"Fear Not"

Isaiah 9:2-7

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.

You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,

as people exult when dividing plunder.

For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For all the boots of the tramping warriors

and all the garments rolled in blood

shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

His authority shall grow continually,

and there shall be endless peace

for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time onward and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus

that all the world should be registered.

This was the first registration and was taken

while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

All went to their own towns to be registered.

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee

to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem,

because he was descended from the house and family of David.

He went to be registered with Mary,

to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.

And she 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.

But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid; for see—

I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:

to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

who is the Messiah, the Lord.

This will be a sign for you:

you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth

and lying in a manger."

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!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.

When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

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Don’t be afraid.

When the angel, the messenger of God,

came to Mary to tell her she would bear

Jesus, the son of God, the angel said,

“Don’t be afraid, for you have found favor with God.”

Don’t be afraid.

When the angel, the messenger of God,

appeared to Joseph in a dream to tell him

it was OK to marry Mary

even though she was already pregnant,

the angel said, “Don’t be afraid,

for the child is from the Holy Spirit.”

Don’t be afraid.

When the angel stood before the shepherds that Holy night,

the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and THEY WERE TERRIFIED.

But the angel said,

“Don’t be afraid, for I am bringing

GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY for ALL PEOPLE.

Good News – Great Joy – for All the People.

Don’t be afraid.

There was plenty of reason to be afraid in those days,

even without the sudden appearances of angels.

For much like the people of Israel  

at the time that the prophet Isaiah spoke these words:

“The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.”,

they also were a people walking in darkness

at the time of Jesus’ birth.  

And just like us today.

We face such darkness in so many ways,

both visible and invisible.

It seems like things grow darker and bleaker by the day,

         everywhere we look.

Certainly there are signs of hope,

but so many parts of our society and our world

seem so broken – almost beyond repair.

And what’s more – we can’t even seem to agree

or come together on what’s broken or what’s the cause.

The darker things get,

the more divided and confused we become.

Which only adds to the darkness.

But, as my mom used to say, it was ever thus.

What we experience today,

what we perceive as the darkest times imaginable,

is our own uniquely current version

of the darkness of humanity that has persisted

despite the presence of God from the beginning.

When it’s dark for this long,

we can adjust our eyes and become

so accustomed to life in the darkness,

that when a light, blazing bright, suddenly appears,

and cuts open the darkness we have known so long,

it hurts our eyes.

It can confuse us and trouble us in a new way.

It requires time to adjust. It can make us afraid.

Afraid of the light.

The shepherds, who tended the flocks both day and night,

had adjusted their eyes to the darkness,

when suddenly one angel appeared before them,

shining with the glory of God.

And as the message of hope was delivered by this messenger,

a multitude of angels suddenly surrounded them,

singing out their joy and praise,

louder and sweeter than anything

they had ever heard before.

That’s pretty scary, at least at first, don’t you think?

These were angels, not monsters or villains,

and the message was not one of terror, but of joy –

but talk about getting shaken out of

the complacency of everyday life!

In one instant, everything changed for those shepherds –

and in ways they could barely comprehend at that point.

Because “for us a child is born; for us a Son is given.” Because God loved us, loves us, loves the world, that much.

Because God had come into the world as a baby,

and that birth would change life for them,

and would change life for all people, for all time.

God entered the world as a baby and in so doing,

brought new life for the world into being,

brought redemption to the world,

in ways we still can barely comprehend.

God, coming into the world that night as a baby,

broke through the darkness in a way that can

make us afraid, quite honestly, of the light he brings,

the transforming, life-changing light of the Lord

coming down to dwell among us, full of grace and truth.

The baby Jesus, born into a world

that does not comprehend what grace and truth are,

and what they mean, and what they can do.

Certainly Jesus made King Herod afraid

just by his being born,

and later on he made the Pharisees and Sadducees afraid,

as well as other government and religious leaders

of his time, as they saw firsthand

what the coming of the light of the world truly could mean

for their own sense of power and authority.

Afraid of the light.

Why should we be afraid of the light?

Because the light of life, Jesus Christ, changes everything.

Because he loves us beyond any love we could ever know.

Because he brings grace and truth,

forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace - in abundance.

And because his light and his love spreads to overflowing,

to fill the earth,

to encompass everyone who opens themselves up to it.

Just as one angel, shining with the glory of God,

standing before the shepherds,

spread that glory so that it becomes a multitude,

surrounding them with praise and joy,

and singing of peace to all….

Just as one candle’s light,

when it’s shared across a darkened sanctuary,

spreads light to all those who have come to worship Christ,

the newborn king….

Just as one kind-hearted person,

choosing to step aside from the darkness of daily life

that has become so typical,

choosing to be a tiny beam of light and love,

is able, through the power of the Holy Spirit,

to share the kingdom of God

with another heart that is searching for it….

Just as one message, one gentle word of hope in a weary world,

         can spread the living Word of God to others

who are longing to comprehend the world in a new way….

Just as one baby can bring new life to a sad and lonely world…

The poet Wendell Berry was once talking to another writer,

Anne Lamott, on the day of the winter solstice,

the darkest day of the year,

which we experienced just three days ago.

He said to her, “It gets darker --- and darker --- and darker, ---

         and then baby Jesus is born.”

The light has come into the world, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

On this most Holy Night,

we are called to embrace the light again,

and let us welcome the child anew,

into the world, and into our hearts.

A poem from the writers in the Iona Community in Scotland

describes well this challenge, this call,

the mystery and the miracle of this night:

“When the world was dark

and the city was quiet,

you came.

You crept in beside us.

And no one knew.

Only the few

who dared to believe

that God might do something different.

Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord?

Will you not come into the darkness of tonight’s world;

not the friendly darkness

as when sleep rescues us from tiredness,

but the fearful darkness,

in which people have stopped believing

that war will end

or that food will come

or that a government will change

or that the Church cares?

Will you come into that darkness

and do something different

to save your people from death and despair?

Will you come into the quietness of this city,

not the friendly quietness

as when lovers hold hands,

but the fearful silence when

the phone has not rung,

the letter has not come,

the friendly voice no longer speaks,

the doctor’s face says it all?

Will you come into that darkness,

and do something different,

not to distract, but to embrace your people?

And will you come into the dark corners

and the quiet places of our lives?

We ask this not because we are guilt-ridden

or want to be,

but because the fullness

our lives long for

depends on us being

as open and vulnerable to you

as you were to us,

when you came,

wearing no more than diapers,

and trusting human hands

to hold their maker.

Will you come into our lives,

if we open them to you

and do something different?

When the world was dark

and the city was quiet

you came.

You crept in beside us.

Do the same this Christmas, Lord.

Do the same this Christmas.

Amen – and Amen."

--Poem comes from Cloth for the Cradle, Copyright 1997

Wild Goose Resource Group, Iona Community.

GIA Publications, Inc., exclusive North American Distributor.

        

"Greetings, Favored One!"

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."

Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:
Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.

Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;
and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God."

Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. 

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If you had the pleasure of being here last Sunday evening and watching the children’s pageant, perhaps you had a similar response to me as you listened to today’s gospel reading – I hear the voice of Tyler Boatwright as the angel Gabriel, saying “Greetings, Favored One!”, and Calli Bowman-Tomlinson responding with “How can this be?”

If I am lucky, I will keep those two voices connected with this scripture for a long time.

It’s good for us to hear this story again, and to let ourselves be perplexed, perhaps, like Mary, and to ponder what it means.

Gabriel tells Mary that she is greatly favored, graced, honored by God, as soon as he comes to her. He doesn’t wait to hear what her answer will be when he tells her what the nature of this honor really is. She is greatly favored before she does one thing for God, before she responds to God’s will for her life.

What he reveals to her is the great opportunity God is giving her to be a blessing, to carry out God’s will in a unique and life-giving way.

When Mary hears that she will conceive and give birth to the son of the Most High, the one they have waited for, the one who will ascend to David’s throne and reign forever, Mary has one question: could you tell me how this will work, since I am a virgin?

And hearing the angel’s reply, and the reminder that “nothing will be impossible with God”, Mary says “Here I am; let it be.”

In our story from the Old Testament, from second Samuel, we hear that King David gets settled in his house, his beautiful house made of cedar, and he becomes unsettled – because he starts to think about what it means that he is living in such posh quarters while the ark of God stays in a tent. So he mentions it to Nathan, implying that he is thinking about providing better living arrangements for God as well. Nathan says, yes, that sounds like a good idea, but that night the Lord tells Nathan to help David think about this differently. The Lord God says, I haven’t lived in a house all this time, and I haven’t said one word about needing a house of cedar for myself. Furthermore, I took you from the pasture, stayed with you all along, cut off all your enemies, made for you a great name, and I will make it even greater.

You don’t need to make me a house. In fact, I, the Lord God, will make you a house. Why? Because you and my people Israel are greatly favored. You are my beloved.

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; you throne, David, shall be established forever.

Even as the Lord says I don’t need a house, God also says that the throne of David shall be established forever.

I will make you a house.

That house, that dwelling place, it came to be for all humankind, in the stable, in the manger.  It began with Mary and with the birth of a tiny, helpless baby. It began with the transitory, refugee life of Mary and Joseph. It was Jesus the Christ, who as an adult had no home on earth. Christ brought in the kingdom. As the angel said to Mary, “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David; he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Through Jesus we are given a magnified view of God, which shows us that we are favored by God, that God greets us all as beloved children. We see that all people are welcomed home – to God’s home. We, too, are favored ones. No matter what we have done or not done to deserve this, we are given this gift by God.

David was greatly favored by the Lord. The people of Israel, greatly favored. Mary was greatly favored by God. They were all greatly blessed, so that they could be a great blessing to the world.

And so it is with us. If we have ears to hear, we can hear the words, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you! I have already given you my grace, my peace. I call you, I invite you, I ask you to abide in me, to do my will, to be a servant of the Lord.” God speaks these words to us all, calling and inviting us to be a blessing in whatever unique way God has in store for us, this day and every day.

Mary accepted the calling that was placed upon her. So did Joseph. God greets us and waits to see if we, too, accept our calling to be a blessing to others.

And there is no precondition here, no need to be ready, to be worthy enough for this favor.

Around three years ago, for just about a year before I retired, I led a Bible study at my former company. We were a group of about six women, all in management types of roles.

We used a variety of study materials over the year or so that we met. But the most memorable for us all was the Horizons Bible Study that was offered by Presbyterian Women that year. It was written by Margaret Aymer, who is a PC(USA) ordained teaching elder, and professor of New Testament at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. The title of the study was “Confessing the Beatitudes” and it took us all through nine lessons, considering each of the statements we heard from Jesus in what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. These words are found in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, and they are best known to us as the “blessed’s” – blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are persecuted for my sake, for you will be called sons of God. These are just two of the nine “blessed’s” that Jesus taught about, and that we studied in the class.

But we didn’t talk about those who were “blessed”. We learned in that study that the word Jesus used there more closely means “greatly favored”, or “greatly honored”. So the poor in spirit are greatly honored, and so are those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The peacemakers, and those persecuted for Jesus’ sake, they are greatly honored.

So it’s not just Mary who is favored by God. It’s not just Mary and a few other chosen people, the ones written up in Bible stories, ones like Abraham and Isaac and Moses and Ruth, who are chosen in various ways to bear God into the world, to show us how God loves us. It’s not just the chosen people. No, it is all people. It is you and me. It’s each and every one of us. It is the least of us, and the most lost of us. It is us, especially at those times when we feel the most lost, or insignificant, or unworthy of God’s love. God’s greeting to us can be heard especially at those times – you are favored. You are honored. You are my beloved child. You don’t have to earn it; I give it to you freely. There is nothing you can do to make me love you more; there is nothing you can do to make me love you less. And I have plans for you, ways that you can and will be a blessing to others, in so many ways big and small. God’s favor rests on us all, individually and collectively. And we will continue to discover the plans that God has for us, as individuals and as a congregation, so many ways that we are being called to be a blessing to others in the days to come.

If I were to say to you today…

“Greetings, favored ones. The Lord is with you and plans to do great things through you.”

Let me suggest your initial answer might be,  “How can this be?” In fact, go ahead and say that together: “How can this be?”

My reply would be this –

“No matter whether you are at work or at school, whether you’re at home or out in the world, the Holy Spirit is with you, and will guide you in all you do and say, so that you may be a blessing to the world.”

What might be your reply? Would it be,  “Let it be according to your word.”? Let’s say that together.  “Let it be according to your word.”

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.