Broken

One of our Christmas presents the first year after we got married was a 20 piece place setting of some Christmas china. The idea was that every year we would be able to add some pieces to the china.

But, the next year the company discontinued the pattern.

A couple of years ago, I discovered that some of the pieces were available on ebay. But I never was brave enough actually to bid on anything.

This year I did.

Today the pieces came. This is how they looked.

It seems that some other things may be broken this Christmas, too. But, I'm working on them.

Sunday Sermon

Advent 4: "The Third Miracle"

"The Lord is with you." That’s what the angel Gabriel told the young woman – Mary – so long ago. "The Lord is with you." To our ears, there might seem nothing exceptional about this greeting. After all, we say something similar to one another every week here at worship. "The Lord be with you/And also with you." That’s the way we greet one another near the opening of our worship services. These are deceptively simple words, words that we say to one another each week, so that perhaps we don’t think much about what they mean. And yet to Mary, hearing "The Lord is with you" from the angel Gabriel, these words are nothing short of a miracle, and they cause her to wonder – just what sort of a greeting this might be.

"The Lord is with you," the angel’s words to Mary – just what sort of greeting is this and what exactly does it mean? To Mary’s ears, this greeting is nothing short of a miracle, something beyond her imagining – and she doesn’t even realize the full implications of what it might mean– and neither do we. To understand a little more the meaning of this phrase, we need only to turn to our first lesson today, the reading from 2nd Samuel. The King is talking to the prophet Nathan about his plans. He is musing about the fact that here he is, living in a fine house, a palace even, and the Lord is living in a tent. That’s what the tabernacle was, really, it was a kind of a tent for the ark of the covenant. And David says to the prophet, I think that I will build a house – a temple – a permanent building – for the Lord. Nathan replies to the king with these words, "The Lord is with you." What he means is: go ahead and build that palace. God will bless this project. God will be with you in this. So what he says is, "The Lord is with you."That’s what the greeting really means. It means: you are blessed, and your work is blessed; God’s will is going to be done through you. "The Lord is with you."

The two things the angel says, "Favored one!" and "The Lord is with you" really mean the same thing – and they are nothing short of a miracle. "The Lord’s will is going to be done through Mary – a young girl, only 12 or 13 years old. That’s even more incredible than Nathan’s word to David, because David was a king and was used to thinking that God worked through his actions. But Mary was a humble and ordinary person, like you and me, and the angel told her, "The Lord is with you." And that’s nothing short of a miracle.But this is the season for miracles, isn’t it?
This is the season for miracles, both sacred and secular. The sacred stories we hear in this season are full of miracles – but in this season we have become used to throwing the word "miracle" around a lot, so that it seems that things as natural as snow on the tree branches andas fantastic as Rudolph’s red nose are all called "miracles." It is the season of miracles, and some of them bring tears to our eyes, and cause lumps in our throats. But maybe that’s because, if we will admit it to ourselves, we need a miracle or two – especially right now — at this season and in this time. We could use a miracle or two right now, when we hear about and see the many kinds of cruelty there are in the world. We could use a miracle or two when we are still reeling from death and terror in India, when we continue to be involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We could use a miracle or two right now, when so many are losing their jobs, and when men like Tom Petters and Bernard Madoff are accused of cheating and using many people who trusted them. The truth is, we could use a miracle or two right now.... if our family is torn and in need of reconciliation, if we are grieving, if we are not sure how to make ends meet, if we are hungry for something we cannot even name. The truth is, we could use a miracle or two right now, maybe even three, and that’s why some of the many stories of the season touch our hearts.

Today’s gospel story is full of miracles, as Martin Luther noted in a sermon he preached long ago, on the Annunciation. I love the way Luther talks about Mary. Here are some of the things he writes: "Quite possibly God might have gone to Jerusalem and picked out Caiaphas’ daughter, who was fair, rich, clad in gold-embroidered raiment, and attended by a retinue of maids in waiting. But God preferred a lowly maid from a mean town. Quite possibly Mary was doing the housework when the Angel Gabriel came to her. Angels prefer to come to people as they are fulfilling their calling..." Later on Luther writes: "To this poor maiden marvelous things were announced: that she should be the mother of the All Highest, whose name should be son of God. He would be a King and of his Kingdom there would be no end. It took a mighty reach of faith to believe that this baby would play such a role." And he goes on later to tell us, "St. Bernard declared there are here three miracles: that God and man should be joined in this Child; that a mother should remain a virgin; that Mary should have such faith as to believe that this mystery would be accomplished in her."– The last is not the least of the three.

I agree with Luther. The third miracle is not the least. It is, in fact, the greatest miracle. It is the miracle of faith, of trust – the miracle of Mary’s faith – and ours. As Luther writes, "This is for us the hardest point, not so much to believe that He is the son of the Virgin and God himself, as to believe that this Son of God is ours.""The Lord is with you." – "God’s will is to be accomplished through you." And Mary believes – she trusts that God is going to accomplish God’s will through Mary – just as God accomplished God’s will through King David, so long ago. But not in the way that David thought. David thought that he would be doing God’s will by building a temple, a great and permanent house for God. But it turns out that God had bigger plans. God had plans to dwell in the midst of God’s people – not in a temple or a palace, but in a person – and in people. God had plans to dwell in the midst of God’s people, to be held in a mother’s loving arms, to be fed and clothed and loved – and to hold and feed and heal us, too. God had plans to dwell in the midst of God’s people, to feed and to clothe and to heal and to love the world through Jesus – and through us.

Author Katherine Paterson tells the story of a night watchman working in a warehouse on Christmas eve. He’s also a father with three young children, and he’s almost happy to be working on Christmas eve because he has nothing to bring home. He feels like a failure.
He lost his job, and this was the best one he could find. He sits in the empty warehouse on a cold night, and thinking about his life, and dreads going home. He doesn’t think it will be a merry Christmas at all. The quiet is interrupted by suspicious noises. It’s his job to investigate suspicious noises, but when he goes to check them out, he finds nothing – nothing but a box – a box that wasn’t there before. However, inside the box is a note – and a baby. The note reads, "please take care of my baby. You are my last chance." He doesn’t know what to do.
He doesn’t feel like he can take care of the family he has, and now – this little one has been dropped in his lap. He is nervous to take the baby home with him, knowing what a burden it will be, but he doesn’t know what else to do. So, at the end of his shift, and with nothing else to offer, he heads toward home.His girls greet the baby with joy – the greatest gift they could have asked for. There is some confusion about where the baby came from – but even his wife begins to hope that they can take this child in – that somehow it is a sign that someone has faith in them.
Maybe, the watchman wonders, he is not such a failure after all. Maybe, instead, "the Lord is with him," and has asked him to do this important work, to raise this child. Maybe he can even do it.

"The Lord is with you." Like Mary, we participate in God’s great plan of salvation when we believe, when we trust that God is working in our lives. We participate in God’s great plan of salvation when we take bold risks to heal and restore one another. We participate in God’s plan of salvation when we pick up the burden and blessing of Christ, when we believe what he has told us – and when we tell one another –"The Lord is with you."

I’d like you to turn to the person next to you right now, and say these words to him or her. Look at them and say, "The Lord is with you." The Lord is accomplishing his will through your life. (Give them time to say it.) The third miracle is indeed the greatest one – to trust God’s love for us, to trust God’s call to us.
Here we are, servants of the Lord.
Let it be with us according to God’s word. AMEN

Luther quotes from The Martin Luther Christmas Book, ed Roland Bainton

story from A Midnight Clear, by Katherine Paterson

Merry Christmas from Bailey the Unknown Reindeer

I hope that Bailey's love for life and enthusiasm inspires you tonight.

Friday Five: Countdown to Christmas Edition

I'm hyperventilating because of Songbird's Friday Five, which puts me in a confessional mood (I begin to meditate on all of the things I have "done, and all the things I have left undone.") Today Songbird reminds us that there are only five full days before Christmas Day, and whether you use them for shopping, wrapping, preaching, worshiping, singing or traveling or even wishing the whole darn thing were over last Tuesday, there's a good chance they will be busy ones.

So without further ado: here are five things I need to accomplish before Christmas Eve.

1. I need to write three sermons. (just like Mompriest!) Christmas eve at three can be short, but Christmas Day needs to be "full-size", and my current problem is that I am experiencing writer's block over our theme word for Sunday: "Participate." Fine word. But somehow, it doesn't seem exciting to me. Know what I'd like? "God, interrupted" --- or something like that.

2. I need to buy 2 presents still (I think only two?), and a birthday present for my neice, whose birthday is the 23rd of December. I pretty much still need to wrap everything.

3. I need to get the ingredients for the side dishes and desserts I am making for Christmas Day (my mom is bringing the turkey this year, God bless her.)

4. I need to figure out what "low key" thing we are going to do between the services on Christmas eve. Any suggestions?

5. I need to finish decorating the tree and cleaning the house, as much as possible, anyway.

Which brings me to my very own bonus story: Imagine the scene. It is Christmas Eve. The tree lights are on, the food is cooking, the family is all gathering in the living room. It's beautful and peaceful until I realize that it is 6:00 and the stores are all closed and I HAVEN'T BOUGHT MY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. There's nothing I can do! It's too late!

Then I wake up. --

Merry Christmas! Ready or not, He comes.

Family Service, Christmas Eve

When I first came to this church over ten years ago, our 5:00 Christmas eve service was the most crowded of all of our Christmas services.

This was the worship service where all of the children's choirs sang.

Those first few years we had over 500 people at that service. It was packed.

But then the children's choir director found that she couldn't get very many of the children to sing on Christmas eve. A significant number of them were spending Christmas eve out of town. So we had to figure out what else to do to make the early service special and different than the late, candlelight service.

I came up with the idea of making the early service into a "Family Service," with music, readings and and worship assistants provided by families. The first couple of years we had a "Family Choir", with parents and children of all ages. This year a few children will offer different prelude music. (Aside: at my first church, on the "children's Christmas program Sunday", every child who was taking music lessons of any kind was given the opportunity to play for part of the prelude. It was a mini-recital all skill levels and ages represented.) Also, the senior pastor offered the old tradition of "The Strawing of the Manger." The youngest children are invited up to prepare the manger for the Christ child. We also have a young family dress up as the Holy Family and be a part of the processional.

My favorite part of the service, though, is when six elementary school children read six verses from the prophets about the coming of the messiah. I love this part, but it is very stressful trying to find enough children who are good readers, want to do it, and will come to the service. It is harder than one might think. And of course, at the same time, I am really trying to see all of my shut ins and write a lot of sermons (this year I'm preaching this Sunday, Christmas eve and Christmas Day).

But here's why I do it:

Long ago, at the 4:00 Christmas eve service in my home church, I got the chance to read when the Pastor's daughter got sick at the last minute.

It was my big chance. I had never felt important in the church before. No one had asked me, a child, to do anything.

I got to read part of the Christmas story.

So, I still want to give other children a chance to feel important, too.

Because they are.

Bitter

This morning we woke up to temperatures well below zero, and windchills that made it seem even colder. We aren't breaking any records like they are in northern Minnesota, but it's cold enough for the middle of December, thank you.

Yesterday it was well above freezing, and the snow was melting and slushy. I didn't need to button my coat or wear my earmuffs (thank goodness, since I had mislaid them) or even put on my mittens.

Today it is bitter. Which is to say, it is not good to have any area of skin exposed for more than a moment. The cold stings, bites, slaps our faces. Nostrils burn. Fingers and toes are numb. It's like an attack of some kind.

Bitter. It's a funny word, pinched and small. The word bitter doesn't just describe cold and wind like we are having right now. The word bitter can describe a taste as well as a touch. A wind can be bitter, or a medicine. Or a person.

What does it mean to say a person is bitter? That they leave a bad taste in your mouth? Or that their presence stings, bites, slaps our faces? I suspect the latter.

It's funny though. Sitting in here in my warm house, I can look at the snowy streets and trees, the branches glistening, the white blanket covering everything, and believe, in my heart, it's beautiful.

So beautiful, but still dangerous. Bitter.

Big and Small...

Sadly, I didn't get to the Friday Five today, although today's entry did get me thinking (always a dangerous thing, for me at least). Today's Friday Five was all about eyes, and seeing, and it got me thinking about what kind of vision church leaders need to have as they call disciples into God's future.

It seems to me that we need to be able to see both big -- and small.

Sometimes it seems to me that the problem is the church is that we don't dream big enough. We are content with small dreams of a few more children in Sunday School; a few new members every year, a new program implemented every other year or so. But God's hope for us is big: God's hope is that we become more welcoming, more inclusive, that we reflect more and more what God's kingdom really looks like. God sees every person in our community as precious and beautiful and beloved. God sees us respecting each other and forgiving each other and helping each other to live a good life. I want our congregation to reflect that dream.

But sometimes it seems to me that the problem with the church is that we don't see small enough. Sometimes we get discouraged about where we are right now -- some of us don't pray enough, and others of us don't seem to have time to be involved in issues of justice in the community, and few of us have the time to be involved in a formal Bible study. But that's because we don't see the small signs of faith, and the small signs of faithfulness, the small signs of God's movement in the congregation.

They don't see the young woman who is joining the youth mission trip for the first time this year. They don't hear the stories of young families who want to live here because they want their children to live and learn in a diverse, multi-ethnic community. They don't talk to the woman who has cultivated relationships with members of the hispanic congregation that worships here.

There are times I wonder if the church will go on. There are times that I think if it does, it will be totally because of God's grace and love and forgiveness, not because of any special virtuosity of ours. I think of many ways the church is "blowing it" -- we have our fingers in our ears, and we are closing our eyes to the pain of the world, and we are not answering the questions of the world.

There are times I wonder if the church will go on. Will young people in the next generation think that it is important to come to a church, and to sing songs and liturgy and pray together with other people, and see this vision and work for this vision of a holy kingdom of love? It seems so old-fashioned.

But then I see a few pictures in my mind: I see a picture of two young girls, sitting together in the first pew of Small Church, South Dakota. They have the worship book open in front of them, and they are singing at the top of their lungs. I also see a picture of a young couple whose wedding I conducted a few years ago. She was from a church background, but he wasn't. They moved away for graduate school a few years ago. I finally caught up with them and discovered that they now have two small children, and are active members of a city congregation. I also see pictures of the people from India who have started attending our congregation, reminding us of all the places that God is working.

Sometimes I think that the problem with the church is that we don't see big enough. And sometimes I think that the problem is that we don't see small enough -- to see that in the midst of our dreaming, or our lack of dreaming, God is at work in us and among us, to bring peace and grace and love -- finally and forever -- to earth.