What does it mean to Witness?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 20th 2009
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“What Does it Mean to Witness?”
Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:39-55

A few weeks ago I had coffee with a college professor. I was curious about life on campus and what sorts of things were going on with the students. What I wanted to know was about the social conscious of the next generation. From her perspective the news was not encouraging. It was not bleak but for most of her students the idea of trying to make a difference in the world is just not on their agenda. Many of them live at time where civil rights are under assault and the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is sold to the highest corporate bidder. On top of this the pace of the latest news creates a thirty second attention span, if not less. But let us not blame the children they have simply embraced the world we have created. It is a deeply depressing tale. In fact, it is a story of despair. A world where the most we can hope for is enough money to carve out our personal piece of the pie.
My thoughts on this conversation led me to the conclusion that all of us, not only our youth, are suffering from want of a good story. I believe we all live our lives by some story and the stories which we seek to carry us along cannot bear the weight of the world. What I said was that they, and we, need better stories. We need to know stories that do not neatly solve the world problems at the end of the hour drama. We need to know stories that a lifetime in the service of others matters. We need to know stories that remind us we are part of stories bigger than ourselves and even bigger than our lifetimes. The good news is that we know those stories.
It was in the dark of night that a young woman received a strange visitor. An angel spoke to hear and claimed that God chose her to be the mother of God. If Mary did not know the stories of those who had gone before her, she would not have been able to say yes. Mary knew that she was not the first woman to be chosen by God. Mary knew that God had promised Sarah would be the mother of many generations even after she was passed the age of having children. Mary also knew the story of Shiprah and Puah who trusted God enough to defy Pharaoh and ensured that Moses would be born to set his people free. Mary also knew the story of Hannah who upon hearing that she would give birth to the prophet Samuel prayed this prayer generations before:
My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in my God. There is no Holy One like the LORD… The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
Because Mary knew these stories she was able to say, “yes,” when the time came.
But even knowing the story was not enough. Mary knew that she could not go alone. And she sought out her cousin who not only knew the stories but who had her own story to tell. Elizabeth was barren and now she was going to give birth to John. So Mary knew that she and Elizabeth would have a lot to talk about. Not only in being pregnant but in the way they had been connected to the deeper stories of their faith. If this was the end of the story, these stories might simply be interesting yet have little impact for us. But the witness of Elizabeth and Mary is an invitation to all who hear. Mary and Elizabeth both give a witness to what God has done, through them and for others.
Why is there witness so powerful? The times in which they lived were desperate times. It was a difficult world with powerful stories. The story of the Roman occupation had captured the imaginations of the religious and political leadership and despair gripped the population. And into this mess God speaks to and through an unlikely pair, just like God always does. But if they didn’t know that story would they have said yes? Could they have said yes? What if they had not been nurtured in the stories of the faith? Would they have bought into the despair? Those are questions we thankfully do not have to answer because they were faithful witnesses.
There seems to be a great deal of trouble with Christmas these days. It seems that some folks believe there is a war against Christmas and that our responsibility is to fight back. Others are find themselves so exhausted with the holiday celebrations that there is not time to enjoy it or let alone reflect on its’ importance. But into this mess I would like to suggest there are other alternatives, other options. Our calling is not to be warriors but witnesses. And in order to be witnesses we need to know the stories.
Sounds simple right? But the hard part is not simply memorizing the stories but making the stories a part of our lives. We all live our lives based on some story. What is the story which is driving your life these days? Do we know these stories? Are we passing them on? What is the story which drives your daily life? Are you living in despair? What is sustaining you? Can I get a witness?
We are not called to be Mary or to be Elizabeth. Most of us will not be asked to do the miraculous. But we need to be ready. To do this faithfully we need to make their stories our stories. It truly is the antidote to despair. When the wars increase, when hunger abounds we will not be ground to inaction or overwhelmed by it all because we KNOW! We know that this is not the way it is supposed to be or even has to be. We know that woman have the power to change the world, that God came in the form of a baby. And our witness is to give witness to these life giving stories… “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” These stories are not just for kids but are saving lives right now. Can I get a witness? Amen.

What does it mean to Rejoice?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 12th 2009
Second Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“What Does it Mean to Rejoice?”
Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18

I love it when international events change the direction of a sermon. Hopefully you will too. This week President Obama received his Nobel peace prize. If you did not listen to the speech I do commend it to you. The speech is thoughtful and insightful into the current ideology behind the administration’s approach to national security and war. The Obama Doctrine, as it is not being called, is a refreshingly thoughtful approach to war, though still a justification for war.
In the speech the President mentions Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. on two occasions. While giving credit to both, the President makes it clear that non-violence is something that might have worked for those heroic figures, but not intended for the most powerful nation in the world. While he may be right, the President clearly forgot that Gandhi brought the most powerful nation the world had ever known to its’ knees without ever firing a shot. Fortunately President Obama does point to their work as an ideal that should guide our journey. But Christians can never be reconciled to the belief that the way to true peace comes through violence.
Challenging the President in this way has been dismissed as foolish and naive, not taking into account the real existence of evil in the world. Into those objections the prophet Zehpiniah has something to say. He tells the story of a world where violence and war too had become the accepted way of life. Our passage from the prophet comes after considerable chronicling of a world far more violent than ours. The officials of the state are like lions, judges are like wolves, and the people of faith have lost faith and cast their lots with those in power. Even the leaders of the faith community reminded silent when the powerful seek to paint wars of greed with a brush of justice. Into that time, God says: “I will deal with all your oppressors.” And God says, I will save the lame, gather the outcast, and change shame into praise. The prophet becomes good company for those dismisses as fools.
John the Baptist was another such fool. He too lived in times where violence and greed were the order of the day. John too was not afraid to mention when the Emperors of his day had no clothes. “You brood of vipers!” John challenges the people of faith who have become too comfortable with the current arrangements. But talk like this was niave and foolish. After all, Rome had brought peace to the known world. There would not have been world stability if it were not for the Roman legions. So John is a fool. He may know the scriptures but he does not understand how the real world works. If he did, John would have done a better job of giving thanks for the Roman stability and figured out a way to get comfortable with it.
However, despite John’s appearance of niave idealism, he is actually quite practical. The crowds who have come to hear John’s words are hungry for more than mere escape. They want a plan. Ok, they say, we know all this bible stuff but how are we supposed to live this out? “What should we do?” They understand the depths of evil and sin in the world; otherwise they would not have been baptized. What they want to know is really this: Is there anything that we can do now, or shall we wait till after death for something to change? In other words, short of the second coming shall violence always have the last word?
John is quick to respond with simple and concrete action. If we ever feel like there is just too much wrong in the world and become paralyzed to inaction, this passage is the antidote to despair and belief there is nothing we can do. He begins with clothing. “If you have two coats share one.” It may seem simple but don’t we all have clothing in our closets we do not need or wear? How many of us are thinking we need more? If we share what we have it creates a spirit of charity and might help us cut down on spending more than we really have to spend. But it goes beyond a coat. John says, to a culture built on gaining as much as you can for yourself, sharing is the way of faith.
John then turns to those who are participating in the machine of the Empire. Notice that he does not say, leave the evil system and run for the hills. Instead, he tells the tax collectors and soldiers not to participate in the unjust workings of the system. Only take what you need and make sure not to extort or take advantage of people. These are not words of an idealist. These are not the words intended for life after death. These are words of active non-violence, and non-participation in a system which thrives on greed wrapped in pious justification. At the end of the day John is teaching creative undermining of the machine by the faithful people who were hungry for the word of God.
Ok so that is all well and good, but isn’t the title of the sermon about rejoicing? What has any of this got to do with rejoicing? The good news, the rejoicing is that there is an antidote to despair and anxiety which is concrete. We can make a difference. We can share what we have. We can refuse to take advantage of other people. We can tell the story that non-violence and non-participation in violence is not a luxury for the dreamers. The world is violent and evil exists and we do not have to give in to the despair or belief there is nothing we can do. And if you need a reminder go home today and tear open your closet and find something to share. Go to your pantry and find something to share… something, anything.
So is this my answer to war? Do I believe that war will come to an end? No I do not but that does not mean we can give up and give into the despair wrapped in the guise of practical politics. But here is what I suggest we do. Whenever you feel the despair overwhelm remember the words of John and rejoice because we are never left to our despair. It may seem simple and naive but earth shattering change has come when people finally recognize that there is another way possible. So who is with me? Who is ready to start sharing? Who knows, we might just change the world. Amen.

What does it mean to prepare?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 6th 2009
Second Sunday in Advent
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“What Does it Mean to Prepare?”
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

This advent season I have made the commitment not to complain about some things. I am not going to complain about the Christmas music in August or the decorations that show up before Halloween. I am not going to complain about the crowds or the added stress of the season. I have decided that complaining about those things serves no worthy purpose. Instead, I have decided to finally admit that there is a tension between the Christmas celebration and Christianity.
Coming to grips with this reality allows me to be set free from the need to complain. But do not hear this confession as a statement that I have joined the Culture War complainers. I do not fear that Christmas has been stolen by the PC police that seek to turn the birth of Jesus into a culturally bland “holiday.” In fact, if there is something we should worry about regarding this holiday of our faith is how often we participate uncritically in the consumer orgy called Christmas. The truth is that whether Christians call it holiday or Christmas we haven’t noticed that the celebration of God’s incarnation has turned into the worship of the marketplace. So, instead of semantic fights I believe our energy is best spent looking for positive, life-giving ways to prepare for the holiday that we call Christmas.
Leaving our worry of what is going on in the culture is actually biblically sound. After all, “the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” And this happened in the midst of a world preoccupied with many other things. It happened, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas…” It happened in the midst of a culture that was actually openly hostile to the faith. Despite this, God speaks. Without anyone’s help, God speaks. To people living in Empire hear the word of God. It should come as a comfort to know that no matter whether it is real or imagined that the War on Christmas is doomed. So there really is nothing to worry about. That allows us to focus on being prepared.
Preparing for Christmas is usually marked by decorating, Christmas cards, cookies, parties, presents, and of course Chex Mix. For Christians, preparing for Christmas may include those things but real preparation is the season of Advent. Advent is not Christmas but the time before when we try to grasp what it means to wait on God. After encountering the risen Jesus, the first Christians searched the scriptures with the hope understanding. The passages from Malachi and Isaiah, quoted in Luke, show what they understood about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas.
Who can endure the day of God’s arrival? Now that sounds like a joyful Christmas song. What about the radical social rearrangement being praised in the passage from Isaiah? The language of valleys and mountains is not about creative landscaping but a metaphor for the leveling of all society that comes by the hand of God. If this is what the first Christians understood about the birth of Jesus than it appears that Jesus birth really isn’t a religious seal of approval of a consumer holiday. So what are we supposed to do with this? What does it mean to prepare given this reality?
Over the past few years I have made it a habit to re-read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I am finding the Dickensian world rather contemporary these days and his works surprisingly helpful for understanding what is going on around us. Reading that powerful work, I am in awe of the poor family of Tiny Tim who can celebrate Christmas and the inability of Mr. Scrooge to enjoy a moment with his vast wealth. It is not until Mr. Scrooge shares himself and joins with others that he finds joy. It is a biblical vision of the mountains being brought low and the valleys being filled. And, at the end of that book where Dickens shows us what Isaiah means when he writes: “All flesh shall see the salvation of God together.”
The salvation of God will be seen by all, but it will not come as long as the mountains and the valleys of our societies exist. For the salvation of God, there is no advanced showing, box seats, or backstage passes. The front row folks and the nosebleed seat folks are going to be side-by-side. And for some that does not actually sound like good news. So, being prepared is about coming to grips with this reality of our faith.
John called people out to the wilderness for a Baptism of Repentance. It was about getting ready. The word of God came to John and he knew the people would need to be ready. Repentance for John meant turning from the ways of the current arrangements. Going out to the Jordan symbolized the journey from the slavery of Egypt through the Red Sea. Repentance was a turning from the ways of Egypt, the ways of Babylon, the ways of Rome, the ways of Empire. But this repentance did not end there. Once they had turned from the empire ways, John sends them back to the heart of empire practice. Going out to the wilderness meant coming face to face with how comfortable they had become with the current arrangements. Going to the wilderness to be baptized was intended to be a time of clarity. With this new found vision, they could return and live more faithfully in a culture which had the appearance of faithfulness but was not.
Being prepared is about going to the wilderness with others and getting in touch with our need for repentance. Being prepared is about coming to grips with how comfortable we have become with the current state of affairs. To prepare for Christmas we need to disengage from the consumer frenzy enough so that we can recognize there is something more. But to do so faithfully we must do this without becoming bitter, angry, cynical, arrogant or condescending. This is not an easy task and requires a great deal of humility.
Advent is a season of preparation marked by texts that can seem a bit unnerving. But know that it is a season also marked by joy. We can have joy in the journey because we know the end of the story. We know that Christmas is not the end of our story but just the beginning. We know that Christ will come again, and that is why we wait and why we prepare. We are being called to live this new reality and even embrace the disconnect we feel between our faith and the consumer holiday going on around us. By embracing this reality, I believe that we will no longer find ourselves disoriented with Christmas songs in August or Christmas sales in October. If we prepare, if we know the story and live the story, there will be no need to complain. We can even smile at this things and remember that we know another story, a story that leads us to joy and not angry cynicism. So let us prepare the way, with joy and thanksgiving. Amen? Amen!