Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, January 1, 2017

"It’s Time" - Sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas

It’s Time
Christmas 1 – Narrative Lectionary 3
January 1, 2017
Grace, Mankato, MN
Luke 2.21-38

Happy New Year! As innocuous as the greeting seems, I imagine that it might meet with a variety of responses. This past week I took an unofficial and unscientific survey of my Facebook friends about the New Year and what a New Year means to them. I’ll share some of those thoughts in a bit, but first it’s obvious that, on the one hand, the idea of a New Year is an artificial one. The New Year is an arbitrary line in the cosmic sand. To confirm this, all you need to do is Google “New Year” or look it up in Wikipedia to see how many cultures, religions and countries have different New Year. Yet, on the other hand, it’s one in which we attach great significance and by that I mean more than an excuse to throw a party.

But when we talk about time it’s helpful to remember there are at least two different kinds of time, particularly in the Bible. The one kind of time that we most often talk about is clock or “tick-tock” time, known by its Greek name chronos. It’s where we get our world “chronology” and thus deals with the passage of time. This kind of time is measurable and usually has a number or name attached to it. The second kind of time is called kairos, and it refers to a significant moment in time. This kind of time is expressed in phrases such as the “right time” or “fullness of time.”

More often than not, the two kinds of time intersect with one another, as when it is time for a baby to be born. The baby may come at 9:06 am on July 23, but the mother (and baby) knows it’s the right time when certain biological things occur. That’s true in our reading from Luke 2 as Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple according the mandates of the Jewish law. In acts that show them faithful followers of Judaism, Jesus is circumcised and presented at the times prescribed, eight days after birth for the former and 40 days after birth for the latter. Yet, it is the kairotic time that Simeon and Anna reference. Although their ages are referred to in chronos time, the time has come for the appearance of a Messiah who will bring salvation to the people. Furthermore, for Simeon it is now the time to go.

In the church, we honor time in order to remember that God is present through all time. For example, in many churches, the New Year begins the four Sundays before Christmas called Advent, though for us we start time in September when we begin our lectionary with Genesis. Now, we don’t know when Jesus was born in calendar time, but we still set aside time to remember and celebrate his birth and other significant events in his life. We set aside these times and draw these arbitrary lines for similar but deeper reasons as our secular world. We believe that God not only acts in all times, but entered our time in a life-changing way.

In response to my Facebook question, many people said that a New Year meant a fresh start for them, with a number of them using that exact phrase, “fresh start.” There is something about leaving something behind and looking at a “clean” calendar in front of us that’s helpful. So it is that with the birth of Jesus, God tells us we have a fresh start full of new possibilities. A number of people also mentioned hope that, in spite of what has come before, good or bad, our lives are heading someplace better. For those of us who follow Jesus that has deep meaning. The presence of Jesus tells us that God is continually active in our lives and the world. And though some may reset the clock at other times during the year or doubtful it does any good, we are reminded today that God continues to work in all times and at the right time for his purposes.

If you’d like to join the conversation about this, please go to my Facebook page, Scott E Olson, and ask me to “Friend” you. Or if you want to see all of the responses so far I’ve posted them below. Either way, Happy New Year from God, who chose to enter our time so that we may have the time of our lives. Amen.

To my Facebook friends, “What does the new year mean to you?”

A clean page to begin anew. Much like each confession for forgiveness is a clean page/slate to begin afresh. Ruth Bowen

More hope... Craig Breimhorst

Beginning of the new year and starting fresh. Joey Fienen

An opportunity to renew friendships and build on our current relationships whether it be family or friends. If you let your church and what it stands for in your life get away from you. Time to start refreshed and get it back. Go to church Sunday and renew friendships and get involved with the events.. Great start to a new year. Try it. Bob Koch

Fresh start...new life. Julie Palubicki

A Fresh Start, New Goals & New Beginnings! Brook Devenport

Just what everyone else has said. A new chance to become a better person. Pam Beeson Preiss

Finding out how big a hole I have to dig myself out of in the next twelve months. Jason Glaser

Good memories of New Years eves past. Mark Bogen

Agree with Ruth. Fresh start. Anything is possible. Kevin Haessig

Fresh start. Time to review the past to guide you through the future. Dennis Meyer

Hope and renewal. Leanne Becker

I always told my kids that I love to go to church on Sundays...because it is like taking your soul off..washing it and hanging it on the line. Then when you leave church you put it back on and you are ready to face any challenges.

The New Year..is like letting your soul go through an extra cycle with softener added and you get to start a whole new year ... refreshed and ready to face whatever comes your way. Denise Zernechel

2016 is over! The further is ahead and any thing can happen. In my future I will serve my dear Lord. What will you Do!!! Gary Woods

Uncertain future, lets keep President Barack Obama. GerryandNancy Polson

Rebirth; wondering what challenges lie ahead as I journey toward God's plan for me; pondering what I could have done better in the years before, and remembering the good and the bad times within my journey. Pamela K Wendt

Healing; body and soul! Anticipating the Good Lords prescience in our Nations affairs at home and abroad. Dottie Woods

Feeling thankful for another year that has past and looking forward to what lies ahead in the coming year. Bob Quinlan

Allow every day to be new. Avoid thinking it's the "same old, same old". Mark Sannes

Looking forward with hope. Filling a new calendar with birthdays and anniversaries. Making travel plans to visit old friends and new places. Pouring over garden magazines and getting ready for spring. Lynne Johnson

It means the calendar has finally caught up with the books I've been working on for a year, the beginning of my busiest time of year at work, surviving the coldest month of the year in MN, and no work holidays until Memorial Day. My true "fresh start" new year is always in September, with the new school year. Becky Glaser

Hope for a better future. Elizabeth Abigail Gerlach

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