On this snowy Sunday Morning, worship has been canceled. But that doesn't mean that we cannot still take a few minutes to worship.
The readings for this week are: Micah 5:2-5a, Hebrews 10:5-10 and Luke 1:26-56. This is also the 4th sermon in the sermon series on Advent Conspiracy. (Here are links to the other 3: Worship Fully, Give More, Spend Less.)
I hope you enjoy your snow day and that you can take a few minutes to rest and be calm in the midst of the pre-Christmas craziness that happens to many of us this time of year.
Hope to see you Thursday at 5pm for our Christmas Eve Service
Editors note: This sermon is written to be given verbally. Therefore there are probably a few typos in this sermon as well as run on sentences and sentence fragments. In other words my high school English teacher would be in horror reading this and would probably whip out the red pen , while my speech teacher would be imagining how this would sound as a spoken piece. Please be the speech teacher.
Finally! Here we are the fourth Sunday in Advent, on 5 days until Christmas and we are finally getting to read a lesson that actually has something to do with Christmas. Really five days before Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph were packing up getting ready to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, if they hadn’t already left yet. But instead, today, 5 days before Christmas, we hear the story of Mary being told that she was pregnant and then traveling to her cousin Elizabeth to celebrate. Now I don’t actually have any personal experience with this, but from friends and siblings who have had kids recently, 5 days is a really short time to anticipate and prepare for the birth of a child.
But we have been preparing for Jesus’ birth throughout this Advent and throughout the year. For we are not just preparing for his birth, because really that happened over 2000 years ago, but we are preparing our hearts and minds for Jesus to enter in and for Jesus to come again. We are constantly preparing, learning and experiencing how we can better know, love and praise God.
And Mary, in her heart felt song of praise, in her willingness to be a servant of the Lord, is an excellent example of how to do just that. When Martin Luther explained Mary’s song of praise, the magnificat, he uses these words to describe how we can all learn from Mary. “Here, the tender mother of Christ teaches us, with her words and by the example of her experiences, how to know, love and praise God.”
But how hard this must have been for Mary. She was an unwed teenager who was just told by an angel that she was going to have a child though she was a virgin. Unwed pregnant women we often stoned to death for committing adultery. Though Mary has traditionally been depicted as a daughter of a priest, and if that was true she would have been burned to death instead of stoned for being pregnant out of wedlock.
But Mary doesn’t think about the consequences of her pregnancy. After her initial fear of the angel, she doesn’t run or turn away or reject the news or ask why her. Instead she does as God has called her to do. She accepts that she is a servant of the Lord, and even rejoices at the news. She knows that she has been chosen, that she has been blessed by this news that other might dismay.
And there is Elizabeth, an old barren woman, (realistically, she was could have been as young as me, but in her era when you were married as a young teenager, making to 28 without having children would have made you considered barren). Anyway here is Elizabeth, also pregnant, when no one thought it was possible, after she had gone for years without children, and instead of turning from Mary for being full of disgrace, instead of disowning her, or even warning her to flee for her life, instead of all the things Elizabeth could have done to Mary, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. She loves and accepts Mary. She feels blessed and honored to be visited by her and knows that Mary is not only pregnant but also that she is pregnant with the Christ child.
So what does this have to do with us? I mean other than Mary was the mother of Jesus who grew up to not only teach, preach and heal in the name of God but also died on a cross for our sins and rose from the dead.
Well most of you know by now that this Advent I have been talking about Advent Conspiracy and their four tenets: Worship Fully, Give More, Spend Less and Love All. Thus far we have discussed each of them except Love All. In some ways this seems like it is an easy one right? I mean of course we love everyone. But if we are honest with ourselves love is the hardest of them all.
We are not always acceptable, we are not always perfect, we screw up, we do not always conform to society’s standards of what is appropriate. We sin against God, we sin against others, we hurt others by our thoughts, words and deeds, by what we have done and what we have left undone and sometimes we do not deserve it when others love us.
We sometimes run from God, we turn away from what God is calling, asking, us to do, we ask why, we complain, we reject God’s call. We ignore God, we are too frighten, perplexed, troubled, disturbed and confused by what God wants us to do that we fail to love God and fail to love others.
Sure we do not show love to strangers but we also do not show love to many people who are family members or once friends. Be honest: how many of you are dreading seeing a particular aunt, uncle, cousin, sibling, parent or child this Christmas or are grateful that you do not have to see them? We fail to love relatives and sometimes we fail to love those who we once loved more anyone else, whether that plays out in getting a divorce, disowning siblings, children or parents, or even just the generic continuing to tolerate and live with the person but no longer having any loving feelings for them.
In an interview on Thanksgiving, Robin Williams stated “Thanksgiving is the holiday that makes us grateful that we don’t live near our family during the rest of the year.” Can’t that be true on Christmas as well? Christmas can be hard on children of divorce, not wanting to offend either parent by choosing one parent’s Christmas celebration over another. Christmas can be hard of married couples, not wanting to choose one spouses traditions over another. These choices are hard because to some people they can be interpreted that they love one person or family more than another.
But we can strive to love all. We can strive to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked, the sick, the marginalized. In fact those people are often easier to love than our relatives. By donating toys to St. Luke’s Life Works or Toys for Tots and money to the Salvation Army or other charities you are showing love, God’s love and your own, for others. By accepting people for where they are at, for not allowing that person to get under your skin this Christmas, by being gracious, you are showing love, God’s love and your own to others.
See we don’t always deserve to be loved. I think we can all think of multiple examples of times that we have hurt another, but yet God still loves us. God still accepts us. Just as Elizabeth love and accepted Mary, before she even knew Mary’s story, God accepts and loves us. God’s love is given to us through the healing waters of baptism. God’s love is given to us through the bread and wine of communion. God’s love is given to us through Jesus’ death on the cross. God’s love was given to us through the pregnancy of an unwed teenager 2000 years ago, God’s love was given to us through the birth of Jesus Christ, which we will celebrate in a few days, and God love will be given to us when Jesus comes again someday. For even if we do not always deserve it, God loves us!
Showing posts with label Advent Conspiracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent Conspiracy. Show all posts
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Spend Less
Worship was full today with our regular worship plus a temple talk on stewardship and the presentation of the budget for next year. So while some of the other text were referred to with stewardship and budgets in mind, this sermon focused mainly on the gospel text: Luke 3:7-18
So this Advent, this season of preparation before Christmas, I have been talking about Advent Conspiracy. Advent Conspiracy is a movement to have people reclaim Advent and Christmas from what it has become for many people: stress, traffic jams, to do list, shopping. Instead the goal, the hope, of Advent Conspiracy is that people can reclaim Advent and Christmas into a season of love, hope, promise and realize that Christmas can still change the world by us worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving all.
So let’s talk about spending less, but first lets see where were are.
• How many of you are already done with your Christmas shopping?
• How many of you have ever given a gift out of pure obligation? They gave or will you a gift so you feel you have to give them something in return?
• How many of you have the one person on your gift giving list this year that you have absolutely no clue what they might enjoy?
• How many of you will spend over $100 on Christmas presents this year? $200? $500?
• How many of you like receiving gifts?
• How many of you like giving gifts?
• How many of you can remember giving someone a gift that they really wanted or were really excited over? What was that like?
See I’m not a Scrooge, I like giving gifts. I like thinking about what someone would really enjoy and finding the perfect gift for them. And I like receiving gifts too. I like receiving gifts that I know were specifically purchased or made with me in mind. Gifts that are useful or meaningful or ones that I will treasure.
But it happens every Christmas, you open that present and you immediately put on that fake smile and as you lift your gift out of the box you exclaim or it is great, I love it. Meanwhile you are wondering what were they thinking when they bought you that? Did they buy it on the way home from church on Christmas Eve and the only place open was the gas station? Whether it is a hideous sweater, a Chia pet, a shirt two sizes too big, or a gift certificate to a place you never shop at, nor would ever shop at, you have just received a gift that was wasted. It would have been better that they wrote a thoughtful card than given you something that proves they put no thought into what you might enjoy.
And if you gave that gift, and you realize that they didn’t like it, it feels horrible. You just want to take it back and either give them the cash you spent on it or a card or something else.
And then think about this: every year Americans spend $450 billion dollars on Christmas. $450 billion! That is ten times the amount Bank of America just paid back the US government from the bailout program. That works out to be almost $1500 per person, not per family, per person, including children.
So what would happen if each year, we bough one less gift? One less gift that we give solely out of obligation. One less hideous sweater, Chia pet, shirt two sizes too big, or a gift certificate that they will never use. Think of how nice it would be to not have to buy something for the random coworker in the Secret Santa pool at work. Think of how nice it would be to not have to rack your brain to get something for that one person who you can never think of what to get them.
So if every person bought one less gift a year, say that averages out to be $20 (I’m being cheap here), that is $610 million dollars a year in savings.
So what all does this have to do with the Gospel? What does this have to do with lessons we just heard, that we just read?
Well there is John the Baptist out in the wilderness preaching to crowds telling them to prepare the way of the Lord. And how does he tell them to prepare the way? By giving away an extra coat and extra food, by doing their job well and by being satisfied with their wages. That’s it! It is simple. He didn’t tell them to go out and do great things, he didn’t tell them to go out and even do anything particularly religious – going to worship daily, reading the scriptures. No just give away your excess to those who have none, do your job well and don’t complain.
See we often feel like we have to do something big, that we have to do something worth wild in order for it to make a difference in this world. We hear about the people who gave a million dollars to a charity or a university. And maybe we wish we could be them, to get their recognition, to change the world that way. But really we don’t have to do anything big. A tree only has to bear one good fruit in order for the seed to be planted in order for another tree to grow, which will bear more good fruit and more trees.
We don’t have to do anything spectacular, we just need to do what we have been called to do, do it well, and help others in need. To do our small part, to do what God has call us to do.
Plus some of the best gifts, the best fruits we can bear, require no money at all. By giving what we already have, people can have warm clothes for winter and food on their tables. By giving the skills that we have, houses can be built, quilts can be made, children can be educated, the world can be changed. God has given us the ability to bear good fruit.
God has given us the gifts of community to support us as we bear good fruit. This church has donated over $700 for Redding Social Services this year, not including the hundreds of food items as well. We donated a pile of toys to St. Luke’s Life Work’s this year. Think of how many children will have gifts this Christmas that might otherwise have none. We have support the African Mission. We have done many, many things. God has given us this community to support us as we bear good fruit.
We bear good fruits because we have been given the gift of Christ. Christ who came to us as child born in a lowly manger, Christ who forgives our sins, Christ who died on a cross for us, Christ who will come again! Christ who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, Christ who gave us his body and blood through the bread and wine of communion. Christ who was the ultimate gift for the world. For God so loved the world, that God gave his only son to die for us so that we might receive eternal life.
We have been given the gift of Christ so that we can bear good fruit. So then what if we buy one less gift so that we can bear good fruit. What if we take that $20 that we saved from not buying that one gift and instead donated to a charity on that person’s behalf? And what if only one in every one hundred people in this country did the exact same thing? It may seem like nothing big, but that would be an additional $61 million dollars given to charity each year. Think of all the good things that charities like Lutheran World Relief, the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and others could do with an extra $61 million a year. Lutheran World Relief’s total program expenses for the year are only $32 million.
It is by bearing that one good fruit, something that might seem so small at the time, by buying that one less gift, that we realize that Christmas can still change the world.
So this Advent, this season of preparation before Christmas, I have been talking about Advent Conspiracy. Advent Conspiracy is a movement to have people reclaim Advent and Christmas from what it has become for many people: stress, traffic jams, to do list, shopping. Instead the goal, the hope, of Advent Conspiracy is that people can reclaim Advent and Christmas into a season of love, hope, promise and realize that Christmas can still change the world by us worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving all.
So let’s talk about spending less, but first lets see where were are.
• How many of you are already done with your Christmas shopping?
• How many of you have ever given a gift out of pure obligation? They gave or will you a gift so you feel you have to give them something in return?
• How many of you have the one person on your gift giving list this year that you have absolutely no clue what they might enjoy?
• How many of you will spend over $100 on Christmas presents this year? $200? $500?
• How many of you like receiving gifts?
• How many of you like giving gifts?
• How many of you can remember giving someone a gift that they really wanted or were really excited over? What was that like?
See I’m not a Scrooge, I like giving gifts. I like thinking about what someone would really enjoy and finding the perfect gift for them. And I like receiving gifts too. I like receiving gifts that I know were specifically purchased or made with me in mind. Gifts that are useful or meaningful or ones that I will treasure.
But it happens every Christmas, you open that present and you immediately put on that fake smile and as you lift your gift out of the box you exclaim or it is great, I love it. Meanwhile you are wondering what were they thinking when they bought you that? Did they buy it on the way home from church on Christmas Eve and the only place open was the gas station? Whether it is a hideous sweater, a Chia pet, a shirt two sizes too big, or a gift certificate to a place you never shop at, nor would ever shop at, you have just received a gift that was wasted. It would have been better that they wrote a thoughtful card than given you something that proves they put no thought into what you might enjoy.
And if you gave that gift, and you realize that they didn’t like it, it feels horrible. You just want to take it back and either give them the cash you spent on it or a card or something else.
And then think about this: every year Americans spend $450 billion dollars on Christmas. $450 billion! That is ten times the amount Bank of America just paid back the US government from the bailout program. That works out to be almost $1500 per person, not per family, per person, including children.
So what would happen if each year, we bough one less gift? One less gift that we give solely out of obligation. One less hideous sweater, Chia pet, shirt two sizes too big, or a gift certificate that they will never use. Think of how nice it would be to not have to buy something for the random coworker in the Secret Santa pool at work. Think of how nice it would be to not have to rack your brain to get something for that one person who you can never think of what to get them.
So if every person bought one less gift a year, say that averages out to be $20 (I’m being cheap here), that is $610 million dollars a year in savings.
So what all does this have to do with the Gospel? What does this have to do with lessons we just heard, that we just read?
Well there is John the Baptist out in the wilderness preaching to crowds telling them to prepare the way of the Lord. And how does he tell them to prepare the way? By giving away an extra coat and extra food, by doing their job well and by being satisfied with their wages. That’s it! It is simple. He didn’t tell them to go out and do great things, he didn’t tell them to go out and even do anything particularly religious – going to worship daily, reading the scriptures. No just give away your excess to those who have none, do your job well and don’t complain.
See we often feel like we have to do something big, that we have to do something worth wild in order for it to make a difference in this world. We hear about the people who gave a million dollars to a charity or a university. And maybe we wish we could be them, to get their recognition, to change the world that way. But really we don’t have to do anything big. A tree only has to bear one good fruit in order for the seed to be planted in order for another tree to grow, which will bear more good fruit and more trees.
We don’t have to do anything spectacular, we just need to do what we have been called to do, do it well, and help others in need. To do our small part, to do what God has call us to do.
Plus some of the best gifts, the best fruits we can bear, require no money at all. By giving what we already have, people can have warm clothes for winter and food on their tables. By giving the skills that we have, houses can be built, quilts can be made, children can be educated, the world can be changed. God has given us the ability to bear good fruit.
God has given us the gifts of community to support us as we bear good fruit. This church has donated over $700 for Redding Social Services this year, not including the hundreds of food items as well. We donated a pile of toys to St. Luke’s Life Work’s this year. Think of how many children will have gifts this Christmas that might otherwise have none. We have support the African Mission. We have done many, many things. God has given us this community to support us as we bear good fruit.
We bear good fruits because we have been given the gift of Christ. Christ who came to us as child born in a lowly manger, Christ who forgives our sins, Christ who died on a cross for us, Christ who will come again! Christ who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, Christ who gave us his body and blood through the bread and wine of communion. Christ who was the ultimate gift for the world. For God so loved the world, that God gave his only son to die for us so that we might receive eternal life.
We have been given the gift of Christ so that we can bear good fruit. So then what if we buy one less gift so that we can bear good fruit. What if we take that $20 that we saved from not buying that one gift and instead donated to a charity on that person’s behalf? And what if only one in every one hundred people in this country did the exact same thing? It may seem like nothing big, but that would be an additional $61 million dollars given to charity each year. Think of all the good things that charities like Lutheran World Relief, the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and others could do with an extra $61 million a year. Lutheran World Relief’s total program expenses for the year are only $32 million.
It is by bearing that one good fruit, something that might seem so small at the time, by buying that one less gift, that we realize that Christmas can still change the world.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
How to Give More
The second concept from Advent Conspiracy that I'm focusing on this Advent is Give More.
Advent Conspiracies defines this as "God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?" But how can we do that? Life is crazy, I don't have time to give my time.
So life is crazy. Everyone's life is crazy. I try never to get into complaining competitions because there is always someone who has a crazier life than me, but there are very few people I know who would not enjoy a few more hours in the day, a few more days in the week and a few more weeks in a year in order to get everything do that they must get done.
It is the craziness of life that makes giving time a difficult thing to do. However it is the craziness of life that makes giving time one of the most enjoyable gifts to give because it allows us to step back and enjoy the time we spend together.
So how can you give time?
If you have a hobby that produces something tangible - knitting, needle-pointing, woodworking, photography, writing, baking, cooking - use your hobby to make gifts for others. Not only do you get to work on something you enjoy, it is a personal gift that hopefully they will enjoy more.
Spread it out over the year! One of my favorite suggestions about giving time came from a parent with multiple kids. The parents made up coupon books with simple events for each month of the year that gave each kids time to be alone with one or both parents. So the kids got a year of presents like "a lunch date with mom" "going to the batting cages with dad" "going out for ice cream with mom and dad" that the kids were able to redeem throughout the year.
Make a date for it. Set a weekly or monthly time to spend together and stick to it, whether it is family game night, a monthly night out with friends.
Buy tickets for two. Tickets to a concert, sport's game, art exhibit, play, etc are great gifts and way to spend time together, especially if you make a day of it.
Already bought the person a gift? Is there some way you can share in it together? Read the book you bought him and discuss it. Have her beat you in the video game you bought her even if you embarrass yourself doing so. Cook together using that new kitchen gadget. Build something together with the new set of tools. Play together with the new sports equipment. And I can't think of someway to share clothes but be creative I'm sure you can think of something.
Happy Advent!
Advent Conspiracies defines this as "God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?" But how can we do that? Life is crazy, I don't have time to give my time.
So life is crazy. Everyone's life is crazy. I try never to get into complaining competitions because there is always someone who has a crazier life than me, but there are very few people I know who would not enjoy a few more hours in the day, a few more days in the week and a few more weeks in a year in order to get everything do that they must get done.
It is the craziness of life that makes giving time a difficult thing to do. However it is the craziness of life that makes giving time one of the most enjoyable gifts to give because it allows us to step back and enjoy the time we spend together.
So how can you give time?
If you have a hobby that produces something tangible - knitting, needle-pointing, woodworking, photography, writing, baking, cooking - use your hobby to make gifts for others. Not only do you get to work on something you enjoy, it is a personal gift that hopefully they will enjoy more.
Spread it out over the year! One of my favorite suggestions about giving time came from a parent with multiple kids. The parents made up coupon books with simple events for each month of the year that gave each kids time to be alone with one or both parents. So the kids got a year of presents like "a lunch date with mom" "going to the batting cages with dad" "going out for ice cream with mom and dad" that the kids were able to redeem throughout the year.
Make a date for it. Set a weekly or monthly time to spend together and stick to it, whether it is family game night, a monthly night out with friends.
Buy tickets for two. Tickets to a concert, sport's game, art exhibit, play, etc are great gifts and way to spend time together, especially if you make a day of it.
Already bought the person a gift? Is there some way you can share in it together? Read the book you bought him and discuss it. Have her beat you in the video game you bought her even if you embarrass yourself doing so. Cook together using that new kitchen gadget. Build something together with the new set of tools. Play together with the new sports equipment. And I can't think of someway to share clothes but be creative I'm sure you can think of something.
Happy Advent!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Give More
For the second Sunday in Advent the text were Malachi 3:1-20, Luke 1:68-79, Philippians 1:1-11, and Luke 3:1-6. There was also a baptism who is the Liam that is mentioned in the sermon. This is also the second in the series of sermons using the concepts of Advent Conspiracy. Yeah so there is a lot in one sermon. Enjoy!
We have some pretty interesting lessons today. I mean it is not even three weeks till Christmas, shouldn’t we be hearing about Mary being told by an angel that she was pregnant with Jesus, or a preview to Jesus’ birth or maybe even about the birth of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin who was born just a few months before Jesus. Instead our Old Testament reading about Israel having to be put through the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap (whatever that means), the second reading is some blessing Paul wrote to people who agreed with him in Philippi and the gospel lesson is a list of some dudes who ruled some lands and John the Baptist proclaiming the need for people to be baptized. Okay so at least our psalmody is not from psalms and instead it is the song Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, sang when John was born – but we don’t ever get to read the background story.
But Advent, this season of four weeks before Christmas, in the church is not just about preparing for Jesus’ birth. Think about it, what parent just prepares for the birth of a child and not for the child’s life to – the clothes, carriers, strollers, diapers, that is all about the child’s life. Advent is about preparing for Jesus’ life, for his ministry, for his death on the cross, it is about preparing for Jesus resurrection from the dead and for him to come again. Yes we tend to focus on Jesus’ birth at Christmas – at least if we look at the meaning of Christmas and not the way secular society has made Christmas out to be – all about presents, cookies, decorating, holiday parties and the big long to do list.
So with that in mind, the preparations that are being made not just for Jesus’ birth, but also his life, it makes since that we have today’s text. We must prepare the way Lord. We must make paths straights, mountains and valleys level. We must make ourselves clean, worthy for Christ, through the refiner’s fire, through the fuller’s soap, through the waters of baptism.
The people of Israel needed to be scrubbed clean, they needed to go through the refiner’s fire. The people John was preaching his message to needed to repent, to have their sins forgiven. The Lord was coming and they needed to make his path straight. To level every mountain, to fill every valley. But all of that takes time!
The refining process for gold and silver was drawn out, it took time to get out the other chemicals in order to leave pure silver and gold. Leveling mountains and filling valleys take time. Have you ever dug a garden bed? Making paths straight takes time. Think of how much time they have spend already on the parkway and route 7. They all take time.
It takes time! Time something that we never seem to have enough of. Time, probably one of the most precious commodities in the entire world. We are fine if we waste some of our own time, playing on the internet, watching a un-worth-wild TV show, flipping through the pages of a catalog that we will never purchase anything from. But how dare somebody else waste our time, in a pointless work meeting that has nothing to do with us, by being late to a meeting or lunch, making us wait for our appointment with the doctor or dentist, making us wait in line at the grocery store or bank.
We are constantly trying to find ways to save time. ATMs have almost eliminated the need for actual bank tellers, emails are a quicker way of trying to arrange meetings or exchange ideas. At Stop N Shop, you can now use a hand-held scanner as you shop for groceries so that when you get to the cash register all you have to do is pay – and if you bring your own bags and arrange your cart well, you don’t even have to worry about bagging your groceries either. Entire TV programs show you how to cook a well balanced meal in less than a half hour. It is all about saving time.
So maybe that is why time is often the most precious gift we can give.
We often think that we can buy our own and other people’s happiness, especially at Christmas time. If I spend a lot on a present for them, they will like me more. If I get them the gift that they really want, even if I can’t afford it, they will be happy for the entire year. If I only owned a nicer house, boat, car, designer clothes, cell phone, latest gadget, fill in the blank, then I will be truly happy.
But money does not buy happiness, however time does, or at least helps.
I’ve been talking about Advent Conspiracy with you in these weeks leading up to Christmas. Last week we talked about Worship Fully, one of the core concepts to Advent Conspiracy. But this week, lets talk about Give More. We often think at Christmas about giving and spending more of our money on our family and friends in order to make Christmas memorable. But really we should Give More of our time, our presence.
It is in giving that time that we make memories. Yes I remember fondly playing with many of my siblings and my Christmas presents, an easy-bake oven, the Nintendo, some musical instrument kit. But what I remember more about those toys was the times when my parents played with them with me. When my mom, sister and I would cook desserts in our easy bake oven then have a little party. When my siblings and I took turns beating my dad at Duck Hunt. When I got my siblings to join in a parade of musical instruments and march in front of my parents.
An as a young adult, my favorite presents have become ones that either put time and effort into making especially for me – a Christmas stocking that my dad needlepointed for me when I was a kid, or the tie blanket that Bob made for me a few years ago before we got married. Those are the gifts I treasure.
And how about you? What have been your favorite Christmas presents? Ones that someone picked off a shelf for you at a store because it was on sale? Or ones that people picked out or made especially for you? Or even ones where people spend time with you, taking you out to your favorite restaurant, tickets to a sports game or play, time to teach you a hobby that you have always wanted to try?
Time is a precious commodity. Time is what makes happiness. Time is what builds relationships. Spending true quality time with your family this Christmas is what will make them happy – at least most of them, there are always some Scrooges out there. And quite honestly we each probably have some family members that we don’t want to spend time with.
To quote the Advent Conspiracy website: Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?
Time is a gift.
We all know it. God knows it to. All those things that I talked about earlier – making hills low and filling valleys, straightening paths, going through the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap – all of those things take time. And God is willing to give us that time.
God builds relationship with us through time. Today when the baptismal waters are poured over Liam, God is just starting a formal relationship with him. God is not done with Liam once his head is dried off. And God is not done with us. God was not done with us at our baptisms. We were not given the gift of baptism and then left alone for the rest of our lives to wander in the wilderness. No, God comes to us each and every day. The word of God still comes to us.
We are continually given the gifts of God’s grace. We were each given that grace at our baptism and we are continually given God’s grace whenever we remember that we are children of God, marked with the cross of Christ forever.
We are given the gifts of Christ Jesus. Jesus gave us the forgiveness of all of our sins through his death on a cross. And weekly at this altar, at this table, we are given the gifts of Christ’s body and blood through tangible offering of bread and wine. Gifts that are given to all people. Gifts of forgivness.
We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, generosity, self-control, the ability to teach, the ability to preach, the ability to serve. Each have been given to us in our own ways. The Holy Spirit moves in us each and every day. We have been given these gifts over and over again. Time has been spent on us.
As we prepare for Christmas, for Christ’s birth, life and death, we are reminded of the amount of time it takes to prepare the way of the Lord, but we are also reminded about the amount of time God has and is willing to spend on us. God is building a relationship with us and relationships take time and they take love. And we are worth the time and we are loved.
We have some pretty interesting lessons today. I mean it is not even three weeks till Christmas, shouldn’t we be hearing about Mary being told by an angel that she was pregnant with Jesus, or a preview to Jesus’ birth or maybe even about the birth of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin who was born just a few months before Jesus. Instead our Old Testament reading about Israel having to be put through the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap (whatever that means), the second reading is some blessing Paul wrote to people who agreed with him in Philippi and the gospel lesson is a list of some dudes who ruled some lands and John the Baptist proclaiming the need for people to be baptized. Okay so at least our psalmody is not from psalms and instead it is the song Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, sang when John was born – but we don’t ever get to read the background story.
But Advent, this season of four weeks before Christmas, in the church is not just about preparing for Jesus’ birth. Think about it, what parent just prepares for the birth of a child and not for the child’s life to – the clothes, carriers, strollers, diapers, that is all about the child’s life. Advent is about preparing for Jesus’ life, for his ministry, for his death on the cross, it is about preparing for Jesus resurrection from the dead and for him to come again. Yes we tend to focus on Jesus’ birth at Christmas – at least if we look at the meaning of Christmas and not the way secular society has made Christmas out to be – all about presents, cookies, decorating, holiday parties and the big long to do list.
So with that in mind, the preparations that are being made not just for Jesus’ birth, but also his life, it makes since that we have today’s text. We must prepare the way Lord. We must make paths straights, mountains and valleys level. We must make ourselves clean, worthy for Christ, through the refiner’s fire, through the fuller’s soap, through the waters of baptism.
The people of Israel needed to be scrubbed clean, they needed to go through the refiner’s fire. The people John was preaching his message to needed to repent, to have their sins forgiven. The Lord was coming and they needed to make his path straight. To level every mountain, to fill every valley. But all of that takes time!
The refining process for gold and silver was drawn out, it took time to get out the other chemicals in order to leave pure silver and gold. Leveling mountains and filling valleys take time. Have you ever dug a garden bed? Making paths straight takes time. Think of how much time they have spend already on the parkway and route 7. They all take time.
It takes time! Time something that we never seem to have enough of. Time, probably one of the most precious commodities in the entire world. We are fine if we waste some of our own time, playing on the internet, watching a un-worth-wild TV show, flipping through the pages of a catalog that we will never purchase anything from. But how dare somebody else waste our time, in a pointless work meeting that has nothing to do with us, by being late to a meeting or lunch, making us wait for our appointment with the doctor or dentist, making us wait in line at the grocery store or bank.
We are constantly trying to find ways to save time. ATMs have almost eliminated the need for actual bank tellers, emails are a quicker way of trying to arrange meetings or exchange ideas. At Stop N Shop, you can now use a hand-held scanner as you shop for groceries so that when you get to the cash register all you have to do is pay – and if you bring your own bags and arrange your cart well, you don’t even have to worry about bagging your groceries either. Entire TV programs show you how to cook a well balanced meal in less than a half hour. It is all about saving time.
So maybe that is why time is often the most precious gift we can give.
We often think that we can buy our own and other people’s happiness, especially at Christmas time. If I spend a lot on a present for them, they will like me more. If I get them the gift that they really want, even if I can’t afford it, they will be happy for the entire year. If I only owned a nicer house, boat, car, designer clothes, cell phone, latest gadget, fill in the blank, then I will be truly happy.
But money does not buy happiness, however time does, or at least helps.
I’ve been talking about Advent Conspiracy with you in these weeks leading up to Christmas. Last week we talked about Worship Fully, one of the core concepts to Advent Conspiracy. But this week, lets talk about Give More. We often think at Christmas about giving and spending more of our money on our family and friends in order to make Christmas memorable. But really we should Give More of our time, our presence.
It is in giving that time that we make memories. Yes I remember fondly playing with many of my siblings and my Christmas presents, an easy-bake oven, the Nintendo, some musical instrument kit. But what I remember more about those toys was the times when my parents played with them with me. When my mom, sister and I would cook desserts in our easy bake oven then have a little party. When my siblings and I took turns beating my dad at Duck Hunt. When I got my siblings to join in a parade of musical instruments and march in front of my parents.
An as a young adult, my favorite presents have become ones that either put time and effort into making especially for me – a Christmas stocking that my dad needlepointed for me when I was a kid, or the tie blanket that Bob made for me a few years ago before we got married. Those are the gifts I treasure.
And how about you? What have been your favorite Christmas presents? Ones that someone picked off a shelf for you at a store because it was on sale? Or ones that people picked out or made especially for you? Or even ones where people spend time with you, taking you out to your favorite restaurant, tickets to a sports game or play, time to teach you a hobby that you have always wanted to try?
Time is a precious commodity. Time is what makes happiness. Time is what builds relationships. Spending true quality time with your family this Christmas is what will make them happy – at least most of them, there are always some Scrooges out there. And quite honestly we each probably have some family members that we don’t want to spend time with.
To quote the Advent Conspiracy website: Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?
Time is a gift.
We all know it. God knows it to. All those things that I talked about earlier – making hills low and filling valleys, straightening paths, going through the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap – all of those things take time. And God is willing to give us that time.
God builds relationship with us through time. Today when the baptismal waters are poured over Liam, God is just starting a formal relationship with him. God is not done with Liam once his head is dried off. And God is not done with us. God was not done with us at our baptisms. We were not given the gift of baptism and then left alone for the rest of our lives to wander in the wilderness. No, God comes to us each and every day. The word of God still comes to us.
We are continually given the gifts of God’s grace. We were each given that grace at our baptism and we are continually given God’s grace whenever we remember that we are children of God, marked with the cross of Christ forever.
We are given the gifts of Christ Jesus. Jesus gave us the forgiveness of all of our sins through his death on a cross. And weekly at this altar, at this table, we are given the gifts of Christ’s body and blood through tangible offering of bread and wine. Gifts that are given to all people. Gifts of forgivness.
We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, generosity, self-control, the ability to teach, the ability to preach, the ability to serve. Each have been given to us in our own ways. The Holy Spirit moves in us each and every day. We have been given these gifts over and over again. Time has been spent on us.
As we prepare for Christmas, for Christ’s birth, life and death, we are reminded of the amount of time it takes to prepare the way of the Lord, but we are also reminded about the amount of time God has and is willing to spend on us. God is building a relationship with us and relationships take time and they take love. And we are worth the time and we are loved.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Ways to Worship Fully
So yesterday my sermon was about Worship Fully, one of the four main concepts of Advent Conspiracy. In the sermon I used the "definition" from the Advent Conspiracy website for what it means to worship fully. But to keep you from looking it up it is: It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
But what does that mean? How can you worship fully in your life? Well here are a few suggestion, use them all, use only one.
Plan the Advent/Christmas season around worship - make sure shopping, decorating, parties and other preparations do not prevent you from attending weekly worship.
Use an Advent wreath of calendar and each evening take a moment to light the wreath or open a door and offer God a prayer.
Read the bible daily.
Find a daily devotional you enjoy and read it each day of Advent.
Pray with family or along.
Say table grace, even at restaurants, even when you do not each as a family.
Take a few moments each day to stand back and find joy and thanksgiving in your day.
Sing along to those Christmas Carols - especially the ones that refer to worshiping Jesus - O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Away in the Manger - just to name a few.
These are just a few suggestion on how to worship fully. There are many, many more things you can do, but the point is not to give you an even longer to do list. The point of Advent Conspiracy is to allow you the opportunity to stand back from all the holiday craziness that happens this time of year and instead take time to worship God, who came to us as a humble child, for that is the true reason of Christmas.
But what does that mean? How can you worship fully in your life? Well here are a few suggestion, use them all, use only one.
Plan the Advent/Christmas season around worship - make sure shopping, decorating, parties and other preparations do not prevent you from attending weekly worship.
Use an Advent wreath of calendar and each evening take a moment to light the wreath or open a door and offer God a prayer.
Read the bible daily.
Find a daily devotional you enjoy and read it each day of Advent.
Pray with family or along.
Say table grace, even at restaurants, even when you do not each as a family.
Take a few moments each day to stand back and find joy and thanksgiving in your day.
Sing along to those Christmas Carols - especially the ones that refer to worshiping Jesus - O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Away in the Manger - just to name a few.
These are just a few suggestion on how to worship fully. There are many, many more things you can do, but the point is not to give you an even longer to do list. The point of Advent Conspiracy is to allow you the opportunity to stand back from all the holiday craziness that happens this time of year and instead take time to worship God, who came to us as a humble child, for that is the true reason of Christmas.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Worship Fully
This Advent I'm hopefully preaching a sermon series based on the four concepts of Advent Conspiracy - Worship Fully, Give More, Spend Less and Love All. You can find out more about Advent Conspiracy HERE and HERE.
This particular sermon focused on Worship Fully and did reference the gospel text for today Luke 21:25-36 . But really all of the text from this week were helpful in discussing how we worship fully. The other text for this week were: Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 and 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
So it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the First Sunday in Advent and I have a question for you: Are you sick of Christmas yet?
Are you tired of the commercial for sales daily reminding you that you need to buy your family’s love (but don’t worry it is on sale this weekend only)? Are you annoy yet with the Christmas carols being constantly played in the malls, department stores and even on the regular radio stations, some places started as early as November 1? Are you disgusted with the house down the road that has already had Christmas decorations up for a month and each day puts up something new? Are you fed up with your ever-growing to-do list of shopping, cooking, decorating, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending, stressing? It is not even December yet, and are you sick of Christmas?
And really what is the point of all that? Of decorating, shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending and stressing? Is that meaning of Christmas? Is that what makes memories? Are those your favorite memories of Christmases past? Is your favorite memory of Christmas dealing with the traffic jams and crowds at the mall? Is your favorite part of Christmas trying to find the perfect gift for the random co-worker that you hardly know who you were so lucky get in the secret Santa exchange at work? Is your favorite thing about Christmas is when you finally pay off the last bill in June? Is that what you hope your children and grandchildren remember about Christmas?
See all of that is temporary. They are things of this earth. They will pass away, they will fade. Every year Americans spend 450 Billion dollars on Christmas, most of which will be returned, exchanged or tossed in the trash. Forgotten about by the time Christmas come again the following year.
So are we not to do all this? Are we not to worry about decorating, shopping, cooking, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending, and stressing? But what if you like cooking or caroling or the parties? Well maybe we can do it only differently. Maybe we can conspire to do Christmas in a way that is less stressful and more meaningful.
I would like to invite you join a conspiracy with me. An Advent Conspiracy.
Advent Conspiracy is a group that was started in 2006 by four churches and their pastors to help people reclaim Advent as a season of waiting, of giving, of worship, so that Christmas can be a time of meaning and not about useless gifts, long to-do list, and stress. There are four main concepts to Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully, Give More Presence, Spend Less and Love all. So each week this Advent, I hope to discuss one of these with you so hopefully you will conspire with me.
But first lets begin with worship, because that is where Christmas began, that is why Christmas began. We worship. We worship the infant in the manger, we worship the man hanging from the cross, and we will worship the Son of Man who is coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
To worship means to pray, to sing, to give our time and our possessions. We think we worship, but really worship happens to us. Worship is what God does to use when we think we’re singing, praying and listening on Sunday Mornings.
Worship happens when we hear and listen to God’s voice. Worship happens when we received Christ’s body and blood through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Worship happened when we have been washed with the grace-filled, life giving waters of baptism. Worship happens when we receive God’s grace and forgiveness. Worship happens to us. To worship fully means to accept the Holy Spirit to move through us, to allow the Spirit to stir our hearts and minds, to receive God’s grace, to gather around Jesus Christ.
To worship fully, in the words of the Advent Conspiracy website, is to realize that: It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
See it all begins with worship. The shepherds had an overwhelming passion to come to worship Jesus in the manger. The wise men had an overwhelming passion to came to worship Jesus and offer him their gifts. That is the point of Christmas, that is the point of Advent.
Advent is a season of waiting. Yes we are waiting and preparing the birth of Christ, something that has already happened, but we are reminded by our Bible lessons today that we are also awaiting for Christ to come again. We are waiting, preparing, praying, singing, listening for when Christ will come again in great glory. For the day when we can stand up and raise our heads in worship, knowing that our redemption is near. We are waiting for a day when we can worship Jesus in all his glory, when he comes again.
This Advent we are waiting and preparing. We are not just preparing our homes with decorations. We are not just preparing our schedules with too much to do. We are not just preparing our credit cards with too many bills to pay (450 billion dollars). This Advent and really each and every day of the entire year, we are waiting and preparing our hearts and minds for Christ. We are waiting and preparing to truly worship Christ. We are waiting and preparing for the day when God’s promises will be fulfilled, when the Lord will be called our righteousness.
But until that day, we worship God and realize, hopefully with an overwhelming passion, that God happens to us in worship. As we wait and prepare, we receive the forgiveness of all of our sins because Christ who was born in a stable will die for our sins and come again in glory. As we wait and prepare, we received God’s everlasting, eternal grace through the gifts of the Lord’s Supper. As we wait and prepare, we are reminded that we are children of God, baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. As we wait and prepare, we worship, for Christmas is coming and Christ is coming again.
This particular sermon focused on Worship Fully and did reference the gospel text for today Luke 21:25-36 . But really all of the text from this week were helpful in discussing how we worship fully. The other text for this week were: Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 and 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
So it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the First Sunday in Advent and I have a question for you: Are you sick of Christmas yet?
Are you tired of the commercial for sales daily reminding you that you need to buy your family’s love (but don’t worry it is on sale this weekend only)? Are you annoy yet with the Christmas carols being constantly played in the malls, department stores and even on the regular radio stations, some places started as early as November 1? Are you disgusted with the house down the road that has already had Christmas decorations up for a month and each day puts up something new? Are you fed up with your ever-growing to-do list of shopping, cooking, decorating, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending, stressing? It is not even December yet, and are you sick of Christmas?
And really what is the point of all that? Of decorating, shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending and stressing? Is that meaning of Christmas? Is that what makes memories? Are those your favorite memories of Christmases past? Is your favorite memory of Christmas dealing with the traffic jams and crowds at the mall? Is your favorite part of Christmas trying to find the perfect gift for the random co-worker that you hardly know who you were so lucky get in the secret Santa exchange at work? Is your favorite thing about Christmas is when you finally pay off the last bill in June? Is that what you hope your children and grandchildren remember about Christmas?
See all of that is temporary. They are things of this earth. They will pass away, they will fade. Every year Americans spend 450 Billion dollars on Christmas, most of which will be returned, exchanged or tossed in the trash. Forgotten about by the time Christmas come again the following year.
So are we not to do all this? Are we not to worry about decorating, shopping, cooking, wrapping, caroling, partying, spending, and stressing? But what if you like cooking or caroling or the parties? Well maybe we can do it only differently. Maybe we can conspire to do Christmas in a way that is less stressful and more meaningful.
I would like to invite you join a conspiracy with me. An Advent Conspiracy.
Advent Conspiracy is a group that was started in 2006 by four churches and their pastors to help people reclaim Advent as a season of waiting, of giving, of worship, so that Christmas can be a time of meaning and not about useless gifts, long to-do list, and stress. There are four main concepts to Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully, Give More Presence, Spend Less and Love all. So each week this Advent, I hope to discuss one of these with you so hopefully you will conspire with me.
But first lets begin with worship, because that is where Christmas began, that is why Christmas began. We worship. We worship the infant in the manger, we worship the man hanging from the cross, and we will worship the Son of Man who is coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
To worship means to pray, to sing, to give our time and our possessions. We think we worship, but really worship happens to us. Worship is what God does to use when we think we’re singing, praying and listening on Sunday Mornings.
Worship happens when we hear and listen to God’s voice. Worship happens when we received Christ’s body and blood through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Worship happened when we have been washed with the grace-filled, life giving waters of baptism. Worship happens when we receive God’s grace and forgiveness. Worship happens to us. To worship fully means to accept the Holy Spirit to move through us, to allow the Spirit to stir our hearts and minds, to receive God’s grace, to gather around Jesus Christ.
To worship fully, in the words of the Advent Conspiracy website, is to realize that: It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
See it all begins with worship. The shepherds had an overwhelming passion to come to worship Jesus in the manger. The wise men had an overwhelming passion to came to worship Jesus and offer him their gifts. That is the point of Christmas, that is the point of Advent.
Advent is a season of waiting. Yes we are waiting and preparing the birth of Christ, something that has already happened, but we are reminded by our Bible lessons today that we are also awaiting for Christ to come again. We are waiting, preparing, praying, singing, listening for when Christ will come again in great glory. For the day when we can stand up and raise our heads in worship, knowing that our redemption is near. We are waiting for a day when we can worship Jesus in all his glory, when he comes again.
This Advent we are waiting and preparing. We are not just preparing our homes with decorations. We are not just preparing our schedules with too much to do. We are not just preparing our credit cards with too many bills to pay (450 billion dollars). This Advent and really each and every day of the entire year, we are waiting and preparing our hearts and minds for Christ. We are waiting and preparing to truly worship Christ. We are waiting and preparing for the day when God’s promises will be fulfilled, when the Lord will be called our righteousness.
But until that day, we worship God and realize, hopefully with an overwhelming passion, that God happens to us in worship. As we wait and prepare, we receive the forgiveness of all of our sins because Christ who was born in a stable will die for our sins and come again in glory. As we wait and prepare, we received God’s everlasting, eternal grace through the gifts of the Lord’s Supper. As we wait and prepare, we are reminded that we are children of God, baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. As we wait and prepare, we worship, for Christmas is coming and Christ is coming again.
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