2011
Sermons
Dez 28 - Sorrow, Hope, and Fulfillment
Dez 25 - Et incarnatus est
Dez 24 - Extreme Humility
Dez 24 - Becoming Simple Gifts
Dez 18 - Annunciation
Dez 11 - Rejoice! Good News!
Dez 7 - Separated
Dez 5 - Greetings!
Dez 4 - Heralds!
Nov 27 - Look back, look ahead, look around
Nov 20 - Accountable?
Nov 13 - Encouragement of the Future Present
Nov 11 - Key Words for Veterans' Day
Nov 6 - To Pray without Ceasing
Okt 30 - The Spirit's Work Continues
Okt 23 - Holy Is and Holy Does
Okt 9 - Welcome to the Banquet
Okt 2 - Judgments Final and Otherwise
Sep 25 - Invitation to the Dance
Sep 18 - What kind of Life?
Sep 11 - Forgiven Living
Sep 4 - Debt-free
Aug 28 - Did Jesus say "Pick up your sox." or "Be who you truly are."?
Aug 21 - The Community of Storytellers
Aug 15 - Baptized into Hope
Aug 11 - Sacrifice
Aug 7 - Called and Sent through Water
Aug 5 - In Spite of Sorrow
Jul 31 - Extravagant Abundance
Jul 24 - Kingdom, Crisis, Opportunity
Jul 17 - It's God's Harvest
Jul 10 - Unexpected Results
Jul 3 - A Burden
Jun 26 - True Hospitality
Jun 19 - Gather in awe; go with resolve and joy
Jun 12 - Church Disrupted
Jun 11 - An Argument with God
Jun 10 - Abide with us, Lord
Jun 5 - Silent Action, Active Silence
Mai 29 - Hollow or Full?
Mai 22 - Stoned because of a Sermon
Mai 15 - Life Abundant
Mai 14 - And Jacob Was Blessed
Mai 13 - Fresh Every Morning
Mai 12 - Of First Importance
Mai 8 - Emmaus keeps happening!
Mai 1 - So Great a Treasure
Apr 24 - Easter Earthquake
Apr 23 - Storytellers
Apr 22 - Completed
Apr 22 - The Tomb, Jonah, and Jesus
Apr 21 - Anamnesis – Remembrance
Apr 17 - What Kind of King?
Apr 10 - Can these bones live?
Apr 3 - Nit-pickers, Wound-Lickers, Goodness-Sakers, and Arm-Wavers
Mrz 27 - Inside, Outside, Upside-down
Mrz 20 - More Contrasts
Mrz 13 - Contrasts
Mrz 9 - Stop...and Turn
Mrz 7 - We're So Blessed
Mrz 6 - The Fellowship of Fear
Feb 20 - Holy and Perfect
Feb 13 - Blessed, for what?
Feb 12 - Barriers Broken
Feb 6 - Salt and Light
Jan 30 - The Future Present
Jan 23 - Come and See, Go and Do
Jan 16 - Come and See
Jan 13 - Time
Jan 9 - Servant of the Most High
Jan 5 - Rise, Shine
Jan 2 - The World's No and God's Yes
Jan 2 - Word and words
Annunciation
Third Sunday of Advent- December 18, 2011
Throughout Advent we talk about the joy of recognizing that Jesus comes among us in all three of the arrows of time;
--from the very beginning of all that is,
--from the goal of this creation in resurrection,
--and right now, here in this time and place, in the present.
It is important that we know
that even when the amount of emphasis
on any one of these "Comings"
varies from week to week,
all three are always present in some degree.
Whenever someone gets lost
in all of the sentimental gush
about sweet baby Jesus,
then we turn to the other arrow and
remember that this baby
is also the final king of creation.
When someone is tangled up in sorrow
right now and wonders about the seeming absence of God,
then we point to the present comfort of the Lord Jesus with us in sac. of HC.
So now on the 4th and last Sun. in Adv.,
while not forgetting the present or
future,
our emphasis is a bit more
on time's arrow pointed at the past,
toward the origins of good news,
toward what God has already done for us in Christ Jesus.
It is a continuing marvel
that God bothers with us at all;
and especially that he settled on Mary
as the agent of the biggest event
in the history of the world!
She has none of the usual things
to commend her:
wealth, position, age, training.
Instead, it seems
that God has purposefully turned away from those expectations
in order to focus on the gifts
which he does grant to her
– the gifts of faith and endurance.
Just for fun, let's exercise our imaginations and think of some of the other possible candidates whom Gabriel did not visit.
Gabriel is muttering to himself as he looks through the list:
"It would be a whole lot easier if the Lord
would just zap those thick-headed
people and force them to do what he wants them to do."
He has this crazy idea
that he wants to entice them into doing and being what is true and enduring;
he woos them, urges them,
and yes, reproves & corrects them.
But finally to get this all across to them,
he just has to take on humanity
himself, saying:
“They just won't get it any other way."
Princess Dorothea is the first name
on the list. She is young, beautiful and
the daughter of a monarch.
What would she say to Gabriel?
"A what? A baby?
I've got a social calendar that's full
from now to a year from next Nov.
Where would I work a baby into that?
Besides, there has been quite enough
scandal in the royal family as it is
without adding an untimely birth.
Candidate #2, Rachel, was a widow.
She was a little older, but healthy,
beautiful, and currently unattached.
What might she say?
"A year after my sainted husband dies
and I should have a baby?
What kind of angel are you?
I have all the troubles I can manage,
just being a widow and all.
I still have a little bit of an estate
left by my husband
and I still have my looks.
In other words, I have prospects,
prospects, I tell you!
Why are you trying to get me killed?
Kids aren't an asset when one is looking
for a second marriage."
This isn't getting anywhere.
On to candidate #3, Esther.
She had built up a nice chain of stores
she called "Heavenly Body Shops"
selling fragrant soaps, lotions, and the like.
She cut Gabriel off before he even got the subject introduced.
"Do you see someone around here who would do daycare while I'm on maternity leave? Get real!"
No, none of these persons were ready to
listen to what Gabriel had to say.
He would not find an attentive person
among those who already were
grasping at power, or wealth, or
opportunities.
So, on down the list, to Mary.
"Greetings, Mary. God is with you."
She was perplexed,
she did a lot more listening than talking but still managed to say:
"Every day I've been praying,
'Lord, hold onto me.'"
"You have found favor with God.
The child you will bear
is the Holy One of God.
This is not indigestion, nor a nightmare.
To show the truth, go see your relative,
ancient Elizabeth.
You'll discover that she is with child also."
"Here am I, the servant of the Lord.
I don't understand all of this:
the gift of a child may get me killed!
Will you explain it to my fiancée?
Nevertheless,
let it be with me according to your word."
How are our 10-year plans of life
going these days?
Are we achieving the goals,
checking them off, one by one,
using that 401-K on schedule, etc.?
Often our plans are interrupted
by life's plans for us:
sudden illnesses, a surprise baby,
aging parents, or job and economic changes.
Again and again, we face yes or no choices:
YES, I will live this life that is being held out to me,
or NO, I will not explore this unexpected turn of events.
If we decide to say no,
we simply drop our eyes
and refuse to look up until we know that the angel has left the room.
Then we can pretend that nothing has happened,
and when things begin to change anyway, we can continue to try to ignore it,
or get angry about it and try to undo it,
or become bitter and lament our unhappiness.
Or, one can say yes,
step onto a new path,
and become one of Mary's people.
Yes, that Annunciation scene
is not for Mary alone,
but rather, it is to apply to all of us
in the family of Christ.
On the one hand, Mary's is a completely unique situation: she is the only one chosen to give Christ Jesus human birth.
But on the other hand, she is the paradigm,
the example for all Christians.
Each of us is to be called away
from the world's addictions
to power, wealth, or station
which consume the three imaginary characters we heard a moment ago.
Each of us is to listen a lot more than we speak.
Each of us is to hear the reproof that may come in the voice of a parent, calling to our attention again the enduring use of the 10 commandments.
Each of us is to hear the encouragement which may come through the teacher who sees more of the ability which God has entrusted to you than you do yourself.
Each of us is bid to hear the call that may come in a situation where we need to speak up for someone else at school, on the job, or in a backyard conversation that turns ugly;
to offer the assistance that a neighbor needs,
to speak a word of hope
even when we're not sure
of all of the details of faith ourselves.
These are the things that shape our lives on the model of Mary, the God-bearer.
Meister Eckhart was a medieval mystic writer and theologian. He wrote:
"We are all meant to be "God-bearers."
What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place in Mary
but does not take place within me?
And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace?
What good is it to me for the Creator
to give birth to his Son
if I do not also give birth to him
in my time and my culture?
This, then is the fullness of time:
When the Son of God is begotten in us."
Martin Luther was on the same track
when he wrote in his explanation of the Lord's Prayer petition thy Kingdom come:
What doe this mean? To be sure, the Kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayer, but in this petition we pray that it might come also to us.
Greetings, favored ones.
The Lord is with you!
Be not afraid.
For nothing is impossible with God.
Amen.
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Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him. |