SERMONS
What kind of greeting is that?
We don’t always see that “best” these days. Sometimes the stress brings out the worst in us. With the pandemic rates surging again, many wonder whether they should visit one another this Christmas. And what is our greeting amid the fear, confusion, impatience and grief we carry? Even “how are you” is a complicated question, right? The promised one is among you this day, greeting you with a tender embrace, greeting you with words of forgiveness, words of hope, words of perseverance.
The Holy One assures you that you are highly favored, treasured by God. Nothing in all creation can separate you from divine love. Not even pandemic, or climate change, panic or exhaustion.
Something is Stirring
“My words will not pass away” This is our zipline folks. This is when we jump off the ledge of the world we know and are carried off, being held by this enduring factor. The word made flesh that lives within us and sustains us through our most apocalyptic moments and stirs within us holy anticipation of what is to come: The kindom of heaven.
Christ's Kin-dom Now
And on Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, we are reminded that we are invited to be active participants in Christ’s kin-dom now, not go to a promised one in the future.
Time Change
This year I learned that even as the leaves drop from trees as they are doing right now, the buds for next spring have already appeared.
Sighing and Crying
We also take time to remember those whose lives passed with little notice - miscarriages, the homeless, those without close family or friends, the half million plus who have died of COVID who are numbered but not named individually here today. In doing so, we point out the expansiveness of God’s promises. Saints, to us, are not just those who have lived exceptionally holy or good lives. They are not just those who have been canonized by the Church or have icons in our space. Instead, this day we embrace the reality that, recognized as saint or not, people deserve to be remembered.
Loss and Grief, Healing and Hope
That is the core of this day, one of my favorites on our liturgical calendar - a day that acknowledges the reality of death … but doesn’t end there.
You Don't Need to Check Your Mind at the Door
None of this is easy. Don’t check your brain at the door. Embrace the questions. Pray for an open mind and an open heart. Seek to love God and neighbor.
You don't have to worry about where you sit.
What James and John fail to understand is that service in the kin-dom of God is not a second class means to a first class end. Service is the end. Service is abundance. Service is power. Service is glory.
Are you Rich?
Are you rich? If a child asked that of an adult after stepping into their home or onto their boat, their parent would probably quickly try to shhhh them and redirect the conversation or apologize. It’s not polite to talk to others about their wealth. But we sure are fascinated by it, aren’t we? No matter how well off we might be on our own, we are drawn to what other people have that we don’t. A home, owning a home instead of renting, owning a bigger home, owning two homes. Or cars, boats, vacations, the newest gadgets, or electronics. Maybe its just part of our human nature (or American nature) to want more. To long for something better. To yearn for what we do not have.
Are You Related?
We are related. We are one with the earth. We are one with the plants and animals—including the pets in our home. All creatures great and small, especially and sadly those named as extinct in the past week’s news, as extinct. Saint Francis thought of creation as kin, as family. Mother earth. Brother sun. Sister moon. Christians go so far to proclaim a Triune God who is relational by its—or shall we say—their very nature.
You're Doing It Wrong!
You’re doing it wrong! We may not always be so blunt or direct, but we express this sentiment in varied ways all the time. Whether we’re cursing the driver next to us or thinking about a colleague's work habits, or when a teen is providing helpful technology advice to an adult; often the underlying tone is, ‘you’re doing it all wrong.’
The Center of Attention
But it’s radical, too. We are initiating our children into a counter-cultural way of life. We are committing ourselves anew to a different kind of greatness. One that finds its purpose in serving others. One that sees the face of God in those the world excludes. One that acknowledges that life is full of heartache, loss, and suffering. One that stands with others in their pain or questions or grief.
The Power of Naming
AS CHILDREN WE USED TO SAY “STICK & STONES MIGHT BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME.” That just not true! Words have transformative power.
Coming to our senses
What will it take for us to come to our senses? Demanding individual freedom but then adopting the strictest abortion laws in the land. Wanting a president—or the party in power—to fail so much that you’d rather die than get vaccinated or wear a mask. Believing whatever you hear on a trusted television network and turning to snake oil instead of lifesaving vaccines.
Is Religion the Problem?
Harvard University’s new chief chaplain is an atheist who says “we don’t look to a god for answers, but to each other.” Is humanism the answer and religion the problem? Consider a new book about white Christian evangelicals in this country. Jesus and John Wayne describes the dangers of an Americanized, individualized Christianity wedded to military might, patriarchy, and authoritarianism. How do this Sunday’s texts speak to these issues?
What Rules?
There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the rules we set up, arbitrary as some of them might seem. Some rules are actually quite helpful and not arbitrary at all - like wearing a face mask in order to protect our neighbors. But I’m wondering about the rules that we establish - idolize even - that might get in the way of what really matters.
From Me to We
Who are we as a people, when our faith is tested? Who are we when it is tiring to believe? Who are we when we stand on stolen land and at the very same time try to live as a people that are commanded to care for our neighbor as ourselves?
Our Lady of Good Trouble
In Mary’s ‘yes’ to be God bearer for the world, she sings a song of gladness and revolution focused on God’s greatness and God’s action. And if we dare to follow Mary on the journey from contemplative to prophetic witness, a time will come when we too will have to break through the culture’s silence and speak out publicly for God, siding with God, proclaiming God’s greatness, announcing God’s saving action and denouncing the violence that insults the God of peace.