RRRRRRoooarrr!

Sermon for Year B Advent 3
December 14, 2014
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, Vermont
The Very Rev. Jeanne Finan

RRRRRoooarrr!

The year was 1977.
Our daughter was only two years old.
I remember reading and hearing about this film that was coming
and I remember my husband Tom was very excited--
“I really  want to see this film,” he kept saying.
I wasn’t so sure.

Hmmm...sounds like science fiction to me
and I am not a big fan of science fiction.
So the movie came out, to rave reviews,
but we didn’t see it.

A few years later
when our daughter was 4 and our son was two,
STAR WARS came to the drive in movie theater
in Charlottesville, Virginia.

So we piled our children in the back seat,
brought along blankets and snacks
and off we went to see STAR WARS.

Our children fell asleep soon after the film began
as the novelty of watching a movie outdoors in our car wore off,
but Tom and I were mesmerized by the film.
Even in the rain--
yes, we watched STAR WARS the first time
at a drive in movie in the pouring rain.

I am still not a fan of science fiction,
but STAR WARS was not sleek and futuristic,
it was as one reviewer put it,
rather “dirty and grimy.”

But it had everything a good story needs.

There is evil--the Emperor and Darth Vader.
There is innocence and courage--Luke Skywalker.
There is a risk taker--the surly Hans Solo.
There is intelligence---Princess Leia.
There is an ancestor, a teacher--Obi-wan-Kenobi
and of course, there is wisdom,
the Jedi Master Yoda.

There are also rebels.
Not Confederate rebels, not rebels without a cause
but rebels who are resistance fighters.
Those willing to take risks for the good of others,
to follow the Force and defeat evil.

You see, if we think about it,
STAR WARS has some great Advent themes.

Oppression.
Captives.
Prisoners.
Those who mourn.
Devastations.
Ruined cities.
Darkness.

And can’t you imagine Chewbacca as John the Baptist,
crying out in the wilderness.
RRRRooooar!

It is also interesting--in an Advent sort of way--
that when STAR WARS was re-released in 1981,
they added a sub-title: STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE.

Hope is such a strong theme in Advent.

I do not think that filmmaker George Lucas
sat around pondering, Isaiah and Thessalonians and the gospels
and the liturgical seasons
and came down to breakfast one morning and said,
“You know. I think I’ll make an Advent movie.”

I doubt that is how STAR WARS was created.
But the truth is Advent themes are timeless.

We can read and hear the words from Isaiah
and think,
“Oh, that is so old school.
Who cares about what happened 2500 years ago?”

We should care.
Because truth does not wear
an expiration date.

Scholars concede that this passage from Isaiah?
is not about Jesus coming as the Messiah,
though we can certainly make that leap.

After all, if I can ask you to think of Chewbacca
as John the Baptist,
we can stretch to think Isaiah is writing about,
predicting the coming of Christ.

But historically
Isaiah is writing to a people who are returning from exile.
Returning to their beloved city of Jerusalem.
They do not return to a world that is perfect.
Far from it.
Again, think dirty and grimy.

They find ruins,
both physical and cultural.
The Temple has not been rebuilt.

Yet they still believe that God is at work,
often in unexpected and unpredictable ways.
They still believe the promise of freedom
and comfort and restoration.
There is hope.

We can go to the future in STAR WARS
and we can go to the past in Isaiah,
but the truth is,
we are still called--today--right now,
to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners.

The world is still under siege
by troubled relationships
and power struggles.

We are called to be resistance fighters.
To fight off despair
and put on the mantle of light, of hope.
To work WITH God to change the world
in the ways the world needs changing.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 
He came as a witness to testify to the light. 

The truth is we are all sent from God.
We all come as witnesses
and our challenge is: will we take the risks to testify to the light?

This does not mean taking a wooden box
down to the corner of Battery and Cherry,
climbing up upon it
and crying out REPENT!

Then how you might ask?
It is a path we each must find.
Our path, our mission.
But the letter to the Thessalonians offers a great place to start:
Rejoice always, 
pray without ceasing, 
give thanks in all circumstances.

If you think this is mundane and simple-minded advice,
I suggest you give it a try.

It’s not as easy as it sounds
but it is also more powerful than it sounds.

In her memoir MIGHTY BE OUR POWERS (2011),
the Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee
describes how one night she had a dream.
"I didn't know where I was. Everything was dark.
I couldn't see a face,
but I heard a voice,
and it was talking to me —
commanding me:
'Gather the women to pray for peace!' "

When Leymah Gbowee woke up,
she didn’t know what to think
because it sounded so strange--
I mean,  to think she had heard the voice of God
talking to her, in a dream?

Pray for peace?
Peace at that time in Liberia--
after 14 years of brutal and crushing civil war --
seemed absurd.

Estimates at that time
were that 10% of Liberia’s population had been slaughtered,
another 25% had fled the country.
Schools and hospitals closed.
There was no water, electricity or phones.
Starvation, torture, mutilation--
talk about dirty and grimy.

But later that morning,
Leymah Gbowee shared her dream
with some women
at her Lutheran church.

About twenty Lutheran women began
gathering every Tuesday at noon to pray.
They invited women from other Christian churches.

At one meeting, a woman stood and said,
"I'm the only Muslim here,
and we want to join this peace movement."

And do you know what those Christian women said?
They said, “Praise God! Come and join us.”

Muslim and Christian women formed an alliance.
They shared their horror stories.
Training sessions and workshops followed.
They passed out brochures and marched to city hall.
Three days a week for six months
they visited the mosques, the markets,
and the churches of Monrovia:
"Liberian women, awake for peace!"
And they kept praying.
Praying without ceasing.

In the end, these women forced Charles Taylor to peace talks.
After the 2003 peace accords,
these women were instrumental in disarming the country,
registering voters and electing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
as the first woman head of state in Africa.

Pray without ceasing.

Who were these women?
Leymah Gbowee replies,
"They are ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters."

They sowed bitter tears. They went out weeping.
And they acted on their dreams of peace, joy, and laughter
for their beloved country.

These women were resistance fighters.
And they were people just like you and just like me.
Just like us--women AND men alike.

We live in wilderness times.
It is doubtful that wilderness times will ever be in short supply.

But we are still called to raise our voices
so there is never a doubt
that there is always hope.
That justice is always a possibility.

Those who sowed with tears
will reap with songs of joy.

God calls us to resist despair.
to resist injustice.
Our world is not sleek and neat.
dirty and grimy.

We are called to be resistance fighters.
Think STAR WARS,
think John the Baptist,
think Jesus,
think women of Liberia,
think you and me.

We are not the Messiah
but we too can be voices crying out in the wilderness.
RRRRooooarr!

Sermon for Year A Advent 4

Dream a little dream

Here we are at the end--well, almost the end of the season of Advent.
We started with being told to stay awake,
to get ready.

The next Sunday we heard prepare.
Prepare the way.
Make the paths straight.

Last week we were told to go and tell.
John the Baptist was sitting in prison and could not help but wonder,
maybe even doubt,
if Jesus was the true Messiah.

And Jesus told the disciples
Go and tell John what you have seen and what you have heard.
Go and tell John that the news is good indeed.

Now we arrive at Advent 4.
We have lighted three purple candles and one rose colored candle.
On Christmas Eve we will light the white candle in the Center.
We know we are getting close to Christmas.

Today we hear in Matthew’s Gospel
that Joseph is about to walk out on his fiance Mary.
She’s going to have a baby
and he doesn’t think it is his baby.

But before Joseph can disappear,
and essentially make Mary disappear from his life,
as he intends to do,
he has a dream.

And in the dream an angel comes
and tells him
that Mary will bear a son and they will name him Jesus,
Emmanuel,
God is with us.

And Joseph knows that he will not leave Mary.
He will not abandon her or this baby who soon will be born.

He awakes from the dream
and everything changes.
Joseph listens to that dream
and bravely steps forward into fatherhood.

All because of a dream.
All rational thought aside,
Joseph changes his direction, his intentions,
because he has a dream.

To him this dream is a divine revelation.
Throughout scripture
dreams lead and change the course.

Throughout scripture people listen to their dreams
because they believe--
they deeply believe--
that God is speaking to them through their dreams.

As early as Genesis we hear --

God came in a dream by night and said ..(Genesis 31:24)

...the angel of God said in a dream (Genesis 31:11)

The prophets are filled with dream imagery,
and of seeking God through dreams--

My soul yearns for you in the night,
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. (Isaiah 26.9)

These are just a few of the Old Testament references to dreams.
There are many.

There are also numerous dream references in the gospels,
especially in Matthew.
And in the dreams in the Gospel of Matthew,
there is always an angel.

...the angel of God said in a dream.

Now the word angel is a Greek word (angelus) which means messenger.
Angels are often God’s dream messengers.

But even in ancient times
they did not see all dreams as from God.
Sometimes dreams were seen as fantasies of the ego.
Sometimes as ridiculous.
Sometimes as just a distraction.

But we cannot deny the plethora of dreams
that are used to reveal a message from God.

And how about us?
How do we know when to listen to our dreams?
What might be a holy message from God
and what might be just a fanciful distraction?

Perhaps it was not so much that Joseph trusted in his dreams
but that he trusted in God.
He knew how to listen--
both awake and asleep.

My father was diagnosed with a brain tumor,
had surgery,
which confirmed that the tumor was malignant
and that no treatments were going to be effective,
the hospital nurses and social work staff
told my mother she would not be able to care for my father at home.
She needed to find a facility that could provide the care he would need.
This was not the news we wanted to hear
but it was the voice of realism.

My mother and I spent several days visiting
assisted living places
and nursing homes
and still, at the end of those long and wearying day,
we were no closer to a decision, a solution.
I knew, as did my brother and sister,
the decision belonged to my mother.
We were there to support her.
My mother said, “I just need to sleep on this.”

And the next morning,
the very first thing the next morning,
my mother said,
“Jack [my dad] is coming home.”
Period.
No discussion.
No need to question.
She was bringing my father home.
Against medical advice,
against the unexpressed concerns of her children,
against choosing the easier path.
She was crystal clear.
“I am bringing him home.”

Did God speak to my mother in a dream?
I have no idea.
I never asked.
She never told.
But she woke from sleep and knew exactly what she was going to do.

My father came home.
Hospice and other caregivers came to help my mother
and my father died at home 6 weeks later.

There was nothing easy about those 6 weeks
but my mother--and my father--
were content.
She never once questioned her decision.

I just need to sleep on this.

What a gift that Joseph, too, took the time to “sleep on this.”
What a gift that Joseph listened to a dream that told him
what he needed to do
even though his actions were more counter-cultural
than we can possibly imagine.
To marry a woman who was having a baby that was not your child
was just something men did not do.
Not then, and most often, not now.

Don’t for a minute think the people in the village
where Mary and Joseph lived didn’t know.
Just like any small town,
everybody knows.
I can just see the heads shaking
the fingers pointing.
the whispered comments.
Shameful.

Yet Joseph’s strength and character are clear.
It is a powerful example to do the right thing,
to act with care and with love,
even when it means that you yourself will suffer.

The writer Frederick Buechner has been my companion
for much of this season of Advent.

Here’s just a bit of what he has to say about dreams:

Freudians and Jungians, prophets and poets, philosophers, fortune-tellers, and phonies all have their own claims about what dreams mean. Others claim they don't mean a thing. But there are at least two things they mean that seem incontrovertible.

One of them is that we are in constant touch with a world that is as real to us while we are in it, and has as much to do with who we are, and whose ultimate origin and destiny are as unknown and fascinating, as the world of waking reality. The other one is that our lives are a great deal richer, deeper, more intricately interrelated, more mysterious, and less limited by time and space than we commonly suppose.   (from Whistling in the Dark)


This gospel story is not just about dreams.
This gospel story is not just about trusting in our dreams.

This is a story about profound and unwavering trust in God.

Whatever the truth about that baby that Mary was carrying,
this is a story about love,
the deep and mysterious womb of love.

+   +   +

The image at the top of this post is a painting by artist Laura James. Check out her amazing artwork:
http://laurajamesart.com

Sermon for Year C Advent 4

Breath of Heaven

In Luke’s gospel today

we hear Mary’s Song--also known as the “Magnificat.”

You don’t need to be a Latin scholar to understand

that “Magnificat” means “magnifies”--

my soul magnifies the Lord--

and “magnificat” also relates to the word 

from which we get “magnificent”--amazingly great.

For many this is a very familiar song, canticle.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior...

I have listened to these words, read these words, 

spoken these words and sung these words.

But I never really understood the meaning of Mary’s words

until this past Monday evening.

I came to understand Mary’s Song on Monday evening

when I attended the Christmas program

at the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women.

Whatever name we may call it--

a prison is a prison.

The choir is The Voices of Hope.

Roberta Rhodes and Mary Sorrells 

have been working with the women there 

for over a year--maybe almost two years now.

Monday evening was their Christmas concert.

This year the choir was joined by the liturgical dance team,

the Kingdom Bound Dancers.

We have been so blessed here at St. John’s

to have both this choir and these dancers 

come and join us for worship here.

But Monday night was a little different.

I was on their territory--

their chapel at the prison.

I was their guest.

You know,

I will be honest.

It is always a little unnerving for me to drive into the prison--

through gates that can close behind you,

into a compound surrounded by tall fences topped with razor wire.

You definitely get the message--

you are leaving behind your

privilege of freedom.

The Voices of Hope did not sing the “Magnificat.”
No one read this portion of Luke’s gospel.

But I will tell you--I will give a witness right here--

their souls--both the singers and the dancers--

their voices and their bodies--

did indeed magnify the Lord.

We all know that the week before had been a difficult week.

The shootings in Connecticut.

People struggling with the holidays---

so many people in need and so few resources,

not always a joyful time for some.

Loss can be felt ever more deeply during holiday times.

For me Monday evening was one of those nights

that followed one of those days,

a very exhausting day.

When I arrived and sat down,

I felt like I just sort of melted into the pew.

I felt I had given all I had in the days before.

I felt there was not much left--

and I knew I had not even made it through Advent yet!

Come, Lord Jesus, was indeed my prayer!

And let me tell you--Jesus came.

Jesus came with bells on!

Literally!!

I was the lowly one that night

and those women--those women that society has cast as lowly--

those women magnified the Lord

and lifted me up!

Mary knew--God will work through us and with us. 

With all of us.

DId you know that Luke is the only gospel writer 

that really celebrates Mary?

Mark skips the birth of Jesus completely

and Mark’s Jesus seems pretty indifferent 

about his mother.

She shows up with his brothers 

in chapter 3 and that’s about it.

Mary in Matthew’s gospel never says one word.

Not one word.

Let’s just say that Matthew 

did not think Mary deserved a speaking role.

In all his letters, 

Paul only refers to Jesus being “born of a woman” 

but he never names her.

Not once.

Mary does appear in John’s gospel, 

but it is Luke that really gives Mary a voice.

At the prison on Monday evening,

the women of the Voices of Hope choir

gave voice to Mary too as they sang

and the dancers gave voice as they danced--

The program opened with what I believe is an Amy Grant song...

Breath of Heaven, hold me together..

Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness...

Do you wonder as you watch my face

If a wiser one should have had my place?

But I offer all I am...

Help me be strong, 

help me be, 

help me...

In Luke’s gospel Mary says,

God, you have  “looked with favor on your lowly servant.”

Jesus’ mother understands lowly.

Mary is poor, she is pregnant, she is unmarried.

She is in a mess.

It takes God, sometimes working overtime,

to help us see that sometimes being in a mess,

can unlock the door that will lead us to true freedom.

Jesus’ mother understands.

She sings.

Mary sings!

Because through it all,

Mary knows that God is with her.

Mary is not just singing for herself.

This is not just a pretty song in the Bible.

Mary’s song is a freedom song,

a song that tells us that God will overcome.

Mary sings that God has scattered

the proud and brought down the powerful from their thrones

and lifted up the lowly.

Mary sings that God has filled the hungry

and sent the rich away empty.

You can see the DNA of Jesus in his mother--

because she is singing about 

God turning the world upside down

and God putting back together 

all that has been torn apart

Even in utero John the Baptizer knew that this cousin of his,

the baby that Mary carries in her womb, 

is no ordinary baby--

John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb!

It’s almost like John and Jesus want to give each other baby high-fives!

Woo-hoo! Watch out world! 

Here we come!

How important it is that we listen to the words of the Magnificat

to remind us to thank God for everything,

to remember that God has done great things for us--all of us--

even when things did not look or feel so great,

the Spirit was moving in our lives, in the world.

God used the Voices of Hope choir 

and the Kingdom Bound dancers to bless me,

to lift up me 

and a chapel full of others--

to remind us all 

that when you feel worn out, just wait.

God will send someone to lift you up.

Trust in God.

Be ready.

That’s what advent is all about.

Be ready.

Be ready

not only to receive,

but also to give.

Mary gave completely.

She gave everything she was--her entire self. 

No complaints, no whining, no blaming.

Here I am, God.

The answer is yes. A glorious yes.

We are not here in this world to serve ourselves.

We are here to do God’s work and to serve others.

This is what Mary is trying to tell us.

Everything we do,

every word we speak,

should be done in such a way that we glorify God.

When we live our lives--even a little piece of our lives--

to the glory of God

we have no idea what a gift we give to others.

I left the Christmas concert on Monday night 

and walked out into the darkness

which did not seem so dark any longer.

Breath of Heaven.....Pour over me Your holiness...

Amen.

Advent is like chocolate.....

Advent is like chocolate....
Sermon for Year B Advent 2

Advent is like chocolate.
Yes, you heard correctly--like chocolate.

This was confirmed for me on a recent trip to CVS---
Look at these Hershey kisses!
Wrapped in Advent purple!
Dark chocolate Hershey kisses.
So Advent!

Christmas is probably milk chocolate--
sweet, yummy, and loved by almost everyone.
But Advent is more like dark chocolate--
exceptionally rich,
a bit spicy
and definitely a touch of mystery.

In today’s gospel we meet John.
John the Baptizer.

If ever there were a mystery man, it is John.
Dressed in camel hair.
Eating locusts and wild honey.
John is a man with a message--
and he wants to be sure
that everyone gets an ear full.

It is interesting to note how Mark’s gospel begins.
We hear these words:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ...

Mark’s gospel does not tell us one word about the baby Jesus
or shepherds or angels or Mary or Joseph--

The gospel of Mark just jumps in
with a full grown Jesus
being announced to the world
by a full blown prophetic mystery man.

Now remember--John and Jesus are cousins.
We don’t know how close they were
but John is clear
that he sees Jesus
as way more qualified that he himself is--
I can baptize you with water, says John--
but the One who is coming,
oh my!
The One who is coming is going to baptize you with the Spirit
and trust me--
nothing in your life will ever be the same.

John is crystal clear that he is the messenger.
John is crystal clear that he is NOT the Messiah.

It is unusual for someone to want to give all the credit,
all the glory. to someone else.
Most of us want to claim at least a little piece of the fame, right?

John is crystal clear that he is only preparing the way.
John is crystal clear that is not THE way.

This second Sunday in Advent is a good time to remember
all those who have gone before us
and prepared the way.
All those who let us have the credit
when they have done a great deal of the work.

But it is also a Sunday to remember that it is really not about us.
John is such a good reminder of this.
All of this--everything in our life--is really about God.
That is the message of Advent:
Everything is holy--open your eyes--prepare the way--be ready---
look! wait! watch!
prepare! hope! expect!
O come O come Emmanuel.
Emmanuel. God with us.

Advent is a time of waiting.
A time of expecting the coming of God.

A time when we can wonder and ponder the mystery of a God
who comes into the world
as a helpless, powerless, vulnerable baby.

This is not the Messiah people were expecting--
they were expecting a king, a soldier,
a man (yes, they were definitely expecting a MAN)--
a person of power and strength and control.
A person who will immediately right all the wrongs.
And then the Messiah shows up wearing a diaper!

God is full of surprises!
That still holds true today!

Tuesday, December 6 is the Feast day for St. Nicholas.
We may think of St. Nicholas
as just another name for Santa Claus.
But I want you to know the real story of St. Nicholas--
at least the story that is part of our tradition.

St. Nicholas was a Bishop.
That’s right--one of those fellows with the pointy hats (miters)
and a staff (crozier) in his hand.
He was the Bishop of Myra
which is now in modern day Turkey.
St. Nicholas lived in the 4th century.

There are many stories about St. Nicholas--
some of them almost Stephen King gruesome--
but the one I want to tell you today is this:

Now Nicholas did not start out as saint--
he started out as a regular person just like you or me.
When Nicholas was a teenager his parents died
and his parents left him a lot of money
which made him a very rich young man.
Nicholas went to live with his uncle who was a priest.

Now sometimes people who are hungry or worried or hurting
come to visit their priest.
One day Nicholas overheard a man talking to his uncle
about how difficult things were for him and his family.

The man had lost all his money.
The only treasure he had was his three daughters.
His daughters were old enough to get married
but in those days, in order for a young woman to get married,
they had to have some money or property to offer--
called a “dowry” to help the new family get started.

This poor man did not have any dowry money
so this meant his daughters would never be able to marry.
The man was very sad about this
and he felt that he had failed his family.

But it was more than just not having a dowry.
This family was so poor and so desperate that they had nothing to eat.
The truth is they were almost starving.
The man was faced with the only choice he felt he had:
to sell his daughters as slaves.

He could not feed them,
he could not imagine a future for them,
so he felt he had to do something to make sure they would at least live.
There were so many people overwhelmed by poverty
that the priest nor the church had the resources to help.

The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold as a slave,
she washed her stockings
(people wore cloth stockings in those days--
more what we would call knee-high socks)--
she washed her stockings
and hung them by the fireplace to dry overnight.

Then they all went to sleep--
the father and the three daughters.

When they woke up the next morning,
the oldest daughter noticed a lump in one of her stockings.
She reached in and found a small, heavy bag.
When she opened the bag,
it had gold inside!
That’s right--gold coins!!!

Enough to buy food for their family,
enough so that she would not have to be sold as a slave--
even enough for her dowry!

The family was so happy!

The next morning another bag of gold was found.
Two of the daughters could now be saved.
It was all so wonderful
yet all so mysterious.


Now the next night,
the father decided he was going to stay awake.
He dozed off but when he heard a small “clink”--
the sound of the gold coins in the little bag
as they were being dropped into the stocking--
he jolted awake!
And what did he see?

He saw a young man running out of the room
and the father jumped up and chased after him,
reached out and grabbed his coat.
It was Nicholas!
The young man who lived with his uncle the priest.

“Nicholas!” said the father. “It’s you!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for helping us!.”

But Nicholas said,
“Please do not thank me.
Thank God that your prayers have been answered.
And please--do not tell others about me,
because I deserve no credit for this.
It is only through the grace of God
that I can give to others.”

The father told no one
and Nicholas continued helping people.
He wanted no attention or thanks.
He knew he had much
and he did not want others to go hungry. Or worse.

It was later that Nicholas was made a Bishop--
because a Bishop’s role is that of a shepherd--
one who looks after his people.
God’s people.

So it is because of Nicholas that we hang stockings by the fireplace
and awake in the morning to find little gifts.
When I was a child,
my brother and sister and I
always got a little mesh bag filled with gold wrapped
chocolate coins.
But it was not until I was an adult that I discovered
the history of this tradition.

You see Nicholas was like John the Baptizer in many ways.
He knew that he was not the source of abundance or blessing.
Both John and Nicholas knew
that there was someone
far greater than they could ever hope or imagine to be.

They wanted to share the good news with others.
They wanted to prepare the way for others to come to know God.

We are all potential John the Baptizers,
potential Saint Nicholases.
Every day we are sent out into the world
with an opportunity to share our abundance.
Sharing our wealth--
both our financial wealth and our spiritual wealth--
prepares the way
for others to receive and to know
the unconditional love of God.

The more unloveable or cynical or hard-hearted someone appears
the more they need this good news.

Every day we are sent as messengers, as angels,
to cry out in the wilderness--
but to also listen and look and pay attention
to those who are lost in the wilderness.
We are called to point the way to hope
and to the One who brings hope.

When you leave this worship service,
I will be at the door with my basket.
Adults get the dark chocolate.
Children get a gold coin milk chocolate.

But please do not thank me.
Take the piece of chocolate and say,
“Thanks be to God.
Thanks be to God.”
Then go out into the world and share the good news.
The mysterious, delicious good news.