Worship December 26, 2010

Worship for Sunday, December 26, 2010

The first Sunday in Christmastide

Theme: In-Carna-Tion

Morning Prayers

We come here today to sing our songs of celebration and to uncover the light that burns within us and in our world

in both the day times and the dark times,

in both the broken times and in the times that are whole.

God you are with us in the fields we stand watch in,

In the stars we follow,

In the ways we are angels to each other

And in the new life that is born to us every minute

of every day of this earth’s time.

Today we sing joy to the world that your mystery is all around.

So hear us when we tell you that we know we are a blessed people here.

And there is a heavenly peace in many of our lives because the gifts we have are many

And the love that surrounds us is strong.

But we also know that in other parts of the world,

And even for some of us here,

This day is cracked with the noise of sickness, sorrow, And of war,

And the voice of loved ones lost.

For these places and these people we ask that

every one of our hearts prepare for them a room

Where heaven and nature sing the sounding joy

Of all that is hopeful and full of promise in this life.

Come, let us adore each other,

All of us who are faithful and triumphant.

Come, let us adore each other,

All of us who have doubts and feel defeated.

Let us sing together in exultation

About the glory of all that is highest and

most lovely in our world.

And when our songs are over,

And when we have returned to our own, ordinary time, May we know, if only for a moment,

That all is calm and all is bright.

All is calm. All is bright. Amen.

Isaiah 63:7-9

⁷ I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁸ For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior ⁹ in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Message “The Saving Presence”

Everybody has a favorite verse. Maybe a whole chapter. Maybe a whole book.

And chances are, that even if you don’t set about to memorize that favorite slice of the Bible. You can recite at least part of it. You know…

“The Lord is my…”

“For God so loved…”

Mine is, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Those are my very favorite words in all of the Scriptures. Not even a whole verse. The Word became flesh and lived among us.

God became human like us. Like us, in every way but sin. The Word became flesh…

David, a Presbyterian friend of mine in Oregon once told me how he answers those who ask him about his salvation, and I think I’ve told you before. If I have, I’m telling you again.

To those who ask David, “When did you get saved?” he answers, “Same time you did--two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem.”

A good answer, don’t you think?

For many people, the notion of Substitutionary Atonement rings right--the idea that it is in Jesus’ crucifixion that we are saved, in that he takes our place as a divine/human sacrifice. In so doing, he achieves for us at-one-ment with God.

This whole idea grows out of the agrarian society into which Jesus was born, a society for which animal sacrifice made sense. God (and all the gods with lower-case “g”s) could be appeased by offering a sacrifice. In more primitive cultures, Death needed to take place in order to preserve life.

Frankly, I never got that.

Growing up in New Orleans--where the closest thing to animal sacrifice was the loss of an occasional slow-moving dog to one of the alligators which periodically crawled out of the drainage ditch in our neighborhood--I simply don’t have a reference point for understanding killing something to make God happy.

And so--brace yourselves--you won’t hear me saying something like, “Jesus died to take away our sins.” It’s just not something that is a part of my thinking. I admit that it’s one of several metaphors for salvation in the scriptures, and I understand that it means a lot to many Christians. It just doesn’t mean much to me.

There are many metaphors for God’s salvation in Jesus Christ that are rooted in the scriptures. The reason is this--God’s love and grace are beyond human understanding. We have so many ways of thinking about it because one way of thinking about doesn’t begin to address the matter.

Substitutionary atonement is a pretty dominant model of atonement--Jesus is the sacrificial lamb that appeases a God who demands satisfaction and justice for a sinful world.

There’s the Christus Victor model which understands the place of salvation in the Risen Christ--not in the image of the crucified Jesus--but in the empty tomb and in the appearances to the Disciples. Jesus’ triumph over death is a victory for all of us. We have freed from death by Jesus’ conquest over the grave has given us eternal life with God.

This hits a little bit closer to my heart than the substitutionary model. Salvation doesn’t take place at Calvary on Good Friday, but in the garden on Easter morning. I think that’s why that old hymn, “In the Garden” is such a favorite--because we share that experience of the risen Christ with Mary Magdalene who was the first to experience him.

But for me, the model or metaphor of at-one-ment that works is Incarnational--word-made-flesh, or as we sang on Christmas Eve, “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing…” It’s a theme that runs through the Gospel of John--from the first verse--“in the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Or in John 3--for God so loved the world that he gave his Son. And in the tradition of John in 1 John 4, “showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.”

This is where it’s at. So many models of atonement or salvation are transactional, but Incarnation is relational. Substitutionary atonement, at least for me, is something that happens. But, the Word becoming flesh is someone that happens. When God becomes human in Bethlehem of Judea some two-thousand years ago, nothing can ever be the same. Humanity can never be the same--and dare I say it--God can never be the same after drawing in that 1^st breath as a babe in the stable.

If this sermon sounds familiar to you, it’s because I preach some version of it every year--and I going to keep doing it until I get it right!

But, today, the jumping off point was from Isaiah--third Isaiah, which is written to give comfort and direction to the nation of Israel after the Persian Emperor Cyrus permitted them to return home after being exiled in Babylon. While they were in Babylon, they dreamed going home, but home didn’t solve their problems. Rebuilding the Temple didn’t solve their problems.

And the prophet reminds them of how it is that God saves them:

⁸ For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior ⁹ in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

The people are not saved by anything they do. Not by worship. Not by sacrifice. Not by keeping the rules.

They are saved by God’s presence. By simply being with God.

And this is the season that we remind ourselves of God’s presence revealed in the life, death, and life again of Jesus, born in Bethlehem so long ago. We read again and again of the Messiah--the Anointed One, the Son of God--born, not in a palace, but a stable. Cradled, not in a crib, but a feed trough. Descended from kings, but born in a working-class family. Coming to save, not as a military leader as so many had hoped, but as a tiny, helpless baby.

Reminding us that God is not “out there” but “right here.” Reminding us that salvation is not so much transactional, but relational. Reminding us that atonement--at-one-ment--is not something that happened, but someone who happens again and again in our hearts.

I don’t know about you, but the next time someone asks me, “when did you get saved?” I’m going to answer, “Same as you--2000 years ago in a Bethlehem stable.”

What would you say?

Offering Invitation

In Matthew, Jesus says, “If you want to save your life,e you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” In Luke, he says, give and you’ll get back way more. Will it work? Let’s try.

Offertory Prayer

O God, our loving Creator and Giver of all good gifts, bless your church and these offerings, strengthen our faith and grant us the spirit of Christian stewardship so that we may give generously of our time, talent and treasure to the spreading of your Kingdom, here in our community and throughout the world. This we ask through Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Benediction

The Lord bless you and keep you

and make His face shine on you

and give you peace.

Let the hope that was born in a stable

be a sign that God can change the world

through one small child.

May the spirit of Christmas warm our hearts all year long.

Grace and peace be with you

in the name of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.