Advent, the Holy Spirit, and Fire—for The Saskatchewan Anglican

 

Advent 4 Throwback

Six years ago—

Jesus is STiLL coming again. Jesus is STiLL here. I remember on a visit to Regina eight years ago, asking granddaughter Emily how old she was, "I'm STiLL three," she said with disgust. Growing up was going way too slowly as far as she was concerned. And here we all are—STiLL waiting. Three more sleeps to Christmas. Who knows how many until Jesus returns in power and great glory to beam us all up, or however the Father has decided it will be. The blue lights on the tree are STiLL on. STiLL. 

And the post is STILL here… 

Advent Love in Jesus,
Gene+

Advent Anticipation

So here we are. Black Friday o’er. It’s Advent Sunday and we enter our annual spiritual and liturgical waiting room—in which we’re encouraged to pause and be reminded that, not only did Jesus come to save us the first time, he is also coming again and for keeps one day. So, stay awake, Jesus says, be ready. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. For example, since it’s Advent, make sure all your waiting room “magazines” are appropriate and up to date. 

Waiting isn’t easy but when what is coming is as good as what the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is offering in the power of the Holy Spirit, it’s worth it. I always think of the old Heinz Ketchup television commercial at this time of year—so thick and good that it takes a long, long time to come out of the bottle. We see the bottle poised over the plate full of promise as we hear Carly Simon singing her song, Anticipation. The first verse goes: 

We can never know about the days to come

But we think about them anyway

And I wonder if I'm really with you now

Or just chasin' after some finer day.

She wasn’t singing about Jesus, of course, or ketchup, for that matter. We can never know about the days to come, either, except that Holy Scripture has given us some solid hints. Enough to think and pray about—to anticipate and prepare ourselves and stay awake as we wait. And another difference is that we don’t have to wonder if we’re really with Jesus now. He has promised that he is with us now in our Advent waiting rooms and not just on some “finer day” in the future—now, for ever and always. And whenever Jesus is present things taste better. 

So here we are: faithfully anticipating, hoping, waiting and expecting by observing an holy Advent and, in the meantime, as we wait for another Christmas. 

This an extract from from the Winter issue of Taste and See…, Anglican Renewal Ministries (ARM) Canada’s quarterly magazine. You can subscribe here. 

Putting On the Armour of Light: Advent Ember Days of Prayer and Fasting for the Anglican Church—Prayers at Mid-Day

One of them in the BCP is this:

And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.
BLESSED Saviour, who at this hour didst hang upon the cross stretching out thy loving arms: Grant that all mankind may look unto thee and be saved; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (p16)

Saving faith for all is the goal. Pray for our church to be a fruitful part of that.

Gene+

Putting On the Armour of Light: Advent Ember Days of Prayer and Fasting for the Anglican Church—Day Three

Well this will reveal the super spiritual saints among us! Who fasts two days from Christmas? And the awful thing is, even if we we are feeling a little full of ourselves because we do, we can’t tell anyone lest we lose our reward! (Mt 6.16-18) Sigh.

Fasting, or not, do take some time—at least a moment—to pray for the Anglican Church of Canada today—it’s people, its leaders—present and future, its Synods and councils. Pray that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to reign over us with truth and grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

For readings and other resources see yesterday’s post.

May your Advent waiting and Ember Days Prayer (and Fasting) be rewarded with the renewed presence of Jesus himself—extra bright, palpable and unmistakable—in your Christmas worship and in your celebrations with family and friends.

Gene+

Putting On the Armour of Light: Advent Ember Days of Prayer and Fasting for the Anglican Church—Day Two of Three

Today is the second of the three Advent Ember Days of Solemn prayer and fasting for the Church (See the post on the first day here). 

The rubrics for THE ADVENT EMBER DAYS BEING THE WEDNESDAY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTER THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT state the following: 

On Ember Days the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, page 210, shall always be used first. (BCP p100)

This is the Collect to which they refer: 

ALMIGHTY God, the giver of all good gifts, who of thy divine providence hast appointed divers Orders in thy Church: Give thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, to all those who are to be called to any office and administration in the same; and so replenish them with the truth of thy doctrine, and endue them with innocency of life, that they may faithfully serve before thee, to the glory of thy great Name, and to the benefit of thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p210)

For the purposes of our vigil for the Church, this is an excellent prayer, not only for those “called to any office and administration,” but we can also use it for those who presently hold such offices—our bishops, priests, deacons and lay folk, especially when they are called together as members of synods. Doctrinal truth and innocency of life would be of great help in keeping us safely in God’s will. 

The Collect for Advent (BCP p95, BAS p268) is also a good classic prayer for the Church for such a time as this. We need to be both alert enough to identify the works of darkness which threaten to lead us astray and which need to be cast away, and to be awake enough to recognize the armour of light which is available to us. 

Add to that, the PRAYERS FOR THE CHURCH, number 7, For General, Provincial, or Diocesan Synods (BCP p42—if you don’t have a BCP, you can download it by following the link here: http://www.anglican.ca/about/liturgicaltexts/). 

Assigned readings for these Ember Days can be found here. Note the link to BCP readings also. Pray and not lose heart!(Lk 18.1)

Gene+

Good News! Help is On the Way—Today’s By the Way column for the Medicine Hat News

Kim Jong Un has just claimed “nuclear completion,” whatever that means, after North Korea tested its latest missile. Today’s equivalent of sabres continue to be noisily rattled and brandished around the globe. Women and children continue to be victimized, trafficked and abused on an industrial scale. Thousands die trying to cross the Mediterranean to find a better life. Another celebrity’s head has just rolled for “inappropriate sexual behaviour,” Matt Lauer at NBC this time. The gaunt spectre of starvation hangs over too many human beings. Despite the best intentions of good-hearted people, much of our world remains lost and weary. 

We need help. The good news is, help is on its way. 

Tomorrow is the First Sunday in Advent, the first of the four Sundays in the liturgical church calendar, reminding us that Jesus is coming again in great glory one day and to wake up and make sure we’re ready when he does. O yes, and to prepare our hearts for another merrily holy Christmas while we’re waiting. Hope, faith, joy and peace are the four bright, hopeful themes to set us up for that. 

Christianity, however, is about real people living real lives in a real world. So it is not surprising that there is another set of Advent themes to go with them—the Four Last Things; death, judgement, heaven and hell—which reflect the more sobering realities I listed above

Those themes are not just religious pessimism, darkness and gloom. They are real. We all experience them. Death comes to us all, anywhere from the moment of conception to ripe old age. Advent helps us to be ready for it. We all consider certain people (other than ourselves) are deserving of a healthy dose of God’s judgement. In the meantime, we do a pretty good job of judging one another—even, I’m ashamed to admit, in the church. Wouldn’t hurt to let Advent help to avoid that, too. Hell? Surely a loving God couldn’t even imagine such a thing. Yet, Jesus spoke of it often. While we wait, there is such a thing as hell on earth. Far too many people experience it. Even in Canadian homes. Advent helps us avoid going there. Heaven? Sounds good. Certainly better than the alternative. Worth making the Advent effort to be ready to go there when the time comes. 

Just as they all go together in a real Advent—hope, death, faith, judgement, joy, heaven, peace and hell—so they go together in a real life. That’s why the Advent journey through history and Scripture to a Saviour is so valuable. It reminds us of the Advent, presence and eventual return of someone with the power to both save us from those dark realities and fill us with peace and joy of heaven itself. Jesus. 

Being Ready Now: a Funeral Homily with Reference to 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21—for Marjorie Langdon

 NOW is Christ risen from the dead (1 Cor 15:20—BCP p595)

It's Advent. Christmas, we're waiting for—again (five sleeps if anybody's counting). Advent is also about our waiting, preparing and being ready for Jesus to come again, but Jesus is risen from the dead NOW.

Now, look at the top of page 596, because Jesus is risen from the dead NOW:

…even so in Christ shall all be made to live. (1 Cor 15:22—BCP)

Even so. Made to live. But everyone in their own order:

Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's (people like Marjorie Langdon) at his coming" (1 Cor 15.22-23—BCP p596)

Christ has died, Christ has risen NOW, Christ will come again!

I believe Marjorie is one of those "that are Christ's," who believed in her bones that Jesus is risen NOW, and so she was ready for his return, or to go a meet him.

Marjorie and I didn't agree on everything. She had definite opinions on the way God should be worshipped and with which books, for example. She didn't particularly care for my guitar playing and some of my changes to our style of worship. If she wanted to hear that kind of music, she once told me at the door on her way out, she could listen to the radio. But we agreed about Jesus and his Resurrection. I had absolutely no doubt that she was a woman of great faith—a faith that endured through some hard things for her. We have evidence of that today in her choice of readings and hymns. For example, notice the Psalm we prayed earlier. Psalm 46, about God being her hope, her strength and her very present help in trouble (v1—BCP p388)—she suffered plenty of trouble through her years of severe arthritic pain and immobility.

The hymns she chose and which were written in her Bible also give a good sense of that firm, determined faith and how important Jesus was to her.

JESUS, SAVIOUR, pilot me! we sang earlier. 

O Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end," we'll sing shortly,
"O guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then in heaven receive me,
My Saviour and my Friend.

These last few years Marjorie's was, indeed, as we also sang earlier,"A dark and toilsome road." "O guide me through the desert here," Marjorie prayed no doubt, and had us sing, "And bring me home at last." Home at last. How did Marjorie know she had a Pilot, a Saviour and Friend?

She and Dorothy told me that they gave their lives to Jesus while listening to the Sunrise Gospel Hour—now the Oldest Gospel Radio Broadcast still produced in Alberta, seventy-seven years straight, by the way—they were too far out in the country for regular Sunday Church going. Kathleen told me, their mother would regularly call the three girls in from whatever they were doing in the yard to listen to hymnsings on the radio. Kathleen also told me she didn't start going to church until she was twenty. And yet the seeds had been well sown, and with the help of their parents, roots were solidly established in Jesus. And those beginnings led to them, all three, becoming stalwart members of St Barnabas. Marjory was a follower of our Risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—so was Dorothy and so is Kathleen.

So Marjorie was READY. Ready for the new Heaven and earth we heard about in the reading from Revelation where the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will be with her and "shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain and all things will be made new and good for ever and ever. Amen. It must feel good to be able to stand up straight, to move without pain again and to hear the heavenly choirs clearly. Who wouldn't want to be ready for that?!

Christ has died. Christ is risen NOW. Christ will come again. We don't know when. Jesus just says be ready.

So this Advent what might you and I take from Marjorie's example, the Scripture and hymns she chose for us to hear and sing and our good memories of her? A good way to honour Marjorie's memory this Advent and as Christmas is only a few sleeps away would be for you and me to consider our state of readiness to celebrate our Lord's birth on Sunday and for his approaching return.

Here are three Marjorie Langdon Memorial steps to readiness for the Lord's return:

1. Invite Jesus to be risen from the dead in you NOW not keeping him locked up in some tomb of my own ailments, carelessness or sinfulness. 
2. Invite Jesus to be born in you this Christmas.
3. The best starting place is to simply say "Yes" to Jesus. In a moment you and I, too, will have the opportunity to do just that as we pray the Apostle's Creed together. For many of us it will be Yes again, for some of you it may be Yes for the first time in a long time, or the first time ever. Saying such a Yes would be a good way to honour Marjorie's memory by expressing your trust in the LORD—Pilot, Saviour and Friend—who was present all through her illness and loves her still. Saying such a Yes, and meaning it, would also place you, along with Marjorie, safe and sound in all the Yes's God promised in Jesus (2 Cor 1.19-20).

There is no better time than right NOW.

Gene+

On Being STiLL: a Short Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Jesus is STiLL coming again. Jesus is STiLL here. I remember on a visit to Regina eight years ago, asking granddaughter Emily how old she was, "I'm STiLL three," she said with disgust. Growing up was going way too slowly as far as she was concerned. And here we all are—STiLL waiting. Three more sleeps to Christmas. Who knows how many until Jesus returns in power and great glory to beam us all up, or however the Father has decided it will be. The blue lights on the tree are STiLL on. STiLL.

“Be STiLL, and know that I am God," wrote the Psalmist. "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Ps 46.10)

There's being still and there's being STiLL. There's a bad kind—King Ahaz in this morning's passage from Isaiah 7, for example. He refuses to budge when the prophet Isaiah invites him to ask The LORD for a sign, even when he and his kingdom were in a state dread. Despite The LORD's invitation through Isaiah, Ahaz was STiLL intent on putting his faith in someone false, someone other than The LORD, who would not save him (Is 7.9); the king of Assyria. Not only does that weary God (Is 7.13), that stubborn, I-know-better kind of being STiLL goes nowhere and grows nothing but disappointment.

Then there's the good kind of STiLLness. Paul describes it in the Romans passage, for example; despite all he had been through, the shipwrecks, the beatings and all, he knew who he was in Jesus—STiLL a Servant of Christ Jesus, an apostle, set apart for the gospel (Ro 1.1), STiLL in the grace he had received and in the obedience of faith (Ro 1.5), STiLL called to belong to Jesus (Ro 1.6). Advent STiLLness awakens our spirits to know that Jesus is the ultimate sign given us by The LORD Himself (Is 7.14), and to know who we are in Jesus, too.

And then there's Joseph in the gospel. Had he conformed with the social rules and expectations of his day, he would have divorced Mary because she was pregnant (Mt 1.18). Instead, he listened to the angel of The LORD in the dream (Mt 1.20) and was STiLL, hoping God really is God, and letting God's will unfold. Risking shame and ridicule, what he really did in effect, even though he didn't know it, was put his faith in Jesus.

Which is what exactly what we're being called to do. Put our faith in Jesus, who is here and is STiLL coming again. It wasn't an easy decision for Joseph, and it's STiLL not an easy decision. The social rules and expectations of our day says give Jesus up. We can STiLL risk ridicule if we're known as believers in and followers of Jesus.

I believe The LORD gave me an helpful analogy for all of this yesterday—the STiLL. I know most of us think of moonshine and bootleg whisky when we think of STiLLs, but bear with me. STiLLs make things as pure as possible. Heat is applied, the raw material is boiled producing steam which, in turn, produces a pure distillate of essential oils or water or whisky.

Like a STiLL, being STiLL in Advent, or at any other time, raises the spiritual temperature in and around us as we refuse the evil and choose the good (Is 7.15 & 16), and keep asking for the sign, for more of that sign, more of Jesus—that will purify us. Being STiLL and knowing who we are in Jesus, like Paul; will help us bring Jesus into the world, like Joseph and Mary.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). (Mt 1:23)

God STILL is, in Jesus.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Collect for Advent: my By the Way column in yesterday's Medicine Hat News

Jesus is coming again. That's what Advent is about. It is the season we're still in until sundown on Christmas Eve. Advent is about getting ready and waiting for his return. The season calls us to the kind of intentional holy waiting which refills our spiritual lamps so we can light up the world until Jesus returns.

In Anglican and other prayer books there is a special prayer we are encouraged to pray every day during Advent. This is how it goes:

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
      to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Here are some thoughts to go with it as we wait through the last three days of Advent:

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is Almighty. You and I exist because He is. Someone described him as the fastest checkers player in the world. It's always our move. We can only respond to what God Almighty has already done. Jesus is what God has done, is doing and will do, forever. Amen.

Grace is God's empowering presence to be who he made us to be and to do what he calls us to do (James Ryle). God gives us the grace. We cast the works of darkness away and out of our lives, and we put on the armour of light. God does not do that for us. Advent is a good God-given time to discern what we need to cast away and what we need to put on.

Although Jesus came first in great humility, when he comes again it will be in glorious majesty as befits the Son of the Almighty God. There will be a last day. There will be judgement. There will be rising to the life immortal, or not.

Jesus is alive and reigns as King right now. Advent is the quieter, expectant waiting season to help us get that straight before we enjoy the tinsel, the turkey and the sugar plums.

May the remainder of your Advent be deep and quiet and your Christmas merrily noisy (when it comes).

Ready, Set——WAIT for it! A Short Homily for the Third Sunday in Advent

Jesus is the one who has already come and, to answer John's verse 3 question from prison in the Gospel, IS to come. You need wait for no other. Neither do I.

On the first Sunday of Advent I talked about getting READY for Jesus' return—RISING from our slumber, EXPECTANT, AWAKE, DISCIPLINING ourselves, YES, you and me. Last Sunday I talked about getting SET for Jesus' return—making a START, listening for God's SPECIFIC call on my life and yours, EYES and EARS open, prepared to endure any TROUBLE we might face.

READY, SET, the usual next step is GO! But I'm not going to say that yet. We're going to do an Advent thing. Instead of GO, this morning it's WAIT for it! In this morning's Collect we prayed: God of power and mercy, you call us once again to celebrate the coming of your Son. Remove those things which hinder love of you, that when he comes, he may find us waiting in awe and wonder for him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Waiting in awe and wonder. Waiting. Advent is also about taking some time to intentionally WAIT for what is to come—to resist our constant drive to instant gratification. Resist all he pressures and expectations which, if we allow them, will wind us up and spit us out at Christmas, emotional, physical and spiritual batteries definitely not included—exhausted rather than energized.

Dean Gray, one of our 830 crew, quoted Jan L. Richardson, author of The Painted Prayer Book, in a Facebook post a couple of days ago:

This season of advent means there is something on the horizon, the likes of which we have never seen before.
So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder.
There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.

WAIT. Jesus is here. WAIT. Can you see Him? Can you hear Him? Can you feel him? WAIT. Don't let the buzz of busyness bustle you away. Jesus is coming again. If we don't WAIT it's harder to WATCH for the signs.  Good, READY-SET Advent WAITing requires patience— wait and be patient writes James four times in the four verses of our epistle this morning (Ja 5.7-10). Good, READY-SET Advent WAITing makes the wilderness and dry land in our souls and lives glad, it makes our spiritual deserts rejoice and blossom like the crocus (Is 35.1). WAIT and my weak hands and feeble knees (Is 35.3) will be strengthened. So will yours. WAITing prepares the way before Jesus into your hearts, my heart and, through us, into the lives of our families and friends (Mt 11.10), and His way is a Way of Holiness (Is 35.8)—clean and good. WAIT because Jesus will come and save you (Is 35.4). That's "W."

"A" is for answered questions (Mt 11.4). Jesus answered John's questions, faithful Advent WAITING provides quiet listening time in which we are more likely to hear any answers to our questions. WAITing gives you a chance to hear Jesus' words to your heart when you are anxious. "Be strong, fear not," he says, "I have come to save you. I will come to save you." (Is 35.4) You shall not go astray (Is 35.8). The desert in your lives "shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing." (Is 35.4)

"W," "A," and now "I."

"I" is for "the coming of The LORD is at hand!" (Ja 5.8) Jesus is coming again.

And "I" is also for "Truly I tell you!" (Mt 11.4)—the words of the great "I am," (Jn 8.58). Jesus Himself speaking. Jesus Christ, The One worth WAITing for.

Which brings us to "T." In answer to John's question, Jesus said to John's disciples, "Go and tell John what you hear and see." (Mt 11.4) To whom is Jesus telling us to go?

Advent WAITing is to prepare us to go and tell what we've heard and seen of Jesus. Go tell it on the mountain and everywhere, the song says. Tell what, when the time comes? Advent WAITing helps us get our story straight and true—Jesus Christ is with us, Jesus is coming again.

READY, SET—WAIT—for Jesus.

Ready and SET for Advent: a Short Homily for a Festal Hanging of the Greens

Jesus is the name He was to be given. He will be great, Gabriel said, and He is. He reigns forever, He is the holy one and is called the Son of the most high God. (Lk 31-32, 35) It is because of Jesus that we are not alone. Jesus is God with us now, and Jesus is coming again which is why we're hanging greens today—to symbolically prepare him decorated room in this place and in our hearts to receive him well. This is what Advent is about: preparing to celebrate His Christmas arrival then and so we'll be ready when Jesus comes again in power and great glory.

Last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we explored some ways in which the Scriptures teach us to be READY for his return. To organize our thoughts I used the word READY as an anagram. Today, we'll look at some ways to be SET for Jesus' return. Last Sunday was about being READY, this morning it's about getting SET.  Once again, we'll use the word SET as an anagram to help order our thoughts.

S is our STARTING point, the one upon which we SET our hopes: Jesus, the SON of God. Just like Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, Simeon all the others we read about in Scripture—you and I each have a unique and vital role to play in bringing Jesus into our world. Mary, the greatest merely human being that ever lived, some say, is a good example to follow. We can learn from Her.

First of all, Mary was a she: SHE. Being female is no disqualification from doing great things for The LORD.

Second, God's call to get SET is SPECIFIC: for Mary, it was in the SIXTH month, of a particular year that God SENT the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to talk to Her. (Lk1.26) God's call to you and me to get set to bring Jesus into our world is just as SPECIFIC—among specific people, in specific places and at a particular time in history. Our time is now.

Third, because she was greatly troubled and wondered at Gabriel's words (Lk1:29), she questioned him about what He said: “How will this be,” she asked the angel, “SINCE I am a virgin?” (Lk1.34) Discernment and asking for clarification is often an important and necessary part of getting SET to bring Jesus into our world. Gabriel replied, “Don't be afraid, you have found favour with God. The Holy SPIRIT will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Nothing is impossible with God" (Lk1.30, 35, 37) And Mary said those amazing, faith-filled words: “I am the Lord’s SERVANT. May it be to me as you have SAID.” (Luke 1:38)

The how will be the SAME for you and me when, following Mary's example, we say, "I, too, am Your SERVANT, O LORD. May it be with me as you SAY." The mighty Holy SPIRIT will come upon you and me and the power of the Most High will overshadow us and we will find ourselves bringing Jesus into our world in all sorts of unexpected and miraculous ways.

Getting SET is to listen for God's SPECIFIC call, prayerfully ask our questions as we are honest about our fears and feelings, offer ourselves as The LORD's SERVANTS, receive the Holy SPIRIT in faith, and act.

Which brings me to E. E is for EYES and EARS open. "Then will the EYES of the blind be opened and the EARS of the deaf unstopped," (Is35.5) wrote Isaiah about the coming of Jesus even though he didn't realize it at the time. Mary's EYES and EARS were open and pretty soon she was EXPECTING Jesus. EXPECTANT Advent readiness for his coming again keeps our spiritual EYES and EARS open so we'll see and hear new ways to bring Jesus into our world.

It will not be EASY, but as Gabriel told Mary, "Don't be afraid, Jesus' kingdom will never END. (Lk1.30, 33)

That's S and E. Now T for getting set, TOTALLY.

T is for TROUBLE. There will be TROUBLE. Not only was Mary herself greatly TROUBLED by her angelic visit (Lk1.29) before Jesus was born, Simeon said some disturbing things to her when they took Jesus to the temple, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a SIGN that will be SPOKEN against," he said, "so that the THOUGHTS of many hearts will be revealed. And a SWORD will pierce your own SOUL too.” (Lk2:34-35) We can be spoken against when we're getting set to bring Jesus into our world. Souls can be pierced.

T is also for TAKE a stand. In the song we're about to hear: the TERRIFIED, TROUBLED young girl, Mary, still sings "Holy is He. Blessed am I. Be born in me. Make my heart your Bethlehem. Be born in me."

Observing Advent like this helps me to SET my heart on bringing Jesus into my here and now. It can do the same for you so we can all pray, "Be born in me. Make my heart your Bethlehem. Be born in me, Jesus."

An Homily for Advent IV with reference to Micah 5:2-5a, Hebrews 10:5-10 and Luke 1:39-45

Listen here.  

 Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.

From you SHALL come. Future for them, past and future for us. The One is Jesus who has come for us, will also come again and whose coming forth was, is, and will be, from of old, from ancient days.

Here's how some people reacted to that. Look at the Gospel. Jesus was coming. Look at the energy in the words! Mary was expecting so she

Lk 1:39 went with haste,

v41 Elizabeth’s baby leaped, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit and

v42 exclaimed with a loud cry.

Imagine the scene. Both of them excited. They were expecting babies. There were angels involved. Joseph hadn’t disowned Mary when he found she was pregnant. Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, hadn’t been as quick off the mark when then angel talked to him so he had been struck dumb. None of them really knew exactly where it was all heading. What must have seemed to be pretty strange stuff had been said about both babies. They were preparing, getting ready, for the births, yes; but for more. God was bringing something forth, something new, from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2) which meant a new future, not only for all of them, and for you and me.

Something new and good and mysterious was in the air which prompted Elizabeth to say to Mary

Lk 1:45 …blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

Mary, likely a teen aged girl, the one who, because of her availability and obedience, Peter Kreeft, Christian philosopher and apologist, called "the greatest merely human being that ever lived," had heard what Gabriel, the angel of God, had to say, and despite having been greatly troubled (Lk 1:29) and wondering, How will this be? (v34) said

Luke 1:38 (ESV) …“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

She said it because she believed (v45). She went with haste (v39) to Elizabeth’s because she believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (v45). Her availability, obedience and belief set her in motion.

Same with Jesus when he said

Hebrews 10:7 (ESV) …‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’

Same for you and me; even when we think we are too little (Micah 5:2) like Bethlehem, too old like Elizabeth, too young like Mary, struck dumb like Zechariah; but we are all servants of The Lord who have been placed right here, right now, on purpose, to do God’s will—which is to bring Jesus into our world, this world, the world of Newtown and Syria, of safe, happy Christmas family gatherings, of women’s shelters and pregnancy support centres, of peace and the joy of being sober for thirty-two days, as one of the guys who were visiting us a few weeks ago told me. So from us shall come forth for me (Micah 5:2), says the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, one who is to be ruler (Micah 5:2) of every aspect of your life, of this church, of Medicine Hat and beyond. This is my job and yours and we’re supposed to do it together.

New and good and mysterious things are still in the air. We’re all supposed to be expecting Jesus, spiritually pregnant, especially in Advent, but also all year round.

There will be labour. There are places you and I are being called to arise and go, perhaps even with haste, because we’ve been resisting the call and should have gone a long time ago or because the need is urgent. There are people you and I must go and greet because we carry Jesus in us. So be alert for them. Watch carefully.

There will be stretch marks, but let them be Marks of Mission. Look at the Marks of Mission on page one of your bulletin. They may help you to decide the where and who for you.

You and I must be ready to be filled with as much of the Holy Spirit as God wants.

There is good news that still needs to be exclaimed with a loud cry (Luke 1:42) because the noise of the world can drown it out and the volume is up on my spiritual ear buds which are connected to the music of my own sinful appetites.

There is a blessing waiting for you and me if we believe God wants to do something through us to further fulfill what was spoken to Mary from the Lord (Luke 1:45) and which led her to Bethlehem, the town that was too little, but which became the home of the biggest event ever.

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An Homily for Advent III with reference to Zephaniah 3:14-20, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18 and the Tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut

Listen here. 

Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is latin for rejoice.

Zephaniah 3:14 (ESV) Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Philippians 4:4 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

But how can we rejoice in anticipation of Jesus’ return, or for any other reason, at a time like this? Twenty-seven people, mostly six year olds, murdered in Newtown, Connecticut the day before yesterday—all manner of carnage going on in Syria and the Congo—a plague of battered and missing women in our own country.

And even when Jesus himself, who’s birth we are about to celebrate, was born,

Matthew 2:18 (ESV) “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

I'm not going to try and soften any of that for you this morning. Life is real and so is death and it comes hard sometimes. I'm not going to try and tell you that if you just hold your mouth right everything's really okay.

The fact is that there are times when things are very clearly not okay, and this is one of them.

The people that were murdered in Newtown, Connecticut a few days were victims of an evil, brutal, sinful, commandment breaking act. It is a tragedy—a disaster.

What are you and I supposed to do with that? First, I grieve and pray for the people who are mourning today. (Prayer)

And I do my best to grab hold of the fact that, as Paul writes in this morning’s reading from Philippians:

Philippians 4:5 (ESV) …The Lord is at hand.

So, I need not

Philippians 4:6(ESV) …be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known to God.

I give thanks for my own family, my children and grandchildren and for their safety and security. I let my requests be made known to God as I pray for them and their teachers and schools, for our city our governments, the health system, and especially that those who are suffering from mental illness can get the help they need when they need it.

Tragic and sudden death like this is a blunt reminder that we, too, are mortal. There is an ancient prayer in our Anglican Prayer Books called The Great Litany. Part of it goes like this: “From earthquake and tempest; from drought fire and flood; from civil strife and violence; from war and murder; and from dying suddenly and unprepared, Good Lord deliver us.”

These last few days we’re experiencing a sharp reminder of the reality of murder and sudden death. Can one ever be prepared for that? I think so, although no one really knows until they find themselves placed in that kind of situation. I think those brave Sandy Hook Elementary School women, who placed themselves in harm’s way to protect those children, suggests they were prepared in a deep way to do what needed to be done in the circumstances. Their preparation wasn’t a conscious, intentional thing. It must have been the fruit of their upbringing, character and values.

I think we’ve been hearing about some helpful preparatory things through Advent—work that, when properly and honestly done, grows that kind of character. Things like, as we’ve heard over the last couple of Sundays, being alert, being on guard—not just for danger, although that can be important—but for how things are in our relationships. Am I all clear with God? Do the people I love know it? Are there issues that should be resolved before it’s too late? Is there anyone I need to forgive, or from which I need to ask for forgiveness?

Is there some way in which I am being called to prepare a new way for Jesus into my own or someone else’s life? Any things hindering love of Him?

Is there some preparatory work I need to do along the lines of the things John told the nervous and expectant crowds who came out to be baptised and to learn from him?

Lk 3:8 Any fruits I need to bear that are worthy of repentance?—in other words, have I personally made things right with and made restitution for the one I’ve sinned against?

V11 Anything I need to share?

V12 Is there any part of my life in which I’m collecting more than my due?

V14 Am I involved in any extortion? Making threats, falsely accusing? Is there inappropriate discontent in my life with wages or anything else?

Finally,

Luke 3:15 (ESV) As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,

What am I expecting? What am I looking forward to? V16: a mighty one is coming again. One who baptises with the Holy Spirit and fire and who placed himself in harm’s way for me and you. Jesus.

When what we're going through is too hard, too dark, too painful. Jesus replies in John 6, trust in God, trust in me, and "I am the way, the truth and the life." What he's saying is if you want to be prepared for anything, and to safely negotiate awful times like this, keep your eyes on me. That there is ugliness, pain, sin and hopelessness in the world, doesn’t mean you have to let your life be defined by them. (Julie's Facebook post). If you let me, I will be your way through life's darkest moments. I know the way Home. I'm the only one who does. I love every one of those victims and every one of their families, and I love you. Come to me and you will find rest.

Rejoice in The Lord always, and again I say rejoice!

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My Advent (New Year's Day) Call to StB (you): an Homily for Advent Sunday

You can also listen to it here.

Last summer the candidates for election as Bishop of Calgary travelled around the diocese to speak to regional electoral synod delegate meetings. As you know, I had the honour of being one of those candidates. Each of us was required to answer a set of questions at those meetings so people could get a sense of the cut of our respective jibs. As I prepared my answers I realized that much of what I thought also applied to our life together here at StB and that one day I should share them. I believe this is that day.


Here's the first question:

Based on your reading of the Diocesan Profile and your knowledge of the Diocese, what do you see as the most significant opportunity for the Diocese in the next five years? What do you feel will be the greatest challenge in your role as Bishop? What will be your first priority?

Let's replace "diocese" with "parish." We're looking at our most significant opportunity, greatest challenge and priorities.

MOST SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE US IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

Matthew 28:16–20 (ESV): The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our most significant opportunity, as it will always be, is to do what Jesus said.

One of the biggest opportunities that ever presented itself in my life was when I realized that a young woman whom I had admired from afar in an English tutorial at the University of Otago was unattached. I had to screw up the courage to ask this lovely, but reserved and refined, creature if she’d come out with me—a much less reserved and refined creature. I had to risk that she might say no. I had to risk the possibility of rejection, of looking foolish. I decided to grab the opportunity with both hands (???). I asked if I could buy her a cup of coffee. She accepted!! While we were enjoying our coffee, I invited her to come to see The Mikado with me. And she did!!

So much of what we’re supposed to be as followers of Jesus has to do with that kind of going, as Jesus said, and inviting. Pointing the way to Jesus (not leaving him in the manger, as we heard from the prayer ministry people this morning). Inviting people into friendship. Inviting them to church. Introducing them to Jesus and our church community friends.

I think the most significant, and most potentially most fruitful, opportunity for us is to become a parish on mission, filled with ordinary people like you and me who are Go-ers; Great Commission church go-ers; warmly, consistently going and meeting people face-to-face and inviting them to join us at church where we can introduce them to Jesus Christ. We might have to risk them saying no, and feeling a little foolish, but that won’t do us any harm. No embarrassment. Wrong plant. We’re people of faith, after all. How do you spell faith? RISK. Usually some risk involved in taking opportunities provided by the LORD. All we have to do is make the invitation. We don’t have to make them come. That’s up to God.

If they accept the invitation, of course, then a whole other set of opportunities knock. We get to make them into disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded.

Reminds me of the first two Marks of Mission.

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom—that’s the taking the opportunity to Go and invite bit. 


To teach, baptize and nurture new believers—that's making and baptizing disciples, just as Jesus says in the Great Commission.

The Marks come from the Anglican Communion and General Synod's Vision 2019. They’re designed to get God worshipped and make us more inviting. The other three are: 


To respond to human need by loving service

To seek to transform the unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.


To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

If we take the opportunity to make them our own, thanks to the Communion and the ACoC, we will have “a useful and memorable way to shape our decisions,” which will show the world around us what our priorities are.

Based on them, the national church has also established a set of Priorities for the church "Living into God’s Mission." In order to act on the priorities of “Living into God’s Mission,” they have also developed a set of concrete practices by which to get them done. I think we should do the same. That way we’ll be able to decide what really are opportunities and what are not, who we’ll invite—when and under what circumstances. They’ll help us resist distractions (like books and buildings and controversies and differences). They’ll also help us decide how to steward the resources we have. Best of all, they’ll help us do what Jesus called us to do in the Great Commission.

By the way, the young woman’s name was Judith Mary and today we celebrate our forty-fifth wedding anniversary. All because I R-I-S-Ked rejection and looking foolish by making the most of that opportunity all those years ago. To think what I would have missed had I missed that opportunity.

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE WE FACE

John 21:4–6 (ESV)

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

CHALLENGE

• Know when it’s Jesus.
• Fishing since 1884.
• Where’s the right side of the boat for us?
• Build us into a ministry team—enough people to haul the catch in.

Mark 7:32–37 (ESV)

32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

CHALLENGE

• We all need to be opened up—ears and tongues—hearing from Jesus is no longer the exception, we can speak of him plainly and proclaim the Good News about him zealously.
• Bob Hartley—a culture and an identity.
• An Ephphratha culture and identity focussed on the right side of the boat—where the fish are.

FIRST PRIORITY a number of things

Jesus. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Prayer. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Holy Spirit released—more and more. IF MY PEOPLE!

33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue—get within spitting distance, up close and personal with the people Jesus is calling you and me to serve and to introduce to him. ARISE AND SHINE,! Act!

TURN THIS PUMPKIN INTO A CARRIAGE (you had to be there).

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A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: with Reference to Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 

A call from God is specific. Our God is a personal God who knows us by name. Not only that, he knows where we live, not just geographically, but spiritually and emotionally. He knows where come from how we got here and all our connections and relationships. 

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

God’s attitude to us is always one of greeting. He always wants to be in relationship with us. Every last one of us is favoured of God, no matter what we have or haven’t done, no matter how far we’ve drifted from him in our sin. He always wants to be with us and for us to be with him. 

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 

Often, the one who God is calling is troubled by the call. Mary was, so were Moses and Gideon. Jude and I struggled for 4 years over the call to go to seminary. For a year we agonized over the call to St Barnabas. We liked it where we were, but even though we were troubled, we did realize that we needed to pay attention and to discern whether it was the Lord or not. 


How do you do that? You ask trusted people to pray for you to hear God. You search the Bible for guidance. You listen carefully to the guidance of people who have authority over you in the Lord (in our case, with the call to StB, it was the Bishop). In your case it might be me. 

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

God always responds by saying in one way or another do not be afraid. I will go with you. I will fight for you. Which is not to say that we will not suffer. When one answers God’s call, there will usually be suffering. For Mary, the suffering would be terrible as she watched her first born die on the cross. 


Rarely, though, are we called to suffer to the point of shedding blood. Usually it is because of having to give up things we don’t want to give up; things like security, comfort, a big income, things we want rather than things we need. 

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Sometimes, answering God’s call, leads to being involved in something great. Mother Theresa. For most of us the call is to humbler things which bring very little limelight. 


Always, whatever the call, it will be about bringing Jesus to birth in your world. And we are always called to name him in what ever it is. That is why I’m always on about doing whatever ministry we do in the Name of Jesus so it is absolutely clear that we do what we do because he loves the people we serve and we follow him and want to build him up and make him great in this church and in Medicine Hat. 


Those of you who are delivering hampers this week: what might you say to draw attention to Jesus and build up his reputation as you do that? “Hi. We’re from St Barnabas Anglican Church. We’re happy to give this to you because Jesus loves you and we want to help you and your family celebrate his birth with joy this year. Merry Christmas!!!” 


If what we do is not about bringing Jesus to birth in the lives of the people we’re serving, making him great and building up his reputation, then I think we must question whether it really is God calling us to do it or whether we’re doing it to build ourselves up.  

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

When called by God most of us can’t figure out how he’s going to pull it off. 


Asking this question can have consequences. Remember what happened to Zechariah earlier in this chapter; v18-20, when he questioned what Gabriel was telling him. 

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The Holy Spirit of God is upon you. God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. He didn’t look for a conveniently pregnant young woman. He chose Mary. He chooses people like us. We are all, without exception, called to bring Jesus into our world in some way. 


For example, is God calling you to a surprising, new, seemingly impossible, ministry outside the church? Serving the poor? Parents? Schools? Is God is calling one of you to a surprising new, seemingly impossible, ministry in the church? To lead the ACW, for example? To organize the annual women’s dinner? Anyone feeling troubled and unqualified about that? Anyone trying to discern if you’re being called? Anyone trying to ignore or avoid it? Remember what happened to Jonah. And please, don’t wait for me to discern that you are so called and gifted. Say something. Tell me. Offer to help.  


Mary’s call was unique and world changing and is now known all over the world. Our call will probably be way less spectacular. It probably will not be recorded in any earthly book, but I suspect they are all recorded in the Book of Life we read about in Revelation. The power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of ordinary people like us can do impossible things. All we have to do is overcome our fear and with Mary say, 

38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Anticipation

It’s Advent again. The waiting season. I’m reminded of the old TV ad about the ketchup which is so rich and thick that it takes a very long time for it to come out of the bottle. The song featured in the ad was Carly Simon’s Anticipation which includes this line:

We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway. 

Her words seem sad and not very hopeful. Unlike Carly Simon, in our Advent anticipation we Christians do know something about those days to come. The Bible is very rich and thick with hope for our future. Jesus is coming back. In the meantime, as we think about those days to come, we live in the waiting here and now when the sauce hasn’t yet come out of the bottle.

The children wait impatiently at this time of year, avidly counting sleeps until the big day. We “grown ups” wait, too; for gift buying inspiration, the last minute, a call from a loved one, for it to be over, that special piece of Christmas mail, the results of medical tests, for a separated spouse or a wandering child to come home. Real life with all its joys, awkward inconveniences, hopes and fears, continues. It all seems especially emotional and poignant in Advent.

Carly Simon again:

And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasin' after some finer day  

The temptation is to chase. The lights and glitter, carols and good cheer make us want to fast-forward to the bright sugar plum Christmas “finer day” right now. But then we miss the deeper, more restful "with you now" Advent rhythms of anticipation and appreciation of God’s rich, thick goodness which can seem so slow in coming.

There are many things that can help us enjoy the anticipation. Advent Calendar devotionals, for example, especially with children. Spending less, worshipping more and giving Presence (Jesus in you and me, Immanuel); the gift of time spent with the people in our lives. From Advent Sunday until Christmas Eve I enjoy lighting up only the blue lights in my decorations. I like the sense of anticipation that is generated as I look forward to seeing the full, multicoloured display fired up on the night we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

In the midst of the "with you now" realities of your life may you have a slow, rich Advent full of delightful anticipation and, when the time finally comes, a lovely Christmas, thick with joy, wonder and all the goodness of Jesus Himself. Some things are very much worth the waiting.

Some Advent Watching

Jesus said "Watch!" in Sunday's Gospel so I'm watching.

ON WATCH WITH A NEW LECTIONARY
I've really enjoyed the St James Devotional Guide for the last few years. A perfect lectionary, but it costs. So I decided I'd go back to the Daily Office Lectionary in Book of Alternative Services this Advent. It fits my routine. Three lessons in the morning which aren't too long but which will get me through the Bible (sort of, as you will see) in a couple of years. My pattern is to do that kind of reading in the morning so Evening Prayer is free for the Sunday coming up lessons.

Image my frustration when only the third (the THIRD) day in, they've already cut a chapter out! No 2 Peter 2! To protect me, I presume, from any unpleasantness like false teachers and heresies. And lest I be enticed by the lustful desires (swoon!) of sinful human nature.

And, no, I don't buy the argument that it's not suitable for public worship. Isn't that precisely the kind of thing I'm supposed to watch for and avoid? How can I watch out for it and recognize it when I never get to read about what it looks like? Grumble.

A LOVELY ADVENT THING TO WATCH
On the brighter side of watching, this:

From God'sOwn, of course (New Zealand). Beautifully done. A joy to watch. H/T Richard Beck over at Experimental Theology.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The Digital Story of the Nativity

A wonderful take on it all.

H/T: iPhone Savior. How appropriate is that!! Saviour. Exactly!

Ask Me for a Sign: a Short Sermon for Advent 4, Year A—with reference to Isaiah 7, Romans 1 and Matthew 1

Advent 4. 6 sleeps to Christmas and look what we’ve just read about:

Is 7.14 Isaiah’s prophecy to a recalcitrant King Ahaz; first the promise of a great supernatural blessing:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Words that grace thousands of Christmas cards and resonate through the church’s history because they so beautifully foreshadow the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Yet, look what follows in v16:

But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

The blessing comes in the midst of wrong and dread.

Fast forward to Matthew and there’s more that is less than ideal in the case of another virgin. Mt 1.18:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Evil and dread in Isaiah. Now public disgrace and divorce. What a disappointment it must have been for Joseph and for both families involved. The story continues—Mt 1.20:

But after he had considered 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 home as your wife.

Do not be afraid. Fear. And not just for Joseph. Mary, too, must have been frightened. People were stoned for adultery in those days. Mt 1.21:

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

We can sin to the list. Wrong, dread, public disgrace, divorce, fear and sin. That is the context into which this great good news was spoken. It still is.

The reason we will have a longest night service on Tuesday is because life is far from perfect because of that list and because of losses and grief and pain. And if that isn’t enough of a reminder, we have two funerals this week—Marg Triskle on Tuesday at 2 and Bill Carlyle on Wednesday at 130.

Like Ahaz and Joseph and Mary, we need help. Here it is. Mt 1.18 again:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Our help came supernaturally by the Holy Spirit working through an extraordinary young woman. The greatest merely human being that ever lived, says Peter Kreeft. And…Mt 1.20:

But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Joseph needed help. God helped him by speaking supernaturally through an angel and a dream.

We need help. God sent help—supernaturally. Mt 1.23:

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

Matthew is quoting Isaiah 7.14. This is not a coincidental proof-text. He was prompted supernaturally to make that connection. And in doing so he communicates the supernatural reality of Jesus into our world of evil, dread, shame, divorce, fear, sin, longest night grief, death and funerals. This is Good News. On the cross, Jesus faced down and overcame everything on that list. And that’s not all. Look at Romans 1.4—Paul writing about Jesus Christ our LORD being “declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.” The Father’s ultimate supernatural act. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The supernatural act that defines us as the Christian church.

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. And next weekend we celebrate the supernatural wonder of His birth.

God says to Ahaz “Ask me for a sign!”—ask me to act supernaturally in the midst of the evil you face and your dread. For what sign shall we ask for this Advent, this Christmas? For Marg’s family and for Kathleen as they mourn. For the folks who will be here on Tuesday night. For those who are without next weekend? Perhaps one of our guests at supper last night asked for a sign, and we were it. Is there anyone else for whom we might be a sign of the best news in the world, Jesus Christ, God with us, this Christmas? I wonder if there is anyone out there to whom God is saying, “Ask me for a sign.” If so, might the sign he has in mind be you, me or us?