The Feast of Holy Name: How Do You Celebrate New Year's Coming?

What do you do to celebrate New Year’s Coming? Do you stay up to watch the ball drop? Do you quietly make some resolutions for the impending year? Do you watch some football games? How about cooking up some black eyed peas and turnip greens? What ritual brings in the New Year for you?

Every year we celebrate Holy Name on New Year’s Day and we celebrate the circumcision and naming of Jesus in the Temple. Talk about a different type of New Year’s ritual! On the eighth day of a Jewish boy’s life, he would have been taken to a rabbi to take part in this ceremony, so that he would have been marked as one of God’s Chosen People. While this simple rite comes at the end of today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel, what tends to overshadow this ritual is the visitation of the angels to the shepherds and recalling Jesus’ virgin birth from Mary.

Often at this time of year we are bombarded by the miraculous! Angels visiting Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Shepherds, a virgin giving birth to Emmanuel (God is with us), and the magi coming from far away to bestow gifts on this new born king makes overlooking this Jewish rite very easy. This makes me think of how I tend to overlook the commonplace, everyday presence of God, as I seek out some amazing bolt-of-lightning type moment.

When Jesus came to earth we hear of all the miracles that took place for him to arrive. The Incarnation of Christ, the Truth that God would want to dwell within the Creation He made, is in and of itself astounding. Yet, on this day, the Feast of Holy Name what stands out to me is the simplicity and the quiet action of Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to be circumcised and named in the presence of the religious authority of the day. While it comes off as everyday, this rite helps me to know that God With Us was just like us.

We do not have too much about Jesus growing up. There is one story in Luke’s Gospel of Jesus’ trip to the Temple as a child, yet for the most part we are left to imagine what the Son of God was like as a kid, a teenager, and a young adult. Jesus walked around just like you and me. He scraped his knee and ran to Mary for comfort. He played with other children in the neighborhood. He stood beside Joseph watching as the carpenter went about his work.

Certainly, I love to celebrate the magnificence of God coming to dwell with us, the angel’s visitations, and the magi coming. Still what the Feast of Holy Name reminds me of is that God came down and was a little boy of whom Mary and Joseph took care. He was presented in the fashion of his culture. He became just like us and when he did he made our simple rituals and everyday practices holy. Maybe it seems silly to celebrate New Year’s traditions, but even actions as simple as these are made holy by Christ’s coming to be with us.

John 1:1-18: Let's Play "Guess the Present!"

Merry Christmas! I have a confession to make to you this morning. This is only the second time in my life that I have ever been to church on Christmas day. Yes, I know. It’s strange. A priest has only been to church one time on Christmas day. Well, my family custom on this day was to wake up, check out our stockings, eat our traditional breakfast, and then tear into our presents. Typically by this time in the day, as a child, I was well on my way to playing with whatever toy or game I had received. In that spirit, I actually want to play a game with you all this morning. I know. It’s strange. Playing a game in church on Christmas day. This is not why you came, but I think you might enjoy this.

Now, this game is actually an adaptation of another game. My friend, Nathan Carlson, a member of St. Thomas down in Birmingham, taught me his game a few years ago. Nathan is a teacher and soccer coach at Homewood High School. He’s creative, he’s funny, and he’s caring. The game he plays is called, “Guess What’s Underneath My Shirt!” As baffling as it might be, the game is simply played by guessing what is underneath Nathan’s shirt. He might hide a toaster oven and the objection of the game is to guess toaster oven. Maybe you get to keep the object, but probably you just get the satisfaction of knowing you were right.

Well, this morning I want to play the Christmas version of this game entitled, “Guess the Present.” I imagine you might already be pretty good at this. We all tend to look at the presents underneath the Christmas tree and we make a guess at what’s underneath the wrapping paper. Well, the game is played in much the same way. I will hold something up and you guess what is held within the packaging. If you guess correctly, then you have the satisfaction of knowing you were right.

Round:
1. Lamp shade

2. Clock

3. Mystery Present

In this third package it could really be anything. It just looks like a box. Who knows what it could be inside this mystery present? While we are thinking about what is held within this paper, I wonder why it is that we give one another presents at this time of year. Why do we give gifts at Christmas time?

Perhaps it has something to do with St. Nicholas. He was the 4th Century Christian bishop of Myra who supposedly would go around to poor families and pay their daughters’ dowries leaving money and sometimes food in a family member’s shoes that would have been left on the outside of the house. Some still celebrate the tradition in early December as they put their shoes out and wait for presents to fill them up. Actually if you leave out a stocking you are in some way celebrating St. Nicholas. Still I don’t know if this is the real reason why we give each other presents now. I wonder what is in the mystery present.

But why do we give each other presents? Maybe it is because we like each other. We appreciate one another, and we want to show that gratitude in giving one another a gift. Perhaps… Really, I have to know what is in this mystery box! If it could be anything, what do you wish it is? A picture of a beloved relative? A gift card? Keys to a new car? A check for a million dollars? Alright, I cannot stand it anymore… I am going to open this present!

There is nothing inside, just some gold paper. I wonder why there’s nothing in it. Sometimes we cannot sense with our sensory perception the gifts we are given. We may not be able to see, touch, taste, smell, or hear a gift, but that does not mean it is not given to us. I believe this is the case with the gift that we receive in today’s gospel.

The good news of John opens with a mysterious song that focuses upon the Word. “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 comprehend it not.”

God, in His infinite abundance, goodness, and love created all things by speaking things into being through the Word. All of this that we see, touch, taste, smell, and hear has been made and made good through the Word of God. Yet, like a mysterious present that we cannot figure out, sometimes we do not understand this present that we have been handed. “He was in the world and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him,” John says. I believe that we give each other gifts at this time of year to take part in God’s abundant gift giving. We attempt to show one another our appreciation by participating in God’s gifting.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” The gift that we have been given is that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. When God came into the world through the Word of God we were given the clearest gift of God’s abundant love for us. Through God becoming incarnate all of creation and we ourselves were made holy vicariously.

God’s Word also brought true light into the world. “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” This light was brought into the world through the Word of God. It enlightens us all. In this the darkest time of year for us in the northern hemisphere we are reminded that the true light enlightens us all. We have this light within us. Each of us has this light within us. The Christ light burns inside.

So as we go forth from here celebrating Christmas, celebrating the Word of God made flesh and dwelling with us, let us also take with us the light of Christ. When we meet our family, our friends, and our neighbors that light burns within us, and it burns within them as well. Remember that all whom we meet have been made holy by God’s coming to be with us. Remember that God has given us all the gift of coming to be with us. Remember that we all possess Christ’s light within us. Amen.

Matthew 1:18-25: I Can't Do It Becomes I Can With God's Help

“I can’t do it,” said the little voice. I looked down at the six year old boy from which the words came. The genuine perplexity with which he said, “I can’t do it,” made it just about impossible for me to get upset. Of course, it was only the first day of camp. Pretty quickly though, I learned that whenever I asked this child to put on shoes, to get ready for pool, to make up his bed, to brush his teeth, or whatever else a hut leader asks her or his campers to do the reply was always the same, “I can’t do it.” By Tuesday my feeling that this was a cute child of God had melted into thinking that perhaps this was a Job situation and I was being tested by the God Almighty. Only 15 years old I did not yet have a grip on my emotions, so as the camper kept saying, “I can’t do it,” my patience wore thinner and thinner.  To top it all off though, not only was one camper saying, “I can’t,” the entire cabin of twelve 6 to 8 year olds responded to any request with the negative words.

Kevin Denson was the other leader in my cabin. We had been campers together for a few years. As we sat down on Tuesday night, he looked as tired as I felt. So I asked him, “What should we do?” His response was as malicious as it was brilliant, “Maybe we could use a devotion.” Of course, I thought, “We could turn to the Word of God to force misbehaving children into shaping up.” I know, I am not proud of what I did, but desperate times, like this, call for desperate measures.

That very same night we turned to a couple verses in Scripture to illustrate our point, namely God does not want us to respond by saying “No, I can’t,” rather we are to say I can… “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and “For God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). We hammered home our message by saying, instead of telling us I can’t do it, say I can. God helps us to do all things. Really, even though we had bad intentions the message was a good one. And, perhaps it was our brilliant message, but probably it was that by Tuesday all the activities (hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, games, and singing) wore the campers out such that they all fell quickly asleep. At least that is what Kevin and I thought happened.

Sometime around two o’clock in the morning, the boy who had been saying “I can’t do it” all week long came and knocked on my door. Half awake, I sat up in my bed. “Buddy, what do you need? It’s really late.” He responded, “I can. I can go to the bathroom.” By which, he meant I can’t go to the bathroom, at least not without a leader coming with him. I just about started crying there and then. He had tried his best to understand our message. He tried to stay positive and to say I can with God’s help, even if he could not.

So often we think of Advent as Mary’s season of “yes,” but today’s gospel depicts Joseph as a profound model of “I can do this” with God’s help. Joseph is a paragon of faith, an example of trust, and one righteous man! Yet to dig a little deeper reveals that this story is not just about Joseph affirming God’s call, it is about us all taking part in the YES!

Betrothal, like the one between Mary and Joseph was a legal and binding contract that was made between the elders of families. Mary and Joseph probably did not have much of a voice in this process. Then, when Joseph discovers Mary is with child, he would have been in the right, according to the book of Deuteronomy (22:23-27), not only to dismiss his betrothed quietly, but also to put her to death, as she had broken the contract. YIKES! Yet, Joseph was a righteous man, so he planned to say, “I can’t do it,” in a more subtle manner. Then, all of a sudden something changed.

“Just when Joseph resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him.” God speaks to us in so many different ways: in Creation, in stillness, in relationship, in song, in Scripture, in worship, and even in dreams. What Joseph hears spoken to him is actually of profound importance to us as well. The angel identifies Joseph, as Son of David, which puts some historical perspective around this. The God of all Creation has sent a messenger who knows exactly who Joseph is. God does not mistake Joseph calling him by the wrong name. God knows the number of hairs on his head. He knows exactly who we are too. God knows us, the number of hairs on our heads too. He knows our hearts, our minds, and our emotions…

The messenger then tells Joseph, “Do not be afraid.” Someone once told me, “Fear is a great place to visit, but it’s certainly not a place you want to live.” I can imagine that if I were in Joseph’s position and an angel came to me in a dream I would be pretty scared. Yet, the angel’s message of not being afraid is really an invitation to be open to what is coming from God. We too are asked to be open to what God is calling us to do and who God is calling us to be. The angel then lets Joseph know that this child is not some “illegitimate” son, but conceived from the Holy Spirit within Mary. The Holy Spirit comes to bear life in Mary in a very special way. Once his fear subsides, Joseph can hear that God is bearing something profound within his betrothed. We too are invited to put down our fears, so that the Spirit can bear life with Christ in us.

Joseph then discovers that he is to name this child Jesus. This is nothing all that new in Jewish history, as Ishmael, Isaac, Solomon and Josiah all had their names revealed to their family in dreams. Yet, the Angel’s last note stands out in particular! Jesus will save his people from their sins. The child within Mary will wipe away the perceived disconnection, the wrongs, and the hurt that keep people from God. This is good news. This is a good dream, but we cannot live merely in dreams.

What is remarkable about this dream though, is that Joseph wakes up! This is the season when we hear “Sleepers Awake!” Joseph does wake up and all that told to him becomes true! The “I can’t do it” in the nighttime turned into “I can” of the morning. Matthew tells us that all of this happened to fulfill a prophecy that we would know Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” WHOA! God is coming to be with us! When I really stop to think about it, I can hardly believe this. The God of all Creation wants to come and be with us? Certainly God has made Himself known through Creation, through the prophets, through wisdom, but now God is going to fully show us that God is with us! We are called to respond like Joseph.

Joseph, could have said no to this dream. Who knows what would have happened? Certainly God could have intervened in other ways, but Joseph could have put shame upon Mary, Joseph could have even had Mary put to death. Yet, he listens to what the messenger says in a dream. Joseph says I can do this with your help God! And the way in which God responds is by coming to be with Joseph, coming to be with us!

Advent is a season of Mary’s yes, but it is also a season of Joseph’s affirmation. A time for dreaming and for listening. A chance for us to wake up. We are called to say yes to God! Even when the consequences seem hard to believe. How will “I can’t do it” turn into “I can do it with God’s help”? How will you dream? How will you wake up? How will you see that God is with us?

Matthew 3:1-12: John the Baptist Is a Weirdo and A Pyromaniac

This morning I had the gift of sitting with several members of St. John’s parish to practice Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. For the latter exercise, we read this coming Sunday’s gospel lesson, which is Matthew 3:1-12. In this passage we hear about John the Baptist who is crying out in the wilderness, as Isaiah foretold someone would. John, if you don’t already know, is a weirdo by today’s standards, or at least that’s what so many people say. He spent his time out in solitude, ate bugs and honey, and wore camel hair clothes with a leather belt. COMPLETE WEIRDO RIGHT?

Well, I’m not so sure. Prophets are supposed to be a little outside the box. If someone is swept up in the culture of the day, how could one actually say anything prophetic? One has to even step outside of one’s own home, one’s own town, one’s own immediate culture to have a resounding prophetic impact. Later in Matthew, Jesus himself will attest to this saying, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” (13:57). I think John decided to step way, way outside of the predominant culture, so that he could gain some perspective. Thus John gives us phrases like, “You brood of vipers” (3:7), “Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees” (3:10), “The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (3:12), and my personal favorite “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” (3:8).

When John stepped out into the wilderness he left his kind and gentle turns of phrase back in civilization. As a result of the two thousand years of dissonance (in culture) and distance (in time and space) between John and myself, I tend to tune out what this great prophet said. I retain a bit of my childhood impatience and choose to skip over the hard message of Advent of which John is the head spokesperson. I want Christmas to be here already, so I create a more sterile version of this season of Advent. Primarily, from John’s message I run away, hide, and hope that I am not about to get axed and tossed into the unquenchable fire.
So I felt a bit squeamish at first hearing Matthew 3:1-12 multiple times this morning during Lectio Divina. Yet, sitting with the parishioners and John the Baptist enabled me to hear something new. This prophetic message from this strange man in the wilderness actually is a message of hope.

As stinging as his message is hitting our ears, John the Baptist truly was preaching good news about repentance, the forgiveness of sins, and the kingdom of heaven coming near! The Rt. Rev. Claude Payne in a meditation for today says that Advent is the season of the Old Testament, by which he means that it is the season of anticipating what the prophets are saying. We get to slow down, be quiet, and listen with hopeful ears for what is coming to us.

The Baptist’s message allows for us to dream how it is that the Christ’s coming will bring with it the Holy Spirit’s unquenchable fire. A fire that consumes our sins and our separations and melts away our distance from God and our neighbor. A fire that rips through our dying forests and dead tress to open up a new grove of growth. Fire is not easy to stand, nor is it easily controlled, but as we wait and watch for Christ’s coming the burning clears space for new life to blossom. John’s words burn like the fire that Christ brings.

Let the words into your heart. Let the fire consume you. Let Christ come into the world.