Alive and Kickin'

 Commerce Presbyterian Church

December 20, 2015

Lectionary Passages

This morning’s sermon is about the gift of hospitality and welcome.

Luke’s tells the beloved story of Jesus and John’s birth--

the infancy narrative as it’s called has a special place in our hearts.

It’s a story I’ve heard since I was born.  

Growing up, in order to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus at his birth, my family--parents, two older sisters, and myself-- performed the ritual of lighting the Advent wreath around our own table each Sunday leading up to Christmas each week, complete with scripture readings and singing...now, before you paint too idyllic a picture, this is what it really looked like:

We children begrudgingly read what we were asked to read.

when it came time to sing a familiar hymn

my mother’s voice carried us,

as my father moved his lips while giving us all piercing looks of discipline

while my sisters and I would trade glances across the table trying to make the others snicker and sneer.

We celebrated Christmas with the extended family as well.

We went all out and had our own Christmas pageant at Uncle Hugh’s and Aunt Julia’s house! Costumes prepared,  parts were assigned,

on the drive we crammed our lines--”Let us go now, even unto bethlehem to see this thing which is come to pass which the lord hath made known unto us.”

Always spoken in the King’s language.

Valiant attempts to capture the spirit of the season, don’t you think?  

This morning is no exception in the carrying on that tradition:

The arrival of Christmas comes in a short-- or long-- 5 days depending on your perspective.

Presents sit under our tree; this is driving Zia crazy-- we are calling her cray-Z,

she’s already opened at least one present and attempted to put it back--can you blame the four year old?!

We in Advent, waiting, but, the period of gestation is almost over.

Speaking of gestation, let’s use our imaginations a bit as we look at the story of two pregnant women this morning--Elizabeth and Mary.

Even with the significant exposure to this story growing up, I never paid much attention to their pregnancy--the significance of the baby John giving Elizabeth a little kick within...until Trasie became pregnant.

Trasie says it was during her 17th week of pregnancy with Ruby Gene when she first felt a little flutter within.  She really wasn’t sure…couldn’t believe it.  

But eventually, those flutters became kicks, punches, dancing and spinning…

It was most noticeable in the evenings. As the day was settling down, the fetus was revving up.

Our most memorable times that the fetus moved was when we sang to it in bed.  Since we chose to wait to know the gender, we had not assigned a name.

So we called the baby “Lieden”, named for, of all things, a blood clotting condition Trasie has which had lead to previously unsuccessful pregnancies.  

As baby Lieden was revving up in the evenings, we’d sing to it:

This little Lieden of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…This little lieden of mine..I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine let it shine let it shine.

And the fetus would respond like it was Dancing with the stars.

A miracle within--all of life, from cradle to grave a miracle--a gift.

Slide: Elizabeth and Mary

Certainly, Elizabeth and Mary believed they were experiencing a gift from God.

But, their situations were quite different.

Let’s look more closely at this meeting between Elizabeth and Mary....

First, think about Elizabeth, there knitting booties perhaps--a most pious and righteous woman; descendant of the great priest Aaron, she was even married to a priest--

a preacher’s wife you might say.  

She and her husband surely lived most upright lives--knew the rules well, and knew who followed them and those who didn’t.  Elizabeth had done things the right way--waited a long time to become pregnant, and finally her prayers were answered.  Everyone in town would be willing to celebrate her pregnancy and her life!

Now let’s consider Mary.

Mary’s story is romanticized—pure and innocent—as we tell it today; it is difficult for us modern day readers to read much between the lines.

She lives in a small village, where everyone knows everything about everybody... she is unwed...and pregnant..by an angel?  

who would believe Mary’s story?   

Quite often--in Mary’s time, in our time--when a young girl become pregnant out of wedlock, this is not something celebrated….I recently saw a program on television where a teenage girl was kicked out of her house by her father when he found out she was pregnant---this doesn’t just happen on TV.  

We don’t know how Mary’s father reacted, but in Mary’s time, it could lead to severe punishment.

When the angel announced to Mary she would bear a child:  Mary “pondered these things in her heart,” and did she hide what was going on for as long as she could?

Until, Luke says, Mary “went with haste”  and ” remained with [Elizabeth] for three months”…

pregnant Mary skips town.. An 8 mile journey.  Alone? On foot?   

Was she praying the whole way that Elizabeth would believe her story?   

The visit could have been a disaster, but where else could she go, except to a wiser older relative’s home far from her village.

Tired from her journey, sees the house ahead.

She pauses for a moment, takes a deep breath, and approaches the house,

There at the door she musters one more act of courage...she knocks:

[Knock] “Anybody home?   It’s me, Mary.”

Elizabeth hears a knock at the door. Had she known Mary was coming?

“Mary?” questions Elizabeth to herself... a look of concern grows over her face.  

Had even she had heard of Mary’s “condition”... “Pregnant from an angel...um, hmmm.”

“Hello...Elizabeth?”, comes the voice of Mary from outside.

How should Elisabeth receive this woman standing at her door….

Elizabeth slowly rises from her chair, still not sure what to do or say:

And just then, what happens inside of Elizabeth’s belly?  

A kick.  A kick from within.

John the prophet from God, seems to have played prophet even inside the womb of Elizabeth….

he gave a little kick, maybe moving Elizabeth from any potential place of judgement or scorn to a place of hospitality and welcome….

A kick, a call, back to being present to her own miracle…and the gift of all of life.

A kick within….

She holds her belly, you can see the wrinkles of concern melt into calm, and then convert into a smile...into joy!  

It is after the kick, the scripture says, that Elizabeth is filled by the Holy spirit, and greets Mary with words of welcome and goodness, love and rejoicing:

“You are blessed Mary, and so is that child. Thank you so much for coming to see me..can you believe it, it was the child inside who knew it was you, he leaped for joy inside me! These children--yours and mine--are children of great promise, Dear Mary!”

Mary is relieved. She has been given the gift of welcome. The gift of Joy!

Throughout the story of the birth of our beloved Jesus, are stories of hospitality and rejection.  

Elizabeth welcomes Mary at the door after she made haste from her own hometown.

Pregnant Mary and Joseph were unwelcomed as they entered Jerusalem, until an innkeeper offers a barn.

Mary and Joseph welcome shepherds and wisemen to rejoice with them over the birth of their child.

Joseph and Mary were unwelcome in their own country and must flee as refugees after a tyrannical ruler--Herod--seeks to do them in....

and it is in Egypt, the same place where Joseph was received, where the Holy Family was welcomed and provided safe haven until they could return safely to their homeland.

Slide: Welcome

There are many stories being told this time of year.

Some are stories that would promote fear, judgement, and an unwelcoming posture towards others...

As Christians we must remember our Biblical stories told this time of year, and how they inform our lives and our place within them.  

When is a time in your life when you have been met with a warm welcoming spirit--especially when you may have been going through some difficulty?

when is a time you were met with an unwelcoming spirit? Which one of those spirits would you have considered “Holy”?

It is easy to allow a spirit of judgement, suspicion, ridicule and scorn to guide how we interact with those who find themselves in difficult situations…

It is during those times when we may need a little kick…

A kick in the you know what.  

To remind us to allow the holy spirit to conceive within us a spirit of welcome.

Like Elizabeth, you may well be welcoming the Christ, who is found in the guise of stranger, or an outcast or someone who is misunderstood and hurting.

Over the next five days, how many of us will be running around...with haste?

Perhaps looking for gifts to give?

Consider giving the gift of welcome and hospitality....

Who may be coming to church tonight or later this week that you haven’t seen in a long time or never met? Can you feel the baby john leap inside you?

prompting you greet them with a smile, “welcome, so glad to see you, what a special time of year”   

What about at work?  Who may be having it kind of rough this time of year? If you’re on break or if you run into them in the parking lot, pause to say “hello, how are you”  and listen to what they say.  Let that baby John Leap inside.  Be filled with the holy spirit.

Who’s are you getting together with this season? Are you looking forward to it...or dreading it :)?  Yesterday, I was at Trasie’s extended family gathering...I had this sermon in mind when I arrived!

Or, maybe you’re not going because…well,

Can you allow a little kick--of the Holy Spirit-- within to remind you of the gift of welcome you can give.

Let that little lieden..I mean little light shine…because of the promise of a child, prepare him room.

Five more days til he arrives!

Hospitality-Genesis 18:1-8

This morning's sermon is about one of the greatest virtues of a Christian - hospitality. I remember the last time an animal was slaughtered because I was a stranger who happened upon a home. Trasie and I were backpacking in a valley of the Andes Mountains in southern Chile. It was our 7th day on the trail. We were tired, rain was coming in. Against my better judgment, we packed up the tent and pushed on. An hour into the hike we were soaked to the bone. We had hoped to find shelter a few miles down the trail, but it turned out to be an unwelcoming place; so we had to turn up the mountain where the guidebook indicated there were a few homes near a mountain lake. Two more hours of hiking up a muddy horsetrodden trail; we slipped, cursed, and willed our way to the top where we were met by a beautiful clearing of a pristine lake and a home where a warm fire was sending smoke out of the chimney. As we approached the house, dogs announced our arrival, and before we were at the gate of the corral, a woman was opening it. Without a word, she whisked our shivered bones into a smoke house were a warm fire was curing meats. Trasie and I warmed ourselves there for a few hours, until finally, the woman beckoned us to come into the main house. There we were set around the wood burning stove which was the main feature of the home and served hot matte. Eventually, as it came close to supper time, the adult son left the conversation, and next thing we know, he was preparing a young sheep. Which we shared a few hours later gathered around the table. We were given a bed in the son's room, as he moved elsewhere, and we rested so well that night. We'll never forget that family, and often think to ourselves how wonderful it would be to go back to visit them. No doubt I could find this remote home. What's an experience you've had of hospitality? Find someone sitting nearby and share a story of when you have received a warm welcome. It doesn't have to entail an animal being slaughtered on your behalf. What are some of the common themes from the experiences? As Christians we are called to be hospitable. We have an extraordinary example of hospitality in this morning's story. Running Abraham. The herdsman, removed from populated areas, receives a visit. The scripture is a little vague - it says he was visited by the Lord, and then immediately suggests that three men or angels are visiting. Was it their visit that implied that the Lord was visiting Abraham, or was it the Lord who woke Abraham from his noonday slumber in his tent to let him know...you're on! When he sees them coming, he gets up and runs to them..he doesn't know them but still he: -Bows before them, -calls them "lord" -fetches water for them - He runs to Sarah and instructs her to make some cakes - He runs to the herd and takes an animal and gives it to a young man to be slaughtered; - the men are served curds and milk, (corresponds to modern yogurt). And finally the calf, including the delicacy cow tongue dipped in mustard as one midrash explains ( B. Talmud Baba Metzia 86b ) "I'll have Grey Poupon. " He stands as they eat, ready to tend to their every need. Amazing! Jesus was a big fan of hospitality. When he was host of a meal, he washed his disciples feet. When he was guest, the Scripture seems to take note of when he was treated with proper hospitality, like when he went to Matthew's home, and when he wasn't, like when he was in Simon the Pharisee's home. He told many stories of banquets and wedding feasts in which there was an abundance of room and food and beverage -- "Welcome to the feast in the kingdom of God!". Jesus even said of hospitality, that when it comes to it, we're either like sheep or like goats. I was a stranger, he said, and you invited me in. I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me. In as much as you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me. As much as we may appreciate when we've been shown hospitality, and as much as we think it may be good thing for us to demonstrate in our own lives and in the church community, it's a challenge. However you choose to show hospitality in your own homes is something you must determine, but let's think about what it means to be hospitable as a church community...where it is more likely that we may find a stranger knocking upon the door. Is it more than just a friendly hello, how are you doing, during the passing of the peace? If so, how so? Is the church called to demonstrate radical hospitality - By radical: There are guests who are easy to show hospitality to. And then there are the not so easy guests. Radical hospitality doesn't Doesn't determine if some guests are easier than others. What does this mean for guests who may visit the church during the week seeking any number of needs? We live in such a needy world? How are we supposed to live up the the standard of Abraham? He just seemed to be so lonely, he had to beg those guests to stay. That's not really where we are. How do we fulfill the command of Jesus to welcome the stranger, when the number of strangers is more than anyone can handle, and their needs are so great? Like I said, it's a challenge. I struggle with really being gracious to strangers when they drop by. Back when I had time (no kids), it was not unusual for me to receive 2 or 3 guests a week at the church. I heated up many cans of soup and gave out any number of drinks of water, and had many interesting conversations... That hasn't happened in a long time... But I don't think being hospitable is prescriptive or a formula to fulfill when it comes to welcoming a stranger. Anyone of us can give out cans of soup until the cows come home, and may not show hospitality. As I've thought about this, I think that being hospitable, is a state of being.... similar to the way we've talked about prayer as a state of being, being hospitable can be a posture-- how we receive God and the world When it comes to God and the world, we may be open and receptive, or closed off and suspicious. The world is difficult, and God is unknown, so it wouldn't be surprising if most of us are pretty closed. Which is why prayer is a good place to begin to think about our own hospitality. When we pray, just by making the effort, we show an openness, a receptivity to God being part of our lives. When we pray, we acknowledge God's otherness - that we are Creature before the creator. We are the needy ones before the caregiver. Think about posture as you listen to what Henry Nouwen said of prayer: "To pray means to open your hands before God. It means slowly relaxing the tension which squeezes your hands together and accepting your existence with and increasing readiness, not as a possession to defend, but as a gift to receive. Above all, therefore, prayer is a way of life which allows you to find stillness in the midst of the world where you open your hands to God's promises, and find hope for yourself, your [neighbor] and the whole community in which you live. (With Open Hands - 154) Being led by God means that when a stranger along, we ask, "is God calling me to do be present with this person?" And that is a major aspect of hospitality as well. Presence. Quite often we may feel hospitality means being obligated to do or give...but perhaps at it's most basic level, it is simply a call to be present to, with, and for another person. It was funny, at a recent JV soccer game. The game had started, and as the sun was bearing down on the field, one of the boys noticed that we had two tents shielding us from the sun, while the guest team had none. He suggested, "Coach, should we give the other team one of our tents." I said, something like, whatever... And then as I thought about it I said, "that a good idea." The other boys got behind the one who suggested it, and as they were clearing things out of the way and preparing to move the tent down to the other team's bench, one of the boys who wears a Jesus bracelet said, "this is the Christian thing to do." The irony is that the boy who suggested to take the tent over there is Jewish. The other team never asked for shelter, the boy was present to their needs... Radical hospitality - Being present to others - This means seeing something more than just what is on the surface... We are who we are as much as we are what our potential to be is. Rachel Remen, talks about this in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom. p. 231: We are, in a certain way, defined as much by our potential as by its expression. There is a great difference between an acorn and a little bit of wood carved into a an acorn shape, a difference not always readily apparent to the naked eye. The difference is there even if an acorn never has the opportunity to plant itself and become an oak. Remembering its potential changes the way in which we think of an acorn and react to it. How we value it. If an acorn were conscious, knowing its potential would change the way that it might think and feel about itself. The Hindus use the greeting "Namaste" instead of our more noncommittal "Hello." The connotation of this is roughly, "Whatever your outer appearance, I see and greet the soul in you." There is a wisdom in such ways of relating. Sometimes we can best help other people by remembering that what we believe about them may be reflected back to them in our presence and may affect them in ways we do not fully understand. Perhaps a sense of possibility is communicated by our tone of voice, facial expression, or a certain choice of words. Holding and conveying a sense of possibility does not mean making demands or having expectations. It may mean having no expectations, but simply being open to whatever promise the situation may hold and remembering the inability of anyone to know the future. Abraham welcomed these guests, not knowing they were angels from God, who would reiterate the promise of a son for Abraham and Sarah. Seeing the potential in others in the Christian tradition, has often been said as seeing the face of Jesus in whomever we encounter. When we look for the face of Jesus in others, how does this change the way we interact with them? And maybe that's what we strive to do! With great expectation we pray that Jesus would come to pay us a visit on any given Sunday or any day of the week. Pray for it! Pray for the blessing of having Jesus in our midst! I came across a prayer from an old south African American church during the time of Slavey. Called Inasmuch as Ye Have Done It - Aunt Jane's Prayer [Prayer Tradition of Black People p 45], In thinking about hospitality, and welcoming the Stranger, I want us to close with this prayer "Dear Massa Jesus, we all uns beg [You] come make us a call dis yere day. We is nutting but poor Etiopian women and people don't think much 'bout us...but you is de one great Massa, greater dan Massa Linkum, you ain't shame to care for us African people. "Come to us, dear Massa Jesus. De sun, he hot, de road dat long and boggy and we ain't got no buggy for send and fetch You. But Massa, you 'member how you walked dat hard walk up Calvary.... We know you ain't weary for to come to we. "Come to we, dear Massa Jesus. We alluns ain't got no good cool water for give you when you thirsty. You know, Massa, de drought so long, and the well so low, ain't nutting but mud to drink. But we gwine to take de 'munion cup and fill it wid de tears of repentance, and love clean out of our heart. Dat all we hab to gib you, good Massa. "An' Massa Jesus, you say you gwine stand at de door and knock. But you ain't gwine stand at our door, Massa, and knock. We set de door plum open for you and watch up de road for see you. "Sisters," Turning to them, "what for you all ain't open de door so Massa know He welcome?" One woman rose quietly from her knees and set the church door wide open. "Come, Massa Jesus, come! We know you is near, we heart is all just tremble tremble, we so glad for hab you here. Dear Massa Jesus, whisper one word to we heart--one good word--we do listen--Massa--" And when we welcome others, we can expect a good word whispered to all of our hearts.