+ Whenever we have an opportunity to hear the Creation story read as part of our Sunday readings, I often read the Creation story as told by Jerome Berryman in the Godly Play Sunday School curriculum. Today’s Gospel, commonly referred to as the Prologue of John, is a creation story and a Christmas story all wrapped up in one.
It is the foundational story of our faith.
And it is as confusing and confounding as anything else in Christianity…but here’s a tip-----don’t think too hard, just listen.
In the beginning...well in the beginning there wasn’t much. It’s true; in the beginning there wasn’t much of anything. At least nothing we would recognize, nothing that fits the limits of our human imaginings.
For in the beginning there was, simply, Love.
And not just any Love but capital L Love, the original Love. And this Love, the source of all Love could not, would not, and will not be contained.
So it sprung forth. And is still springing forth. It won’t end.
Love sprang forth. As light. A light to enlighten the nations, to enlighten the people, to illuminate all. Light was the first offspring of Love…
And this light? This light isn’t just any light; it is the Light, which was made from Love. It’s the light that illuminates eternity. It is the Light of Christ. It is the Light of God. It is the Fiery Light of the Holy Spirit. This is the light of all people. Forever.
The Light and the Love from which it sprung has spent generations’…millennia….illuminating the world, warming hearts and leading the way.
The way toward grace and truth.
The way from and back to Love.
In the beginning. Well, even before the beginning, it was dark. The light glimmered and then shone in the darkness, but the darkness didn’t go away. The darkness doesn’t go away. It creeps in. Here and there, now and again. But the Light which comes from Love is resilient. It is strong, it is persistent. The Light which Comes from Love is God and God will not stop, God will not be overshadowed, no matter how hard the darkness tries.
But the dark? It has a strange hold on us. It terrifies and intrigues us. It pulls at us and often, often we succumb. Not because we are bad, but because we are afraid. And darkness preys on fear.
Letting go of the dark is scary. It makes no sense…it’s one of the great mysteries of life, but it is true: Letting go of the dark is scary.
The angels say, Do Not Be Afraid. Prophets are afraid, but they do it anyway. This being afraid and doing it anyway is the definition of courage. So Do Not be Afraid or have Courage and Be afraid but do it anyway-----For the Light which is Love is waiting.
The Light. That light which comes from Love, does not, can not and will not be overshadowed by the darkness. It will not give in to fear. The light shines brightly, waiting for us to open our hearts, minds and souls to it.
Is there darkness in your hearts? Is there fear? The Light that comes from Love is waiting. Waiting for you, waiting for us, to let go of the dark and allow the light to shine.
It has come to dwell among us in that manger and we need to travel, with the shepherds and the magi, to that barn, peering over the crib to gaze at the outstretched arms of our Savior, reaching out, in light and love.
We must shed the fear of darkness and the darkness of fear, reaching down to the source of light and love, embracing it, embracing him, the Christ Child. The Child who has come to dwell among us, full of grace and truth.
Because just like the angel Gabriel’s visits to Mary and Joseph, and just like no room at the inn and shepherds in a field, this shedding the dark and embracing the light is our Christmas Story, because our Christmas story is all about God’s unending love for us---a love that could not be contained, a love that absolutely needed to come down from heaven and dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, Emmanuel.
In the beginning was Love. And in the present is Love. And in the future? Love. Love. Love.
Merry Christmas, Love is in the house and His name is Jesus.
Amen.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Thursday, December 25, 2014
I Believe. Do You? Christmas Eve 2014
Our Christmas card this year encourages people to “Believe in the magic of the season.”
I’m all over that, for I do BELIEVE and I consider the incarnation---God taking on flesh and bones to live among us—to be a magical and glorious thing. Likewise, I find Santa, his sleigh, those reindeer and the elves to be pretty magical and glorious as well.
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter on social media about putting the “Christ back in Christmas,” about focusing less on Santa and his sleigh and more on Christ and his crib.
Well you know what? I don’t think these two images are mutually exclusive. I think these stories can peacefully co-exist because they’re both wonderful tales of love and mystery…all we have to do is believe.
Believing is a wonderful thing.
But it’s also where we get into trouble. You see there are an awful lot of people who spend a whole lot of time trying to tease the “facts” out of the Christmas story. There are people who vehemently deny the notion of a virgin birth, there are others who take great glee is noting that there is no historical evidence that there was a census in Judea in the early part of the first century, while still others like to point out that this birth happened in August not December, in Nazareth and not Bethlehem.
Whatever.
You see the Christmas stories—the one with Jesus and the one with Santa—aren’t about fact, they’re about truth.
And the truth of the matter is, I believe.
I believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, born of a peasant girl and her betrothed, Joseph.
I believe that this was an extraordinary birth in otherwise ordinary circumstances.
I believe that God chose to come among us in this way because God didn’t want to make a big splash.
I believe God wanted to come to us in a whisper not a shout.
I believe God wanted to ease into living among us, in the flesh of Jesus.
And I believe we needed to be eased into having God among us, in the flesh.
I believe this was not something to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly. I believe this needed to be entered into cautiously and with restraint.
I believe that God came to live among us, because I believe God really wanted to know just what it was like to be human.
I believe that God wanted to know creation not only from the top down, but from the bottom up.
So God came to us the same way we all come, through the very natural, very messy, at times very complicated and very risky process of pregnancy and then birth.
You see, Jesus being born to two ordinary people in a somewhat extraordinary circumstance is exactly how the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, God in the flesh needed to come to us. Because the sacred and the miraculous isn’t only in the gold and shiny, the neat and tidy and the all put together.
It’s in the mess and muss of birth.
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only the glorious sunsets, it’s also the rain storms.
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only the fabulous arias, it’s also the tinny tune of a tone deaf child
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only on Christmas and Easter.
The sacred and the miraculous is every single day.
The sacred and the miraculous is all that God has created, because all that God creates is beautiful, stunning and miraculous…even when it’s messy.
All that God creates is priceless
All that God creates is holy
And all that God creates is wonderful.
This is the wonder and the glory of this holy and blessed night: that God came to be among us in the skin and bones of humanity, in the dirt and dust of the wilderness, in the baying, baa-ing, mooing and clucking of the donkeys, sheep, cows and chickens of that barn. That God came to be in the hearts and minds and souls of each and every one of us gathered here on this silent night.
I believe that God as Jesus Christ was born to Mary and Joseph and that this birth was revealed with a great heavenly host to shepherd’s tending their flock in a nearby field because God is in the ordinary and the mundane, as well as the extraordinary and the magnificent.
I believe that Jesus is born to Mary and Joseph each and every year so that maybe, just maybe, a few more people will come to believe that God loves us—US—so much that God just can’t stay away.
I believe in the miracle of Christmas, because I believe in the never-ending, all encompassing love of God, a God who needed, absolutely positively needed to be with us, skin and bones, dirt and dust, baying and mooing and baaing.
I believe in the absolute truth of this Holy Night: that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, come to earth through us and for us.
And that, my friends is one fantastic Christmas gift.
Now all we have to do is return the favor and give God the only gift God desires, the only thing God wants: us. So on this most beautiful of Christmas nights I encourage you, I implore you, yes I am not above begging you to take a lesson from God and do everything in your power to accept God into your hearts and your minds and your souls this night and forevermore. Because when you do that, when you welcome God into your life, you will, Believe. And that, believing, is, by far, the greatest gift of all.
So, go, tell and believe: Jesus Christ is here, Alleluia and Amen.
I’m all over that, for I do BELIEVE and I consider the incarnation---God taking on flesh and bones to live among us—to be a magical and glorious thing. Likewise, I find Santa, his sleigh, those reindeer and the elves to be pretty magical and glorious as well.
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter on social media about putting the “Christ back in Christmas,” about focusing less on Santa and his sleigh and more on Christ and his crib.
Well you know what? I don’t think these two images are mutually exclusive. I think these stories can peacefully co-exist because they’re both wonderful tales of love and mystery…all we have to do is believe.
Believing is a wonderful thing.
But it’s also where we get into trouble. You see there are an awful lot of people who spend a whole lot of time trying to tease the “facts” out of the Christmas story. There are people who vehemently deny the notion of a virgin birth, there are others who take great glee is noting that there is no historical evidence that there was a census in Judea in the early part of the first century, while still others like to point out that this birth happened in August not December, in Nazareth and not Bethlehem.
Whatever.
You see the Christmas stories—the one with Jesus and the one with Santa—aren’t about fact, they’re about truth.
And the truth of the matter is, I believe.
I believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, born of a peasant girl and her betrothed, Joseph.
I believe that this was an extraordinary birth in otherwise ordinary circumstances.
I believe that God chose to come among us in this way because God didn’t want to make a big splash.
I believe God wanted to come to us in a whisper not a shout.
I believe God wanted to ease into living among us, in the flesh of Jesus.
And I believe we needed to be eased into having God among us, in the flesh.
I believe this was not something to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly. I believe this needed to be entered into cautiously and with restraint.
I believe that God came to live among us, because I believe God really wanted to know just what it was like to be human.
I believe that God wanted to know creation not only from the top down, but from the bottom up.
So God came to us the same way we all come, through the very natural, very messy, at times very complicated and very risky process of pregnancy and then birth.
You see, Jesus being born to two ordinary people in a somewhat extraordinary circumstance is exactly how the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, God in the flesh needed to come to us. Because the sacred and the miraculous isn’t only in the gold and shiny, the neat and tidy and the all put together.
It’s in the mess and muss of birth.
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only the glorious sunsets, it’s also the rain storms.
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only the fabulous arias, it’s also the tinny tune of a tone deaf child
The sacred and the miraculous isn’t only on Christmas and Easter.
The sacred and the miraculous is every single day.
The sacred and the miraculous is all that God has created, because all that God creates is beautiful, stunning and miraculous…even when it’s messy.
All that God creates is priceless
All that God creates is holy
And all that God creates is wonderful.
This is the wonder and the glory of this holy and blessed night: that God came to be among us in the skin and bones of humanity, in the dirt and dust of the wilderness, in the baying, baa-ing, mooing and clucking of the donkeys, sheep, cows and chickens of that barn. That God came to be in the hearts and minds and souls of each and every one of us gathered here on this silent night.
I believe that God as Jesus Christ was born to Mary and Joseph and that this birth was revealed with a great heavenly host to shepherd’s tending their flock in a nearby field because God is in the ordinary and the mundane, as well as the extraordinary and the magnificent.
I believe that Jesus is born to Mary and Joseph each and every year so that maybe, just maybe, a few more people will come to believe that God loves us—US—so much that God just can’t stay away.
I believe in the miracle of Christmas, because I believe in the never-ending, all encompassing love of God, a God who needed, absolutely positively needed to be with us, skin and bones, dirt and dust, baying and mooing and baaing.
I believe in the absolute truth of this Holy Night: that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, come to earth through us and for us.
And that, my friends is one fantastic Christmas gift.
Now all we have to do is return the favor and give God the only gift God desires, the only thing God wants: us. So on this most beautiful of Christmas nights I encourage you, I implore you, yes I am not above begging you to take a lesson from God and do everything in your power to accept God into your hearts and your minds and your souls this night and forevermore. Because when you do that, when you welcome God into your life, you will, Believe. And that, believing, is, by far, the greatest gift of all.
So, go, tell and believe: Jesus Christ is here, Alleluia and Amen.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Advent 4 We are wonderful in God’s eyes. Yep, regular ol you and me Dec 21 2014 Yr B
+
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true.
Nothing is so holy it’s unreachable.
And nothing is as sacred and wondrous to God as we are.
God loves us beyond all understanding. I say it all the time and here I am, saying it again!
But this fact, that we are wonderful in God’s eyes, is really difficult for us to believe and to accept.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus who takes center stage today, is a really good teacher. In today’s readings, Mary schools us on graceful acceptance of the incomprehensible Love that is God.
Mary said yes, she walked with faith, she journeyed in trust and, even though she had nary a clue what was going to happen, she responded to God’s beckoning, to God’s reaching out, to God’s Love taking on flesh in that Bethlehem barn.
Mary was receptive, she made room for God in her life and when God called, she answered.
Now before you say, “well sure, that was Mary….there’s no way I could do that,” consider this:
Mary, contrary to generations of theologians who have tried to make her more than human, was a young girl who had no remarkable pedigree, no history of exhibiting outrageous faith and who was, from an ordinary family.
So, why did God choose her?
Because she was ordinary, and ordinary humans—people like you and me, people like Mary and Joseph---are absolutely adored by God.
This is the true miracle, the true wonder of the story of Jesus’ birth: it happened to regular people.
Regular people were chosen to bear and raise God in the Flesh.
Regular people who responded with amazing, astounding and outlandish grace, but were regular people nonetheless.
I suppose we could say that God knew Mary would say yes.
I suppose we could say that God knew Joseph wouldn’t throw Mary to the curb when he found out about the pregnancy.
I suppose we could say that God had this whole thing planned out, like some type of masterful puppeteer, but there’s no evidence to suggest this to be true.
Rather there is a preponderance of evidence to suggest that God approaches us and asks us---all the time---to be the bearers of God’s wondrous light to the entire world and that, those of us who say “yes” are in for the ride of our lives.
Noah, Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, David and Nathan, Ruth and Naomi---these are not people of extraordinary moral character or tremendous faith when God reaches out to them. As a matter of fact, most of them tried their darndest to, at best, ignore and, at worst, reject God’s overtures. But, regardless of their hesitancy, regardless of their utter humanity, each and every one of them ended up being servants of God, bearers of Good News, prophetic witnesses of God’s abundant, expansive and remarkable Love.
This is what we’re all called to do and to be.
God doesn’t choose us for who we are at our worst moments, God chooses us for who we can be at our best. And God knows that we all---each of us---can be something amazing. Something wonderful. Something prophetic. Because God knows we are—each and every one of us—someONE amazing, someONE wonderful, SomeONE prophetic.
We just need to find our voice, our faith, our trust.
And then we need to
use our voice,
exercise our faith
and exert our trust.
We can learn how to do this, by watching Mary.
Mary asks Gabriel, “How Can this Be?”
Gabriel replies, it can be because you, like all of humanity, is favored by, loved by and longed for by God. And nothing—“NOTHING is impossible with God.”
Mary, HEARING that nothing is impossible with God, BELIEVING that nothing is impossible with God, TRUSTING that nothing is impossible with God simply responds with:
“Here I am Lord. Let it Be according to Your Word.”
She didn’t do a cost benefit analysis. She didn’t consult her business manager or her therapist or her life coach.
She simply said, Here I am Lord. Your servant. Let it Be.
Mary wasn’t any holier than you and me. But, perhaps because of her age, perhaps because she was from a small country town, perhaps because she was so in awe of having an angel visit, or maybe just because she was receptive to wonder, Mary stepped aside and let the Love of God take her over, making her an extraordinary instrument of God.
Although Mary wasn’t any holier than you and me,
she sure was brave.
Not because she had a child before marriage. Not because she stood by Jesus all the days of his life, not even because she said yes. No Mary was brave because she trusted. She had faith and she truly believed that NOTHING was too wonderful, too outrageous, too incomprehensible to be true… even the fact that God can and that God does love each and every one of us enough to name us God’s Favored One.
We’re regular folks who’ve been graced with God’s Favor.
And my Advent wish for each and every one of us is that we accept this favor and learn, by taking baby steps, to trust and to live into it through Faith, accepting that the Love of God isn’t too wonderful to be True, but it is too wonderful to be ignored.
It’s too wonderful to be tossed aside.
It’s too wonderful to be denied.
Mary’s soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Her spirit rejoices in God her Savior and her wonder is sacred, her trust holy and her example for us?
Priceless.
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, and nothing is too holy to be unreachable and nothing and nobody---is beyond God’s loving embrace.
So, my friends, I invite you to join me in entering the mystery and wonder of Christmas, of the incarnation, of Emmaunuel—God with us---and, taking a page from Mary’s instruction book to open wide our arms and proclaim, Here I am, Lord, Here I am.
Amen.+
***this sermon was preached on Advent 4 in 2011 . When I read the readings for this week and started thinking about what I wanted to say, I looked at other sermons I’ve written on this text. When I read this sermon I realized that, in light of the prophetic joint pastoral letter released by the RC and Episcopal Bishop last week, THIS was what I wanted to say to you this week: trusting in God’s outrageous love for us can lead us all into brave and astounding prophecy. So I offered it again this week, with just a few edits***
Monday, December 15, 2014
The Pastoral Letter from the Episcopal and RC Bishops, plus my remarks 3 Advent 2014
The link to the Bishops' pastoral letter
http://jerusalem-crossing.com/2014/12/15/547/
And my remarks following the reading of the letter:
There are a number of remarkable things about this letter.
First, in anyone’s memory this is the only time the RC and Episcopal Bishop have written a joint encyclical, a joint pastoral letter.
Secondly,
The RC Bishop signed a letter that included the following statements:
Gone are the days when we ignore leadership and authority in the voices of women
And
we ask you to be pioneers again in supporting the efforts….of all women and all men.
Did you hear that? Not some women and some men. Not simply men and women who follow the exact teaching of the Vatican, but All Men and All women.
This letter is also remarkable because of it’s prophetic tone. Both Bishops are calling us out of our pews, out of these doors and into the streets. Both Bishops are saying that as the least of us go, so goes the whole of us. That as long as one person is hungry, one is naked, one is in prison, one is left out and pushed down, we all are.
This letter is a call to action, crying out to all of us who call Jesus our savior and redeemer, to stand up for those who cannot stand, to speak for those without voice, to love those who feel unlovable and to not rest until every single human being is respected and treated justly. Every single one.
Yes, this letter is remarkable…but you know what will be more remarkable?
If each and every one of us takes this letter as our clarion call and that, from this day forward we will follow the lead of Bishop Malone and Bishop Franklin, boldly living our lives in the way Jesus has instructed us too. Loving our neighbors. Always and with no exception.
I have never been so proud to be an Episcopalian, and I have never been so proud of our Bishop. Join me in making him as proud of us as we are of he. Amen.
http://jerusalem-crossing.com/2014/12/15/547/
And my remarks following the reading of the letter:
There are a number of remarkable things about this letter.
First, in anyone’s memory this is the only time the RC and Episcopal Bishop have written a joint encyclical, a joint pastoral letter.
Secondly,
The RC Bishop signed a letter that included the following statements:
Gone are the days when we ignore leadership and authority in the voices of women
And
we ask you to be pioneers again in supporting the efforts….of all women and all men.
Did you hear that? Not some women and some men. Not simply men and women who follow the exact teaching of the Vatican, but All Men and All women.
This letter is also remarkable because of it’s prophetic tone. Both Bishops are calling us out of our pews, out of these doors and into the streets. Both Bishops are saying that as the least of us go, so goes the whole of us. That as long as one person is hungry, one is naked, one is in prison, one is left out and pushed down, we all are.
This letter is a call to action, crying out to all of us who call Jesus our savior and redeemer, to stand up for those who cannot stand, to speak for those without voice, to love those who feel unlovable and to not rest until every single human being is respected and treated justly. Every single one.
Yes, this letter is remarkable…but you know what will be more remarkable?
If each and every one of us takes this letter as our clarion call and that, from this day forward we will follow the lead of Bishop Malone and Bishop Franklin, boldly living our lives in the way Jesus has instructed us too. Loving our neighbors. Always and with no exception.
I have never been so proud to be an Episcopalian, and I have never been so proud of our Bishop. Join me in making him as proud of us as we are of he. Amen.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Advent 2 December 7, 2014
+I am a person of privilege. Most of us sitting here today are people of privilege. We may not have a lot of money, we may not live in the fanciest neighborhoods, we may even experience our own share of prejudice against us because of our socioeconomic status, our family background, our political position, our sexual orientation….. but all but a very few of us---and I mean a VERY FEW----can and do walk down the street, walk into a store, drive through a wealthy community without note.
We aren’t followed.
We aren’t targeted.
We aren’t assumed to be dangerous.
We aren’t profiled.
Our lives matter.
We can breathe.
Not because of who we are.
Not because of what we do.
Not because of what we don’t do.
But because of how we look.
Because of the color of our skin.
My friends, we are in the midst of one of the most shameful periods in our national history. At this very moment, in this very city, in this very state, in this very country, young black men walk out the door every day with their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends TERRIFIED that they will never walk back through.
Comfort O comfort my people.
Jesus cannot breathe.
Tarika Wilson
Aiyana Jones
Miriam Carey
Shereese Francis
These are the names of unarmed black women killed by police.
Most killed in front of their children.
Most called “collateral damage”...that is the police were looking for their husband or boyfriend and decided to force their way into the home.
With flash bangs and gunfire.
In front of children
Unarmed women, in their homes, caring for their children. Collateral Damage. As my grandmother used to say, “For Shame!”
From 2006-2012 a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country.
Comfort O Comfort My People
Jesus cannot breathe.
It’s too easy to blame the police and wash our hands of this issue. Racism isn’t a police problem, it isn’t an inner city problem, it isn’t a suburban problem, it isn’t a rural problem. It’s a problem. Period.
And it is one that each and every person here today has a moral obligation to fix.
Jesus has an opinion on this issue. Can you hear him?
“Black lives matter.
Life matters
Respecting the dignity of every human being matters.
It's necessary
It's vital
It’s your Christian duty, it’s why I came to live with you. And it is why I died.”
From the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Then the glory will be revealed. Only then.
So what does it mean to make straight the highway? To lift every valley and make the mountains low? What does it mean to make the uneven ground level and the rough places plain?
Well I may not know all the ways this is supposed to come to pass, but one thing is pretty clear: racism keeps the mountains high and the valleys low. It keeps the ground uneven. Racism separates us, racism rips us apart. Racism keeps us uncomfortable, uneven and crooked.
Racism has no place in a Christian heart.
And yet, racism lurks. In all of us.
Most of us don't intend to be racist....but each and every time we take our privilege for granted, we are contributing to the racism of this country. Each and every time we FORGET that black people , especially young black men, take their life in their hands each and every time they go out in public, we are contributing to the problem of racism in this country.
You see, racism isn’t simply about burning crosses on someone’s lawn, it's about saying things like: “well if they’d just pull themselves up by their boot straps and get a job….” Instead of working to change the entrenched systems of poverty in this country, we’re being racist.
Every time we let the Buffalo School Board put personalities above principals while children are promoted from grade to grade without being able to read, we’re being racist.
Every time we fail to be ashamed and outraged when we witness the blatant mistreatment of other human beings simply because of the color of their skin, we’re being racist.
As our bishop said in his statement about racism, Buffalo is the fifth most segregated city in the country. In the nation. FIFTH.
Here’s the thing--segregation breeds racism because segregation breeds fear. You see, when we’re separated we don't get to know each other and when we don't know our neighbor, when we don’t understand our neighbor, it's a whole lot easier to not care for our neighbor
Combating racism in our hearts and in our lives, in our society and in our world takes courage. Remember, courage isn’t a lack of fear, it's being afraid but doing it anyway.
Our faith requires courage.
Mary and Joseph were afraid when the angel Gabriel changed their life forever, yet they forged ahead, in faith and with courage.
Jesus was afraid as he climbed that hill at Calvary yet he did it with faith and courage.
We have mountains to lay low, we have valleys to fill. It's scary work, but it’s necessary work. And it’s our work. Right here and right now.
Right here and right now, Jesus can't breathe.
Right here and right now, this nation's inherent racism has our Lord in a chokehold.
Right here and right now Jesus can't walk down the street without being followed and accused.
Right here and right now Jesus is being racially profiled, he's being treated as less than, he is being hated.
And he cannot breathe.
May God help Him. And may God help us. Amen.
We aren’t followed.
We aren’t targeted.
We aren’t assumed to be dangerous.
We aren’t profiled.
Our lives matter.
We can breathe.
Not because of who we are.
Not because of what we do.
Not because of what we don’t do.
But because of how we look.
Because of the color of our skin.
My friends, we are in the midst of one of the most shameful periods in our national history. At this very moment, in this very city, in this very state, in this very country, young black men walk out the door every day with their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends TERRIFIED that they will never walk back through.
Comfort O comfort my people.
Jesus cannot breathe.
Tarika Wilson
Aiyana Jones
Miriam Carey
Shereese Francis
These are the names of unarmed black women killed by police.
Most killed in front of their children.
Most called “collateral damage”...that is the police were looking for their husband or boyfriend and decided to force their way into the home.
With flash bangs and gunfire.
In front of children
Unarmed women, in their homes, caring for their children. Collateral Damage. As my grandmother used to say, “For Shame!”
From 2006-2012 a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country.
Comfort O Comfort My People
Jesus cannot breathe.
It’s too easy to blame the police and wash our hands of this issue. Racism isn’t a police problem, it isn’t an inner city problem, it isn’t a suburban problem, it isn’t a rural problem. It’s a problem. Period.
And it is one that each and every person here today has a moral obligation to fix.
Jesus has an opinion on this issue. Can you hear him?
“Black lives matter.
Life matters
Respecting the dignity of every human being matters.
It's necessary
It's vital
It’s your Christian duty, it’s why I came to live with you. And it is why I died.”
From the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Then the glory will be revealed. Only then.
So what does it mean to make straight the highway? To lift every valley and make the mountains low? What does it mean to make the uneven ground level and the rough places plain?
Well I may not know all the ways this is supposed to come to pass, but one thing is pretty clear: racism keeps the mountains high and the valleys low. It keeps the ground uneven. Racism separates us, racism rips us apart. Racism keeps us uncomfortable, uneven and crooked.
Racism has no place in a Christian heart.
And yet, racism lurks. In all of us.
Most of us don't intend to be racist....but each and every time we take our privilege for granted, we are contributing to the racism of this country. Each and every time we FORGET that black people , especially young black men, take their life in their hands each and every time they go out in public, we are contributing to the problem of racism in this country.
You see, racism isn’t simply about burning crosses on someone’s lawn, it's about saying things like: “well if they’d just pull themselves up by their boot straps and get a job….” Instead of working to change the entrenched systems of poverty in this country, we’re being racist.
Every time we let the Buffalo School Board put personalities above principals while children are promoted from grade to grade without being able to read, we’re being racist.
Every time we fail to be ashamed and outraged when we witness the blatant mistreatment of other human beings simply because of the color of their skin, we’re being racist.
As our bishop said in his statement about racism, Buffalo is the fifth most segregated city in the country. In the nation. FIFTH.
Here’s the thing--segregation breeds racism because segregation breeds fear. You see, when we’re separated we don't get to know each other and when we don't know our neighbor, when we don’t understand our neighbor, it's a whole lot easier to not care for our neighbor
Combating racism in our hearts and in our lives, in our society and in our world takes courage. Remember, courage isn’t a lack of fear, it's being afraid but doing it anyway.
Our faith requires courage.
Mary and Joseph were afraid when the angel Gabriel changed their life forever, yet they forged ahead, in faith and with courage.
Jesus was afraid as he climbed that hill at Calvary yet he did it with faith and courage.
We have mountains to lay low, we have valleys to fill. It's scary work, but it’s necessary work. And it’s our work. Right here and right now.
Right here and right now, Jesus can't breathe.
Right here and right now, this nation's inherent racism has our Lord in a chokehold.
Right here and right now Jesus can't walk down the street without being followed and accused.
Right here and right now Jesus is being racially profiled, he's being treated as less than, he is being hated.
And he cannot breathe.
May God help Him. And may God help us. Amen.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Deacon Pete's sermon for 1st Advent 30 November 2014
Ready, Set……Wait. That’s what Advent is in three simple words. Those of us who grew up in liturgical churches have some familiarity with Advent. It’s the season of the church year that starts after Thanksgiving and runs until Christmas. When I was young, the color for vestments and liturgical accessories was purple, like Lent. We were taught that it was a season of repentance, a time of making ourselves worthy of having God to be born among us. It was a moderately dreary time, the apocalyptic readings, the reminders that we were base, selfish creatures who cared more about decorations, parties and gifts than about cleaning ourselves up for Jesus. Years have gone by and we are still hearing about the Apocalypse on Sundays and we are still torn between the business and commercialization of Christmas and taking time to honor and experience a sacred and holy waiting period.
Some things have changed. Many churches, like ours, use blue for the liturgical color of Advent. Blue, not purple, blue ,like the color most often associated with Mary. Blue, to show us that Advent is not Lent, and it is not Lent light. We focus not on repentance, but on expecting, waiting, hoping and praying.
I feel as though I know something new and powerful about waiting, a way of waiting that is different for me than in the past. These past 2 weeks and 2 days of walking through serious illness with Cathy and her mom, Elaine have opened my mind and heart to how serious, how powerful, how holy waiting can be. There has been a lot of waiting: waiting to see if Cathy would arrive in Chicago in time to see her mom alive, waiting to get x-ray results, waiting for biopsies and scans, waiting for surgery to be scheduled, waiting for surgery to actually begin, waiting for reports from the operating room, waiting for surgery to be over, waiting for Elaine to move from recovery to ICU, waiting for her to move from ICU to a step down room, waiting for her difficult recovery to progress to the point where she could be discharged and now, waiting for her to be strong enough for Cathy to come home. That feels like a lot of waiting, and waiting is not my strong suit.
I’ve learned some things about Advent from all this waiting. Advent is clearly a “now” and a “not yet time”. And our readings reflect this curious phenomenon. Mark’s gospel should really come with a big sign saying “Hang on, don’t panic”. We don’t read the beginning of this chapter that starts with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem then proceeds to images of war, earthquake, famine, and family betrayal. Jesus was spot on in saying “this generation will not pass away until all of these things have taken place”. Mark is writing to people who have already seen faith community in horrible straits. After all, Jesus went around with the sorts of people that were best ignored, the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the unclean, the lost and the lonely. And now his followers are trying to do the same. They refer to Jesus as Lord, not something easily accepted by the local authorities, and something often unacceptable to their own families. Mark writes this chapter to acknowledge the pain, grief and great difficulties that they are going through. But, he states, The Son of Man is coming”, no one knows the day or the hour, we are to “keep alert”, “keep awake”. Mark is reminding his listeners and us that the kingdom of God is not delayed or cancelled. It isn’t quite “don’t worry, be happy”, but the Gospel clearly tells us that waiting is expected, necessary and part of our call as followers of Jesus. Waiting is holy.
What are we waiting for? We are waiting for nothing less than God to enter our world, we are waiting for God to break into our lives, we are waiting for God to join us in all moments, all places, all times, past, present and future. We are waiting for God with us, Emmanuel.
One of the things I learned about waiting these past few days is that holy waiting is not passive. Holy waiting is accompanied by preparation. For me that meant trying to take care of some things here in Buffalo that needed doing-bulletins, sermons, taking care of our homes and our critters, checking airline flights and making hotel reservations. Most importantly it meant praying fiercely that all would be well, whatever that “well” might mean.
Imagine how joyous, sacred and powerful Christmas will be when we get in touch with Holy Waiting. Imagine how fresh and new the incarnation, God taking on human flesh, will be if we spend these next four weeks doing our part to form and reconcile God’s realm here on earth, if we get in touch with our need for a Savior and acknowledge that we are called to work as the hands and feet of God here on earth.
Let us remember not to be content with the way things are. Let us be inspired by a curiosity about what is possible. What dreams of community and spiritual growth can we dream? While we wait and prepare for the birth of Christ, can we also wait and prepare for Jesus coming again? Most of us wait in a modicum of safety and comfort. We have the time and the means to hope for the day God’s peace and justice will rule the earth. Can we use this hope to fuel our willingness to actively participate in creating the kingdom of God? Will we use this time of waiting and hope to reach out and share life with those who are most in need God’s loving touch? Will we use this time to acknowledge and care for people in need- for the hungry, the homeless, for victims of violence and injustice, for those who are sick and sad? While we wait for Jesus to be born and for Jesus to come again will we do the preparation necessary to make our here and now world look more like the kingdom of heaven?
When we are able to do this, to wait and to do the work of preparing for Jesus to come at Christmas and at a time no one knows, when we are willing to live in the now and the not yet, we will experience a holy Advent. And when our Advent is holy, how much more meaningful, joyous, and sacred will our Christmas be? Amen.
Some things have changed. Many churches, like ours, use blue for the liturgical color of Advent. Blue, not purple, blue ,like the color most often associated with Mary. Blue, to show us that Advent is not Lent, and it is not Lent light. We focus not on repentance, but on expecting, waiting, hoping and praying.
I feel as though I know something new and powerful about waiting, a way of waiting that is different for me than in the past. These past 2 weeks and 2 days of walking through serious illness with Cathy and her mom, Elaine have opened my mind and heart to how serious, how powerful, how holy waiting can be. There has been a lot of waiting: waiting to see if Cathy would arrive in Chicago in time to see her mom alive, waiting to get x-ray results, waiting for biopsies and scans, waiting for surgery to be scheduled, waiting for surgery to actually begin, waiting for reports from the operating room, waiting for surgery to be over, waiting for Elaine to move from recovery to ICU, waiting for her to move from ICU to a step down room, waiting for her difficult recovery to progress to the point where she could be discharged and now, waiting for her to be strong enough for Cathy to come home. That feels like a lot of waiting, and waiting is not my strong suit.
I’ve learned some things about Advent from all this waiting. Advent is clearly a “now” and a “not yet time”. And our readings reflect this curious phenomenon. Mark’s gospel should really come with a big sign saying “Hang on, don’t panic”. We don’t read the beginning of this chapter that starts with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem then proceeds to images of war, earthquake, famine, and family betrayal. Jesus was spot on in saying “this generation will not pass away until all of these things have taken place”. Mark is writing to people who have already seen faith community in horrible straits. After all, Jesus went around with the sorts of people that were best ignored, the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the unclean, the lost and the lonely. And now his followers are trying to do the same. They refer to Jesus as Lord, not something easily accepted by the local authorities, and something often unacceptable to their own families. Mark writes this chapter to acknowledge the pain, grief and great difficulties that they are going through. But, he states, The Son of Man is coming”, no one knows the day or the hour, we are to “keep alert”, “keep awake”. Mark is reminding his listeners and us that the kingdom of God is not delayed or cancelled. It isn’t quite “don’t worry, be happy”, but the Gospel clearly tells us that waiting is expected, necessary and part of our call as followers of Jesus. Waiting is holy.
What are we waiting for? We are waiting for nothing less than God to enter our world, we are waiting for God to break into our lives, we are waiting for God to join us in all moments, all places, all times, past, present and future. We are waiting for God with us, Emmanuel.
One of the things I learned about waiting these past few days is that holy waiting is not passive. Holy waiting is accompanied by preparation. For me that meant trying to take care of some things here in Buffalo that needed doing-bulletins, sermons, taking care of our homes and our critters, checking airline flights and making hotel reservations. Most importantly it meant praying fiercely that all would be well, whatever that “well” might mean.
Imagine how joyous, sacred and powerful Christmas will be when we get in touch with Holy Waiting. Imagine how fresh and new the incarnation, God taking on human flesh, will be if we spend these next four weeks doing our part to form and reconcile God’s realm here on earth, if we get in touch with our need for a Savior and acknowledge that we are called to work as the hands and feet of God here on earth.
Let us remember not to be content with the way things are. Let us be inspired by a curiosity about what is possible. What dreams of community and spiritual growth can we dream? While we wait and prepare for the birth of Christ, can we also wait and prepare for Jesus coming again? Most of us wait in a modicum of safety and comfort. We have the time and the means to hope for the day God’s peace and justice will rule the earth. Can we use this hope to fuel our willingness to actively participate in creating the kingdom of God? Will we use this time of waiting and hope to reach out and share life with those who are most in need God’s loving touch? Will we use this time to acknowledge and care for people in need- for the hungry, the homeless, for victims of violence and injustice, for those who are sick and sad? While we wait for Jesus to be born and for Jesus to come again will we do the preparation necessary to make our here and now world look more like the kingdom of heaven?
When we are able to do this, to wait and to do the work of preparing for Jesus to come at Christmas and at a time no one knows, when we are willing to live in the now and the not yet, we will experience a holy Advent. And when our Advent is holy, how much more meaningful, joyous, and sacred will our Christmas be? Amen.
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