Inconceivable!

The Sermon Study Guide is here.

Matthew 1:18-24

December 3/4, 2011 • Portage First UMC

Several years ago, a man named Walter invited his friend Arthur to go with him on a drive through Southern California. As they drove, Arthur noticed there wasn’t much to see. The area looked like a barren wasteland—a few trees, some ramshackle buildings, not much else. When they stopped, Walter began telling Arthur of his big plans for this land, and how he wanted Arthur to join him by becoming an investor in his dream. Walter had enough money for the main project, but he wanted to make sure the land around the area would be protected; he wanted a friend to own it. He was sure that in the next few years, restaurants and hotels would be begging to buy the land. In Walter’s mind, it was a sure bet, but when Arthur looked around, to his mind the whole plan was inconceivable, so he turned Walter down. Because he couldn’t see Walter’s dream, Art Linkletter lost the chance to buy the area that now surrounds Disneyland, Walt Disney’s dream-turned-reality (Jeremiah, Signs of Life, pg. 149). For one person, the dream drove him. For the other, it was inconceivable.

The power of a dream can change everything. I’ve been reading the biography of the co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, which was published just shortly after his death, and two things have struck me, even though I’m not yet halfway through it. First of all: though I admire Jobs’ genius, I would not have wanted to invite him over for dinner. He wasn’t often a nice man to those he was close to. Second, he was a genius, and he could often see things no one else could see. He was talking about touch screen computers in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, long before the technology existed or anyone else was thinking about it. The things that today have become the iPhone and the iPad, Jobs was envisioning thirty years ago, and he was able to push people to share his dream, to make things happen that everyone else said was inconceivable, impossible. The computer that became the Mac should have been created by Xerox; they had the idea first, but Jobs was the one with the vision, the one who pushed others to make it work—all because he dared to dream.

The power of a dream can change everything, so that what is inconceivable to many of us becomes reality because some people dare to dream. Today, in our journey through the Christmas story, we come to one who was a dreamer. Much like his Old Testament namesake, Joseph, as we encounter him in Matthew’s Gospel, hears from God most clearly in a dream, and because he listened as he dreamed, an inconceivable baby was born. This morning, our Advent journey brings us to the little town of Bethlehem and to a carpenter named Joseph.

Now, if you watch popular movies of the Nativity, you would tend to think that Joseph, like Mary, was from Nazareth, but I want to consider this morning the very real possibility that Bethlehem was actually Joseph’s hometown (Hamilton, The Journey, pg. 38). For one, when Bethlehem is mentioned first in Luke’s Gospel, it’s called Joseph’s “own town” (Luke 2:3), the same designation Matthew uses to describe Capernaum when Jesus is living there (it’s his “own town”) and Jesus himself uses that term to describe Nazareth as the place where he is from (his “own town”). Beyond that, we know from historical records that there was continual work going on in Jerusalem, particularly on the Temple which Herod was rebuilding. It wasn’t yet finished in Joseph’s time, and even if he didn’t work on that project, there would have been a lot more work for a person with his skills in and around Bethlehem and Jerusalem than there would have been around Nazareth. Now, some, then, wonder, if Joseph was from Bethlehem, why did Mary have to give birth in a barn? We’ll talk about that in a couple of weeks! But Joseph and Mary likely lived in a long-distance, arranged relationship. Last week, we talked a little about what their betrothal was like and we know, for instance, Mary doesn’t immediately tell Joseph about the pregnancy. Joseph “finds out” about it later (1:18). And on top of all that, when the baby is born, they don’t go back to Nazareth. They live in Bethlehem, in a house, Joseph’s house that he had prepared for his bride as was the custom. They live there for maybe as long as two years. They only go eventually to Nazareth, Mary’s hometown, to avoid danger from the political ruler (cf. Matthew 2:21-23). Bethlehem, then, makes sense as Joseph’s hometown.

[VIDEO: Bethlehem Cityscape] Now, today, Bethlehem is a thriving small city with a population of somewhere around 26,000 at last count—a little smaller than Portage. Much of its industry centers around the Church of the Nativity, the place where, tradition says, Jesus was born. It is a Palestinian city, [VIDEO: Bethlehem Walls] and today’s politics being what they are, it is a city surrounded by a wall. The wall is supposedly for protection, but largely it just makes life in Bethlehem difficult. Bethlehem is not that far from Jerusalem—six miles, a two-hour walk, but getting from Bethlehem to Jerusalem requires going through a checkpoint. So if you live one place and work in the other, just getting to work is a trial. In Joseph’s day, of course, the city was much smaller, maybe somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people. It was a blue-collar town, made up of shepherds, bakers (“Bethlehem” means “House of Bread”), millers and laborers like Joseph. It wasn’t world-famous, but it wasn’t unknown like Nazareth was. There were stories from the Hebrew Scriptures that centered around Bethlehem. Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, had died and was buried here. The Book of Ruth takes place in Bethlehem, and the greatest king Israel had ever known, King David, was from Bethlehem (Hamilton 39-40). It was known, but not terribly famous. So, again, like with Nazareth, God didn’t choose a world-class city. He chose an ordinary place and an ordinary man to help do his greatest work in the world.

Now, there’s a lot we don’t know about Joseph. He’s “the mystery man” of the Nativity story (Card, The Promise, pg. 20). He stands in the shadows (Card, Immanuel, pg. 42). Luke (2:41-52) tells us about Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to Jerusalem when he is twelve, and after that, we don’t hear any more from Joseph. Church tradition says he died sometime after that, and Mary was left a widow to raise her children. But in the Gospels, we simply don’t hear from him again. However, Joseph is described in a couple of ways. First, Matthew tells us (13:55) Joseph is a carpenter—the Greek work is tekton, which can mean builder, craftsman or stonemason. An arch-tekton was a master builder; you can hear the word “architect” in that, can’t you? But Joseph was just a tekton, a humble woodworker (Hamilton 41-42). We’re also told Joseph was a “just man;” the translation we read today says he was “faithful to the law” (1:19), and that’s part of it. To the best of his ability, Joseph wanted to do what God commanded him—and all of God’s people—to do. He wanted to be found faithful to God’s law. And yet, as this story progresses, we find he is willing to break the strict interpretation of the law in favor of compassion. We know he could have had Mary stoned because of her pregnancy, but instead, he decides to divorce her quietly, to end the betrothal formally, and let her live. He doesn’t want to have the shame of raising a child that isn’t his, but he doesn’t want to harm Mary, either. Being a “just man” includes being compassionate toward the weak and exhausted (Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, pgs. 43-44).

We also know Joseph was a dreamer—or at least God could best get his attention through a dream. Mary had a direct visitation from an angel. But, for whatever reason, an angel comes to Joseph in a dream now and after jesus is born (cf. Matthew 2:13). A dream can change everything. Joseph is working in Bethlehem, and, as we’ll talk about next week, at some point perhaps, he learns Mary is visiting her relative Elizabeth, who lived just four miles from Bethlehem. Perhaps he visits her there and learns she is pregnant. Matthew says Mary “was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (1:18). The word there doesn’t indicate any sort of gossip; it simply indicates she could no longer hide her pregnancy. It was obvious to everyone, include her betrothed, that something was going on (Carson, “Matthew,” Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, pg. 74). A baby was growing in Mary’s womb, and Joseph knew it wasn’t his. Matthew says that because he was faithful to the law, he had to decide what to do. In my mind, I picture him returning to Bethlehem, trying to figure it all out. Matthew says he “considered” what was happening (1:20), but that word not only contains the idea of pondering, of thinking deeply, it can also be translated as, “he became angry” (Bailey 45). Joseph, understandably, is very upset. He’s hurt. He feels betrayed. He’s probably astounded to think Mary is not the sort of woman he thought she was. And so he makes a purposeful decision. He won’t ask for the death penalty; he will divorce her quietly (1:19). He doesn’t want to make a big deal about it; he just wants to move on with his life. This baby Mary is having was not part of his plan.

It’s at this point, when Joseph has made up his mind, that God intervenes. I always wonder why God didn’t tell Joseph what was happening up front, like Mary was told. Why did Joseph have to find out the way he found out? I don’t know for sure, but I wonder if part of it is because Joseph was too busy, working, getting things done, hurrying to the next job—too busy to pay enough attention to an angel who might speak to him. Joseph very well could be a lot like us, and the only time he slowed down enough for God to speak to him was when he was sleeping. Any of us like that? It’s hard for us to stop and listen, even to those around us who are speaking. Especially this time of year, we hurry from here to there and rarely think deeply about what we are doing. Joseph had made up his mind, but there was one piece of information he didn’t have or he didn’t believe, and so in his dream, when he had no choice but to listen, an angel of the Lord came to him and told, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (1:20). God is at work here, Joseph, fulfilling ancient promises (1:22-23), and if you rush to take control of the situation yourself, you just might miss what God is doing. Your dreams may be hard to see now, but God’s dreams for you are just beginning!

So perhaps the first thing Joseph teaches us is to slow down, to not rush around and miss the message of the season. The way we celebrate Christmas in America is to fill our calendars full of activities and events and parties to the point where, when we get to Christmas, we’re exhausted and have little energy left for celebrating Jesus’ birth. And I’m guilty of that. In the next twenty days, we have seven holiday activities, four concerts, three parties and a partridge in a pear tree—not to mention all the “normal” activities of our lives. Now, I’m not saying that to get sympathy. I’m confessing that I rush around and I act like this season is all about me. But it’s not. This is Jesus’ birthday. He’s the one we’re supposed to be celebrating. The Son of God has come to earth. He was born in a manger, and he grew up in humble surroundings and then he died to save us from our sins. That’s the message, and like Joseph, unless I learn to carve out time to slow down, I’m going to completely miss it again. How about you? Does Joseph’s life speak to you at all? Does God need to get your attention again this Advent season? What’s it going to take for us to center our focus on the baby of Bethlehem instead of ourselves as we celebrate his birthday?

The second thing I want us to notice about Joseph is that he, like Mary, doesn’t come from wealthy and significant surroundings. Joseph, as I said, is even less known than Mary, and he lived in a small and humble town. Everything he owned could, probably, fit in his toolbox, and while he was likely a craftsman who took great pride in his work, he wasn’t one who would have signed his work. He made good, strong, useful things and lived a humble life. And yet, every day, when he walked out of his home, he stood in the shadow of something that reminded him not everyone approached life that way. In an effort to be remembered, King Herod had built a huge monument just outside Bethlehem that he named in honor of himself: the Herodium. [VIDEO: Herodium] This is one of the places we’ll visit next year when we go to the Holy Land. It’s a huge man-made mountain that stretches four hundred feet in the air, fifty feet taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza. At the bottom there were villas for his friends, along with a huge pool—an extravagance in the desert. At the top was a palace for Herod—containing Roman baths, lavish bedrooms and a huge central hall. It was extravagant, and the whole structure overshadowed everything in Bethlehem. It was meant to remind the people who was in charge (Hamilton 52). Herod drew attention to himself, and his kingdom ended up in ruins. That’s all that’s left—ruins for sightseers to visit. Joseph, on the other hand, humbly carried out the mission God called him to do, and we still remember his selfless sacrifice. He served without expectation of reward, and his faithfulness is a model for us all to serve whether we get recognition or fame or reward. Can we serve others in that way? The one Joseph took as his son would later say that if we do our acts of righteousness in order to be seen by others and get their approval, that’s all the reward we will get. Instead, Jesus said, do it quietly, in secret, and know that God the Father knows and will reward us (cf. Matthew 6:1-4). Certainly Jesus had seen that in his earthly father, Joseph.

One more thing I want to note about Joseph’s story, and that’s how God will use our darkest times to do his mightiest work. When Joseph went to bed that night, even though Matthew says he had made up his mind, it couldn’t have been easy. All his hopes and dreams had been dashed to the ground. The woman he thought he would marry had, in his mind, been unfaithful. He was going to be divorced before he had even been married. Hope was inconceivable at this moment. This might very well have been the lowest moment in Joseph’s life, and yet in that moment, as Joseph would soon learn, God was at work doing something amazing. In the midst of his darkness, God was still moving, and would continue to do so. Matthew says rather easily that Joseph “took Mary home as his wife” (1:24), and yet that could not have been easy. He would endure the scorn, the ridicule, the stares, the gossip—just like Mary would. And yet, in the midst of Joseph’s darkest time, God is at work in a mighty way. To our minds, it’s often inconceivable that God would use our darkness, our struggles, our difficulties to make a difference in the world. We find it so inconceivable that we work and pray to avoid disappointing or difficult circumstances. Above all else, God, don’t let me hurt! And yet, what would have happened if Joseph had walked away from Mary? What if he had left her as a single mom to raise this child herself? He would have missed out on the great blessings God had in store for him. How much of God’s blessing do we miss when we try to skirt or avoid disappointment and difficulty? I know from my own experience, and I’ll bet you know from yours, that it’s very often in the darkest times of your life when God works the most (Hamilton 45-46).

Several years ago, I was in the midst of a rather difficult patch in my ministry, rough enough that I remember laying on the couch one night and actually reading the want ads to see if there was anything else I could possibly do. There were a lot of things that had happened, including receiving a note from a person in the church who told me exactly what my problems were and why God wasn’t speaking to me. Ironically, it was during that time when I felt closer to God than I had in a while, largely because there was, literally, nothing else I could do. I had to learn to depend on God because everything I did wasn’t working. Like Joseph, I would make up my mind to do this thing, and then, often as I slept, God would change my direction. He would remind me I needed to pray for that other person rather than lash out or act hastily. It was in that dark time that God did a lot of work in me, and also during that time when the church I was serving at the time experience a growth spurt. So I say that to warn us not to be afraid of difficult or disappointing circumstances—that might just be when God is preparing to do some amazing things. Joseph learned that, and we need to, maybe now more than ever.

Of course, it’s hard to get that perspective, especially during this time of year when everyone seems so happy, when we’re told we should be joyful. But what if your most difficult season is right now? What if you feel like, rather than walking in the light, you’re stumbling in the dark? What if it’s inconceivable to you that God might work in this patch of your life? One way we want to help with that is through our Longest Night Service, which will be held on December 21 at 7:00 p.m. The longest night of the year is the time when the church declares that, as the Gospel of John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). One of the reasons Christmas is this time of year (because December 25 is very unlikely the date Jesus was born) is because it is so dark and we use this season to proclaim Jesus as the light of the world, and the light of our lives. Our Longest Night Service is meant to do just that: to offer hope when we are hurting, to remind us that God is still inconceivably working even (maybe especially) in our darkness. So I encourage you to come, and bring someone with you who is also struggling this year. Come and be reminded that God is still working, bringing light to the darkness.

And be reminded this morning that it might just be your darkness God uses to minister to and encourage someone else. It’s very possible, even probable, that what you’re going through or what you’ve been through might be what God uses to touch someone else’s life. I’ve heard countless stories of people who have gone through abuse and seen how God, then, used them to help bring healing to someone else in a similar situation. Or someone who went through a divorce, or someone who was fired, or someone who finds themselves in a job they dislike—I could on and on, but the point is this: God never wastes anything. Your disappointment, your struggle is an avenue for touching the lives of others who need the hope only someone who has been there can offer. How can you help someone have a dream that seems inconceivable to everyone else? How can you help someone listen for God’s amazing movement in their lives, even when life is hard?

And, of course, even as we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, we remember that the ultimate example of God working in painful and difficult circumstances is what happens to this baby when he grows up. Jesus didn’t just come so we could exchange cards and gifts and eat a big meal to remember his birthday. Jesus came to show us that suffering can be redeemed. In some way we don’t always or often understand, suffering can bring healing. That’s part of what is going on when he gives his life on the cross. Christians believe Jesus suffers and dies and then is raised to life in order that salvation can come to you and me. When we share in the bread and in the cup of communion, when we do what we he told us to do, we are recognizing on some fundamental level that God was doing his most powerful work at just the point when it seemed as if the world had won, as if the world had killed the Savior. But we see it differently. On that cross, we see the hope of the world. Jesus died so we could live, and this bread and this cup reminds us of that truth. There is nothing you or I can go through that God can’t redeem, and he showed that most when Jesus was on the cross. So as we remember Joseph this day, we remember how God will often work in the midst of the darkest times. And in the midst of worst of those times, Jesus asks us to remember. It’s inconceivable to our minds, and yet it is in the darkest times when God shows up most powerfully. So let’s come to the table and remember, and celebrate, and give thanks that our God redeems absolutely everything.

Who Wants To Be Mary?

The sermon study guide is here.

Luke 1:26-38

November 26/27, 2011 • Portage First UMC

When I was growing up, one thing you could count on every year about this time was the church Christmas pageant, the annual re-enactment of the first Christmas. It usually involves children in bathrobes playing the various parts, and of course, the coveted part, at least for the girls, is Mary. I mean, let’s be honest, there aren’t a lot of parts for girls in the Christmas story, though often we have Wise Girls and Shepherd Girls, but in the story as it’s told, there’s really only one part for a girl, and that’s Mary. Besides that, Mary has the starring role. Well, of course, there’s Jesus, but he’s usually played by a doll, so the next best part is Mary. So how many of you, at some point in your life, played Mary in a Christmas pageant? Okay, how many of you wanted to play Mary but didn’t get to?

In my last church, we had a living Nativity, and every December, on the coldest and worst weather day of the month, we would stand outside and present the story of the first Christmas. Through the years, we had dense fog, blustery wind, sub-zero temperatures and even rain; yeah, it was a good time! One year, we had a young lady who desperately wanted to play Mary. She was engaged to be married the next summer, and she argued long and loud this was the last year she could authentically play Mary. She was engaged, just like Mary. She was young, just like Mary. She was not with child—she made that quite clear. Jil wanted to play Mary. I think she ended up as a shepherd instead. We want to be Mary because she has the starring role, but the question I want to ask today is this: did Mary want to be Mary?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, a period of four weeks set aside to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. And so during these four weeks, we are going on a journey together—not a literal journey, though if you want to actually stand in many of the places we’re going to talk about, you can come with us to the Holy Land next June. No, for the next four weeks, we’re going to journey through the Christmas story as we take a closer look at the places and the people who were part of Jesus’ birth. And where else would we start but with Mary in her hometown of Nazareth? Today, we want to see what her life and the way she responded to God can teach us about ourselves and our relationship with Jesus. 

We know from historical records Nazareth was an insignificant place. The Talmud, a Hebrew commentary on Scripture, lists sixty-three villages in Galilee, the northern part of Israel, and the first-century Jewish historian Josephus lists forty-five villages in Galilee. Nazareth doesn’t make either list. Its population, in the first century, is estimated between 100 and 400, though it may have been smaller. It’s a dinky little town people passed by without thinking about (Hamilton, The Journey, pg. 15). I know towns like that. I grew up in a town like that. Sedalia, Indiana—population 150 if you count the cats and dogs. No one really noticed Sedalia or knew where it was unless I made reference to some other larger city. I would tell people it was halfway between Lafayette and Kokomo, or I would mention the railroad tracks that forced people to either slow down or lose their car’s undercarriage. Then people would have a vague recollection of Sedalia, but still not really remember it. Nazareth was like that. If you wanted people to know where Nazareth was, you would tell them it was close to Sepphoris, a wealthy town of about 30,000—slightly smaller than Portage. [VIDEO: SEPPHORIS] Culture, shopping, luxury houses—that was Sepphoris, and everyone knew where that was. It’s even possible Mary’s family might have worked for a wealthy family in Sepphoris. But Nazareth? In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when a man named Nathanael found out Jesus was from Nazareth, he asked, “Can anything good come from [Nazareth]?” (John 1:46).

Archaeology has confirmed Nazareth was a place of poverty. This was the place you lived if you couldn’t afford to live somewhere else. In fact, many of the so-called houses were simply caves that had a front room built onto them. [VIDEO: CAVE HOMES] If you go to the Holy Land, you’ll find caves are not unusual. Soft limestone caves are everywhere, and in the first century, it was the least expensive form of housing. If you needed another room, for instance, you just chipped away at the walls and carved out additional space. So Nazareth was a place of poverty, though the name comes from the Hebrew word “netzer,” which means “branch” or “shoot.” It’s a name that refers to a promise in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah had told the people that, one day, “a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch [netzer] will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1-2). That promise was understood to predict the Savior, the Messiah. In fact, in many of your Bibles, you will find the word “Branch” capitalized, as if it’s a name. That’s an interpretation; there are no capital letters in the original Hebrew, but the point is this: “the branch,” for many centuries, had been understood to be the savior, the one God would send to save the people. So this town, “Branch-Town,” Nazareth, expressed the hope that God might do something amazing to help and rescue the people. We’ve prayed their prayer, haven’t we? “God, into the mess of my situation, into the muck of my life, I need you to move. I need you to do something amazing, something I wouldn’t expect. I need you to turn things upside down.” We have our Nazareth—the place of our hopes and dreams, the place where we most need God to work. Nazareth—the lowly place it seemed God had forgotten was just the place God was about to work.

Living within this town, perhaps in a limestone cave, was a young woman named Miriam—Mary in English (Card, Luke: The Gospel of Amazement, pg. 39). Luke says she was “a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph” (1:27). We think of “pledged to be married” as the equivalent of “engagement,” but it was really much more than that. It was betrothal, which was a legally binding agreement between two families. During the year-long betrothal, the couple did not live together or consummate their marriage until after the formal ceremony, but betrothal could only be broken by death or divorce. A charge of adultery could be leveled against an unfaithful person even during betrothal. This was serious business, and it wouldn’t have been unusual for Mary to have no choice or say in the matter. Marriages were often arranged. Maybe in Mary’s case, it was to try to get her out of this poverty-stricken town. Joseph was from Bethlehem, and while he was not wealthy, he had a decent job. Luke doesn’t tell us how old Mary was, but since the custom was for betrothal to took place soon after a girl entered puberty, it’s likely Mary was in her early teens, perhaps as young as 13 (Liefeld 830; Hamilton 21). Now, let that sink in for a moment.

So Mary, 13 years old, living in a poor excuse for a town, is visited by an angel named Gabriel. Tradition has two locations for this visitation; both times I’ve been to Nazareth, we’ve been taken to the [VIDEO: MARY’S WELL] Church of the Annunciation, which is located over the ancient city springs. This tradition claims Mary was getting water for her family when Gabriel appeared, and so this church is built over the top of the ancient springs, a spring which is still running today. Roman Catholics believe Mary was at home when Gabriel appeared, but all that isn’t as important as what he says to her. “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (1:30-31). The word translated “favor” is the Greek word charis, which is better translated “grace.” Mary is “highly favored” or “full of grace.” What does that mean? Well, grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Charis contains the idea of getting an undeserved gift. In the Old Testament, the word is hesed, and it’s a hard word to translate. One author has said hesed is “when the one who owes you nothing gives you everything.” Hesed, charis, grace—when we get what we don’t deserve. Kindness to the unkind. Compassion to the heartless. Love to the unloveable. Grace is what God was up to at Christmas. Grace filled Mary, and the baby who was going to be born would be one who would talk to tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, the unloved, the sick and dying—the least, the last and the lost. This baby would give grace to those who thought God had forgotten them. His acts of grace would change the world, for grace not only changes the person who gives it, but also the person who receives it. Mary is full of grace. She’s just the sort of person to give birth to and raise the one who would change the world. That’s what Gabriel tells her. So how does she respond to such news? What do you say when you are “greatly troubled” (1:29), when your world has been turned upside down?

SONG: What Sort of Song?

“How will this be?” Mary asks (1:34). Now, if you’ve read the first part of Luke 1, you know this isn’t the first appearance Gabriel makes in the Gospel. Six months before this, he appeared to an old priest named Zechariah, and told him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a baby who would prepare the way for the savior. This old childless couple had given up hope of ever having a baby (cf. 1:7), which was extremely difficult in a culture where children were considered to be a sign of God’s blessing. This righteous husband and wife were “very old” and had put up with people’s questions and nosiness and whispers for many years. So when Gabriel tells Zechariah he’s going to have a son, Zechariah asks, “How can I be sure of this?” (1:18). And for his question, he is made mute for nine months. Now, on the surface, Zechariah and Mary seem to ask similar questions, yet Mary is not punished for her question. What’s the difference here? It’s what they were asking for, and it tells us about Mary’s character. Zechariah is asking for confirmation. Prove it to me. I have to be certain about this. I imagine he’s not wanting to get Elizabeth’s hopes up if this isn’t really going to come true. Besides, he’s old and so is she. There aren’t any people their age having babies. He wants confirmation. He wants God to prove himself. Mary, on the other hand, never asks for a sign. Rather than confirmation, she asks for information. Even at 13, she knows how babies are made, and she also knows it’s not possible, humanly speaking, for her to be pregnant. She’s a virgin. She’s remained pure, stayed true to Joseph. “How can this be?” Mary doesn’t question the words of the angel. She doesn’t say, “Yeah, right, whatever.” She just wants a little bit of information, and once she is reminded that God’s power is greater than human wisdom, she’s ready to move ahead. “May your word to me be fulfilled,” she says (1:38). Mary is obedient to this messenger from God (Liefeld 831; Wright, Luke for Everyone, pg. 12; Card 39).

So…why Mary? Why Nazareth? And why does this story matter to us, over 2,000 years later? Sometimes, we treat this story as just a nice thing to read by a fireplace or next to a Christmas tree, as if it’s just a quaint story from the past—but it’s far more than that. Bishop Tom Wright reminds us, “Mary is…the supreme example of what always happens when God is at work by grace through human beings. God’s power from outside, and the indwelling spirit within, together result in things being done which would have been unthinkable any other way” (Wright 11). “To become obedient to [God’s] call always means becoming a slave to the impossible” (Card 40). Mary reminds us God can and will do great things in and through us when we allow him to work, when we respond as she did, “May your word to me be fulfilled” (1:38). The first thing we learn from Mary and from her hometown of Nazareth is that nothing is ever insignificant in God’s eyes. In fact, throughout the Biblical story, God often chooses to use the things that seem insignificant to the world: the small, the humble, the broken, the ones the world would never expect. Now, it’s not that those people and those places have nothing to lose. Mary, quite honestly, could have lost her life. She could be accused of adultery, and the penalty for adultery was death by stoning. At the very least, she was going to have to endure the whispers and the stares of small town life. A pregnant girl who isn’t yet married, whose fiancé lives, in fact, many days’ journey away, wasn’t going to go unnoticed. It was also risky in those days because many women died in childbirth (Hamilton 29). As a young teenager, Mary’s life was not going to be easy from here on out. So did Mary want to be Mary? She was blessed by God, but that blessing didn’t mean a life of ease and luxury. That blessing meant a life of risk, of giving herself away. And yet there was the promise that her life, which might have to that point seemed so insignificant, so unimportant, was about to take on world-changing significance. Paul wrote this to the church at Corinth: “Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of ‘the brightest and the best’ among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these ‘nobodies’ to expose the hollow pretensions of the ‘somebodies’?” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28, Message). A heart yielded to God never results in an insignificant life. Mary, Nazareth, you and me—God chooses the least likely to accomplish his most important work (Hamilton 21).

That leads us, then, to what Mary’s story asks us: how will you respond to God’s invitation, to God’s call to join him in changing the world? I highly doubt any of us will be asked to do what Mary did, to give birth to Son of God; that, it seems, was and is a once-in-history event. But God still invites us to come along on his mission. It is still our task and our calling to make God known in this world. Mary’s calling was what we call the “incarnation,” a word that simply means God became flesh and blood. And we still are called to live that incarnation—to make Jesus present to this world, to all around us, to anyone we can. And so the invitation is still real: will we participate in God’s mission—not just for the season of Advent, because Mary’s response was not just for the next nine months. If you’re a parent, you know that having a child is a lifelong commitment. No matter how old they get, they’re still you’re children. We know from the Gospels how Mary worried about Jesus all through his ministry and how she was there at the cross, watching him die. She didn’t just say “yes” for a season—she said “yes” for a life. Are we willing to respond as she did when God calls us?

I want to suggest three ways to respond, all of which correspond with our values here at Portage First. The first is, if you haven’t already, get involved in a small group—take part in intentional faith development. During this season of the year, as I said, we can become overly familiar with the story, so one of the reasons I’m doing this series is to hopefully put some new life and new meaning into this ancient story that is at the center of who we are. But you will grow even more if you’re participating with others in studying and sharing and learning. Small groups start this week; I cannot encourage you enough to plug in to one, to get involved and use this season to grow your faith. You can still sign up today.

Second, find a place to serve this season, to engage in risk-taking mission and service. Jesus said he came not to be served but to serve, and when you hear the words of Mary to Gabriel—“I am the Lord’s servant”—you have to think he saw that demonstrated all the time when he was growing up. Mary had the heart of a servant; so did her son, and so should all of his followers. Find a place to serve this Advent season, whether that’s giving up of your time and your comfort to ring bells for the Salvation Army, or inviting someone who is alone over for Christmas dinner, or helping out at a homeless shelter, or the food pantry, or shoveling snow for that elderly neighbor—the possibilities are literally endless. But here’s the catch: serving means doing something, getting your hands dirty, not just writing a check. What can you do to make a positive difference in the life of someone else this Advent? How can you join Mary in saying, “I am the Lord’s servant”?

And then the third suggestion—just so you don’t think there are no opportunities to give this season, I want to invite you to, above and beyond your regular giving, participate in our Advent Conspiracy offering with your extravagant generosity. As we’ve done the last couple of years, the offering taken at our Christmas Candlelight services will be given away. It won’t be used for the church or for the pastors or anything like that. Half of it is going to provide clean water wells in a community in Africa where one of our members, Lauren Falk, is working. Thirty thousand people in the world die every week from unsafe drinking water; 27,000 of those are children under the age of five. Many of the diseases are preventable if they just had something we take for granted—clean drinking water (charitywater.org). And we can do something about that. The other half of the offering will again go to provide meals for children here in Portage through the “Feed My Lambs” program. That money will provide a box of food every weekend of the school year for children who would otherwise go without, and that makes a huge difference in their lives and in their academic achievement—which, ultimately, makes a difference in their future, in breaking the cycle of poverty. What I’ve asked the last couple of years is for each of us to consider either reducing what we buy and giving the rest to the offering or giving an amount equal to what we spend on ourselves toward the offering. Undoubtedly, many of us either began or continued our Christmas shopping this past weekend. Consumerism rules the roost when it comes to Christmas, and we give gifts to each other like it’s our birthday. But it’s not. It’s Jesus’ birthday, and what he wants for Christmas is for us to care about the least, the last and the lost. As Pastor Mike Slaughter puts it, “The idol of consumerism is one of the hardest to topple. John Wesley identified the wallet as the last thing to be converted in a person’s life” (Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, pg. 5). Even with our money, can we say, “I am the Lord’s servant”? If we’re willing to do what we can, God will do what we can’t. He’ll take what we give and make a lasting difference in the world around us (cf. Slaughter 14). So we can give; even today, there’s a place to give at the Connection Center for the Advent Conspiracy—a conspiracy to change the world. And then during Christmas Candlelight, everything we give will go to that conspiracy.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary said. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (1:38). And, as Gabriel promised, the word from God did not fail. So, the question comes back to us: who wants to be Mary this Advent season? Not just for a few moments in a pageant, but who wants to be so sold out to God that we’re willing to trust he can use insignificant us to accomplish great things in the world? Who wants to be Mary? If you’re ready and willing to follow her example and go where God leads you, I invite you say her prayer along with me. Let’s pray. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Just An Ordinary Day

Pastor Deb Rousselle...

Thanksgiving is Thursday!  What does that mean to you? 

·      Time to give thanks.

·      Time to go around the table and tell what you are thankful for

·      Time to clean the house, round up all the chairs and find the card table, then make a big meal which will be eaten in 15 minutes then clean up while everyone watches football.

·      Just another day – with better than usual food?

Maybe Thanksgiving is just a day like any other day – just an ordinary day. 

Maybe.  It depends on how we see the ordinary.  Yes it is the same 24 hrs. as any other day.  But is any day ordinary?

ORDINARY

Are we overlooking the presence of God in our lives?  No time is ordinary with God!

When we make each day ordinary we fail to appreciate all that God, through his love for us, provides.  No time with God is ordinary.  It becomes ordinary when we fail to appreciate all that is around us and neglect the opportunities to celebrate God’s love.

Our determination of ordinary is decidedly different from God’s.  God chose ordinary people to be parents of his Son, Jesus Christ.  In children’s church we have been learning about Mary, who was young, maybe 13-14, who would have done things that women normally did – she would have made bread, carried water from the well and swept the floors.  Joseph, a simple carpenter was to be Mary’s husband.  The shepherds, not a highly esteemed job, were the first to visit the baby Jesus in a common stable.  (in less than ordinary overnight accommodations.)

It hurts my heart when I hear people say they don’t celebrate birthdays or anniversaries or other memorable days because the days are just like any other.

 I want to say, “They don’t have to be”.  There are so many things in life to celebrate.  If you don’t celebrate how about simply not ignoring or taking for granted but rather give thanks – give thanks for your life, for your friends and family, for the job that pays the bills, for the amazing grace of Jesus Christ and for your salvation.

Have we lost the sense of beauty in the ordinary? 

Turn now to the person next to you or behind you or in front of you and I have two things I’d like for you to talk about – Share one ordinary thing that you saw or experienced on the way to church today, then tell one another what an ordinary day is like in your life. 

Too often we live one day into the next with schedule in hand and we miss so much! 

So, what do we do when we feel the drudgery of day after day?  Some will think, “I need some ‘me’ time – so we add a Girls Night Out or join a softball league and before long that can become one more thing to schedule.  We try to escape by doing more.

There is a story told of a tourist on a rush tour of Europe who screeched to a stop in front of St. Paul’s cathedral and called to his wife, “You take the inside.  I’ll do the outside.  Meet you here in 5 minutes.”  Sometimes we are so eager to do everything that nothing gets the attention it deserves.

Have any of you ever over planned a vacation?  You know, the time you are supposed to be getting away from the daily grind, relaxing, but instead you are on the road trying to find the world’s biggest ball of twine and then on to the Iowa City Corn Museum before going to the amusement park, where for the cost of those tickets you are going to stay till the last possible minute to get your monies worth.

Being busy is our way of life.  We are constantly reminded of what we should be doing and where we should be and when.  That’s not horrible.  What is a problem though is that busyness can dull our awareness of the creative wonders of God’s power.  God didn’t retire after creating for 6 days.  God is still active in our lives and expects us to be actively living our faith.  Like Wade told us last week, we get faith, we’ve got faith, we live faith.

Our gospel lesson contains a parable – a story with meaning – often times multiple meanings.  This parable of the fig tree tells us about what God expects from us.  As we explore this parable I would ask that you think about what you may need to do in your life to meet these expectations.

Luke 13: 6-8 – Then he told this parable:  “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any.  Cut it down! Why should it take up soil?”  “Sir, the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine!  If not, then cut it down.”

I did a bit of research – I knew from my years working at the apple orchard that apple trees take about 3 years before they bear fruit – so I thought the man in the parable was being a bit inpatient with the tree – but then I googled fig tree and discovered that fig trees could produce fruit within the first year, however it is not uncommon for them to fail to set fruit or ripen properly because they have a long juvenile period (I thought that term interesting) and could possibly take 4-5 yrs.

Juvenile period – how often are we inpatient with tweens and teens – thinking they should be maturing a bit faster than they do – then I began to relate that to me and you.  How must God feel when we take so long to mature in our faith.

Perhaps Jesus was telling his listeners that he had been with them for 3 years now, proclaiming the truth and being a living example of God.  People are following him but do they fully believe.  Where is the change in their lives – are their lives producing fruit?  

God is patient but God expects growth.  How long have you known about Jesus?  How long have you known Jesus?  Have you opened yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit?  Any fruit yet? 

Just what is this fruit?  Galatians 5:22 – “But the Spirit produces love, joy peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

It is difficult to produce fruit if you are in a hurry – Tuesday evening I became frustrated as I sat at my computer trying to find the right words for today.  So, with little regard to self-control I woofed down half a tube of Pringles while playing Words with Friends.  That kept my mind off what I needed to be thinking about.  It was only when I was lying in bed Wednesday morning that my mind quieted enough for me to hear what God wanted me to see.

We are the fig tree Why produce fruit?  John 15: 8 – “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become his disciple.”

 God is patient with us but to be considered Christian disciples we must do more than take up space.  You are here and are planted in fertile soil.  You must establish your roots so you can receive the nutrients that are there for you.  These roots have to be established – because a tree without firm roots will fall.  Michael and I know this firsthand.  This is what happened during an ice storm in 2007.  The ice was too heavy for the root system and it came down with a crash.  Jesus tells his listeners – time will run out – there are consequences for lives that produce no fruit. 

We have to be open to growing and producing fruit.  Jesus prepared the ground for us – by his death on the cross, through the grace of God, we are forgiven.  That doesn’t mean that we sit in the field taking up space.  Through the Holy Spirit our lives are fertilized.  And you know what they used for fertilizer – manure or as the book I read put it – dung.  I can’t hear that word ‘dung’ without thinking of my nephew Ryan.  Ryan was 4 years old when he was found wondering the streets in Korea.  My sister-in-law and her husband adopted him.  We went to Pittsburgh to meet him.  He spoke no English.  Yet when he followed me into the bedroom while I changed Suzy’s diaper he pointed and said, ‘’dung” – a word with universal meaning.

Sometimes it takes some dung in our lives to help us grow.  Over the last few years I can see how the fertilizer in my life has produced more peace, more gentleness and increased my faith.  Michael’s leukemia has slowed us down and given us a renewed appreciation for life.  As caregiver during the illness I found my patience being tried, and through the fruit of patience is growing.  I learned to be gentler – to try to put myself in his shoes – or up until very recently his walking cast.  I may complain to my friends but when I’m in a situation that requires being gentle I think I’m a lot better now than I was 3 years ago.  Every 3 months Michael goes to Northwestern for blood work.  The molecular study, which determines the most minute make-up of the cells, is able to detect the beginnings of the cancer.  The results of this test take 2 weeks.  During this time we have developed patience and increased faith that no matter the results we will be ok.

Don’t be afraid of the dung.   I read recently of a woman who never celebrated anything because she was afraid – because every time she began to hope or celebrate something hurt or disappointed her.  To avoid being hurt, she did not invest any hope or in her living.  But to live like that is to be immersed in continual hurt and pain.  To never experience the overwhelming joy of life around us, even in the dark times, when strength comes from those around you, is tragic.

Trees best produce fruit when they are cross pollinated.  Some fruit trees will have a good crop by themselves, though they will often have more fruit with cross pollination and this is especially true with figs.  So we are figs, we need one another.  The fruit that we produce will help another see Christ through you.

So how do we produce fruit, you may ask.  It may mean reprioritizing.  Maybe deciding to dvr ‘Dancing with the Stars’ or ‘The Mentalist’ and going to a FISH group instead.   If you are wondering just what is so great about being in a small group I would encourage you to talk with someone from Brown Bag Bible Study or the SALT group or one of the Disciple groups.   If you talk to someone from the Brown Bag group you will find they rarely want to miss a week.  This investment of time  - time to be together, to learn, to laugh, to pray – is an important part of their week.

It’s important to be together – to cross-pollinate.  In our Epistle reading from 1 Thess. we heard, “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong with wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other…Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all  circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When Paul was writing this he realized that early Christians knew a lot about suffering; here Paul wanted them to learn how to celebrate in the midst of the suffering – to celebrate the not so ordinary ordinary days.

Last week Wade asked us to name our passion.  Today I would ask that we find the things we delight in.  I love watching the squirrels jump from limb to limb, I find peace in watching a deer in the woods.

I often tell my daughter and myself – keep the child in you alive.  After all Jesus said we are to come to him as a little child.

Do you remember the sense of awe you had as a child when the Christmas tree was lit?  How about the first snowfall – where the flakes are like lace buttons?  Can you find the awe amidst the concerns for how the roads will be for driving, how you will get to work, who will watch the kids if school is called off…

Take a moment – look around.  Nothing is ordinary.  Each day brings wonder and delight when we take the time to accept the risk of looking for it.

I find delight in a lot of things – when I slow down.  Thursday morning I found myself sitting at the kitchen table with my back to the sliding glass door, making shadow puppets on the refrigerator – do you know how long it had been since I’d done that.

I am still flying high form the wonderful time we had renewing our vows.

I am in awe as I see my baby girl as a grown woman.

As we journey into the Advent season will you allow me to ask a few things of you?   I would ask you to try saying yes to the things that allow you to slow down and no to the things that make you fret.

That may look like saying yes to having a cup of coffee with a friend and no to cleaning the baseboards before the family comes for Christmas dinner.

It’s saying yes to getting a group together to make cookies instead of thinking you have to make 12 dozen of everyone’s favorites or it just won’t be Christmas.

It’s not sending out cards to your next door neighbor but knocking on their door and saying Merry Christmas instead. 

It’s not signing 100 cards for your friends at church but instead agreeing to donate the money you would have spent to the Advent conspiracy.  The will be a container on the Connection Center next week for that purpose (remember there are no longer mail slots for that)

Slow down and re-connect with the ‘reason for the season’.  Read to your child the story of Jesus birth from a children’s Bible.  Give yourself the gift of reading the familiar passages from Luke again – see what you may have forgotten or missed in past readings.  I used to read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to Suzy every year.  It’s a fun way to get the message of God’s love.

Ring bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive – ask a friend or take some kids with you.  First you may want to check the Salvation Army website to see just how this money is used.

Be kind to an overworked sales clerk.  Be patient in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Hear the words of Christmas carols with new ears.  Go caroling with a group from church on Dec. 4^th.

When you say you go to church, when others know that you are Christian they will have expectations from you.  There was once a vine that felt unappreciated.  People came and removed grapes without a single word of gratitude.  One day a priest sat down to rest in the shade near the vine.  Taking the opportunity to explain its concern, the vine said, “As you can see I am a vine.  Young men and old women come by and take my ripe grapes without ever saying thank you to me for all my efforts.  How can people be so insensitive?  The priest pondered the question for a moment and then replied, “perhaps people are insensitive, but in all probability their lack of gratitude comes from a different reason.  Just as people expect the sun to shine and the wind to blow, they expect grapes from a vine.  They are no doubt under the impression that providing grapes is your duty,” the priest said with a wry smile.

Produce fruit this Advent season which will ripen throughout your life.

Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”