  

We’re uneasy - we’re on edge - we’re angry, frustrated, and scared.  

So, what’s the answer?  

How are we going to make it through?  

Where’s the road?  

What’s the path?  

Do we have a choice?  

My first sermon of the New Year is about that choice.  

It’s about the choice most all of us have.  

It’s about the conscious decision to make a choice.  

And I hope you will join me in choosing gratitude.  

If you’re like me, there are many, many days in which I do not feel grateful.  

I am anxious and angry and stressed and confused.  

I feel alone and don’t understand what’s happening with my neighbors or the world.  

I look at the news, it’s bleak and uncertain.  

So, I struggle to feel grateful.  

But this year - 2022 - I am going to attempt to choose gratitude.  

I choose to accept life as a gift from God - as a gift from the unfolding work of creation.  

I choose to be grateful for the earth from which our food comes -  

And the land, now under my care, but first settled by others — so I choose to grateful for the people who first lived there-  

For the water that brings life -  

For the air we all breath.  

I choose to be thankful for my ancestors - for those who made me who I am -  

Grateful for their stories and how they endured struggles -  

Grateful for their wisdom and example that continues today.  

I choose to see my family and friends with new eyes - to appreciate and accept them for who they are, I choose to be thankful for my home, whether humble or grand.  

I choose to be grateful for my neighbors - no matter how they voted, or whatever our differences, or how much I feel hurt or misunderstood by them.  

I choose gratitude because it’s good for me.  

I know that being grateful will make me happier and healthier.  

Gratitude will make me easier to be around.  

Gratitude will help me endure challenges more effectively.  

Gratitude will make me live longer.  

The power of Gratitude will make me better - make my family better - and make the world better.  

In this New Year, join me in not giving thanks - but choosing thanks.  

Choosing gratitude with courageous hearts -  

Knowing it is humbling to say ’thank you.’  

Choosing to see that we are all guests at a hospitable table around which gifts are passed and received.  

Let us not allow anything opposed to love to take over this table.  

Instead, we choose grace and forgiveness, the blessed relatives of gratitude - to help us live through the storms in which we are all now dead center.  

So let us pledge together - to choose thanks - to choose gratefulness - to choose gratitude - around the tables of our homes - our communities - the nation - and the world.

I am so thankful to be a part of this, our St. David’s community, which has always been for me a source of thankfulness and gratefulness - because I think we all know how thankful and grateful you all are. And I join St. Paul in saying, that "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers…”

May our year of Gratitude further us  in our journey to become the people we are: a people of worship, outreach, and love for all.

Amen.

Most of us would work producing food, clothing, or both - and we could afford few luxuries. We would not have indoor plumbing, running water, a stove, car, more than two changes of clothes, or Jimmy Kimmel. If we lived into our 30’s we would be lucky.  

We would live under the constant threat of Roman aggression. Sure there was peace. But Jews were unhappy with the Romans - and some made this known - with guerrilla tactics that endangered the common folk - who never knew how Rome might punish all its citizens for the sins of a few.  

Amidst this ongoing turmoil, we would earn enough money to support our families, pay our taxes, and offer sacrifices during one of more of the annual religious festivals, but we would probably have nothing left over for lottery tickets.  

And while our region would be prosperous, it would be nowhere near affluent. We would not live near kings, political players, billionaires, or power brokers. It was not Silicon Valley, more like the Ohio Valley.  

I want us to go there because we are often tempted to turn Christmas into a safe holiday, with its music, movies, and soft-focus memories, looking through a sentimental lens at what the Christmas Creche on the altar holds - and not at the harsh realities of that day - which, of course, is meant to speak to you and me in our day - Right here and right now.  

If you’re like me, you come to this second consecutive COVID Christmas with too little joy, peace, and harmony, and with too much worry, anxiety, fear, and mourning.  

The lead story in this morning's paper read: "Inflation Is High and Uncertainty Rampant as Economy Heads Into 2022"  

We are, once again, cooped up in our homes - unable to be with beloved friends and family in, of all places, the safety of our churches, in the ways we would like to be.  

We are wearing masks everywhere, getting one shot after another - most, but not enough of us -  

And too often we’re taking out our frustrations over all the things we’re missing out on - our disappointments, uncertainties, and stress - on those who mean the most to us - on our loved ones, on God.  

Ya, some of us are really mad at God this year.  

COVID has robbed us of so much.  

The precarious nature of our times is so upsetting.  

All of us are mentally challenged.  

Our souls are not well.  

This really stinks.  

Yet, we are here.  

Showing up in person - or online -  

And why are we here?  

Because in this Christmas story, God offers us the 2 things we so desperately need to hear in times like this: we are loved and we are not alone.  

Yes, the situation is dire, but we are not deserted or divorced from the Almighty.  

The incarnation tells us that God knows how bad it is out there, how bad it is in here - and that God is here to walk us through it - to love us through it.  

The Christmas story tells us that no matter how bad things seem - no matter how wretched our world has become - How discombobulated our daily world has transformed into, God is unwilling to give up on it.  

God is unwilling to give up on being with us and on loving us.  

Because as we turn to our Gospel tonight, we see that  how Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.  

This is your Christmas Eve tweet:  

How Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.  

And how did Jesus get into the world?  

Let me make three points here.  

Jesus came to the world through a poor family, through an unwed mother, through a politically oppressed people. God brought the light of the world, into the world, with these three strikes against him to show us that there is no situation that is insurmountable.  

God can do anything.  

God is out to redeem everyone and everything.  

It's as if God is saying, If I can bring salvation into the world through some peasant Family in some backwater region of the Roman Empire, I can bring it anytime, anywhere - I can do anything - and that is for you and me - and so there is never any reason to give up hope.  

---------  

Jesus came to a poor area full of poor people. Those whom society was most likely to abuse, run over, and overlook.  

Jesus did not have parents with connections. They did not go to Ivy League schools. They did not know the difference between the salad fork and the dessert fork. They would not have qualified for an American Express card.  

Jesus was the son of an unwed mother.  

This was as shunned upon in his society as it is in some parts of ours.  

He was unexpected and faced unacceptance.  

Sure, he had good paternal, DNA but that only gets you so far with the middle school bullies.  

Jesus was born among an oppressed people.  

The Jews were not conquerors, they were the conquered.  

They did not have complete freedom to do what they wanted when they wanted.  

The laws, currency, the food and customs were as of foreign as they were unwelcome.  

The Holy Family was forced to live under the greedy thumbs of their heathen Roman overlords, and there was nothing they could do about it.  

How Jesus got into the world tells us everything about what God thinks of the world.  

Jesus came through and to a people who were least likely to have hope - they were poor, shunned, and oppressed.  

And if any part of any one of us is impoverished, rejected, or oppressed tonight, God is here to hold out hope to us as well.  

God says, don't give up, I haven't.  

I will be there for you -  

I will get you through this - although it may not be when you want it or how you want it.  

-------  

It was a 1940s, and a family had moved west in order to seek better opportunities.  

John, Mary, and the two kids, Bob and Grace, loved the new scenery and the chance for a new start.  

Unfortunately, jobs became elusive, and the family lived from hand to mouth for quite some time.  

When Christmas came, Mary, who always prided herself on decorating their home with a grand Christmas tree, became worried. Where they lived, Christmas trees were expensive, and no matter how she worked and re-worked the budget, the tree was more than they could afford. She was sad for the children's sake, all their friends had Christmas trees, and she knew how much they enjoyed decorating it. Yet, for some reason, Mary did not give up hope.  

And she prayed that God would help her make this Christmas, despite the family's financial problems, the best one it could be.  

Then, two days before Christmas, as Mary and the kids were cleaning the kitchen, she glanced out the window, only to see a huge tumbleweed roll up to the garage door.  

Bob and Grace said, "Don't worry Mom we will move it out of way." But Mary's eyes lit up! She said "Quick, go grab that tumbleweed, I want you to put it in the living room!"  

For the next 4 hours, Mary and the kids found a way to turn that tumbleweed into the most glorious, if not unconventional, Christmas tree anyone has probably ever seen.  

Carefully removing antique ornaments, that had been handed down for generations, and placing them on the tumbleweed tree, popping corn, then stringing it together and winding it around the tree, and cutting up tin foil to make their own tinsel, Bob and Grace remembered that tumbleweed Christmas tree all of their lives. In fact, it was the most memorable Christmas they've ever had.  

Friends, if we learn anything from Christmas, it's that God cares for us more than we'll ever know, and God will bring us through every uncertainty we can name, whether it's covid, bankruptcy, job loss, or whatever.  

Sure, there may be big challenges along the way, things may not go according to plans, but in the midst of our crummy situations, God is here and God loves us.

May the light of Christmas reveal to each one of us that this is enough. 

Amen.  

Each of the four Gospels open with an accounting of the origins of Jesus.  Mark begins by introducing the “beginning of the good news” as told by the prophet Isaiah.  Here we see Jesus introduced as an adult man from Nazareth.  In the gospel of Luke, we are presented with the story of Jesus’ birth and his humble human beginnings of being born in a barn and then lain in a manger for his crib.  In the gospel of Matthew, we are taken a bit further into history, through the genealogy of Christ and then we are ushered into the story of Jesus’ birth and the story of the Epiphany. And in today’s gospel we are taken back even further still, as John invites us to travel all the way back to the very beginning of creation where the Word brought all things into being; the day, the night, the earth, the sky, all flying things, all things under the sea, and all things that walk and crawl on the face of the earth, including human beings.  John’s prologue, which has all the characteristics of a hymn, is a full manifestation of the God’s Word and God’s very being.  We are ushered through the beginning of time where the Word was with God and the Word was God, to the time when the Word became manifest in human flesh to live and dwell among us.  It is in trying to comprehend the awesomeness of this gift of love that I am brought to my knees, time and time again, in thanksgiving and praise for God’s faithfulness, loyalty, and love of creation.  God so loved us that God came to us incarnate in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, the embodiment of the Word in flesh, in truth, and in grace.  

The other day, I was sitting on the couch in my living room with my dog Alabaster.  We were enjoying a fire and the beautiful decorations that my sons and their girlfriends had put up for me.  My heart was full of such joy and thanksgiving as I reflected on the unending faithfulness and grace of God.  At one point I had gotten up and as I did so, Alabaster also got up, and as he always does, followed me around the house.  When I returned to the living room and sat in the lazy boy, Alabaster faithfully followed and joined me in the chair.  I looked at him and smiled feeling his love and I said out loud, “You are so beautifully faithful and loyal and always by my side, I love you.”  And then I thought of Jesus, and how Jesus is also so beautifully faithful and loyal and without fail, always by my side.  As I considered the act of being faithful even further, I realized that Alabaster is teaching me how to be a loyal and faithful follower of Christ because no matter where I go, or what I do, Christ is always with me, and I am called to follow him as faithfully as Alabaster follows me.  But following Christ is not always easy to do, is it?

The Word did not come to us in the human flesh of God’s only son because we were doing everything right.  God came to us incarnate through the Virgin Mary in the very human form of Jesus Christ to bridge the gap between us and God by showing us how to be true followers.  Jesus, in every sense of the word is a repairer of the breach of our relationship and covenant with God.  I love John’s Christmas story because it calls so prophetically for us to follow the light of Christ.  We are told from the beginning of the prologue who God is, who God was and how God created all things.  As the story unfolds, John shares with us the miracle of the incarnation as God gives us the unbelievable gift of self by being born into the flesh of a human man – “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory…full of grace and truth.  John points out that the law indeed came through Moses, but how we are to live the law in grace and truth is given to us through God’s gift of Jesus Christ – the true gift of Christmas.  

God did not come to us at Christmas, roaring like a lion and in wrath.  God came in the most humble and beautiful of human ways – being born of a woman, who, without question, followed the calling of God to become the mother of God by becoming the mother of Jesus.  And as mothers do, Mother Mary loved and comforted and nurtured Jesus into adulthood.  I do not think we can possibly discuss the coming of Jesus in this way without also considering the brutal end of his human life.  As we read later in John’s gospel, “For God so loved the world he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not parish but may have eternal life.” (3:16) As many commentators of this fourth gospel tell us, John shows us that not only did the Word become flesh and live among us, that very Word who came to us incarnate in Jesus Christ also became so involved in the twistedness of human life that he embodied the very hatred and humiliation of the cross. And in his final act of human faithfulness to God, Jesus forgave his trespassers and asked God to also forgive them; as God taught us to do.  So does this mean that God patronizes the brutality shown Jesus – not in the least.  What God does is manifest God’s glory in the resurrection of Jesus Christ whereby embracing all of humanity in the promise and hope of eternal life.  

God came in love to show us through the life of Jesus how to love one another as ourselves and love God with all that we are.  As we enter into the remaining days of Christmastide, let us carry the gift that God has given us through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  Friends, the work of Christmas is just beginning and as Howard Thurman shares in his book, The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations;  

"When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among others,

To make music in the heart.”    

The people of St. David’s shine the light of Christmas in all the work you do to feed the hungry, raise awareness to the racial and social injustices of this world, and spread the gospel of truth by word and example.    I invite us to revel in this light and in this work.  In another poem Howard Thurman shares the light of hope we find in the gift of Christmas in the following words saying:

"I will light candles this Christmas.

Candles of joy, despite all the sadness.

Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.

Candles of courage where fear is ever present.

Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days.

Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens.

Candles of love to inspire all of my living.

Candles that will burn all the year long. "  

Let us go forth in this light, keeping the flame of hope burning not just today, not just through Christmastide, but every day in the new year and beyond.  Merry Christmas to you all and may the Blessing of Christmastide fill your hearts with the joy and light brought by the Christ Child.  

Amen

“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” So today Advent is over and we get to hear one of the most recognizable readings of the entire Bible, the birth of Jesus Christ. Even a Charlie Brown Christmas took part of this reading for the show. It is a reading that I truly love that brings hope and joy to all of humanity. I read it a few times seeing I was going to write this sermon and read a few commentaries and thought about things. So I used a technique I learned at the Academy called Hermeneutics, where I put myself into the reading that is before, during and after to help me to better understand the reading. Well guess what; all of a sudden I had a few questions. Like, why did Emperor Augustus call for the first census at this point in time? Why was it, there was no room at the inn, were there any other inns? I don’t think the Super Bowl was in town. Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem and not Jerusalem, the center of Hebrew faith? Why tell the shepherds, I see they were scared but what about the sheep? How far were they away from Jesus and did they know the way in the middle of the night? I read a commentary that questioned what the angel said “great joy for all people” then “peace among those whom he favors.” Well it only took me a moment to figure that one out in my mind. We were created in God’s image, so God loves us all and favors us all. Not just a select few, God loves the Jews, Gentiles, black, white, brown, male, female, rich, poor, sick, powerful or weak. Now let’s see if I can answer these questions as well as ask a couple more. Luke begins this Gospel acknowledging the existence of Augustus and Quirinius but quickly they are out of the story, could it be that their power is insignificant in God’s plan because this story transcends politics but was needed to enrich the coming of Christ? We now have Joseph and a very pregnant Mary traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem approximately 90 miles. Can you imagine the terrain in those days? No pavement, no Nikes or even an all-wheel drive SUV. Why, because Joseph was a descendent of the house of David which was in Bethlehem and required them there for a census. That reminds me of my time in The Air Force. We were asked on many occasions where our home of records was and I’d answer, Flint, Michigan. It was an important part of our records especially for tax purposes and statistics. Back to Mary, we accept that Mary was unwed and a virgin. In today’s society we don’t like to see an unwed mother but it is somewhat common place but it might be a hard sell on the virgin part. What do you think people would have thought back then especially if they would have said that an angel came to them and told them their child was the son of God? We accept all of this to be true and as Fr. Steve has taught me “I believe so that I can understand”. So the savior of the world was born and placed in a manger, a trough for feeding animals. This part of the story had until now has made me sad, you mean that no one in town could have given them a proper place to sleep? But after this sermon I have found a new love and understanding of why this had to occur and I will talk about it in a minute. We have an angel coming to the shepherds in the middle of the night in a dark field full of sheep. It says they were terrified and the angel says, don’t be afraid, yeah right, they would have been picking me up off the ground about then. During this encounter the angel tells them what is happening and exactly who and what Jesus is but just maybe this did not quite sink in or maybe it did and that is why after the encounter they did as most of us would do. They went to find the baby, what a glorious thing this must have been to experience this baby named Jesus. Again why shepherds and not the high priest?  So by asking these questions I began to really start to understand the meaning within all my questions and the importance of each thing that happened. I found a new understanding and a new love for this Gospel.  

God created us out of love and not because God needed something to do or a new hobby but out of a love I try to understand but cannot comprehend. God created us out of love and wanted to be in a loving relationship with us not to control us. So God became incarnate as to fully experience this unique love God has given to all of us. The angel could have proclaimed Jesus to the rulers or spiritual leaders of the world but God did not do this. Jesus was born on this day over 2,000 years ago because this is what we needed, what the world needed to bring us hope, joy and the good news. Plus this fulfilled scripture of the early prophets as found in the book of Micah. It was when we needed it the most and it doesn’t matter who we are on either end of the social structure. God came to us in a nonthreatening way for all of us, not just a few. Jesus was born and placed in a manger and wrapped in bands of cloth. He was helpless and vulnerable as is any child born, but in this case Jesus was born lowly and poor to show us that all of God’s creation is equal. This is why the angel told the shepherds because from Jesus’ first breath to his last breath he was our shepherd and we are his flock. Even on the cross he was with us and loved us as he said to the criminal “truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” As I told Fr. Chris the other day God is the only person who has never or will ever break a promise to us and why because God is love and that is something we should take away from any sermon. God’s love is unconditional.  

I am going to say a word as I always do on Christmas that is to please think and say a prayer for our sisters and brothers serving around the world today. Yes they are without their blood families but share a military family with appreciation and love. Outside of God and family we love our Country more than our next breath and that is why we do what we do.

I will end with a prayer I found and now have on my bulletin board at home.

Creator God, by your greatness you became small, by your power you became powerless, by your limitlessness you became limited. Through the birth of your son, we can live in your light that shines on a world transformed by the limitless power of your love. 

Amen

Merry Christmas Y’all

Alexander was a friendly and alert dog, very obedient and very loving.  

The two became fast friends.  

And because Linda was a single woman in early retirement, she had lots of time to spend with Alexander - and over the years built a very close bond.  

At night, Linda and Alexander's beds were right next to each other.  

And the bedtime routine included snacks, some snuggling, then off to sleep.  

But then, one night last year, Alexander interrupted the long-time bedtime ritual with a lick on Linda’s face.  

This was very uncharacteristic because Alexander knew he was not to lick his master’s face.  

But time and again, he would do so - even when Linda was sitting down, he would jump on her lap and lick her face!  

As Linda pondered this newfound phenomenon, she noticed that Alexander didn’t just lick her face, but he licked the exact same spot on her jaw - over and over again.  

Hmmm… could Alexander be telling her something?  

They’d known each other so long - and so well...  

Linda’s intuition had been awakened.  

So Linda made an appointment with her doctor - and sure enough, Linda had the very beginnings of a cancer forming right there, on her jawline - which, thankfully, the doctor was able to treat relatively easily, and eliminate.  

However, her doctor said that had she waited for a tumor to form that was large enough to be noticed, the treatment would have been much more aggressive and expansive and the danger would have been greatly heightened.  

Linda believes God sent a sign - a message, albeit in a very unexpected way, through Alexander.  

And she was so thankful she believed what she had thought had been spoken to her by the Lord -  

And just like Mother Mary - who also believed what had been spoken to her by the Lord - both were blessed in their believing.

Believing God - Our sermon today is about that.  

Trust.

It’s about trusting what the Lord is speaking to you and me.

It’s about trusting God to do what God has said God will do.

Not just in Mary’s life - but in yours and mine.

After all, God has made promises to us.

What has God promised?

That whatever you and I brought in to church this morning - worries over money and vocation, anxiety over our health, the sting of unresolved conflict - constant physical or mental pain -  

God has promised to be with us through it all.

God has promised to love us through it all.

God has promised to care for us through it all.

And God has promised that no matter what it is - that we will be brought through it - perhaps not with the ending we want - but with the ending that will always be with God.

In the hustle and bustle of the run-up to Christmas — Mary’s faith invites us to ‘relax’ - all will be well - we are in God’s hands - God’s loving hands - who knows how chaotic life can be - and who desires more good for us than we are able to imagine for ourselves.

Mary’s selfless act - of agreeing to yield her body, her plans, aspirations, dreams, and ambitions - to toss those out the window - in lieu of a promise from God - is what witnesses to you and me today - because making God’s plans, our plans is the key!

And boy, is this difficult, so difficult.

‘When will I ever learn?’ croons the singer Van Morrison, ’to live in God, when will I ever learn?’

Sometimes we need to get hit by a brick...

--------------

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar.  

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.  

As his car passed, no children appeared.

Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!  

He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.  

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting,  

"What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”  

The young boy was apologetic.  

"Please mister... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.  

"I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”  

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

"It's my brother," he said.

"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.”

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive,

"Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.

He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.

A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.

The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door.

He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

And the attention God’s trying to get from us is to assure us that God will handle things - relax - trust the Lord -  

Friends, we have been at this game long enough to know how many times God has come through for us.

We have been at this game too long to know that God’s way is the best way.

And we’ve been at this game long enough to know how to avoid the bricks.

And we do that by following Mary’s example - trusting God.

And we don’t trust blindly -

While we might want certainty, instead God gives us faith.

God gives us freedom. God gives us options, God gives us the opportunity to believe, Even though sometimes God’s care seems obvious.

-----------  

When I wake up in the morning I can't go too long before my stomach lets me know that I need to get something to eat.  

It's my hunger that suggests that there may be something out in the world called food.  

Because I have hunger, I suspect there’s food.  

In the same way, you and I often sense on our own, alone, in nature, the presence of something more.  

We have longings for purpose, vocation, and longing for certainty –  

And these all suggest there may be something out there called God.  

To put it another way, writer Soren Kierkegaard once said that faith is like floating in an ocean that’s 70,000 leagues deep.  

The more we try to find a bottom on which to stand, to look for something certain to grab onto - the more we struggle, the more we tire – and eventually  perish -  

Kierkegaard says faith is like floating.  

Faith is laying back and relaxing in the water - not thrashing about as if it’s up to you to make the water carry you - but trusting that when we chill out, and let the water do its thing - it will carry us.  

------  

On a stormy night, a businessman boarded a plane.  

He took a middle seat between a middle-aged woman sitting at the window and a little girl sitting on the aisle.  

After the flight took off, he began a conversation with the little girl, who appeared to be the same age as his daughter. He found it strange that such a young girl would be traveling alone, but he kept his thoughts to himself.  

About an hour into the flight, the plane was suddenly jolted by extreme turbulence.  

The pilot came over the PA system and told everyone to fasten their seat belts as they had encountered rough weather. Several times over the next half hour, the plane made drastic dips and turns, shaking all the while. Some people began crying, and many—like the woman sitting by the window—were praying intently.  

This businessman was sweating and clenching his seat as tightly as he could.  

Meanwhile, the little girl sat quietly in her seat with her hands resting calmly on her legs.  Incredibly she didn’t seem worried at all.  

Finally the turbulence ended.  

The pilot came on to apologize for the bumpy ride and announced that they would be landing soon.  

As the plane began its descent, the man said to the little girl,  

“You are just a little girl, but I have never met a braver person in all my life! And you’re traveling all alone! Tell me, dear, where are you going and how is it you remained so calm while all of the adults were so afraid?”  

Looking him in the eyes, she said warmly, “I’m on my way home with my father - and I’m not worried, because he's the pilot.”

We all know the turbulence.  

We’re all on that bumpy ride.  

And we all know the pilot.

This morning God implores us through our sister Mary: trust, stay calm, stay focused on our destination – relax and float – live into our callings individually and corporately to spread the Good News of God’s love – that God will not only take care of us – but of everything.

That’s why God wants us to trust - to ‘let it go’ - so we can take up the broken pieces of a shattered world - and do our parts in putting it back together.  

Let us trust.  

Mary did - we can too.  

Amen.  

Martin worked as a municipal engineer, and on the day he won, he remembers kissing every financial worry goodbye - and saying ‘hello' to opportunities that were beyond his wildest dreams.

Martin says this is what he thought about when he went on a walk that day, right after hearing the news, strolling around the block where he lived, imagining what his new life was going to look like: Martin was walking on cloud nine.

Researchers say Martin was engaging in an activity called prospection. It's when our minds do the work of imagining future scenarios. We conjure up these events and condense days, weeks, and months of future living into minutes of imaginative thought. It's something we all do. But, unfortunately, for all it's benefits, prospection is seriously flawed.

After all, when you and I think of winning the lottery, we think of sitting in a bathtub full of $100 bills, paging through catalogs or scrolling through web page after page of previously unaffordable luxuries.

And as helpful and needful and fun as prospection is, we have to understand its limits if we don't want to get burned, which is what happened to Martin.

Within days of winning that huge amount of money, and the news spreading among family, friends, and to his community, Martin began to learn things about his newfound wealth that he had never imagined.

For all his prospection, Martin had neglected to consider the downside of winning the lottery - like the amount of friends and family members who were in financial distress and now coming out of the woodwork contacting him for help.

Or what happened a few months later when he joined the local country club. Martin didn't expect to be snubbed by members because he had not acquired his wealth the 'right' way.

And Martin never estimated how much stress he was going to feel about his new and old relationships: did people like him because of who he was, or because of his money?

While there is no question that money makes us happy, Martin's story reminds us that money has its limits.

Here's another reminder...

Shortly after he cashed his first lottery winnings check, Martin went out to the car dealership and bought his dream car. It was perfect. The right color, the right style, the right feeling that he had always imagined while driving that dream car. But six months later, he didn't feel the same way.

After those few months, Martin realized that the car was a gas guzzler. It was hard to get in and out of. He was always worried about scratching it. And he no longer got the same euphoric feeling while driving it.

Martin was experiencing something called the hedonic effect. This is what happens when we finally get something we've had our eye on, enjoy it, but then after a period of time get used to it, or maybe even get bored with it. This is what keeps us on gerbil wheels of production, to set our eyes unceasingly on the next desired item.

And this didn't just happen with Martin's car, but with his house, with his relationships, with all of his possessions. The luster eventually burnished, and he discovered what that great theologian Yogi Berra once said, "No matter where you go, there you are."

This is why happiness researchers say that happiness is best thought of as a vacation spot, one that we can visit, but never stay permanently.

And that while money can certainly make us happy, it is not the most effective or reliable way to find contentment in this life.

This is where Jesus comes in.

-----

Welcome to fall, or as church leaders like to call it, Stewardship Season, the occasion of our annual beg-a -thon. And it's always interesting to me to see how our lectionary readings, the prescribed Bible readings we use on Sundays, always seem to talk about money at this time of year.

But in all fairness, it's not as much about subtle suggestions by the church hierarchy, as it is a reflection of just how much Jesus talked about money. Next to the kingdom of God, Jesus talked about money more than anything else. This subject is unavoidable in scriptures just as it is unavoidable in our lives.

Jesus talked about it so much because of the long-standing notion that is as pervasive as it is false, that money offers us lasting contentment - that money can buy us happiness.

And so we get this story about a young man in our Gospel today.

He seems somewhat dramatic as he approaches Jesus and hits his knees! And asks him what he must do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus rattles off six of the ten commandments and the young man says he is kept them all - as if he had never sinned in his entire life.

The text then tells us that Jesus looked at him a lovingly, like a mother looks at her young child with cookie crumbs all over his face, as he swears up and down that he did not go into that cookie jar.

Jesus then tells this allegedly sinless, holy, and perfect young man that if he wants to keep his streak going, all he needs to do is something that should come so easy for such a devout and godly person, and that is to sell everything he owns, give it to the poor, and follow him.

This is when the truth comes out.

This is when we begin to see the depth of illusion this young man had been entertaining, not only was he inept at seeing who he was, but equally clueless, was he, at figuring out what he wanted, what might make him happy.

So off he went, maybe to invest, or a party, or bask in his further delusions, not knowing that he had passed up an opportunity to be eternally fulfilled.

Because that's what Jesus was inviting him to do, to put money in its place, to do what money does, and then to put God in God's place, to do what God does, which is nothing less than fulfilling our very souls by allowing the best parts of us to come out, which is always giving, and helping, and playing our part in fixing the world. This is the path to contentment, fulfillment, peace, and harmony.

It’s a misunderstanding of how things really work - writer Seth Godin puts it this way: The conventional wisdom is that success makes you happy and happy people are more likely to be generous.

The truth is that generous people tend to be happy - and happy people tend to be successful.

The world gets it wrong: it’s our generosity, our self-giving, that predicates out happiness and successfulness - not the other way around.

--------

Earlier this week a whistleblower who used to work for the social media company Facebook testified in front of Congress that executives at her company, driven by greed, allowed incendiary content to go unchecked on its platform because, although that content was false, misleading, and fanned the flames of hatred that led to the January 6th Capitol Hill uprising, it kept more users engaged, and more eyeballs on advertisements - The whistleblower alleged that Facebook put profits before public safety, and that the company is more interested in making money than anything else.

These allegations surprised no one.

Our society's obsession with making, accumulating, and hoarding money is as well-known as it is dangerous, because unless we find a healthier way to live with money, our greed may be the death of us.

This is why Jesus was so concerned about money!

On a societal basis, and on an individual basis the elevation of money, of possessions, of riches is nothing less than idolatry, a violation of the very first commandment.

When we put anything above human relationships, it saps are potential, robs us of our dignity, and lessens our humanity.

Studies show that the richer people become, the worse they do on exercises that test their empathy, their sympathy, their care for other people. And that the richer we are, the less we give away to the poor, as a percentage of our wealth.

We know this about money, and we want to be free from this. Here's a quote from writer Daniel Pink: "For most of human history, our lives were defined by scarcity.

Today, the defining feature of social, economic, and cultural life, is abundance.

Abundance has brought beautiful things into our lives, but that bevy of material goods has not necessarily made us happier. The paradox of prosperity is that while living standards have risen steadily, decade after decade, personal, family, and life satisfaction, haven't budged.

That's why more people, liberated by prosperity but not fulfilled by it, are resolving the paradox by searching for meaning."

And that's why you and I are here. We know that money and possessions are fickle Gods - we've had enough of our stuff - of the very best of what the world can offer, and so we come to Jesus.

And Jesus is trying to do with us what he did with this rich young man - he’s trying to convince us to give our ‘all’ to follow Jesus - to stop lying to ourselves about who we are and what the world looks like, and to seek after the truth that is in our hearts, that love is the answer, that the way of love is our fulfillment, that the way of Jesus is the hope of the world.

What this means is seeking to live as Jesus lived, to make prayer, scripture, and community central to our lives.

It means being as disciplined about our spiritual lives as we are about our work lives, our hobbies, and our family responsibilities.

What does that look like for you and me?

As you may know, the only person Jesus invited who did not come, is this guy - the rich young man.

Money has that big a grip on us.

And so we fight back by reminding ourselves that while money can certainly make us happy, it is not the most effective or reliable way to find contentment in this life.

That the conventional wisdom, that success makes you happy and happy people are more likely to be generous - is wrong - And that it’s generous people who tend to be happy - and happy people who tend to be successful.

Lord God, renew in us spirits that are set upon following you - with our hearts, souls, minds,

and bodies. Help us see wealth and possessions as the poor substitutes for contentment that they are - and help us see our wealth and possessions as signposts that point to you - whose love and care for us never disappoints –

Amen.

A sword fight ensues - and the Black Knight gets his arm chopped off. 

‘Let us pass!’ demands the aggressor. 

’No’ says the Black Knight, ’Tis but a scratch. Fight on, or are you chicken?' 

The fighting continues until the Black Knight loses his other arm. 

‘We shall now pass!’ declares the aggressor. 

’No’ says the Black Knight, ’Tis only a flesh wound.’ 

‘But the fight is over!’ 

‘Oh, then you’ve had enough?' 

The fighting starts up again, then The Black Knight loses both legs - all the while contending that now armless and legless, his adversary is the coward because he has now walked away from the fight to continue his journey - as The Black Knight declares: ‘Come back here and I’ll bite your legs off!’  

Yes, this Monty Python scene may be just as gory, graphic, disturbing, and even comedic as the declarations from Jesus we hear in our Gospel this morning - about losing hands, cutting off feet, and plucking out eyes - 

But it may also be just as inspiring when we consider that what’s at play here is not comedy or gore - but the notion of focused determination to do one thing above all else. 

And for you and me - it’s focused determination to pursue the spiritual life above all else. 

This is one of Jesus’ recurring themes - words of sober encouragement to disciples of all time - to you and me about making our number one priority the health and growth of our spiritual lives. 

And when we look at this lesson, we get it. 

After all, Jesus continually tries to hammer it home not just here, but with parables like the lost coin and pearl of great price, that famous quote we all know - seek first the Kingdom of God, and then all these things will be given to you. 

But just because something’s simple doesn’t make it easy,  that in the great priorities of life, spouse, family, work, keeping safe from covid, physical fitness, travel, entertainment, care for our communities:  

Jesus is clear that the most important thing we are to continually have on our minds,  the most important thing to do,  our first priority,  is our spiritual walk,  that we should do all that we can to keep other things from interfering with that,  cutting off and plucking out even really important things that get in the way,  so that our never-ending work is to put God first in all that we do. 

What does that look like for you and me? 

What does that mean? 

How do we make that happen? 

Are we truly convinced that this is really a good thing? 

One thing is for sure, keeping focused on Christ and keeping the spiritual journey our top priority, takes real determination. 

And it's amazing what we can do when we set our minds to something. 

--------------- 

In the great state of Maine, there’s a company called Incredibles.  

Apparently there are people in Maine who like to smoke marijuana.  

However, while smoking pot was recently made legal, getting it delivered to your house is not. And there are a lot of people who smoke pot in Maine who like to get their weed delivered. 

The Incredibles is a company determined to find a way to do that.  

Here’s their unique business plan. 

Incredibles employs psychics. 

Since the company could not overtly deliver marijuana to you, it decided that a psychic detective agency could - because they would not be selling and delivering marijuana, oh no, no, but retrieving weed that their customers had lost - for a modest finders fee, of course.  

Their copy reads: ‘We have psychics roaming all over Portland, communicating with their deity, their spirit guides, and have religious moments of clarity! We can guarantee to find your lost weed and get it back to you ASAP!" 

So customers simply contact the company, tell them what kind of marijuana they “lost," tell them where they think they lost it, and the company sends out psychics to find the lost marijuana and then return it to its rightful owner - and don’t forget to tip your driver for the use of their exquisite, extra sensory gifts... 

Who thinks up these things? 

Determined people. 

Committed people. 

Single-minded people. 

The suggestion here is not that we turn our church into a marijuana dispensary, but that we should be just as creative, imaginative, and determined about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

It makes you and me wonder: 

If God's holy people were as determined to get the Gospel out, as pot purveyors in Portland to pedal their product, what might the church look like? 

What if we were truly able to make our great priority the cultivation of our spiritual lives -  to make it our first priority,  that we would do all that we can to keep other things from interfering with that,  cutting off and plucking out even really important things that get in the way,  so that our never-ending work is to put God first in all that we do? 

I think we need to consider the ways we’re already doing that. 

----- 

One more story, this one about 19th century rubber plantations in the Congo. 

In 1884, Leopold the Second, King of Belgium decided to do something somewhat altruistic, and took over land in the Congo to colonize it and establish a mission for, among other things, the economic and spiritual benefit of the natives. 

However, soon he found his plan failing. 

He was going broke. 

But this coincided with the time that rubber was coming into high, worldwide demand. And the Congo was the most resource-rich area for rubber in the world. 

So Leopold recalibrated the mission, and turned the affair, which involved a million square miles, and millions of native Africans, and decided that this project would get very serious about producing rubber - so serious, that the Belgians turned the native villagers, whom they had first sworn to help, into slaves. 

The atrocities that followed included well-documented incidents of rape, pillage, and punishment, as heinous as anything we heard in the story of the Black Knight.  

Millions of people died. 

And those who lived had no better standard of living than when it had all begun. 

What finally put an end to the carnage? 

There was no small amount of help from missionaries.  

Christians stood up for justice and told stories. 

They took pictures, published books, and let the world know about the injustice that was commonplace in the Congo. 

They did not sit idly by as pain and suffering tore through the land, but they let their commitment to the spiritual life - to following the example of Jesus - lead them. 

Finally in the early 1900’s the campaign to halt Belgium's domination in the Congo ended - - but the witness of justice-seeking Christians has not. 

The witness of good people like you and me, who are doing our best to lead dedicated, spiritual lives has not stopped. 

No, the reason I'm ending with this story is to remind us that we not only know about the difficult road of discipleship, but we take it.  

Each one of us here have made sacrifices to follow Christ. 

We have made choices in how we spend our money, cast our ballots, choose our vocations, and raise our families based on the teachings of Jesus. 

To a large degree, we are already in-sync with what Jesus calls us to do when he calls us to these places of deeper discipleship.

And we are also not alone in wanting to go deeper. 

You and I know that Jesus is clear that the most important thing we are to continually have on our minds,  the most important thing to do,  our first priority,  is our spiritual walk,  that we should do all that we can to keep other things from interfering with that,  cutting off and plucking out even really important things that get in the way,  so that our never-ending work is to put God first in all that we do. 

Thanks be to God for what we have done, what we are doing, and what we can do in Christ - may we rejoice in the way God uses us - and prepare with all soberness and seriousness, for the ways God plans to use us from here. 

Amen. 

The lessons of how to measure our greatness came to me at different stages and in varying context throughout my life. But it wasn’t until I entered the business world as a marketing and sales professional, that I became most conflicted with these teachings of Jesus. I have spent a lot of time volunteering in various ways throughout my life, doing my best to put the needs of others before mine. And as I entered the business world, I maintained many of my volunteer positions. However, once I arrived at the office, I gave little thought to Jesus’ teaching that in order to be first we must be last. From 9 to 5 it was all about being first. As a sales and marketing professional, I was measured by numbers and quotas, and being last on a “ranking report” such as this, meant failure and possible termination. I learned early on in my career that nowhere in being last could I possibly be first, and maintain my employment. What did matter was the number of clients I brought in, the size of the accounts, and what I had in the pipeline. The bigger the clients, the higher my ranking. The more prospects in the pipeline, the securer my position. This is how my greatness was measured through the eyes of corporate America.

My thinking became very self-seeking I told myself the reason I wanted to be on top was because I wanted to help support my family, and be a good provider, and of course, this was true, to a certain extent. But at the end of the day when I looked myself in the mirror there was no hiding from the deeper truth. And that deeper truth was that I had begun to care more about where I came in on the ranking report and how my standing looked to the rest of my company,

then just about anything else. I had earned a reputation as a top performer. I was proud of this, and I wanted to keep it, but at what cost?

My wakeup call to realizing the cost of maintaining my high standing in the company came fast and hard the morning of my sister Sharon’s funeral. As I was preparing myself for what promised, to be a very challenging day, on every level imaginable, I received a call from a co-worker who I will refer to as Brenda. Brenda was aware that my sister’s funeral was that morning, so I answered the phone thinking that she was calling to offer her support, but this was not the case. Brenda was seeking information about a new client I had brought in and that she was helping to service.

As Brenda began talking, not mentioning my sister’s funeral even once, my first thought was that she must have forgotten about it. I gently reminded Brenda about Sharon’s funeral, and then told her that I had sent the information she was seeking the day before. It is in the following response from Brenda that my wakeup call was delivered with a tone and sharpness that was void of any kindness or caring; Brenda’s response to me was “Donna, we all have problems, and I need that information.” As Brenda’s words hit me, I was stunned into silence, a feat that up to this point, few had been able to accomplish. I had no reply to the callousness of this response and to this very day, Brenda’s words weigh heavy on my heart for it was in this moment I realized who I was working for, how I was measuring my greatness, and God was nowhere to be found in that realization. It was in this moment that I realized how far I wondered from the teachings of Christ. There is nothing wrong with being successful in all we do, in fact, we should always strive to do our best, but it becomes a problem if our personal success becomes more important than other people.

I realized that I had become part of a culture that helped make the phone call from Brenda acceptable, long before the day of my sister’s funeral. Through my actions and my continual quest to be on top, I fed my colleagues drive for more, and they fed mine. I not only condoned Brenda’s poorly timed phone call, I condoned the self-seeking frame of mind that led to it by the way I had chosen to measure my greatness. I had become a co-signer of this behavior through my quest to be first. Nowhere in this perpetual pursuit of my own greatness did Jesus’ message of “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” come into play. I was measuring my greatness based solely on my individual success. I had forgotten that regardless of where my company ranking fell, I was still a perfect and beloved child of God, and as this beloved child, I was called to live into the way God measures greatness, regardless of what context I am in. In the thick silence that had been created through my conversation with Brenda, I wondered how I let myself get so lost - And when or if I would ever find my way back?

To answer this question, I seek an answer to my earlier question of “How do we learn to be last when we are taught from the beginning to constantly strive for more and that to be first really is best of all?” The answer to this question may be different for everyone but, even in those differences we can find commonality.

One way we all can live into this calling of being last to be first is by first strengthening our relationship with God through intentional communication and prayer, and then, by listening ever so carefully for how the Holy Spirit is answering our prayers and moving in our lives. Another way we all can move forward in caring for others, is by first caring for ourselves. I know you all have probably heard this 100 times in the past month alone, if you heard it once, but it is so true. How can we possibly care for each other when we are so tired from the grind of our daily lives? We must take time to rest, reflect, ponder…

Yet another way to put the needs of others first is to enter each new day as the students of life that we all are. Seek to learn something new about a co-worker or a neighbor or a fellow parishioner, or a different culture or place whatever interest you, but let us challenge ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones and seek the beauty in the differences around us. And then, taking it one step further, by radically welcoming these differences into our lives.

One more way we can seek to live into Jesus’ teaching of how to be the greatest,

is to seek God in everything: all people, all situations, all our comings and goings.

And this may be the hardest one of all, given the profound and deep divide of our country and the depth of the racial and social injustices faced by our siblings of color since the inception of this country to this very day. But I promise you, God is there, in every single situation, in all our joys, in all our sorrows, in the most triumphant and the most adverse of situations, God is there.

So, I invite us all, to radically live into our belovedness. And as God’s beloved children, measure our greatness first through the eyes of God, instead of measuring ourselves through the eyes of a society that teaches to do the exact opposite.

And Jesus called the twelve close and said to them,

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Amen