Supporting Cast Part 2 - First Sunday of Christmas - Narrative Lectionary 3

Supporting Cast Part 2

Christmas 1 – NL 3

December 29, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Luke 2.21-38

Shirley lost her mom one year and it devastated her, even though her mother was on in years. The two were very close and, although her mom’s death was not unexpected, the sting of death is nevertheless potent. The Sunday following the funeral, Shirley went to church as normal, even though she didn’t feel much like it. She says she doesn’t remember the singing or sermon at all; she just went through the motions. What she does vividly remember was being surrounded by love from her church, her friends who by their presence held her and comforted her. She had gone to worship because that’s what she did and who she was, but she was surprised by God who met her in unexpected ways.

The Gospel writer Luke is very clear thus far in the story that Mary and Joseph are not only obedient citizens but also faithful Jews. As citizens they take part in the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. But they were also observant Jews who followed the law. Mary and Joseph

bring baby Jesus, just eight days old, to be circumcised. Circumcision is a sign of the covenant that was made between the patriarch Abraham and God as God commanded in Genesis 17. It was a sign that this child belonged to God. Then, 40 days after Jesus’ birth they go to the temple for Mary’s purification because of the birth she is ritually unclean. This time their obedience is in accord with Leviticus 12. (By the way, ritually unclean does not mean sinful. One could become ritually unclean and in need of purification any number of ways, including touching a dead body.)

This event has become known as the Presentation of Jesus and in our church world is celebrated as a lesser festival, given the right circumstances. Yet, for Mary andJoseph, who seem to be bit players in today’s events, the ordinary observance of the law becomes extraordinary. First Simeon, clearly a prophet, breaks out in a song that some of us know as the Nunc Dimittis. (In some of our ELW liturgies this is sung as the Post-Communion Canticle.) However, Mary and Joseph can only gape in amazement as Simeon then blessed them, and a mixed blessing at that. If that wasn’t enough, the prophetess Anna, an incredible 84 years old, praises God for the gift of Jesus. All of this is guided by the Holy Spirit, who has been very busy in these first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel and, as I noted last week, will continue to be through Volume 2 of Luke’s story, the Book of Acts.

As we frequently observe, God often shows up in the places we least expect God to be. And here we see that God can show up in extraordinary ways in the most ordinary routines. Mary and Joseph are faithful Jews who observe the law, trusting there were good reasons to do so. They are doing what all couples do after the birth of a son because it’s just what you did then. And although Simeon and Anna were doing their ordinary observances day in and day out, they are overwhelmed with the presence of the long-awaited Messiah in the presence of a poor couple who can only afford a pair of turtledoves.

This story of the Presentation of Jesus invites us to consider ways to present ourselves in ordinary circumstances. What if we went about our ordinary lives, doing our ordinary worship, and serving on our ordinary ministry teams expecting that it is precisely in the ordinary that God shows up? As we learned in our Wednesday book series on Martin  Luther, one of his key insights was that “the finite is capable of bearing the infinite.” This is true because we learn at Christmas in the Incarnation that an ordinary human being is capable of bearing the extraordinary Divine. And that’s also why we believe that ordinary bread and wine can carry the extraordinary body and blood of Jesus Christ and ordinary water can carry the Word of God. 

I want to close with a true story, though I can’t guarantee that it ever happened. A country preacher answered a knock at the door one cold evening to find a parishioner standing there. The preacher welcomed the man and bid him to sit by the warm fire. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, the visitor said, “You’ve probably noticed that I’ve not been in church lately. I don’t get anything out of it and I don’t see the point in being there. I’ll not be coming anymore.”

The preacher hadn’t said a word, only listened quietly. Presently, he got up, took a set of tongs from the hearth, and moved one of the glowing embers to the side and sat down. Presently, as the two of them quietly watched, the previously glowing ember went cold and dark. The preacher then got up, put the cold piece of coal back into the fire where it became hot again. After a moment, the parishioner got up and said, “I understand, Preacher, I’ll see you in church Sunday,” and left.

Merry Christmas, my siblings in Christ, as the extraordinary Christ-child comes to you in the ordinariness of everyday life, work, school, play, community center, and yes, even church. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

Supporting Cast: Part 1 - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Narrative Lectionary 3

Supporting Cast: Part 1

Advent 4 – NL 3

December 22, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Luke 1.26-56

“The Admirable Crichton” is a 1957 British film. It was released in the US as “Paradise Lagoon.” I don’t know why I saw it but there is a scene I’ll always remember near the end of the film. Crichton is a butler in the service of an earl’s family. Some of the family are marooned on a deserted island in the South Seas, including Crichton. In a reversal of roles Crichton becomes their leader and saves them from certain starvation. The royalty become dependent upon Crichton and he who gives the orders. Two years later, a ship is sighted and a landing party comes to rescue them. Crichton, understanding that the new order on the island would not work in Britain, goes off into the jungle and reappears in his butler’s outfit, much to the amusement of the rescuers.

Though I’ve not taken a film class, I’ve learned to look for a supporting cast member in a film, TV show, or book. This would be someone who exerts an outsized impact relative to their role in the work of art. In fact, the movement of the film often depends upon this somewhat minor character. Disney does this particularly well, although you can find these influential characters in any film. This might be like focusing on a lineman during a football game rather than the quarterback or whoever has the ball. Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to Elizabeth in today’s Scripture, one that focuses heavily on Mary.

Earlier in chapter 1, we learn that Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah are old and past the time of childbearing. As you know in biblical times, this was a shameful thing for a woman whose value consisted of being able to bear children, especially sons. Thankfully, that’s not true today. Her husband, Zechariah, is a temple priest who receives an angelic message. He and Elizabeth will indeed conceive a child that will become the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah. Because Zechariah questions how this can happen, the angel strikes him mute. So much for being able to mansplain. As an aside, becoming mute is not something that happens when Mary questions the angel.

But Elizabeth is far more than a vessel containing the baby who becomes John the Baptist. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit who causes the baby to leap in her womb, Elizabeth becomes a prophetess, declaring the blessedness of God’s favor on Mary. She then confirms for Mary that the child she carries would fulfill God’s promises. In other words, Elizabeth helps Mary understand and see what God is doing in, with, and through her.

We need people like Elizabeth in our lives and maybe we need to be those people, too. There are times in our lives when things don’t go as planned. It is in those dark times when God is most often present and real, but we need the Elizabeths to help us see them. One blessing of the Advent season is that it invites us to be open and accept what God has in store for us, often what we aren’t expecting. The Elizabeths in our community help us to see God where we aren’t able to do so ourselves.

Yet, there’s another supporting character who is vital to this work: the Holy Spirit. It may be argued that the Holy Spirit is the main actor in Luke and especially Luke’s second volume, The Acts of the Apostles. The Holy Spirit is mentioned 20 times in Luke and more than twice that number in Acts. In fact, one person has noted that The Acts of the Apostles could more accurately be titled “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” Truth be told, even Mary, who seems to be a central character, in the end gives voice to what the Gospel is about, the birth and ultimately death and resurrection of God’s Son. Mary also gives voice to the great reversal that the butler Crichton couldn’t see happening in his situation. Even so, Crichton will eventually seek that reversal elsewhere than the earl’s home. (You’ll have to watch the film to find out.) 

Elizabeth and Mary will share one more thing in common: the brutal deaths of their sons. It is unlikely Elizabeth will have to endure the agony of watching her son, John the Baptist being beheaded given her advanced age. Mary, of course, will endure seeing her son crucified. But she will also see the Greatest Reversal yet, the resurrection of her Son. It’s this message that shows us a God that we can believe in, who brings life from death. This Advent and Christmas, may you have an Elizabeth in your life who helps you see God present in the world and may you be an Elizabeth to someone else. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

Giving Thanks & Receiving Hope - Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent Narrative Lectionary 3

Giving Thanks & Receiving Hope

Advent 1 – NL 3

December 1, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Daniel 6.6-27

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

(1 Thessalonians 5.18)

At our weekly staff meetings, we take turns doing devotions followed by a time of prayers. This past Tuesday, Wendy was on deck and given the season, appropriately talked about giving thanks. In her devotion, she included the above scripture, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” As is typical of our staff devotional time, there ensued a lively and thoughtful conversation about what “all circumstances” meant. Both Pr. Drew and I reflected on the Community Thanksgiving service last Sunday evening at Christ Lutheran Church and the power of the reflections given by a lay person from each of the three congregations. Each reflection, though different, expressed gratitude in difficult circumstances.

So, I began reflecting about Daniel and wondering if he gave thanks in his circumstances. I think it’s easy to imagine Daniel giving thanks for the presence of the angel who stops up the mouths of the lions so they cannot eat him and then prevents them from pouncing on him. Yet, Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonian church undergoing persecution says, “all circumstances.” That left me wondering whether Daniel gave thanks for everything.

For example, in his circumstances, did Daniel give thanks for his colleagues who wanted him out of the way? Did he give thanks that they went to extraordinary lengths to kill him, probably out of jealousy? He was a foreigner exiled in a foreign land who had risen to great influence and power. Did he not pay attention to relationships enough that they could accept him as an equal? Was his position, once a source of blessing now something hard to give thanks for? Did he wish for a less visible and risky occupation?

And while he was sitting in that den, did Daniel give thanks for King Darius? Though the king seemed to appreciate Daniel and his gifts, Darius also appears to be something of a clown. Darius also seems to be weak and easily manipulated by the other courtiers. And being a Mede, not a Persian, was he trying to impress everyone with his power? Did Daniel give thanks that he served someone who could be so unpredictable?

And what about the focus of the king’s wrath after he pulls Daniel from the lions’ den. Not only were the conspirators doomed to a horrific death, their wives and children suffered as well. Did Daniel give thanks in those circumstances? And what about the edict that King Darius makes regarding the religion of the Jews? A few hundred years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection,  a different ruler, the Emperor Constantine, made Christianity the official religion of his Empire. Some people observe that he did Christianity no favors by doing so. Would that have been the case for Daniel and his people?

This is pretty heavy for a Sunday morning after Thanksgiving, but it points out that the story of Daniel in the lions’ den is deeper and more complicated than our Sunday School faith. Sunday School faith is important, but we know that we grow up seeing the world as more gray than black and white. Most scholars believe that Daniel was written during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, about 200 years before Jesus was born, crucified, died, and resurrected. Antiochus was a Syrian ruler who committed many atrocities including blaspheming the temple with abominable sacrifices. Using stories of a folk hero set during the Babylonian exile a few hundred years earlier, the author seeks to give encouragement and hope to the Jewish people experiencing great persecution and hardship. It’s like we tell the story of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree saying, “I cannot tell a lie.” The story of Daniel reminds us that even encouragement in hard times is complicated but also necessary.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent and the candle we light is the Hope Candle. As the days get darker, we light more candles to remind us that Jesus is the Light of the World that no darkness can overcome. Today, we are sustained by the hope that Jesus brings. Whatever lion’s den you find yourselves in today, know that there is nowhere that God cannot be. Giving thanks in all circumstances can be complicated, but the presence of God never is. Thanks be to God. Amen

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.