Rev. Joan Pell Sierra Pines United Methodist Church Sermon Series: Sent Sermon: 11/29/2015 Scripture: Luke 2:8-18 SENT: Jesus Reconciles NOTE: This sermon is mainly a summary of the ideas in the book by Jorge Acevedo called Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas <Read Luke 2:8-18> 8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for see I bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. 13 And 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! [c] 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us. 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. Jesus was born in a stable and slept in a manger because it was the only place in a full town that Mary and Joseph could find to stay. At this time of year as I remember the Christmas story, my heart especially goes out to the homeless. At Hospitality House in Grass Valley with the rain and snow, we now have more homeless people than there are beds. Over the years, as I have interacted with homeless people, I ve listened to many personal stories. But, it is hard for us, in our cozy homes, to truly imagine what life is like for those without homes, and we have certain preconceptions. But every now and then -1-
we get to understand something in a new way oftentimes when we do something that we do not normally do. I had an experience like that at a park. I have visited many neighborhood parks over the years. I am sure you have too. When my children were little, I d search out different parks to take them to. They played on the swings and slides and especially loved the parks were the play equipment was themed: with ships or trains or Wild West towns, as in their imaginations they became pirates or train drivers or cowboys. Sometimes I met friends there and we talked as the children played, although quite often the children and I would have the park to ourselves. And as my children grew older they played soccer and baseball in the local parks and I hung out there watching endless practices and games as their skills improved by leaps and bounds. After we got a dog, parks were the place to go and exercise the dog on the large grassy areas or strolling on paths through the trees and enjoying the solitude. But, I had a very different experience at a park when I was at seminary. We had an assignment to do; so I went to Martin Luther King Jr Civic Center Park in Berkeley. And for two hours, I just sat on a park bench observing the comings and goings. It s a city park, a small one, just one block by two blocks. It has a path around its rectangular perimeter and a circular path around the center grassy area. There are benches scattered through the park, but no play equipment. And I was there in the early afternoon on a school day, before school got out. So what did I see? Two women came and sat in the middle of the grassy area and chatted for a while. Two young adult men tossed a football around for about half an hour; and another two arrived on bicycles, slung a strap between two of the trees and practiced tightrope walking. Three High School Students came and sat and chatted for a while by the peace wall, and another student, with a skateboard, sat and read a book. The road at the far side of the park was lined with parking meters and there was a constant procession of people parking their cars, walking through the park, and then returning sometime later. Most drivers walked alone, a few had a passenger with them. On the far side of the park were two benches occupied by a stream of homeless people, usually about 5 at a time, sometimes as many as 12. These men and women passed the time by reading, talking to each other, or just sitting quietly. One of the men got up and danced for a while to some music played by a woman with a boom box. One person slept on the ground under a tree covered by a sleeping bag. There were a number of shopping carts near the benches, some laden quite high with belongings wrapped in black plastic sacks. It appeared that people watched over each -2-
other s possessions as folk came and went. Two policemen walked up and down the road and waved and called out a friendly greeting to the homeless people. At the end of the two hours I was really struck by the fact that not one person had approached me to ask for money, nor had they approached anyone else. On the other hand, nor did I see any love being shown to the homeless by the locals. And I had never really thought through before about how hard it is to do anything if you have to carry your worldly possessions with you all day long. This park was busy and an integrated part of the fabric of city life. People appeared to be very comfortable walking, sitting and playing in the park whatever their status. Having spent most of my life living in the suburbs, or in small towns in the countryside, I don t normally see God s city people and the constant activity that goes on all day long. I was surprised by the busyness in this particular park, but I also experienced something similar at another city park, so I know this is fairly typical. Cities are often described as places that never sleep. In our scripture today, the shepherds get a surprise. They were up and working in the middle of the night and they were the first people to hear about the birth of the Messiah. They were ordinary folk at work on an ordinary night. They were not special in any way. They were not qualified learned men. They did not have a prestigious blood line. They were unsuspecting, unqualified and undeserving. And God picked them anyway to be the recipients of world-changing news. The angel told them: I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This good news is for all people, not just the suspecting, qualified and deserving. But the unsuspecting, the unqualified and the undeserving. Jesus was sent for you. Jesus was sent for a people who felt and experienced the same things we do. A people in need, a people who were desperate for help, people just like us. Jesus was sent for each of those people I encountered in the city park. Jesus was sent for all of us in Nevada County. Those sleeping in the park, those at Hospitality House and the rest of us with rooves over our heads. Those asleep at night, and those awake and working. Jesus was sent for you. Jesus was sent to reconcile. When we talk about reconciliation, it means that something that once had been right, and is now not, will be restored or brought back, and that things will be made right. Jesus purpose was to restore a close relationship between God and God s people which they were longing for. -3-
What are you longing for? What s broken in your life, or in the world, that you have a deep longing to see restored? Do you long for a relationship to be restored? for bills to be paid? for sobriety? for healing? for peace or justice? There s something special about this time of year as we rush about putting up lights, and driving around the neighborhood to look at them, listening to music we heard as children, putting on ugly Christmas sweaters, and drinking eggnog, purchasing gifts and wrapping them in fancy paper. Our hearts seem to wake up and by Christmas Eve we are deeply longing for something more as we once again hear the Christmas story of a child sent by God to answer the longing of our hearts. And of a young unmarried couple who did not have a place to stay, and shepherds working the night shift who were used by God. Children long for that perfect Christmas gift. According to the hot toy guide, drones with cameras are the most wished for toy this Christmas. 1 I wonder how many were bought in the Black Friday sales. Have you ever stood in a long line or jumped through hoops to make sure your child is not disappointed on Christmas morning? Sometimes it is not just for our children either! Just look at the lines of adults at technology stores when new phones or tablets are released! We all feel longing and at times will stop at nothing to get what we long for. But there are gifts that can be bought and there are the things we long for in a deeper way, for which there is no line and no gift wrapping. What if we acknowledged our longing to be reconciled with God? This world is full of pain. And it is especially hard to see so close at Christmas. We are supposed to feel cheery. But it is hard to block out the pain of the world. It helps to remember that the world Jesus entered was not unlike ours. The world needed Jesus then, and we still need Jesus now. Jesus was sent to reconcile broken hearts in broken people in a broken world. Once the shepherds received the news and visited the baby Jesus, then they went and told others. Good news is not meant to be kept to ourselves. The ones to whom Jesus was sent become the ones who were sent to bring Jesus to others. The longing that keeps us up at night, leads us to be a part of God s longing for the world. Back this summer when we got the news of the fires destroying so many homes including Richard s sister Patty s home. It touched your hearts. And God sent you. You not only gave generously to our conference for their Volunteers in Mission work, but 1 http://hottoyguide.info/most-wished-for-toys-2015/ -4-
many of you gave items to Richard and Dollie to give to Patty as she started to rebuild her life. God included us in God s wish to bring restoration. The promise of advent is that God hears our longings, sends Jesus to reconcile us, and then sends us as messengers of that reconciliation. Only beware! When we long for what God longs for we will often experience FEAR. Throughout the Christmas story, as the angels appeared to Mary and Joseph and as we heard today to the shepherds, they were greeted with the words Do not be afraid. Why? Because they were afraid! The Christmas story is for those who are afraid. God says Do not be afraid to afraid people. And then God sends those afraid people into the world to do the greatest work. It is not those who have courage and confidence that are sent. It is those like the shepherds who thought they would live out their existence in the fields on the night shift that are sent. It is those who use the neighborhood and city parks who one day wake up and actually see their neighbors that are sent. It is those who go somewhere that they do not usually go and see something that startles them that are sent. It is those who assume they fully understand another s situation but who suddenly find that their awareness and empathy has increased, that are sent. It is the unsuspecting, the unqualified and the undeserving that are sent. It is you and I that are sent. So this year when you feel a deep longing at Christmas, think about the baby Jesus, and think about reconciliation, and then ask, where am I being sent? Thanks be to God. Amen. Let us pray: Come Lord Jesus, come and reconcile your people. We give you thanks O God for sending us your son, to answer the deepest longings in our hearts and to restore us to a right relationship with you. We confess that we are often blind to the ways that you are nudging us. Cast away our fear, open our eyes and our ears, and give us the courage to respond, Here am I, send me. AMEN. Resources Acevedo, Jorge. Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015. -5-