Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." -Matthew 1:18-25 “Do not be afraid” says the messenger. Joseph, like his ancient namesake, has been up all night wrestling. Anyone in their right mind would be terrified at this unfiltered encounter with God’s word and will. So any time an angel of the LORD shows up in the bible, they work these words into the conversation, “Do not be afraid.” In this case, Joseph is not to be afraid of changing his mind. (All of us probably know of at least one guy who’s afraid changing his mind might be seen as a sign of weakness. Can you say “political gridlock”?) I’m not sure I ever noticed before that Joseph never says a word. God is the only active agent in this passage. Joseph never speaks; he listens, even though he’s already made up his mind. That’s why the angel’s here, to change Joseph’s mind. He doesn’t even lay out the plan for him. Instead it seems a perfect example of what Erwin Schrödinger called the ability to, “abide by ignorance for an indefinite amount of time, ” Can Joseph trust God to lead him beyond the facts that he is able to see at this moment in time? Engaged in those days was the same as married in ours, in the legal sense. The timeline of setting up household could be different from what we’re used to. But a married man had set obligations, to his wife, and to his community. With Mary pregnant (surprise!) and not by him (surprise!), those obligations came into conflict. A righteous man clearly would set her aside. A loving man would struggle with that choice. But Joseph had wrestled a decision out of his confusion. A man had to do what a man had to do. By this time in Jewish history, the Rabbis had softened ancient legal mandates for a dishonored man expose the woman to death by stoning. But it was still expected that an honorable man would “put aside” (divorce) the woman to maintain the integrity of his family. He could “keep her,” but it would bring shame to his family. Not because she was pregnant before they lived together, but because he was not the father. In other words, either she would be exposed to disgrace or he would be exposed to dishonor. What’s a man to do? Listening to God seems to be a very good start. Joseph “covers” Mary and Jesus not out of moral obligation (quite the contrary) or biological self-interest (to live on through his descendents), but because God places them in his life and invites him to love them. The point of this couple holding off on sex is not purity (nothing in scripture says that Mary stayed a life long virgin or that there was any value at all in her doing so). The point is that Joseph is not this baby’s biological father. Becoming Jesus’ father is his choice, just as God’s decision to enter the world in the vulnerable form of an infant born to parents living in a dangerous world is God’s choice. Isaiah says, “A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.” If we read ahead in the story, we see Joseph’s role as protector leads him on three journeys, to Bethlehem with a very pregnant wife; to Egypt with an infant under a death sentence, and finally back to Galilee, though far from his hometown. He will raise Jesus in Nazareth, where the authorities are less likely to be alerted to their unusual story, just another new family in town. And that’s the last we’ll see of Joseph in Matthew’s gospel. (There is one more story of Joseph with 12-year-old Jesus in Luke’s account, but that’s another story.) What kind of man was this Joseph? What kind of father did Joseph choose to be that Jesus would teach his followers to call God, “Daddy?” Just this brief glimpse of his life shows us that he was: a Listener, open to God's word and will Response-able, a man of action a provider for those in need and protector of the vulnerable. A lot like Jesus. I’ll never forget one long night struggling in prayer with a woman who desperately wanted to be open to a God called father but whose own father and uncle had abused her sexually from ages 6-14. Stop and think for a moment about what qualities of your father adhere to your image of God. Growing in faith means learning to listen openly to the father images that others carry consciously and unconsciously, postivie and negative. Figuring out how to be a man in that world was as hard as figuring it out today. This video illustrates the struggle: “Men, let’s talk” Godly men can face terrible dilemmas on behalf of their families and on behalf of the human race. I think of Nelson Mandela whose work at the end of his life was to reconcile with children and grandchildren he neglected in the struggle to free millions of people from apartheid. On the way to one of his first speeches after being freed from prison, Mandela’s driver became lost. He stopped in an affluent suburb, not a safe place for them at that time, to ask directions form a young white woman pushing a pram. Mandela got out of the car and approached the woman. It had been more than three decades since he’d been able to touch a child. Could he hold her baby for just a moment? This week we saw his own proud grandchildren speaking at his memorial. CNN reporter Raphael Warnock, observing the outpouring of response to Mandela’s death, said “We must move from awe to action” That’s Joseph’s story too. Holiday Ads would lead us believe that today, a fathers responsibility is to make their children happy. They promise you can achieve it with luxury vacations, wonderful toys. Those are delightful highlights in anyone’s’ life. They are not, however, the staples that create a truly happy life.. The fathers I talk with on a weekly basis struggle with: mental health epidemic. Affordable housing Paying for dental care- diabetic crisis- new glasses. With how to make a living wage, With the price of milk, of gas, of sports equipment. They struggle with, “will my child be able to make their way through the narrowing economic bottleneck and be able to provide for a family themselves?” “We must move from awe, at these precious lives entrusted to us, to action on their behalf” I think of the grandfather who stepped in to help raise a fatherless boy who would become our current president. I think of men who volunteer as Big Brothers, stepping in to the gap, not knowing what they’re getting into. I think of Sandy Hook parents creating legacies And Church fathers (and mothers) creating legacies, So that children born today may inherit a better world. I think of that line in James that could be words straight out of Joseph’s mouth, “Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” Awe and action, Hope begins with quieting our fears long enough to listen for God’s guidance. Love acts out of the fathering mothering love that is an image of God’s own self. Prayer of the Day by Thom Shuman Come, Justice-keeper: so we can see you cradling the most vulnerable in our world Come, Hunger-ender, calling us to work at your side to feed all who are in need. Come, Faith-keeper: so we might bear witness to your trust which draws us closer to God. Come, Power-shaker: to get us moving on behalf of all who have lost their way. Come, Sight-restorer: so we might see you in the barren places of life. Come, Holy Way Builder: putting the finishing touches on a new manger. Come, God in Community, Holy in One, come.
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Something was going on down by the river. Jesus' odd cousin John was there ahead of him and causing quite a stir in his camel hair (scratchy!) duds and that locust breath. mmmmmmm. Every one who could get loose was heading down to what was happening. There were people with nothing else to do. There were people desparately hoping for something new. They were looking for entertainment, energy, connection, healing. So people responsible for keeping order, the pastors and pillars of the community, followed them down to see what was going on. (We always have to keep our eyes open for where we pop up in these stories). Some of them probably really wanted to be baptised, renewed, refreshed. Others surely wanted to remind the folks they were watching. John's reaction to the newcomers was an emphatic welcome, right? Not! John was the shock jock of his generation, not motivated by fame and fortune, but with his back up, his hackles raised against inauthenticity and injustice. In scripture, it seems as though people either live with hearts open and ready for annointing or hearts so hard they have to be broken open. From John's reaction, we catch a clue of how tightly the leaders were clinging to control. maybe they were afraid. Roman authority was pretty good to those who stayed in line, but awfully hard on those who strayed out of line. Maybe they were frozen in habits that had sustained them through years of struggle for minority identity in a bigger stronger culture. Whatever it was, John was ready to crack it open. And this was the act Jesus had to follow! Two young men, called to unusual work on God's behalf, sons of mothers pregnant under strange circumstances, They were full of infectious enthusiasm if you were ready for them. And if not, well...... I found myself thinking about a video this week while grapping with what the relationship between these two might have been. Take a look at "Frst Follower" (above). When Matthew describes John and Jesus, he's showing us two young men who have each others' back. World War I fighter pilots, would say I "got your six." If you picture yourself at the center of a clock face, the area directly in front of you is twelve o’clock. Six o’clock is what lies behind you. Your “six” is the most vulnerable. So, when someone tells you that they’ve “got your six,” it means they’re watching your back (and you have theirs). Its the kind of trust that develops in service to a common mission. What did it mean to say, “I’ve got your back” when both of these young men would die horrible deaths? John’s head on a platter, and Jesus’s body outstretched on a cross? What could be more important than their very lives? What was worth following, one after another was God's vision of authentic living. They were men on a mission. Yesterday Jeff and I attended the funeral for an extroverted, mischievous, generous 20 year old. We listened to 3 generations of men, fathers, mentors, friends put into words what it meant to watch, and to help, a boy become a man. Ways they had each other’s back, ways they inspired each other to follow, first one, then another, on the sometimes winding path of learning to lead the life God gave them. THey shared what it means to lose sight of a life, for one you love to disappear over the horizon of our sight line and trust that, just as the earth is not a flat plain from which we can fall, the end of life as we know it is not the end of life as God knows it. This week the world has been watching South Africa as her people farewell Nelson Mandela. In the midst of mourning, reporter Grogory Warner said……..there is a sense that people feel that they're ready to take on a future, and as they say, “take the bait,” be the next Mandela. A lot of people talk like that. The people in South Africa have been dancing for days. Dancing for joy, dancing for grief, dancing for life. Its a resurrection-dance that is infectious, that catches up ready hearts and breaks others open to God's grace. Chidren dancing, college students dancing, grandmothers dancing, former jail guards dancing.... This is the startling claim of our faith. Death is not stronger than life. Life is infinitely larger than what we can see. [1] Gregory Warner, NPR 12-7-13, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=249434909 12-1-13 And A Little Child. 10:30 MOSAIC Worship Message The NY Times Weekend arts section headline on November 1 was a cultural mash up of biblical prophecy and popular culture. It read : “And a little child shall lead them….Into Space Battle” and was a movie review for “Ender’s Game,” a sci-fi box office flop that may well become a cult classic. Listen to reviewer Manahloia Dargis” choice of words: “As the [adolescent hero] furiously moves spaceships and troops across computer screens, he looks by turns, like a superexcited kid, an orchestra conductor, Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and even a Christ figure. Childhood can be tough in movies, but rarely do screen children suffer for our sins as they do here.” Its no surprise that Mr. Card’s novel, which he followed with several sequels, has sold a zillion copies. The charismatic leader, the divine child, the possible Christ Child or potential Hitler stand-in…..Ender is singled out because he seems to be a natural leader, which in the logic of both the book and the movie means someone who imposes his will on enemy and friend alike. He’s rational and brutal. {His leadership potential was first spotted at age 6 when he] methodically brutalizes a bully, kicking the other boy repeatedly, including in the face. Ender has logically decided that by crushing the other boy, he will prevent future attacks. [1], We have many child heroes, and anti-heroes these days. Maybe its to be expected of a baby boomer generation never completely ready to grow up. Some of the heroes are real. Others are imaginary. Some reveal our win/lose, us/them assumptions about life as survival. Others make us wonder if there isn’t another way. Some are familiar Some are unexpected. I just finished reading a child’s version of the 2005 earthquake in Northern Pakistan. On October 8, In that disaster 73,000 people were killed, 11,000 orphans left, 3.5 million children lost their homes, 6,400 schools were reduced to rubble. In "I am Malala," the young author remembers her father’s trip to his family village in the beautiful Swat valley a couple of days later : .he told us that the last part of the journey had been very difficult. Much of the road had collapsed into the river and large boulders had fallen and blocked the way. Our family and friends said they thought it was the end of the world. They described the roar of rocks sliding down hills and everyone running out of their houses reciting the Quran, the screams as roofs crashed down and the howls of the buffaloes and goats. As the tremors continued they had spent the entire day outdoors and then the night too, huddling together for warmth, even though it was bitterly cold in the mountains….Mullahs from the TNSM preached that the earthquake was a warning from God. If we did not mend our ways and introduce shariat (Islamic law), they shouted in their thundering voices, more severe punishment would come. A few years later, that punishment came. But did it really come from God? I was ten when the Taliban came to our valley. Maniba and I had been reading the Twilight books and longed to be vampires. Now it seemed to us that the Taliban arrived in the night just like vampires. They appeared in groups, armed with knives and Kalishnikovs, and first emerged in Upper Swat, in the hilly areas of Matta. In the dark of night, one is taken and one is left, By a knife, a bullet, a drone strike. And a little child shall lead them. God’s purposefulness pops up in the most unexpected places, doesn’t it? The story Malala tells takes her readers through her efforts to keep schools open for herself and other girls until one day while she's rding home on the bus, a would be assassin not many years older than herself puts a bullet through her head. She rose to international attention, a story breaking open the reality of resilient everyday people struggling to live with hope and dignity under incredible odds. Malala’s story aligns with God’s story, incredibly expansive enough to exceed our expectations, enduringly persistent enough to keep startling us awake. Today we entered Matthew’s world. The text that will guide us through worship for the next year is not much longer than a comic book. With some pretty interesting characters to illustrate: Open it up, take a look at the first 2 chapters. Who do you see? ___The genealogy in Mathew 1 ___“will he or won’t he” Joseph, ___Magi,/Wise men/astrologers, (Why does the carol call them kings? Why do WE call them kings ___The unseen innkeeper (who we assume gave permission to stay in the stable) ___Archelaus ___Herod Jesus' strange cousin John will appear in next week's reading (springing onto the scene fully grown & oddly clothed) Who ARE these people? How do we dress them for the children’s pageant? Where do our Christmas stories come from? Movies, picture books, memories? Reading the scripture’s Christmas stories (plural: Matthew’s Luke’s John’s Paul’s) raises questions we may have forgotten about. Read them this week and ask yourself What do you notice? What do you want to ask? What good news do you hear? Will you see a God who divides and conquers or will you see a God who slips into humanity’s cracks and crevices and illuminates them with life and hope? Come, it is the season of watching and waiting, Even…no, especially, in the festival traditions and family gatherings, in end of year budget crunches and tight time schedules. Come, let us listen for stories with God’s power used in surprising ways. Come away and let this little child, Jesus, lead you as he sneaks into the world. Come, experience the redemption story anew. Prayer : Lord, we confess that our savior complex kicks in pretty easily: "I’ll take this one, and this one, and those two.Those others I’m ready to leave behind." Knowing that you see what we cannot, knowing that you love who we do not want to, ready to be awakened by your startling presence, We hold in prayer the unkown and the unloved. Draw our attention to the places you long to be so that we may watch for your coming. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/enders-game-with-harrison-ford-and-asa-butterfield.html?_r=0 (Manohlia Dargis, film review, (NY Time 11-1-13) 12-1-13 “Come, Let Us Go” 8:30 CELEBRATION service, Brunswick UMC Advent 1 Dec. 1 Watchfulness Matthew 24: 36-44, Isaiah 2: 1-5, Romans 13: 11-14 "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. “Merry Christmas” Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be saying? (Or Happy Holidays, if we’re careful not to offend?) Merry Christmas…Noah? What on earth does Noah have to do with Jesus? Or with Christmas? What a strange start to a season we think we know everything about. The seasonal tug of war has begun. Do we look this way, or that? What are we supposed to see? What are we watching for? Today, we stepped into the worlds of Isaiah the prophet and Matthew the evangelist, our companions for the Journey toward Christmas. Isaiah looks forward. Matthew looks backward. What IS God doing in between? Two weeks ago I asked some of our youth group for their insights reading the first two chapters of Matthew. Their first reaction was to notice what’s missing: the manger, shepherds, animals, angels. It is a biblically literate group. No one asked where Santa Claus was. Their second reaction was, "This isn't our Christmas story!" The scripture we heard a few minutes ago seems even less Christmasy. Is God confused? Are lectionary planners just trying to fill space left vacant by the pieces missing from Matthew's version of the nativity? For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. What a crazy time. What should we be looking at? What are we watching for? It’s a season that’s easy on the eye around here. Look at all the beautiful decorations. It’s a season that plays havoc on the checkbook. Now you see it, now you don’t! It’s a season that’s disorienting on the moral compass. At the end of the day do we reserve a little bit for those without, Or At the beginning of the season, can we remember who Christ came for? One will be taken and one will be left. You wouldn’t leave me behind, would you, Jesus? Only, (turn back) could you hold off on the whole coming and going thing until I’ve got my cookies baked and my shopping list done and my cards mailed? They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe that’s what’s happening with the “Sunday Assembly.” [1] In London, about 600 people began gathering monthly, and now twice a month, to sing, share liturgy, seek life’s meaning, and to be inspired in community. What they have in common is that none of them believe in God. They are atheists craving worship. Has absence made the heart grow fonder? Philosophical pragmatists believe we know something is true if it works. PUt another way, if something works then it is true. If worship works, might not the reality of God be true? Some observers believe that denying what motivates worshipful behavior will be its demise. How long can you keep putting energy into something that is not true? But I can’t help wondering if the practice of worship might not lead some to seek the object of worship, God. Watch and wait. if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. In the middle of our regularly scheduled show, Before the oven timer tells us the roast is done. While we’re fighting over the rules of the UMC or who will get access to health care this year or how much we’ll defund, (not defend) the Supplemental Nutrition Program this week…. In our tug of war where the winner takes….what? God will pop up. And not all of us will be ready. Airman Brandon Bryant wanted to be “part of a force for good” when he became a drone operator. For six years he worked in Nevada, using a computer console with vivid and violent scenes of Afghan and Pakistani villages 7,000 miles away. Interviewed this October by GQ, Brandon said that his “views about the morality of the operation changed when he saw a child vaporized on the screen and saw hundred of people blown to bits. He walked away from a $109,000 bonus with a severe case of PTSD and a final kill count of 1,626. ‘The number made me sick to my stomach,” he said.’”[2] What are we watching? Do we have a choice? Jesus’ words today remind us that being ready is not something we can take for granted, its not a permanent state of being that we achieve. It’s a watchfulness to be tended each day. Who will be left behind? We leave people behind everyday. We take people out every day. But if God has God’s way, the answer is “no-one.” All who are willing will be gathered into this Advent ark of salvation. So God reaches out to gather us in, -invites us to meet each morning- In prayer, in scripture, so that our eyes and ears are open as we enter the day. In the mid day, to notice what might be getting in our way: to meet with others trying to learn to keep their eyes open. To think of the end of the day less as a time for locking up what’s left that sharing what’s been given, leaving more room for God’s wide embrace in the restorative night hours. Paul, the church builder, wrote, Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; …..[Come], put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14) Odd words between black Friday and cyber Monday. It almost sounds like God lacks interest in our holiday preparations, our physical gratifications. On Christmas morning many of us will face a pile of presents meant to represent love. But God will be present as the face of love. Come, let us go and watch for the coming of Christ. . We’ll find Christ coming where God’s love is needed most. I invite you to practice watching by thinking of a person who you find it hard to love, or to forgive, or to help. Hold the image of that person’s face in your mind as we pray. For you, ________, Christ was born. For you, ___________Christ died. For you, _________Christ lives again. Prayer: by Thom Shuman In the compassion which can overturn injustice, in the forgiveness which can heal a broken heart, in the wonder which can illuminate shadowed longings: surely your days are coming, God of holy seasons. In the peace which can calm anxious souls, in the joy which can shatter our despair, in the songs which can lift sagging spirits: surely the signs of your Advent are all around us, Servant of justice. In the giggles of children who use too much tape and wrapping paper, in the warm cookie smells coming out of grandpa's kitchen, in the kindness of the stranger who lets us go ahead in the line: surely you are in our midst, Spirit of joy. [1] “Sunday Assembly,” Century Marks, Christian Century, 11-27-13 p. 8 [2] “Remote Control,” Century Marks, Christian Century 11-27-13, p. 9 |
Karen L MunsonUnited Methodist Pastor & Liturgical Artist Archives
September 2015
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