Do we also see the angels?

Sermon by Pastor Joel Crouse

Christmas Eve

A Candlelight Service

December 24, 2023

Luke 2:1-20

John 1:1-14

Of all the fully human characters in our nativity story, Mary is the most celebrated, and the most complicated. Venerated as a Saint, she is often depicted in art as beatific, peaceful, the perfect, loving mother.

But can this be the extent of it? Or even the truth? The first Christmas did not happen to saints. It happened to real people. People with their own ideas of how their lives would go, and their places in the world. And that was surely just as true for Mary, who was a young girl when the angel paid her a visit. Not a famous person. Not someone already extraordinary.

I know one thing my modern thinking struggles with is Mary’s agency in all this. This baby happened to her. It was a gift, but the angel presented it as a done deal. This is happening, the Angel says, you are going to be the mother of God. It’s not as if she was given a lot of time to think about it. And just like that, Mary accepts: Here I am, she says in the gospel. Let it be with me according to your word.

So where does Mary fit in for women today, and the people who love them? The mothers I know are struggling hard to live up to an impossible standard – to have careers, to raise overachievers, to be awesome partners, and good friends. All while still conforming to a certain idea of what a woman is supposed to look like. It is a heavy load, and one most men still cannot fully appreciate.

I imagine some women will feel similarly conflicted about Mary and her lack of choice in this whole story. Mary was chosen by God. But she did not choose, as Joseph would. As I will discuss more tonight, this change in her circumstances was forced upon her, as it would have so often been for women of her time. And her role as mother and dutiful wife, in the end, was also the one most acceptable to the society in which she lived.

But consider this: life throws all sorts of burdens upon us. Twists from which we believe we will never recover. Turns that will forever change us. And we recover, and we go on. Mary’s story is one of courage and strength, and faith that God would help guide her.

Of all the people in our story, her burden is the heaviest: She found herself pregnant at the wrong time, with a new husband in her life about whom she must have still been uncertain. Everyone else gets to celebrate the birth. She actually has to give birth. And what then? According to the angel, this is not a son who will always be with her. This is a son with a destiny she cannot control, and at some point, she will have to accept his fate, and be there when he dies.

We don’t hear a lot of about how Mary felt about all those things. We are told that she was “troubled.” But we move quickly to hear her accept what the angel says. Surely, there must have been a great many thoughts – before and after – that spoke to Mary’s anxiety and fear about what was happening. Our scripture lesson makes short work of the many months of pregnancy when Mary had time to wrestle with what was happening.

Maybe, in this modern time, what we learn from those early days that Mary faced is to note how far society has come in gender equality and how far it might still have to go. Indeed, as history has shown, of all the rules that change, it has often been the rights of women – and of minority women in particular – that were the last to change.

But let us remember as well: this was only the beginning for Mary. She found her agency. She raised her son as best she could, imparting strength of character and resilience. She did not leave his side, and became a stalwart presence for him during his ministry. When Jesus died, she was still at his side, so special to him that among his last acts was to make sure that, in her old age, she would be cared for. She found a way to have a voice in the story.

And so, we have many qualities to celebrate about Mary, and the example she sets before us. Not only that she was chosen by God and accepted that choice. Not only that she gave birth to Jesus, despite the most trying circumstances. But also that she gave life to Jesus. And for all the pain it brought her, she stood with him at the cross.

This is what God must have seen in her: the strength of character to do what needed to be done, however frightening, and the will to see it through until the very end, however difficult. That is Mary’s power. And it is hers alone.

We are encouraged to embody these same gifts. This Advent we have heard the voices of Jesus, John the Baptist, our youth, and Mary urging us to know with certainty that we are not alone. That God goes with us into the messiness of life to help us through and find that hope and peace that know no ending. May we heed these voices in our lives for the sake of the world in which we have been called to live. May we live the life that we have been given with courage and conviction. And may we use what God has given us to herald the One who brings freedom and good news to all people. That is our power, and it is ours alone.

Amen.

God help us find the hope and peace that know no ending.

Sermon by Pastor Joel Crouse

Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 24, 2023

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Psalm : Luke 1:46b-55

Romans 16:25-27

Luke1-26-38-2023

Of all the fully human characters in our nativity story, Mary is the most celebrated, and the most complicated. Venerated as a Saint, she is often depicted in art as beatific, peaceful, the perfect, loving mother.

But can this be the extent of it? Or even the truth? The first Christmas did not happen to saints. It happened to real people. People with their own ideas of how their lives would go, and their places in the world. And that was surely just as true for Mary, who was a young girl when the angel paid her a visit. Not a famous person. Not someone already extraordinary.

I know one thing my modern thinking struggles with is Mary’s agency in all this. This baby happened to her. It was a gift, but the angel presented it as a done deal. This is happening, the Angel says, you are going to be the mother of God. It’s not as if she was given a lot of time to think about it. And just like that, Mary accepts: Here I am, she says in the gospel. Let it be with me according to your word.

So where does Mary fit in for women today, and the people who love them? The mothers I know are struggling hard to live up to an impossible standard – to have careers, to raise overachievers, to be awesome partners, and good friends. All while still conforming to a certain idea of what a woman is supposed to look like. It is a heavy load, and one most men still cannot fully appreciate.

I imagine some women will feel similarly conflicted about Mary and her lack of choice in this whole story. Mary was chosen by God. But she did not choose, as Joseph would. As I will discuss more tonight, this change in her circumstances was forced upon her, as it would have so often been for women of her time. And her role as mother and dutiful wife, in the end, was also the one most acceptable to the society in which she lived.

But consider this: life throws all sorts of burdens upon us. Twists from which we believe we will never recover. Turns that will forever change us. And we recover, and we go on. Mary’s story is one of courage and strength, and faith that God would help guide her.

Of all the people in our story, her burden is the heaviest: She found herself pregnant at the wrong time, with a new husband in her life about whom she must have still been uncertain. Everyone else gets to celebrate the birth. She actually has to give birth. And what then? According to the angel, this is not a son who will always be with her. This is a son with a destiny she cannot control, and at some point, she will have to accept his fate, and be there when he dies.

We don’t hear a lot of about how Mary felt about all those things. We are told that she was “troubled.” But we move quickly to hear her accept what the angel says. Surely, there must have been a great many thoughts – before and after – that spoke to Mary’s anxiety and fear about what was happening. Our scripture lesson makes short work of the many months of pregnancy when Mary had time to wrestle with what was happening.

Maybe, in this modern time, what we learn from those early days that Mary faced is to note how far society has come in gender equality and how far it might still have to go. Indeed, as history has shown, of all the rules that change, it has often been the rights of women – and of minority women in particular – that were the last to change.

But let us remember as well: this was only the beginning for Mary. She found her agency. She raised her son as best she could, imparting strength of character and resilience. She did not leave his side, and became a stalwart presence for him during his ministry. When Jesus died, she was still at his side, so special to him that among his last acts was to make sure that, in her old age, she would be cared for. She found a way to have a voice in the story.

And so, we have many qualities to celebrate about Mary, and the example she sets before us. Not only that she was chosen by God and accepted that choice. Not only that she gave birth to Jesus, despite the most trying circumstances. But also that she gave life to Jesus. And for all the pain it brought her, she stood with him at the cross.

This is what God must have seen in her: the strength of character to do what needed to be done, however frightening, and the will to see it through until the very end, however difficult. That is Mary’s power. And it is hers alone.

We are encouraged to embody these same gifts. This Advent we have heard the voices of Jesus, John the Baptist, our youth, and Mary urging us to know with certainty that we are not alone. That God goes with us into the messiness of life to help us through and find that hope and peace that know no ending. May we heed these voices in our lives for the sake of the world in which we have been called to live. May we live the life that we have been given with courage and conviction. And may we use what God has given us to herald the One who brings freedom and good news to all people. That is our power, and it is ours alone.

Amen.

If These Are More Than Just Fancy Words, We Must Embody Them.

Sermon by Pastor Joel Crouse

Third Sunday of Advent

December 17, 2023

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Psalm 126

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28 

Wild man John was traveling around baptizing people.  This was a departure from traditional Jewish practice, and that—and the fact that he was drawing crowds of people—attracted lots of attention:  people were interested, and the authorities were interested.  In addition, the people were looking for someone—Jewish tradition promised the arrival of a messiah.  Life under Roman rule was difficult, unless you were a Roman citizen, so the people of Israel and Judea were hoping for a messiah to rescue them, to drive out the Romans.

With these high expectations, they questioned John:  Are you the messiah?  And John said, no.  There was another coming, he said, for whom he was only preparing the way.  We see here a picture of John early in his ministry.  We hear him speak of Jesus as the one to come.

The Old Testament lesson also makes this connection for us.  It is the lesson from Isaiah that Jesus reads in the synagogue at the start of his public ministry.  So, we have John and his ministry, Jesus and his ministry, and the description in Isaiah of the ministry to which we all are called.

John was baptizing people and calling them to repentance and forgiveness, to a new relationship with God.  Jesus also did this, calling his followers to a new life in the Spirit.  In using the words of Isaiah, Jesus harkens back to his own ancient tradition of caring for the marginalized and sets out the heart of the Christian calling:  to care for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the outcast, the marginalized; to bring release to the captives; to proclaim the Reign of God.

Just a few weeks ago, on the last Sunday of the church year, we heard the parable of the sheep and the goats from the Gospel of Matthew.  This parable speaks of those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison—and those who do not.  This is exactly in line with what we heard today from Isaiah—and again, with the words Jesus chose to introduce his public ministry.  And we hear this message repeated again and again in Jesus’s words and actions:  care for the poor and the sick, strive for justice, and bring hope to the outcast and release to the captives.

We are now, of course, in the season of Advent, part of the church year, the season of waiting.  In the northern hemisphere, people wait as the days become shorter.  As the darkness grows, we—like our ancient ancestors—await the turning of the seasons and the return of the sun, the return of the light and warmth.

As Christians, we also wait.  We await the birth of the Holy Child, the return of the Son, the Light of the World—just as John waited in his time for the coming of the Messiah. Our earthly waiting mirrors our spiritual waiting. 

So, we have this paradox set before us, between waiting and action, for we are called to both.  Even in this time of quiet, of waiting, of anticipation, the world is also waiting for us.  Just as John carried out his ministry while he waited for Jesus, we must remember that waiting does not preclude action.  Often we think that we must either be contemplative, as in this contemplative season, or active, busy, doing.  Yet as Parker Palmer points out in his book The Active Life, we need both.  We may naturally be drawn more to one aspect than the other, but there is room for both in each person’s life.  In fact, some of each is necessary for a rich and balanced life.

Most of us live pretty unbalanced lives in so many ways—we work too much; we eat poorly; we don’t exercise, or we are obsessed by it; we allow too little time for rest, play, or prayer.  We live in an unbalanced society that equates doing and busyness with self-worth.  And the irony is that this time of waiting comes at such a busy, stressful time for most of us.

But perhaps, therein lies the greatest lesson of Advent, and the greatest challenge.  In the northern hemisphere, this is the time of year that the natural world slows down.  The light wanes, the days grow shorter, lakes and streams slow and freeze, the mountains retreat into their snowy vastness, animals and plants hibernate and wait for spring.  We are invited to slow down as well.  Our bodies want to slow down, to sleep more.  And in the old days, this was the time to mend the fishing nets and farm tools, the time for sewing and telling stories around the fire, for going to bed early.  Life slowed down.  It was part of the natural cycle.  But with all our modern conveniences, we pay little heed to the rhythms of nature—and besides, it’s a holiday season and there’s too much to do!

So, one side of Advent is to learn how to slow down, how to enter into this more measured time of the year, to enter into the waiting and the quiet contemplation.  That’s one of the reasons behind the older tradition of not decorating the church—or our homes—and not singing carols until closer to Christmas.  It’s a way of honoring that quieter, less hectic time, a way of taking a time out, if you will—to stop and rest, and breathe, and prepare.

And yet, we know that even amid what is to be a more unhurried time, the world still cries out in need, still groans in travail.  The hungry still need food, the naked still need clothing, the sick and imprisoned need our attention, the poor and the downtrodden need justice.  That is the heart of our call, and the heart of this season.  After all, we speak of Jesus as “Emmanuel,” as “God with us,”  “wonderful counselor, Prince of Peace.”  If we believe that, if these are more than just fancy words, we must find a way to make them real, to embody them.

We may feel worn out by the needs of the world crying out from every corner of the globe:  poverty, war, famine, genocide, disaster, homelessness, greed, and injustice.  And this past year has been devastating, with fires and floods and increased polarization and violence.  The death toll in the Israeli-Hamas war and the war in Ukraine continues to grow for both military and civilian.  The death toll in the Sudan keeps growing.  All over the world, including in our own country, children go to bed hungry.  Violence and abject poverty walk the streets of our wealthiest cities, on reservations and in villages, and in the quiet homes of our own neighborhoods.

How do we begin to meet these overwhelming needs?  Since we are not God, we cannot fix everything.  We can do only what we are called to do by the Spirit.  And to understand that, we need Advent and other times of quiet contemplation where we can go deep inside and hear the whisperings of the Spirit as it calls us to our own individual and communal work in the world.  Advent serves as a reminder of this need to take time out from the usual clamor of our lives.

Just as babies are not born without a period of gestation in the darkness of the womb, and just as spring bulbs do not blossom without a waiting period in the dark soil, so we do not bloom and flourish without times of quiet and rest.  The season of Advent is one of those times, a time of dark and quiet and preparation.  Take advantage of this gift of time—don’t let all your time in the next couple of weeks be totally caught up in the frantic holiday craziness.  Find some time to reflect on John’s call to repentance—which is not just about sin and forgiveness, but about turning around, turning back to God.  In that process of turning around, if we are willing to listen, we may hear more clearly the promptings of the Spirit deep in the quietness of our heart, and receive a clearer vision of how we are called to live out the words of the prophet Isaiah to bring freedom to the captives, sight to the blind, and good news to the poor.  And may this Advent season help us find that essential balance between being and doing, between action and contemplation, so that one may inform and nourish the other.  Amen.