Enough

Although I'm not preaching this weekend, the Gospel story of the little boy offering up his five loaves and two fishes to feed the crowd of 5,000 has been very much on my mind lately. Let's take a moment to talk about that.

When I was a child at church camp, our pastor read this story and asked us, "What did this actually look like? Imagine this with me: did the bread and fish magically pop up out of nowhere? Where did it come from?" Then he admitted that he kept some of his favorite snack mix in his shirt pocket, where most folks wouldn't know that he had it, but it was something to tide him over if he ended up working late. He imagined that most folks in Jesus' day might not head out to the edge of town, a long walk, without also packing a little extra food along, "just in case." What if that miracle was sharing? Perhaps folks didn't want to admit they also had extra food along, since they were surrounded by a crowd that also might be hungry, and no one person could possibly have enough to go around. However, perhaps as they saw the example of this little boy, as that basket came around, perhaps many people there were inspired to share some of their extra food as well--and what little extra each person had, was really more than enough to meet the needs.

Do you ever look at the world, especially in these past few weeks, and feel overwhelmed at the needs? Topping the news has been the tens of thousands of children fleeing the violence and crushing poverty of Central America. Meanwhile, I've been learning so much about our local homeless and hungry population, and the numbers there are daunting as well: long waiting lists at each of our existing shelters, thirty families with children in just one of the elementary schools who are living in their cars, sixty or more people living under the bridge. Long lines at the food pantry, and too little food to go around.
It would be quite easy for us, either as individuals or as one congregation, to look at it all and say, "we just can't make a difference, we don't have enough in the face of all this need."

Yet I think it is so important to notice what Jesus *didn't* ask, either of the boy or of the disciples. Jesus did not ask anyone to bake all the bread and catch all the fish by themselves. Jesus did not ask anyone to go buy all of the food from the nearby village, which would have cost far too much and been too cumbersome to transport by any one person, or even all twelve disciples--who realized this as well. Jesus didn't even ask the little boy to give up all his meals forever, so that others may be fed. Instead, Jesus simply took that little bit of a snack, and blessed it. Even had there been nothing left over, the boy would have been slightly inconvenienced for a few hours at worst.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the sheer amount of need around us, let's just start by asking ourselves: what are our five loaves and two fish? What is something that may actually seem like a little something to us, that could be blessed by Jesus and become something so much more? What can we share in such a way that it does not diminish us, but instead inspires others around us to share as well? On our own, we can only do so much. But working together, each of us sharing our little somethings, and combining those gifts with the whole body of Christ, we may even find ourselves in the midst of miracles.

Peace,
Le Anne

The Gift of Christmas

Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20

On the Occasion of Christmas Eve, which we celebrated at our friends and neighbors, Peoples' United Methodist Church, after evacuating our worship space due to heavy flood damage.

Friends, this is the Christmas in our church that even the youngest children of our congregation will probably talk about with their grandchildren, years from now.

I want to venture a story with you tonight, that let's say, Mary and Joseph were looking forward to celebrating the birth of their first child in their own home, in familiar surroundings.  Sure, the news of Jesus' coming had been unexpected, but let's say that like all good parents, they did their best to prepare for the new baby.  Joseph was a carpenter and they were a newlywed couple, so we could safely assume the house was probably newly built and filled with well-crafted furnishings, made just for them and their new family.  I would even guess that Jesus had a fine little wooden crib waiting for him, up in their home in the Galilee.  And Mary had probably spent the past several months preparing all sorts of baby clothes and blankets and diapers, and anything else you might need for a first-century nursery.

Dining at home with family and friends, typical first-century home.
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_18496_Nazareth_Village.jpg

Photos of re-enacted first-century household life: dining and making textiles.
Source: http://www.100words.ca/?m=201211&paged=2

In such familiar surroundings, I imagine that these expectant parents also thought their folks would come over to bring them casseroles, keep the house tidy and help change diapers those first few days.  Maybe they thought the first people to welcome their new baby and hold him would be Grandma and Grandpa, or maybe Aunt Elizabeth and newborn cousin John.  

Now imagine all that, nursery prepared and all--that right as you were getting ready to celebrate the birth of this child--something BIG happens, that is unavoidable, and you have to leave your home behind.

Where would they go?  And how would they celebrate the birth of that child?

I am going to guess that Mary and Joseph never imagined they would share the birth of their son with sheep and goats, cattle and donkeys, or having a bunch of shepherds fresh out of the fields, or strange travelers from a foreign country showing up, not even with casseroles, but instead with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  (That is, air freshener and embalming spices, but at least the cash might come in handy?)

And I imagine that even though they had to travel to Bethlehem for this census, that they thought they'd at least be going home relatively soon, say, maybe a few weeks.  At any rate, there's just not that much stuff you can pack up and put on the back of a donkey along with mother and child.  So the news that Herod was coming for them and they would have to flee Egypt for a couple of YEARS, must have really been...well, beyond words.  So much for celebrating a birth as planned!

Well, I'm also going to venture that for those of us who are gathered here tonight, we can kind of relate.

We can relate, right?  A beautiful new church, halls all decked, tree all trimmed, banners up, choir tuned and ready, to celebrate the birth of Jesus--and then something BIG happens.

And yet, most important of all, despite all the disrupted plans and scrambling to make do, then and now--the most important thing to remember in the midst of our human worries, is this:  the gift, the greatest gift, has still been given to us.  God gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, to teach us how to love one another.  It was Jesus that brought together such an unexpected collection of people together in an unexpected place.  And the unusual circumstances and the enormous obstacles they faced together, and the reason for which they did so--only add to the richness of the story of this first Christmas that we tell over and over again, to our children and our children's children.

We might feel we're having a manger experience of our own tonight, but really, we are in the finest room in the inn--anywhere in town!  Here we are surrounded by warmth and comfort, and banners, and advent wreaths, and inside decked halls and there's a place for us, and for the kids, and for the choir, and all of us can celebrate this birth of the Christ child together.  And together, we can say the words of Isaiah, that:

A child has been born for us, a son given to us...and he is named Wonderful Counselor...Prince of Peace.

We have been given so rich a gift this Christmas.  We are surrounded by family and friends and neighbors.  We have been given such extravagant hospitality from our dear friends here at Peoples' Church.  We've been given willing and dedicated volunteers to help make everything better, even in the face of many challenges.  Certainly these last few weeks we've walked in darkness, but we have also seen a great light.

Sure, this Christmas isn't like what we'd planned, but it is still beautiful, and meaningful, perhaps even more meaningful, than if everything had gone according to plan.  And we're not alone; we're with each other, and we're also here among our friends.  And above all, God is with us--Emmanuel; bringing hope, joy, love, and peace to us and to all the world.  May we, like Mary, in the midst of all this excitement and chaos, may we treasure these things in our hearts, on this Christmas night, and always.  Amen.

A World Turned Upside Down

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:1-10, Luke 1:46b-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

[look these up on biblegateway.com or bible.oremus.org]

On the occasion of pipes in the sprinkler system freezing, bursting, and flooding our building.

Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan.

For example, you build a beautiful new church and don’t include a basement, knowing  full well the village water table issues, and not relishing those memories of flood cleanups in the old building…only to have pipes burst and walls of water coming down through the kitchen ceiling.

Ah, cleanup.

There’s also the kinds of plans every church has at Christmas, plans for holiday gatherings and receptions and the meal we were going to host this afternoon; plans for the Cantata next week--I think we were planning on having a prettier sanctuary with a bit more drywall--or at least, just plain dry walls--plans to have the general public and more visitors here in the building and really enjoy our new church home.

Ah, more cleanup!

We scrambled to reschedule some things this weekend, and I really have no doubt that the show will go on next weekend, Cantata and Christmas services alike, even though we’ll be a bit battered and rough-looking.  We are having a sort-of manger-like Christmas here, amongst our piles of things drying out and rescued from the waters and props from Christmas pageants past sitting over here and there.  We’re grateful things weren’t any worse than they are, and grateful for insurance, and so forth, and in the midst of all this, has that old saying occurred to you that when people plan, God laughs?

When People Plan, God Probably Does Laugh...

Ah.  Things had a way of not going according to people’s plans in the Bible, either.

Case in point:  Mary.  She was a young woman engaged to Joseph, and what do you normally think about when you’re engaged and planning a wedding?  Probably the dress, hair, makeup, shoes, menu: chicken or fish? ...music for the reception, the gifts…but for Mary, an angel messenger interrupts those plans and tells her that something radically different  is in store--something that means there probably won’t be a dress, hair, makeup, shoes, reception, whatever hopes and dreams and plans she had for her wedding day.  Jesus’ arrival into this world would turn everything upside down.  [Incidentally, that’s why I love the John Bell hymn, No Wind At the Window,  which is the first time I’ve seen something to say, “sorry about that wedding you were planning, Mary.”]

In the face of such shocking news, Mary could have been humiliated by the scandal;  could have agreed to be put away quietly, to live in exile.  She could let this unexpected arrival really ruin her life.  After all, isn’t that the fear and the social script we still maintain for every unexpected pregnancy to an unwed young mother?  

However, Mary does something different.  She rises to the occasion, and her response is one that both praises God and claims a vision for the future where the whole world order is turned upside down:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

Remember that well, when we sing the hymn following the message, this idea that the world is about to turn. [Canticle of the Turning]

Not In Soft Robes

Something interesting happens between the story of Mary’s Magnificat and the Gospel text for today.  Look this up with me in your Bibles.  In Luke, the story says Mary went to visit her aunt Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time, and the baby John leapt in recognition when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, came near.  Even in the womb, there was the recognition, and John announced, or heralded, the arrival of the messiah.  Fast-forward thirty-odd years, and John is at it again, out in the wilderness, gathering followers, heralding the arrival of the messiah, whom he may or may not have seen in awhile.  Perhaps they were distant cousins.  Anyway, John has landed himself in prison, which doesn’t sound like what he’d been hoping for, and when he hears of Jesus teaching and healing, he sends word to see if this is indeed the one they have hoped for.  

We talked a few weeks ago about how the Jewish people were hoping for a king or deliverer with sufficient military power to defeat their enemies; today we hear about how the very appearance of John or Jesus may defy all expectation.  After all, neither are dressed in soft robes and lying around in palaces. And yet, that’s not really the definition of a king, of the one who will deliver the people.  Rather, Jesus points to what really matters:

“the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (11:5).  

The world again is turned upside down.

Be Patient; Strengthen Your Hearts

Friends, I recognize that this is the last week in the world we want to hear this Isaiah passage about springs of living water bursting forth, making the deserts bloom, of deserts becoming pools and swamps, and so on.  Good for those deserts, maybe, but we’ve had enough, thanks.

But I want to lift up the next verse in the Isaiah passage that also gets repeated in the letter of James today, because I think it’s exactly what we need to hear this week: Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.

And God is here.  God is here in the midst of this mess, and really, in the midst of every mess, every disaster, every “what do we do next?” kind of moment.

James says,  8You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged.

And figuring a way out of those moments usually takes time, and a great deal of patience.   (A dose of good humor never hurts in situations like these either.)

Even babies take nine months to be born; even prophets and messiahs take about thirty years before starting their world-changing ministry; to plant and to harvest as the scriptures note today also takes due time.

Flood cleanups happen relatively quickly by comparison.

I do believe that when people plan, God laughs, but I don’t think it’s too often a harsh, mocking, humiliating laughter.  I tend to think of it as more of a loving, good-natured chuckle.

Even at Christmas, things can get turned upside down.  Dinner gets burnt, holiday gatherings get snowed out, or flooded out, and all the like.  We can let it get the best of us, or we can rise to the occasion.  At Christmas, we can find our outlook transformed by hope, peace, love, and joy.  After all, this time of year we remember more than ever, that the blind may see, the deaf hear the lame walk and the dead rise again.  God’s grace is in the turning, a grace that sends us for a loop, and by which we might see everything in a new light.  Thanks be to God!

Prayers this week:

For those in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, under a foot of snow --beautiful but dangerously cold for those who have no heat; and the deep floodwaters in Gaza that cause harm to so many

For all who struggle in the cold and snow

For all who have empty hands and empty stomachs

For all who seek a welcoming home for the holidays

Youth Moment: What's Inside the Pulpit?

Today, we're going to answer what a lot of people in the room might have wondered at some point:  What's stored inside the pulpit?  So, our young helpers, who are eye-level to the pulpit shelves, are going to tell us what's here, and I'll tell you why:

-cough drops, a glass of water, tissues:  all in case I have a cough or cold, or someone else might need to borrow them.
-a hymnal, a Bible, and an extra copy of the Communion liturgy:  things to help lead the worship service.
-extra pens and pencils:  to jot down prayer requests or announcement reminders.
-my keys: because I don't have pockets.

These are all things that are needed to be prepared for anything that comes up during the worship service.  And today's Scriptures talk about the importance of being prepared.  By being prepared for possible trouble, it's less likely that we'll panic when something happens.  And part of being prepared is simply staying calm and not getting too anxious that something bad might happen.  After all, we can always trust in God to help us in times of trouble.  In the meantime, that trust allows us to both meet our responsibilities and enjoy our lives, as God wants us to do!

Keep Calm and Carry On

Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 12; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

Friends, do you ever worry?  Do you ever let your worries get the best of you?

Have you ever stayed up all night before a conversation you were dreading?  Were you up all night preparing your brilliant defense, so to speak, your witty, sure-fire presentation?  Did you find that when you finally got to that moment, after being up all night, that you were so tired and overwhelmed when you opened your mouth you could only say, “uhhhhhhhhhhh?”  Yep, I’ve been there too.  It would’ve been better to have gotten my sleep and not stressed so much over it.

Let’s take this up a notch:  Have you ever heard of “preppers?”  They were in the Cap Times a few weeks ago, I think, folks that are prepared for nuclear apocalypse, or zombies, or whatever, complete with their own bunkers full of weapons and non-perishable foods, and they draw great security from this, that they feel prepared for any eventuality.

Ah, bless them.  I do keep a little canned food and a flashlight on hand, but I’m not ready to build a bunker just yet.  I don’t even do extreme couponing, even though it’s quite popular with my friends!

Perhaps while I’m a little prepared, like maybe for a big snowstorm or a power outage, I’m not as prepared as I could be, and maybe that’s because I haven’t been that worried about it so far.

++

Each of the Scriptures today addresses people who are worried.  Whether in the time of Isaiah, or the time of Jesus, or the time of Paul, these folks were worried their whole world was about to cave in on them.  And they had good reason to be worried--whether it was war, or famine, or persecution, losing the people they loved, their homes, everything they knew.  And sure, we know situations like that can happen today--how often have they happened, just even this week in the Philippines, or last year in Superstorm Sandy?  We know life is precious, and fragile.

But you know what I love?  I love that these passages today are some of the best passages of comfort and strength out of the whole Bible.  The Bible knows how to talk to worried people!

We can find so much comfort in these verses.  My favorite is in Isaiah 65, “They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord”--that gives me great comfort.  And Chris in the choir has talked about how much she loves the verse in Isaiah 12: Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; and will be my savior.  --And indeed, what a beautiful mantra we could hold onto throughout any difficulty in our lives!  And it’ll definitely stick with you today, with the choir anthem and the hymn we’re going to learn later.  It’s been in my head for weeks.

Jesus tells his audience, and us, when you hear of these things,  to not be terrified!  Granted, Jesus doesn’t want us to be naive either, because bad things may indeed happen, then and now, but we shouldn’t become petrified, unable to function or enjoy our lives in the meantime.  When these times come, we can also trust in the Lord and find we are given words and wisdom sufficient to the task, no matter what might happen.

All of the Scriptures tell us today, don’t sit around and do nothing, but also, don’t get obsessed over what may happen.  That’s a great paraphrase of the popular saying, “Keep calm and carry on.”  We can make reasonable preparations, but you can only be and do and respond as best you can in any given moment with what you’ve got.  Since we simply cannot predict the future, neither can we fully prepare for it.  Sometimes we just have to pray, and trust, that we will have what we need when we can’t possibly predict the outcomes.  And in the meantime, don’t get too riled up by all the doomsday prophets and the like, otherwise, we will miss out on the real joy in our lives!  God gave us a good world and we are to care for it and enjoy it with one another!

So I got wondering the other day, do you ever picture Jesus stressing out over something like the feeding of the five thousand the night before?  Do you think he was up all night thinking, “oh, gee, we’ll be so far from town, and which disciple should I put in charge of dinner, and do you think people will know to bring potluck…?”  I don’t know if he did that.  But I will tell you we do have a Bible story of Jesus staying up all night, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when his life was truly at stake, and he was worried.  He was fully human, after all!  At the end, he released control to God and went forth from the garden to the crucifixion.  And God responded by raising Jesus from the dead three days later.  Now really, who else saw that one coming?

Truly, there will be difficult times in our lives, enormously difficult times, when we wish we didn’t have to go through things the way they might play out, when we wish we didn’t even have to get up and face the day.  Sometimes no matter what we do, those trials are inescapable.  But even in such times, remember, that God wants good for us.  God wants healing for us, and wants us to know and be comforted by God’s own presence surrounding us and in us.  Our world isn’t perfect, isn’t always easy, and isn’t always loving, but our God loves us.  Let’s give thanks always for this, that God loves us even when we aren’t always perfect, easy to live with, or all that loving.  We are God’s beloved children; let’s rejoice and be glad!  Thanks be to God!

Prayers This Week:

For all affected by the typhoon, especially in the Philippines

For all who are seeking affordable healthcare

For all who are coping with the aftermath of disasters or violence