Sermon for 7-25-10 "Not Quite What Was Planned" Christmas In July, Favorite Things Summer Worship Series

Sermon for 7/25/10 "Christmas in July"

Favorite Things Worship Series

Luke 2:1-20; Isaiah 9:2-7

"Not Quite What Was Planned"

Some weeks just don't go as planned.  Have you ever had one of those?  On Thursday afternoon your TO DO List from Monday is not even half finished, and you can't find the things you have done on the TO DO List anywhere. Well, this was one of those weeks.  As I was driving out of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Parking lot on Thursday afternoon, the Ticket Reader said, "Have A Nice Day" and I paused for a moment, unsure whether to laugh or cry.  It was not quite what was planned.  Now, I love being in ministry, and I am glad that I can be open to the working of the Spirit.  I say some of this to answer the camper’s question from Mission Camp who asked, “So what does a pastor do all week?”  Let me back up and start at the beginning.

We have been working for months to bring guests from our Sister Church in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, here for a visit.  Roman Brady and I have planned. We've been in contact with Alma and her sister Ninfa from Fuenta Da Vida Moravian Church.  They waited on the US Embassy for Visas.  We purchased Plane Tickets thanks to last Christmas Eve's offering to help foster relationships with Fuenta Da Vida.  We were FINALLY able to have Alma, her son Jordy, and Ninfa's son Fernando come for a visit.  They arrived in Winston-Salem Thursday a week ago.  They journeyed to Laurel Ridge for Senior High Camp this week, and then were to join us here in Raleigh for this weekend to visit. That is until my phone rang Monday morning at 8:50am. 

Roman called from Laurel Ridge to say they had just learned that Alma's brother had died unexpectedly Sunday night and they all needed to return home for the funeral.  So--I spent Monday and Tuesday on the phone with Delta Airlines and Roman trying to rearrange their flights to get them back in time for the Funeral.  (As a side note--Delta Airlines has been phenomenally helpful and kind throughout this whole process--Thank you Delta!!)

As I was talking to the reservationists for Delta, one was asking about Alma and her family.  I couldn't answer most of her questions and finally almost broke down in tears.  I said to her, "I don't know them yet.  I was supposed to spend the weekend with them and get to know them, but now we won't get to.  I am just so disappointed."  It was at that point that I believe the Holy Spirit invited us to have a gathering to honor our guests and take the opportunity, however brief, to get to know them.  The email blast went out, the Facebook invitation was sent, and the party was a GO.

So-we had 30 people at our house this Wednesday evening for an impromptu cookout to meet our friends.  It was a wonderful time!  I took a moment to look around and enjoy the opportunity to watch everyone talking, laughing, playing games, and sharing a meal together.  Everyone showed up with something in hand to contribute to the meal, and we had a feast!  There was so much food eaten, and so much food leftover.  I recall hearing someone say it was like loaves and fishes being multiplied before our very eyes.  Food, friends, and fellowship make a festive, holy combination. 

Thursday morning I brought Alma, Jordy, and Fernando by the church to show them Raleigh Moravian.  Fernando found pictures of his dad and grandmother on our bulletin board, and they named many of the people in the pictures from back home.  Then we hit Interstate 40 and headed to the RDU Airport.  It had been less than 24 hours since I met them when I stood and watched them head through security.  It was a bittersweet moment.  I felt incredibly glad to have met them and had the time that we shared together, and so sad they had to leave and not be here for worship this morning to get to see all of you!

I headed to my car and pulled up to the gate to leave the parking deck. "Have a nice day."  It flashed the message at me, and I paused.  I thought to myself, "Have a nice day?"  My new friends are mourning the loss of a family member.  It's not really a nice day for them.  My week hadn't gone like I planned at all.  It was not really a nice day for me either.  And Sunday isn't going to be a celebration with our friends from our sister church, but instead a time to remember them in prayer during their time of loss. 

 [Suzanne, Steve, Pennsy, Alma, Fernando and Jordy after the party]

Funerals have such a way of changing our plans.  The visit was holy in so many ways, and so wonderful, but it was NOT QUITE WHAT WE PLANNED!  That's when it hit me.  Maybe, just maybe God was helping us to celebrate Christmas throughout this entire week instead of just on Sunday morning. 

Could it be?  I suddenly found myself feeling like Mary in some strange way.  I doubt giving birth in a manger with the animals and overflow crowd gathered around was quite what she had planned.  Births and deaths have a way of changing our plans.  They make us reexamine our priorities and adjust our schedule to reflect the new circumstances.  Our realities are different.  Life is different now, and it wasn't what we had planned.

The more I have thought about Jesus' whole life, the more this week feels interwoven with Scripture.  So many different stories from the Bible include tales of plans changed, journeys re-routed, and lives forever altered.  Just looking at the beginning of Luke--we see the old couple, Elizabeth and Zechariah, told they are finally going to have a child [Luke 1].  This was an answered prayer, but not what they expected.  Mary and Joseph were engaged, but their wedding and life together took a sudden and unexpected turn when she was visited by an angel [Luke 1].  I seriously doubt this was what she planned as she looked through the latest Bridal catalog, visited the local Bridal Boutiques, and filled out their personalized stone tablet on The Nazareth Knot.com registry. 

I doubt the innkeeper planned for the crowds that showed up due to the census being taken [Luke 2].  He was probably surprised to receive the knock on the door by this sojourning couple.  I imagine Mary was clearly about to give birth, and he found himself offering the best hospitality to this young couple that he could given the circumstances.  At least they were in from the weather, had straw to keep warm, and a place to lay their heads.  He might have even called in a midwife or local woman to be there to help with the birth--that is if time allowed it.  Speaking of "If time allows"--A year ago today my youngest niece was born, but it certainly wasn't what her family had planned for her birth.  She arrived so quickly that they didn't even make it to the car to head to the hospital.  Thankfully 911 was only a call away, and the paramedics arrived in time to help cut Lexi's cord.  When we got the phone call, we called 2 other family members just to confirm the story!  Births often don't go as planned.  Mary and Joseph knew that very well.

As for the shepherds in the fields trying to stay awake and guard the sheep... they were startled to be surrounded with a host of angels that night [Luke 2].  Perhaps they were sitting there, rubbing their eyes, and nudging one another, just trying to see if what their eyes saw was really happening?  It wasn't the night they had planned.  That night should have been like the night before--sitting peacefully in a field listening to the crickets chirp and the sheep doze on the grass.  What a tale they had to share!! “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10b-12)

I know many of us have been looking forward to Christmas in July today, and I've had some great conversations about Christmas!  At the Blood Drive on Monday, Carolyn Watts shared a quote with me from a seven-year-old named Bobby.  He said, "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."  I think that's pretty profound.  Christmas is all about Love. 

[Pastors Craig and Suzanne with our Decorated Lovefeast Buns from Christmas 2009.]

I must confess I love Christmas music, candles, decorations, and all the merriment of the Christmas season.  I love A Charlie Brown Christmas playing on TV and decorating the tree.  I love Christmas Eve Lovefeasts and the expectation of what yummy treats will appear inside my Lovefeast bun this year. And right about now those cold temperatures would feel mighty nice.

This was my lovefeast bun from the 2nd Christmas Eve lovefeast last year!

But celebrating Christmas in July, or any time besides December, allows us to celebrate without all the societal expectations of shopping, overspending, often-uncomfortable company parties, and overbooked schedules.  It helps us, I believe, to focus on what is most important--the good news of a baby that was born to show God's love to the world in the most tangible ways possible.  The prophets had promised this baby for centuries, and yet he arrived in a way no one planned.  The Light of the World is here. "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." [Isaiah 9:6 NRSV] 

At our potluck on Wednesday night, we had the opportunity to spend time together in a room soaking in the love that was being shared.  There was no wrapping paper or bows strewn across the floor... instead there were people whose plans had been changed in unexpected ways because of both a death and a birth.  A family member was being mourned, and yet in the midst of that sorrow, God's love shone in the darkness.

I must tell this one story from the potluck.  When I arrived home on Wednesday from picking up Alma, Jordy, and Fernando in Winston-Salem, I opened the fridge.  In there was a bowl of dessert that I knew I hadn't made.  I asked Steve where it had come from.  He said his co-worker had seen my posting on Facebook about the potluck, and just happened to have the ingredients at home to make this chocolate cherry dessert.  So she showed up at work on Wednesday with a dish for our party just to make sure we had enough food.  God's love shines in the darkness and in the sweetness of chocolate and cherries.

On this past Wednesday and today, and hopefully every day, we celebrate a feast of love and joy and share the Good News that death does not have the final word.  In fact, Jesus' death didn't end as planned either.  The sorrowful disciples found out their plans had changed in quite unexpected ways when their loved one walked through the wall and joined the party.  Jesus' whole life and ministry did not go as people expected, and Jesus came to show God's kingdom often happens in unexpected ways as well.  It's the small things, like a bowl of dessert, that often show us God's kingdom of love at work.

May the Good News of Christmas cause us all to pause and reflect on the birth of God-With-US--Emmanuel.  Christ the Lord.  We can and should celebrate every day that the Promised Messiah has arrived, most unexpectedly and not at all how we planned, and our lives are forever changed by God's gift of love. Amen. 

Ten Thousand Villages School Kits Collection

Hi Everyone!  I'm back from a week at Mission Camp in Ashe & Alleghany Counties, NC.  It was a great week, and more will be posted later.  I wanted to post quickly about the 10,000 Villages Drive to collect kits for displaced school children. 

The email this week said:

"Ten Thousand Villages launches its 11th school supply drive to benefit displaced or orphaned children in places such as Haiti, Iraq, Nicaragua, North Korea, Serbia, Ukraine, U.S. and Canada. Last year over 100,000 school kits filled with new school supplies reached the hands of school-aged children whose lives had been interrupted by war or natural disasters. Supplies for the school kits can be dropped off at Ten Thousand Villages in Cameron Village from July 1 through August 31.

Include the following items in your school supply donations:

• 4 spiral-bound notebooks (about 8.5’’x 11”), 70-80 pages each
• 4 unsharpened #2 pencils
• 1 ruler, flexible plastic (with both 12” markings & 30 cm)
• 1 box/package of 12 colored pencils
• 1 large pink eraser

For more information email Marketing Coordinator Gricelle Font at marketing.raleigh@tenthousandvillages.com."

Check out this link for more info:

http://raleigh.tenthousandvillages.com/php/stores.festivals/store.events.php?date=&selected_date=1277956800&event_id=6401

Hope you're able to help and encourage your friends to do the same! Thanks!

Life's a beach...

 My cousin, well 3rd cousin once removed or something like that, has been written up in the local paper, and it's a story worth reading.  Tommy Adams, from Galax, VA just turned 50. He's my mom's first cousin. He was injured in 1974 just before he started high school and became a quadriplegic.  He recently got to see the ocean for the first time!  His outlook on life is sure to brighten any day, and he inspires many to focus on the good things in life!
The link for the article is here...
http://www.ecommunitiesonline.com/galax/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=808:tommy-adams-off-to-myrtle-berach&catid=101:latest&Itemid=77

U2's Music as Message to the Church!

I am a HUGE fan of U2's music and message.  I listen to them often, have read lots of books about them, their faith, and their music, and have been fortunate to attend two different concerts (Vertigo 2005 in Philly and 360 Tour in 2009 in Charlottesville).  Both concerts were worship experiences like I have not experienced before, and was so overwhelmed by these experiences of communal worship!

 [U2 in concert in Charlottesville, VA on October 1, 2009.  Photo by Suzanne Miller.]

I came across this article about their first single off of last year's No Line On the Horizon album.  It's about "Get On Your Boots", which is admittedly a strange song, and an even stranger video.  Check out this blog post and see for yourself... I agree with their interpretation that this song is a challenge to the church to get on our boots and do the work God is calling us to do!

http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/07-09-2010/michael-and-anthony-emerson-church-you-don%E2%80%99t-know-how-beautiful-you-are

For full lyrics, click here.  

What do you think?  How do you interpret this song?

 [U2 in concert in Charlottesville, VA on October 1, 2009.  Photo by Suzanne Miller.  

Doesn't this stage even look like a cathedral?  It was an awesome concert!!]

Sermon for 7/4/10: "Risking It All" (Ruth 1:1-19-Favorite Things Summer Worship Series)

"Risking It All" 

Sermon for 7/4/10

Favorite Things Summer Worship Series

John Hus Communion

Ruth 1:1-19a; Mark 8:34-38

Let us prepare our hearts and pause in prayer from a hymn from Hus's time:

The Word of God, which ne're shall cease,

Proclaims free pardon, grace and peace,

Salvation shows in Christ alone,

The perfect will of God makes known.[1]

Life is full of choices, and many of our choices involve risks.  Big risks, small risks--risk comes in different shapes and sizes.  As I spent time this week thinking about the book of Ruth, the Independence day celebrations, and the celebration of John Hus, I was struck by the connections around risk.  They differ on many parts of the stories, but the connections are certainly there.  All three stories from our history have taken on a fairy tale or mythic quality, and these stories live on as we look at them again and again through the years.

The book of Ruth, like Jonah we touched on a few weeks ago, is short and deserves to be viewed as a whole story.  Due to space constraints and copyright laws, I couldn't print the whole thing in the bulletin today, but I invite you to re-read it sometime soon to relive the tale of widows trying to survive in a patriarchal society.  A story of food and family, gleaning and goodness from others and from God.  Naomi and her husband had left Bethlehem years before in search of food--ironic since Bethlehem means "House of Bread," and they ended up in Moab.  Ruth and Orpah married Naomi's sons, and all three men died.  The famine was over, and so Naomi is heading back home. Ruth and Orpah reached a fork in the road and had to make a choice. Go home to their families, or follow their Mother-in-law and take a risk.  Orpah followed directions.  Ruth took a risk.

Journeying as women without men around in that culture was unheard of, and for Ruth to leave behind her culture, her family, and her old life to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem was a huge risk.  She likely had to learn a new language, new customs, new traditions, new holidays, new foods, new everything.  She was willing to take the risk and set out on the journey with Naomi. We can't overlook or belittle Orpah as we praise Ruth for journeying with Naomi.  After all, most of us probably can relate to Orpah more closely.  We choose to stay where things are easy, or at least where things make sense.  The culture isn't foreign, we don't have to learn a new language, and our family is in the area.  It looks like Orpah made the right decision, or at least the easy decision. Scripture doesn't tell us what happened to Orpah.

For Ruth and Naomi, the risk worked out well for them. Ruth decides to follow not only Naomi, but believe in Naomi's God--Yahweh--The Lord Almighty. For Ruth and Naomi, we do know details about their story.  Spoiler Alert--Ruth ended up meeting Boaz, having a child, and becoming Great-Grandmother to King David and thus a distant relative of Jesus.  In fact, Ruth is one of only 4 women named in Matthew's Gospel in Jesus' lineage-a high honor indeed.  A stranger in a strange land ended up being in a royal family and relative to the Messiah.  For Ruth, the risk paid off.

With today being July 4th, I can't help but think of another group whose risk paid off.  The 4th of July now days is about food, fireworks, and fun.  The writers of the Declaration of Independence took a huge risk in trying to break away from England.  These renegade colonies were not seen favorably, and England was willing to fight for what they felt was their rightful land.  The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were committing treason, and were not making friends with the government at the time. I heard folks talking on the radio the other day about the early signers and the risk they took.  I don't often stop and think about that risk, because we know how the ending works out.  But they could not benefit from our 20/20 Hindsight, so they were risking their lives, their careers, and their families to stand up for what they thought was right.  They had to follow their conscience, and the risk paid off. 

For John Hus, or Jan Hus as he is also known, he took a risk as well, but whether it paid off for him comes with your perspective.  Hus grew up in what is today the Czech Republic, and though he was from a peasant family, was able to attend Charles University in Prague.  He ended up becoming a lecturer at the University, and later Rector.  He developed an interest in theology and was ordained to the Priesthood.  The church was fraught with controversy in the early 1400s, and Hus spoke out against the problems like the selling of indulgences.  He also preached in Czech, the language of the people, instead of Latin, the language of the church.  He believed that all church members should be allowed to receive both the cup and the bread during Communion instead of the cup only for the priests--a practice that was common at that time.  He felt that he could help bring reforms to the church and was willing to stand up for what he believed was what God wanted. 

Hus preached and spoke out against the church and leadership, and the church got more and more upset with him.  In 1415 he was invited to the Council of Constance, and was promised safe passage and return for his journey.  He took the risk and journeyed to Constance, where he was thrown in jail, convicted of heresy, and burned at the stake on July 6th, 1415 after he refused to recant on his beliefs.  Hus became a martyr for his beliefs, and his followers founded the Unity of the Brethren church in 1457, from which we trace our history as Moravians.  July 6th is a major holiday in the Czech Republic today.  It is a date Moravians remember by celebrating Communion--partaking both the bread and cup all these 500+ years later.  Hus' risk resulted in his untimely death, but it also resulted in a denomination that has spread throughout the world and he helped bring about reforms in the Catholic church as well.  Was his risk worth it?  I believe so.  But here again, our 20/20 Hindsight provides a viewpoint he didn't have. 

As we prepare to receive Communion today, we think back to all the saints--these spiritual forefathers and foremothers who came before us, paving the way and forging the paths for us to follow today.  They took risks to stand up for what they believed in, and we have what we have today thanks to their choices.  We also ultimately give thanks to Christ for the risks he took.  We hear his call to follow in the path he set forward through his life, death, and resurrection.  We hear his call to step out in faith and be his disciples, even when the road we travel calls us to take up our cross and follow-to take the risk. We think of Ruth who risked learning a new language and culture to follow the God that she had come to know and love.  We think of the early patriots who risked livelihood and family to live where they could practice their faith and life as they felt led to do.  We think of John Hus who choose death over recanting his beliefs, and his followers, the early Unity of the Brethren, who hid in forests and risked death to receive the cup and bread, and share their faith in their own language. 

We think about our own lives where God is calling us to follow as disciples, to risk the tough choices, and to stand up for what we believe is right.  We don't know where our journey will lead, but we know God goes before us and with us, and sustains us along the path.  Our Lord risked it all, and invites us to do the same.  May we all be willing to stand up for what we believe is right and follow wherever God leads.  Will you take the risk?  Amen.

[1] Allen W. Schattschneider and Albert H. Frank, Through Five Hundred Years and Beyond: A Popular History of the Moravian Church (Bethlehem, PA: IBOC, 2009) 13. This hymn was a rebel song from the 15th Century.

That's what they said...

Here is some food for thought for this first weekend in July.  I present another edition of "That's what they said.."

Considering a Career in the Clergy...by Michelle Goodman
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/career-clergy/story?id=11057335

Prophetic Leadership isn't an idle phrase... by Amy Butler
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5300/9/

Hourly wages... what is fair and reasonable?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/walmart-ceo-pay-hour-workers-year/story?id=11067470