Christmas is a time which we all associate with family, friends, good feelings, food, wine, laughter, - for those who are religious, it is a time of reflection, celebration, affirmation, joy. They are all positive emotions, and for most of us, they put us in a more generous and better frame of mind, we are a little more open to others, a little more patient - we come a little closer in touch with what we are supposed to be about all year around, all our life..
Dreams are strange things. We can do things in dreams that we can’t do during our waking hours. Most of our dreams, we don’t remember. Some we do, and often they bring us messages we need. Musicians tell stories of memorising pieces of music in dreams, or composing in dreams. Our minds - amazing things that they are - keep on working. Dreams tell us things about ourselves that we aren’t always able to face otherwise. There are lots of logical explanations, but it is still miraculous what the mind can do, and how it can help us see ourselves.
I remember vividly one particular dream, early on in ministry, and after what seemed to be a particularly trying week. I dreamed I was laboriously climbing up a very steep mountain, grabbing on to small trees, tufts of grass, anything which provided a handhold - hand over hand climbing the mountain. At one point I stopped for a rest, and happened to look off to the side - and there, parallel to the course I was charting up the mountain, was a clear path - unimpeded by trees or rocks or grass.
For Scrooge, Christmas Eve could have been described as a nightmare. He certainly thought it was a series of pretty bizarre nightmares. Had the visitations stopped after Marley, or maybe the first of the three “spirits”, he might have been able to write the whole thing off as that particular piece of mouldy cheese he’d eaten earlier in the evening with his thin gruel - and nothing would have changed.
The last visitation is the one which really makes him sit up and take notice. This spirit is a phantom - none of the light of the first spirit of the past, or the generosity and joy, and yet clear criticism of the spirit of abundance. Here he is visited by a phantom which seems to suck light in, and cast nothing but gloom around. There is no conversation, only a relentless insistence that he continue this journey.
And so the phantom shows him a father walking slowly home from the graveyard; in the home by the fire, a small chair sits empty, with a small crutch beside it. Tim, Bob Cratchit’s son, has died. Scrooge begins to realise that the boy did not die because of something he might have done, but precisely because of the opposite - because of what he did not do, thinking that if he minded his business and the rest of the world minded theirs, he caused no harm.
The phantom shows him a man lying on a four-poster bed covered in a sheet, hears people derisively sneering over the body, stealing the very slippers off the body and discussing the waste of even giving the man a funeral. At the end, he finds himself in a graveyard, seeing his own name etched on a gravestone. In a most powerful way, he is faced with the end of his life, and how feeble and inadequate that life was.
But hear the words, as he falls to his knees in front of the spirit - his soul finally broken open, and his vision clear to look at himself.
“I am not the man I once was” he says, “I will not be the man I might have been, had it not been for this. Why show me this if I am past all hope?” “Assure me that I may yet change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life.”
Now - as I said - it may be that Scrooge was dreaming. Today we would say his subconscious finally opened up. Maybe - but maybe not - who knows for sure?
Dreams have figured strongly in the story of Jesus birth. Mary had a dream that an angel visited her to announce her pregnancy. Joseph had a dream, just as he was about to separate himself from Mary - an angel again announcing that her child must be born, and be named Jesus - because he will save his people. In today’s Scripture, Joseph again has a dream - that he, Mary and Jesus are in danger. Each of these visitations begins with “Do not fear.” Life is about to turn upside down, but don’t be afraid. Life will be dangerous, but don’t be afraid. God is here, God is with you. Don’t be afraid.
About fifteen years ago, in my very first parish, a group of us went to the town of Creemore, Ontario, to the “Journey of Love” - which is a recreated walk of the road to Bethlehem, complete with props and actors. The first time I went, the journey ended at the manger. The second time, one walked on around a corner, further from the manger. There stood a cross, and a Roman soldier.
Both life, and faith, are a journey. Scrooge was taken - however we care to explain his experience - on a journey in which his life literally passed before his eyes. He was shown his life as it had been, as it was, and finally what it would be in the end.
The story of Scrooge is a story of past, present, and possible futures. What would have happened if he had not made change? The first possibility - a despised man finally dead, and people celebrating. Scrooge himself, when he awakens in his own room and realises it is Christmas Day, and he hasn’t missed it, exclaims “I will live in the Past, Present and Future! The Spirits of all three shall strive within me!”
The church year is also designed as a journey, with Past, Present and Future. I don’t think we can say it enough - that Christmas would be nothing without Easter. Christmas and Easter take their meaning from each other - they are, to some extent, the bookends. Without the birth, there would be no Easter. If there were no Easter, there would be no Christmas.
We commit ourselves to Past, Present and Future every time we say the memorial acclamation at the communion service:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Christmas past - the historical birth of a small baby in a backwater town; Christmas present - the celebration of that birth, Jesus reborn within us each Christmas; Christmas yet to come - that Jesus will continue to be reborn, and continue to come into the world.
That was, I believe, the message in Dickens great drama - in those words of Scrooge “I will live in the Past, Present and Future. I will keep Christmas in my heart!”
Past, Present, and Future.
What we were once - what we are today - what we may yet be.
Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas yet to come.
Christmas in all of life, and the story is unfinished...................................................
Sources:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
“Christmas Present” Isaiah 7:12-16 and Matthew 1:18-25 Humber United Church, Corner Brook, NL December 19, 2010
Isaiah
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of God also? Therefore God himself will give you a sign: The young woman is pregnant, and will give birth to a son, who will be called Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, because even before he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before their marriage, she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph was faithful to the law, and did not want to disgrace her in public; he thought he would divorce her quietly. An angel appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. Her child is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, to be named Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this was to fulfill the words of the prophet: “The young woman will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel “God with us”. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had said and took Mary home as his wife. ***********************************************************************
Poor Scrooge. He was exhausted after trying to shut out the light of the Spirit which shone on his past. Finally, aware of being back in his own bedroom, he fell into a deep sleep. For some reason he wakened early and pulled back all the bed curtains to have a good view of the whole room. - and waited...the bell tolled one. Time passed, fifteen minutes in fact, before he realized the light across his bed was coming from under the sitting room door.
Dickens describes the scene as Scrooge entered his sitting room:
“It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green that it looked a perfect grove, from every part of which bright, gleaming berries glistened. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there. Such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney as that dull hearth had never known, either in Scrooge’s time or Marley’s, if at all. Heaped upon the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, great joints of meat, suckling pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.”
Seated on this throne sat a Giant, who Dickens described as “free in its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its joyful attitude.” Scrooge was timid, hung his head, not wanting to meet the clear kind eye of the Spirit.
“The Spirit was dressed in a deep green robe, bordered with white fur. The robe hung loosely, the large chest was bare. Its feet were also bare, and on its head it wore a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles.” He carried a kind of torch which looks like a horn of plenty - and as Scrooge and the Spirit travel the city, Scrooge=s eyes are opened to the world around him, to the things he doesn't know about that world.
"Is there a particular flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?" asked Scrooge.
"There is. My own."
"Could it apply to any kind of dinner on this day?" asked Scrooge.
"To any kindly given. To a poor one most."
“Why to a poor one most?” asked Scrooge.
"Because it needs it the most."
In this visitation, Scrooge is stunned that the ghost blesses the home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit a tiny place of four rooms. He didn't know Bob had children - he didn't know one of them was ill. When he begs to know that Tim will live, he hears back his own words "If he's going to die, he should do it, and decrease the surplus population."
And - says the Spirit. "Will you decide which men shall live and which shall die? It may be that in the sight of heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. O God! To hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his brothers in the dust!"
It's not hard to relate this to the present. We all know people like Scrooge, hurt by life and by their own actions, who also believe that by not doing anything, no one is hurt. Yet even doing nothing is tantamount to doing something. And don’t we all know people who are critical of the poor, who get blamed for their poverty, without ever knowing their circumstances. Scrooge blamed the poor for their own circumstances instead of looking closely at the conditions around himself and them, even instead of finding out from them *why* or how they got into such a position.
The Spirit takes Scrooge to see Bob Cratchit’s home - where the feast is meagre, yet Bob Cratchit’s family are full of gratitude for that which they do have. It’s a sharp comparison - the great bounty around the Spirit, and the meagre Christmas meal of the Cratchits. There are a couple of things to draw from this today - just as Dickens did then.
First, that the Spirit, - and the huge feast laid out around him, the green-ness of the room and the warmth of the fire - are representative of the realm of God - the vision God has for people on earth, living in creation without any fear or want. The Spirit represents Immanuel, God-with-Us.
Second, it reinforces a very real truth. That there is actually more than enough food in the world already to feed everyone. The problem is not with the amount of food available, it is the distribution. The so-called First World countries take more than their fair share of what’s needed, often wasting it - and the poor of the rest of the world go without. In some parts of our country we live with a sense of entitlement - that we somehow deserve everything we have, even if it is over-the-top.
At the end of this part of the story there is a particularly telling scene. The Spirit and Scrooge are standing out in the cold, and the Spirit pulls back the front the of the robe. Huddled there are two children: hungry, shriveled, destitute, prematurely aged.
“Are they yours?” asks Scrooge?
“They are Man’s.” replies the Spirit. “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy.” “Have they no refuge or resource?” asks Scrooge, and again hears his own words flung back at him “Are there no prisons? Are there no poorhouses?” Today, I guess we would say are there no jobless programs, are there no shelters? Today we still live side by side with Ignorance and Want, and think it doesn’t affect our lives.
In the scriptures, angels were messengers from God. Joseph has a visit from an angel, telling him that Mary’s child will be “God-with-Us”. Scrooge encounters angels, who shine the light of God into his heart; who proclaim the good news. In this open and joyful Spirit we hear other words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of God is upon me. I am sent to bring good news to the oppressed, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
The picture of this messenger - God’s green creation full of everything human beings could ever need, also proclaims the year of God’s favour. Christmas Present - every year should be the year of God’s favour.
Marley came to Scrooge in the darkness of his rooms and his soul, to speak of repentance, of changing his ways. Two Spirits come in the bright light of vision, into the recesses of hard hearts, and then the bright light of vision on the world around. Yet neither Spirit *was* the light. Dickens’ Spirits are those who testify to the light, to bring messages from God. They point to the one who is coming - the centre of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Present comes to testify to good news for all people. As Scrooge took another step along the road to his repentance and reclamation, so we also take a step on the road to repentance, a commitment to living the Gospel to its fullest.
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of God also? Therefore God himself will give you a sign: The young woman is pregnant, and will give birth to a son, who will be called Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, because even before he knows enough to reject wrong and choose right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before their marriage, she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph was faithful to the law, and did not want to disgrace her in public; he thought he would divorce her quietly. An angel appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. Her child is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, to be named Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this was to fulfill the words of the prophet: “The young woman will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel “God with us”. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had said and took Mary home as his wife. ***********************************************************************
Poor Scrooge. He was exhausted after trying to shut out the light of the Spirit which shone on his past. Finally, aware of being back in his own bedroom, he fell into a deep sleep. For some reason he wakened early and pulled back all the bed curtains to have a good view of the whole room. - and waited...the bell tolled one. Time passed, fifteen minutes in fact, before he realized the light across his bed was coming from under the sitting room door.
Dickens describes the scene as Scrooge entered his sitting room:
“It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green that it looked a perfect grove, from every part of which bright, gleaming berries glistened. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there. Such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney as that dull hearth had never known, either in Scrooge’s time or Marley’s, if at all. Heaped upon the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, great joints of meat, suckling pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.”
Seated on this throne sat a Giant, who Dickens described as “free in its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its joyful attitude.” Scrooge was timid, hung his head, not wanting to meet the clear kind eye of the Spirit.
“The Spirit was dressed in a deep green robe, bordered with white fur. The robe hung loosely, the large chest was bare. Its feet were also bare, and on its head it wore a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles.” He carried a kind of torch which looks like a horn of plenty - and as Scrooge and the Spirit travel the city, Scrooge=s eyes are opened to the world around him, to the things he doesn't know about that world.
"Is there a particular flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?" asked Scrooge.
"There is. My own."
"Could it apply to any kind of dinner on this day?" asked Scrooge.
"To any kindly given. To a poor one most."
“Why to a poor one most?” asked Scrooge.
"Because it needs it the most."
In this visitation, Scrooge is stunned that the ghost blesses the home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit a tiny place of four rooms. He didn't know Bob had children - he didn't know one of them was ill. When he begs to know that Tim will live, he hears back his own words "If he's going to die, he should do it, and decrease the surplus population."
And - says the Spirit. "Will you decide which men shall live and which shall die? It may be that in the sight of heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. O God! To hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his brothers in the dust!"
It's not hard to relate this to the present. We all know people like Scrooge, hurt by life and by their own actions, who also believe that by not doing anything, no one is hurt. Yet even doing nothing is tantamount to doing something. And don’t we all know people who are critical of the poor, who get blamed for their poverty, without ever knowing their circumstances. Scrooge blamed the poor for their own circumstances instead of looking closely at the conditions around himself and them, even instead of finding out from them *why* or how they got into such a position.
The Spirit takes Scrooge to see Bob Cratchit’s home - where the feast is meagre, yet Bob Cratchit’s family are full of gratitude for that which they do have. It’s a sharp comparison - the great bounty around the Spirit, and the meagre Christmas meal of the Cratchits. There are a couple of things to draw from this today - just as Dickens did then.
First, that the Spirit, - and the huge feast laid out around him, the green-ness of the room and the warmth of the fire - are representative of the realm of God - the vision God has for people on earth, living in creation without any fear or want. The Spirit represents Immanuel, God-with-Us.
Second, it reinforces a very real truth. That there is actually more than enough food in the world already to feed everyone. The problem is not with the amount of food available, it is the distribution. The so-called First World countries take more than their fair share of what’s needed, often wasting it - and the poor of the rest of the world go without. In some parts of our country we live with a sense of entitlement - that we somehow deserve everything we have, even if it is over-the-top.
At the end of this part of the story there is a particularly telling scene. The Spirit and Scrooge are standing out in the cold, and the Spirit pulls back the front the of the robe. Huddled there are two children: hungry, shriveled, destitute, prematurely aged.
“Are they yours?” asks Scrooge?
“They are Man’s.” replies the Spirit. “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy.” “Have they no refuge or resource?” asks Scrooge, and again hears his own words flung back at him “Are there no prisons? Are there no poorhouses?” Today, I guess we would say are there no jobless programs, are there no shelters? Today we still live side by side with Ignorance and Want, and think it doesn’t affect our lives.
In the scriptures, angels were messengers from God. Joseph has a visit from an angel, telling him that Mary’s child will be “God-with-Us”. Scrooge encounters angels, who shine the light of God into his heart; who proclaim the good news. In this open and joyful Spirit we hear other words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of God is upon me. I am sent to bring good news to the oppressed, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
The picture of this messenger - God’s green creation full of everything human beings could ever need, also proclaims the year of God’s favour. Christmas Present - every year should be the year of God’s favour.
Marley came to Scrooge in the darkness of his rooms and his soul, to speak of repentance, of changing his ways. Two Spirits come in the bright light of vision, into the recesses of hard hearts, and then the bright light of vision on the world around. Yet neither Spirit *was* the light. Dickens’ Spirits are those who testify to the light, to bring messages from God. They point to the one who is coming - the centre of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Present comes to testify to good news for all people. As Scrooge took another step along the road to his repentance and reclamation, so we also take a step on the road to repentance, a commitment to living the Gospel to its fullest.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Ghost of Christmas Past December 5th, 2010 A sermon based upon Matthew 3:1-12 Humber United Church, Corner Brook, Newfoundland
Matthew 3
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, he will clear threshing floor, gathering wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ******************************************************************************
As Scrooge lay in the bed, the curtains were drawn back, and he saw a figure unlike anything his imagination could have produced - like a child, yet like an old man diminished to a child's proportions. Its hair, which hung down its back, was white as if with age yet the face had not a wrinkle, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. It wore a tunic of purest white, and round its waist was a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand. From its head shone a bright clear light, and it held a great cap under its arm.
“Are you the spirit whose coming was foretold to me?” asked Scrooge? "I am."
"Who, and what are you?" Scrooge demanded. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Long Past?" inquired Scrooge, presumably noting signs of age. "No. Your past."
Scrooge begged the spirit to put the cap over its very bright head.
"What!" exclaimed the Ghost, "Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give? Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow!"
“I am here" said the Ghost. “for your welfare, your reclamation.”
***************************************************************
And so begins a journey into the past, and we get a glimpse of what made Scrooge the man he had become. A small boy, sitting alone in a schoolroom, while all his classmates leave for Christmas at home. The small boy’s mother died giving birth to him, and the father rejected him. He is sent to a boarding school, and a little bit of this boy hardens up and closes away.
The scene changes. A little girl comes in. "I have come to bring you home, dear brother!" she says. "Home, for good. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven! He spoke so gently to me one night when I was going to bed, that I was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home; and he said Yes, you should; and sent me in a coach to bring you. And you're never to come back here.”
The scene changes again. Scrooge is older now, a man in the prime of life. His face already wears the signs of greed and obsession. He is sitting with a fair young woman, in whose eyes there are tears.
"It matters little," she said, softly. "To you, very little. Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve."
"What Idol has displaced you?" he asks. "A golden one." responds the young woman.
"Have I ever sought release?" "In words? No. Never."
"In what, then?"
"In a changed nature; in an altered spirit; in another atmosphere of life. In everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight. If this had never been between us," she asks; "would you seek me out and try to win me now? Ah, no!"
"Spirit!" says the watching, old Scrooge, in agony again, "show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me? No more, I don't wish to see it! Show me no more!"
****************************************************************
We have seen a small and lonely boy, cut off from family, left alone at Christmas - a child whose father blamed him for the death of his mother in childbirth. We learn that the girl is Scrooge’s younger sister, probably by a second marriage. Fan also died, giving birth to Fred, Scrooge’s nephew. There are hints of abuse, of violence in this child’s background. Here is a child who learns that response to pain is to shut himself off. His father blames him and isolates him; Scrooge blames his nephew Fred, and isolates himself even further. Then we see him as his engagement ends, becoming harder, and the idol of money becoming his first love, instead of her.
Let’s look back at what we’ve seen of Scrooge. Marley shows Scrooge his unwillingness even to be open to those around him. He works in a dark place, with little light other than one candle. He lives in a dark house, huddled away by himself. He keeps his spirit in the dark, blocking out everything. Christmas, with all its joy and good spirits, offends his darkness. He has been given a talent, but instead of using his talent for the common good, as Paul says, he uses it - but not even for himself. He just doesn’t know what else to do. In this encounter with the Spirit of Christmas Past, he cannot bear the light which emanates from the ghost, and wants it covered. “Would you put out the light I give with worldly hands”asks the ghost “especially since you are one of the people responsible for forcing me to wear it year in and year out.” At the end of this chapter, Scrooge grabs the hat and pushes it down over the Spirit, but even that cannot shut out the blinding light. The light causes him pain, because it shines into the darkest places of his soul. He does realise I think, that this spirit has come to help him bring his gifts into the light, but the effort of looking at himself is unbearable, and he goes back into the darkness.
It seems to me that there are several threads in this exerpt from the story.
First, there are the gifts Scrooge had at one time. As we look back, he was a sensitive child who cared deeply for his sister, who wanted desperately to be loved by his father, who had a gift of joy, love and intelligence. His father was a similar man, but when life brought grief, he blamed a child, and lost the ability to love well. Scrooge doesn’t even see the tiny seed that is planted here.
He is treated with love and care, treated justly and kindly by his employer; he finds a beautiful young woman, and they have plans for their future. He is able to employ his gifts and his intelligence - and he has the opportunity to use those “for the common good”, yet he doesn’t. Remember Marley’s ghost, wailing into the dark night in an agony of the soul “Mankind was my business, the common welfare was my business.” Scrooge just doesn’t see it.
Finally, there is the underlying theme of repentance. I have a poster, supposedly John the Baptist, shouting “Merry Christmas, you brood of vipers! Now repent!”
What does it mean to repent? Nowadays we seem to think repent means to say we are sorry for something and promise not to do it again. Well, perhaps that’s part of it - but not all! To repent literally means to turn our lives around, to go in a different direction altogether. To repent means to look at the crooked paths of our lives, shine the light of the Spirit into those dark corners, take out all the things we have hidden away there and nurse so carefully, and throw them out.
Marley wishes to repent - but in Dickens’ story, he missed his chance. He cries out in grief “At this time of the rolling year I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of my fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never once lift them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which the light of that Star would have conducted me?”
The Ghost of Christmas Past forces Scrooge to let its light shine into the very darkest recesses of his own heart. Only by going back into his past, and the places where the road became crooked and bent, can he understand where he got away from the Spirit of Life.
What chains do we carry around from our past? What do we have in our hearts which needs to be illuminated, so that we can truly prepare for God’s love to enter? What do we push down? What has shaped us, in such a way that our gifts are mis-used, or not used at all?
While Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of Jesus, it is also one of the two times of the year when we are called to take time for introspection and reflection. Faith dies not just happen, as Scrooge is beginning to find out. Faith is important, but it takes work. To turn our lives around, to step out on a new road, can only happen if we understand ourselves.
There’s one other theme here, and the theme that keeps coming back - not only in Scrooge’s story, but the Christmas story, and in our story. God is reaching for each of us, wanting to make us whole people in every way. God will go to any length necessary to reach us, to help us, to show us what love is, and who we can be as children of love.
Sources:
1. Sermon from Advent 2 Year B
2. “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, he will clear threshing floor, gathering wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ******************************************************************************
As Scrooge lay in the bed, the curtains were drawn back, and he saw a figure unlike anything his imagination could have produced - like a child, yet like an old man diminished to a child's proportions. Its hair, which hung down its back, was white as if with age yet the face had not a wrinkle, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. It wore a tunic of purest white, and round its waist was a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand. From its head shone a bright clear light, and it held a great cap under its arm.
“Are you the spirit whose coming was foretold to me?” asked Scrooge? "I am."
"Who, and what are you?" Scrooge demanded. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Long Past?" inquired Scrooge, presumably noting signs of age. "No. Your past."
Scrooge begged the spirit to put the cap over its very bright head.
"What!" exclaimed the Ghost, "Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give? Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow!"
“I am here" said the Ghost. “for your welfare, your reclamation.”
***************************************************************
And so begins a journey into the past, and we get a glimpse of what made Scrooge the man he had become. A small boy, sitting alone in a schoolroom, while all his classmates leave for Christmas at home. The small boy’s mother died giving birth to him, and the father rejected him. He is sent to a boarding school, and a little bit of this boy hardens up and closes away.
The scene changes. A little girl comes in. "I have come to bring you home, dear brother!" she says. "Home, for good. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven! He spoke so gently to me one night when I was going to bed, that I was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home; and he said Yes, you should; and sent me in a coach to bring you. And you're never to come back here.”
The scene changes again. Scrooge is older now, a man in the prime of life. His face already wears the signs of greed and obsession. He is sitting with a fair young woman, in whose eyes there are tears.
"It matters little," she said, softly. "To you, very little. Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve."
"What Idol has displaced you?" he asks. "A golden one." responds the young woman.
"Have I ever sought release?" "In words? No. Never."
"In what, then?"
"In a changed nature; in an altered spirit; in another atmosphere of life. In everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight. If this had never been between us," she asks; "would you seek me out and try to win me now? Ah, no!"
"Spirit!" says the watching, old Scrooge, in agony again, "show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me? No more, I don't wish to see it! Show me no more!"
****************************************************************
We have seen a small and lonely boy, cut off from family, left alone at Christmas - a child whose father blamed him for the death of his mother in childbirth. We learn that the girl is Scrooge’s younger sister, probably by a second marriage. Fan also died, giving birth to Fred, Scrooge’s nephew. There are hints of abuse, of violence in this child’s background. Here is a child who learns that response to pain is to shut himself off. His father blames him and isolates him; Scrooge blames his nephew Fred, and isolates himself even further. Then we see him as his engagement ends, becoming harder, and the idol of money becoming his first love, instead of her.
Let’s look back at what we’ve seen of Scrooge. Marley shows Scrooge his unwillingness even to be open to those around him. He works in a dark place, with little light other than one candle. He lives in a dark house, huddled away by himself. He keeps his spirit in the dark, blocking out everything. Christmas, with all its joy and good spirits, offends his darkness. He has been given a talent, but instead of using his talent for the common good, as Paul says, he uses it - but not even for himself. He just doesn’t know what else to do. In this encounter with the Spirit of Christmas Past, he cannot bear the light which emanates from the ghost, and wants it covered. “Would you put out the light I give with worldly hands”asks the ghost “especially since you are one of the people responsible for forcing me to wear it year in and year out.” At the end of this chapter, Scrooge grabs the hat and pushes it down over the Spirit, but even that cannot shut out the blinding light. The light causes him pain, because it shines into the darkest places of his soul. He does realise I think, that this spirit has come to help him bring his gifts into the light, but the effort of looking at himself is unbearable, and he goes back into the darkness.
It seems to me that there are several threads in this exerpt from the story.
First, there are the gifts Scrooge had at one time. As we look back, he was a sensitive child who cared deeply for his sister, who wanted desperately to be loved by his father, who had a gift of joy, love and intelligence. His father was a similar man, but when life brought grief, he blamed a child, and lost the ability to love well. Scrooge doesn’t even see the tiny seed that is planted here.
He is treated with love and care, treated justly and kindly by his employer; he finds a beautiful young woman, and they have plans for their future. He is able to employ his gifts and his intelligence - and he has the opportunity to use those “for the common good”, yet he doesn’t. Remember Marley’s ghost, wailing into the dark night in an agony of the soul “Mankind was my business, the common welfare was my business.” Scrooge just doesn’t see it.
Finally, there is the underlying theme of repentance. I have a poster, supposedly John the Baptist, shouting “Merry Christmas, you brood of vipers! Now repent!”
What does it mean to repent? Nowadays we seem to think repent means to say we are sorry for something and promise not to do it again. Well, perhaps that’s part of it - but not all! To repent literally means to turn our lives around, to go in a different direction altogether. To repent means to look at the crooked paths of our lives, shine the light of the Spirit into those dark corners, take out all the things we have hidden away there and nurse so carefully, and throw them out.
Marley wishes to repent - but in Dickens’ story, he missed his chance. He cries out in grief “At this time of the rolling year I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of my fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never once lift them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which the light of that Star would have conducted me?”
The Ghost of Christmas Past forces Scrooge to let its light shine into the very darkest recesses of his own heart. Only by going back into his past, and the places where the road became crooked and bent, can he understand where he got away from the Spirit of Life.
What chains do we carry around from our past? What do we have in our hearts which needs to be illuminated, so that we can truly prepare for God’s love to enter? What do we push down? What has shaped us, in such a way that our gifts are mis-used, or not used at all?
While Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of Jesus, it is also one of the two times of the year when we are called to take time for introspection and reflection. Faith dies not just happen, as Scrooge is beginning to find out. Faith is important, but it takes work. To turn our lives around, to step out on a new road, can only happen if we understand ourselves.
There’s one other theme here, and the theme that keeps coming back - not only in Scrooge’s story, but the Christmas story, and in our story. God is reaching for each of us, wanting to make us whole people in every way. God will go to any length necessary to reach us, to help us, to show us what love is, and who we can be as children of love.
Sources:
1. Sermon from Advent 2 Year B
2. “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wake Up!!!!! A sermon based on Matthew 24:42-44 and Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:42-44
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day God will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you least expect him. “
Romans 13:11-14
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
**************************************************************************
“You will be haunted,” said the Ghost “by Three Spirits.”
Scrooge’s countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost’s had done.
“Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob?” he demanded in a faltering voice.
“It is.”
“Then, I think I’d rather not,” said Scrooge.
“Without their visits”, said the Ghost, “you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first tomorrow when the bell tolls one.”
“Couldn’t I take them all at once, and have it over, Jacob?” hinted Scrooge.
“Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. The third, upon the the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and see that, for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us.”
When it had said these words, the spectre took its wrapper from the table, and bound it round its head, as before. Scrooge knew this, by the smart sound its teeth made, when the jaws were brought together by the bandage. He ventured to raise his eyes again, and found his supernatural visitor confronting him in an erect attitude, with its chain wound over and about its arm. The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open.
It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. When they were within two paces of each other, Marley's Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Scrooge stopped.
Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear: for on the raising of the hand, he became sensible of confused noises in the air; incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory. The spectre, after listening for a moment, joined in the mournful dirge; and floated out upon the bleak, dark night.
Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out.
The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.
Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. But they and their spirit voices faded together; and the night became as it had been when he walked home.
Scrooge closed the window, and examined the door by which the Ghost had entered. It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were undisturbed. He tried to say ``Humbug!'' but stopped at the first syllable. And being, from the emotion he had undergone, or the fatigues of the day, or his glimpse of the Invisible World, or the dull conversation of the Ghost, or the lateness of the hour, much in need of repose; went straight to bed, without undressing, and fell asleep upon the instant.
**************************************************************************
A couple of years ago, in Japan I accompanied my husband to a lecture at Dokkyo University. I sat in the very back row, and observed several students slip in, slide down in the seats till they were almost sitting on their necks, and proceed to go to sleep. A couple of them realised I was the guest professor’s wife, and attempted to pay attention. It was almost comical watching as students tried to look involved and sleep at the same time. At the end of the class, all but one woke up in time to leave. I managed to gently nudge the one remaining snorer, who leapt to his feet and dashed out. They all missed an excellent lecture on language learning, and of course, never stopped to think they would have to answer a question on the final exam. Oops.
Wake-up calls. An interesting phrase. Hotels give wake-up calls, so we don’t miss important transportation or appointments. We talk about being “given a wake-up call” when something happens to grab our attention.
Paul writes to the church in Rome, giving them a wake-up call. He says to them “The night is far gone, and the day is dawning. So let us put on the armour of light.”
Even in the gospel lesson, Jesus warns his followers to "keep awake"- they wanted a precise time when he would return. "About that day and hour no one knows," Jesus says, "except God.”
Do we know what time it is? Sure - the first thing we do if the sermon goes on too long, or the service passes 12 noon, is look at our watches, and start thinking about all the other things we need to be getting at. Time is this thing that is sliced into twenty-four equal pieces and repeated endlessly every moment of our lives. We have wristwatches and alarm clocks. In this country alone we buy at least a hundred thousand of them each day. We have calendars, Daytimers, electronic timekeepers, every possible way of measuring time you can imagine.
What time is it? Do you want that in microseconds, or nanoseconds- billionths of a second. Now, when races are run at the Olympics, we judge the winners in terms of bits of seconds. We know precisely what time it is.
All of this time that we know so well is chronos time. Chronos time is wristwatch and alarm clock time. Chronos is the time in which we live most of our lives. Chronos times are these buckets of time that we pack with feverish activity in our Daytimers© and time management systems. The kind of time that we feel guilty when we're not doing something. It's the time we try to slow down, yet fall hopelessly behind.
Seconds of aging, of terrorism, of the rattling of sabres north and south of imaginary borders, of children starving, of torture and executions of children and women in whatever country.
Paul and Jesus are not talking about this kind of time. Nor was Dickens when he wrote the story of Scrooge. All three were talking about something called “kairos” time - those moments when God breaks through our Daytimer-driven and organised lives, often to give us a wake-up call.
Scrooge did not recognise that moment. He had spent all his life pushing everything away - and concentrating on amassing physical wealth in physical time, and convincing himself that was sufficient. He didn’t know what else to do and he was, frankly, frightened. He fell exhausted into bed and hoped it would all be nothing more than a crumb of cheese or a bit of underdone potato causing him gastric distress.
It wasn’t. Scrooge was entering that world of Kairos time - being time. He didn’t know that God was reaching for him. Kairos time is time never wasted. When we take moments to reflect on our lives and on the coming of Jesus, we move beyond the normal restrictions of time to God's time. Scrooge's error, and often ours, is that we think spending time in reflection is time wasted.
Earlier in the conversation between Scrooge and Marley, Scrooge seeks to ingratiate himself with the ghost by saying “You were always a good man of business, Jacob.” and Marley wails in agony “Mankind was my business! The common welfare was my business!” - and as Scrooge goes to the window he sees many spirits, in agony because they wish to assist in human affairs, to make life better for those who suffer, but it’s too late and they no longer have the capability.
Paul says that we are kairos people, people who walk according to God's schedule, but that some of us have fallen asleep. He throws up the image of light versus darkness, our worst and best locked in combat. “Wake up”, he says, “don't abuse your life or the lives of others. Take the time you are given to make the lives of others better.”
This Advent season allows us to look at time differently. Advent means that even while we tell the story again, and wait for a re-birth, we work to bring about the realm of God now. There is no time to waste.
Sources:
1. “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Stave One - Marley’s Ghost
c. 1962 by Scholastic Book Services, New York, NY.
2. “What Time is It?” A sermon by Rev. Thomas Hall
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day God will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you least expect him. “
Romans 13:11-14
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
**************************************************************************
“You will be haunted,” said the Ghost “by Three Spirits.”
Scrooge’s countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost’s had done.
“Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob?” he demanded in a faltering voice.
“It is.”
“Then, I think I’d rather not,” said Scrooge.
“Without their visits”, said the Ghost, “you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first tomorrow when the bell tolls one.”
“Couldn’t I take them all at once, and have it over, Jacob?” hinted Scrooge.
“Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. The third, upon the the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and see that, for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us.”
When it had said these words, the spectre took its wrapper from the table, and bound it round its head, as before. Scrooge knew this, by the smart sound its teeth made, when the jaws were brought together by the bandage. He ventured to raise his eyes again, and found his supernatural visitor confronting him in an erect attitude, with its chain wound over and about its arm. The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open.
It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. When they were within two paces of each other, Marley's Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Scrooge stopped.
Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear: for on the raising of the hand, he became sensible of confused noises in the air; incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory. The spectre, after listening for a moment, joined in the mournful dirge; and floated out upon the bleak, dark night.
Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out.
The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.
Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. But they and their spirit voices faded together; and the night became as it had been when he walked home.
Scrooge closed the window, and examined the door by which the Ghost had entered. It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were undisturbed. He tried to say ``Humbug!'' but stopped at the first syllable. And being, from the emotion he had undergone, or the fatigues of the day, or his glimpse of the Invisible World, or the dull conversation of the Ghost, or the lateness of the hour, much in need of repose; went straight to bed, without undressing, and fell asleep upon the instant.
**************************************************************************
A couple of years ago, in Japan I accompanied my husband to a lecture at Dokkyo University. I sat in the very back row, and observed several students slip in, slide down in the seats till they were almost sitting on their necks, and proceed to go to sleep. A couple of them realised I was the guest professor’s wife, and attempted to pay attention. It was almost comical watching as students tried to look involved and sleep at the same time. At the end of the class, all but one woke up in time to leave. I managed to gently nudge the one remaining snorer, who leapt to his feet and dashed out. They all missed an excellent lecture on language learning, and of course, never stopped to think they would have to answer a question on the final exam. Oops.
Wake-up calls. An interesting phrase. Hotels give wake-up calls, so we don’t miss important transportation or appointments. We talk about being “given a wake-up call” when something happens to grab our attention.
Paul writes to the church in Rome, giving them a wake-up call. He says to them “The night is far gone, and the day is dawning. So let us put on the armour of light.”
Even in the gospel lesson, Jesus warns his followers to "keep awake"- they wanted a precise time when he would return. "About that day and hour no one knows," Jesus says, "except God.”
Do we know what time it is? Sure - the first thing we do if the sermon goes on too long, or the service passes 12 noon, is look at our watches, and start thinking about all the other things we need to be getting at. Time is this thing that is sliced into twenty-four equal pieces and repeated endlessly every moment of our lives. We have wristwatches and alarm clocks. In this country alone we buy at least a hundred thousand of them each day. We have calendars, Daytimers, electronic timekeepers, every possible way of measuring time you can imagine.
What time is it? Do you want that in microseconds, or nanoseconds- billionths of a second. Now, when races are run at the Olympics, we judge the winners in terms of bits of seconds. We know precisely what time it is.
All of this time that we know so well is chronos time. Chronos time is wristwatch and alarm clock time. Chronos is the time in which we live most of our lives. Chronos times are these buckets of time that we pack with feverish activity in our Daytimers© and time management systems. The kind of time that we feel guilty when we're not doing something. It's the time we try to slow down, yet fall hopelessly behind.
Seconds of aging, of terrorism, of the rattling of sabres north and south of imaginary borders, of children starving, of torture and executions of children and women in whatever country.
Paul and Jesus are not talking about this kind of time. Nor was Dickens when he wrote the story of Scrooge. All three were talking about something called “kairos” time - those moments when God breaks through our Daytimer-driven and organised lives, often to give us a wake-up call.
Scrooge did not recognise that moment. He had spent all his life pushing everything away - and concentrating on amassing physical wealth in physical time, and convincing himself that was sufficient. He didn’t know what else to do and he was, frankly, frightened. He fell exhausted into bed and hoped it would all be nothing more than a crumb of cheese or a bit of underdone potato causing him gastric distress.
It wasn’t. Scrooge was entering that world of Kairos time - being time. He didn’t know that God was reaching for him. Kairos time is time never wasted. When we take moments to reflect on our lives and on the coming of Jesus, we move beyond the normal restrictions of time to God's time. Scrooge's error, and often ours, is that we think spending time in reflection is time wasted.
Earlier in the conversation between Scrooge and Marley, Scrooge seeks to ingratiate himself with the ghost by saying “You were always a good man of business, Jacob.” and Marley wails in agony “Mankind was my business! The common welfare was my business!” - and as Scrooge goes to the window he sees many spirits, in agony because they wish to assist in human affairs, to make life better for those who suffer, but it’s too late and they no longer have the capability.
Paul says that we are kairos people, people who walk according to God's schedule, but that some of us have fallen asleep. He throws up the image of light versus darkness, our worst and best locked in combat. “Wake up”, he says, “don't abuse your life or the lives of others. Take the time you are given to make the lives of others better.”
This Advent season allows us to look at time differently. Advent means that even while we tell the story again, and wait for a re-birth, we work to bring about the realm of God now. There is no time to waste.
Sources:
1. “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Stave One - Marley’s Ghost
c. 1962 by Scholastic Book Services, New York, NY.
2. “What Time is It?” A sermon by Rev. Thomas Hall
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Of Cabbages and Kings???? Reign of Christ (Christ the King) November 21, 2010 Based upon Luke 23:33-43 Humber United Church, Corner Brook
When they came to the place called “The Skull”, they crucified Jesus there, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And the soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what we deserve for the deeds we committed. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
******************************************************************
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings–
and why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wings."
In the story of Alice in Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll provides a wonderful little poem about a walrus, who goes out for a walk with some very cheery little oysters. In the end, the power of the walrus supersedes the lives of the little oysters, and they are no more. The power of the largest wins, and the most naive and gullible seem to lose.
This week, there was a news story about a huge statue of Christ the King - literally - which has been raised in the village of Swiebodzin, Poland. It is a gigantic statue of Jesus that Poles claim is the world's largest, and is the dream of a local priest which has been fulfilled. The white statue stands almost 170 feet, including the base and the crown on the head.
Not surprisingly, this huge statue has divided the Poles, and underlined the deep cultural divide between a strongly Catholic population in some areas, and an increasingly confident secular society. Many perceive the statue as tacky. The statue was built with donations from all over the world. The priest of the town claims he was called by Jesus to build this statue, a statue complete with a golden crown of an earthly King, not a crown of thorns.
I have to confess I have some struggles with this Sunday, particularly when it is in the context of a King, and we begin dressing it up in the symbols of earthly power and politics.
Christ the King Sunday is such a new observation in the church, that it has barely begun even to cut its teeth. In fact, it is only 85 years since the entire Christian church began to observe Christ the King Sunday. Pope Pius XI universally instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical “Quas Primas”. 1925 was a time of the rise of great secularism, and great wealth. It came prior to the stock market crash and the First World War. Many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting not only Christ's authority, but beginning to question the authority of the Church. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state; that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ; that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.
On the whole, I don’t think it was a bad idea. It was moved from its original date at the end of October, to the end of the liturgical year, with the idea that ending the church year with a time of reflection and repentance would make a good bridge to Advent.
But I have a problem with the whole “King” bit altogether. I can handle “Reign of Christ”, because that speaks to me of the realm of God, to which Jesus referred. And in fact, the Jewish Scriptures are, at best, ambivalent about the usefulness of a king. Is it a good idea to search for a king at all? Deuteronomy 17 sets out an ideal king:
“The king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself, or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them...... he must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere God and follow carefully all the words of this law; and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”
Does such a king exist? Would such a king ever exist? And what about turning Jesus into this kind of king? One who stands above all the people, wearing a golden crown?
Today, the same distrust of authority exists. Individualism has been embraced to the extreme that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Jesus as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Many balk at the idea of literal, human kings and queens, believing them to be oppressive. Some reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. I will confess, that I often wince at the language of "lord", because the people who use that language use it to set themselves and their faith above all others.
Let’s listen to the words of Jesus: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45).
When asked by Pilate, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).
Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he identified his role as one of humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death.
Rev. Ginny McDaniel writes “Today’s text about Jesus offering forgiveness as his final act is resonating with me like never before. If the church needs a single message, a sound byte, if you will, for this impatient, multitasking generation, it's this: It's ALL about mercy. We don't need taller statues to proclaim our message. We don't need bigger buildings and fancier gadgetry. Mercy is what the world needs, now as never before, now as it always has.” Mercy, compassion,, loving-kindness.
We talk often about judgment of the nations, without knowing that the translation of the word “judge” from Hebrew means “the one who makes right”. Jesus’ teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. So I will use the phrase “Christ the King” today, because it celebrates a man willing to die for humanity, and whose "loving-kindness" is a cornerstone of faith. This king gives true freedom, and in his life and death radically redefined the concept of king, as one who walks *with* others, who serves, and who loves beyond himself.
And so, although this day in the church year is new, it is indeed a fitting place to stop and reflect on the meaning of a king, and to turn our faces to the road to Bethlehem, where the new kind of King will be born.
Sources:
1. "The Walrus and the Carpenter", in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
2. Swiebodzin - by VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Sat Nov 6, 6:13 pm ET
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_King
4. http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html
5. “The Greatest Gift of All”, a sermon by the Rev. Ginny McDaniel
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
******************************************************************
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings–
and why the sea is boiling hot,
and whether pigs have wings."
In the story of Alice in Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll provides a wonderful little poem about a walrus, who goes out for a walk with some very cheery little oysters. In the end, the power of the walrus supersedes the lives of the little oysters, and they are no more. The power of the largest wins, and the most naive and gullible seem to lose.
This week, there was a news story about a huge statue of Christ the King - literally - which has been raised in the village of Swiebodzin, Poland. It is a gigantic statue of Jesus that Poles claim is the world's largest, and is the dream of a local priest which has been fulfilled. The white statue stands almost 170 feet, including the base and the crown on the head.
Not surprisingly, this huge statue has divided the Poles, and underlined the deep cultural divide between a strongly Catholic population in some areas, and an increasingly confident secular society. Many perceive the statue as tacky. The statue was built with donations from all over the world. The priest of the town claims he was called by Jesus to build this statue, a statue complete with a golden crown of an earthly King, not a crown of thorns.
I have to confess I have some struggles with this Sunday, particularly when it is in the context of a King, and we begin dressing it up in the symbols of earthly power and politics.
Christ the King Sunday is such a new observation in the church, that it has barely begun even to cut its teeth. In fact, it is only 85 years since the entire Christian church began to observe Christ the King Sunday. Pope Pius XI universally instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925 in his encyclical “Quas Primas”. 1925 was a time of the rise of great secularism, and great wealth. It came prior to the stock market crash and the First World War. Many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting not only Christ's authority, but beginning to question the authority of the Church. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being taken in by these earthly leaders. Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state; that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ; that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies.
On the whole, I don’t think it was a bad idea. It was moved from its original date at the end of October, to the end of the liturgical year, with the idea that ending the church year with a time of reflection and repentance would make a good bridge to Advent.
But I have a problem with the whole “King” bit altogether. I can handle “Reign of Christ”, because that speaks to me of the realm of God, to which Jesus referred. And in fact, the Jewish Scriptures are, at best, ambivalent about the usefulness of a king. Is it a good idea to search for a king at all? Deuteronomy 17 sets out an ideal king:
“The king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself, or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them...... he must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere God and follow carefully all the words of this law; and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”
Does such a king exist? Would such a king ever exist? And what about turning Jesus into this kind of king? One who stands above all the people, wearing a golden crown?
Today, the same distrust of authority exists. Individualism has been embraced to the extreme that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Jesus as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Many balk at the idea of literal, human kings and queens, believing them to be oppressive. Some reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. I will confess, that I often wince at the language of "lord", because the people who use that language use it to set themselves and their faith above all others.
Let’s listen to the words of Jesus: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45).
When asked by Pilate, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).
Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he identified his role as one of humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death.
Rev. Ginny McDaniel writes “Today’s text about Jesus offering forgiveness as his final act is resonating with me like never before. If the church needs a single message, a sound byte, if you will, for this impatient, multitasking generation, it's this: It's ALL about mercy. We don't need taller statues to proclaim our message. We don't need bigger buildings and fancier gadgetry. Mercy is what the world needs, now as never before, now as it always has.” Mercy, compassion,, loving-kindness.
We talk often about judgment of the nations, without knowing that the translation of the word “judge” from Hebrew means “the one who makes right”. Jesus’ teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. So I will use the phrase “Christ the King” today, because it celebrates a man willing to die for humanity, and whose "loving-kindness" is a cornerstone of faith. This king gives true freedom, and in his life and death radically redefined the concept of king, as one who walks *with* others, who serves, and who loves beyond himself.
And so, although this day in the church year is new, it is indeed a fitting place to stop and reflect on the meaning of a king, and to turn our faces to the road to Bethlehem, where the new kind of King will be born.
Sources:
1. "The Walrus and the Carpenter", in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
2. Swiebodzin - by VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Sat Nov 6, 6:13 pm ET
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_King
4. http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html
5. “The Greatest Gift of All”, a sermon by the Rev. Ginny McDaniel
Saturday, November 13, 2010
"Back to the Future" A sermon based upon Isaiah 65:17-25, and Revelation 21:1-4. Humber United Church, Corner Brook, Newfoundland November 14, 2010
In the movie “Back to the Future”, Marty McFly is accidentally sent back to 1955, where he meets his future mother and fath as teens. If he cannot ensure that they get married and have children, his own future will not exist. Not only do we get some insight into life back in 1955 for a young person, we get a kind of theological movie about how things happen. That unless some certain things *do* happen, other things *won’t* happen.
It’s been an interesting journey, saying “yes” to this future at Corner Brook. I had no doubts whatsoever that this was meant to happen. If I had said no, the future would have been significantly different. What has been interesting is the reaction of my friends. My ministry friends, most of them, said “Way to go, Fran!” Some said “when other people are trying NOT to get settled in Newfoundland, you decide to go there.” Of my close friends, only one said “You’re doing this the right way. At a time when most of us are slowing down, you’re picking up speed and doing something different.” The others said “Why is Fran doing this??”
Today we hear two pieces of scripture. I like to call them “book ends” to God’s future. Isaiah has a vision of a new creation. God says “See, I am about to do a new thing!”. The vision describes what the new creation will be like. There will be no illness, no sadness; small children will grow up to be old and wise, instead of dying young.
Then in Revelation, we see the vision of John where the future has happened - the new creation, the realm of God has come. John takes his readers back to the future in God’s world. The realm of God, right in the mucky and horrendous world of the here and now, happens.
What is interesting is that neither scripture says HOW it will happen.
Rev. Thomas Hall is one of my favourite crafters of sermons. He talks about how we get stuck in the here and now - “preoccupied by grotesque shapes of terrorism, the runaway costs of living, unchecked crime in our neighborhoods, or pollution on a global scale.” and he says that we too often see only the mud of life. But, he says, the vocabulary of faith opens our vision to see purpose beyond chaos, joy beyond sorrow, life beyond death, and God beyond all the muck.
A friend of mine, Rev. Fred Ulrich, is both an ordained certified Methodist preacher, and an ordained Buddhist priest; because of his dual training, he has the ability to take stories out of either tradition, and make them relevant. He told a story about the lotus plant. The lotus is one of the most beautiful flowers, rising from under the water, pushing the flower head above the surface, and opening into something completely spectacular. What we don’t see, says Fred, is the muck down at the bottom of the pond. Lotus seeds cannot grow without the muck and the mud. Without a filthy and mucky bottom layer, the lotus would not be at all.
Human beings, and creation, are like the lotus. I think we need the muck and the fear, to make us look harder at the future. Without those things, perhaps faith would not exist at all. When we see death, we reflect on what life is; when we see illness we reflect on what health is - either physical or spiritual; when we see war, we begin to think about the true meaning of peace. When we look at all of those things we begin to think about the future which God describes to Isaiah and to John, and we begin to work to get to that future.
Faith allows us to claim with the prophet Isaiah that God is at work creating new heavens and a new earth. Our vision sees grace flying up and up from the mud.
God’s vision continues to build a new heaven and earth, not just through Jesus. That’s too easy to say it’s all happening through Jesus. God is also creating this new heaven and earth through each of us, if we are attentive. Jesus set the example, but we who claim to be disciples have to make the decision to follow, even if that means taking a risk and trying out something totally new.
God’s vision does not suggest that we unplug ourselves and walk away from the mud. Rather the opposite—we work in our world and in the relationships of our daily lives as if the Realm of God is at hand, and is already shaping that new heaven and earth. Our hands, our words, our efforts and energy, our financial investments to further God’s purpose for the world become in God’s creative hands, the tools God uses to create new things in the world.
The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is a kind of exhortation. He writes to the church in Thessalonika that they should not “weary of doing what is right”.
But our sustaining vision frees our faith to look beyond the Now and beyond those things that run opposite to God’s great vision of health, healing, wholeness, peace, love, and restoration in this world. So we look back to Isaiah, and back to Revelation, in order to create that future which God lays out. What we as Christians are trying to do in our faith journey together is going back to the future of God’s vision for all of creation.
And in that quest, we take risk. We set out on a journey to a new place. We don’t know what will happen on the road. We don’t know what will happen at any of the stops on the way. But we enter into the journey together, to work together in the creation of that future. This is our upward call- to shape the future, to shape a beautiful flower, from the very mud in which our feet are planted. May it be so.
Sources:
1. “Grace Flying Up”, a sermon based on Isaiah 65:1-7 by Rev. Thomas Hall
2. General Council lecture, Camrose, Alberta 1998, Rev. Fred Ulrich.
It’s been an interesting journey, saying “yes” to this future at Corner Brook. I had no doubts whatsoever that this was meant to happen. If I had said no, the future would have been significantly different. What has been interesting is the reaction of my friends. My ministry friends, most of them, said “Way to go, Fran!” Some said “when other people are trying NOT to get settled in Newfoundland, you decide to go there.” Of my close friends, only one said “You’re doing this the right way. At a time when most of us are slowing down, you’re picking up speed and doing something different.” The others said “Why is Fran doing this??”
Today we hear two pieces of scripture. I like to call them “book ends” to God’s future. Isaiah has a vision of a new creation. God says “See, I am about to do a new thing!”. The vision describes what the new creation will be like. There will be no illness, no sadness; small children will grow up to be old and wise, instead of dying young.
Then in Revelation, we see the vision of John where the future has happened - the new creation, the realm of God has come. John takes his readers back to the future in God’s world. The realm of God, right in the mucky and horrendous world of the here and now, happens.
What is interesting is that neither scripture says HOW it will happen.
Rev. Thomas Hall is one of my favourite crafters of sermons. He talks about how we get stuck in the here and now - “preoccupied by grotesque shapes of terrorism, the runaway costs of living, unchecked crime in our neighborhoods, or pollution on a global scale.” and he says that we too often see only the mud of life. But, he says, the vocabulary of faith opens our vision to see purpose beyond chaos, joy beyond sorrow, life beyond death, and God beyond all the muck.
A friend of mine, Rev. Fred Ulrich, is both an ordained certified Methodist preacher, and an ordained Buddhist priest; because of his dual training, he has the ability to take stories out of either tradition, and make them relevant. He told a story about the lotus plant. The lotus is one of the most beautiful flowers, rising from under the water, pushing the flower head above the surface, and opening into something completely spectacular. What we don’t see, says Fred, is the muck down at the bottom of the pond. Lotus seeds cannot grow without the muck and the mud. Without a filthy and mucky bottom layer, the lotus would not be at all.
Human beings, and creation, are like the lotus. I think we need the muck and the fear, to make us look harder at the future. Without those things, perhaps faith would not exist at all. When we see death, we reflect on what life is; when we see illness we reflect on what health is - either physical or spiritual; when we see war, we begin to think about the true meaning of peace. When we look at all of those things we begin to think about the future which God describes to Isaiah and to John, and we begin to work to get to that future.
Faith allows us to claim with the prophet Isaiah that God is at work creating new heavens and a new earth. Our vision sees grace flying up and up from the mud.
God’s vision continues to build a new heaven and earth, not just through Jesus. That’s too easy to say it’s all happening through Jesus. God is also creating this new heaven and earth through each of us, if we are attentive. Jesus set the example, but we who claim to be disciples have to make the decision to follow, even if that means taking a risk and trying out something totally new.
God’s vision does not suggest that we unplug ourselves and walk away from the mud. Rather the opposite—we work in our world and in the relationships of our daily lives as if the Realm of God is at hand, and is already shaping that new heaven and earth. Our hands, our words, our efforts and energy, our financial investments to further God’s purpose for the world become in God’s creative hands, the tools God uses to create new things in the world.
The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is a kind of exhortation. He writes to the church in Thessalonika that they should not “weary of doing what is right”.
But our sustaining vision frees our faith to look beyond the Now and beyond those things that run opposite to God’s great vision of health, healing, wholeness, peace, love, and restoration in this world. So we look back to Isaiah, and back to Revelation, in order to create that future which God lays out. What we as Christians are trying to do in our faith journey together is going back to the future of God’s vision for all of creation.
And in that quest, we take risk. We set out on a journey to a new place. We don’t know what will happen on the road. We don’t know what will happen at any of the stops on the way. But we enter into the journey together, to work together in the creation of that future. This is our upward call- to shape the future, to shape a beautiful flower, from the very mud in which our feet are planted. May it be so.
Sources:
1. “Grace Flying Up”, a sermon based on Isaiah 65:1-7 by Rev. Thomas Hall
2. General Council lecture, Camrose, Alberta 1998, Rev. Fred Ulrich.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Starting a new chapter.
Currently sitting in a hotel in North Sydney, Cape Breton. It was a long drive here, stopping in Trois-Rivieres, Fredericton, and finally North Sydney. High winds have made ferry travel to Newfoundland difficult, with the result that all departures are considerably delayed. My 10:30 p.m. ferry today is now leaving at (hopefully) 06:00 on the morning of November 12, with a line-up call of 03:00. The hotel fortunately allowed me to book for an extra day. This, of course, is normal for those who live in Newfoundland. Everything depends on the weather, in a way we in most of the rest of the country don't quite understand. Those who live on Vancouver Island will understand it. There are only two ways on and off the islands: by air, or if you need to drive, by ferry. But the wind across the Cabot Strait can be incredible, and if the ferries stop, everything is held.
As of November 14, 2010, sermons will be posted here. Eventually there will be a church website with a link. I hope you find something here which feeds you in some way. Welcome to Humber.
As of November 14, 2010, sermons will be posted here. Eventually there will be a church website with a link. I hope you find something here which feeds you in some way. Welcome to Humber.
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