“Making Good Better”
Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes
Worship Service video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1095885528954362/
I Am with You
I Am with You—Isaiah 43: 1-7; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
For three and a half years, I served as a Lutheran organist while in college. Between my inexperience and the ticky, aging organ, that congregation put up with a lot in those three years. I called their vintage organ “Old Unfaithful.” One Sunday during two baptisms, it failed in the grandest of ways. [SLIDE 2] For the baptism, I was supposed to use the chimes on the organ when the pastor said “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Miraculously, the chimes worked. But then the problem came. The mechanism glitched, and the chimes wouldn’t stop. So through the remainder of the baptism, “chime, chime, chime, chime,…” while I frantically pushed every button on the thing finally settling on the off switch. It sounded like an alarm in the morning that never turns off. The pastor invited me to a meeting that next week, and I expected it to be a me getting fired like Jesus torching the chaff, but instead, he asked, “So, let’s talk about buying a new organ for this church.”
Most of us, I’m sure, have to reach back into our archives of memory to remember our baptisms. Theologically, we are told that it is the time when we publicly acknowledge our decision to have faith and follow Jesus. Growing up, it was always the same. The minister said, “In obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Then we were plunged rather quickly under and up in the giant green hot tub that was our baptistry.
[SLIDE 3] That pattern follows from the story of Jesus’s baptism. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story in varying levels of detail. John’s gospel references it, but it doesn’t fully record it. The story is almost identical. Jesus is baptized by John then the Holy Spirit descends on him, and a voice from the heavens says, “This is my beloved son, in whom I’m well-pleased,” or who brings great joy, as Luke says.
Thus baptism, has for centuries been this outward sign of our faith and commitment to follow Jesus. But that emphasis is also a bit too strong in the context of this story. There’s also the part of the Holy Spirit descending. It is a promise from God to be with us…as the Spirit descends, it is as if God is saying, “I am with you too, my child.” It’s a promise of support and help of walking with us each day in the difficulties life brings us.
We hear that same promise echoed in the words of Isaiah, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God.” Over 20 times in the Bible, God says to God’s people, “I am with you.” And the best part of that promise is that nothing changes it. No matter what happens in life, God is still with you, always.
[SLIDE 4] Luke’s telling of Jesus’s baptism is a bit more fiery than Matthew or Mark’s description. We get this whole statement where John the Baptist says, “He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” [SLIDE 5] For those who don’t know, a winnowing fork looks like a pitch fork and it’s used to toss the grain in the air to separate the seed (the wheat) from the husks (the chaff). Typically, chaff was burned because it was merely trash that offered nothing to the process and offered no nutritional value.
We tend to see this in terms of being very specific. The wheat goes to heaven and the chaff goes to hell. Look a little bit closer at the meaning though. That’s a bit too simplistic. If farmers don’t clean up the barn after each harvest, the wheat will become lost in the mounds of chaff left on the floor. They will become lost, mixed in, and rot away with the practically useless husks left behind on the floor.
If God says, “I am with you,” and that you are the beloved in whom God is also well pleased, who and what do we bring into that mix that act as chaff choking us out from fully loving and following Jesus? It’s easy to become lost in places and in the presence of people we don’t need to be around. It reminds me of an elderly pastor I was friends with. He said once, “I’ve baptized over 200 people in my ministry. I should have held a few under.”
Many places and people in our modern world look an awful lot like wheat, but they turn out to be chaff. We have to be careful of those who masquerade only to turn out to be nutritionally empty in our lives. [SLIDE 6] At Christmas a church in the US held a production that included a full band, live camels and donkeys, light show, fog machines, flying drummer angels, and Santa descending from the ceiling on a sleigh. I’m not going to call this chaff a la Luke’s gospel, but please tell me what the spiritually nutritious value of this is?
We have to be careful about the influences we allow in life which can cause us to be less faithful, less invested, and less like Jesus. A friend of mine was interviewing for a music job at a church in Florida years ago. She was asked how she handled working with a team and responding to authority. She told them that she worked well with others but was ultimately guided by the Spirit and answered to God in all things. One would think this is a good answer for a church, right? Well…the clearly irritated board chair said, “Absolutely not, this is our church, and you will obey and do what we say. When you are here and on our payroll, you are under our control.” My friend was neither offered the job nor would she ever have accepted it if she had been.
[SLIDE 7]When Jesus came to Jordan to be baptized, it wasn’t because Jesus needed to repent or atone or anything like that. It was his statement of his commitment to God. And it was God’s time to establish who Jesus was—to give him authority as the “beloved son” in whom God was well pleased. We, too, have made that same commitment, so how are we showing it? Whom do we bring into our lives to uplift us and remind of God’s goodness? How do we work creatively and enthusiastically to testify of God’s love and presence in our lives? How do we continue to be creatable, so that God is working in and through us to make a better world for those around us? Years ago, we used to have a challenge on the playground. As mouthy and sassy kids, we could say things that were not always the kindest. In response we would challenge, “If you sing it, bring it.”
Maybe the same is a bit true today. Too many people proclaim their faith and live like pharisees. Too many people use their claim to faith to hurt others and belittle them instead of lifting up and working towards redemption of those created by God. And frankly, too many people feel perfectly entitled to just be mean in our society. They need some prayer and medication or something.
In high church settings on this day, the church is told to remember your baptism. Then they are sprinkled again as the priest goes up the aisle. I am sure that the Lutheran Church in Danville, Kentucky, will never forget that baptism in 2006 when the organ started chiming like a bell choir run amok. But instead of coming down on me like a ton of bricks, Pastor Witten remembered the age of the instrument and the youthfulness of the person trying to manage it, and he offered grace instead of criticism. Remember that in our baptism we made a commitment to God that we would follow in the way of Jesus, and in return God has promised to be with us throughout our whole lives. May we be encouraged by those words to us, “This is my beloved, in whom I’m well pleased.”
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1817405968663929/
Boys Will Be Boys
Boys Will Be Boys—I Sam. 2: 18-20, 26; Luke 2: 41-52
Years ago, a friend of mine had a rather “rambunctious” boy. He had two speeds: sleep and full throttle, and if there was some kind of trouble to get into, he would be into it. He was resigned to time outs, ignored “talks” or lectures, and was utterly unfazed by a spanking. It was much like trying to corral and tame a full-blown hurricane every day. I will always remember one particular day, when he was two years old, they went outside to play for a bit. He was in his t-shirt, pants, and rain boots because it had rained that morning.
She lost sight of him in the yard for one minute and thirty seconds. When she turned around, he was two houses down the street, naked except for what was now a very soiled diaper, flopping in a large mud puddle, covered head to toe in a concoction of toddler poo and thick mud. His mom after staring blankly and in shock, said, “Lord, help me…boys will be boys, and that boy will make this mother will be prematurely gray.” Our scriptures today give us two stories of young boys and the lessons we can learn from them for our new year. Here is the takeaway: dedication, seeking, and trusting.
First, in Samuel’s life, we see dedication. Samuel was a prophet of God whose faith and walk with God was strong. Hannah, his mother, struggled to have children, and when she finally did, she dedicated that child to God. He spent his life living with the priest, Eli, and learned how to be a servant of the Lord. Hannah was dedicated to God. When she had her son, she didn’t keep him. He lived with Eli learning to be a priest and prophet of God. She visited, but she didn’t keep him. Samuel, however, appears to have great faith and dedication. The scripture says that even though he was just a boy he served the Lord and grew in favor with the Lord.
Human nature tells us to hold on to things. It would be easy and understandable for
Hannah to want to keep her son. She had dedicated him to God, but it’s hard for us as humans to let go. Some of the greatest struggles come from “I can handle it,” or “I don’t need help,” or playing a game of secrets. Being dedicated to God means turning over all aspects of life to God. We hear people say that they’ve dedicated their lives to something…often causes to help humanity, build communities, or alleviate some suffering. But sacrifice, or letting go, is a necessary part of dedication.
We cannot dedicate our lives to something without letting go of other aspects of life—be it the fun we want, other career pursuits, or other talents that interest us. For example, if you want to be a teacher, you may have to sacrifice or let go of that side gig of being a traveling musician. You are dedicating yourself to the classroom. I’m sure Hannah wanted her son at home. But she dedicated him to God, and that meant he stayed at God’s house. She let go of him, so that God could work something mighty through him. A new year brings new opportunities to re-dedicate our lives to God and God’s calling for us in ministry and mission.
Next, we see seeking. When Mary and Joseph could not find Jesus in the group of travelers, they began to seek him. It took three days to find Jesus, and he was in the temple. The gospel tells us his knowledge, wisdom, and understanding amazed all who were in the temple. His frantic mother asks him, “Why have you done this to us?” And Jesus’s reply is that they should have expected him to be in his Father’s house. This is probably Jesus’s most “boys will be boys” moment. We don’t hear a lot about his youth, but this little story tells us what a smart and strong child he was. And even though he went missing for three days, what can Mary and Joseph say? He wandered off to basically be in church.
Now, we hear the same line at the end of the Hebrew scripture and gospel: they both grew
taller, wiser, and in favor with God. It’s almost an identical phrasing. It doesn’t mean Jesus was lacking in anything. It’s a reference to seeking to grow in this life. It’s a bit of a lesson for us. Sometimes in our walk and our faith we become plateaued or complacent. We dedicated ourselves to God, but consistency gets hard when life also gets hard. It reminds me of the story of the pastor who visited the home of some parishioners. After he left, the couple came to believe he stole their silver spoon. A year later, the man finally gets the courage to ask the pastor about it. The pastor replies, “No, I didn’t steal it. I slid it into the middle of your Bible.”
Living a life of faith demands that we, too, continue to seek growth in wisdom, knowledge, and favor with God. That wording tells us how Samuel became the trusted prophet, and it’s given to us as an example in Jesus. The seeking Christian will never be a stagnant Christian. No matter how dedicated we are, each new year brings a new opportunity to seek God more. Like my friend with the rambunctious child, there’s always something that will draw our focus from God. Jesus’s own mother missed him in the crowd and had to search for three days. But we can intentionally make time for seeking wisdom, growth, and favor with God.
Lastly, we must be trusting. Dedication and seeking both depend on us being willing to trust what God is doing in our lives. We are told for the second or third time in the gospels that Mary stored these things and pondered them in her heart. I imagine this journey never got easier for Mary. She started with a vision from an angel. Then she had to raise the son of God. How does one even do that? How do you send Jesus to time out? We are told that Jesus was obedient to his parents, but every boy can be a bit rambunctious such as we see in this gospel story.
And yet every step of the way, Mary trusted in God. Trust is absolutely foundational to our faith. We cannot dedicate ourselves to God’s calling unless we trust where God is leading us.
We cannot seek to grow more unless we trust God to respond to our prayers. Trust is so hard for us though. Life, trauma, and the human experience trains us to be wary, untrusting, and cautious. God’s way, though, allows us to be fully reliant, hopeful, and assured that God’s love goes with us, and God’s strength will never leave us.
A friend of mine, who is now deceased, talked about her incredibly rough growing up in the foster system years ago without a consistent family or home life. Trust, for her, was a dangerous endeavor because the system and adults in her life were never trustworthy and often were disappointing or worse. But there was one place she always felt safe and secure—at church. She went every time the doors were open because she felt the presence of God always there despite the lack of stability in the people around her and life she lived. And that was how she learned to trust, because God never failed in God’s promises and presence with her.
A new year always presents new opportunities. My friend with her rambunctious child prayed and hoped every year that her wild child would one day be reigned in. About the age of 6 or 7, that finally happened. He’s a great kid, obedient, well-mannered, and mostly behaved, though he still loves to play in the mud. In the midst of uncertainty of life, God’s presence never changes. We can dedicate ourselves to God’s calling, seek God in new and challenging ways to grow our faith, and trust that God is always with us. May this year draw us all closer to the One who created us, redeems us, and sustains us.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1142490620614205/
Shining in the Darkness
Shining in the Darkness—Isaiah 60: 1-6; Matthew 2: 1-12
A few weeks ago, I was driving to a work conference in North Georgia, around Young Harris. If you have never travelled there, you take I-575 to the very end of the interstate where it becomes a regular 4 lane road. Then you drive through the mountains almost into North Carolina. Out of nowhere, 20 minutes from my destination, a deer leapt out of the woods and barreled straight into my work car, which was going about 65 miles per hour. It was an ugly sight. I remember that after I called 9-1-1, I called my training director to come get me. Her first question was, “Where are you?” I looked around and replied, “I don’t know.” She prompted, “Well, what do you see.” And in that moment I wailed out, “Trees and darkness.” I have never been so thankful for the light of a police car and tow truck as I was 10 minutes later when they showed up. Who knows what else was going to come frolicking out of those woods at me!
Despite the number of night owls we may have in this church, there’s still a comfort when the bright sun shines through on us. We know it brings warmth, and we know it helps us see where we are going. I may be a bit of a night owl too, but I can tell you I hate stumbling around in the dark in my apartment. That’s how we take out a little toe or a shin on something we don’t see. Just as the light is important for us literally, the light of Christ is important in our lives as people of faith. We focus in on two important things here in the story for today: the Magi were led by the light, and they dared to take the journey.
There is a long history in the Bible of the importance of God’s light to the people. In the beginning God split the light and the darkness and decreed that the light would rule over our waking hours and the darkness over our sleeping hours. In several instances, God’s brilliant light blinded the enemies so that Israel would not be conquered. In the wilderness, as the Israelites marched to the Promised Land, God led them by a pillar of fire, or light in the dark of night. In the New Testament, we see the light of the star leading the Magi from the very beginning of the story. We also see that God came to the Apostle Paul and used a blinding light to reach his soul and change him from a persecutor to a prophet.
We also hear about this guiding light in the hymn “O Holy Night” which says, “Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, so led by light of a start sweetly gleaming… here came the Wise Men from Orient land.” Now, this light could be Jupiter and Saturn aligning. It could be something non-miraculous and easily explained by science; however, the Gospel tells us that it was a miraculous light, or star of God, that led them. This is how God moves and works in and through us, using that heavenly and miraculous light of Christ to lead us.
We must step into this light and follow God’s guiding. Yet in John 3:19, we are told that “people loved darkness more than the light because their [deeds] were evil.” God has called us to come out of that comfortable place of “do what I want”—the place that leads us away from God’s light, love, and grace. Sometimes we encounter the very ones who miss the light coming from sitting weekly on the pew of their church…or watch in their pajamas at home. You cannot follow God’s light and have a heart with prejudice and hate. You cannot follow God’s light and be filled with bitterness and resentment. You cannot follow God’s light and follow your own selfish desires too. You cannot follow God if there is anything else there in between you and God presently in your life. It’s either God or a great cluttering of things in your life.
One of the things that concerns me most as of late is how many people engage in politics as the be all and end all of life. A friend of mine who pastors a small church in the Tennessee mountains, said this, “If you want to find peace and be happy, turn off the 24 hour news and go sit outside for a while. Even if it’s cold, even if it’s hot, go sit outside and just listen to nature’s hum and rhythm. It will sooth your soul to listen to the music of God’s creation over the noise of human’s worst fears.” We look for light and hope in the process of finding a leader, but that’s not going to work. The people of Israel wanted a king, and they ended up with a royal curse instead of a wise king.
If you want to find the light of God here on earth, then look inside yourself. When you heal, when you join hands together to pray, when you feed the hungry, visit the sick, and love your neighbor, the light of Christ is shining strong. 2025 brings an incredible opportunity to lay aside all the negativity we’ve been building up for a few years, and home in on shining our light of Christ’s love and grace in this world. Wouldn’t that be a powerful commitment, to tune out the negative voices and noise of life and focus on God’s love for the entire year?
We must return to being led by the light of Christ, not by our reaction to news media, not by our reaction to the political climate, not by our reaction to what we don’t like. The Wise Men journeyed and hastened hundreds of miles to Christ through tough terrain and bitter weather. They ignored Herod and his desires to do what was evil stemming from his bloodthirsty lust for power. They journeyed with a message found in gifts. We, too, must journey with a gift—the gift of this Good News of a Savior.
The truth of the matter is that church and faith are not found on a news program, a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories on YouTube and Facebook, inviting in foolishness over common sense and good morals. Church and faith are found in people who call one another to check in, to pray, to share love and hope. Church and faith are found in people who step into the breach where there is suffering to heal, help, and restore. Don’t forget, Christ spent most of his ministry here healing and helping those in need and teaching those hungry for a word of hope. Church and faith are found in people all across their homes sharing bread and cup together and being united in Christ’s table wherever that table may be found for God can come to our worship where we are just as God comes here.
The church and faith are found where we take and shine the light of Christ in the world, for that too, is a gift given to us to share with the world. There’s an old hymn from the seaside hymn writers called “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.” It’s a bit older and somewhat obscure these days, but there’s a point to it. The story comes from the 1800s and inspired Philip Bliss to write the hymn.
Rev. Dwight L. Moody was preaching once and told a story about a ship on Lake Eerie near Cleveland, Ohio. It was dark that night and the waves were crashing hard from a storm. As the ship was battered back and forth, the Captain and Pilot were speaking. They both saw this one, lone light from a lighthouse on the shore and no other lights around it. The Captain was perplexed and asked if they were at Cleveland. The Pilot responded he was sure of it. The struggle was that all they could see was the light at the top of the lighthouse. There were supposed to be lower lights along the shore lighting up where the rocks and hazards were, and to steer the ship away from danger and toward the big light from the lighthouse. Those lower lights had gone out.
The Pilot and Captain were sure they could manage the ship without the lower lights, but they miscalculated. The ship was hurled into the dark rocks because none of the lower lights were burning, and the journey ended in a fatality. Rev. Moody concluded with this, “Beloved the Master will take care of the great Lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning.” God’s light, high in the heavens is still shining brightly as ever, but what about our lower lights here along the shore on Earth? Have we let the lights burn out, or are we still shining brightly with love and grace for those whose lives are perilously close to the dangers of crashing on the rocks that threaten life, limb, and soul?
Here is what the hymn says, “Let the lower lights be burning, send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue; you may save.” Who in our lives needs us to shine that light of Christ’s love and grace to give them a safe space? Who in our lives needs that strength we may be able to find living in the light of hope instead of the darkness of negative influences? As we journey into Epiphany, remember that we are called not always called to be the Magi journeying to the Christ-child. Sometimes we are called to be the starlight which guides others to that blessed hope for humanity.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/581635191252058/
Merry Christmas
Merry Chirstmas message
video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/903418101563772/
And So This Is Christmas
And So This Is Christmas—Luke 2: 1-20
On December 1, 1971, John Lennon released the Christmas song, “Happy Christmas, War Is Over” also known as “And So This Is Christmas.” The title was a bit of a misnomer, though, as the Vietnam War would not end for 3 more years. The lyrics are simple and repetitive with a catchy tune. It asks the question, “So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun.” That is followed later with the lyrics, “A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear.” This song was at the forefront of a handful of songs in the early 1970s calling for peace and an end to the seeming never-ending wars and cold war abroad. It received little acclaim in the United States when it was released, but now you can hear it 4 billion times a day on the Christmas radio stations during the Christmas season.
John Lennon wrote this as an anthem against the war-weary and struggle-weary life of the day. It prevailed upon people to desire and work for a life of peace and community instead of the divisiveness of the counter cultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s. As I heard the song for the 4th time at the mall last weekend, I thought of how it has diluted from edgy protest song to classic Christmas tune. It reminds me of how we have also made such a gentle and pastoral scene out of a truly difficult and struggle-heavy story. The story of Christ’s birth is much more of a struggle than a gentle lullaby.
A tough truth is that often life is about engaging in and overcoming the battles we face. This was no different in Jesus’s day. Rome was an oppressive force that controlled the region with soldiers, taxes, fear, and brutality. And the lower in the class system you were, the worse things became. And if Rome didn’t get you, the locals would. Regional governors or kings and the theocracy of the religious leaders was just as hard on the people as Rome’s empire. Battles and struggles were common and often filled with brutality and harsh retribution. It was for this very reason that crucifixion was so widely used.
But the battles and struggles of life were more specific to the folks in the Christmas story as well. Shepherds were on the lowest margins of society. They were almost always uneducated and considered unskilled. Socially they were on the same rung, and I quote “as tax collectors and dung sweepers.” The angels appearing to the shepherds in the field was a two-fold shock. First, it had been a long time since God had spoken so directly to humanity and seeing angels in the heavens was beyond startling. But also, that the angels appeared to shepherds, of all people, was equally as jarring to the readers.
Mary would have faced significant struggles as well. Based on the customs of the day, she would have been somewhere between 12 and 16 years old. Girls were often betrothed around the age of 12 to 13 and married a few months to a couple of years after. She and Joseph were from a small, rural town often considered to be a “hick town” if you will. In John 1:46, the question is posed, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” But we also read in the story that Mary was not yet married when she conceived Jesus.
We read in Matthew that it took a vision from God for Joseph to understand what the Lord was doing through Mary. Typically, unwed mothers were publicly shamed and sometimes even stoned in Jesus’s day. Joseph, being kind and righteous, was only going to quietly break the engagement, so as not to bring harm or shame to Mary. That’s the last we really hear of Joseph. He goes back to his work as a carpenter in Nazareth, and that’s all we hear. But Joseph and Mary’s beginning was difficult, a series of struggles punctuated by assurances and words of encouragement from God.
Even as we get to the birth of Jesus, life continues to be hard. Mary’s final weeks of pregnancy are spent traveling 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem either on foot or donkey. And when they arrive in Bethlehem, there’s no room. They have to stay in a barn…which we call a “stable” to sound nicer. Mary then gives birth in the middle of a barn with no help whatsoever except for Joseph and the animals. Their lives were hard. The story of Christ’s birth from conception to cradle is a story of struggle, pain, social stigmas, the suffering of a marginalized and oppressed people, and a humanity that needed hope. It’s easy to beautify and romanticize it, but the story is one of battle and struggle, and the sheer reliance on God to overcome it all.
But despite the struggle and suffering, this is also a story of hope and holiness. The angels tell the shepherds that for them there is good news of a Savior. The angels sang of peace on earth and the prophecies told of something new, powerful, and based in love instead of force and strength. This story tells us of the struggle that life can pose, but we are reminded of the incredible and beautiful work of Christ. In Jesus, we find the one who came to a flawed and broken world to teach us how to heal, how to love, how to share and bless, how to live in peace with one another. We also find the One who came to create a relationship between us and God where a sense of separation had existed for so many years.
Those themes echo in our hymns and songs at Christmas. We hear lyrics of peace, of love, of hope for all of humankind. But we also hear those same hopes sung in the secular world too—John Lennon sang “Happy Christmas, war is over,” in the midst of a world torn asunder by war, protests, and a constant undercurrent of stress and irritation. And I am sure that in some ways we are also hoping for the truth of “happy Christmas, war is over,” in our own lives.
When we live in a world that seems cold, dark, and filled with fighting and contention, we can once again clothe ourselves with Christ and teach hope to the hopeless. We can make peace where there is strife. We can become and bring joy in spite of suffering, and we can be love in a world that is riddled with unkindness. Some call these things the “magic” of Christmas. But they are simply the ways we live in faith here on earth.
I saw a funny thing online the other day that said the reason “It’s a Wonderful Life” has resonated for 78 years is that when George Bailey says, “Do you know how long it takes a working man to save $5,000,” not one thing has changed about that line in 78 years. It’s just the same today as it was in 1946. Struggles of life are not new. The same old struggles and problems will come home to roost in our homes again and again. What is new and changes humanity over and over is this reminder each Christmas of “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”
And so when we sing “So this is Christmas…” may we filled with hope in the knowledge of God with us and eternal hope. May we find the Prince of Peace who brings peace and comfort in our hearts. May we find unending joy in all of life no matter the circumstances. And may the love of God be with us always.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1114330520354138/
Mary’s Vision: A Life of Joy
Mary’s Vision: A Life of Joy—Micah 5: 2-5; Luke 1: 39-56
The third Sunday of Advent is often considered the Sunday of “joy.” In the middle of a reflective season, there’s a bit of light-hearted reprieve. The candle is pink, and some churches change the decorations from blue to pink to reflect the less serious focus of the Sunday. Sometimes though, it seems we’re not all singing, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” with the giddy happiness bursting forth from our lives. Many churches have adopted holding a “Blue Christmas” service for the many who struggle with grief and sadness at the holidays.
Writer and blogger Joe Chambers says, “We are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of the year. Yet according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of year when people experience a high incidence of depression.” He goes on to note that hospitals, police, and mental health professionals notice a significant uptick in patients around this time of year. And 45% of people say they dread, dread the festive season. What do we do in a season of hope and joy when we don’t feel all that merry and bright?
Let’s look at the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. To me, one of the strongest and toughest folks in the Bible is Mary. She was young, inexperienced, not yet married, and called to a truly great task. She had to contend with the doubt, the concern, the fear that her husband might also doubt God, and the inherent difficulties of ancient society. And yet, despite the best recipe for suffering and struggle, her life and her gift was one of joy.
When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, the proof of her calling was made known. Elizabeth and her own developing child recognized the holiness and Spirit of God that was with Mary. The Gospel tells us that when Mary entered both Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s own child were filled with joy. Christmas comes in the darkest, coldest part of the year. Christmas, the commercialized and humanized, can be very hard. But let’s back up a minute and consider Advent.
Maybe the joy isn’t found in the Santa-presents-insanity producing extravaganza every year. Maybe joy is found in the waiting for something holy. The actual birth of Jesus was difficult and tumultuous (to say the least) for Mary. But in this waiting and expectation, she found joy. As Elizabeth says to Mary, “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what [the Lord] said.” Mary’s blessing and joy wasn’t in seeing the result, it was in the believing and the waiting for God’s good news to happen.
We hear this joy echoed in Mary’s song: “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” In her potentially difficult situation, appearing as an unwed mother in ancient days, Mary’s spirit rejoices in God. The whole of Advent is a time where we reflect and wait. We talked some about the struggle of waiting two weeks ago. But waiting is still about so much more than just feeling stuck. For Mary and Elizabeth, waiting was about promise and good news.
Elizabeth’s prophetic words to Mary say this: “You are blessed because you believed the Lord would do what [the Lord] said.” Mary trusted in the promise. She could have shaken off the vision of the angel as a dream or mere foolishness on her own part. But she didn’t. She heard, she received, and she believed. Advent is about promise. Several years ago, my cousin asked me to perform her wedding. It was a about 3 hours away on the coast of South Carolina. I did the research and discovered it would be no problem at all to get there after church.
What I didn’t expect was spring break traffic on I-95 adding a whole extra hour to the trip. I kept calling to check in saying, “I promise I’ll be there. I promise.” As the time wore on, I began to worry I’d let her down. But suddenly the traffic broke and I could exit and get to the location. It was down a long dirt road. My uncle, many years later, talks about the giant dust cloud created by a Subaru doing 60 miles per hour down a dirt road. I was late, but I made it. I had promised.
God has promised us a way to find grace in a troubled world. For us, that comes in believing in Jesus, then following in the way in which he lived and taught. The tradeoff is living in this close relationship to the One who created us, loves us, and sustains us throughout this life and promises us joy and hope in the hereafter. When God promises, you can take it to the bank.
But that’s also good news for us. Mary’s song lists all the great works of God then and to come. God has done great things for her. God shows mercy. God scattered the proud and haughty ones. God brought down princes from the thrones to exalt the humble and lowly. God has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich. God has been merciful. Mary’s song is filled with joy at the good things God has done. It’s good news to a hurting world then and now.
The Micah lesson also talks about a return from exile and suffering and finding joy again in life from living in peace. Maybe that’s one of the best pieces of good news is finding a sense of peace again. The people of Israel found joy in looking forward to this time of redemption and hope—to this time when there would be grace for them instead of continued patterns of connection, disobedience, and struggle. Joy and good news are always forward looking.
I could probably give you a whole laundry list of things in my life recently that are joy-stealing from life: I hit a deer going to the conference and totaled the state car while feeling like the villain from Bambi; I had to spend almost $600 at the vet for gastro issues on the cat; Exhaustion from work; Feeling like I’m not festive enough; Anxiety, oh the anxiety; and so on… I think we could all compile our own list of troubles. It’s like the teens in the 1980s said, “It’s life, man.”
But in the midst of our misery lists, there’s still good news awaiting us. There are folks all around who love us. There is the promise that faith will continue to work through the struggles of life. God never leaves us. And Advent reminds us that in waiting, we will see the glory of God making all things new and fulfilling every promised we have believed in here on earth.
Some days that feels a bit theoretical and hard to grab ahold of. But I turn back to the words of “Once in Royal David’s City,” “And our eyes at last shall see him, through his own redeeming love; for that child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heaven above, and he leads his children on to the place where he is gone.” Those words were written 176 years ago. These same promises and this same good news have sustained humankind for centuries upon centuries. In times of trial and distress, people have clung to the hope that God’s promise to be with us until the end is, in fact, true.
This year, it may be true that our “bah humbug” outweighs our “holly jolly.” And it’s understandable. Almost half of the folks in a poll said they dreaded Christmas. But if you and I find ourselves in that category, let’s back up a bit and spend some time with Advent. God has promised us a Savior who would bring love, relationship, and joy into our lives. We can continue, as many have done for centuries, to look forward to that promise of Christ and the good news of God’s presence and love with us. And then like Mary, perhaps we too can say, “How my soul praises the Lord[, and how] my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1628028671255934/
"Not Your Normal Christmas Gift”
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/4638385319719155
Best Way to Wait
Best Way to Wait—Psa. 80: 1-3, 17-19; Mark 13: 24-37
A good friend tells me of a story from when he was in Middle School. He called his mom one after noon and asked where she was. She had an old-school cell phone in one hand and a bunch of bags from her trip to Wal-Mart in the other. She pointedly said, “I just got home from Wal-Mart. Don’t ask for anything that wasn’t on the list. What do you want?” “Mom…” he replied, and you could hear the eye roll in his voice. “What?” she replied, with even more annoyance in her voice. “Mom, I went with you. I’m still here,” he said. After shouting a few choice words, she jumped back in the car and drove 22 minutes back to Wal-Mart where she had left him waiting in the electronics section while she shopped.
One of the hardest things in life is to wait. Whether it’s a line at the grocery, an oil change, food, or for God to speak to us, waiting is hard. A friend of mine has a bumper sticker that says, “My cup runneth over and my patience weareth thin.” We all live a little bit like that. But many times, life and faith call on us to wait for God to do the next thing in life. Our scriptures for today tell us ways we can wait with purpose.
The first is to wait with resolve. The Psalm says, “Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us!” Verse 19 calls on God to turn us back to God and for God’s face to shine down upon us to save us. Resolve is defined as having strong determination. For us that determination is knowing that God shine grace upon and save us in our time of trial. The whole of this Psalm is a calling for God to hear us in the time of trial, to rescue and save us from the suffering that sometimes comes home to dwell with us.
And the sign for us that God will do this is the very season we are in—Advent. Every year we spend this time reflecting on how God sent a savior in the form of Jesus. His work was to reconcile all of humanity to the God we were separated from because we lust after worldly power instead of engaging in our relationship to God. But we also use this time to look forward to Christ’s return. Part of that waiting is the resolve to make the best of our time here on earth. I think sometimes churches can get so focused on Christ coming back that they forget the span of time we have here to make a difference.
Jesus didn’t sit on a chair and wait three years for the cross to come. He went out and taught, healed, showed loved, upended wrong and oppressive ways of living in faith. There was a resolve to his ministry before the end came. And that determination and resolve went right to the cross where he offered comfort to his mother and grace to a thief.
And that resolve in our waiting for Christ should lead us to wait with a mission or sense of purpose in this world. In the Gospel, Jesus tells of a man who went on a long trip and left his servants in charge. He gave them each careful instructions and a task to do. Then he says to “keep watch.” One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Bishop’s Wife. In it, a bishop prays for help building a cathedral. An angel, played by Carey Grant, responds to his prayer. But in the end, it is not the cathedral that is important, it’s the spiritual guidance of the bishop and his family (and congregation) who seem to have lost the way and forgotten what was most important in faith.
That movie reminds us that there is a purpose in life. The bishop thought it was to build a grand cathedral, but in the end, it is charity which prevails. We are called to wait with mission, and like each of those servants in the Gospel lesson, the owner of the house has left us tasks until the day the owner returns. It’s easy to grow weary. Life is often hard, and Jesus seems to be taking his sweet time. I often like to say that since Jesus isn’t here right now, it’s our mission to represent Jesus to others. Jesus came to reconcile us so that we might live as Jesus’s ambassadors in this world.
A friend of mine got in some trouble during his second year of college. He was a music major, and he was required to take a year off school. It was a long, hard year of waiting. It was a year in which he could have sat down, given up, and done nothing, just simply counting down the days until he returned. But instead, he made his practice, his self-growth, his rebuilding of himself as a mission. He practiced his music daily. He got a job and saved money. He got rid of the friends who led him into bad habits, and he made quite the powerful return to school eventually becoming quite successful.
Waiting is not a game of sitting. Waiting is a time of opportunity to grow in our relationship and expand our mission from God. We can wait mindlessly, or we can wait missionally. If we wait missionally, we will find a sense of hope in those waiting periods because they are done with purpose, and not just counting the minutes of pain and drudgery.
And that brings us to the last way we are to wait. We must wait with anticipation. In Mark, Jesus tells a story of a fig tree. When you see the leaves sprouting and the buds on the branches, you know summer is near. Likewise, Jesus says, after anguish, and after the signs, everyone will see the Son of Man returning. His message is clear, we should be anticipating this time. The trees and living things give us clear signs of when summer is coming.
If you are tired of the cold and dark of winter, those buds and sprouting leaves can be a very hopeful sign. The same is true in life. We must wait with anticipation, which for us is hope. Every war, every natural disaster, every trial and tribulation are not going to be some miraculous signs. But it is an opportunity for us to look for hope in the darkness. Waiting can be an anxious and difficult place. If you have a small child and have to wait for any period of time, you will likely encounter crying and a rambunctious child. Adults don’t really fare better.
All of these things today, the ways to wait, each one of them points to hope. In resolve, in mission, in anticipation, we turn ourselves and call the world to look towards hope—for a better practice of faith, for a better tomorrow, for a world that better reflects the love and grace of Jesus. My friend was stuck in Wal-Mart waiting for his mom. He waited with resolve—every sample game would be played. He waited with mission—at least three new games were ready for selection, and he waited with anticipation—his mom would feel so bad for leaving him, she’d buy his silence with those three games. All of those pointed to hope for him.
A friend of mine was meeting me for dinner the other day. He got caught in traffic. His sister had showed up unexpectedly. And he’s just naturally kind of late to everything. But this time, he was running almost an hour late. And to say I waited patiently would be a complete lie. But the moment I got a “5 min away” text, all of that anxiety flooded away to be replaced by hope. I wouldn’t get an “Oops. Dinner for one.”
Where are the places we find ourselves struggling to wait for God in our lives? Does our resolve falter? Have we struggled with finding a purpose or mission? Is our anticipation gone, and our candle burned out? Advent is a time to build and repair these struggles and broken places. The miracle of Christmas is about a Savior who came to live, “God and sinner reconciled.” I pray that as we journey to the manger, to see the hope of all humankind, we can find that same blessed, reassuring hope as we work and wait in this life.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/8732674723487930/
I Am Grateful
“I Am Grateful”—Psalm 100; Philippians 1: 3-11
My mother sent me a picture of snow on the ground back in Kentucky the other day. [SLIDE 2] I’m not sure what she expected, but my reply of “Eww, gross,” was apparently not it. I don’t like the cold; it’s a cause to complain. The other day a package I needed was delivered very late, and I complained bitterly to the FedEx about it. My car needed new tires, and it took almost 4 hours to get the done. They weren’t the ones I had expected. I complained. Years ago, at a friends get together for Thanksgiving, I was asked to pray with green bean casserole sitting in front of me. [SLIDE 3] I wanted to say, “Lord, bless this puke-looking stuff in a casserole dish to the nourishment of our bodies.” And you know what? I realized that I complain a lot.
A pastor-friend of mine realized the same thing. [SLIDE 4] She said, “I know in my heart that I am blessed beyond measure, but boy do my brain and mouth complain about everything.” This is a month where we pause for a moment to be thankful. And in a few days, we will spend an entire day called “Thanksgiving” hopefully taking stock of our blessings in the midst of eating. How often, though, do we spend our time complaining instead of taking stock of the things we have in life to be thankful for?
The very opening line of our Epistle from Paul says, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy.” Paul’s greeting to the Philippians is warm, loving, and reminding them of how joyful their relationship with Paul truly is. The overarching theme of this letter is Paul’s joy. But Paul had every reason to be a complainer. He was imprisoned at this point with no hope of escape. As Morna Hooker says in her commentary on Philippians, this is not a perfect community of faith, but they have a long and happy relationship with Paul and bring him great joy.
Paul writes to them one of the most memorable phrases in Christianity, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” I think that is where some of our struggle with complaining comes in. Learning something new, or growing, takes time, trial and error, mistakes which teach us new ways of doing things. [SLIDE 5] Think of it in terms of learning to drive. When you began, it seemed kind of easy—press the pedal and go, and all the while try not to steer into a tree. But then came a three-point turn, parallel parking, and for anyone above the millennial generation with the knowledge for this…a standard gear shift with a clutch pedal. The way you learn is by making enough mistakes to do better.
Likewise, in faith, God began a good work in us—a work of hope, love, and gratefulness that would be infectious throughout an often-cruel world. But for that to be continued and built upon, we must sometimes fall short, struggle, and complain about it all. That way we learn to lean on God and grow. A pastor I’m friends with says that she has stopped complaining about mistakes and problems in life. She now calls it being “grateful for the growing pains.”
A friend of mine bought her retirement home in Florida a few years ago. They split their time between Atlanta and the Florida beach. They had planned to retire full time to the beach soon. A few months ago, Hurricane Helene left 7 feet of storm surge in their home. It was a total loss. And yet, through faith, she found a sense of gratefulness. [SLIDE 6] They were unharmed. They still have a home, and God’s grace and mercy was still with them all through life. There’s a contemporary Christian song that says, “And though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.” Being grateful in all things is a difficult but powerful and rewarding place for us to grow and find ourselves in life.
Our Psalm for today is one of the most well known in the Bible. It’s often quoted to be kind to those whose singing voices aren’t exactly pitch perfect. I remember hearing that growing up, “Well, the Bible says, ‘Make a joyful noise…’” I think we call that a back-handed compliment. We are told in verse 4 to “Enter into [God’s] gates with thanksgiving; go into [God’s] courts with praise.” The reason we are able to approach with thankfulness and gratefulness is found in verse 5: “For the Lord is good. [God’s] unfailing love continues forever, and [God’s] faithfulness continues to each generation.”
One of the reasons I think we complain so much in life is because whatever present trouble is before us tends to overwhelm us like a blanket tied around our head and face. [SLIDE 8] We can’t see. We feel as though we can’t escape. The present trouble is right there in front of us covering us up from everything else in life. That’s why the words of one of our hymns is so important, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your many blessings, see what God has done.” My spiritual director, who keeps me focused back to God when my brain goes to 100,000 different things, told me some good advice.
When life becomes overwhelming, and you face a problem, trial, or sadness you can’t seem to overcome, check first to see if you need medical help. If not, sit down and make a list with two columns. [SLIDE 9] In one column, list every single trial, problem, difficulty, and struggle you are facing in life. In the other column, list every way God has blessed you in the past 5 years. And don’t hold back on that list…don’t be stingy with God…give credit for all God has done. Then, count your blessings, and see what God has done. From time to time, when I’m irritated and frustrated, I still do this. Every single time, I’m amazed at all the blessings God has given me. And after reading that list a couple of times, the blessings absolutely overwhelm the troubles.
But let’s say life is really, really bad, and the blessings come few and far between. There’s one final one to put on the list—everlasting hope in God’s love for us. And I pray that one blessing, God’s never-ending love in this life, in death, and in life after death, tips the scales to know that we are OR will be blessed beyond measure by the God we serve. Remember that the Lord is good. God’s unfailing love goes on forever for us. And God’s faithfulness continues from generation to generation without pause or end.
Paul wraps up this part of his epistle to Philippi with a beautiful challenge to them, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding…[and] may you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation.” That is, in fact, the good work God has begun in us and will continue to do through us: that our love will overflow more and more, and that we will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. The God who loves us never stops working in and through us.
I remember a story a pastor once told in a sermon while I was visiting. She said that, when they were in middle school, they had an 8th grade dance. Being the late 90s or early 2000s, someone brought glitter to the dance for her and her small group of friends. [SLIDE 10] Two hours later all 200 kids at the dance and most of the chaperones were covered in glitter that seemed to keep multiplying and never able to be washed off. When we live in God’s love and count our blessings it is much the same. [SLIDE 11] That love and hope spread to everyone, and we realize just how many blessings we truly have—it’s like the glitter—we realize at some point we are covered with them. And for that we can say, “I am grateful.”
Worship Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2275682592816216/