Love Comes Down
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2019
Grace, Waseca, MN
Luke 2.1-20
I don’t know why, but I’ve been thinking of my sister, Cheryl, this Christmas. Perhaps it’s because like most births, hers changed our family. I don’t remember much about her birth because I wasn’t quite two years old. I do remember standing outside the hospital looking up at my mom’s room because we weren’t allowed in the room back then. Of course, that could be a memory from when my brother Paul was born more than two years later.
Cheryl’s birth was significant because, until she was born, there had been no girls born in the Olson family for at least a generation. I learned later that when my older brother Greg was born 9 years earlier, my Great Aunt Gertie was so disappointed that she threw a present at my mom saying, “I guess this is for you.” But when Cheryl was born, it changed everything. It didn’t take me long to figure out that Cheryl was Daddy’s “Princess” and all that meant. I can still remember the Christmas when Cheryl would get her last doll, all of us knowing she was too old
The way babies have been born has changed over the years, but their significance hasn’t. Like that first Christmas when God took on human flesh and became one of us and one with us, I’m pretty sure there was no “Gender Reveal Party” or sonograms posted on social media. Of course, you could say that the gender reveal was in a dream to Joseph and to Mary in person. There was no exploding blue powder or blue icing on a cake. There weren’t any pictures with Joseph and Mary standing sideways with their arms under Mary’s belly. There were no lavish birthing centers or even sterile hospital rooms. There was no Pitocin to get labor started, Demerol to take the edge off the pain, or episiotomies to ease the delivery. Though the scripture doesn’t say, there were probably midwives or something similar attending her because it’s hard to imagine Mary being alone in a crowded Bethlehem.
But. There were angels and there were shepherds. Now that’s an unusual combination of first century social media. Think about this for a moment. The most glorious and life changing news ever to reach humanity comes to the lowliest regarded people of all humanity, shepherds. Shepherding, the worst job one could have, was barely an entry-level position and scorned by many. Yet, God chooses shepherds to proclaim this good news, first to them and then to Bethlehem. God doesn’t come to the ruling class in a place like Rome or even Jerusalem. God comes to lowly shepherds in the least city of Judah. “Don’t be afraid,” the angels say; “This is really good news, to you and to all people.” In Luke’s narrative, God’s coming in human flesh wasn’t just for the privileged and mighty; it was for all people, everywhere.
In Jesus’ birth at Christmas, God literally turns the world upside down and along with it all of our expectations. God’s love comes down to us to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves: heal our brokenness and our disconnect from God. But, if we’re honest, we’ll admit that there’s a shadow that stands over our celebration of Christ’s birth tonight. It’s a shadow cast by a cross. Yet, included in that shadow are all of the doubts and insecurities and hurts and deep woundedness that we have brought to the manger tonight. And so, God comes in the midst of the darkest time of the year to remind us that darkness hasn’t won. Thus, we light candles to remind ourselves that light shines in the darkness and the darkness won’t overcome us.
Maybe I’ve been thinking about my sister Cheryl this Christmas because God is reminding me that he comes to us and blesses us in unexpected ways. Those blessings don’t always seem like good news to us. You see, Jesus is born whenever and wherever we need him most, even when we don’t know where that is. Do not be afraid, my sisters and brothers, for to you is born this day a Savior, Messiah and Lord. Rest assured that if God can work through shepherds, if God’s love comes down for them, then surely God’s love has come down for you and me so that we might take courage in the dark. Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Sunday, December 15, 2019
"Joyous Expectancy" - Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent
Joyous Expectancy
Advent 3A
December 15, 2019
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 11.2-11
Ed Friedman was a Jewish rabbi who worked with clergy of all stripes about church leadership. In his last book before he died, he talked about Columbus and other discoverers of the New World. Whatever you think about him, his voyage and those following him helped to unlock the imaginations of a 15th and 16th c. Europe that had been stuck in the Dark Ages. Friedman mad this observation: it took a long time for them to realize that what they found was far more important than what they had been looking for.
I was reminded of Friedman’s statement during Nobel XLIX in 2013, “The Universe at Its Limits.” In his presentation, astrophysicist and Nobel Laureate Samuel CC Ting displayed a graphic of discoveries in physics. It showed what scientists were looking for, the instrument they used and what they ultimately discovered. In every case, what the scientists found was more important than what they were looking for.
“Are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another,” John the Baptist wonders in our Gospel reading today. It’s an odd question because last week we heard in Matthew Chapter 3 that John was preparing the way for Jesus. Is John the Baptist having doubts about Jesus being the Messiah, the one supposedly coming to save them? There were several ideas about what kind of Messiah could be expected, including the notion that the Messiah would be a warrior-king. Jesus’ answer seems to acknowledge that confusion. He says that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, and the poor have good news preached to them. In other words, Jesus says, the Messiah they have “found” was far more important than the one they were looking for.
Both the season of Advent in general and our text in particular, prompt us to ask: what kind of Jesus are we looking for? There are many different preachers today who are giving us many different Jesuses; there’s the prosperity Jesus, the warrior Jesus, and the buddy Jesus, to name a few. What kind of Jesus do you seek? And, while we’re being introspective, we might also ask: is the Jesus I want for myself the same Jesus I want for my neighbor? If we are honest, we might want a loving, forgiving Jesus for ourselves and a sin-smiting Jesus for someone else. However, during this Advent, can we be open to the possibility that the Jesus we find is far more important than the one we’re looking for?
Next year sometime, possibly in the spring, we’ll be entering a “Time of Discovery” here at Grace. We’ll begin looking at our God-given identity, who we are, and ask why God put us in this place. From that we’ll seek to discover what God is calling us to be and do in the next 3-5 years. Then we’ll figure out what resources we need, how to organize ourselves, and the leader/s we need to carry out God’s mission and ministry through us. Now, you may have ideas about some or all of this questions, but I’m going to ask you to set them aside for the time being and be open to the possibility that what we discover through is process is more important than what we think we are looking for.
Meanwhile, during this Advent and Christmas season, I wish you a joyous expectancy. The gift that God gives to us is that we will receive the Jesus we need, not the Jesus we necessarily want. The invitation from that gift is to ask God for the grace to open our hearts to receive him. What God asks us is to sacrifice our certainty about who Jesus is and be open to the one who has come, is coming and will come again. Blessed are we who are not scandalized by his coming. Amen.
For an audio version of this sermon, click here.
Advent 3A
December 15, 2019
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 11.2-11
Ed Friedman was a Jewish rabbi who worked with clergy of all stripes about church leadership. In his last book before he died, he talked about Columbus and other discoverers of the New World. Whatever you think about him, his voyage and those following him helped to unlock the imaginations of a 15th and 16th c. Europe that had been stuck in the Dark Ages. Friedman mad this observation: it took a long time for them to realize that what they found was far more important than what they had been looking for.
I was reminded of Friedman’s statement during Nobel XLIX in 2013, “The Universe at Its Limits.” In his presentation, astrophysicist and Nobel Laureate Samuel CC Ting displayed a graphic of discoveries in physics. It showed what scientists were looking for, the instrument they used and what they ultimately discovered. In every case, what the scientists found was more important than what they were looking for.
“Are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another,” John the Baptist wonders in our Gospel reading today. It’s an odd question because last week we heard in Matthew Chapter 3 that John was preparing the way for Jesus. Is John the Baptist having doubts about Jesus being the Messiah, the one supposedly coming to save them? There were several ideas about what kind of Messiah could be expected, including the notion that the Messiah would be a warrior-king. Jesus’ answer seems to acknowledge that confusion. He says that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, and the poor have good news preached to them. In other words, Jesus says, the Messiah they have “found” was far more important than the one they were looking for.
Both the season of Advent in general and our text in particular, prompt us to ask: what kind of Jesus are we looking for? There are many different preachers today who are giving us many different Jesuses; there’s the prosperity Jesus, the warrior Jesus, and the buddy Jesus, to name a few. What kind of Jesus do you seek? And, while we’re being introspective, we might also ask: is the Jesus I want for myself the same Jesus I want for my neighbor? If we are honest, we might want a loving, forgiving Jesus for ourselves and a sin-smiting Jesus for someone else. However, during this Advent, can we be open to the possibility that the Jesus we find is far more important than the one we’re looking for?
Next year sometime, possibly in the spring, we’ll be entering a “Time of Discovery” here at Grace. We’ll begin looking at our God-given identity, who we are, and ask why God put us in this place. From that we’ll seek to discover what God is calling us to be and do in the next 3-5 years. Then we’ll figure out what resources we need, how to organize ourselves, and the leader/s we need to carry out God’s mission and ministry through us. Now, you may have ideas about some or all of this questions, but I’m going to ask you to set them aside for the time being and be open to the possibility that what we discover through is process is more important than what we think we are looking for.
Meanwhile, during this Advent and Christmas season, I wish you a joyous expectancy. The gift that God gives to us is that we will receive the Jesus we need, not the Jesus we necessarily want. The invitation from that gift is to ask God for the grace to open our hearts to receive him. What God asks us is to sacrifice our certainty about who Jesus is and be open to the one who has come, is coming and will come again. Blessed are we who are not scandalized by his coming. Amen.
For an audio version of this sermon, click here.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
What’s Your Greatest Hope for Grace? - Sermon for Advent 1A
What’s Your Greatest Hope for Grace?
Advent 1A
December 1, 2019
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 24.36-44
A young man was waiting at the altar for his soon-to-be wife as she walked down the aisle. He was looking forward the long-awaited fruits of matrimony and the joy of finally being “one flesh.” As he stood there expectantly, his best man leaned closer and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus came back right now?” The horrified look on the groom’s face said it all: absolutely not! As much as his theology suggested otherwise, the nascent husband did not want Jesus right then, or anytime soon for that matter.
It’s a safe bet that the second coming of Jesus Christ has been the last thing on your minds these past few days, if at all. I’m guessing you’ve been busy celebrating Thanksgiving, spending time with family and friends, seeing movies, shopping, wrapping presents and the like. In most cases, that’s as it should be. And if you’ve thought about Jesus’ coming at all, it has probably been as the Babe born in Bethlehem, perhaps coming to mind as you have heard Christmas carols played while baking or shopping.
If we think about Jesus’ second coming at all, it’s because yet another prognosticator has made the news, either making a new prediction or gloriously blowing it on the first one. This is despite the rather clear message in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus emphatically says we are not to guess. Jesus puts an exclamation point on the statement be declaring that not even he knows when this will happen. But Matthew includes this story because the people of his time wondered why Jesus hadn’t returned yet. And, unlike the nervous groom in our story, this kind of literature helps strengthen people in an uncertain and anxious time. It does so by cultivating hope within them. The hope of God’s promised future reminded them that they had a purpose in the meantime. God had called them to mission now.
Pastor and theologian Kate Huey says it this way. “Advent remembers and retells the story of people who, like us, were waiting for the promises of God to be fulfilled, and striving to live faithfully as they waited.” Thomas Long adds that, in the face of a world with so many needs, “…the only way to preserve hope … is to trust that at any moment we may be surprised by the sudden presence of God.” Advent reminds us that God not only comes into each moment, but does so with a call on our lives.
This call on us may sound like a burden, yet one more responsibility for us to bear, but it’s the opposite. The call from God is an opportunity to participate with God in the ongoing transformation of the world. So, how do we know where God is calling us and what God is calling us to do? We listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. And one way we are going to do that here at Grace is by filling out some “hope slips.” Please take your slips and finish the sentence, “My greatest hope for Grace Lutheran Church is …”
One way you might think about this question is to imagine your greatest fear related to Grace and then think of its alternative. Hold on to them and then bring them up when you come forward for Holy Communion placing them in the basket. The church council and I will read these and use them to see what themes are being lifted up in God’s call on us for the future. It’s one more way help us in this Time of Listening as we prepared for the Time of Discovery.
Regardless of the outcome, please know this: As Luther Seminary professor Rolf Jacobson reminds us, the God who came in human history at Bethlehem and promises to come in majesty at the end of the age also promises to come in mystery as Emmanuel, God with us. Thanks be to God, Amen.
To listen to an audio version of this sermon click here.
Advent 1A
December 1, 2019
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 24.36-44
A young man was waiting at the altar for his soon-to-be wife as she walked down the aisle. He was looking forward the long-awaited fruits of matrimony and the joy of finally being “one flesh.” As he stood there expectantly, his best man leaned closer and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus came back right now?” The horrified look on the groom’s face said it all: absolutely not! As much as his theology suggested otherwise, the nascent husband did not want Jesus right then, or anytime soon for that matter.
It’s a safe bet that the second coming of Jesus Christ has been the last thing on your minds these past few days, if at all. I’m guessing you’ve been busy celebrating Thanksgiving, spending time with family and friends, seeing movies, shopping, wrapping presents and the like. In most cases, that’s as it should be. And if you’ve thought about Jesus’ coming at all, it has probably been as the Babe born in Bethlehem, perhaps coming to mind as you have heard Christmas carols played while baking or shopping.
If we think about Jesus’ second coming at all, it’s because yet another prognosticator has made the news, either making a new prediction or gloriously blowing it on the first one. This is despite the rather clear message in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus emphatically says we are not to guess. Jesus puts an exclamation point on the statement be declaring that not even he knows when this will happen. But Matthew includes this story because the people of his time wondered why Jesus hadn’t returned yet. And, unlike the nervous groom in our story, this kind of literature helps strengthen people in an uncertain and anxious time. It does so by cultivating hope within them. The hope of God’s promised future reminded them that they had a purpose in the meantime. God had called them to mission now.
Pastor and theologian Kate Huey says it this way. “Advent remembers and retells the story of people who, like us, were waiting for the promises of God to be fulfilled, and striving to live faithfully as they waited.” Thomas Long adds that, in the face of a world with so many needs, “…the only way to preserve hope … is to trust that at any moment we may be surprised by the sudden presence of God.” Advent reminds us that God not only comes into each moment, but does so with a call on our lives.
This call on us may sound like a burden, yet one more responsibility for us to bear, but it’s the opposite. The call from God is an opportunity to participate with God in the ongoing transformation of the world. So, how do we know where God is calling us and what God is calling us to do? We listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. And one way we are going to do that here at Grace is by filling out some “hope slips.” Please take your slips and finish the sentence, “My greatest hope for Grace Lutheran Church is …”
One way you might think about this question is to imagine your greatest fear related to Grace and then think of its alternative. Hold on to them and then bring them up when you come forward for Holy Communion placing them in the basket. The church council and I will read these and use them to see what themes are being lifted up in God’s call on us for the future. It’s one more way help us in this Time of Listening as we prepared for the Time of Discovery.
Regardless of the outcome, please know this: As Luther Seminary professor Rolf Jacobson reminds us, the God who came in human history at Bethlehem and promises to come in majesty at the end of the age also promises to come in mystery as Emmanuel, God with us. Thanks be to God, Amen.
To listen to an audio version of this sermon click here.
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