God Leaves the Light On (John1:1-18)

This scripture reading is fitting for the last day of the twelve days of the Christmas season . . . fitting for the eve of the season of Epiphany . . . with Christmas we receive the gift of God . . . with Epiphany we receive the assurance that this gift is for all people . . . for all of God’s children . . . for all of us.  Thus it is fitting that we hear the words of the writer of John’s gospel . . . it speaks of gift, opportunity, and potential . . . it speaks the Good News.

If watch any television or listen to any radio you have heard the commercials from Motel 6.  You hear that folksy music being played, the narrator speaking, and then the punch line . . . a punch line we all know by heart that finishes the commercial, “We’ll leave the lights on.”  That one line from NPR radio personality Tom Bodett probably did more for his career in radio than did anything else.  That little announcement was construed as being so sincere, heart-felt, warm, and honest that it won Motel 6 national and international awards for advertising . . . and, it became their slogan . . . their brand . . . their identity.  People believed them when they said, “We’ll leave the light on.”

Leaving the light on has always been a symbol of hospitality . . . a sign of welcome . . . a sign that someone cares.  As a teenager and young adult, I always appreciated my parents leaving the light on when I was out carousing with my friends.  After getting married, I always appreciated it when my wife would leave the light on when I was coming home from a long trip and getting home late at night.  It is always a relieve to see the light on when approaching the house in the darkness of the light.  It reminds me that someone cares . . . someone is inviting me in . . . someone is welcoming me home.  That is what Motel 6 was shooting for when it developed its advertising campaign promising weary travelers that they “would leave the lights on.”  And, so it is with God.

God leaves the lights on . . . at least that is what the writer of John’s gospel is telling us.  Unlike the other Advent and Christmas readings from the scriptures we have heard, we delve into the Gospel of John this morning . . . this writer is not too concerned about the actual story; no, this writer is more concerned with the theological implications of the story.  This writer uses a lot of images and symbols to lay the Christmas story out for the readers.  Where everyone else is concerned with making sure all the little details of the story are told, remembered, and fit into the prophecies . . . this writer is more concerned that the reader or listener get the point of the story . . . God has left the light on.

With the birth of Jesus, God flipped the light on.  The light shines in the darkness of the world for all to see.  It is a sign of hospitality . . . a sign of welcome . . . an invitation to come on in, kick your shoes off, and stay a while.  The light shines so that all may see it through the darkness of the world and their lives . . . it is there for everyone.  In the Christmas story, God turns on the light . . . the writer states: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness . . . the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”  This is the gift of Christmas.

In Jesus, God offers a gift of relationship . . . a gift of intimacy . . . a gift of connectedness . . . between us and God through Jesus and his life.  The gift shows us the way . . . is it not “light” that shows us the way through the darkness of the night . . . of our world . . . of our lives?  John wants us to know that God has flicked on the light . . . and, it is always on.

The symbol of Epiphany centers around the three Magi . . . the three wise men . . .  or, as our hymns so gleefully proclaim, the three Kings.  We know that the scriptures never really tell how many of these individuals there really were, but we do know that they came bearing three gifts . . . thus we make the assumption that there were three of them.  We also know that they were not from Israel . . . that they were foreigners . . . that they were not of Jesus’ people, they were not Jews.  They came seeking the “light” that they had seen . . . they seeking the truth . . . seeking the gift.  It was not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

 

One of the major points that we followers of Jesus must consider from this story is that the gift of the Christ . . . the gift of the “light” . . . was not given only to one race of people, but to the whole of God’s family . . . it was given to the world.  These Magi, of different countries, races, and religious persuasion, were also given the gift of Christmas as we call it. God not only flicks on the light, God throws open the doors . . . all are welcome. 

That is what the writer of the Gospel of John wants us to understand; yet, at the same time, the writer wants us to also understand that it is a gift that must be received, embraced, and used . . . something the writer does not see as happening . . . then or now.  The writer writes: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it . . . the world did not recognize him.”

The “light” is on, but it is up to the person seeing to receive the light, embrace it, and make it a part of who he or she is . . . remember, a gift is not a gift until it is opened and received.  The reward is great if the gift is opened . . . “Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”  To receive the gift, to step into the “light”, is to enter into the intimate relationship with God . . . it is to fulfill the circle of grace.  This is what God wants . . . this is what God offers . . . but, the choice is always up to us.

As we journey through this world with all of its darkness . . . God leaves the light on.  As we journey through the darkness of our own lives . . . God leaves the lights on.  God always leaves the light on . . . God leaves the lights on because God wants us to come home.  Amen.

The Dark Side of Christmas (Matthew 2:13-23)

     Paul Harvey used to have a popular radio show in which he would tell “the rest of the story.”    This morning I would like to tell you the rest of the story about Christmas . . . the part of the story no one really likes telling or hearing.  It is a story that begins long before that first Christmas . . . it is a story that begins with Jacob and his wives. 

     If you remember Jacob and how he fell in love with Rachel . . . how he agreed to work for seven years for the privilege of having her hand in marriage from her father and was tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah, and then working another seven years to finally marry Rachel.  Rachel was the love of his life, but she had a difficult time conceiving, while on the other hand, all of his other wives had no trouble.  Eventually she gave birth to two sons—Joseph and Benjamin . . . dying during his birth—according to Jewish tradition she was 36 years old at the time of her death.  Of the four wives, she is the only one not buried burial cave of the family . . . instead she was buried on the way to Bethlehem.

     According to the Jewish legend, Rachel was not buried in the cave because Jacob had prophetically foresaw that the Jews would pass by her burial place as they were being exiled to Babylon.  As the legend continues its story, as the captives passed by, Rachel would tearfully plead to God on their behalf: “Will you cause my children to be exiled on this account?”    The prophet Jeremiah, who foretold this terrible saga in the history of the Jewish people . . . who foretold the destruction of the Temple and the eventual exile to Babylon, might have alluded to this legend when he prophesied: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

     In the Old Testament whenever God made a covenant between an individual and God’s self, God would mark the covenant with a name change for the individual.  Thus God fulfilled the promise of a great nation to both Abraham and Jacob through the sons of Jacob.  Remember what name God gave to Jacob?  Israel.  For those of you who enjoy biblical genealogy, Jacob had twelve sons . .. of which two of them were Joseph and Benjamin . . . these sons become the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel . . . they are a homeless people, refugees in a strange land, when God calls them out of exile in Egypt to claim their own land . . . which they eventually do and the land is named Israel.  All this taking place long after the death of Rachel, but the thread is woven through the story . . . generations later, she would weep for her children . . . the children of Israel . . . as they are hauled off to captivity in Babylon.

     Which brings us to that reference once again in the Christmas story.  A part of the Christmas story that we did not hear on Christmas Eve was the part about the Magi . . . or what we commonly call the story of the three wise men or three kings.  These were those foreigners who had stopped by the palace of Herod to inquire about the birth of the new king of the Jews.  Surprised by their inquiry, Herod is a little perplexed because he was the king of the Jews . . . in his mind he is wondering if this was the signal that he reign as the king was soon to be over . . . but, nonetheless, he helped the Magi . . . gave them directions . . . and then, explicitly told them to come back, tell him where this newborn king was, and then he would go and pay homage to the child.  What we all know is that Herod had no plans to pay homage to the newborn king . . . he planned on killing his competition.

     As the story goes, the Magi were informed by heavenly messengers not to go back and tell Herod anything.  Joseph was also told by heavenly messengers that he was to take his little family and hightail it to Egypt . . . Herod was going to kill the child.  And, everyone does as they are told.  The Magi head back to their own homelands, they avoid going back to see Herod . . . Joseph takes his family to Egypt . . . and, well Herod, is a little peeved when he learns that no one did what he told them to do.  Angry he figures the only way to solve the problem is to kill all the male children, two years and younger, in Bethlehem and its vicinity . . . to massacre the children.

     The writer of Matthew’s Gospel then proclaims that the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

     Light casts shadows, and the light of God’s gracious gift of Christmas casts shadows upon the story as we know it.  It is in the shadows that the darkness lurks . . . it is in the darkness that bad things seem to happen . . . and, so it is with the Christmas story.  As we are reveling in the great joy of the Christmas story . . . the birth of a Savior, there are plots being conceived to kill the child . . . families are exiled to foreign lands . . . children are massacred . . . and, even when the threat is gone, fear still clings to the situation making the young family return—not to their homeland of Bethlehem, but instead to another district . . . the district of Galilee where they make their new home in the town of Nazareth.

     The truth about the rest of the story about Christmas is that it has a dark side . . . a dark side that we usually ignore or hurriedly skip over.  That seems to be a part of human nature . . . we do not gather to hear stories of death and suffering . . . no, we gather to hear the good stuff . . . the nice stuff.  But, remember, light casts shadow . . . even the light that breaks forth for all the world to see in the story of Christmas.  Life nor faith is as easy as it is often portrayed . . . it is not all black and white . . . there are always areas of gray as we journey the spectrum of life and faith.  Innocents die . . . people are exiled . . . plots are sprung . . . and, there is lamenting for the children.

     No one wants to throw cold water on the celebration of Christmas, but we would do well to heed the words of the past as they are shared in our reading this morning . . . the past of that first Christmas . . . the past of God’s story in the history of faith.  There is a dark side that must be considered, and maybe, just maybe, this is the gospel writer’s way of forewarning us and future readers that the joy of the Christmas story is shadowed by hard times yet to come.  The cross is still to come . . .

     . . . and there is hope.  There is hope despite the darkness of the story.  With perfect 20/20 vision we know how the story ends . . . we know of the triumph over the cross . . . we know of the fulfilled promises . . . and, we have hope.  Life and faith are adventures in which we never quite know exactly how we will get to the destination, but we know what and where that destination is.  We need to acknowledge that there will be days in which we will walk in the sunshine, and days when the gray clouds block out the light and darkness seems to be our constant companion.  Yet, there is hope . . . hope because we know the promise . . . we know the gift . . . we are not alone.  Immanuel . . . God with us!  God is with us, even as we pause in the darkness of the Christmas story . . . even as we encounter the darkness of life and faith . . . God is with us!  Amen!

Wonder Bread (John 6:25-35)

     I grew up on Wonder Bread . . . it was what I thought bread was supposed to be.  Wonder Bread was originally produced by the Taggart Baking Company of Indianapolis.  It made its debut on May 21^st, 1921, after having run advertisements for a while that only stated that a “wonder” was coming on that day.  From that day on, Wonder Bread grew in popularity before becoming a national brand in 1925.  It was the perfect advertising campaign in that it caught the attention of the people and drew them in to purchase the product.

     As I stated, I grew up on Wonder Bread . . . 

     Wonder Bread fascinated me as a child . . . fascinated me because it was more than mere food, it was a toy too!  As you remember, Wonder Bread had that spongy, soft, malleable quality to it.  It always kept its shape.  You could place a watermelon on top of a loaf of Wonder Bread and it would spring right back to its original shape.  You could rip a piece of the bread off, shape it into a square, roll it into balls . . . you could dunk it in milk and it would never get soaked.  You could leave it in the bread box for months on end, and it would still retain its shape and freshness.  It always made you sit there and wonder, “Is this stuff really bread?”

     It was not until my young adult years that I was exposed to other breads.  It happened when I got married . . . the wife would tell me that Wonder Bread was not good for me.  That there was a reason for its wonderful resilience . . . chemicals, lots of chemicals.  Real bread, she told me, didn’t do that stuff . . . real bread got stale . . . real bread couldn’t be made into shapes . . . real bread did last longer than Methuselah.  And, besides, it had all of those chemicals that were not good for the human body.  Eventually, Wonder Bread disappeared from our pantry . . . and, from my life.

     Wonder Bread was a sort of “modern day miracle”.  This morning, the topic of bread . . . a sort of “wonder bread” . . . is again the topic.  If you read this passage from the start of chapter six, you would have seen that Jesus was pretty busy doing some amazing things.  Chapter six begins with him feeding the five thousand . . . feeds them with five loaves of bread and two fish . . . and, then has twelve baskets of leftovers once everyone is fed.  Then later that night, he takes a stroll on the lake . . . literally!  As the disciples are heading over to the other side of the lake, Jesus comes walking across the water to join them.  Two pretty big miracles set the stage for our reading this morning.

     The reading begins the next morning with a question and answer period with the disciples.  They are curious about Jesus.  In particular, they are curious about how he is marked by God to be the “One”.  They want to know if he is the “One” they have been waiting for according to the scriptures; and, if he is . . . what are they supposed to do.  And, Jesus answers them by talking about bread.

     In the story of the great exodus from Egypt and captivity, the sign from God was manna . . . bread from heaven.  Remembering the feeding of the five thousand, was that the bread that they were looking for from God as a sign?  The point of any miracle is not the actual miracle . . . not what happens, but to whom does the miracle point to.  All miracles point to something beyond themselves . . . typically to God.  Miracles reveal the spiritual . . . miracles reveal God.  And, that is what Jesus tells them.

     Jesus tells them that he is the “bread of life”.  This is not a physical bread that is to sustain them, but a spiritual bread . . . it is a “wonder bread”.  The bread that Jesus offers them never spoils . . . it always retains it shape and always bounces back . . . it never changes . . . it is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  It is bread that will always fill the soul.  It is the means of connecting with God.   Jesus declares to them: “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  Jesus is the original Wonder Bread.

     Bread is a central symbol of our faith as followers of Jesus . . . a central symbol of our faith as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  It sits upon the table in the center of the sanctuary’s altar . . . a place where we gather together to remember . . . to remember the meaning of the bread as the means of relationship with God that comes through Jesus and his example.  Not only does it make us remember, it makes us think . . . we think about what that bread means to us as individuals, as a congregation, as the body of Christ in the world . . . we think about its power to provide us respite in a busy and frustrating world in which we live . . . how it strengthens us . . . sustains us.  It truly makes us “wonder”.

     That is the power of the bread . . . the miracle of the bread . . . it takes us beyond that which we experience and thrusts us into a different realm . . . the realm of life.  A life that can never be taken away from us if we embrace it and strive to live within it.  When you consider all of this, it is no wonder that this is truly Wonder Bread that sustains.

     We need this Wonder Bread.  That is why each and every Sunday morning the invitation is offered to all who are gathered here to come to the table and receive the bread and cup.  That is why each and every Sunday we celebrate this act of remembrance . . . this act of renewal and commitment . . . this act of life.  Jesus truly is the “bread of life”.  Our world’s Wonder Bread may have faded long ago, but the real Wonder Bread still lives.  It is here at the table we stand in awe . . . and, we wonder.  Amen.