We Are . . . Those Who Dream

Luke 2:1-20  Common English Bible

In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom. 

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

 

 

During this Advent Season, we have been inviting you to dream.

We have looked at the dreams of others --- as they longed for the coming of a messiah.

We looked at John the baptizer dreaming of the one greater than him who would usher in the kin-dom of God.

Then the past couple of weeks we have looked at Mary

          Mary who says yes to the dream God gave her --- with great joy

          And Mary who needed Elizabeth to encourage her to keep the dream

Tonight --- as we gather around the manger, we are reminded that we are all dreamers.

Every year, we come to this night with awe, wonder, and holy imagination for what is possible.

Like Mary, we treasure God’s dream in our hearts and commit to keeping it alive.

Like the holy family, we believe and trust in a God who comes to us in the vulnerability of a child.

What I love about the Christmas story is that it is a story of a multiplicity of dreams.

          Mary dreams of her child that will bring salvation to the world

          The shepherds dream of a society where they will not be seen as disposable

                   A world in which they are no longer marginalized

                   A world where they are respected and seen as valuable children of God

          The angels dream of peace on the earth

          The Magi come dreaming of a new world order ---

one they do not comprehend, nor do they understand ---

yet they come --- and they dream

And yet, for each of these dreamers ----

Jesus’ birth often challenged,               

disrupted,

sometimes fulfilled

and always seemed to sustain their dreams.

What are the dreams that you bring to the manger this night?

Many children will go to bed tonight with dreams of X-boxes and I-phones

          Of dolls and baby yodas   

                   Of Bikes and trikes

But others --- others will go to bed this night filled with uncertainty.

          Uncertain how they will feed their family on Christmas day and beyond     

Not sure if they will have a job or a business as we continue to be devastated by the pandemic

Sad because they cannot live up to the American consumer ideal when it comes to Christmas

Still others will have an empty chair at the table, representing one of the almost 300,000 who have died in the USA or 1.6 million that have died worldwide

In a few moments, we will celebrate the coming of the light of Jesus into the world

born in an insignificant town       

in an insignificant nation

to insignificant parents

And yet, the dream that this baby represents continues to transform the world.

How will that dream manifests itself to you?

Claire Smith, a poet from Guyana invites us into this dream

I dream

Of a loving world

Where we see each other

With God’s eyes:

 

I dream of a resourceful world

Where we cherish the unique gift

Of each other;

I dream

Of a hopeful world

Where we recognize the power of God’s grace

To transform and make new;

 

I dream of peace. 

Howard Thurman tells a wonderful story about a chance encounter at a bus stop.

Thurman says that he was waiting to catch a bus when he noticed a man, sitting in his car across the street

          The man seemed to be making notes in some kind of book

          After he finished writing, the man looked toward Thurman with a broad smile

                   Thurman smiled in return

                             Thinking he must know him from someplace

The man opened the door to his car and called out, inviting Thurman to a ride, downtown – if that was where he happened to be going

As he got into the car and they began the journey downtown, Thurman tried to think of where their paths had crossed

Soon it was clear that they were total strangers

          But out of the graciousness in his heart this man had offered Thurman a ride

He was a salesman

          He spoke with an accent

                   But he enjoyed helping people whenever he could

This experience reminded Thurman of a friend of his who loved to stop at a certain corner every day --- offering a ride to any person who happened to be there and wanting to go downtown.

This friend would say that each morning was a exciting adventure in meeting and getting to know a new person.

She said that she gained a rare richness by meeting so many different and unique people.

And what she appreciated most was that she was able to meet an immediate need for someone each day --- just by offering a ride and being friendly company

Thurman writes:

Perhaps there is nothing more exhilarating to the spirit than to be able to minister to the needs of others at the time when a particular need is most acutely felt. This is the essence of the spirit of Christmas....the true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become calloused, insensitive, and hard. Once this spirit becomes a part of a [person’s] life, every day is Christmas, and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.

What adventure is God planting in your heart this Christmas?

What are the dreams that God is giving you?

But we must, like John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary and Jesus do more than just dream. 

We must awaken the dream through our actions.

Three years ago the word “woke” was added to the dictionary.

According to Merriam-Webster woke means:

aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

Being WOKE requires us to keep our eyes open to the reality around us.

To pay attention to when there is a disparity between how one race or group of people is treated unjustly more than another.

Being WOKE means dreaming of something more.

Something better.

Being WOKE means it’s time to dream some dreams.

To open our eyes and align our reality with God’s reality for justice, kindness, and humility.

When you read the advent and Christmas stories in the bible, it is evident that they are calling us to be woke to the marginalized, the oppressed, the separated.

I want to end tonight sharing two of Howard Thurman’s poems. 

Thurman has the uncanny ability to put into words what many of us struggle with.

In his poem Christmas Is Waiting to be Born, Thurman is calling for us to be woke.

Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes,

and the heart consumes itself, if it would live,

Where little children age before their time,

And life wears down the edges of the mind,

Where the old man sits with mind grown cold,

While bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death,

Where fear companions each day’s life,

And Perfect Love seems long delayed.

CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:

In you, in me, in all humanity mankind.”

Christmas is waiting to be born

          Let it be born in your hearts

          Let it be born in your dreams

          Let it be born as you seek to make God’s kin-dom real to ALL

Let us dream God’s dream.

 

 

 

I will light candles this Christmas,

Candles of joy despite all the sadness,

Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,

Candles of courage for fears ever present,

Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,

Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,

Candles of love to inspire all my living,

Candles that will burn all year long.

~ Howard Thurman

What If?

I don’t know about you --- but by this time every year I am pretty much done with Christmas!

We have been hit with Christmas music since Halloween --- and as much as I love Bruce Springsteen singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town --- I am over it!

Even Target is done with Christmas already --- I saw Valentines displays already up.

It is as if we feel like we must rush from one season to the next and not really paying attention to the season we are celebrating.

A few years back there was a fascinating article in the Chicago Tribune about a Chinese immigrant named Su Zhu Yuan.

Su Zhu Yuan thought Americans celebrated Christmas as part of our patriotic duty.

Relatives gave gifts.

Neighbors prepared feasts.

Storefronts in Chinatown advertised sales.

She had been in the United States for eight years, but no one told her the real story behind Christmas – the Biblical one that we gather to remember tonight.

The sad truth is --- for most of us --- Christmas has less to do with celebrating the incarnation of Jesus than it does with:

·         Santa

·         Black Friday

·         Cyber Monday

·         And the annual silly and pointless debate about “Happy Holidays” vs. Merry Christmas

So “the Church” created a period for us to slow down so that we can prepare ourselves for the Incarnation

During Lent we set aside six weeks of preparing for Easter

Before Christmas we set aside four weeks to prepare for the incarnation.

And the question that seems to come to mind is

·         What exactly are we preparing for?

·         Why did God become incarnate in the world in the first place?

Not questions that most of us really want to ponder

We would rather crank up the Christmas music and dance along with Feliz Navidad and avoid the hard and deep questions about WHY Jesus came.

Do you remember the movie Talladega Nights?

Ricky Bobby has gathered with his friends and family at the dinner table and he begins to pray saying "Lord, baby Jesus" and "tiny, infant Jesus" and "8 pound- 6 ounce- newborn infant Jesus."

He can't hasn’t even finished his prayer before his wife chimes in— "Hey, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up."

Ricky responds, "I like the Christmas Jesus best and I'm saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown up Jesus or teen-age Jesus or to bearded Jesus or whoever you want."

That’s the challenge of Christmas right there.

Most of us want to keep baby Jesus in the manger and just have a birthday party celebration.

What if Jesus had remained a baby?

Let me go back even a little further --- what if Mary had said “NO” to the angel?

What if the shepherd’s ignored the angel choir?

What if the Magi had decided to stay home?

What if Herod had succeeded and managed to kill baby Jesus?

What if --- when we leave here tonight --- we walk out unchanged --- unmoved by this baby --- unwilling and unable to share his light because we leave it behind?

We don’t want to have to wrestle with the darkness of our world

          We don’t want to sing advent hymns that are in a minor key and feel maudlin

We want the little baby Jesus – who is cute and the amazing animals who surround him who don’t seem to have any stinky smell

But we have to go through the darkness --- we must tell the story again and again --- so that we can experience the Joy that the Lord has come!

Remember Su Zhu Yuan who thought Christmas was a patriotic holiday?

          She though it was about giving gifts

          And huge feasts

          And sales galore

But she didn’t know about Jesus and why we celebrate his birth.

When Su Zhu Yuan finally heard Jesus story she celebrated his birth by immersing herself in the baptismal waters at Chinese Christian Union Church.

She emerged a newborn Christian. “I have peace in my heart and joy,” the 41-year-old seamstress said through a translator. “I’m giving the heavy burdens to Jesus.”

Su Zhu Yuan donned a white gown and with bare feet ascended a narrow staircase to the church's baptismal pool. Gripping the pastor's arm with both hands, she let him plunge her into the water. As she resurfaced, she wiped the water from her face and smiled.

She said, “Today is like a holiday. It's like having two Christmases.”

In a few moments --- we are going to turn out the lights --- and we are going to be surrounded by darkness

As the room becomes dark --- take a moment and think of the dark places in our world today --- in our city today --- in our homes and lives today.

I want you to allow the darkness to become REAL

<< SILENCE >>

Much like today, 2000 years ago the world seemed to be a very dark place

          Violence

          Corruption

          Greed

          Division

Were all a part of the reality of Judea long ago

God saw the darkness and decided to do something about it

God sent a small light into the world

          God sent --- not an army

                             Not a NGO or even a government

                                      God sent a BABY

A baby who was dependent upon others to keep that child alive

Making Room For Jesus

I am sure your house is the same way, but it has been absolute chaos at the Conger household the past few days.

A couple of weeks ago, my dad decided it was time to have a heart attack --- fortunately it was minor, but it meant that we had to travel to Chicago last Friday for the annual Conger Family Christmas Celebration that was supposed to be held here in Indy.

It was just as well that we did that, because we have not had a working kitchen in our home since prior to Halloween.

Saturday, following our Friday night gathering in Downers Grove, IL, our children began arriving at our home.  Staying at our home right now are:

          7 adults

          1 5-month old

          3 dogs

          NO KITCHEN!

Quite simply --- There is NO ROOM!

2,000 years ago, Mary and Joseph traveled to their ancestral home in Bethlehem.

Luke tells us they went to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decided he wanted to tax all his subjects and they had to register for the tax in their ancestral home.

When Mary and Joseph arrived, they found that there was no room available anywhere for them to stay --- and on top of it --- Mary was about to have a baby.

Eventually they were able to find a common room to stay in, one in which they had to share with the animals --- and while there --- Mary had her baby boy.

If Mary and Joseph showed up at my house tonight, I am afraid that I would have to tell them the same thing --- there is no room --- unless you are willing to sleep with the dogs in the den.

For the past month, Matt and I have been preparing for this night by inviting you to make room in your lives for Hope, Peace, Joy, love because until we do that --- we will never have room in our lives for Jesus.

We know that the reason for the season is to celebrate Jesus’ birth and we say that this is what we want to do.

Yet, we get so busy with decorating (and dealing with candles that don’t fit),

buying presents (and waiting in lines!),

and going to parties (and getting stuck in traffic!)

– and we add all these things to our normal schedules that are probably already too full!

The sad fact is there is no room for Jesus

When we’re rushing around, pushing to get more done, and trying so hard to make people happy there just isn’t any room.

So how do we make room for Jesus?

I think Matt gave us the key yesterday.

If you missed his sermon, go online and read it!

But let me give you the gist of it --- you gotta make room to fall in love.

Do you remember when you first fell in love.

It was as if the world stopped all around you and there wasn’t room for anything else.

·         All I wanted to do was spend time with Nancy

·         When I couldn’t be with her in person we would call and talk for hours --- and what did we talk about? --- nothing!  But it didn’t matter

·         We wrote letters to each other

·         Made up silly songs

Our love was consuming

But then something happened

          June 24^th (thirty years ago) a baby entered our lives

                   And I didn’t think I could love anyone I much as I love Jessica

But then three years later Lindsey appeared

And then two more years Haley arrived

And even though when I first met Nancy I didn’t think there could be ever enough love to share --- I WAS WRONG

And then this past July everything changed

          When Miss Hattie came into this world my heart swelled

                   Bigger than it ever had before

                   As Dr. Seuss would say --- “my heart grew three times that day”

                             I don’t know how to explain it

                                      But I know all the grandparents understand

         

What happened?

The moment I laid my eyes on Miss Hattie Mae, I fell in love with her.

          I would do anything for her

Do you want to make room for Jesus?

THEN YOU HAVE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM.

Knowing Jesus isn’t enough

I am a student of the Civil War

          I KNOW all about Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S Grant ---

But I don’t love them!

The only way that there will truly be room in your life for Jesus is when you fall in love.

And the key to falling in love is spending time with him.

Listen to this parody of Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.

It really underscores just how far we have lost what Christmas is all about.

And there were in the same country children keeping watch overt their stockings by the fireplace.  And lo!, Santa Claus came upon them, and they were sore afraid. 

And Santa said unto them “Fear Not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy that is for all the people who can afford them.  For unto you will be given great feasts of turkey, dressing and cake – and many presents – and this will be a sign unto you --- ye shall find the presents, wrapped in bright paper, lying beneath a tree adorned with tinsel, colored balls and lights.”

And suddenly there will be with you a multitude of relatives and friends praise you and saying: “thank you so very much, it was just what I wanted”

And it shall come to pass as the friends and relatives have gone their way to their own homes --- the parents shall say to one another: “what a mess to clean up! I’m tired, let’s go to bed and pick it up tomorrow.  Thank goodness Christmas only comes ones a year.”

And they go with haste to their cold bed and find their desired rest.

The sad truth is, that is Christmas to many tonight

We say, Jesus is the reason --- but we really don’t know him

The greatest gift is often forgotten this night.

          It’s not the new video game

          Or baby doll

          Or football helmet

It’s not even a new IPhone or MacBook

The greatest gift is Jesus!

My prayer this evening is that you meet Jesus tonight --- maybe for the first time --- and that you will fall in love.

Unto You A Child Is Born --- CHRISTMAS EVE 2013

Dec 24, 2013

Unto You A Child Is Born

Luke 2:1-20   (NRSV)

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.

Luke is my favorite version of the Gospel.

To me, Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth is the “real one” --- and for me, it would not be Christmas without hearing it.

Luke adds all those wonderful details that make the story come alive.

Luke’s wealth of names --- dates --- places --- and events animate the ancient world, making it seem less like scripture and more like story time

What would it be like if we put Luke’s gospel into a more current historical context --- would that help bring Luke a little closer to home?

In the sixth year of the administration of President Barak Obama, when Mike Pence was governor of the State of Indiana, when Joe Simonetto, John Reed, John Edington, David Nellens and Andy Koultourides were town Council of Munster, during the time when Mike Coyner was Bishop of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Word of the Lord came to . . . YOU!

And you went out into your neighborhood,

         Appeared before your town council,

Proclaiming the good news of a 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.

Suddenly ---- the beginnings of the Christmas story seem a bit too real --- don’t they?

It is so much more comfortable and cozy to just read Luke’s version ---- to feel the life pulsing through ancient characters and too sit here safely in the 21^st century and know that this happened --- like Star Wars tells us ---- “Long ago and far away” . . .

We don’t want the Christmas story too up close and personal

Because if it becomes too close and too personal --- it might expect something from us!

There is an apocryphal story that during the Civil War in America, --- during one of the worst times of the war as Grant was driving on Richmond.

This was in 1864 and Grant’s troops had been unable to successfully take Petersburg VA, so an almost year long siege was set up.

On Christmas Eve, 1864 --- for whatever reason the continuous battle ceased.

There was no official truce, but both sides withdrew their pickets, and throughout Christmas day Union a Confederate bands exchanged tunes

including renditions of "Dixie by the Yankees and

"Yankee Doodle" by the Rebels

During the day word had passed across the lines that Union General James Stedman's wife had delivered that morning a baby girl.

Word must have spread, because later that day Confederate General William
Malone, considered by many to be one of the toughest fighters in either army, who then commanded the entire sector, sent a messenger across the lines to convey his respects to Mrs. Stedman and her new baby girl.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given;
And the government will be upon his shoulder.

And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Have you ever gone to visit someone who just had a baby.

When you get there everybody goes to see the baby and says all kinds of dumb things like:

"My doesn't he look cute?"
"He looks just like you"

"I think he has your eyes"

Then comes the moment you either long for or fear, depending on your temperament.

When they ask you: "Do you want to hold the baby?"

For many people, that is a great moment.

They love to.

They want to.

But for others, it is a bit scary.

There is always the fear that I will drop the little guy.

What if he cries? --- What do I do then?

Worse yet, what if he spits up?

What if some bodily function, that he has been saving up suddenly erupts?

Then you start asking yourself: how long will I have this child?

Because, once you are holding a child, it is pretty bad form after a few seconds to say

"OK, I'm done --- take the kid back".

Some of us long for those moments when we get to hold the child.

We love it and yet others fear it.

In both cases, it is because of the same reason --- when you hold a baby, that baby becomes real to you.

When you hear about a baby, or even see a baby from across the room, the child is still just some kid in theory to you.

You may believe it is a child,

but as long as it is kept at a safe distance - it really can't effect you.

But when you hold the baby, in some small way you are making a commitment.

You are committing to being careful, and gentle, and even committing to holding that child until someone takes it away.

And when you feel that warm bundle in your arms, well, then it is real in a way that it was not before.

It is not theoretical at all, but one of the most real things in the world.

In that moment, all of your joys, as well as your fears and feelings of inadequacy come to mind

I remember when each of my girls were born.

I was there in the delivery room and when they were born, the doctor turned and said "Mr. Conger, would you like to hold your daughter?"

It should have been an easy question, but it was anything but easy.

At that moment I did not feel adequate, or responsible enough, or mature enough to be a father.

Yet there was the question, I could say yes or no.

But if I said yes, I was saying yes to a whole lot more than just holding a newborn child.

That is what Christmas is all about,

so much of our worship tends to put God at a distance.

We sing and talk about God in the third person.

We throw around ideas, concepts, and philosophical theology in a way that makes God a God in theory.

But in Christmas, God gets beyond all that, and God comes down to us in the flesh.

Nothing theoretical here.

God in undeniable reality.

Yet we still make God theoretical by putting the advent at a safe time and distance.

Jesus birth is someplace else, and at some other time.

Yet the word of the angel is,

"Unto you is born THIS DAY in the city of David a savior."

Not just here and then, but here and now.

And if you dare to really believe that, if you dare in your heart to come to the

manger, then God will ask the inevitable question:

“do you want to hold the baby?”

Would you like to experience the Christ child in undeniable reality in your life?

Do you want to go past the nice ideas, and find a child that is God in flesh?

And we come that awkward moment, and God asks, and if we are honest, we might have a variety of feelings.

For some of us, the answer is an immediate YES!!  Yes. Yes. yes.

But for some of the rest of us,

we come with some fears --- as well as the longing.

If I say yes to the child, what will be required of me?

Am I worthy?

Am I good enough?

How long will I have to hold this child?

The fears are natural.

And the answer to our first fears is probably no,

we are not good enough,

or holy enough,

or together enough.

But that is OK.

Neither were the shepherds,

or the wise men,

and maybe not even Mary and Joseph.

But the gift of the child does not depend on our worthiness. It is because of God's goodness.

And how long will you hold this child?

Well, maybe forever.

Maybe this yes is an eternal one.

But that is OK too ---- because our yes to that question is echoed by God's yes for us.

And in the end, this child that we hold, will come to hold us, through all the uncertain times ahead.

For that child came as God's reality for us.

He came to love, and show us what God is like up close and personal.

He came as God in the flesh to live for us, and heal us, and to die for us --- and most importantly --- to show us how to REALLY live.

The child born in the manger for us tonight is the same child that gave his life for us.

He came on Christmas, and he comes tonight.

But the question --- and God's offer remains

Would you like to hold the baby?