Springfield Lutheran Church

“Epiphany” is a word that can explode on you. It can signify a sudden, unexpected insight; a revealing of some truth newly revealed that had actually been evident, yet somehow hidden, too, for some time. For about six weeks the church will look at events of Jesus life, starting with his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist. This marks a significant change for John, and the church-yet-to-be, as Jesus’ time in the water isn’t about his sinfulness (although in this depiction check out his striped boxer shorts!), but rather about his identification with you and me; he became “one of us”, the “Word made flesh”.

In the synoptic (not “Gnostic”) gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in a different order in John’s Gospel, episodes of his life include being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and cleaning out the money changers from the temple. In these events we see our Lord living out his calling as the bringer of God’s kingdom as an alternative to the flawed ones already set in place by his own people, and also by the Empire of Rome, which had been occupying Judea and its surroundings for some time. The gist of Jesus’ mission was to get things going to include all kinds of people, including “foreigners” and outcasts, as being recipients of and bearers with Him for what God’s reign would actually look like. One of the ways that can happen for us is in the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” that takes place this year between January 18 and January 25. It may seem like an odd thing to do, yet in John’s Gospel, Jesus spends some time praying and encouraging that “they may be one” as he and the Father are one. I find it very helpful that the best aspects of our faith have to do with including, not excluding, with uniting, not dividing. Jesus’ actions brought light on these things in his time. And (yawn!) certainly the history of Christianity bears great blame for past and current divisiveness on many levels of society; I “get that” idea already. Yet the truth is that Christianity, following Jesus’ alternative Way, also is responsible for untold and immeasurable healing and good in the world. Individuals and churches are actually responsible for that, too.  That I would dare to consider and take a week to ponder what it would mean in some way to see my fellow Christians as partners, and not adversaries, is helpful, and challenging. Just among Lutherans in America, there is a wide range of belief and practice, some of it easily explained and justified, yet all of it subject to the larger prayer of the One who we all call Lord.

Wonder with me this week: what kind of kingdom have I, with Jesus, been “baptized” into? What “tempts me” from within and without to ignore His gracious Way? And what kind of spiritual and life-practice “cleaning out” needs to take place so that God’s embracing kingdom is turned from dream into reality? Can we say with Martin Luther King Jr. ”I Have a Dream” for our time, our circumstances, and bring it to fruition as faithful, courageous  people?

All kinds of remembering has taken place over the last month, especially regarding the passing of the year 2011. Many attempts at remembering were made by “top ten” lists. Every field of human activity from politics to sports, from entertainment to religion were highlighted. (I am reminded that it is luxury to have such an activity; many in our world have neither the time nor the energy to engage in anything like that). Even so, I am impressed with those who can pick 10 highlights; I’m pleased if I can come up with five highlights, not because my life is so dismal or dull, but mainly because I’m not inclined to think like that. Maybe I should try it sometime. I was told of a person who was determined to find one good thing to be thankful for each day, and then write that one good thing down each day for a year. My understanding of this effort is that even though he did succeed, he didn’t keep up the practice for another year: it was “too much work,” according to him. I believe it. Looking ahead to 2012 as “an election year” and all the  ”energy” devoted to that endeavor, maybe it’s a good thing he did quit.

Nonetheless, people get into the spirit of the New Year observance, with parties and such to give thanks for the previous year (or say “good riddance” to it). I’m thankful that I don’t have a picture like this one on the left (“Guy Lombardo”, anyone?) to pop up some unexpected time, or like the one below, where who knows what was going on; and would these guys remember, anyway? “TMI!” no doubt.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about “forgetting what lies behind” and “pressing forward” to what lies ahead, making room for the new life in Christ to begin. Of course he wasn’t talking about any New Year celebration, but perhaps something deeper in people’s hearts that is a part of wanting something new, better, complete to replace one’s old, mundane, fractured life. The Christian claim is that attention to Our Lord Jesus’ way of life can provide such newness. Not a “remix” of the old, but rather “a new creation” as Paul would write to the Roman Christians  of his time. Something wholly different than the best Top Ten list; something healing for remembering the good, the bad, or the ugly of the past; something invigorating that transforms the present and moves one into the future with hope, and not fear. Perhaps for 2012 one can move to become soulfully grounded in finding out what it means to follow Jesus’ way. My hope is always that a community of faith, “warts and all,” is the most effective place for that to occur. I know: the old John Prine song said “they all found Jesus on their own”. But I wonder how even now people can connect with the Holy without having some assistance along the way. I see the value of community all the time: on Christmas Day,  at worship just last week, I had he privelege of welcoming a new sister into the faith by the promises given in the waters of baptism, her whole life ahead of her at age one-ish. Then, not six hours later, I was at the bedside of another sister in Christ, whose life had ended after 70+ years, commending her to the care of her Lord for eternity, her family gathered around for the prayers and promises there, too.

I see no reason to stop being part of such a spiritual search. Or encouraging others to give it a serious shot in 2012. A well-respected spiritual director had some frustrating yet accurate wisdom to impart to a directee seeking clarity about many important matters. No matter what the “issue” was, the “discernment” from the director to the directee was always this: “Let’s see what happens.”

Happy New Year! In Christ, let’s see what happens!

How many “Wise Men” were at the manger, and when did they arrive? Christmas Eve? Christmas Day? Perhaps sometime later (Epiphany or even later than that?). What really was the Bethlehem “star”: perhaps a comet (like the current “Christmas comet Lovejoy” seen here). Or, maybe an astronomical conjunction of planets, combined with an astrological “reading” of meaning and prophecy. And, who got it right, Matthew’s account or Luke’s: did the Holy Family flee to Egypt, awaiting Herod’s death and a safe return some years after Jesus’ birth, or did they simply “settle down” to life in Nazareth and take part in having Jesus grow up like any other kid from that “backwater” town (Nazareth’s reputation: “can anything good come out of Nazareth?”–John 1:46).

Speculation about these things have circulated for centuries. Both the faithful and those who doubt–the genuinely concerned and even the “fringe” of the faithful and the skeptic, respectfully– mull over the Christian claims and speculations about the Incarnation. They are often used as platforms for supporting or debunking their own opinions. I find this all fascinating, and good fun, but not worth getting into what I call “theological rock fights” about what inevitably comes down to be side-shows to the main attraction of faith.

We may find it humbling to be reminded that God did all this “Jesus business” without anyone’s permission. Frankly, what we do with the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, “unto you (all) is born this day…”,  is the essential question to respond to. It is the “plural you” that first bids a response from us. And then comes the “individual you” that each one of us has to deal with. Lutherans generally don’t buy into the “personal Lord and Savior” appeal of “decision theology” that other evangelicals champion. Although, Luther himself made a pretty big deal about the “gurgling babe” born “for you,” the Bethlehem child apprehended by each believer’s heart as a life-saving encounter.

Ah well….Perhaps it is enough and proper to simply sit and wonder for a day or two that “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” –Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas to all. Really. Now and always.

“You shall conceive and bear a son…” 

So said the angel Gabriel to Mary. We are at the start of what I like to call “Christmas Week”; why wait till starting with Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and do the 12-Day routine? (I’ll do that too, but that’s another column).

Getting back to the angel and Mary. Artists have done their best to capture the event as seen in this rendering here. As an essential part of the Christmas story, we are invited into our own imaginative attempts to wonder what it would have been like. My own take is that when a genuine encounter with the Holy takes place, the first response is usually one of fear. Abraham and Sarah come to mind; Moses and his encounter(s) with Yahweh have that aspect; Elijah and his hiding in a cave certainly had that as a component, too. Fear (and disbelief) is there with Mary’s “kinswoman” Elizabeth (miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist) and her husband Zechariah. That the angel says for Mary not to fear confirms the  very human aspect of this event. 

I have never knowingly met an angel. Although the New Testament letter to The Hebrews says that we ought to be kind to strangers, for we may be “entertaining angels unawares.” Frankly, I would be scared spitless in the presence of such a creature, known or unknown; I think any of us would pick upon some sort of “vibe” if one popped by, don’t you think?

The movie/TV angels are great for what they are, with  Cary Grant, or Nicholas Cage, John Tavolta, or Della Reese acting those parts. Yet they are still limited. Especially compared to one that had a message like Gabriel had to deliver to Mary. 

Nonetheless, Mary gets over whatever fear she may have had: she listens, agrees, waits, and conceives. The whole “virgin birth” squabbles for centuries are beside the point for me; I’m content to hold it as a true matter of faith, yet ultimately unanswerable for many good reasons. What matters, anyway, is the main function of the idea that Mary was ready, and willing, to be the “God-bearer” (“Theotokos” in Greek). And further that we, too, can bear/bring God’s grace to others if we listen to what God wants done with us. We are all called to be “pregnant” (!), if you will, with such grace-full news: “God saves!” that is what Jesus’ “Emanuel/God-with-us” name means. Wonder about that with me during this “Christmas Week.”  Where can it also lead us, very similar to (and different from) the way it changed with Mary’s life forever?

During Advent we traditionally hear the texts from prophets that have been used, for example, to promote the arrival of Jesus, born in Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,  though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”– Micah 5:2  

The “Wise Men” also perceived the place of Bethlehem as necessary for such a birth (Matthew 2). Other prophecies about what kind of kingdom would occur have been attributed to Isaiah. In Isaiah 9:2-7 is the famous “unto us a child is born…” passage, and the names for him as “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, and “Prince of Peace”.

Isaiah 11:1-9 picks up on this image of a reign of peace with “the peaceable kingdom” passages. These have inspired artists for centuries, including the outrageous and improbable scenes of wolf with lamb, leopard with goat, calf next to lion, cow cozying up to bear…. A “little child will lead them” (v.6), the infant “will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper’s nest” (v.8). All “getting along” rather well!  

We don’t have any of those animals at home; we do have cat and dog, and, as these pictures show, it’s not quite the peaceable kingdom at our house.   Nonetheless, the imagination of such a rule or reign fits in well with what this season is supposed to bring about. In fact, one does well to get familiar with the  writings of  scholar Walter Brueggeman to have a beginning grasp about all this.  It serves us well enough now to simply say that the reign of the “Prince of Peace” has yet to fully take hold. Yet my wonderings, amidst all the anything-but-peaceful world we live in today, is to ponder what a horribly ruined world we would have if it weren’t for people of “good will”, spanning the centuries, motivated by the teachings and example of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. South African believer Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and most recently Nobel Prize winner  Leymah Gwobee from Liberia serve as examples of determinately following the peaceful lead of their Lord, against horrific odds and life-threatening opposition.

Our own day-to-day situations are seldom quite so despairing as those faced by (Anglican) Bishop Tutu and (Lutheran) Ms. Gwobee. Should they be that way? As faithful followers of Christ here in America where matters of faith and its applications are an option, an “elective” activity  for most of us–well, that is certainly a fair queston to ask. Here’s my “short” answer to that: the truth is that injustice knows no national or personal boundary. You and I, then, have our own situations, big and small, where an approach by peace, with mercy, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion–not violence or indifference – is a call to usher in the kind of peace that Jesus was born for, lived into, and went to the cross and accomplished for this whole world–cats and dogs included. Such is an Advent hope with some challenging “grit” placed before us; live into that kind of call.