Community Church Sermons
Year C
December 20,
2009
Advent 4
Luke 1:26-56
Rev. Martin C. Singley, III
Angels.
The Christmas story is full of angels! An angel appears to Zechariah to prepare him for the birth of John, who would become the world’s first Baptist! Angels appear to Mary, and then to Joseph to get them ready for the coming of Jesus. And we all know what happened when the shepherds were out in the field keeping watch o’er their flocks by night:
“An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
And the glory of the Lord shone ‘round about them,
And they were filled with great fear.”
The angel tells the shepherds that a child has been born who is Christ the Lord, and that they shall find him wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And then we are told:
“Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,
Praising God and singing:
Glory to God in the highest!
And on earth, Peace, Goodwill toward all!”
Angels. What would Christmas be without angels?
Have you ever encountered an angel?
I’ve seen a few on TV. There was one named Jonathan Smith, a probationary angel on the show “Highway to Heaven.” Remember? He looked a lot like Michael Landon!
There was Clarence Odbody, that whimsical but life-saving angel who helped George Bailey realize “What A Wonderful Life” he had after all!
Maybe you’ve seen an angel or two! My mother strongly believed that our pet dog Casey was really an angel. And who am I to argue with my mother?
And one Christmas pageant at my last church, I dashed downstairs for a costume change, rushing in the darkness past a little angel girl sitting on the stairway with her head hanging down. I kicked off my shoes, threw on my robe, and ran back up the stairs, past the little angel girl still sitting there. My bare foot landed in a puddle of something warm, and wet, and chunky. The little angel had gotten sick. When I stopped to see what I had stepped in, she lifted her little pale angelic face toward me and said, “Sorry, Marty!”
And so I personally have not only encountered angels, but I’ve actually gotten to hear one speak!
Angels.
If you were to run into angel, what do you think it would say to you?
The story of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel may give us a clue. In many ways, this story shares the same elements as most of the other angel stories in the Bible, so I think we should pay attention to what the angel Gabriel says.
First of all, the angel says, “Greetings!”
Have you ever wondered why Christmas cards sometimes say, “Season’s Greetings!”? Well, it’s because that’s what angels say to people! “Greetings!” That‘s where Hallmark got the idea! Did you know that?
“Greetings!”
Now Wikipedia – the online encyclopedia – says that a greeting is a form of communication in which people make their presence known to each other. And the purpose of the greeting is to indicate the type of relationship the “greeter” wants with the person being greeted.
For instance, a greeting that says, “HEY!” is a lot different than one that says, “Hey, YOU!”
And in the story of Mary and the angel, we are actually told what this greeting means.
“You are favored by God! And the Lord is with you!”
I wish we religious people would pay more attention to what the angels say. Perhaps we could stop twisting the message into something it is not.
You may have heard about a fellow named Andy Shafly. He’s the son of Phyllis Shafly who gained fame a few years ago for her vocal opposition to the feminist movement and the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Phyliis Shafly was and is a pretty strong conservative voice.
But to her son Andy, even Phyllis is much too liberal. He takes conservatism to a whole other level, and has even founded a group called the Conservative Bible Project. It is an effort to retranslate the Bible into a form more closely in agreement with his own extreme conservative philosophy. So, for example, the story about Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery from being stoned to death has been expunged from this Bible translation. Why? Because, he says, this story must have been added later because in the story Jesus is soft on crime. And everybody knows the true Messiah could not be soft on crime. So out of the Bible the story goes!
Now I don’t want to ridicule Andy Shafly. He’s a brilliant guy with degrees from Princeton and Harvard. But Andy is representative of a vast number of people whose religious beliefs are built upon the notion that God hates us – that we are unacceptable to God - that God intends to destroy us, if we don’t straighten up and fly right.
And yet, that is not the message of the angel. Not even close.
“Greetings! You are favored by God! And the Lord is with you!”
I can tell you from my own experience in the ministry that there seem to be two primary ways people come to religious faith. One is by being scared into it, running to God out of fear of what will happen if you don’t. The other is by being loved into it, responding to the discovery that God actually LOVES you, FAVORS you, and is ON YOUR SIDE! You may feel like a wretched person, and even BE a wretched person! But God’s grace comes sweeping over you as it did for slave ship captain John Newton when he wrote, “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see!”
Those who come to God out of fear make terrible Christians. They seldom contribute to the betterment of the world. They often become the religious police force whose main job seems to be patrolling the highways and byways of life to point out the sin, and prosecute all that’s wrong with others.
But those who come to God out of the discovery that they are loved and favored by God become people of love themselves. Who are we to judge others? If God can love me, then surely God loves YOU! And when your faith begins in love, it’s purpose becomes far more than just trying to enforce your own sense of self-righteousness and get you to heaven while the rest of the world goes to hell.
Look at what happens to Mary when she discovers God’s favor.
“You will be with child and bear a son and give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…”
And all of a sudden, this nobody named Mary becomes a SOMEBODY! She has a gift to give to the world! She has a purpose in life!
Rick Warren is quite right when he opens the first chapter of his book “The Purpose-Driven Life” by saying, “It’s not all about you.”
Life – and faith – are not about making YOU happy, making YOU whole, making YOU righteous, getting YOU saved, getting YOU to heaven! No, life – and faith – are about finding the higher purpose God has built into you, and then living out that purpose for the sake of OTHERS!
“Mary, you’re gonna have a baby, and that baby is going to be the Savior of the world!”
Funny thing about our church. When I first came to Tellico 13-years ago, we had a bunch of kids running around here! Some of you remember those days! Now they were not a LARGE group of kids, but there were enough of them to have Sunday School classes, and a youth group, and even a Confirmation class! Someone recently asked me, “Where have all the kids gone?” Well, they’ve grown up! They are all in their 20’s now, and a few of them are approaching 30. And they’ve moved away to other places and experiences. So for the last couple of years, we’ve had a kid shortage!
But now, all of a sudden, we’re having babies! No, not me and Sandy, and definitely not Bob Puckett. But we have some expectant moms among us. And thanks to the Blevins, the Hopkins, the Orr family, the Flynns, the Carsons and a few others, we have a gaggle of kids among us ranging from preschoolers to teenagers!
Now, we can sit back and say, “Well isn’t that nice that we have kids in our church. I like seeing kids. They remind me of my kids when they were young, and they make me think of my grandchildren now. I think it’s just wonderful that we have kids in our church again!”
And that’s a nice thought. If it’s all about US! But it’s not a “high” enough thought.
“Mary, your church is gonna have kids. And they are going to make the world a better place for God. So you have a job to do nurturing them, loving them, raising them up to become who God created them to be!”
The favor of God upon us always includes purpose. You have a purpose that God has planted in you, and the activity of faith is finding that purpose and living it out. Our church once again has been given the purpose of nurturing children – and each and every one of us has to take responsibility for it!
And there are other purposes, too! Why the shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch o’er their flocks by night – they had a purpose. The angel told them to go and welcome Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. It was a simple purpose, but an important one! The work of hospitality and welcome is so important in this increasingly impersonal world!
The magi from the East had a purpose! They had gifts to share that would enable Mary and Joseph to raise their baby in safety. In this year’s Christmas Eve offering, we’ll have the chance once again to share our gifts to build another Habitat for Humanity home where a family can dwell securely. And many of you can share your building skills in the construction of that house.
When angels come, they tell us we are favored and loved by God. And the angels call us to important purposes to which we must aim our lives.
Some of those purposes are in our church – some are in our families – some are in our larger communities – and some are in the larger world. I was so blessed the other day when Gene Weber came to see me and told me about his son Eric and his family. Eric, Melissa, Seth and Sage are responding to a mission call to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. We’ve added the Weber family to the list of missionaries and Christian workers on our prayer list. One of our purposes is to pray for them.
One last thing about what angels say.
Whenever we are called to a higher purpose – whether it is nurturing children, caring for those who are frail, fighting against injustice, sharing our faith with others – there is a promise that comes with it. Mary wondered, “How can this be?” when Gabriel told her about the baby she was going to deliver and raise.
The angel said, “The power of God will come upon you.”
God loves you. And God calls you to great things. But God also knows you can’t do it on your own. You need strength beyond your own, and wisdom above your thoughts.
And besides that, there is nothing God loves more than partnering with people to do great things!
Can you hear the angels singing? During this Christmas season, the songs of the angels are all around us! I hope you can hear what the angels are saying to you.
You are favored and loved! You have important work to do!
And God’s power is upon you to do it!
Amen.