Merry Christmas, For Real

I’m tired of virtually everything virtual, these days.

Don’t get me wrong, I have been so impressed by the generosity and tech-savvy ways our musicians who have created fantastic pieces of music and video for our worship week after week this year – a lot like what you’ve seen already tonight. But, boy, would I like to just sit and listen – and see the faces of others sitting and listening – without worrying that the computer is about to glitch or that the sound might be just a little bit better if we were together in the sanctuary.

And it’s been convenient, in some ways, to log in to our Bible Study classes or small group discussions – via Zoom – from our home offices or kitchen tables or under the covers in bed with a glass of wine (you know who you are). But it’s also hard to be sure everyone is engaged and for some Pastors to figure out how in the heck to get his PowerPoint presentations to work.

I appreciate that we can livestream a funeral service both to keep people safe and to allow those who can’t make the trip to be part of it from wherever they live. But I’d much rather have family and friends together in the same sacred space for those occasions.

And I really enjoyed our outdoor worship services this summer, I have to say, “socially distanced” as we were out there on the lawn or sitting around in the parking lot. But I can’t wait until we are safe again to break real bread and pour actual wine together instead of taking communion from those self-contained, individual coffee-creamer contraptions!

And I know this is about more than just our life in the church. I loved watching the Indigo Girls on Facebook Live every Thursday night for a few weeks in a row this Spring, but there’s nothing like seeing them in person, among a gathering of other fans who sing every song together like hymns on Easter Sunday.

I’m grateful for the way teachers and schools have been able to keep on keeping on, but online, distance learning can’t compare to what happens in the classroom.

And there have been board meetings and team meetings online. And virtual family reunions, birthday parties and Happy Hours. Online therapy appointments and doctor visits are all of a sudden a thing like they never were before. And it can be hard to wrap our heads and our hearts around those virtual nursing home visits, from the other side of a window, let alone the many – too many – final farewells that have been made from death beds, by way of an iPad, or text message, or social media somehow. It’s all too much – too sad and too exhausting.

(I’m using my imagination, since I can’t see you at the moment, and I trust you’re nodding and smiling on the other side of your phone or computer or television screens right now, because you know where I’m coming from.)

And God knows this, too, people. Christmas reminds us that the creator of the universe is as sick and tired of these close approximations of the real thing as the rest of us are. Don’t get me wrong, I believe God understands why we’ve been doing what we’ve been doing – and would ask us to keep on keeping on until it’s safe to do otherwise. But I believe God is as exhausted by all of this “virtual,” “distanced” living as the rest of us.

And I believe it, because God has grown tired of it before.

There was a time when God led the people of Israel around the wilderness with a pile of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night, remember. It wasn’t nothing, but…

There were generations when God spoke to the people through the prophets – people who preached and proclaimed some amazing things about love and mercy; equity for the poor, freedom for the captive, justice for the oppressed. Those prophets were nothing to sneeze at, but…

And there have been examples throughout time when God would show up in some strange ways to reveal grace, guidance, and inspiration for the world and its people – socially distanced, “virtual” ways you might say – close approximations of the real thing, it seems to me – in the form of Smoke… Fire…Whirlwinds… Angels… Dreams and Visions… Burning Bushes…, according to scripture, anyway.

God was going virtual long before 2020 gave us anything to complain about.

And when God got sick and tired of it – “going virtual,” I mean – God did something about it, in Jesus. Which is what calls us to worship, wherever we may be, on this Thursday evening in December: because God desires to be as real for the world as the problems and struggles of the world can be for God’s people. So God showed up in Jesus.

But, sadly, too many problems and too much struggle still surround us. This world is still hurting and so broken and this year, in particular, has reminded us, relentlessly, that there is nothing “virtual” about the needs that remain.

There is nothing virtual about the racial inequity and injustice that plague our nation.

There’s nothing virtual about the climate change that threatens our planet.

There’s nothing virtual about the virus that has killed more than 1.7 million children of God – and counting.

And there’s nothing virtual about the economic crisis that threatens to leave too many evicted, or hungry, or jobless, or worse in the days to come.

Our struggles and challenges couldn’t be more real these days. But so has God’s presence among us been.

… there has been nothing “virtual” about the work that teachers and professors have offered up on behalf of our kids – it has been innovative, creative, monotonous, at times, I know – but real and present and fruitful and hard-won.

… there has been nothing virtual about what our kids have learned in all of those strange ways, either. They have learned from and practiced how to adapt to obstacles, crisis, and change; they have benefitted from a whole lot of concern and compassion, patience and persistence extended in their direction.

… there was nothing virtual about the baskets of gifts we shared with our friends at Agape, downtown; nothing virtual about the thanksgiving meals we passed out a couple of weeks ago to local families; nothing virtual about the pile of gifts I delivered, on behalf of many of you, to a family on the eastside on Tuesday; nothing virtual about the houses our money keeps building in Fondwa, Haiti.

And there’s nothing virtual about the worship we bring – even when it happens online – because it is Word and sacrament … where God’s grace is proclaimed and God’s forgiveness is promised and God’s love is shared, and received, and multiplied, too.

And those hospital and nursing home visits from behind glass matter. They are smiling eyes and encouraging words. They are proof of life and evidence of love for those who are blessed and better because of them.

Those deathbed farewells aren’t what any would ask for or desire. But I believe, if the God of the universe can bring life from death, then that same power can speak love and comfort and compassion, even through the pixels of a computer screen or in the unfamiliar voice of a nurse, or doctor, or hospital chaplain. And, for what it’s worth, I believe that strange voice – from wherever it comes – sounds surprisingly familiar when we need to hear it most.

And from a personal perspective, let me say, there has been nothing “virtual” about the cancer that has weaseled its way into my wife’s body and into the center of our family’s life this year – and I know that’s true for so many others, too. But there hasn’t been anything more real than the love and generosity and encouragement that has showed up in more ways than we can count, because of it.

And all of that is how and why God took on flesh and bones; blood and a body; hair and hands; feet and fingers. God stepped into skin, mustered a voice, took a breath, and began to experience life from the perspective of God’s most prized possessions and most cherished creations: people, like you and me.

And God did that, in Jesus, so that the love of God would be as real as the rest of us. In Jesus, the love of God was … IS … no longer “virtual” in the way it had seemed before he choked on his first breath, stumbled through his first steps, offered up his first miracle, forgave his first sinner, or loved his first enemy.

And God did all of that so that we would too – embody the divine, I mean; love one another, I mean; forgive sins, turn the other cheek, befriend the friendless, love our enemies, find neighbors in strange, scary, unfamiliar people and places, do justice, love kindness, walk humbly, and all the rest.

So, starting now, with Christmas, let’s stop using the word “virtual” when it comes to anything connected with the God we know in Jesus. Our worship is real. Our ministry to others in his name is real. The grace we promise, the love we share, the forgiveness we receive, the hope we proclaim – every bit of it is as real as the nose on your face; as your face in the mirror; as the sound of my voice – and of your voice, too.

So let’s be the voice and the presence and the power of God’s love – you and I – because Jesus is born to show us just exactly what all of that looks like, for real… in the flesh… so that the world would be changed and blessed and better because of it.

Amen. Merry Christmas.

Greetings, Favored One!

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of David forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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“Greetings, favored ones! The Lord is with you.” 

When was the last time anyone talked to you that way? Let alone an angel of the Lord?

Mary was as perplexed about it as most of us would be, it sounds like. She wasn’t the type anyone would have thought to be “favored,” after all. Let alone an angel of the most high God, for crying out loud.

She was poor. And a girl. In a man’s world, and in a no man’s land somewhere in the middle of Galilee, from some place called Nazareth.

When we read that she “pondered what sort of greeting this might be…” in my head, that means she “wondered what in the heck this was all about?,” and “who does this guy think he is?,” and, even more, “who does he think I am?”

And after a little explaining … something about the Holy Spirit coming upon her … something about being over-shadowed by the power of the Most High God … something about conceiving a child, naming him Jesus … and something about how he would reign as the Son of God, forever from the same throne as David, the greatest king of all time…

After all of that – and a little something about her Aunt Elizabeth, too – somehow, Mary buys it. … or consents to it. … or resigns herself, perhaps, to whatever this is. “Here I am. The servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.”

But it all started with those words, “Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you.” 

First of all, it’s a reminder about just exactly who God favors: the least among us, remember. The poor, the outsider, the outcast. The last, the lost, the lonely. The sick, the imprisoned, the hungry and thirsty. The sinner, in need of forgiveness, mercy, hope and the love of God.

“Greetings, favored ones. The Lord is with you.” But, again, who talks like that? Who believes stuff like that – about themselves, enough of the time? And about the world and the people around them, too?

I came across an old devotional this week that my Dad wrote several years ago about a time he noticed a lonely stranger in the New Palestine McDonald’s. It seemed clear this guy was counting the change in his pockets to see if he had enough to afford, even a Senior Coffee, which isn’t something that happens often in our small town. So my dad bought him a meal, too, and sat down to eat breakfast with him, and listened to his story – things about a divorce, some estranged children, a lost job. It was all a gift and a blessing for this stranger, I’m sure. Not the coffee and the pancakes, but the conversation and someone who cared enough to engage it. The man thanked my dad and told he had sat there some days actually praying for someone to talk with. “Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you.”

It made me think of a story Oprah Winfrey tells about being a poor little Black girl, in nowhere Mississippi, back in the deep – and deeply racist – South, of the 1960’s. I think it was the wife of the Governor at the time, who came to Oprah’s school or church for some assembly or event. (It’s been awhile since I’ve heard the story.) But the point is, that from among a sea of other little Black boys and little Black girls, this wealthy, powerful, well-dressed white lady bent down, looked little Oprah in the eye and told her what a beautiful girl she was.

For a poor little Black girl who thought that her nose was too wide, that her lips were too big, that her skin was too dark, and who knows what else … it mattered that someone like that thought someone like her was beautiful – and went out of her way to say so. “Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you.”

I remember visiting Trinity Lutheran Seminary, across the street from Capital University, when I was just an undergrad – a long-haired, mullet-sporting, probably hungover or on-my-way-to-the-next-party kind of undergrad – when the Seminary President, Dennis Anderson, asked me – without a hint of irony, or sarcasm, or good-humor – when I thought I was going to come across the street and start studying there. I was perplexed. I laughed it off. But he suspected that the Seminary and I might be good for each other. Who knew? “Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you.” 

Some of you have heard me talk about Angels around here before – especially during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. And I like to remind myself – and whoever will listen – that angels don’t always have wings or wear halos or sing on key or glow like the sun. “Angel” just means “messenger,” remember, nothing more and nothing less. Someone with good news to share, like that someone who showed up for Mary, way back when.

And, I guess what I’m getting at is, I hope you can think of an angel or two in your own life who has called you “favored,” and encouraged you in a meaningful way… and empowered you to do something greater than you thought you could… or loved you in ways that were surprising and made you feel worthy and worthwhile, even if you didn’t believe that yourself or know you needed it at the time.

And if you haven’t heard or felt or believed that before, hear it now: “Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you.”

You are beautiful. And loved. And called by God to be beautiful and to love the world in return for what has already been poured out for you in the gift of Jesus Christ that is on the way.

Later this afternoon, I will baptize Holden Michael Hagerty – the son of Brandi and Brady Hagerty, Grandson to Tony and Kelley Holden. We’re doing it in a small, safe, socially distanced, invitation-only kind of way because of the virus, of course. But, I want you to know about it, because baptism is our way of saying – to the world around us, as a community of believers – “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you!” It is something that has been declared on behalf of everyone who has been baptized. And it is said, too, for those who have yet to make it to the water.

“Greetings, favored ones! The Lord is with you.” It is the message and gift and blessing and the promise of Christmas for the sake of the world.

The Lord has always been, the Lord is, and the Lord will always be on the way to find you and forgive you and encourage you and walk with you and welcome you into the good graces of the Most High God, by whom you are favored – each and every one of you, in spite of yourself, in spite of your sins, in spite of what the world has to say about it. And you are destined … each of us is destined … if we will let God’s will have God’s way with us … for eternal things on this side of heaven and beyond … because nothing is impossible with God.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.