Bringing Joy

Bringing Joy

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24   (NRSV)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a very joyful person.

I struggle with just letting go and being joyful

My inner child is kept pretty closely guarded and hidden away

I don’t know why I am that way ---

          I don’t always like that I am that way

          But it is just the way that I am

Sometimes I am afraid to be too joyful --- wondering if people will like me or respect me if I am?

When I try to force myself to be joyful --- I feel phony and dishonest.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy.

Remember how the angels sang:

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

Yet for many people, Christmas is anything but joyful.

All kinds of factors can make this a most difficult and challenging season.

·         Loneliness

Our society makes the holiday season all about families and getting together

That can be very difficult for those who have no family or whose family lives a long way away

·         Illness

Think of Erin's mom Peggy who is having major surgery on December 23rd

Can you image the anxiety at their household

Erin shared this with me:

The best outcome includes loss of hearing in left ear, facial paralysis for up to 18 months and radiation. The worst case scenario is not necessarily life threatening, just effects her quality of life. It would include a feeding tube and some kind of tracheotomy. 

I cannot fathom how difficult this season is for them.

·         Loss of a loved one

On Saturday Dec 17th, 2011 Nancy's Dad, Ed Hollowell died after a long battle following multiple strokes.  We got the word of his passing during rehearsal for the children's pageant that morning.

We left following church on the 18th, swinging by to pick up the girls, to make the long trip to the North Carolina coast

His funeral was three days later, December 20th --- and I had the privilege of presiding over it.

You can imagine how Christmas was at our house that year.  We got home, on Dec 23rd, just in time for me to get the final preparations for Ridge's Christmas Eve service done.  I wasn't in the most joyful spirit that year!  I think I was just going through the motions

Later that year --- somebody told me how terrible my sermon was that Christmas Eve --- I wasn't surprised --- it was a hard time

·         Divorced families

Scott McClellan in an article he wrote for the Storyline blog tells a powerful story. 

He writes:

It’s Christmas 1989, and my dad’s black Chevy Beretta is idling out at the curb. Time is up at my mom’s for my sister and me, and now we have to shuffle off to another destination on the other side of town, on the other side of this fractured family tree.

We’d woken up early that morning and tried to rush through the presents and breakfast. We’d packed the night before and hurried to change out of new pajamas and into new sweaters and jeans.

But we still ran out of time.

I wanted to stay, to soak in the sense of place and the blessed carnage of scattered boxes and shredded wrapping paper, but no one blocked off space for that on the calendar.

We had to leave right then — that was the agreement — so we could get over there for the early thing, then onto the lunch thing, then back for the later thing after that. Dad was waiting. We had to get onto his things so that we could get through those things and back later for Mom’s things. So many things, but none of them felt sacred.

I was only seven.

But even then I knew Christmas wasn’t supposed to be that way. Movies, TV, songs and commercials told me so. They spoke of magic and meaning, togetherness and tenderness.

Instead, we found ourselves working out the tense implications of a newly minted custody arrangement. . . .

And here’s the thing: Scrooges like me aren’t born; they’re made. One year at a time, one conflict at a time, one fa-la-la-la-la-la-la at a time. Eventually, anticipation gives way to dread. Excitement gives way to anxiety. Revelry gives way to humbuggery.

I am willing to bet, that there are quite a few Scrooges here at Ridge church --- made one circumstances at a time ---- that sometimes seem beyond our control.

So what do we do?

How do we find JOY?  Especially during this season . . .

I came across a fascinating article this week about CS Lewis. 

Recently a letter that he wrote to a Mrs Ellis on August 19, 1945 was found inside a secondhand book. 

          What a treasure to find.

This letter was written three years before he wrote his memoir: Surprised by Joy. 

Lewis tells Ellis in this letter that “everything is going well”, but goes on to explain that he does not mean “joy” by this. “In fact I meant by ‘things going well’ just that security – or illusion of security – which you also regard as unhealthy. Real joy seems to me almost as unlike security or prosperity as it is unlike agony,” he writes.

“It jumps under one’s ribs and tickles down one’s back and makes one forget meals and keeps one (delightedly) sleepless o’ nights. It shocks one awake when the other puts one to sleep. My private table is one second of joy is worth 12 hours of Pleasure.”

Lewis goes on to write of how “the physical sensations of joy and misery are in my case identical”, and of how “just the same thing happens inside me on getting the good or the bad news”. He adds a short postscript to the letter: “Don’t you know the disappointment when you expected joy from a piece of music and get only pleasure: Like finding Leah when you thought you’d married Rachel!”

Joy, he would write in his memoir, later, “must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again … I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.”

Joy is never in our power --- Lewis wrote.

Joy --- "jumps under one’s ribs and tickles down one’s back and makes one forget meals and keeps one sleepless (at) night. It shocks one awake . . . One second of joy is worth 12 hours of Pleasure.”

Our text this morning from Paul is a letter that he wrote to the church in Thessaloniki, Greece (Macedonia)

Paul is challenging us in some very specific ways.

He tells us:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances

It is a great idea --- but it isn't always very easy

Eugene Boring in his commentary on Mark notes that:

Christian faith embraces the whole of life and is not a matter of moods or 'giving God his part.'  All of life can be a joyous celebration of the presence of God.  This is not a matter of how one feels but of what God has done for us.

I think most of us make the mistake that Paul, Boring and Lewis are trying to correct.  We connect joy with pleasure.

The quote from the front of your bulletin: (Daniel Clendenin)

Joy is more elusive, more subtle and more nuanced than happiness, a predisposition to cheerfulness, persevering with emotional extra effort, or the luck of good fortune. . . . joy is entirely gratuitous. You cannot earn it, buy it or deserve it. It is a divine gift to receive rather than a selfish goal to pursue.

Joy is entirely gratuitous ---- it is a divine gift!

The problem is we think the opposite of joy is sadness or sorrow --- and that is just not true. 

          The opposite of joy is anxiety.

In other words, the only way we can find joy is to put our trust in God.

Luke 12:22-25   (NRSV)

 “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. . . . Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your . . . life?

John 15:11   (NRSV)

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

The world celebrates the "joy" of Easter and Christmas, but it's not really JOY.

It is more a warm and fuzzy feeling that we connect to the holiday through our memories with family and friends.

Real joy comes only after we allow God to deal with the brokenness in our lives.

We light the candle of JOY today because we want to recognize that Jesus is the climax of all history --- and apart from Jesus we can never find real joy.

Joy isn't something we can make --- joy is something that we are given by God.

We have to quite equating please with joy --- real Joy --- God's joy is a gift for each of us --- if we will slow down long enough --- open our eyes --- open our hearts --- and let God's JOY wash over us.

And when we have that joy --- God wants us to know that we cannot hoard it for ourselves --- it is meant to be shared

And God invites us to be agents in sharing that Joy

We do that by inviting them into that life changing relationship with Jesus

On Thursday this past week I was installed as Chairman of the Board of the Munster Chamber of Commerce. 

Seven years ago I served as President of the Munster Rotary Club

And was a member of the Lake County Library Foundation

As well as the Munster Education Foundation

          And chaplain of the Munster Police Force

All of those happened because somebody shared with me.

Over ten years ago, I walked into People's Bank to move some bank accounts because the bank we started with when we moved here (Pinnacle Bank) had been bought out and we were not happy with the new bank.

While I was in there I met the Bank Manager (Mike McIntyre) and we began to talk.

          He INVITED me to attend a Rotary meeting

                   And when I didn't show up, he called and offered to pick me up

He INVITED me to the Munster Chamber of Commerce, as well as nominated me for the Muster Education Foundation and the Lake Country Library Foundation

All because he invited me

Who is God nudging you to invite the Christmas?

Share the JOY, share the GRACE, share God's UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

------------------------------------------------------------

CS Lewis article: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/unseen-cs-lewis-letter-defines-joy-surprised-by-joy

Scott McClellan article: http://storylineblog.com/2014/12/09/when-you-cant-find-joy-in-the-christmas-season/

Daniel Clendenin, Journey With Jesus blog for January 15, 2007, journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20070115JJ.shtml

What The World Needs Now!

I had an interesting conversation with one of Munster's police officers this week.  He stopped and asked me a rather interesting question.

He wanted to know if I was planning, or knew of any protests that might be planned in response to the recent grand-jury decisions.

I told him, NO --- and before I could say even another word --- he launched into a diatribe against Father Pfleger and St Sabina's Church in Chicago that has been at the heart of many of the protests in Chicago this week.

He went on to tell me how religion shouldn't be engaged in that kind of activity --- and he hoped that there would not be any protests in Munster.

Today is the second Sunday of Advent.

And our scripture this morning is all about John the Baptist and his role in preparing the way for Jesus

Mark 1:1-8   (NRSV)

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John, in our Gospel tradition, has only one purpose and that is to announce the coming of Jesus.

That seemed to be the extent of his ministry --- at least as far as the author of the Gospel of Mark is concerned.

John wants to let us know --- that something was coming

          Something radical

                   something that would change the world

something that would change you and me

The real question that John was asking each of us is --- are you ready?

Are you ready for Jesus to come with this radical message?

          Are you preparing the way?

On this second Sunday of Advent our focus this morning is on love.

Certainly something that the world desperately needs!

Let me ask you:

What is the craziest thing you have ever done for love?

What lengths would you go for the one that you love?

We hear stories all the time of people who go to great lengths for people that they do not even know

·         Someone donates a kidney

·         Bone Marrow Transplant

And think of the stories of what parents will do for their children

·         drive all night to be home for a school play

·         jump out of an airplane

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

          I want you to think for a minute and try to answer that question . . .

Maybe that isn't the right question ---- maybe the real question should be: WHAT WOULDN'T YOU DO FOR LOVE?

The truth is --- we say we will do lots of things --- but words can become empty phrases if they are not backed up by action.

Love songs are filled with images of the tangible ways people have acted on love --- ways that they want the whole world to see.

·         Love is the yellow ribbons tied on oak trees all over a community

·         Love is Marvin Gaye proclaiming that there "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough" to keep him from his lover

·         Love is Todd Rundgren going from shore to shore to remind us all that Love is the Answer

Do you remember that beautiful song from A Chorus Line: What I Did For Love?

The actors are reflecting on the often painful sacrifices that they have made in their quest to be successful on Broadway.

They remember all that they have had to endure

Did what we had to do

Won't forget, can't regret

What I did for love

They were willing to do whatever it took

          endless rehearsals

                   late hours

                             hard work

                                      travel away from home

Whatever it took was an acceptable offering for the love of the stage.

Did what we had to do

Won't forget, can't regret

What I did for love

Advent is about God's love for us

God is willing to do WHATEVER it takes to show us love

This kind of love that God wants to show us requires courage

I think we all know where God's love is leading us.

This love started in a manger

Angels singing

Animals lowing

Stars shining

But it ends on a cross

God's love for us does not run away from the pain and realities of life.

If anything --- God's love follows us into those painful valleys reminding us over and over:

That there ain't no mountain high enough

No valley low enough

No river wide enough

          To keep God's love from washing over us

And John today is reminding us --- ARE YOU READY --- BECAUSE JESUS IS COMING!

And as I re-read the story of John crying out in the wilderness

'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' . . . “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

or in even more simple language, I love Peterson's translation from THE MESSAGE

'Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!' . . . “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”

I am struck by the assumption that the police officer was making about Christianity in our discussion.

He saw Christians as people who kept the status quo. 

          Who protect what is. 

Who turn their backs on injustices (if those injustices were not affecting the majority group)

But that is not the One whom John was clearing the way for.

Jesus didn't come to protect those who were in authority.

Jesus didn't come to keep the status quo.

Jesus came to turn the world upside down and offer a new way.

A way of love.  PERIOD

Not a way of love for some.

          Nor a way of love that blessed some and damned others.

Jesus came turning the world on its head because he sought to turn over the tables on anything that prevented love.

I don't know how well you follow the news --- but last Monday was World AIDS Day

If you are not familiar with World AIDS day let me quote from their website explaining the purpose of the day.

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.

Last Sunday, a Baptist Pastor in Tempe Arizona preached a sermon that has gone viral on the internet.

The sermon isn’t going viral because Pastor Steve Anderson preached the good news of Jesus Christ. The sermon is going viral because the pastor called for the murder of every LGBT person as a solution to end HIV and AIDS.

          Seriously

His sermon was titled:" AIDS, The Judgment of God" and he quoted from Leviticus and argued that "gays should be killed."

Pastor Anderson said:

“Turn to Leviticus 20:13 because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS,” he said as his congregation laughed. “This is the cure for AIDS. Everyone is talking about ‘let’s have an AIDS free world by 2020.’ Look, we can have an AIDS free world by Christmas,” which evoked more laughter.

Leviticus says:

Leviticus 20:13   (NRSV)

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death

I don't know about you --- but to preach that bothers me greatly.

And we can disagree over the use of Scripture and passages like that --- but I found his sermon reprehensible

To watch on TV --- the police officer put a choke hold on Eric Garner in New York, an unarmed black man who was selling cigarettes illegally.

Watching the video --- and watching Mr. Garner die in front of us all --- to me is appalling.

I don't know what to do . . .

But John says we are supposed to prepare the way for Jesus, and in light of Pastor Anderson's sermon, and Eric Garner's death and Tamir Rice's death --- I wonder what John would want us to do --- to make ready for Jesus.

I wonder what Jesus would want me to do if I really loved unconditionally like he loves me.

How far would I be willing to go?

What would I do if I really believed that:

That there ain't no mountain high enough

No valley low enough

No river wide enough

To stop me from loving ALL of God's children

I have to do something . . .

This sitting around on my hands is driving me crazy --- it is ripping a hole in my soul.

I can no longer just sit around and ignore the injustices that are going on around us.

I am in contact with some of the other United Methodist Pastor's in our area --- and am looking at having a gathering sometime this week --- hopefully in Gary.

What do I hope to accomplish?

I hope to prepare my heart for the advent of Jesus!

Not by getting my shopping done

Not by getting my stockings hung

But by living the LOVE of Jesus

I asked you earlier --- what you would do for love . . . What will you do with the love that Jesus has given you?

Come and receive his love and prepare for his return

Looking for Peace

Psalm 80:1-7   (NRSV)

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
    before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
    and come to save us!

Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
    our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Thanksgiving at the Conger household was very different this year.

To the best of my recollection, this was the first time that all of the girls have not been home --- and the first time in a long time, that we did not gather together with my parents, brother and his children.

My parents are wintering in Arizona, and Lindsey (our middle daughter) who lives in Los Angeles drove and spent a few days with them for thanksgiving.

Since my parents were gone, we were invited to Jessica's apt in Chicago and had a wonderful dinner put on by her and Sam.

It was a great day!

          Wonderful (but too much) food

          Great hosts

          Little traffic!

I imagine that many of you took the opportunity Friday to get up bright and early and to head out and fight the crowds for all the black Friday sales.

I stayed home so that the dog would not be lonely and read a wonderful novel.

Nancy and Haley seemed to survive the shopping ordeal, and then later that afternoon we went back downtown to the Lyric Opera to see Porgy and Bess.

          I am not sure I am cut out for operas but the singing was fantastic!

One of the things that struck me, as we were waiting in the lobby to get into the opera was how few people were actually talking (with each other)

But virtually everyone was busy communicating with somebody --- but just not in person.

Studies suggest that as a people we are communicating with one another more frequently than any other time in human history.

Just not the ways that we used to before . . .

DO any of you actually remember talking on a telephone?

          I am not talking about a cell phone

          Or even the cordless phones we have today

          How about one of those old rotary phones we rented from Bell Telephone

And when was the last time you actually hand wrote a letter?

One of my favorite memories as a kid was sitting down as a family with a tape recorder and recording a Christmas message to my grandmother and grandfather in Tennessee --- because it was too expensive to call

While we could still do any of those things --- most of us choose not too

Instead we either talk on our cell phone --- or more than likely we text

          Or use whatsapp

          Or snapchat

I didn't even know what those were until fairly recently

If you go to the mall this week you will find that most people (especially those under 30) have a phone in their hands --- texting, sharing photos, reading emails or listening to music

It is amazing to me how adept our young people are at carrying on multiple conversations at once.

When I was growing up, Face Time was talking to somebody in person --- but on Thanksgiving Day --- Lindsey and Alex joined us in Jessica's living room as we Skyped with them.

When I was on my sabbatical --- almost 10 years ago now --- Nancy and I "talked" twice every day via messenger because it was free and easy. 

We hadn't figured out how to Skype yet.

But every week now, Nancy Skype's with her 88 year old mom in North Carolina. 

It is amazing!!

But what has gotten lost is the sit down and actually talk with one another conversations.

When we do actually sit down and talk it usually is about solving a problem or some other logistical issue --- but we rarely sit down and have those "heart-to-heart" conversations anymore.

And think about the new texting lingo that has developed.

One of the things that has always amazed me are people who can understand what certain texts really mean. 

Because our vocal expressions can reflect our emotions in a way that a Smartphone never can.

The inflection that is used in the words can be powerful.

Let me demonstrate

          U R here

What does that mean?

It could be the factual statement: YOU ARE HERE -- such as: in a certain place

But say it out loud

          You're here

Or      You're Here!!! (excitement)

or       You're here? (amazement)

or       you are here (disgust)

Which is it? 

That is the problem and challenge with modern communication.

Knowing what is meant is not always easy.

Advent is all about our relationship with God and each other.

In the midst of the chaos and confusion of the advent season we are overwhelmed with the parties, the meals, the shopping

It isn't Santa who needs a list --- it is us to keep our schedules straight with all that is going on.

I am not trying to suggest that we shouldn't attend the parties or dinners, or events that are meaningful to us.

Nor am I bashing Santa or the whole idea of gift-giving.

What I am trying to remind you is what we tend to leave off our Advent/Christmas list: 

Baby Jesus

Advent is the celebration of the incarnation --- the God in the flesh event of Jesus

Advent is God's announcement that God does not want a distant --- text only --- relationship with us.

Advent is about God's willingness to be vulnerable, reachable and attainable.

Advent is about God's desire to sit down with us and have a face-to-face ---- heart-to-heart conversation.

Psalm 80 is all about God's desire to have that kind of relationship and our need for it!

Over and over again, the writer of the Psalm wrote:

"Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved"

The Psalmist isn't asking God for a text message response.

The community who sang this Psalm was a community without hope.

They feel like there is nothing they can do to prevent or stop the injustices that are going on around them.

They feel alienated and alone

They feel lost and consumed!

They are crying out to God --- seeking a word of hope and assurance.

Seeking that peace that passes all understanding, that only comes from Jesus.

Without hope and peace we are not delivered, but we also are not saved --- we are doomed to utter despair.

This Psalm is a cry for a personal relationship with God

The prayer of the psalmist echoes the hopeful yearning of God's people today.

"Let your face shine that we may be saved," is the call of people who are surrounded by technology but are still lonely for meaningful communication.

It's the cry of people who may receive hundreds of texts every day but who still feel unheard.

It is the yearning of the human heart which does not want simply to be told of love but needs to be transformed by love and hope for nothing less.

"Let your face shine" pleads the psalmist.

Isn't that our prayer today?

On the streets of Ferguson, Cleveland, Chicago and Munster --- aren't we seeking to see God's face shine?

Despite the tragedies of our time

          Despite Ferguson

          Despite Cleveland

          Despite the ongoing violence in Chicago and so many other places

          Despite the injustice in our own back yard

God seeks to restore us with God's grace

The darkness cannot overcome the light and love of God

God's face continues to shine and is reflected in God's mercy and forgiveness.

Like the Psalmist, we look at the world around us and wonder ---

Can there ever be justice?

Will the races ever treat each other as brothers and sisters?

Will the violence ever stop?

Will the distrust simply because somebody is different ever end?

The answer is found in Psalm 80 and in Advent and the answer is: YES

God says:

·         Yes, I will give ear to your cry.

·         Yes, I will come and save you.

·         Yes, I will restore our relationship fractured by your faithlessness and sin.

·         Yes, I will save you from neighbors who wish to destroy you.

·         Yes, my hand will be upon you.

·         Yes, you will know the strength of the living God.

The promise of Advent is that God's strength will meet us in the midst of our weakness.

There is no place too dismal,

no sin too egregious,

no transgression too dire

to separate us from the love of God who comes to us in Jesus.

God is begging us not to settle for less than the peace that comes through Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

Don't let advent simply be about the shopping and the parties and the gifts.

Advent is really about Ferguson.

          Into that darkness

          Into that deep despair

          Into that sense of hopelessness

          and lack of peace

Our God who comes offers to us a better way.

"Come to save us!" we cry out to God.

          And God does.

Defenseless as a baby, God reflects love and invites compassion.

And that is a message of hope and peace.