What we choose….

Isaiah 7: 3-10 and Matthew 1:18-25

19 December 2010

King Ahaz was a weak leader for the early Jewish people of Judah, a key person in our Isaiah reading.  He lived some 700 years before Jesus was born.   Instead of living in confidence of God, he continually fell into his fears, making one rotten choice after another.   He stole from the temple, taking the offerings and the precious metals that decorated the building.      He followed the sex cults of the time and even sacrificed his own son through some strange process of passing him through fire.  These were not God’s ways of goodness.   

When two countries on Judah’s borders threaten invasion, the young king becomes even more anxious.     So God tells the Prophet Isaiah to go see King Ahaz.  God says: ‘Tell the King to be calm, do not fear, do not be faint of heart.  These two countries really don’t have much power and the threat will dwindle away.’ (Isaiah 7:4)

God suggests that King Ahaz ask God to provide a sign.  But the King ‘wimps out’.    He’s not going to ask God for that.  Here is God offering him a wonderful gift, and the King turns him down.  God gets incredibly exasperated but is gracious enough to still give a sign.      God says that a young woman will have a son.  The son will be called Immanuel  -- God-with-us – and that by the time the child is weaned and is old enough to know right from wrong, the threat of these two nations will fall away.  

 And of course, God is right.  In a few short years, the two kingdoms no longer exist and Judah remains standing.    

Fast forward a couple of centuries.    This passage that was first written down in Hebrew gets translated into Greek and the translator writes down that a “virgin” rather than a “young woman” bears a son who is called “Emmanuel” – God-with-us.  And this is the translation that Matthew uses and here the Virgin Mary tradition that our Isaiah reading is a prediction of Jesus’ arrival.

Two passages – one is 2700 years old and the other, our Matthew reading about Joseph, 2000 years old.  Both are about men who receive visits from representatives from God.    For the King it is the Prophet Isaiah, for Joseph it is an angel in a dream.  Both are told by God:  “Don’t be afraid.”  ‘I am with you.   I am promising goodness to you.’  One refuses to listen, the other, Joseph chooses to follow the dream.  Joseph is a wonderful dreamer and King Ahaz such a totally sad opposite.

When I look at King Ahaz’s refusal to ask for a sign from God, it reminds me of something. 

Have you ever asked someone, ‘What would you like for Christmas?’  And the response you get is:  ‘Oh, I don’t know.  You decide dear.  Really, I don’t need anything.’ 

You know full well you’re not going to ask them a more fuller question like:  What is it that your heart desires from life?  Where do you think God is calling you?  Because if they can’t even reflect back to you that a new pair of warm pyjamas for Christmas would be helpful, chances are they aren’t willing to reflect deeper on the meaning of their life.  

God is asking King Ahaz to go deeper and higher:   “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”  And the King won’t do it.  He won’t go deeper or higher.  But he will empty the coffers of the temple!  He is a very shallow man.

By total contrast, Joseph and Mary say ‘yes’ to God. 

Mike, Shauna and Gabriel, Advent 2009

  We have here “the coming together of God’s ‘yes’ with our ‘yes’.  More spiritual or mystical traditions of Christianity call this ‘Holy desire.’  It is “a launching pad of a transfigured and highly creative life.”   (From Seasons of the Spirit Curriculum, Dec. 19, 2010)

If we reflect deep enough or high enough, our deepest desires match God’s.   Sure for Joseph having the wealth of King Ahaz would be nice, but for him his heart-felt desire was for a better life and well-being for his people.  He knew God was calling him to raise a child who would lead this to come about.

  

  Mary and Joseph made a choice for God.  It was one that matched their heart-felt desires and it was one that changed them.  I finish today with a poem by Jan Richardson:

A Prayer for Choosing

What we choose
changes us.

Who we love
transforms us.

How we create
remakes us.

Where we live
reshapes us.

So in all our choosing,
O God, make us wise;

in all our loving,
O Christ, make us bold;

in all our creating,
O Spirit, give us courage;

in all our living
may we become whole.

from In Wisdom's Path: Discovering the Sacred in Every Season © Jan L. Richardson.  (www.adventdoor.com)

Annual Christmas Pageant with a Twist

Angels Sandra, Christine and Karla

This past Sunday our annual Christmas pageant took a different twist -- a longer Christmas play.  Thank you to Rebecca for choosing the play and for our actors who brought the script to life.  It's about a busy Dad named Frank, who along with his wayward siblings, discovers the importance of family and some of the meaning of Christmas.

Megan, as Frank's sister, gives her excuse for not showing up for Christmas Dinner to Gram (Rebecca) and Pop  (John)

Frank (Allan) and Frank's son, Joey (Lena) and yours truly, as Carl, the wayward brother.  (The photo does not show clearly the brown moustache that was carefully placed on my upper lip and took forever to get off!)

A full angel chorus of all ages visits Frank during what turns out to be a very unrestful nap.

Frank and the Angels

Grams (centre) hopes her adult children will see reason and show up for Christmas Dinner.  And, indeed they all do, with a renewed perspective on Faith and Life.  Thanks also to Carla, who played Frank's wife and Joey's Mom and to Joan, on piano, Joel as announcer and Shawn on camera!

Make a Straight Path

Matthew 3:1-13 and John 11:1-48

 from December 5, 2010

            We have a new puppy in our house.   She’s cute as a button and proving herself much smarter than me.  No matter the barricade we’ve made to keep her on the linoleum in the kitchen, she’s found a way to escape.  With her little nose and using every muscle in her little, four-pound body, she’s found a way around, to pull herself above  so she has a clear path to freedom.

            She shows extreme determination, she is very focused and intent.  She is on a mission and nothing is going to stop her.  She is clearing a path to freedom.

            John the Baptist comes out of the wilderness preaching. He’s telling the people to clear a path to freedom in their lives.     

Wilderness Canadian Style!

John the Baptist is telling the people to set aside the heaviness of the past.  Prepare the way for the Messiah.  The anointed One.    God’s Kingdom of Heaven is coming.

 God’s Reign is coming.

But we read this passage with Resurrection eyes.  As people who have experienced Christ’s ministry, death and resurrection.    Because for us, God’s reign is here!

Christ did come.  Christ taught.  Christ rose to new life.  Death could not defeat him.    Christ lives!  The Spirit of Christ is with us, among us. 

We know God’s reign is here!!  But…are we connected enough to God to see God’s Glory and allow ourselves to experience God’s glory.  Are we still on that clear path that John the Baptist came out of the Wilderness, preaching out, as intent as a little puppy seeking freedom.  Are we on a clear path that connects us with God, upon where we are always aware of God’s Glory?

            What can be roadblocks for us on our path To God or prevent us from even getting on the path, are doubts and fears.

              A young woman wanted to be a nurse.  All through her childhood and teenage  years this was what she desired.  But her father told her she wasn’t smart enough.

She was  likely smart enough to become a good nurse.  But somewhere along the way, she believed her father’s negative voice  that became her inner voice.  When she hit a hard time, those negative voices came back to her and she gave into them.  She dropped out of nursing school.   

God gives to each of us a purpose, an intention.   God multi-gifts each of us.  God wants only goodness for us and to flourish.  If we keep our eyes on God’s glory and God’s desires for goodness for us, we’ll get there.

            We’re going to look at a Scripture story where Jesus remains focused on God’s purpose of glory for him.

Shauna’s going to come up again to read the story of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead in John’s Gospel.   It’s the passage that our study group looked at on Tues. night.      

Jesus is on this positive, up-beat, full-of-hope mission to raise Lazarus from the dead.  He sees God’s glory and wants others to experience that.    But along the way, along this path towards resurrection, he’s stopped by voices of doubt. 

As Shauna reads, look for who those voices of doubt are.

John 11:1-44

           

In Verse 9, what image does Jesus use that he is choosing to stay in God and not in doubt?

 (“Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.”)

 Who are the Voices of doubt?

-       Martha and Mary.

-       Thomas in v. 16.  Delightfully, sarcastic.  Doubting Thomas.  Disciples say to Jesus earlier – do you really want to go to Judea – this is where people have threatened to stone you.   And Jesus gives them a response – that he’s going to choose to walk in the light of God, not the darkness of fear.  Thomas’ doesn’t really hear him….says sarcastic, joking way….OK, let’s all go so we can get killed.

We can have voices of doubt and fear in our life.   Sometimes they come from within, sometimes they come from outside of us.   Fearful voices that only speak of doubt and impending doom.   

As we studied John 11 last Tuesday night.  People noticed that any time there was a doubting voice. – there was a pause in the story.  Jesus had to stop.  Reflect.

Happens to us, too, doesn’t it?

I love Jesus’ response to Martha in verse 40:  “if you believe, you will see God’s Glory.”   So apt.  We need to hold on to belief and in that, we will continue to see God’s glory upon glory.   We can do that because God’s Kingdom is at hand, as Jesus came to tell us.  We need eyes to see it.

And then the most beautiful thing happens at the end:  Jesus says a prayer.  And as our Tuesday night group has been studying, it’s a prayer to make manifest.  Jesus prays by thanking God for already having caused Lazarus to rise from the dead.  “Father, I thank you for having heard me.  I know that you always hear me.

Jesus was on an intentional, up-beat mission to witness to God’s Glory and no voice of doubt was going to deter him from his intention.

But going back to John the Baptist, he’s saying:  God’s reign is coming.  And these people went down to the river to be baptized and chose to believe.  If any one had reason to fall into gloom and doom and doubt and not believe, they did.

The average life span in Christ’s time was 20 to 25 years of age.  They had to marry at age 13 or 14 to make sure they had children to carry on.    Most children didn’t make it past infancy.   

Wow, how things have changed.  Average life span in Canada  is 81 years of age

Things have really changed.  We can say that The Reign of God is here and God’s Reign is coming again.   We see God’s Glory.  If things have got this good , then of course, they can get better.  We need to believe that.  

If you believe, Jesus says to Martha, Jesus says to us  “You will see God’s Glory.”

We know there is doubt and fear out there.  We need to deal with that fear within us and outside of us and hold on to God’s glory.  We’ve got to that 81 average years of living because many people and many generations believed that good health was possible, well-being was possible and that there is enough for all. 

More than a week ago we went through an incident where a public official leading an administration bent on austerity in our health system managed to get himself a ¾ of a million dollar payout over a cookie.  

Doubters and fear mongers will tell us there is not enough for all.  Not enough to go around.  But God tells us, Christ tells us to keep our eyes on God’s glory.   There is abundance, there is enough for all. 

Our life is so very bountiful compared to those people who gathered with John the Baptist at the river.  They believed in the coming of God’s Kingdom.  They believed life would get better and better.  And they were right.  So may we believe…