The First Day of a New World

Welcome to our service celebrating the birth of Jesus, God’s Incarnation.  It is an awe-inspiring moment each year when our families and friends gather for this festive celebration.  This is your spiritual home, a safe and sacred place where everyone is invited to worship in thanksgiving to God who is our true hope for peace and justice.  May this season be for you and for those you love one of peace, joy and happiness, and may God's grace and mercy always abide in your heart.

At Christmas we tell the story of our faith and we recount God's living and active presence in the community of faithful people.  The story of our faith begins with the birth of Jesus.  It is a narrative told by Matthew and Luke to assure their communities that the Scriptures have been fulfilled: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined."  Jesus was born.  God has become incarnate, taking the form of human flesh and blood, bringing hope for peace and salvation to all people.

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of a poor family. Mary "gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.  In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified…. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, `Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!'"

What an impressive and frightening experience this must have been.  What happened later for the early followers of Jesus, and what happens for Christians to this day is that the birth of Jesus is a mystery.  It is part of an entire mystery that cannot be understood as an isolated event.  God's incarnation is not only about the birth of Jesus but it includes Jesus' death and resurrection, and the experience people had as they looked back in history to understand how it all came to be. 

Unraveling the actual details of the birth is a complex task.  Matthew and Luke report that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea; that his birth occurred during the reigns of Herod the Great and the Emperor Augustus; and that he grew up in Nazareth of Galilee.  Matthew tells the story from the perspective of Joseph and traces the family genealogy beginning with Abraham. Joseph and Mary live in Bethlehem.  Luke’s account begins in the town of Nazareth in Galilee and has Joseph and his family traveling to Bethlehem to be registered to comply with a decree issued by the Roman Emperor Augustus. 

The point of the story, whether from Matthew or Luke, is not the actual detail of how it happened, but its importance and meaning for people of faith.  God's grace appeared in the incarnation and redemptive action of Christ.  As faithful followers of Jesus’ teaching and ministry, we accept this revelation by living a righteous life of service to people in need.  Faith in the revelation shapes our view of life "while we wait for the blessed hope… of the glory of God."

In his Christmas message, our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry said, “This child, when He grew up, came to show us the way to live lives of love, lives of compassion, lives of goodness, lives of kindness, lives of justice. This child came to show us how to change the world.  So this Christmas, make room for him to change us.  This Christmas help us change the world.  And make a new commitment, to go out from this day, to let this Christmas Day, be the first day of a new world.”

Jesus' sacrificial suffering and death on a cross opens our eyes to behold God's presence and mercy wherever suffering, pain, rejection, and loneliness occur.  This Christmas can be “the first day of a new world” whenever and wherever we are vehicles for bestowing the mercy and grace of God on those in need.  It is the first day of a new world whenever and wherever we recognize God in the lives of others, regardless of their religious or non-religious tradition.  It is the first day of a new world whenever and wherever we share our Christian faith and hope with people who have no hope.  It is the first day of a new world when the full measure of Christmas abides in our hearts. 

We come together in this place to worship and invoke God's support and presence among us and throughout our broken and troubled world.  God becomes flesh and dwells among us in the birth of Jesus Christ.  The reality of his death and resurrection is an indescribable mystery pointing to a new day and a new world of hope, justice and peace for all people.

A savior is born. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace.”  Alleluia!  Amen.

Emmanuel: God Is With Us

Matthew's gospel reading appointed for today begins with a direct statement, "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way."  Joseph and Mary were engaged, "but before they lived together" she was pregnant, "found to be with child from the Holy Spirit."  The news of her pregnancy before they were married put Joseph, a carpenter, in a terrible situation. 

What should Joseph do?  What would you advise him to do?  Given the cultural standards and the law of his day, he had a couple of options.  He could "expose Mary to public disgrace," by accusing her of adultery; or he could "dismiss her quietly" by sending her off somewhere to have her baby in some distant place where she would escape public scrutiny.  Matthew tells us that Joseph had resolved to send her away, but before he had an opportunity to implement his decision, an angel appeared to him in a dream.

The angel said, "Joseph…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."  You will be able to give a name to the son she will bear.  You will name him Jesus.  In naming the child Joseph adopts the baby Jesus and grafts him onto his own family tree.

Matthew wrote this story fully aware of the miraculous birth stories that had been common for generations.  Our reading from the prophet Isaiah is a case in point.  "The Lord himself will give you a sign…. The young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."  Matthew’s account reflects this prophecy: "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means, 'God is with us.'"  So, when Joseph awakened from his dream-filled sleep, he took Mary as his wife, and when she gave birth, he named the newborn child Jesus.

The Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, discusses three important things to notice about this narrative at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel.

“The first thing to notice is that the whole message to Joseph happens at night when he was relaxed and his guard was down. And in the night we are told that the angel came and said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, for the child in her is from the Holy Spirit.’… The angel spoke in a dream…so the first thing to notice … is that the expectation of Jesus…is outside all of our normal categories. Our business is not to explain this text.  Our business is to be dazzled at Christmastime that something is happening beyond all of our calculations. This is a baby and a wonder and a gift that is designed to move us beyond ourselves.

“The second thing to notice… is that the baby has no father; and in this family, like every family, it is a scandal when a baby has no father…. The baby is from the Holy Spirit.… Notice that this  comes because God's Spirit stirs among us. The Bible is largely a reflection on how God's Spirit makes things new.  God's Spirit begins something new when the world is exhausted, when our imagination fails and when our lives are shut down in despair.

“The third thing to notice is that the angel gives Joseph two names for the baby.… First, the angel says, ‘You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people.’ The Hebrew name Jesus is the verb save.  Imagine on Christmas that we have a baby named Save.  Many babies in the Old Testament are named Save.  It is the word for Joshua, for Isaiah, and for Hosea.  Each of them saved Israel, and now Jesus will save. - Jesus will save from sin and guilt. - Jesus will save from death and destruction. - Jesus will save from despair and hopelessness. - Jesus will save from poverty and sickness and hunger, and in all of the stories of Jesus that the church remembers, it is Jesus who saves.

“The second name that the angel gives for the baby is Emmanuel which means, God is with us. It is the faith of the church that in Jesus God was decisively present in the world that made everything new.  In the New Testament we have evidence that wherever Jesus came he showed up where people were in need, and he saved them--lepers, the deaf, the blind, the lame, the hungry, the unclean, even the dead.  His very presence makes new life possible…. God… has come to be with us in this season of need and of joy, all through this miraculous baby.”

This story invites us to be ready to have our lives and our world contradicted by this gift from God. The very birth of Jesus, God in human form, this child from the Holy Spirit, is an unexplained miraculous event.  It is so incredible that we may rest our lives upon this new promise from the angel.  Regardless of what happens in our world we may be safe and be more fully human and generous because Christmas is coming soon.  The time of anxious watching and waiting for the birth of Christ, the coming of God’s Incarnation, is soon to be fulfilled.  God comes among us in human form to lead us in paths of righteousness, love, peace and justice for all people.  Amen.

A Profound Hope

Advent is a time for preparing for something unimaginable.  In the midst of human suffering the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy….‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God….  A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; …it shall be for God's people; …they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

What a marvelous prediction.  Rabbi Abraham Heschel, a renowned Jewish theologian, said that prophets give voice to the silent agony of the poor.  They give voice to God, they think with God, they feel with God.  The prophet Isaiah is so close to the mind and heart of God that he can dare to promise in God’s name that “the desert shall rejoice and blossom,…waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;.. the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”  “Be strong, do not fear!  Here is your God.... He will come and save you.”

Today we are living in a time in which what used to pass for normal is shattered. Our culture is in disarray; division, frustration, and anger persist everywhere.  The political divide is wide.  Some families have trouble talking to one another; and the rift between political parties is so vast that compromise is virtually impossible.  The gap between the richest members of society and the poorest citizens is wider than ever. Issues of race, class, gender and economic disparity are blatant.

How do we heal these divisions?  Is reconciliation possible or unimaginable? What does Advent have to do with it?  For three days at the beginning of this month the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University hosted an international conference about slavery and global public history. Scholars, researchers, and representatives of public initiatives made presentations, and much attention was given to the interpretation of history and programs that are focused on the legacies of slavery and enslavement. They are programs that can lead to healing and reconciliation.

The author James Baldwin, writing during the civil rights movement said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  Baldwin also said “Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and so deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal”

One of the case studies in public history is our own Center for Reconciliation.  The Rev. Canon Linda Grenz spoke on behalf of the Center:  “About 60% of all slaves brought to the Americas were transported on ships that were launched from Providence, Bristol and Newport. And most of our state’s economy was built on revenues generated by slavery and the slave trade…. Yet many Rhode Islanders remain unaware of our colonial history of slavery and slave trading.

“Many of the negative attitudes and assumptions about black people that were used to justify slavery continue to influence impressions about people of color today. It is the remaining impact of racism, discrimination and separation that we are called to address. We believe that connecting to our past will enable us to build a more diverse and inclusive future. And given the rise in racist and hateful incidents after the recent election, there is an urgent need to provide safe spaces where people can hear each other’s stories, build relationships and work together to build a more equitable and just future... so that our society can begin a transformative healing process.”

In our reading from Matthew’s gospel we have a glimpse of a transformative healing process.  God’s new presence in the birth of Jesus reinforced Isaiah’s expectation.  It was Matthew’s purpose to show that in Jesus, the prophecy of the Old Testament is fulfilled.  At Jesus’ touch, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”  What a remarkable and unexpected vision!

Matthew’s gospel asked a puzzling question on behalf of the imprisoned John the Baptist: “Are you the one, or should we look for another?”  John’s preaching had condemned sinners, announced judgment, and expressed the expectation that Jesus’ ministry would be like his.  However, Jesus’ words and actions stressed compassion.  From his blessing of the poor to the naming of the ministries that identify him as Messiah, Matthew recorded deeds that show Jesus’ concern for the poor and oppressed.  Such a messiah has scriptural precedents but may not be what John and others had expected.

The evidence of Jesus’ activity was meant to convince John, his disciples, and the people that the one who is coming has already arrived but in a much deeper form than John or the people expected.  If John “was a prophet and more than a prophet,” how much more was Jesus!  Jesus embodied every promise of God, the promise of life in the wilderness and the homecoming of God’s people with all sorrow and weariness wiped away.

Advent is about waiting, watching, and noticing God’s creative action. Jesus responded to John’s disciples by pointing to the evidence: his activity on behalf of the sick, the lame, the blind, and the poor.  Psalm 146 described how God acts, “who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps his promise for ever; who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger.”  The actions of God in the psalm were the very actions of Jesus.

Advent is the season of profound hope, a hope that is not only concerned with things to come but with confidence and courage in the present.  Hope gives us patience to wait with inner peace in the face of those things we cannot change.  Hope gives us confidence and courage, like the prophet, to change those things we can.  Hope counts on God’s creative action and opens our eyes and ears to attend to the abundance of life.  Hope assures us that Christ is alive and working on our behalf, and on behalf of the poor and marginalized, refugees, hungry and homeless people in our cities and towns.

You and I come close to God’s mind and heart as we work to see that the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf are unstopped, the lame can leap like deer, and the tongue of the speechless can sing for joy. There is nothing to fear; God’s new presence is in all of creation.  Let us keep alive this hope for the glory of God.  Amen.