Come Alive!

It’s really great to see everyone here today. Christmas is over and things are hopefully beginning to settle down. Maybe the company’s gone, the house might be cleaned up, or at least on its way. The tree is definitely peaked. The leftover turkey or ham is dwindling, and the remaining cookies—if there are any--are getting stale… It’s kind of a letdown now… or maybe you’re even sick of the holidays… They’re a lot of work, aren’t they?

Someone compiled a list of “signs you’re sick of the holidays” that came across my desk. The signs were listed in descending order:

8. You’ve got red and green bags under your eyes.
7. You’re serving reindeer pot pie.
6. When you hear, “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’?” you scream, “No! I’m not listening!”
5. You climb on your roof and start shooting carolers with your air gun.
4. You think you hear your Christmas tree taunting you.
3. Instead of spending time with family, you’re watching some guy make photocopies.
2. You’ve got eggnog coming out of your ears.
1. Two words: tinsel rash.

Some of you might have some things to add to that list, but for others of us, it can be a challenge to just get out of bed on a daily basis, let alone at Christmas time. Oh, I know there are a few people around (like Frank Finley) that just bounce out at 5 a.m. and charge away at their daily tasks… But there are others like me that, probably because we’re night people and tend to do stuff way too late before going to bed, have a bit of a struggle first thing in the morning.

I am absolutely no good before I’ve had my coffee, so I get up rather slowly, lest I fall, lean against whatever’s around for support as I fumble for my robe (usually in the dark because Jerry’s still in bed), pull on my slippers with a great deal of effort, rub my eyes a little to try to get them to open up, and stumble slowly through the house, bumping into things along the way. I’m in a bit of a fog, generally concentrating on my agenda for the day. Meanwhile, I wish I had gotten to bed a little sooner…

And then I come across an observation by Wayne Simsic about his morning experience in an article called simply “Awakening.” He wrote, “I watched my wife wake up at my side and saw her pass from darkness into a world of light. This intimate moment riveted my attention. As she came to herself, I felt that I was witnessing a miracle—a second birth. I became more aware of my own transition from an unknown place into full conscious awareness, astonished that I had returned from uncharted worlds of space and time.” Wow, I thought!

He goes on to add “Early one morning, I looked out at a backyard clearing and watched the appearance of first light—patches of gray collecting in ragged circles and tree skeletons rising out of the mist. What a mystery, this transformation! Watching it, I thought of the expansiveness of my own being and the infinite horizon that surrounds all life.” Double wow.

So, instead of staring at the news and the weather on TV, I looked out the window in the morning to watch the sun come up, and it was pretty glorious as a rosy glow filled the sky with increasing brightness. I looked at my sound asleep husband in a new way and thought “What possibilities there are within!” And I recalled that there are two different ways to say, “Oh, God!”

I realized that the birth of a new day was not unlike what happened when Jesus was born. Morning had become an invitation to live more fully in God’s presence… and that tiny baby born in the rustic manger in a remote part of the Middle East so long ago became an invitation to a transformed life! We, friends, have been the recipients of the blessing ever since.

Actually, we have been the recipients of a blessing ever since the world began. God created a world full of grace. God just had to spell it out for us, didn’t He? So many people so very long ago, from way before that birth even, just couldn’t figure it out, so God put himself in human form so we could all see more clearly… God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son. We needed something we could touch and feel, a tangible reality in our lives, someone who would become one of us. We needed Jesus.

Last Tuesday was Christmas Day. The question for us is, do we now experience God’s love in a fuller way because of that day, remembering all that God did for us? We say “Love Came Down at Christmas” as we sing that familiar song. I pray that that is a vivid reality in the lives of all of us! As we get ready for a new year, with Epiphany still yet to come, that reality is with us. We are immersed in the love that was born on Christmas Day.

The scriptures share the whole story before and after Jesus’ birth, the story that affirms God’s presence with us. Albert Einstein once said “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Sounds like it could be from God, doesn’t it? Friends, we could not have any better conditions than the present in which to continue to learn!

The prophet Isaiah, long before Jesus’ came, was both prophetic and poetic. His timeless words are the words of God’s people at any time: “I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord.” Isaiah is remembering while envisioning and interpreting the action plan of God. He has passed on the message of salvation, expecting the Messiah. In God’s mercy, God takes on all the oppression of humans, all those of the community of faith—so the Isaiah passage becomes an intercessory prayer for everyone. This short passage underscores our vulnerability, and God’s willingness to take it on, as it reveals how love is fused with mercy.

The message of Isaiah is linked with Paul’s message to the church at Colossae that is clarified in our scripture reading. Paul defines specific characteristics for this Body of Christ to live up to, traits which provide a model for Christian living today. It's a message for any community of believers. The believers are reminded they are “holy and beloved,” so they are to act like it. This means going beyond guilt and shame and any sin that might weigh them down. Paul talks about them “clothing themselves,” as they put on such traits as compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.” Forgiveness is especially emphasized, for as the Lord has forgiven, so must God’s people forgive. Above all, they—and we—are to clothe ourselves in love and let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. It’s these timeless words that they and we are to teach in wisdom. The need for change among the people is communicated in a powerful way! It’s an especially appropriate message for all of us at this time of year—and always.

An unknown author has paraphrased and reflected upon these verses, developing “Beatitudes for Caregivers” which can help us all; please listen carefully:

Blessed are those who care and who are not afraid to show it—they will let people know they are loved.
Blessed are those who are gentle and patient—they will help people to grow as the sun helps the buds to open and blossom.
Blessed are those who have the ability to listen—they will lighten many a burden.
Blessed are those who know how and when to let go—they will have the joy of seeing people find themselves.
Blessed are those who, when nothing can be done or said, do not walk away, but remain to provide a comforting and supportive presence—they will help the sufferer to bear the unbearable.
Blessed are those who recognize their own need to receive, and who receive with graciousness—they will be able to give all the better.
Blessed are those who give without hope of return—they will give people an experience of God.

An “experience of God”? It’s what God wants for all of us. How do we come alive in Christ?

At this time, I’d like to ask everyone to please shut your eyes, if you would, or at least to focus intently on your inward thoughts, if you do not wish to close your eyes. Please. Try to be very still and—stretch yourself-- imagine you’re a seed, a small seed planted deep in the earth. The seed is just lying dormant; perhaps it’s even in frozen ground at this cold time of year. The radiant sun comes out, and heats the earth—and penetrates the crusty ground to warm the seed… to warm you. Light filters through, soothing, warm light, nurturing you, waking you up from your sleepy state. Clouds gather overhead, in the outside world, the rains come down and life-giving water saturates the parched earth to feed you and caress you… They are waters that cleanse and purify, removing and washing away all sin, until you feel so energetic and alive that you burst through the surface of the soil, breaking the shell of your existence to grow, strengthen, and change. It’s a whole new world that surrounds you, a world you had not seen, a world of transformation that reveals the source of life. You have buds; you will grow fruit. You have come alive!

Suddenly you realize you have not been alone. You discover Jesus beside you. He reaches out and takes hold of you and you realize he has been with you the whole time. You see him as the purpose for your existence and you know he has been sent by God. You know he will continue to be beside you as you change and grow. You are in the land of love, in union with God. Past troubles are no more; there is peace in your heart. Awaken now and come alive in Christ! Reach out and touch someone, that they, too, may know the joy!

Was there hesitation or questions?
Not long ago, archaeologists were excavating Herod’s Palace, located near the Dead Sea. There were seeds there saved from a plant called the Judaean date palm, otherwise known as the Tree of Life in ancient Hebrew. The plant had long been considered extinct. The excavators of the Roman period complex had put the seeds into storage, never imagining the request they would get 30 years later. California scholars requested a sampling of the seeds in 2004, so they could plant them, and in 2005, a seedling germinated. The seedling was appropriately named Methusaleh. Amazingly, the plant has not only come to life, but it continues to survive in the lab.

There’s another story I’d like to share with you. It was a story on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle not long ago. A female, humpback whale had become entangled in a difficult web of lines and crab traps. The whale was weighted down by hundreds of traps, so much so that she struggled to stay afloat. Hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, and her torso, and a line was even dragging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her, just outside the Golden Gate Bridge, and he radioed for help to an environmental group. In just a few hours, a rescue team arrived. They decided her entanglement was so extremely difficult that the only way they could save her was by diving in and cutting, a very dangerous move. One slap of the tail could kill a person. Cutting with a curved knife, the rescue workers worked for hours and eventually freed the whale. When she was no longer bound, the divers say she swam around and around in what “seemed like joyous circles.” She then returned to the freeing divers, and nudged them, pushing them gently, one at a time. She appeared to be thanking them! Some said it was the most beautiful experience of their lives. An act of love turned into a reciprocal act of love. Who would have ever predicted such amazing results? And how much can come from the chosen people of God--and this community of faith? All of us?

Know that there is hope and promise for all of us, for new life from the smallest seed. Know, too, that, whatever the entanglement of the past, we can come alive! Who would have ever thought a small baby could become such a life saver? Yet all the hope and promise of the world was wrapped in that small package of Jesus' birth. Soon, we will take the journey to the cross, for Easter comes early in 2008, and we'll learn more of how that promise was fulfilled. Yet we can come alive right now to give and receive God’s radical love that is for all of us. Will you take him in?

Yesterday, another seed was planted. I received a prayer that then went out to 12 of the major ministry leaders throughout our church, letting them know that I love them, as did Christ--while asking for the very best for all of them and their ministry. Each was asked to share the prayer with 12 others. Most importantly, they were just asked to pray. It seemed a timely prayer as this community of faith begins the new year, and I’d really hoped to count how many went out as the leaders, in turn, shared their forwards and sent copies back to me, so I could track them. It was my hope that by perpetuating this simple prayer, with God’s love and the reality of Jesus birth, people throughout the world will know that they are loved and also be in prayer, in this simple way. I pray that this prayer will remind us all of that wonderful birth and all that Jesus has done for us. I pray that the love that is given and the 12 remind us of our discipleship in Christ, for as Jesus had 12 disciples, surely each of us could choose 12 to receive, and then, in turn, pass on the message.

Please hear that prayer as I pass it on to all of you:
“Just wanted to tell you that I love you all and it was difficult for me to decide who I thought would DO this because many people claim to pray, but not everyone does. I hope I chose the right twelve. Please send this back to me. May everyone who receives this message be blessed. REMEMBER to pray. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. Just send this to twelve. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward. Make sure you pray, and pray believing that God will answer. May today be all that you need it to be today. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight and conquer all your fears. May God manifest himself today in ways that you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer and your prayers be answered. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged and I pray that you step into your destiny within your ministry. I pray for peace, health, happiness and true and undying love for God. Amen.”

It's a prayer that should be passed around the world. We never know what burdens of the past might be holding us back and need untangling. And we never know which seeds might grow.

You know, so many of these go around on the Internet that we tend to ignore them, don’t we? Not unlike the Christmas story of Jesus' birth. How many paid no attention so long ago--and how many pay no attention now?

May the world come alive in Christ! Amen.

Benediction:
May you recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, and go out to bless and be blessed. May 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. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Sermon delived by Rev. Carol Mumford on December 30, 2007.