Year B 1st Christmas WED 2020 Fearful Vision, Faithful Message

 Year B 1st Sunday of Christmas WEDNESDAY, 30 December 2020

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Fearful Vision, Faithful Message”

Collect: Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Reading (Lesson) from Revelation 1:9-20

I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. 

John 7:53-8:11

Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."

As I have recently preached on the woman caught in adultery, I will let my recent sermon stand on that. So this morning I wanted to focus on the frightening image of Jesus that John sees in our Revelation reading.

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

This vision of the right-hand-of-the-Father and Resurrected Lord is far different from the mild and meek Jesus who would not return a blow or stand up for himself amidst lies accusing him. Let’s look at each of these details from this portion of the vision and see what we might glean from them...

long robe and with a golden sash 

Lordly, like a king, Jesus is dressed. So unlike his naked body hanging on the cross without a stitch to his name. Here we see him in his true form, the son of the Most High.

head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow

Cleansed, bleached pure and without blemish, Jesus’ hair is white, like snow. This goes along with the imagery of the lamb, also pure and white without blemish.

eyes were like a flame of fire

Without match, his glare is blazing and burns away anything that covers or hides. In his eyes, all will be revealed and the dross burnt away.

feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace

While not particularly clear, this is the only reference like this in all known ancient Greek literature. The word for bronze and the word for frankincense seem to be saying that the metal of his feet were glowing like in a furnace. Again, this purifying and burning away imagery comes to the surface.

voice was like the sound of many waters

In the Bible, waters raging are a symbol of power and might, and often Chaos. Uncontrollable, the words rushing forth will not be hindered. They come roaring out, and cannot be stopped.

his right hand he held seven stars

These are the seven churches being addressed, settled in the palm of Christ’s hand.

from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword

No matter how you cut it, pun intended, nothing will be held back. Christ’s words will do what needs to be done, coming or going. It cuts both ways.

his face was like the sun shining with full force

Once again, like in the light of noonday, nothing will be hidden; all will be revealed. Like the face of God in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is certain death if looked upon. If we stare at the sun we will go blind. Christ’s face shines bright, like Moses after receiving the 10 Commandments as he was in the presence of God.

Taken together we see what at first glance may be terrifying, but to the early church undergoing persecution, a mighty Christ is in control. And for those of us in our day, what is the word for us? Despite his appearance, listen to his words:

“Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”

Fear Not. Despite the obvious and unabashed strength, he is still the same Christ we know and adore. He is not about Fear. He is not about revenge. He has paid the debt and the chains of death and eternal damnation he holds in his hand. Of what must we be afraid?

In a year when we have been driven to fear and fret, know that THIS Jesus is the one who has your back, and his words to John and to us? Fear not. Amen.

Year B Christmas Day 2020 Traditions

 Year B Christmas Day 2020

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Traditions 2020”

Collect: Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

We all have them. We might not see them as Traditions, but we do things in the same way for comfort, for ease, for our brains to go on automatic pilot at times. We also carve out space in our days or seasons to do things with intention. Christmas is filled with Traditions, and that means Christmas is filled with Intention. 

This year our traditions have become more dear because we are tender dealing with our collective grief from a global trauma, or because we had to forego them because of the pandemic.

Some of our family’s traditions are extra special. Stephanie and I were married on the 19th, so on our honeymoon we began to read the three Gospel accounts of Christmas from Luke, then Matthew, the John. And then we read the Gospel according to Dr. Seuss. The Grinch is Gospel, as there is a conversion when his heart “grew three sizes that day.” 

We got to read those together last night in the Rectory. Another Tradition Ritual is  the eating of Chinese Food which comes from my birth family who always went to the Chinese restaurant after the Christmas Eve service. And this year, my kids asked for it especially. 

Traditions bring us comfort. Traditions warm our hearts. Traditions make us cozy inside.

Another one of my traditions is to usually cry, whether I want to or not, when I hear, “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.” The song comes from a poem by Longfellow. A simple song, a throwaway song almost until you hear the words with Longfellow’s thoughts in your mind. Two years after his wife died in a tragic accident, which also left him permanently scarred, Longfellow’s son enlisted in the Union Army in the Civil War. Receiving a grave wound, Charley, Longfellow’s son was in hospital in Washington, D.C. Longfellow joined him there to help in his recovery. On Christmas Day, in the midst of personal tragedy and in a beloved country ripping itself apart, he penned these words.   

I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet,  the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said;
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men." 

And that poem became a song when we are tired and beaten by a world that ignores the message of Hope and Love we share at Christmas. One cannot be cynical and call oneself a disciple of Christ. It is as hypocritical as the bigot, the sexist, the blatant sinner. Cynicism is a sin of the heart. And this song reminds us of that. 

This year, I look to the Christ Child in hope, and in trust. Last year at this time we were grieving our dear friend the Reverend Robert Dilday who had passed away on the Saturday night before Advent 4, just one week after he was ordained to the priesthood. A priest for a week. It was and is heartbreaking. 

This year, with over 325,000 dead in the States, and over 1.7 million worldwide from COVID-19, it is hard to see good in it. But how we love and care for our neighbors is what we have been given the task to do. In this, God is glorified. Or as Longfellow put it, “God is not dead, nor does he sleep.” I have to live my life in that hope, because of Christmas day. I know Robert+ did. I know so many who have passed did. I have to live my life in Hope.

Speaking of Hope, one of my favorite Christmas traditions is Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special. 

I heard an interesting piece of trivia, and I have shared it the last few years. I am shocked I had never noticed it before. You see, Linus stops the production of the Christmas show rehearsal to tell Charlie Brown the real meaning of Christmas, and he quotes Luke 2. 

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo , the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid . 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes , lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying , 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

“That’s the meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown.” Linus, being a cartoon character, is defined in simple ways. He is a believer, trusting or naive, depending on your point of view. He also is comforted by his security blanket and sucking his thumb. He holds tight to his protection from his insecurities, and most of us cannot think of Linus without it.

But if you go back to watch the video, and I did to make sure a couple of times, while he is quoting Luke, a most amazing thing happens. As soon as he says “Fear not!” his hand disappears from the screen and it returns without the blanket. The boy who is so timid, so fearful, goes center stage and let’s go of his fears, or at least his comfort from his fears. His “security” dropped at his feet. You see, the one who can stand with Linus, the one who can stand beside Longfellow in his pain and grief, the one who can stand beside me in my weakness and insecurities and you in yours has come into the world. “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” 

Maybe that is the greatest Christmas Tradition of them all, and it started with Mary, then Joseph, then the Shepherds all the way down to us. Our friend Robert preached it [pointing] from that very pulpit, he believed it, and he lived it to the very end. The words of the angels come to us today, “Fear Not.” And that my friends, is a Tradition to keep, especially in 2020! “Fear Not!” Amen

Year B Christmas Eve I 2020 Grief and Light

Year B Christmas Eve I, 25 December 2020

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Grief and Light”

Collect: O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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.

I tend to look at the joy and wonder of Christmas, and that is a privileged position. We look to the light, if we do, because we have the light. For those who have wandered in darkness, the light can be blinding and they often have to turn their faces away.

If all you have ever thought is that your glass is less than half full, it is very hard for one to look at the glass and see it as more than half full without having doubts or fear that it will soon be taken away or that it is a cruel joke. 

Our expectations are conditioned. If we have been taught by the hardship of life to see the worst, we find what we look for. 

It is of no surprise that Christmas came when it was darkest. The Solstice and the blinding light are closely linked together. 

This year, a year in which we have seen so much darkness and worry, the light is all the more needed, all the more wanted, all the more here.

In a movie that haunts me, the main character is deluded, and cannot escape from a hell he has made for himself. Throughout the movie the other characters say to him, “Open your eyes.” After years of lack of use, it is so hard. When he finally does, and opens his eyes, the truth, the reality, is beyond belief. But that is where he is reborn.

I do not need to make a litany of all that has transpired over the course of this year, and it is not over yet. A running joke going around is that God sent an angel to upload all the history of the 2020s, the whole decade, and the angel misheard God and poured a decade of history into this single year. It feels that way.

This week I went out to see the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter Monday at the Solstice. After all the buildup I expected more, but it was still amazing. People’s pictures were much better than my reality. But as we waited to see it on that night it reminded me, it has to be dark for light to be revealed. The sun had to set, the twilight had to lessen, the darkness had to take hold for me to appreciate the wonder of what I was seeing.

When Charles Dickens wrote his ubiquitous, now, story A Christmas Carol he had to go very dark for the light for it to be as bright as it was at the end. We need ghosts to haunt us for the angels of our better nature to emerge. 

Maybe this year, our collective trauma and our collective grief will allow us to embrace the light when it comes fully.

As the prophet Isaiah reminded us, 

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...

The timid are afraid to have hope. The kicked dog. The abused child. The battered spouse. The exploited worker. They all have reason to be wary, experience is an expensive and hard-to-forget teacher. But hear me when I say:

Yes. It is dark, has been, and will be for a while yet.

Yes. There is light and the darkness cannot put it out.

Yes. You can hope. You do not need to worry forever. A dawning will come and it will be glorious.

Friends, that is why we have each other. We have the gift of the Church. We gather today through technology, sadly, but we gather. We so wanted to be together, but the rains came. An apt metaphor for 2020. But STILL, we proclaim the Good News of Great Joy that can be for ALL the PEOPLE. We have to proclaim it any and everywhere.

Think of a dark room with the windows closed tight. Outside the room the dawn is breaking and a beam breaks in under the door. It does not stay at the threshold, but breaks in by streaks that stretch across the floor, spreading and seemingly growing as it does. That single beam fractures our darkness, and in our acclimated blindness it seems to fill the room with light. 

This Christmas, let the light of Christ break through. Break through into your room, let it stretch and reach even into the darkest recesses of the chambers of your heart that so need the light.

I think one of the greatest needs that we have in our society is better ways to deal with our collective grief from the trauma we have all felt. Some have yelled. Some have called it fake. Some have belittled and dismissed. Some have just suffered through it and soldiered on. But we all have been hurt this year. We have hurt each other by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have been traumatized by the pandemic. By our political crisis. By our despair.

Our pain has gotten so bad, and we kept scouring for hope on our smart phones, or for information at least, that there was a word invented for our collective act of despair: DOOMSCROLLING. We keep looking at the news obsessively, unrelentingly, and even that is taking a toll.

And in light of all of that, I name it. We are grieving. I acknowledge it. It will take a long time for us to get over this last year. And I give this hope. I believe in you. I believe in the God who made you, loves you, and redeemed you. And I believe that the only way we can get better and move on is to recognize that we have to rely and support one another. 

The Christ child came that we might have life and have it to the full. Jesus was born so that we could sleep well tonight knowing that this too shall pass, and that we will thrive in days to come as long as we have each other. 

And that is Good News. Good News worth sharing. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot, will not overcome it. On this I cannot stay silent.

204 years ago, tonight, a simple organist Franz Gruber had taken a poem by the Catholic priest of the St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria, and wrote the tune of one of our most beloved Christmas carols. The organ had been damaged. Some say a mouse chewed the leather of the bellows, while others say flooding damaged them. Either way, the organ would not play for the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. 

And on this night, this night of all nights, they could not be silent. In just a few hours, Gruber took the words of the poem Father Joseph Mohr had written, and with his guitar sang a song that breaks into the night. It also is a light that shines in our darkness, and let’s us share the joy. We, like Father Joseph and Max Gruber, cannot be silent on this night. On this night we cannot stay silent.

[Singing] Silent Night, Holy Night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

Year B Advent 4 WED 2020 Hosanna

 Year B Advent 4 WEDNESDAY, 23 December 2020

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Hosanna”

Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

50 His mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

    and lifted up the lowly;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Mark 11:1-11

11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!

    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

10     Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Hosanna seems strange coming out of my mouth in Winter. But our lectionary readings point to this word, and use it explicitly in I Samuel and the Mark reading. Let no one say the formulators of the lectionary do not have a sense of humor. But their joke makes a point.

The day we have been waiting for has finally arrived!

Hosanna is an exclamation of adoration, joy, or praise. Think of it, what would you say if someone asked you the meaning of the word “Hurray!” It is hurray, it is what you say. It does not have a meaning. It is a cultural thing. Different cultures have their own hurray! And when the people lined the streets and waved their palms as Jesus rode in, it had a very clear cultural meaning.

It was the fulfillment of prophecy to boot!

He rode in on a colt of a donkey, he did not ride in on a warhorse. He was to be a Prince of Peace. And in light of that, between the Hosannas and the colt, and their messianic designation, it is obvious why on December 23 we read about the birth of Samuel and the praises of his mother Hannah, the birth of Jesus and the praises of his mother Mary, and the arrival of the Prince of Peace and the praises of the people of Jerusalem. It is very clear if you know how to read it. 

And it is funny. We laugh. We laugh because laughter is the sound of freedom. A laughing spirit is a spirit that is not put down. Oppressed people do not laugh. They weep. They moan. They scream and rage. But they do not laugh.

We laugh because we are abiding in this freedom and can see the fingerprints of God Almighty sprinkled throughout history from the very beginning of time.

And the Lectionary formulators agree. Today is the day. The time has arrived. Our waiting is done. Hosanna! Hosanna in the HIGHEST HEAVEN! Amen

Year B Advent 4 2020 Love You Most

Year B Advent 4, 20 December 2020

Video Service from St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Love You Most”

Collect: Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

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.

“...The revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed…”

God had been holding God’s breath for millenia, since the foundation of the world, since the beginning of time. Cain and Abel wrestled over how to please God, and it led to murder. They did not understand the secret. The human heart has been continuing that awful tradition ever since, so we pretty much have missed the point, too. But the lesson we were to take was that we were and are our sister’s and our brother’s keepers, and that ripples out from that mystery as well.

The revelation, that which was unveiled, was the mystery, the secret sauce that God sprinkled throughout creation. So often we worry and fret over what we need to do to please God. What might we need to do to get God’s attention?

Blessed Mary here, in her innocence and simplicity, just was who God made her to be. It wasn’t about doing, or abstaining, or refraining, or fasting. It was and is about being. Jesus said it best, “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” 

Jesus did not come to make us miserable, cranky, or judgmental. The opposite of that, exactly. Loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. (Galatians 5:22-23) But what it makes us is not the secret, this revelation of the mystery. What we are and what we can become is the outcome of the mystery.

As we reside in who God made us to be, we latch onto the mystery, written in the DNA of the universe. In our daily lectionary readings this week, these verses caught my attention from Psalm 49:

4 Why should I be afraid in evil days, *

    when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,

5 The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, *

    and boast of their great riches?

6 We can never ransom ourselves, *

    or deliver to God the price of our life;

7 For the ransom of our life is so great, *

    that we should never have enough to pay it,

8 In order to live for ever and ever, *

    and never see the grave.

15 But God will ransom my life; *

    he will snatch me from the grasp of death.

16 Do not be envious when some become rich, *

    or when the grandeur of their house increases;

17 For they will carry nothing away at their death, *

    nor will their grandeur follow them.

It is not about what we do, or about what we gain. The esteem of our colleagues or the jealousy of our rivals means nothing to God. We are seen as who we are because of whose we are. We are Beloved, because we are the Children of God.

As the beautiful hymn to the Divine Word, the LOGOS, the Christ, declares:

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (vv. 11-13)

In that hymn at the beginning of the Gospel of John we are told plainly that we do not choose God, God already chose us. So it was with Mary. God looked at all creation across the ages and said, “Yes, she is the one. She will be just right! 

And not only was Mary chosen, you were, too! God wants you in the Family! If you ever worried or doubted that, know this. God is, and always has been only an arm’s length away because that is as far as you can hold God back.

What is so beautiful about today’s Gospel reading is that Blessed Mary, in her youthful naivete grasped and claimed, was that she was the Lord’s and she was willing to do what God would have of her. Mary chose to be a part of the Mystery. When invited she said, “Yes.” 

Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

The revelation of the mystery is this, that enables us to love all our sisters and brothers, that enables us to grow in the Spirit and be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, and all the rest, that God loves you. God loves you at your worst. God loves you at your best. God’s love is so big, that God loves your enemies, too. And God loves you enough that you can even love your enemies, too. 

When my kids were young, one of the games we played at night as they were going to sleep went like this. 

“Love you.” 

“Love you more.” 

“Love you most.”

After a while they figured out that whoever said Love You first, was the one who “won” and got to say “Love you most!” And so it is with God. God loved first. God loved most. God loves best.

As we conclude Advent, as we finish these weeks of preparation for the Christmas that was so long ago and the Return that is yet to Come, we recognize that each and every one of us has the choice given to Mary. Will we, like Mary, say yes to God? We will allow that first love, that love of God, to take hold, nestle in, and grow to maturity in us?

In the final verse of one of our favorite Christmas Carols we sing yearly. Have you heard the words? Have you meant them? 

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray,

cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today!

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell.

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.

May you feel it, and know it this Christmas, especially this Christmas. 

[singing] O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.