REFLECTION: 2012

So we begin this most auspicious year. The Mayan calendar ended with 2012. Let's hope we disappoint them. With God's help, I think we will. All the best to you and your family during the forthcoming year.

Happy New Year!

Peace, Jon B.

SERMON TEXT: The Whimper and the Roar of Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-20

2In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13And 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!" 15When 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." 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

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Some of you with small children had an exciting night last night. Christmas Eve at my childhood home on 7th Avenue in Morton, Mississippi was an exciting time. There were already many presents under the brightly colored tree. We had a live cypress(?) tree with those large colored light bulbs with red, green, blue, orange and yellow lights. My body literally shook with excitement when I thought about my presents under that tree. I had closely examined my gifts under the tree. I gently shook each gift to see if it made a sound. One gift sounded like a board game when I shook it. Hopefully, it was the Risk game or maybe Monopoly. Another gift made no sound when I shook it. It was probably a book, a pretty heavy book, most likely a new Living Bible. Mama had made a cake for Santa Claus and it was time to put it on the table along with a glass of milk. Why, that big, hefty, lovable ole Saint Nick would certainly be hungry when he got to my house, considering all the heavy lifting he would have to do bringing in my gifts, hopefully he would be bringing me a new bicycle, one with the twisted handlebars like a ram's horns. That would be so cool!! And now we were watching Santa Claus on our TV. There he was, right there, making his way across the state of Mississippi. You could see the outline of Santa and his reindeer on the radar right there on the screen. Oh my goodness, there had been another Santa spotting two counties over from where I lived. It was be time to get to bed about now. If we were awake when Santa came with our stuff, we may scare him away. Best to get to sleep and awaken early in the morning to see what he brought us. So off to bed we went. My older brother and me slept in the same bedroom. It was night, night and sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs night. No, no, no. Not on Christmas Eve.

We live in fear with good reason. Death is ever near. There is no guarantee that any of us will make it home alive today or any day. Life is contingent. I was never afraid to die but always afraid to live. Why? Here are three of my fears that are common among many people: I fear will make a mistake. I fear rejection. I fear I will not achieve God's purpose for my life.

Some variation of "Be not afraid" or "Do not fear" occurs 40 times in the New Testament. This theme of do not fear carries over from the Old Testament in texts such as Psalm 23: "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil." So in our text today an angel says to a group of shepherds, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

Banishment of fear is a common thread throughout the synoptic gospel birth narratives. Mary was afraid the first time the angel of the Lord appeared to her to announce she was carrying the Christ child within her. The angel's message to Mary was "Be not afraid." The shepherds were afraid when the angel appeared to them to announce the birth of Jesus. The angels told the shepherds: "Be not afraid."

We are afraid when we become aware of the potential to bear the Christ child within us. The angel says to us: "Be not afraid."

The shepherds and angels bear witness to what God is doing in your life. Think of the shepherds as the human mentors who have guided you through your life. These include parents, teachers, coaches, pastors and friends. The angels are the spiritual entities who accompany your spiritual journey. They have been called guardian angels. The shepherds and the angels in your life bear joyful witness to the birth of Christ within you.

A lost lion was adopted and raised by a herd of sheep. When he was three years old, the lion was bleating in the field with his brother and sister sheep when an older lion found him. The older lion was shocked to find this young lion acting like a sheep. So the older lion said: "Hey, what are you doing?! You are bleating like a sheep. You are not a sheep. You are a lion. Wake up. Get yourself together. Be a lion." The young lion was amazed to hear this and even more amazed to see this older lion since he had never before seen a lion. The young lion did not respond to the older lion but it made him start questioning his identity. A few days later the young lion who thought he was a sheep was standing by a stream when suddenly he saw another lion. It was his own reflection in the stream! And when he saw his reflection in that stream, he suddenly realized that he really was a lion and for the first time in his life, he roared! In a similar way, we have lost sight of our true identity. We have forgotten that we are made in God's image. We are God's children. We are not mere descendants of apes. We now stop acting like apes. We stop living out our animal nature. As we stare in wonder into the eyes of the baby in the manger, we see our own reflection staring back at us. We get in touch with the wonder and innocence of life. We bring that back to the world. Boxes and bows are good. But Christmas is about the gift that's inside the package. Christmas is about the birth of Christ within us.

In the jungle, a middle aged man hears the roar and footsteps of a tiger behind him. He takes off running as fast as he can. Up ahead he sees a precipice that leads to a his sure death if he jumps over it. Yet in his fear of the tiger behind him the man decides to jump over the cliff. As he falls down over the cliff he hits the side of the mountain and grabs hold a blueberry bush. Hanging there between heaven and earth, he notices that the blueberries are ripe on that bush. He reaches out and takes a handful of those blueberries and puts them in his mouth. They are the best thing he has ever tasted! (The stories about the lion and the tiger are adapted from some stories told by Anthony de Mello, a list of whose books are available for sale here.)

In our daily lives, we find ourselves between a rock a hard place. We realize the wonder and joy of life without fear. The man being chased by the tiger finally reached a point of not fear. He didn't cae whether he was eaten by a tiger or whether he was crushed on the rocks below the cliff when he juped. Every day of your life we have a similar choice. Every day we can choose to be not afraid. Thus, every day can be sublime. I have heard more than one story of a person who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease and then, only then, were they able to really live without fear.

Back when Jesus lived 1 out of 4 infants or mothers died in childbirth. Yet, Mary gives birth to Jesus without fear. Your job and mine is to give birth to the Christ within us. Let us do that today, on this Christmas Day, without fear. Do not be afraid of the good news that Christ is ready to be birthed in your heart today.

Early on Christmas morning, really really early, while it was still dark, someone awakened me.

It was my older brother, Tim. "Jon, Jon, get up! It's Christmas morning. Let's go look at our gifts. Let's go see what Santa Claus brought us."

"No. I'm still asleep. You go see what he brought and come tell me," I mumbled, half awake.

"No!" said my older brother. "He might be still in there!! I'm not going alone. You come with me."

"Okay. Okay. Let's go!"

So we fearfully and expectantly crept from our bedroom through the hallway into the living room, hoping that Jolly Ole Saint Nick would not be still in the house or we would scream in fright.

When we got to the living room, hey, no one was in there. We could see from the glowing lights on the Christmas tree a brand new bicycle! A blue one! With ram's horn handlebars!! Wow. Unbelievable! Santa Claus really came through this year! We were thrilled with the mystery and wonder and joy of life on that Christmas morning.

It's hard to put in words what it feels like Christ is born in your heart. Let's just say it feels something like the combination of joy and wonder and dread I felt when my brother and I were creeping down the hallway to peek into our living room to see what Santa had brought us. What is the present you were hoping for today? What is the bicycle you want for yourself? Imagine yourself getting that for Christmas. May such joy come into your life as Christ is born in your heart today.

Your role, like Mary, is to treasure all these words and ponder them in your heart. May this Christmas day be a day of treasuring what God has done in your life. Ponder what God is doing in your life now. The mystery of how Christ gets born in your heart is the greatest mystery in the world. May you, like the young lion who thought he was a sheep, see your own reflection in the eyes of the baby in the manger and may the Christ within you roar!

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The Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Burnham preached this sermon on Christmas Day, 2011, at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 5020 West Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77035, Phone 713-723-6262 | sjpresby.blogspot.com.

SERMON TEXT: God's Christmas Wish for You: Experience Miracles Like Mother Mary

You are a walking miracle and you don't even know it. You are blessing people right here in this church and all over the world by being who you are and doing what you do. The difference between a life filled with wonder and a boring so-called life comes down to one word: Perception. Let us see what we find as we look and listen for God's word to us today from Luke 1:26-38.

Text: Luke 1:26-38

1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

1:28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

1:29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

1:30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

1:32 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.

1:33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

1:34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

1:35 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.

1:36 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.

1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

1:38 Then 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.

Last week I ate some delicious home baked gluten free bread. I put some raspberry jam on it after toasting the bread. It tasted fantastic. My wife had cooked the bread in a little bread oven. She had bought it the day before at the Kroger grocery store. It tasted great.

An American businessman was in a small town in Israel when he came across a Jewish bakery. He first smelled it from a block away. His mouth was already watering by the time he came to the bakery door. He loved fresh baked bread. Put some butter on top of it. Watch the butter spread like sunshine on the bread. So he could hardly wait to get his hands on some of that fresh baked bread he smelled. He could tell it was his favorite kind: Irish sourdough bread. But when the pushed on the door to enter the door did not move. With and a tinge of anger, he noticed the "Closed" sign on the door. He had just missed the deadline and with a sense of great disappointment he kept on walking down the street. A few blocks he later he heard a loud whistle. It was a policeman, standing with one hand behind his back, motioning him to come hither. The surprised man walked to the policeman who took his hand from behind his back and presented him with a loaf of fresh baked bread. The policeman had seen the man standing at the bakery door and could tell he was disappointed it was closed so the policeman talked to the baker and brought a free loaf of bread as a sign of good will for the American tourist. The American businessman sure did enjoy that bread.

Which of those two stories tells about a miracle? In both stories a man gets to eat some delicious bread. But the second story seems more miraculous because of the dramatic delivery mechanism. What makes that story seem miraculous is not the outcome but the process by which that outcome appeared. In the story of the American businessman there is wonderment involved, a sense of something happening that transcends the boundaries of the normal world most of us live in. In short, there is a feeling of the miraculous. What differentiates what we perceive as miraculous from other forms of acquisition, then, is not the results but the process by which the results are achieved. (Spangler, David (2008-10-01). Everyday Miracles: the inner art of manifestation (Kindle Locations 247-250). Lorian Press. Kindle Edition. )

Your birth was full of mystery. If you have given birth or witnessed the birth of a baby you may have felt like this birth was somehow a miracle. A birth gets us in touch with the sacred. Yet there is something about the birth of Jesus that goes beyond even the natural feeling of miraculous that we experience at the the birth of any child.

The miraculous nature of Jesus' birth goes back to the very announcement of her pregnancy. The Angel Gabriel announces that Mary will give birth to a Messiah who will sit upon the Throne of David. Mary wonders how she will give birth when she has never slept with a man. Gabriel tells Mary even her cousin Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son, "For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

According to our text today, the Angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin named Mary. She was a young Jewish girl whose fiancee was from the royal lineage of the House of David. Mary allowed God to work a miracle in and through her even though she had 3 strikes against her in the eyes of her culture as a poor, pregnant, unmarried woman. Mary had some things going for her. She was engaged to a man from the royal House of David. She was looking to God. She was open to miracles in her own life. She was open to the "revelation of the mystery." Mary responded to God in faith.

What are the strikes against you? Do people say you are too young or too old? To pretty or too ugly? Too rich or too poor? You can hinder miracles in your life by focusing on the wrong things. You can facilitate miracles in your life by focusing on God.

Members of this congregation are good at looking to God. You are among the most generous people I have ever known. Remember the church with an end of the year if you are able. Rest assured whatever you give to this congregation will be multiplied many times over in vital ministry. If you spent as much time as I do in the church office building, you too would be astounded at all the ministry and outreach that goes on here. The loving energy that passes through this building and out into the world is palpable. And this is but one hub for the ministries that each of you carries out in the fullness of your life at home - listening to a child, caring for a parent, praying for a friend; and at work - dealing with difficult situations, meeting deadlines, being a peaceful presence for your colleagues.

Your life is a gift to God that is expressed in many ways, one of which is in and through a faith community called St. John’s. Let me take this opportunity to THANK YOU for your generosity to me, the church staff, this community, this city and the world. You are inspiring people. You are gifted for ministry. You are committed. And you are generous. Do not hesitate to express your generosity with an additional gift to St. John’s at this time of year. You may think of it as your Christmas gift to Jesus. No doubt you will a Christmas gift to every other important person in your life. Consider also giving a special gift to St. John’s above and beyond your pledge.

Speaking of pledges, if you have not pledged for 2012, cards are in the pew racks and in the church office. If you’ve never pledged, it is a wonderful spiritual discipline that will help you grow in your faith. If you’ve never done it, perhaps you may start by pledging a dime a day to support Christ’s ministry through this congregation next year. The attitude of commitment to Christ and the desire to be a part of this successful enterprise matters more than the amount of money pledged for those who are new to this spiritual discipline.

Christ’s birth may not be acknowledged in the secular world but it will most certainly be acknowledged in our hearts, in our lives, and in the worship and ongoing ministry of St. John’s Presbyterian Church. If God has blessed you in such a way that you are able to do so, write an additional check to St. John’s today in honor of the baby who was born in a manger long ago and who is reborn in our hearts during this holy season. Think of this additional check as a way of acknowledging the true reason for the season, the birth of Christ our Lord.

Closing: The biggest miracle you may experience is the miracle of learning to view life in a different way: As a gift from God to you. Just because you purchase your daily bread from a local grocery store does not mean it not a miracle. God gave you the money to buy the bread. Use of some of God's bread money to you to feed the world. Get excited by the possibility that God wants to work miracles in and through you. Then 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. God's Christmas wish for you is that you will believe that nothing is impossible with God and allow the Holy Spirit to work miracles in and through you.

SERMON NOTES: For Christmas Day, December 25, 2011

Link to the texts: John 1:1-14 & Luke 2:1-20

SERMON OUTLINE: How to experience miracles like Mother Mary

The more exotic the delivery mechanism the greater the perceived miracle.

Here is my sermon outline for today. The conclusion is cut off from this image. The last phrase on the outline is this: "Nothing is impossible with God."

Sermon text = Luke 1:26-38