A Place at the Table

Prayer of the Day

Lord God, source of every blessing, you showed forth your glory and led many to faith by the works of your Son, who brought gladness and salvation to his people. Transform us by the Spirit of his love, that we may find our life together in him, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.Amen.

Isaiah 62:1-5

 ¹For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
  and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
 until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
  and her salvation like a burning torch.
 ²The nations shall see your vindication,
  and all the kings your glory;
 and you shall be called by a new name
  that the mouth of the Lord will give.
 ³You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
  and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
 ⁴You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
  and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
 but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
  and your land Married;
 for the Lord delights in you,
  and your land shall be married.
 ⁵For as a young man marries a young woman,
  so shall your builder marry you,
 and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
  so shall your God rejoice over you.

Psalm 36:5-10

 ⁵Your love, O Lord, reaches ^| to the heavens,
  and your faithfulness ^| to the clouds.
 ⁶Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like ^| the great deep;
  you save humankind and ani- ^| mals, O Lord. R
 ⁷How priceless is your ^| love, O God!
  All people take refuge under the shadow ^| of your wings.
 ⁸They feast upon the abundance ^| of your house;
  you give them drink from the river of ^| your delights.
 ⁹For with you is the ^| well of life,
  and in your light ^| we see light.
 ¹⁰Continue your lovingkindness to ^| those who know you,
  and your favor to those who are ^| true of heart.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
  ⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

John 2:1-11

¹On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. ⁹When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

Christmas decorations have come down. Maybe people are always sad about how that changes the mood of a house, but I seem to have heard about the sadness more this year. Of course, we cannot have a festival like Christmas every day of every month of the year. Or we could but then we would have to call them something else. The joy around Christmas can in fact be part of our daily lives. That is clear in our text today. I love that Jesus’ first sign is not a healing, not an exorcism. There’s a problem with wedding festivities–an event already full of joy and celebration. What’s more, Jesus uses what was quite commonplace in first century Palestine-wine.

One scholar reminds us that the image of wine at a feast echoes “Wisdom’s Feast in the Old Testament. Jewish prophetic literature uses the marriage metaphor for God’s covenant with Israel, and the abundance of wine figures as an image of restoration in the culmination of all things. The abundance of wine and saving the good wine for last draws upon this imagery of hope for the end of time that is paired with hopes for a messiah.”

When the prophet Isaiah speaks of God’s promise to bring justice to all in the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel, he issues the invitation to enjoy wine without price. The invitation is accompanied by a declaration from God. God says that the word that goes out from Gods’ mouth will not return empty but will accomplish God’s purposes. 

In today’s text, wine continues to provide an epiphany. “Epiphany,” from the Greek word epiphaneia, means to manifest, show forth, or make clear. Epiphanies have a consistent role in the Judean-Christian tradition. God has revealed God’s self in a wide array of ways throughout the centuries. God wants us to know God because God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. To recognize and know God through Jesus Christ is central to today’s gospel text.

God’s people have consistently needed to see God manifested in order to believe. So it is with today’s story. The wine has run out at a wedding banquet. The celebration could turn dry just like the wine did. What better way to show our own state of affairs than the image of wine running out? Watching the news and scrolling headlines for a week is enough to make one’s faith waver. Then there are all the ways our individual daily lives tire us. We cannot see God in ourselves or the people we interact with or even the natural world. Weariness blurs our senses and God does not seem to be present any how or anywhere. And yet God does keep showing up, made manifest.

God’s glory has manifested itself in many media and miracles from the natural world. In today’s story, God is revealed through wine—gallons of it. Jesus told the servants to fill six stone jars to the brim with water. The servants then took some of the wine to the chief steward who, after tasting it, called the bridegroom and said “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” The miracle revealed God’s glory.

The chief steward does not recognize Jesus as the source of the good wine. Or did he? We do not know what he thought. In the end, it is the servants who get a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. This first sign of Jesus’ glory is revealed to just a few. And it is not who we would expect. We might expect the groom or the bride to play a key role here, noticing how Jesus has saved their family from present and future shame. We might expect important guests to have inside information about where this good and abundant wine came from. But instead, it is the servants who get a peek at Jesus’ glory.

For those of us who have the canon of scripture, who might be familiar with the rest of the story, this is actually in God’s character. Again and again, God reveals Godself to the ordinary and the lowly and the marginalized–shepherds in the field, tax collectors, pharisees who come to him at night, a thief on the cross. God comes through the common and unexpected. 

That is partially what the Apostle Paul addresses in his letter to the Corinthians, our marvelous second lesson this morning. It is helpful to remember that Paul’s letter to Corinth is primarily about the common needs of the Christian community. Here is one criticism Paul lodges against the Corinthian congregation: their inability to live out the essential claim of a community founded in the Gospel of Jesus. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus unite every congregation of followers. Unity is for the sake of God’s mission in the world and for the building up of that particular community.

For Paul, spirituality involves the ongoing reality and work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus’ followers. The problem in Corinth is that some spiritual elitists have really messed this up. They have regarded their gifts of the Spirit as making them superior to other members of the Community. Paul presents the proper and improper use of spiritual gifts. He emphasizes unified divine action. This empowers diverse human activity for the common good—the benefit of everyone. 

For me, the pairing of the Wedding of Cana text and the Corinthian passage on Spiritual Gifts is a brilliant one. God’s abundance of delicious wine, the vision of the festive wedding banquet, becomes accessible to all communities. God has also given us an abundance of spiritual gifts, enough to build life-giving communities wherever we are. 

Paul tells us that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.” He emphasizes both gifts and their origin, which is the Spirit. While there are many gifts, there is the same Spirit. The Spirit does not give only one kind of gift to all. The world needs diverse gifts and related works: “The utterance of wisdom,” “The utterance of knowledge,” “Faith,” “gifts of healing,” “the working of miracles,” “prophecy,” “the discernment of spirits.” But all these varieties of gifts come from the same Spirit, however diverse and different they may be. 

Paul would contend that the Spirit does not promote excessive individualism or elitism because those do not benefit the common good. In other words, they do not build up the whole community—whether that community be Trinity Lutheran, Nampa, or the United States. Gifts are not meant to be used for self-promotion or selfish reasons. Spiritual gifts must be used for strengthening the community by taking care of the weak and the despised in society. 

One pastor wrote, “Spiritual gifts are not for us, and therefore it is essential that we discern them and use them. Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit, they are a way that the Holy Spirit flows through us into the world that God loves. By exercising our gifts, we put ourselves at the disposal of the Great Almighty to be used as God wishes. Nothing could be more humble. And God will use you. In fact, this is how God has designed us, with the capacity to know and love God and with unique gifts that God uses to bless the world and build up the church.” 

What this means is that all of us have to recognize other kinds of gifts in ourselves and one other. Then we are called to cooperate with one another for the common good. Martin Luther King Jr Weekend always makes me think of the great cloud of witnesses who all worked for the common good in their own way, people like Gandhi, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Salvadoran Jesuit Bishop Oscar Romero, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, and yes Martin Luther King Jr. himself.

As we remember the contributions of these individuals, we do well to remember that none of them existed in vacuum. Each of the people I named had other people in their lives who supported, balanced, and strengthened them. I take great comfort in this, in knowing that my gifts are paired with your gifts for this big kingdom work we are called into as followers of Jesus Christ. 

It is simply too overwhelming on my own and yet the call is too important to dismiss. That the God of abundance, who turned water into wine and fed the multitude of 5,0000, has given us an abundance of gifts, can give us great hope. It also might give us courage and even a little tenacity, that in the face of so much brokenness, we can put one foot in front of the other, arm in arm, and actually bring some healing and wholeness to the world.

Today we give thanks for God in flesh made manifest, manifested by a star to magi in the east, manifest in the Jordan River at his baptism, turning water into wine at Cana in Galilee, giving us the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, helping us discern our own spiritual gifts for life today, using ordinary things like bread and wine still to nourish and sustain us.

Prayers of Intercession

The prayers are prepared locally for each occasion. The following examples may be adapted or used as appropriate.

The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon us in abundance; so we are bold to pray for the church, the world, and all that God has made.

A brief silence.By your Spirit, activate within your church gifts of faith, healing, and prophecy. Unite those who profess your name across congregations, denominations, and geographic boundaries. Open our hearts to recognize and celebrate surprising miracles. God of grace,hear our prayer.

Your creation reflects your generosity. Bless farmers, migrant farmworkers, orchard-keepers, ranchers, and all who tend the abundance of the land. Protect food and water sources from destruction, that all can eat and drink and be satisfied. God of grace,hear our prayer.

By your Spirit, grant wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to those who hold leadership positions at any level. Direct policymakers toward compassionate decisions that build up safe and just communities. Lead all authorities in seeking and serving the common good. God of grace,hear our prayer.

As Jesus provided generously in a moment of need, provide generous gifts of healing for those in need this day (especially). Provide abundantly for all who are hungry or thirsty, all seeking shelter, and all who seek peace. God of grace,hear our prayer.

You see us for who we are and you delight in us. Embrace those struggling with self-worth, wrestling with self-identity, or facing significant life transition. Remind us that nothing can separate us from your love. God of grace,hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.You bless us through the spiritual gifts of the saints who have gone before us. We give thanks for the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and all who have modeled the way of courageous faith (especially). God of grace,hear our prayer.

Since we have such great hope in your promises, O God, we lift these and all of our prayers to you in confidence and faith; through Jesus Christ our Savior.Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, you anointed Jesus at his baptism with the Holy Spirit and revealed him as your beloved Son. Keep all who are born of water and the Spirit faithful in your service, that we may rejoice to be called children of God, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.Amen.

Isaiah 43:1-7

 ¹But now thus says the Lord,
  he who created you, O Jacob,
  he who formed you, O Israel:
 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
  I have called you by name, you are mine.
 ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
  and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
 when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
  and the flame shall not consume you.
 ³For I am the Lord your God,
  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
 I give Egypt as your ransom,
  Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
 ⁴Because you are precious in my sight,
  and honored, and I love you,
 I give people in return for you,
  nations in exchange for your life.
 ⁵Do not fear, for I am with you;
  I will bring your offspring from the east,
  and from the west I will gather you;
 ⁶I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
  and to the south, “Do not withhold;
 bring my sons from far away
  and my daughters from the end of the earth—
 ⁷everyone who is called by my name,
  whom I created for my glory,
  whom I formed and made.”

Psalm 29

¹Ascribe to the ^| Lord, you gods,
  ascribe to the Lord glo- ^| ry and strength.
 ²Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^| due God’s name;
  worship the Lord in the beau- ^| ty of holiness.
 ³The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of ^| glory thunders;
  the Lord is upon the ^| mighty waters.
 ⁴The voice of the Lord is a pow- ^| erful voice;
  the voice of the Lord is a ^| voice of splendor. 
 ⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the ^| cedar trees;
  the Lord breaks the ce- ^| dars of Lebanon;
 ⁶the Lord makes Lebanon skip ^| like a calf,
  and Mount Hermon like a ^| young wild ox.
 ⁷The voice ^| of the Lord
  bursts forth in ^| lightning flashes.
 ⁸The voice of the Lord^| shakes the wilderness;
  the Lord shakes the wilder- ^| ness of Kadesh. 
 ⁹The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the ^| forests bare.
  And in the temple of the Lord all are ^| crying, “Glory!”
 ¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned a- ^| bove the flood;
  the Lord sits enthroned as king for- ^| evermore.
 ¹¹O Lord, give strength ^| to your people;
  give them, O Lord, the bless- ^| ings of peace. 

Acts 8:14-17

¹⁴Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

  ²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

It seems a bit out of season to ponder and speak about the Holy Spirit the second Sunday of January. Shouldn’t we wait for Pentecost in the spring when the Holy Spirit descends upon all those gathered in Jerusalem? But the Holy Spirit shows up in several of our scripture passages today. Furthermore, I have been pouring over all the annual reports submitted over the past few weeks and am keenly aware of the Spirit’s activity and presence among our congregation. 

In our gospel reading we hear that after Jesus had been baptized and was praying, “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.” Many of us can conjure up portrayals of this scene from children’s bibles or art hung on walls of churches or museums. 

It’s hard to say exactly what happened in this moment, but there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus. That’s the same Holy Spirit that came upon all of us in the sacrament of baptism. For Jesus, it is going to empower him for ministry–for teaching, healing, and performing signs and miracles.

If we were to pull together various baptism passages from the New Testament, a clear picture would start to emerge. Jesus’ baptism and the baptism of Jesus’ followers bear a striking resemblance. Baptism by water is assumed or supposed to be accompanied by baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There is more. Baptism is how God’s family is demarcated on the earth. It starts with Jesus as the son, receiving the Spirit. And it expands to everyone who receives the Spirit of adoption as God’s children. Baptism is about belonging to God and belonging to a community. Baptism is about following Jesus. Because of this, baptism is also about receiving the Holy Spirit.

What in the world are we to make, then, of our story from Acts Chapter 8, in which people do not receive the Holy Spirit when they are baptized? It’s only after the apostles came from Jerusalem, prayed, and laid on their hands, that they receive the Spirit.

The Spirit shows up in unique way in the books of Acts. The dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts happens when the gospel breaks through a new geographical or sociological barrier. In other words, Acts does not show that the Spirit comes dramatically and tangibly on each individual when they come into the community. 

Instead, the Holy Spirit serves as proof that the gospel has reached a new group of people. It starts with Jerusalem at Pentecost. In this morning’s story the Spirit comes to the people of Samaria. Next, we see a dramatic arrival to the Gentiles. 

Let’s get some deeper perspective on our particular story from Acts. First, the Samaritans were among the last people that many Judean and Galilean Jews would have wanted to socialize with, let alone share good news with. 

From the Jews’ perspective the Samaritans were descendants of Hebrews from the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel. Long ago they had married people from other nations and therefore forfeited God’s blessing. They made false claims to the identity “the people of God.” As far as the Samaritans were concerned, however, they were the true descendants of Abraham. 

However, and thanks be to God, the deep legacy of enmity appears not to be stumbling block for Philip. He simply goes to Samaria, delivers people from illness and demonic power, and tells everyone that Jesus is the Christ. As a result, the Samaritans go all in.

Philip, it should be noted, was not one of the twelve apostles. Still, no one seems concerned about he validity of his actions. And yet there is something peculiar about what happens when he is with the Samaritans. They do not receive the Holy Spirit even though they are baptized in Jesus’ name. So the apostles Peter and John make the journey northward, pray for the Samaritans, lay their hands on them, and the Holy Spirit arrives.

One scholar points out that a lot of people today are uncomfortable with this story, with the idea that certain church leaders and not others might be empowered with the ability to dictate exactly where God’s Spirit may or may not go. No where else in Acts is there a suggestion that one’s baptism needs an extra apostolic jolt in order to become complete. What explains this anomaly? 

Maybe it’s simply because this is Samaria. If anyone might seem unqualified or unworthy to join the young church of Jesus Christ, it’s probably the Samaritans. The Samaritans’ receptivity to the good news and the willingness of God to dwell within Samaritan people would have flabbergasted many Jews’ notions of who this new church was for. 

This and this alone is why it is crucial for apostles from Jerusalem to come to Samaria. They must experience in person the new thing that God is doing. God does not need Peter and John to come and grant their approval. Instead, Peter and John need to come so they, as representatives of the Jerusalem church, can know that Judeans, Galileans, and Samaritans all possess the same Holy Spirit. They are all included together in a new, diverse community centered in Jesus Christ.

God has no plans to build a special “Samaritan church” and a separate church for Jews. Peter and John are so convinced of this that when they finally journey back to Jerusalem, they do not ruth. Instead, they proclaim the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.

Willie James Jennings asks, “Could it be that God waited for Peter and John so that they could watch the intimate event? Here and now these disciples, especially Peter, will see a love that extends into the world. They will watch as God stretches forth divine desire over the Samaritans. They must see again the Spirit descend and sense afresh the divine embrace of flesh. Disciples of Jesus must be convinced not only of God’s love for the world but also God’s desire for people, especially peoples we have been taught not to desire.”

I serve a congregation full of people willing to reach out to people I would often not desire. I for one am grateful to be among people willing to ask, who are the people outside our faith community God wants us to welcome, include, and commit ourselves to? Who are the strangers in your personal lives God is calling you to personally welcome? 

We too were once the people outside the faith community, or our ancestors were. Correct me if I’m wrong after worship but although some of us may have Jewish friends and in-laws, none of us traces our DNA to the Jewish community of 1^st century Palestine. 

Acts well maps Jesus’ commission in Acts. 1:8. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Most if not all of us qualify, or our ancestors qualified, as those people from the “ends of the earth.” Though Christianity has held center stage for many years in this country, at one time our people were grafted into the family of God. I find that a humbling and ultimately helpful perspective which these stories from Acts helps foster.

At the same time, I assume that each of us has felt on the outside at some point, either personally or as part of an ostracized group. My nephew and his wife Leigh came and stayed with my mom and I in Oakland around New Year’s. Leigh has had a big medical year and part of it included a genetic test to see if she had the same heart condition has her sisters. The test confirmed it and Leigh had surgery but what struck me in her telling was her complete conviction until the test results came back that was not a blood relative of her family. She felt totally loved and cared for but like she did not belong, almost as if she had been adopted and never told.

When have you felt that way? In your family of origin or the family you married into? After a separation or divorce? Maybe you felt that way in a new workplace or neighborhood? Maybe you felt that way as you or a loved one struggled with addiction? I wonder how many people have lived with depression in the last few years who felt that they were the only ones experiencing it. 

Digging into these memories can be painful and we need to take care with ourselves for what they might trigger. And yet, they are part of helping us create empathy, helping us see with clear lenses who the strangers are today who God is calling us to welcome. And collectively, we can continue to ask who are the people outside our faith community God wants us to welcome, include, and commit ourselves to?

It does not mean that they will join our congregation. It does not necessarily mean that we will remain static–often relationships with the strangers transform everyone involved. It simply means sharing the love and sense of beloved community which was one day extended to us.

Prayers of Intercession (Sundays and Seasons)

The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon us in abundance; so we are bold to pray for the church, the world, and all that God has made.

A brief silence.By the Holy Spirit, you gather your church and send it out in mission to share the good news of Jesus. Inspire your faithful people to be fervent in prayer and service, that all people know they are precious in God’s sight. God of grace,hear our prayer.

You reveal your love and power through water and the Spirit. Guard rivers, seas, and all bodies of water from destruction and pollution. Secure access to clean water for all, and protect the land from drought and flood. God of grace,hear our prayer.

Establish among the nations the blessings of peace. Raise up leaders who will protect vulnerable people in their care. Strengthen advocates who risk reputation or retaliation for the sake of mercy and justice. God of grace,hear our prayer.

You protect us through the fires and troubled waters of this life. Assure us that we will not be cut off from you by illness or despair, anxiety or pain, confusion or weakness. Comfort all who are in need (especially). God of grace,hear our prayer.

We are joined in baptism to Christ and to one another. Bless those who are newly baptized and those who are preparing for baptism. Help us to be faithful in fellowship, worship, evangelism, service, and justice-seeking. God of grace,hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.You created each of your saints for your glory. We give thanks for those you have called by name into your eternal embrace (especially). Comfort us in grief and release us from fear. God of grace,hear our prayer.

Since we have such great hope in your promises, O God, we lift these and all of our prayers to you in confidence and faith; through Jesus Christ our Savior.Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Shine into our hearts the light of your wisdom, O God, and open our minds to the knowledge of your word, that in all things we may think and act according to your good will and may live continually in the light of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.Amen.

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

¹⁸Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord”; and then they would return to their home.
  ²⁶Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.

Psalm 148

 ¹Hallelujah! Praise the Lord^| from the heavens;
  praise God ^| in the heights.
 ²Praise the Lord, ^| all you angels;
  sing praise, all you ^| hosts of heaven.
 ³Praise the Lord, ^| sun and moon;
  sing praise, all you ^| shining stars.
 ⁴Praise the Lord, heav- ^| en of heavens,
  and you waters a- ^| bove the heavens.
 ⁵Let them praise the name ^| of the Lord,
  who commanded, and they ^| were created,
 ⁶who made them stand fast forev- ^| er and ever,
  giving them a law that shall not ^| pass away. 
 ⁷Praise the Lord^| from the earth,
  you sea monsters ^| and all deeps;
 ⁸fire and hail, ^| snow and fog,
  tempestuous wind, do- ^| ing God’s will;
 ⁹mountains ^| and all hills,
  fruit trees ^| and all cedars;
 ¹⁰wild beasts ^| and all cattle,
  creeping things and ^| flying birds;
 ¹¹sovereigns of the earth ^| and all peoples,
  princes and all rulers ^| of the world;
 ¹²young ^| men and maidens,
  old and ^| young together. 
 ¹³Let them praise the name ^| of the Lord,
  whose name only is exalted, whose splendor is over ^| earth and heaven.
 ¹⁴The Lord has raised up strength for the people and praise for all ^| faithful servants,
  the children of Israel, a people who are near the Lord. ^| Hallelujah! 

Colossians 3:12-17

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Luke 2:41-52

⁴¹Now every year [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. ⁴²And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. ⁴³When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” ⁴⁹He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he said to them. ⁵¹Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
  ⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

Who among us had not lived through or heard a story of parents losing a child and later, after a long search, finally finding them? I cannot remember how old I was, but I was still in elementary school so maybe I was 7 or 8. I was with my mom at Wild West World in Custer, South Dakota, my hometown. West World was a small sort of amusement park with rides behind what was then the Chief Hotel and Restaurant. 

In her capacity as Chamber of Commerce director, my mother was deep in conversation with someone important and I was having none of it. I left her and the other person on the boardwalk and defiantly walked away. Of course, when I returned, she was not where I had left her. 

I have never revisited this incident with my mom but if her terror and not being able to find me matched my own, it was awful. Time felt like hours instead of minutes, until we finally saw each other and fell into a big hug. My actions were as far from Jesus’ as can be. However, I assume my mom, and any parent who has lost a child, can resonate at least a bit with Mary and Joseph. Their reaction to their twelve-year-old son seems completely reasonable and downright human.

Today we continue to rejoice in the birth of Jesus, the coming of the Messiah, of Immanuel, God with us. And yet, this morning’s gospel story invites us to already begin learning more about who Jesus is. For example, up to this point in the gospel, the child has been named Jesus and designated as holy, but only in this morning’s passage does he appear as God’s son.

Tension is also introduced at this early stage. On the one hand we know already that Jesus’ earthly parents Mary and Joseph are exemplary in their piety. There is no doubt that Jesus is reared in a household that sided with the purpose of God. This pious Jewish family pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, not surprising. 

So, Jesus is being raised in a pious environment. And yet, his commitment to God’s purpose transcends that piety and that environment. Jesus does not stick by his parents’ side but goes on his own to his Father’s house, to the temple. In this case at least, acting on behalf of God’s aim places Jesus’ behavior in opposition to his parents’ expectations. This is not the last time that Jesus’ behavior will go against traditional authority. This morning it’s his parents; later it will be religious and political authorities. 

And there is more turning and foreshadowing in today’s passage. As our story opens, Mary and Joseph are the subjects of the action. But as it unfolds Jesus takes on an active role, for the very first time in Luke’s gospel. In fact, as the scene closes, Jesus goes to Nazareth accompanied by his parents, the text reads. In other words, he has become the subject, the main actor. 

The pivot happens in verse 49 in which Jesus responds to his mother, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” This verse is the center and the nexus of this morning’s story.

Here is that tension again. The story makes clear that it is a good thing to keep the Passover. However, the sort of pious environment to which Jesus has become accustomed at home serves and must serve the more fundamental purpose of God. Not even familial claims take precedent over aligning oneself decisively on the side of God’s purpose. 

This story also makes clear that Jesus’ recognition of his identity as God’s Son does not begin at his baptism, something I had never noticed before. It is already present here in the temple when he is still a child. Jesus was fully human, but he was also fully aware that God was his Father. Jesus finds his own identity by affirming this relationship. 

The public ministry of Jesus remains in the future. But the occasion of his remarkable interchange in the temple provides us with a foreshadowing of what is to come. For the present, he will return with his parents to Nazareth. 

If we can relate most easily to the fear of the parents at the beginning of the story, that may be a hint to return to his parents at the end. They, like us, are the onlookers, trying to interpret the event and understand Jesus more deeply. 

Throughout the season of Advent and then on Christmas Eve we had very clear signs of what is ahead in the gospel. There was John the Baptist calling us to repent, to have a new perspective. There was Mary’s song in which she sang of God’s mighty acts, or God’s bringing down the mighty and lifting up the lowly. There was the baby wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a feeding trough. And there was the light in the darkness, the heavenly host bringing the news to the lowly shepherds. 

And between Christmas Eve and the child Jesus leaving his parents, infant Jesus was presented in the temple and the priest Simeon sang, “my own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.” 

The stage has been set for Jesus to usher in something new, fully in God’s character. Today Jesus starts to own all of his identity–Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, teacher, Savior. Again, just imagine Mary and Joseph, witnesses to his birth, dedication in the temple, and now this morning’s scene in the temple with the teachers.

We read that “Mary treasured all these things in her heart.” This phrase is reminiscent of her response to the birth of Jesus and the visit of the shepherds earlier. We might also recall Mary being perplexed and pondering when the angel Gabriel first visited her or when mute Zechariah wrote that his son should be named John; the whole neighborhood talked about these things and “All who heard them pondered.”

As with those events, we are invited to respond in kind. Might we put aside hasty conclusions? Instead, could we maintain an openness to the course the narrative will take? There are many questions that remain as Jesus’ birth and childhood conclude. What shape will God’s redemption take? How will it be accomplished? What will the human response be to God’s purposes? And, to bring this a little closer to home, what might redemption and healing and abundant life look like in Canyon County in 2022? What difference does Jesus make for us and the neighbors and strangers in our midst today? Like Mary, we might be served well to ponder such things.

Pondering is not a verb that is used often or an action that is nurtured widely among adults today. I think it is something of a mix of experiencing wonder and curiosity. I imagine Mary being overwhelmed both by the birth of Jesus and by watching him in the temple. This wonder surely inspired in her the wish to understand. And this led her to be curious. 

To quote Brene Brown again, as I did Christmas Eve, “Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn’t be asking, and, sometimes make discoveries that lead to discomfort.” 

Choosing to be curious about Jesus and curious about following Jesus is a pretty good intention for the first Sunday after Christmas, on the precipice of a new calendar year. We cannot predict what our pondering, wondering, curiosity about Jesus, Immanuel, Son of God might lead to, and it could look different for each of us. 

It might be trying to see Jesus in every stranger we encounter. It might mean reading the gospels or all of scripture with new lenses. It might be experiencing the natural world here in Idaho with new eyes, ears, and empathy. And this pondering, wondering, and curiosity could certainly lead to some discomfort. That’s okay. The Holy Spirit will walk with us, prodding us and encouraging us along the way. 

Prayers of Intercession (Sundays and Seasons)

Joining our voices with the heavenly host and Christians throughout time and space, let us pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

A brief silence.You come to us in gatherings of your church across the globe. Unite us with those who celebrate your birth even when they are weighed down by grief, loss, poverty, hunger, or injustice. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

You come to us in the diverse splendor of the universe. Grant us the humility to trust our place in the network of creation, that we live in service to you and the natural world. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

You come to us through relationships of many kinds: families, friendships, communities, and nations. Guide us in these relationships, that we recognize the Christ child in one another and show your love to those most vulnerable. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

You come to us through people whom the world forgets. Poor shepherds and an imprisoned Paul announced your good news. Send your Spirit to all who are imprisoned, struggling with addiction, unwell, or in any need this day (especially). Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

You come to us in acts of justice and forgiveness. Open our hearts to forgive one another, without permitting injustice. Supply us with the wisdom to be clothed with love, binding all things together in perfect harmony. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

Here other intercessions may be offered.You come to us through those who have died yet live with you forever (especially). We give thanks for Stephen, deacon and martyr, who gave his life to tell the story of your love. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

Rejoicing in your Word made flesh among us, we commend these prayers to you, confident of your grace and love made known to us in Jesus Christ, our Savior.Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, you made this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.Amen.

Isaiah 9:2-7

 ²The people who walked in darkness
  have seen a great light;
 those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
  on them light has shined.
 ³You have multiplied the nation,
  you have increased its joy;
 they rejoice before you
  as with joy at the harvest,
  as people exult when dividing plunder.
 ⁴For the yoke of their burden,
  and the bar across their shoulders,
  the rod of their oppressor,
  you have broken as on the day of Midian.
 ⁵For all the boots of the tramping warriors
  and all the garments rolled in blood
  shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
 ⁶For a child has been born for us,
  a son given to us;
 authority rests upon his shoulders;
  and he is named
 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 ⁷His authority shall grow continually,
  and there shall be endless peace
 for the throne of David and his kingdom.
  He will establish and uphold it
 with justice and with righteousness
  from this time onward and forevermore.
 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Psalm 96 

1Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2Sing to the LORD, bless the name of the LORD; proclaim God’s salvation from day to day. 

3Declare God’s glory among the nations and God’s wonders among all peoples. 4For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, more to be feared than all gods. 

5As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; but you, O LORD, have made the heavens. 6Majesty and magnificence are in your presence; power and splendor are in your sanctuary. 

7Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD honor and power. 8Ascribe to the LORD the honor due the holy name; bring offerings and enter the courts of the LORD. 

9Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; tremble before the LORD, all the earth. 10Tell it out among the nations: “The LORD is king! The one who made the world so firm that it cannot be moved will judge the peoples with equity.” 

11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein. 12Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy at your coming, O LORD, for you come to judge the earth. 

13You will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with your truth.

Titus 2:11-14

¹¹The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, ¹²training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁴He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

Luke 2:1-14

¹In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph 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. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And 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.
  ⁸In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
  and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

The angel’s message to the shepherds is for us as well, gathered so many years later, “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.”  It’s that one word “joy” that has stood out so prominently to me this year. 

But first, how, and why did we get here? Why is the Messiah born in this way and what difference does it make that some shepherds are the first to receive the news? Jesus’ mother sang about a reordering in her song, “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly (or the poor).” What God has done before, God seems to be doing again.

Our storyteller had taken great pains to set the world stage. Mary and Joseph go up to Bethlehem because the emperor has ordered it to be so. Instead of being born in a palace, Jesus is born in an overcrowded inn and first placed in a feeding trough. The new king is wrapped in swaddling cloths. This is a strange beginning.

We now know who the world powers are and yet the angel, the messenger from God, does not bring the good news to those men. The scene shifts to outlying fields where shepherds are watching their flocks. Away from kings and governors, even away from Mary, comes brilliant and overpowering light. One angel brings a clear message, and it is soon followed by a chorus of messengers from God. There is light come to lighten the shepherds’ darkness.

One writer summed up our scene poetically, “Heaven and earth meet in obscure places, not in the halls of power. Shepherds and angels. A birth in the city of King David, but far from a royal residence. And that birth, that joy is for all people, just as the census was said to have been…The light came in those dark fields and that dim room in Bethlehem because God longs has always longed, for us to know and love God.”

“Do not be afraid, for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” In her new book, Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown explores 87 different emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. I love how she defines joy, “an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation.” I imagine that joy is not only what the angel promised, but it is what the shepherds experienced. It is what we might, in the midst of this broken world, experience tonight as we hear the story of Jesus’ birth once again. 

Another scholar explains that people find experiences of joy difficult to articulate. The very nature of joy pushes the boundaries of our ability to communicate about lived experiences with spoken language. So sometimes when we experience joy we do a happy dance in our living room, we turn to music that can express far more than mere words, we take a blessed moment to simply savor the joy filled experience. Occasionally we might weep tears of joy.

Brene Brown tells the following story about her daughter Ellen, then in first grade. “We played hooky one afternoon and spent the day at Hermann Park. At one point we were on a paddleboat in the middle of a pond when I realized she had stopped pedaling and was sitting perfectly still in her seat. Her head was tilted back, and her eyes were closed. The sun was shining on her uplifted face, and she had a quiet smile on her face. I was so struck by her beauty and her vulnerability and the joy on her face that I could barely catch my breath. I watched for a full minute, but when she didn’t move, I got a little nervous. ‘Ellie? Is everything okay, sweetie?’ Her smile widened and she opened her eyes. She looked at me and said, ‘I’m fine, Mama. I was just making a picture memory.’ I had never heard of a picture memory, but I liked the sound of it. ‘What’s that mean?’ ‘Oh, a picture memory is as picture I take in my mind when I’m really, really happy. I close my eyes and take a picture, so when I’m feeling sad or scared or lonely, I can look at my picture memories.’” Brown concludes, “She used the word ‘happy,’ as we often do, but there’s no question that I was witnessing joy, the swirl of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation.”

Someone proposed that we do not lose ourselves while experiencing joy, we become more truly ourselves. Colors seem brighter, physical movements feel freer, smiling happens involuntarily. We become more truly ourselves. On this joy-filled night, what would it mean for whole world to become more truly ourselves? 

God has come to earth in human form, the incarnation, Immanuel, God with us. That in itself is good news. But there is more. Divine power looks like a baby wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a trough. It is entirely in God’s character, God’s preferential treatment of the poor, God’s solidarity with those on the margins. It should maybe not surprise us, except that it is so otherworldly. It is certainly good news of great joy for all the people. 

On this holy night, we might do well to create a picture memory together–the infant Jesus in the trough wrapped in bands of cloth, the angel, all the heavenly hosts, the lowly shepherds kneeling, and most of all the light breaking into the darkness. God wants joy for us and found an incredible way to deliver it. God sign is surprising, but it is God’s sure way of showing us that God’s favor is for all people, in whatever darkness we seem to exist.

Prayers of Intercession (Sundays and Seasons)

Joining our voices with the heavenly host and Christians throughout time and space, let us pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

A brief silence.Love proclaims that a Savior has been born to us! Inspire your church throughout the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ birth to all who seek salvation, hope, and new life. Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Love whispers to a weary world that the time for rest and restoration has come. Maintain healthy cycles of wake and sleep for all creatures. Where light pollution disrupts natural rhythms, encourage new practices. Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Love cries to a warring world that the time for peace is at hand. Direct those in power who make decisions on behalf of others, that they nurture and sustain all that is healthy, good, and holy. Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Love sings through the wails of a newborn baby. Respond to all who cry out in pain, despair, or need this night (especially). Bring comfort to those for whom separation, grief, or loss makes the Christmas season especially difficult. Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Love murmurs words of comfort to a newborn child and exhausted parents. Bless new and expectant parents or caregivers, especially those who are alone or afraid this night. Pour out your love upon families of every kind. Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.God’s ever-present love is proclaimed through the faithful who came before us. We give you thanks for Mary, John the baptizer, Elizabeth his mother, Joseph the dreamer, and all who point toward your love (especially). Merciful God, receive our prayer.

Rejoicing in your Word made flesh among us, we commend these prayers to you, confident of your grace and love made known to us in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that binds us, that we may receive you in joy and serve you always, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Micah 5:2-5a

 ²But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
  who are one of the little clans of Judah,
 from you shall come forth for me
  one who is to rule in Israel,
 whose origin is from of old,
  from ancient days.
 ³Therefore he shall give them up until the time
  when she who is in labor has brought forth;
 then the rest of his kindred shall return
  to the people of Israel.
 ⁴And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
  in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
 And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
  to the ends of the earth;
 ^5aand he shall be the one of peace.

Luke 1:39-55

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
  ⁴⁶And Mary said, 
 “My soul magnifies the Lord,
  ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 ⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
 ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
  and holy is his name.
 ⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him
  from generation to generation.
 ⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
  he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
 ⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
  and lifted up the lowly;
 ⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
  and sent the rich away empty.
 ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
  in remembrance of his mercy,
 ⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
  to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

Last week’s wonderful Christmas Pageant ended with Mary’s Magnificat, so named because she magnifies God. Diane recited the words beautifully. We have sung the words this morning and you heard me read them, putting the song in its narrative context. But even with the repetition, there is a lot packed into those ten scripture verses.

What’s more, it is hard to know where to place oneself in this song about the reordering of power and resources and wealth. We, gathered in this space, do not represent the top 1% in this country. We are a somewhat economically diverse congregation. Some of us have lost jobs. Many of us have walked alongside people who are not paid what they should be paid. All of us have seen the inequity in our economic, healthcare, education, and other systems. The inequity has been laid bare in our region and country recently and in years past. In other words, we have been, or we have walked closely alongside the lowly, the hungry.

And yet, by the world’s standards, most of us are well off. Whether looking to various developing countries across the globe or to the poorest counties in these United States, we are in contrast the rich, the powerful, the proud. We have such luxuries as shelter, clean water, food, electricity, and plumbing. And most of us also have such luxuries as emotional support, friends, and some leisure.

Back to my original question, where do we see ourselves in Mary’s song? How do we at Trinity Lutheran, in Nampa, Idaho at the close of 2021 hear or sing this song? It is natural to hear, and sing is with an individual perspective. Mary herself begins the song that way, “My soul magnifies the Lord…for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”

She talks about herself only so long as it takes every English teacher to approve. Did you ever have a teacher implore you, “show me in your writing, don’t tell. Show me.” Mary does not just tell us about God, she shows us with her own body–the poor, young woman. It is this poor, young woman who the creator of all has chosen to carry God with us, Immanuel, Jesus. 

But Mary herself does not stay individual or personal for long. Although Mary begins with the very personal, she quickly moves to the collective. And there is the invitation for we who listen and sing her song 2000 years later. Certainly this song is about me, but more importantly it is about us, us the congregation, us the larger Christian church.

Mary is singing specifically about her people, Israel, God’s chosen people. She sings not just of herself, the lowly one, but all the lowly, all the poor. She sings not just of a reordering for her own life, but for all of Israel, the corporate, the collective. But in singing about all the lowly, all the hungry, all the poor, she invites into her song more than Israel. In just a few lines, she has made this a global song for all the lowly poor. 

It is so much, this call for systems to be overturned, for a basic leveling, enough for all. Perhaps the very best news in Mary’s song is the main actor. It is not Mary, not her cousin Elizabeth, not Joseph, not even us. The subject of the verbs of powerful action is in every case God. 

And though God is certainly doing something new in the birth of Jesus, Immanuel, it is not out of God’s character. Mary’s song has echoes from her own ancestors’ songs sung throughout what we call the Old Testament: Moses and Miriam after the Exodus, Deborah, and mostly of all Hannah, the mother of Samuel. These echoes are significant for the way they so clearly extend the activity of God celebrated by Mary far back into the past. Mary’s song is continuous with the old old story of God’s love for all creation. 

So, let’s be clear here, Mary’s song is not a revolutionary call to human action but a celebration of God’s action. God’s dramatic work is against those who would take power into their own hands, according to Mary’s song. 

On the other hand, the story of God’s redemption is not God’s story only. Through his gracious initiative, God seeks out other actors, partners like Mary, who will share in God’s work. Mary’s song cannot be defined as a clarion call to revolutionary activity, then. And yet, there’s always an “and yet,” Mary’s song does solicit from its audience outside the narrative, from us, a similar choice. 

So, the good news is that God is faithful, and God continues to act. We tend to think of the Holy Spirit showing up first at Pentecost, but that was the Spirit given to the church. Remember that the Spirit of God moved over the waters at the beginning of creation. Already in Luke Chapter 1 an angel has promised Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her. We give thanks for the good news that the Holy Spirit has and continues to act.

Is there actually any hope for us if we are in fact the collective rulers? Absolutely. God’s triumph over those who oppose him is itself a redemptive act, placing his opponents in a position whereby they might elect to join God’s project. One commentator suggested, “God flings the proud of heart to the earth, in the hope that they will be…delivered from their ridiculous vaunting and flaunting, to become free and obedient children of God and brothers and sisters to others.”

The other not so good news is that all of this happens in the Holy Spirit’s own time, and sometimes it takes longer than our human hearts would desire. But Mary’s song is speaking of big systems and structures that cannot always be toppled overnight. But occasionally we can look back and really see the Holy Spirit’s action.

That was my experience this week. Trinity New Hope affordable housing is in the middle of our annual online multi-week fundraising campaign, which always makes me pause and think, if not sing like Mary, of our ancestors. I cannot help but reflect on the ancestors of our faith, some gone and some of you still with us, who were part of this congregation when we first leased a portion of our land to Mercy Housing. That was in the mid-1990s. The houses were built, and they just sat there, occupied by different people for 25 years.

Meanwhile, I was growing up in South Dakota with a father who talked pretty regularly about Millard Fuller, the father of Habitat for Humanity. My father helped found the Black Hills Habitat for Humanity Chapter. And I went to a college that sent hundreds of students, including myself, every year on Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trips. I did not speak the language of affordable housing when I took the call to Trinity, but that housing was a basic human right had been drilled into me from an early age.

This winter I was asked to serve on the Leap Housing Board. Why? Because Leap thinks a premiere way to solve the housing crisis in the Treasure Valley is to use access church land and they want someone who can tell the story. The staff and board saw this congregation as a key to changing the culture of our housing, changing the conversation from Not in My Backyard to Yes in God’s Backyard.

So, this Wednesday, when I attended my first Leap board meeting, I was singing and praying with Mary, “according to the promise he made to our ancestors.” We’re talking over 30 years, which feels like forever in my lifetime. But what a gift, to have a glimpse of what the Holy Spirit can do, of how God is the actor, but we are in fact invited to partner. 

What song will we sing next? As a congregation? As the larger Christian Church? I am not sure exactly, but Mary’s song can help us again. Her words are clear. The invitation is not in code. God’s vision for the world, spelled out in the Magnificat, is consistent with songs of the ancestors, with Moses and Miriam and Deborah and Hannah. On this fourth Sunday of Advent as we physically wait for the world to turn, for the days to get longer, we can hope and trust that the Holy Spirit is still active. With hearts open, we can join the song.

Prayers of Intercession (Sundays and Seasons)

In this season of watching and waiting, let us pray for all people and places that yearn for God’s presence.

A brief silence.Nurturing God, you give us life and care for our every need. Use the church’s gifts and ministries for your service, bringing your word to all who seek your transforming grace. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Creator God, you proclaim your boundless love for all that you have made. Renew barren lands, polluted waters, and melting ice caps. Make us servants of your creation that brings forth abundant life. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Righteous God, you bring down the mighty and lift up the lowly. Strengthen those who seek justice. Bless the work of community organizers, activists, journalists, and all who call our attention to imbalances of power. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Compassionate God, you proclaim your love and mercy. Show your lovingkindness to teen parents and those who are pregnant. Comfort any struggling with infertility and those who await test results, are in treatment and hospice care, and others in need (especially). Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Gracious God, you fill the hungry with good things. Bless the feeding ministries of this congregation and community. Guide us to share your bounty with those who hunger or live in poverty. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Here other intercessions may be offered.Faithful God, you stir up the hearts of those who love you. We give you thanks for those who, like Mary, were courageous in their witness (especially). Give us such courage until that day when you fulfill all things. Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

God of new life, you come among us in the places we least expect. Receive these prayers and those of our hearts, in the name of Jesus.Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming give to all the people of the world knowledge of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Malachi 3: 1-4

¹See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?   For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Luke 1: 68-79

⁶⁸Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, you have come to your people and set themfree.
⁶⁹You have raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of your servant David. 
⁷⁰Through your holy prophets, you promised of old to save us from our enemies,
⁷¹from the hands of all who hate us,
⁷²to show mercy to our forebears, and to remember your holy covenant.

⁷³This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship you without fear, ⁷⁵holy and righteous before you, all the days of our life. 

⁷⁶And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
⁷⁷to give God’s people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.
⁷⁸In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
⁷⁹to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. 

Philippians 1: 3-11

³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:1-6

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, 
 “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
  make his paths straight.
 ⁵Every valley shall be filled,
  and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
 and the crooked shall be made straight,
  and the rough ways made smooth;
 ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

God’s word comes to John in the wilderness around the Jordan River.  It is also in the wilderness of the political world: during the reigns of emperor Tiberius, governor Pilate, and “ruler” Herod.  Did you hear that?  The word of God comes to John when the people are under the thumb of the native ruler Herod, the local but foreign governor Pilate, and the final authority who sits above all, Tiberius.

This is a top-down look at the political reality of the day. This situates the word John speaks and the Messiah whose path John prepares, in very bottom-up terms.  The small, the unexpected, the apparently trivial comes as the answer—the answer to the problems of the hierarchical political structure under which it is apparently pinned. 

We are given a list of the “spiritual” or “religious” power-structure as well. Not only are Tiberius, Pilate, and Herod noted.  The high priests Annas and Caiaphas are highlighted as well. 

The word comes to John like a two-edged sword.  The word divides religion and politics and speaks directly to a wounded world.  So what is the word, which comes, interjecting itself in both the political and religious realms? 

John quotes the prophet Isaiah: Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

This quotation, in Isaiah, has to do with a promise of return from Exile. God will make straight paths through the wilderness, a smooth and easy return. This is about bringing the people of Israel out of bondage in Babylon and back to the Promised Land. The path is for the people; God-made, God-led. This is the proclamation of the prophet Isaiah, made to the people. It is declarative, promising, and hopeful.

Now John, instead of Isaiah, is the one who is out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. The people are called to repentance, to return themselves to their Lord.  This is the promise of the prophet himself.  John calls for a different kind of return to God.  His message is exhortation, challenge, command.

John preaches a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s invitation is to ritual action, ritual cleansing.  This will be symbolic of a turning from sin and a re-turning to God—this is the call for us today. The baptism that John proclaims is not to be confused with the baptism, the one baptism, which Jesus brings. John’s baptism is summed up in the daily efforts to live into the grace, which is in Christ Jesus.

The appearance and words of John the Baptist often remind me of Eustace, a character in C.S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace was a monster. Literally.

He did not start out that way. He began life as a boy – an annoying boy, a lazy boy, but still a boy. When Eustace got caught up to Narnia with Lucy and Edmund, he did not know what to do. A magical land? And when they kidnapped him to with that dreadful King Caspian fellow on a voyage on that terrible boat the Dawn Treader, oh horrors! So, when the ship landed on an uncharted isle and everyone expected Eustace to work, he ran away and hid. And then he took a nap. And when he woke up, he was a dragon.

It took a change in his form to make him realize what a monster he had always been. He recognized how dreadfully he had acted. That Lucy and Edmund and Caspian and all the rest of the crew were good people who had not kidnapped him. He was the one in the wrong. But now he was a dragon…and what could be done?

Sometimes it takes something drastic to wake us up and realize what monsters we all are. I do not know anyone who has been physically transformed into a dragon. However, I do know plenty of people who have lost friends, family, homes, jobs, and more before realizing what they were doing. I can point to times in my life, some distant and some recent, when I realized what a monster I had become. The truth is, these days it seems far easier to think about all the other people who are monsters, who need God’s forgiveness. 

And it is not just individuals, though I can come up with plenty of them, but whole systems that seem utterly broken and need of God’s mending. What can be done? Eustace wept great big tears… but he was stuck as a dragon. There was nothing he could do.

But Aslan, the great lion, was another matter entirely. After some days as a dragon, Eustace saw the great lion approach him. Even as a dragon, Eustace quaked in fear. He was not afraid that the lion would eat him. He was afraid of the lion himself.

The lion led him to a deep well. Eustace wanted to bathe…but the lion told him to undress first. Oh! Maybe dragons are like lizards. They could remove their skin. So Eustace raked his skin with his claws, and it came off easily without pain. But underneath lay a hide just as terrible. Eustace took of that layer…and found another terrible coat of scales. Again, and it was as if nothing had happened. Eustace realized he could not change.

But Aslan the lion approached Eustace. In the boy’s own words:

Then the lion said – but I don’t know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay down on my back and let him do it. The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought he’d gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling off the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off…and [he] threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. And After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone…and then I saw why. I had turned into a boy again…After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me.”

Eustace could not shed his skin. Only Aslan could free him from the dragon he had begun. Only Aslan could cut deep enough to sever those bonds. Only Aslan could wash Eustace. Only Aslan could dress him and put to death the monster in him. 

I honestly do not know how I feel about C.S. Lewis’ metaphor, of human beings being compared to monsters. I take Genesis One pretty seriously and will tell any person struggling with self-worth that he or she was made in God’s image and that God called creation, including the person I’m talking to, good. 

And at the same time, I look around the world, around the community, I look in the mirror and I know that there are times when I have been a monster. And there will be more times. We start worship facing the baptismal font to remember that in addition to being occasional monsters, we have been reborn children of God. 

Most Sundays we confess all that we have done and what we have left undone, sins committed and sins of omission. It’s a way of shedding our skin each week. And later we come to the table for bread and wine. We receive gifts of forgiveness and nourishment for the journey. This gives us strength to forgive others, part of what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. We are baptized at the font into ministry, ministry to bring new life and one way we do that is through acts of forgiveness.

Advent may not be the church season of repentance as we experience during the Season of Lent each spring. But on this second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptizer calls our entire world to repentance. It is not simply a call to say we are sorry. It is about a new perspective. It is about getting right with God–something possible in a new way because of the one for whom we wait, the one who is already Immanuel, God with us, Jesus.

Prayers of Intercession

In this season of watching and waiting, let us pray for all people and places that yearn for God’s presence.

A brief silence.

You send messengers into the world to proclaim the day of your coming. Make our bishops, pastors, deacons, and lay preachers confident in their preaching, that their words and our lives witness to your grace. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

Send your Spirit to all living creatures that are endangered. Provide them with shelter and care, and bring us into right relationship with the earth that you create and call good. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

Send leaders to our nations, cities, schools, and businesses to work on behalf of those who have lost parents, spouses, and loved ones; immigrants; the imprisoned; those living in poverty; and all who are oppressed. Make them bold in their commitments to justice and reconciliation. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

Send your servants to care for those who suffer. Use our ministries and our lives to reach out with compassion to those who are hungry, oppressed, lonely, or ill (especially). Grant them healing and wholeness. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

Send prophets to speak difficult truths, even when they are poorly received. Embolden those who ask hard questions and challenge accepted ways. Instill in youth and elders alike a passion for pointing to Jesus in all things. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

We remember your saints, both those publicly celebrated and those more humbly remembered. Confident that your work will be completed, we live in faith until the day of your coming. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

God of new life, you come among us in the places we least expect. Receive these prayers and those of our hearts, in the name of Jesus.

Amen.