Whose Birthday Is It Anyway!
The Reverend Harriet Isbell, November 20, 2011
There is an interesting place where life is lived in the exact opposite way most of us order our lives, and where everything seems out of whack.
For instance,, in this place you find the leaves burst forth on the trees in the winter and flowers bloom with fragrance so sweet you almost gasp for breath. And when summer comes the ice and the snow are heavy and the breath you let out of your mouth is frosty and allows you to see it in the form of a cloud in front of you. The teachers go to the homes of the children, rather than the schools and the children have their playgrounds inside their houses instead of out on the lawns. There are lots of people that live in this town including a boy named Jason. In fact, today is Jason's birthday. He is nine years old. His grandparents come from out of town to celebrate his birthday and they stay at the Brown's house, not his. His mother bakes him a birthday cake and gives it to the letter-carrier. There are hundreds of birthday cards purchased for Jason's birthday; his friends have received some of them, his parents have gotten lots, even some of the animals in his town got cards on his birthday, but Jason didn't receive a single one. He waits all day to see if anything comes for him and when night falls, and nothing has come, he runs to the school, grabs the cheerleaders megaphone and runs up and down the streets of his town yelling, "Whose birthday is it anyway?"
That was my cry as I walked through the stores, in the last month. Stores from grocery to Target to the stores at the mall. The stores were already displaying Christmas decorations and advertisements for Christmas. What? Halloween hadn't even happened. Like Jason I wanted to shout "Whose birthday is it, anyway?"
That feeling of outrage has prompted me in the past to preach this sermon in October so you are receiving it a little late-the Sunday before Advent. But I hope it is not too late to remind all of us of whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas and not be seduced into the buying mania and hold Jesus hostage one more year.
I have two reasons for needing to preach this sermon now instead of Advent or on Christmas day itself. First, I have been as guilty as anyone for allowing the commercial element hold me and my God hostage at Christmas time while I buy and buy and give to folks who have everything. I need to be reminded now as I plan my holiday celebrations whose birthday it is we are celebrating so I won't be led astray by the cultural commercialism that demands I host an elaborate party instead of honoring my Lord's birth. Second, I am concerned about the message we give our children and those not Christian as they observe how we celebrate our Savior's birth. Are we passing on the faith story in our celebrations? Will our children have a faith growing up in our Christian homes and churches? If we aren't faithful to the reason we celebrate Christmas, who do we expect will?
Looking at my own need to focus on the season before it gets here, I admit I love the feel of the Christmas season. I would be crushed if there weren't any decorations in the malls or carols on the radio or Christmas specials on TV. The idea of snow, tinseled wings, toys, that special gift for that special child or person is important and I have broken my neck and pocketbook to buy it, so I will be able to experience that warm fuzzy feeling when I look at their faces on Christmas day.
I AM GUILTY! In honor of my Lord's birth I have given gifts to persons who do not need the gifts. I have pretended to act like one of the wise men offering gifts, and all the preparation, the expense, the work leaves me, not filled to overflowing, but tired and empty, if I am honest. With all the activity, the people, the coming and goings there is a gnawing void in the midst of all the movement. After the eating, the opening presents, the visiting, whatever, the hurrah is, Christmas day ends lonely with a feeling that something was missing.
Maybe it's my age. Maybe it is the experience of life, or maybe with the passage of time there is a desperate need to claim the gospel in our Christmas celebrations. I panic to think "they" might win and the birth story of our faith will be lost in the commercialism of our society. The birth narrative of our Lord is not a sweet story about a baby long ago. It is a FAITH STORY that is powerful and I am utterly disgusted when I let "them" seduce me into believing Christmas is anything else but just that. My faith story is not to be confused with the purchase of a pastel colored Hallmark card.
The scripture read this morning says that a Savior was born. The text emphasizes not Jesus coming from the heavenly realm like some fairy tale, but it tells of the restoration of God's covenant with Israel which is brought forth in this birth story as the ultimate culmination of God's acts, far surpassing everything that has gone before. The birth is not a surprise to the ones gathered around the manger in the stable or to us. Like Hailey's comet, they had been told of its coming in the prophecy of the prophets-read this morning. The life of God had already shaped the lives of thousands in Israel. The birth act allows us to understand God and gives meaning to the prophecy we have been told about.
That story, the one I read from our Scripture this morning, is a very simple one, yet startling. A baby was born in a barn and laid in a manager, with Mary and Joseph in attendance. Angels announced his birth to frightened shepherds in the still darkness of the Bethlehem night, and later wise men came with gifts to worship him. In this baby, the long awaited Messiah was realized the hopes and dreams of the world. He came to bring good news to the poor, release for the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed. It is his birthday we celebrate at Christmas. And we honor Christ's birth by continuing his work.
Is this the message we live out in our Christmas celebrations? Do our celebrations at Christmas honor Christ's birth? Is this the message our celebrations convey to the next generation? If you go home to day and ask your children, teenagers, spouse, "What is Christmas all about?" they would probably say," it is the birthday of Jesus and a time to get presents, to eat a big meal and to see family. Nothing wrong with that except where does your celebration include honoring our LORD?
WHAT COULD WE DO TO HONOR CHRIST ON HIS BIRTHDAY? As an individual you could volunteer your time and skills to help society's devalued people. That might mean volunteering to serve meals on wheels, work in our Deacon's closet, bring gloves, scarves to the warming tree, or assist in the serving of Christmas dinner at the shelters in our community.
AS A FAMILY you could discuss changing gift-giving in your household. I know a couple who have as part of their Christmas Eve tradition the writing of a check to a worthy cause. That check equals the amount they spent on each other at Christmas.
AS A CONGREGATION help those that are already trying to meet a need, such as providing food, for EFFA, providing shelter, Habitat for Humanity, adopt a family during the holidays and continue the relationship with them throughout the year. Ask how you might assist in the warming center for the homeless that takes place on Wednesday nights in our parish hall.
What happens if honoring Christ at the celebration of his birth is taken seriously? You take the "reason for season" seriously. You might make sure you observe the Advent wreath liturgy in your home. As you light the candles on the Sundays of Advent you prepare yourself and your children and others at your table for the coming birth of our Lord and for his coming again. A tradition in our home was the reading of the Christmas story in the Bible before going to bed as well as the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. Observing the Advent calendar that allows you every day before Christmas to be reminded of the coming birth of our Savior. I do believe the focus on these activities as well as the preparation for company and good food and presents will bind you together as a family of faith in a way that is much stronger than simply gift giving.
Why do we "sell out" in celebrating our Lord's birth at Christmas? I believe for some of us we forget that this is not just a sweet story but a faith story. In our telling of the story it was not startling; just another good story that provides an excuse for a good party. As you prepare now and during Advent for the celebration of Christmas, allow the cradle and ultimately with that cradle, the cross, to be significant in your celebrations. Then, I believe, there is hope that the story will not die in the stores, and our faith will continue to be passed on. Ann Weems says it this way;
If the Babe doesn't become the adult, there is no Bethlehem star.
If there is no commitment in us, there are no wise men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water, there is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.
If there is no praising God's name, there are no angels singing.
If there is no spirit of alleluias, there are no shepherds watching.
If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk, there is no Herod, no flight to Egypt.
If there is no room in our inn, then "Merry Christmas" mocks the Christ child, and the Holy family is just a holiday ca rd and God will hate our feasts and festivals.
For if there is not reconciliation; we cannot call Christ "Prince of Peace."
If there is no good will toward others, it can all be packed away in boxes for another year.
If there is no forgiveness in us, there is no cause for celebration.
If we cannot go now even unto Golgotha, there is no Christmas in us.
If Christmas is not now, If Christ is not born into the everyday present, then whose birthday is it anyway?
Bible readings: Genesis 22:1-14, James 2: 14-24, Luke 16: 19-31
The Gospel reading for today is Luke 16: 19-31 - It is a parable, but there is something different about this parable from all the other ones Jesus told. See if you can figure out what this is. These verses are found starting on page 79 of your New Testament however I am reading from the King James Version.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Both our Old Testament and Gospel readings today are full of symbolism. But it is symbolism that is pretty obvious and that you have probably heard before, so I will leave it for you to ponder because what I want to talk about this morning is not symbolism but ACTIONs – the actions of the people in the readings.
I want us to think about why people acted as they did and what it says about how we should act.
In our Old Testament lesson, the action asked of Abraham is something we can’t even fathom doing. Sacrifice his son Isaac – his son that he waited for, for 100 years.
Why would he do this? Why would he walk for 3 days, up the mountain, tie his son on an altar and prepare to sacrifice him. And what about his wife Sarah? Wasn’t he worried about how he was going to come home without her beloved son? Why did he have the faith to act as he did?
Why? Because Abraham had learned over the years that he could trust God.
Earlier in Genesis 17, God had promised this to Abraham. “I will make you the father of not just one nation but a multitude of nations….I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations. Kings will be among them! “
And Abraham had faith in that promise and so he was obedient to God. And his son was saved and Abraham became, as the children sang, the Spiritual Father of us all.
The Gospel reading is a parable about a man who does NOT follow God’s commandments. We all know that parables are how Jesus taught, even though some people- including his own disciples didn’t always get them. But their messages are still relevant today.
These verses are about a man who had great riches – he fared sumptuously, not just on special occasions but every single day. He dressed in fine purple linen – garments which were fit for a king and lived in luxury every day.
And every day he walked by a man who had nothing. A man who existed on crumbs from his table. Why would he have done this?? What are some of the reasons, the Rich Man would have just kept on going?
Did the Rich Man think Lazarus was being punished by God? You may remember earlier this year we read the passage in John 9 about Jesus healing the blind man. When the disciples saw the man, what was the first thing they said?
“Why was this man born blind, was it his own sin or his parents? “
Not only was there a belief that being a beggar was a punishment, there was a corresponding belief that wealth was proof of a person’s righteousness.
Sadly these ideas have not gone away. Think of the people who maintain that AIDs is punishment for gay people or that Katrina was punishment for the city of New Orleans.
As a matter of fact, The Minute for Mission for today in the Mission Yearbook is about a young man named John Greenwald who has cerebral palsy. When John was in college, he was accosted by members of a "Christian'' group who told him that his ailment was the result of his parents' wrongdoing. While he no longer felt welcome at their church he found a happy ending at a Presbyterian church where he became a deacon and member of the choir.
After the massive tornados in the south this spring, I read an article by Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton about how some people suggested that the destruction from the tornados was God's judgment upon the sins of the communities who were struck.
Hamilton says that to find the answer "Why?" you have to turn not to a theologian….not to the Bible …… but to a meteorologist.
God doesn’t suspend the laws of nature, just as God does not remove free will to keep people from doing wrong things. Bad things can happen simply because of bad circumstances or bad decisions but not because of a punishing God and we should not turn our backs on the people who are in these situations. In fact, we are called to help them.
To quote Hamilton again “God walks with his children through the storms. He sends his people to help after the storms, and with and through God there is always hope.”
And I would add to that WE here are at St Andrew are the ones who are helping provide that hope.
Another reason could be he was afraid because Lazarus was different or because he worried he would “catch” whatever caused Lazarus to be a beggar. We often fear those who are different.
I once saw a young woman in downtown Boulder who was paralyzed and in a wheel chair. She had a bumper sticker on the back of it that said” Yes it’s a wheel chair, No it’s not contagious. “
I grew up in a segregated suburb of Louisville, Ky. Everyone was white and either Baptist, Methodist or Catholic. During the 60s a black family came to our local swimming pool and jumped in the water. Everyone else jumped out in absolute terror as if the darker skin was contagious.
I would like to tell you that I stayed in the water and welcomed the family but ironically, I was in the corner of the pool deck that we high school girls commandeered as our place to sun bathe, lathered in baby oil in order to get as dark as possible.
What I remember most is that this was the first time that I realized the people who had taught me to sing “red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight” didn’t actually mean it. Their actions spoke way louder than their words.
From the senseless killing of a young gay man in Wyoming to the violent opposition to the Mosque in Murphysboro, Tennessee, fear of what is different is still rampant in our world.
The hateful comments that have been directed at the PCUSA after the passing of amendment 10A have been frightening.
Why do we keep forgetting what Jesus said “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” That means loving everyone no matter how unlovable they may seem to us and no matter how inconvenient it may be for us.
Presbyterian poet Ann Weems expresses this well. She wrote:
He said, "Feed my sheep." There were no conditions:
Least of all, Feed my sheep if they deserve it. Feed my sheep if you feel like it.
Feed my sheep if you have any leftovers. Feed my sheep if the mood strikes you.
if the economy's OK .
if you're not too busy .
No conditions ... just, "Feed my sheep."
Could it be that God's Kingdom will come when each lamb is fed?
We who have agreed to keep covenant are called to feed sheep
even when it means the grazing will be done on our own front lawns.
The last reason I want to talk about is this - Was the Rich Man just not paying attention? He had five brothers and lived in luxury. Maybe in the morning he was hurrying to work trying to maintain their lifestyle and when he returned in the evening he was just too tired to be bothered.
Today with our Ipads and IPods and smart phones, how much attention do we pay to the people around us?
Many of you have met my dog Cody. He and I often wander the trails of Boulder, especially ones where he can be off leash. When we pass other people, he usually gives them a polite nod and keeps going. But sometimes he stops and goes up to them. He lets them pet him and hug him as long as they want. Invariably, when has happened, the person was grieving the loss of an animal and getting “Cody Love” helped make them feel better for a few minutes at least.
Do I believe my dog has ESP? No, but he pays attention. He walks with all his senses on high alert to both people and nature and he has an awareness of the world around him that a lot of us humans don’t have.
Who is at your gate? Who do you need to pay attention to in your life? Who in your life needs a helping hand, or just a listening ear or friendly smile? How do we pay attentions as a congregation?
This winter Lazarus was at the gate of St Andrew on cold nights 1461 times. When you add the other faith groups who participated in the Warming Center, like our neighbors at Har HaShem, Lazarus was helped a staggering 11,195 times. That is over 11 thousand times someone could have frozen to death. Over 11 thousand times someone could have died cold and alone on the streets or sidewalks of Boulder.
Did you happen to see the article in the Denver Post last year about Denver firefighters saving the life of a homeless woman who nearly froze to death early Thanksgiving? The woman made it to the fire station just before dawn when the temperature outside was 4 degrees. She was taken to a Denver Medical Center and treated for hypothermia. The article ended like this “Lt. Phil Champagne a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department, says hypothermia deaths among homeless people in Denver are common in winter months.”
Common?? Do you know how many people have died of hypothermia in Boulder the last 2 winters? NONE – Zero and I think our congregation can be very proud of this.
Listen again to the passage from James: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
So now you’re thinking didn’t Paul say we are saved by grace? Yes he did. Like in Ephesians 2 when he says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Isn’t what James says a contradiction?
I don’t think so. We are saved by grace, but that doesn’t mean we have a get out of jail free card when it comes to obeying God. In fact, if we consider ourselves to saved, to be children of God, shouldn’t we want to study and obey God’s commandments?
Not only that our faith cannot live in a vacuum, it must be practiced.
You can’t become a good tennis player by simply holding a racquet or learn to play a guitar just by wanting it to be so. You have to practice. If we want strong faith that will sustain us during times of doubt or difficulty, we have to practice. And we practice our faith by our actions and by obeying God’s commandments.
By participating in the Warming Center, Community Table and EFFA, St Andrew is keeping people warm and well fed. We are growing our faith and showing our faith by our actions.
And now we come to the end of the parable
Lazarus dies and goes to be with Abraham. The Abraham whom God loved because Abraham obeyed his commandments. Abraham is now in paradise and so is Lazarus.
The rich man however dies and goes to Hell where he is in anguish, surrounded by flames begging for a cool taste of water.
Let us be clear - The rich man is here, not because he was rich – Abraham himself was very wealthy. Genesis 13:2 says “Abraham was very rich in livestock, silver and gold. “
And he isn’t here just because he ignored Lazarus. He is here because he ignored God.
Because he ignored the laws that God had sent through Moses and the prophets. In fact, when the Rich Man asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers, Abraham says If they don’t hear the laws of Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Laws like Deuteronomy 15 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land
Or Proverbs 14 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God
Indeed - One of the themes common throughout the Bible- both the Old and New Testament is the importance of caring for the poor and downtrodden. Did you figure out yet what is different about this parable? Unlike in the rest of his parables Jesus gives one of the people in the parable a name – Lazarus, truly humanizing this poor beggar and symbolizing how important he is.
You may have noticed in our pew Bible that the Rich Man is in Hades while the King James Version refers to Hell. I went from the Baptist Church where hell was mentioned frequently to the Presbyterian Church where it is NEVER talked about. I think it’s an important idea to think about - not because we should walk around in fear of hell, but as compassionate Christians we need to model our faith by our actions so that those around us will want to choose to follow Christ also. I believe there is a hell, but what it is really like and what the criteria is for going there – I don’t know.
What I can tell you is that I refuse to live my life in fear of Hell. I think acting out of fear is contrary to what the Bible teaches.
As Paul tells us in Corinthians, our actions are nothing if they don’t come out of love. However, I do believe that in the end, whether it is our personal end or when Christ comes again – maybe as Ann Weems says “when each lamb is fed,” I believe we will be held accountable for our time here on earth. When that time comes, and we meet Jesus face to face. The Jesus who was so terrified in Gethsemane. Who suffered and died on a cross so that we don’t have to obsess over sins.
When we meet that Jesus, do we want him to turn his face away in sorrow? No, we want Jesus to smile, hold out his arms and say well done thy good and faithful servant. May it be so for all of us.
