The Third Sunday of Advent
The audio recording for the sermon at the 8:00 a.m. service was defective. Here is the text:
Read the Sermon for December 13, 2015
Here is the audio recording for the children's sermon at the 10:00 a.m. service:
Children's Sermon for Advent 3C December 13, 2015
If I asked the average Christian what is the greatest of God’s commandments, I suspect most would respond, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” And, if I asked what is the second greatest commandment, I’m pretty sure most would respond, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments. Like a door depends on its hinges.
If I asked what is the most frequent commandment in the canon of Scripture, I might not find as much a strong consensus. There is one commandment that is found in most books of the Bible. Often, it is spoken by God. Many times, it is spoken by an angel. Sometimes it is spoken by Jesus.
Here is the answer: The most frequent commandment in the Bible is
Do you recognize that? Probably not. It’s Hebrew and is pronounced Al tirah. Still don’t recognize it? Okay, I’ll bet you recognize the English translation FEAR NOT. This commandment appears 365 times in the canon of Scripture, once for every day of the year. In my review of the occasions in which the commandment is expressed, it seems that it is usually spoken in a situation in which anxiety is running very high. Now is one of those times.
People are anxious about terrorists, gun rights, politicians, access to healthcare, the world economy, travel, job security, and a host of other things that can be perceived as threatening to our lives or at least our way of life. Many are feeling that the situation around them has moved beyond their control. They feel powerless and maybe hopeless. When human beings reach such a state of anxiety, our primitive “fight or flight” program instinctively engages. When that happens, we lose some of our ability to reason. We might say or do all sorts of irrational and hurtful things as we express our anxiety and even take extreme, sometimes violent measures to regain control to protect ourselves, our loved ones, our values, and our possessions.
Our brains are designed to react in frightening situations. We have that in common with other living creatures, such as lizards. Without our survival instinct, our ancestors would not have made it. But human brains are also designed to help us reason and work with other humans in finding meaningful ways to respond to what threatens us.
That’s where the most frequent Biblical commandment comes in. God who designed and equipped us to care for each other and oversee the entire creation, tells us not to let our fears conquer our faith, our hope, our love, and our reason.! Al tirah! Don’t be afraid!
I guess my mother had something like that in mind when she would stop me in mid-sentence and say, “Take a deep breath and count to ten before you say another word.”
Advent, the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year, is supposed to be a time of expectation, hope, peace, and joy. An angel said to some shepherds on a Judean hillside long ago,"Al tirah!, Fear not! for I have good news of a great joy that shall be to all the people.”
In spite of that, many people are anxious right now. Not everyone is having a good time. Not everyone feels secure. Even good news is frightening to some people. I have friends who don’t have the best memories of the holidays. There are those who are not going to be surrounded by family and loved ones. One thing is sure, everybody needs to know that they are safe, that they are loved, and that someone cares about them.
So, let’s resolve to be a light in someone’s darkness. Let’s take the time to listen to one another and honestly try to understand what is really being said. Let’s resolve to make our words and our actions to be expressions of the most frequent commandment. Let’s start with ourselves; look into the mirror and say, “Fear not!” Then, let’s find a way to help those around us conquer their own fears.
The promise is that faith conquers fear. Our hope is that perfect love casts out fear.
I’ll see you in Church!
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I’ve always believed it to be true and a piece of wisdom worthy of attention. However, in a two week period I’ve become involved in several prevention campaigns; Prevention of Sexual Violence, Prevention of Domestic Violence, Prevention of Gun Violence, Prevention of Suicide, and Prevention of Child Abuse to be specific. Each one of these programs deserves our undivided attention and I am grateful that they are available to our community. However, all together they are certainly more than “an ounce.”
All of this comes at a time when I am feeling the impact of terrorism at home and abroad, more mass shootings, the suicide of a colleague’s son, and news of the rape of a woman I know in another state. And it is Advent, the season of expectation, hope, and preparation for the birth of the One sent to save us.
In each of these prevention programs, we review recent data concerning the prevalence of the social ill we are trying to prevent. In most cases, the problems are escalating at an alarming rate. Something is wrong with a culture when we have to work so hard at prevention of such things. Our core values as a culture have obviously eroded.
I caught a glimmer of hope in conversation with the presenter of the workshop on domestic violence, The Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune, when she said that faith communities can present obstacles or opportunities for people facing behavior that needs to be prevented. For example, a biblical passage can be interpreted in ways that make a victim of violence believe it is their fault, that the abuser has a God-given right to hurt someone, or that the violence is somehow God’s punishment. Or, the passage might be interpreted in life-affirming ways that help lift a person out of harm’s way.
It makes me even more grateful that our Church emphasizes God’s grace, love, and forgiveness. Each of us who has received that hopeful message is in a position to share it with others, especially those who are vulnerable. In so doing, we may not only help someone discover an abundant life, we may also provide just the thing that actually saves a life.
We also belong to a community of people who can hold one another accountable for our harmful actions just as we encourage good works. Watching over one another in love, we support profound behavioral change. Jesus didn’t just preach repentance, he formed a community to surround penitents with guidance, care, and the means of grace that are necessary to sustain the new life that is emerging when the old life is left behind.
In the Baptismal Covenant, we affirm that with God’s help we will persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, we will repent and return to the Lord. We affirm that with God’s help we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. And, we affirm that with God’s help we will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
That’s our ounce of prevention, which we ourselves have received and which we offer to cure the social ills swirling around us. It’s about more than stopping something; it’s also about offering hope. It’s not just about protecting the victims; it’s also about redemptive change for those who do violence. It’s more than an ounce or even a pound; it’s the offer of immeasurable possibilities for good that will reverberate beyond our own generation.
It’s something to think about.
I’ll see you in Church!
The Season of Advent
The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin Adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” It is the season of preparation for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. Advent has been observed in the Western churches, since about the fifth century C.E.. Advent begins the liturgical year and includes the time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, November 30th, and always falls between November 27th and December 3rd.
The Color for the Season
For centuries, the season of Advent was observed as a penitential season. Sometimes, it was even referred to as the “Little Lent.” And, following the pattern of Lent, the designation of the four Sundays of the season were Sundays “in” Advent rather than Sundays “of” Advent. Also, as in Lent, the color violet or purple was the seasonal color.
During the ecumenical liturgical reforms of the 1960’s and 1970’s, a strong consensus emerged that Advent should be a season of hope and anticipation, rather than penitence. As the new lectionaries were developed, the Sunday readings reflected those themes. Many churches sought a different seasonal color. Liturgical leaders were drawn to the color blue, which was used in the ancient Sarum rite (Salisbury, England). In subsequent years, use of the color blue has become widespread during Advent. Blue symbolizes hope, confidence, anticipation and expectation, all adjectives that describe the season of Advent.
The Advent Wreath Candles
Use of the Advent Wreath entered our observance of the season during the last century. The wreath consists of four candles, one of which is lighted on each of the four Advent Sundays. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, we light more candles until we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World on December 25, symbolized by a larger white candle in the center of the wreath.
When purple or violet was the seasonal color, that was the choice of color for the hangings, vestments, and Advent Wreath candles. However, rose, a lighter shade of purple, was often used on the third Sunday. Rose was thought to be representative of a less penitential theme for that Sunday, on which the first word of the Introit was “Rejoice.” Now that Advent is no longer observed as a primarily penitential season, the candles are blue and there is no need for a rose candle to suggest that we “lighten up.”
I invite you to take time in this season of Advent to prepare your heart and mind in new ways for the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, God With Us.
The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
As Americans prepare to celebrate our National Day of Thanksgiving, we are hearing reports from Mali, Beirut, and France about terrorist attacks. For many of us, these reports recall painful memories of our own experience with terrorism on September 11, 2001 and the days, months, and years that followed.
It is difficult to give thanks for the blessings of liberty when attacks on the liberties of others make us aware of how vulnerable all humanity is in the hands of terrorists. Right now, we are especially conscious that our lives are connected in the human community and that we are not really as self-sufficient as we might think.
Theologian Walter Brueggemann points out that the observance of Thanksgiving reminds us that life is a gift.
Thanksgiving is a contradiction of the values of a market economy that imagines we are self-made and can be self-sufficient. When we give thanks, we commit an act of defiance against the seductions of our society. . . We may sing all kinds of patriotic songs and feast to satiation on Thanksgiving Day. Beyond all of that is our acknowledgement that life is a gift that evokes response. We are never self-starters. The drive for self-sufficiency is an unnecessary and futile idolatry.
Enjoy family, friends, and a bountiful feast on Thanksgiving Day. Then, sometime during the day, find a place where you can be alone and quiet for half an hour or so. Take a pen, some paper, and this quotation with you. Read it over a few times and then make a list of things that make your life what it is because God and others have blessed you – evidence that you are not self-sufficient. Say a prayer of thanksgiving over that list and think of ways to express your gratitude to whomever else is on the list. Do it right away before the pressures of everyday life make you forget.
Here is a video meditation for your Thanksgiving on a text by Brian Wren with piano accompaniment arranged and performed by Tom Howard.
And here is the Collect for Thanksgiving Day from The Book of Common Prayer.
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
May your heart be filled with gladness and gratitude as you celebrate Thanksgiving with those whom you love. And please continue to pray that God will comfort the victims of terror and turn the hearts of those who commit such violent acts so that they might become agents of peace.
I'll see you in Church!
When I was called to be your Interim Rector, I was asked to assist the Endowment Committee of St. John’s Church in developing a program to increase the assets of the endowment. I have an interest in seeing parishes ensure the future sustainability of their missions and I also have some experience in developing church endowments. Our committee, with the assistance of the Vestry and Staff, has been putting several elements in place that are necessary for development of this type of giving: an annual professional audit, a gift acceptance policy, concise descriptions of endowment funds, a legacy society, and a list of ways to give to the endowment.
Next week, members of St. John’s will receive an invitation to consider including the endowment in their estate planning. Some may think this comes too soon on the heels of our annual stewardship campaign or have concerns that the church asks for money too often. Those are understandable concerns but there is more to this invitation than that.
The Endowment Committee believes that the momentum for the endowment that has been building should continue during the transition period while I am able to be of assistance. Even more importantly, there is no reason for an appeal on behalf of the endowment to be seen as competing with our ordinary sustaining stewardship because it is a different type of giving. Permit me to explain.
When thinking about giving to Christ and his Church, there are three fairly distinct purses from which Christians share their treasure:
The Endowment Committee is inviting us to participate in the endowment by looking to the future and including St. John’s – beyond our lifetime, just as we might include members of our family, our alma mater, or some other cause that is dear to our hearts.
The central message is that we are privileged to be stewards of all of it! Whether spent, saved, or given away, every penny is a sacred trust from God. How can God’s mission at St. John’s be strengthened by the treasure we leave when we no longer need it?
It is exciting to think what can be accomplished by St. John’s if the ongoing mission of the parish is sustained by members giving generously from their current income so that extra sources of income, such as the endowment, can be used for extraordinary purposes. I hope that when the letter from these members of your church family arrives in your mailbox you will read it with an open mind and give the invitation prayerful consideration.
I’ll see you in Church!
Shortly before I went to bed last night, I heard a faint sound outside – like the call of an owl. A few seconds later I heard it again. Then again.
I picked up my iPhone, opened the door, and stepped outside. There was a thick fog and the temperature was just below freezing. It was completely still and the silence was as thick as the fog. The owl called again and this time I made a recording. Here's what I heard:
People often ask, “how can I recognize God's call to me?” It is a question of vocation. The word vocation is derived from the Latin root voca, voice. It means “to call.” There are so many voices crying out for our attention and our loyalty, it is difficult to discern the voice of God. That makes it difficult to know what God is calling me or my community of faith to do. The question may have to do with our overall life mission or with what God wants of us in a specific situation.
Sometimes, in order to hear God's call in the midst of all the voices in our busy lives, we have to learn to recognize God's voice when it is quiet and still, just like it was when I heard the call of the owl. Then, when things get busy and noisy, we can discern the voice of God in the midst of the other voices.
It is true that most of us don't hear God's voice with the ears on either side of our heads. God's voice is perceived as an inner voice. But it is certainly not the only inner voice we "hear." There are the voices of fear, desire, joy, hurt, anger, temptation, judgment, and so many others that speak to us in a language of their own. But we certainly hear them and they often drown out the still, small, quiet voice of God and we lose our bearings.
A word of caution: When we believe we have heard God's call, sometimes our own inclinations get in the way. Sometimes the message we hear is inconsistent with what God would say to us or ask of us.
Coincidentally, yesterday was the feast day of Richard Hooker, the sixteenth century Anglian theologian. Hooker prepared a comprehensive defense of the Reformation settlement under Queen Elizabeth I. This work was entitled Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. It is Aristotelian in its philosophy and places a strong emphasis upon natural law eternally planted by God in creation. On this foundation, all positive laws of Church and State are based – from Scriptural revelation, ancient tradition, reason, and experience. Hooker offered a process, a way to use the resources we have to discern the voice of God.
One of the resources we have as disciples is the witness of sacred scripture. For instance, St. John gave wise advice when he wrote, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1). A country preacher once said, "All the spirits ain't the Holy Spirit." Is what I think God is calling me to do consistent with ways God spoke to those whose witness is recorded in the Bible? Is this the voice of the God who is revealed in the sacred texts?
Another resource is the tradition or teachings of the Church. Not all the teachings of the Church have withstood the test of time, but as a professor of mine used to say, "Some things are neither old nor new but ageless." What are the great truths, the enduring themes, the big ideas that have been handed down to us in the tradition of the Church? Can they help us discern the call of God?
And, we have our life in Christian community where there are others to help us learn to distinguish the divine voice calling us. It is important to involve a pastor or mature Christian friends in discerning if it was in fact God. Is what I think God is calling me to do consistent with the reason and experience of others. Is it consistent with my own reason and experience?
That brings me back to the owl. I knew the call was that of an owl, but I wasn't sure what kind of owl. So, I consulted the iBird app on my smart phone. After listening to the recording I made and then to the recordings of various kinds of owls provided in that app, I determined without a doubt that the owl in my neighborhood was a great horned owl. My bird app has photos of great horned owls so had it been daytime, I would have been able to visually identify the owl. If I had a pair of binoculars, I could have had an even closer look as a part of my verification process.
The resources available to me were useful in determining that I was indeed hearing an owl and, more precisely, that it was a great horned owl. Likewise, when we are learning to recognize God's voice and discern what God is calling us to do, we have resources to help us. Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience are resources we can and must use in our quest to hear God's voice guiding us in our spiritual journey.
We tend to hear what we listen for. So let us learn use the disciplines and resources that have been provided to us as we listen for the voice of God.
I'll see you in Church!