Roadwork, Pathways, and Transformations

The roadwork on Hendricks Avenue is endless.  I was warned when I first arrived in Jacksonville that “they” like to “work” on Hendricks Avenue every other year or so.  But ever since I arrived at St. Mark’s, “they” have been paving, stripping, repaving, and paving some more.  Some days I feel like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day,” stuck in repetition.  Didn’t they pave this exact lane yesterday? 

Last week, I was sitting in traffic on University Blvd, waiting to turn on to Hendricks Avenue, and I heard the words of the prophet Isaiah in my head as John the Baptist is introduced in Luke 3, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

If Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation, anxious yet patient waiting-- a season calling us to prepare the way for the king of kings and to straighten and smooth pathways-- then it seemed oddly appropriate that I sit in traffic waiting for a giant truck to lay a new, shiny path for me to journey on.  So I waited to turn right, said a prayer of thanksgiving that the return of Jesus was not dependent upon FL-DOT or Duval Asphalt, and then waited some more.

By the time you read this, Advent has come and gone (here’s to hoping we can say the same for the work on Hendricks).  We transitioned from Advent to Christmas, and now Christmas to Epiphany as the liturgical cycle continues.  But I wonder, have our lives been changed by all the hard work of Advent-- the waiting, anticipation, and preparation?  We spent a significant amount of emotional and spiritual energy preparing the way, making straight the paths, filling the valleys, and lowering the mountains.  Are we at all changed by the labor of Advent?  Or like Hendricks Avenue being “worked” on every other year, are we resigned to simply wait around for another time of waiting?  Do we wait for waiting’s sake because that’s what “we” like to do?

True, our waiting comes to somewhat of a culmination on Christmas Eve as we remember the birth of Christ but, deep down within our Christian identities, waiting is deeply rooted in the promised return of our Messiah.  And with every season of waiting-- active waiting-- the path is formed, reformed, and transformed.  Each cycle of waiting brings new light to the imperfections of our way.  Once corrected, lowered, raised, or straightened, our new, shiny way yields a renewed sense of waiting-- active, proclamation-filled waiting.  A re-reformed path should be easier to traverse, clearly marked with signs and direction. 

Maybe I’m naive and hopeful because I’m still new to Jacksonville, but I think the work on Hendricks Avenue will come to an end (even if temporary).  Then we will travel Hendricks again and again until such a time that it needs to be “worked” on once more. 

The same is true with us.  Advent was a season of waiting and preparation, making straight the paths.  Now that Advent has gone (and it will come again), how has your life in Christ been changed?  Illumined?  Reformed? Transformed?

© Pastor Daniel Locke, published 01.2019 in St. Mark's Lutheran January Messenger, Jax, FL.

Turning the World Upside Down - Sermon on Luke 3:1-6

Listen to the gospel lesson and sermon here.

Luke 3:1-6

1 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,² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.³ He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "

Well, we seem to be getting closer to the holiday texts we know and love.  Last week we read from Luke 21, where Jesus sits on the temple mount and offers an apocalyptic discourse to the disciples.   Today, we go back just a bit further in time to the time of John the Baptist. Today’s text in the third chapter of Luke actually occurs after Jesus has been born and raised.  

I promise, if you hang in there, we’ll eventually get to the picture perfect holiday texts that we all know and love.  The manger, shepherds, Mary and Joseph. All of the good stuff. I promise it’s coming.

But until then, it is important that we spend some time in Advent being reminded that we wait not only for the story of Christ being born, but also we wait for the second coming of Christ.  We wait anxiously for the time in which God will make all things new. A time when God will turn the world upside down. Restore all of creation and make us whole.

We wait ever so patiently for the completion of God’s kingdom, praying daily for thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  For now, in the season of Advent, it is good for us to dwell with the gravity of what it is we’re actually waiting for.

Today’s text sets up the time of John the Baptist.  We don’t actually hear from the John the Baptist until next week, when he comes out swinging from the wilderness and he shouts to the crowd, “You brood of vipers…”.  

But until then, today’s text only introduces the one crying out in the wild.  We are introduced to his presence, and the stage is set for his arrival. The arrival of the one written about in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 

I think it is interesting and worth noting in today’s text, that the text isn’t about Jesus.  It’s actually not even about John the Baptist. In fact, today’s text opens with an unexpected litany of political, economic, and religious leaders and officials.  Luke sets the stage for John’s entrance by rattling off the who’s-who of first century people in power. 

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius…when pontius Pilate was governor of Judea.  When Herod was the ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the the region Ituraea and Trachonitis, and lysanias of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas…

Luke is setting the scene for the time of John and Jesus’ arrival.  And between you and me, Luke is baiting his audience, the readers,...he’s baiting you and me to learn a valuable lesson about God and what God is up to.  This text is about God and what God is up to.

The text isn’t actually about Jesus.  And it isn’t really about John the baptist.  Nor is it about the list of powerful leaders.  This text is really a subtle proclamation about God and God’s intention for the world.  It is a subversive message about God’s plan for salvation to a broken creation. It’s about God and what God is up to. 

During my time at Lutheridge as a camp counselor, I learned a lot of songs.  And one of the camp favorites was a song called One Name. The lyrics read, “One name under heaven, whereby we must be saved.  Forgiven of our sins, baptized in the water, filled with the Holy Ghost, washed by the blood of the lamb. Free to be free my friends, freed by the blood of the lamb.”  

Then the 4th and final stanza of the song goes, “God’s goinna move this pla-a--ace, God’s goinna move this place...God’s goinna turn this whole world, upside down.”

God’s goinna turn this whole world upside down.  That’s the subtle message of today’s text and I suspect it went right by most of us when we first read it.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius...with Pontius Pilate governing Judea...with Herod and his brother ruling Galilee and beyond.  With Annas and Caiphas ruling the high priesthood.. God is up to something. Something new. Something unexpected. Something that will turn the whole world upside down.  Something that will shake the status quo to its core. 

You see, in those days the world in desperate and eager for a Messiah, a savior.  Someone to fill the centuries of prophecy that came before. Someone who would be raised up as a might ruler, a king of kings, a leader of nations, a great and powerful savior of the people.  

And so with each powerful political and religious leader that Luke rattles off he challenges the expectations of the world.  God’s up to something …but it won’t happen through the mighty Emperor Tiberius. God is up to something, but it won’t be through powerful Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea.  God is up to something, but it won’t be through the revered king Herod or his brother. God is up to something but it won’t be through the religious elites, Annas and Caiphas.  

With each and every name Luke announces he not only establishes a timeline to set up the time of John and Jesus, but Luke announces the mighty and powerful leaders of their time and then sets them aside.   And with the world’s greatest economic, social, and political leaders aside, Luke tells us that the word of God came to a man named John. Not an emperor, not a governor or king..not a religious leader. Just John, son of Zechariah...king of the wilderness.

God’s goinna turn this whole world upside down.   God’s word...God’s word incarnate...comes in complete opposition to the world’s expectations.  To a wild man in the wilderness...a lowly guy named John, the word of God comes forth as a voice in the wilderness, crying out, “prepare the way of the lord” proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

Do you see what God does?  And honestly, as people who know the complete story it should come as no surprise, but God is flipping the script.  Turning the world upside down. Dismissing human expectations and understandings of power. 

God breaks forth not in the mighty and their thrones, but in the lowest, smallest, most unexpected way.  In fact, it is out of the wilderness, the very place that represents wandering, doubt, darkness, and uncertainty, that’s the place that the word of God shows up.  

That’s where the word of God prevails.  Not in the rich, mighty, and powerful. But in the damp, dark, dirty wilderness...God is up to something. God’s goinna turn this whole world upside down.

Luke makes it a point to tell us that God shows up in the most unexpected, counter-cultural way. The fact of the matter is that the systems of power in place in the world will crumble at the presence of God.  God will humble everything that is proud and self-satisfied. God will cast the mighty down from their thrones and uplift the lowly. Out of the wilderness, God is up to something. 

And whether we like it or not...whether we admit it or not...this upside down turning of the world is what we wait and long for in the season of Advent.   It’s what we hope for. It’s what we pray for. It’s what the world is desperate for.

A savior who turns the world upside down.  Who actively seeks out the outcast, poor, lost, lame, and last.  A savior that proclaims good news to the oppressed and sets the captives free.   A savior who challenges and opposes the systems and cycles of power still rampant today.  A savior who confronts any and all abuse of power and restores justice. A savior who flips the script, restores right relationship, and calls forth all of creation to be made new. 

As you most of you know, I have a 4 month old son, Bennet.  And raising Bennet is a learning curve that I know many of you can attest to.  Well, he recently learned a new trick. He has learned how to roll over onto his stomach.  But...and I think this is the important part...he doesn’t know how to roll back over. 

So while it may be cute and adorable at 3 in the afternoon to watch Bennet roll over on his play mat...it is less than cute at 3am ...and 4am..and 5am...when he rolls himself onto his stomach and then screams because he’s stuck.  He finds such joy in his new ability, but it ultimately leaves him stuck, annoyed, and lost.

The world is just like Bennet.  Infatuated with our abilities, our human-made structures and systems, enamored by power and status.  Humankind is wading in sin, wandering in the darkness...stuck and lost from our ways. Screaming out for a savior.

Two nights ago, in the span of 8 hours...Sarah and I responded to Bennet’s screams for help 10 times.  10 times in 8 hours we awoke to him rolled over..stuck, annoyed, and lost. And each time, we crept into his bedroom, gently turned him over, reminded him that he is ok and he is loved, and then soothed him back to sleep...knowing good and well he’d do it again.

God’s goinna turn this whole world upside down.  That’s how God is with us. In the time of John the Baptist and Jesus, the world had lost its way.  Humankind was living for their own sake. 

The emperor Tiberius, the Governor Herod...the religious and political leaders and officials… they lived for their own benefit.  For their own wealth. They thrived on systems of power the abused relationships, discarded other human beings, neglected the sick, poor, oppressed, lost, last, and lonely.  The world was stuck in sin. Screaming in the night for someone to come and save.

And God did just that.  God became incarnate, took on human flesh to be among us.  God’s word came out of the wilderness...the very place of wandering, doubt, despair, and darkness.  And God’s word spoke. Calling all people into repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Sins that got us stuck in the first place.  

Repentance, by its very definition is to turn around...to turn away from harmful, corrupting, and indulging sin...and turn to God.  A complete 180.

And God, gracious and abounding in steadfast love responds every time to our cry.  God’s gonna turn this whole world upside down..

The good news my friends is that God is still up to something.  God is still active. God is still the one meeting us in the darkest wildernesses of our lives and proclaiming a word of hope.  God is still moving among us. God is still calling us to repentance and forgiving our sins. God promises to always be present.  And God promises to turn this world upside down….or perhaps...right side up.

So, I suppose the question is: Do you ever stop, pray, listen, and wonder...what is God up to?  Where is God moving and stirring? Where in life do you find yourself in the wilderness? In the dark, desperate, and despairing places?   Do you cry out to God? Is God responding? 

And if so, is it making you uncomfortable?  Unsettling your foundation? Is God moving in a way that challenges you to evaluate and reexamine your life?  Is God turning your world upside down?

Amen. 

© Pastor Daniel Locke, preached 12.08.2018 @ St. Mark's Lutheran JAX, FL

What Brings You Here? - Christmas Eve Sermon

Listen to the sermon here.

Luke 2:1-20

In 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.

What brings you here, to this place tonight?  What brings you here?  Have you come to see the Messiah?  Are you here to experience the birth of a long-awaited and promised king.  Are you driven by curiosity, and you’re here to see for yourself if the good news it true?  Are you here by routine, because this is what you always do on Christmas Eve.  What brings you here this night? Are you forced to be present at the nativity this night, whether by coercion or guilt or appeasement of a loved one?

I think that perhaps there is very little doubt as to what the service is about.  ho it is that we are waiting for and why we are celebrating at 4/11:00pm.  I suspect most of us know the familiar nativity story, with all of its tradition and theological depth.  With its odd layers of census, stable, and shepherds.  I suspect we’re all familiar with what happens this night, but what is it that brings you here this night, this O So Holy night, this silent nigh, this Christmas night?  

Tonight’s gospel text is one of familiarity.  Certainty. Perhaps we can’t recite all of the details and nuances, but I suspect the majority of us can paraphrase it.  This story has been popularized through song, stop-animation films, children’s pageants, movies, TV shows, and cantatas…

It’s a story so widely known that perhaps we gather this night not desperate for something new or insightful, but rather for something constant, certain, reliable.  That no matter what is going on in our world, we gather with hope beyond hope, and in certainty that Christ is born to us this night.  We gather in confidence that no matter where life leads, no matter what direction it points,  no matter the temptations or sins of this world, we know that the promise of God is fulfilled this night in Jesus Christ.  Emmanuel. God with us.  What brings you here?

In tonight’s story, a young couple, unwed and unexpectedly now pregnant are required to go to Bethlehem.  The requirement comes from a decree for the all of the world to be counted, and so there presence in Bethlehem isn’t necessarily one of choice but rather obligation.  The travel wearily for days only to be welcomed as strangers in a foreign land.  They didn’t feel as though they “fit” in, and the not-so-warm “no room” given by every guest house didn’t help.  They were lost and alone in the city of Bethlehem, but they had to be there that night.

In tonight’s story there are shepherds watching their flock by night.  Now all due respect to shepherds, but they didn’t hold a very high regard in society.  We don’t refer to them as lowly shepherds for no reason.  They were filthy, overworked and underpaid servants, with very little to their name.  For the most part they were only know if they failed at their job.   The shepherds are visited by an angel, a heavenly vision, greeted with good news of great joy, for a savior is born in the city of David.  And this shall be a sign for you; you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.  The shepherds travel to Bethlehem with curiosity and intrigue.  They’ve had a dramatic and spiritual experience that drives them from their fields, their comfort of life, to find something unexpected in Bethlehem this night. To find something life-changing.  I suspect they don’t know what they’re looking for or what they’ll find, but they know that they must visit this night.

In Matthew’s account of tonight’s story there are Magi, wise men.  These men hold a place of status in a busy world.  They are brilliant astrologers, and are regarded by society as scientists. They are led to Bethlehem by a star at its rising and wish to pay the new king of the jews homage.  They are side tracked by king Herod and ordered to find the baby and report back.  They’re journey to Bethlehem is marked by tension and confusion.  They know they want to find this Christ child in order to pay him respect, and when they do, these wise, brilliant, scholars bow to the feet of this new born baby.  

It seems no matter the road traveled, or the walk of life they come from their social status, or occupation…none of that seems to matter as they all find their way to Bethlehem.  For their various reasons...whether mandated, coerced, curious, inspired, confused, or intrigued...they are led by God to this place, Bethlehem, on this night.  

Friends the good news this night is that no matter your reason for being here, no matter your walk of life, no matter your occupation, status, sex, gender, ethnicity, race, or preference.  God invites you here...to this pace...to be a part of God’s story on this night and always to witness the promise of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ the Messiah.  

God invites us into the comfort and assuredness of God’s salvation story, that born to us this night in the city of david is a savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  God brings you here, to this place, on this night.

And if we believe that to be true, then perhaps the question isn’t what brings you here, but rather how has the good news in Bethlehem, in this place this night changed you?  How does the good news this night affect you?  

What will your proclamation be when you leave Bethlehem this O so holy night, this silent night.  

Like shepherds who returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, or like wise men traveling home by a different road as to not let word get out that they had found the Messiah.  When you return to the business of life from this place of certainty and promise, this manger of hope and forgiveness, what will your proclamation be?

I guess the good news is that as much as God invites us here this night, God sends us out as well.  God goes with us from Bethlehem.  Because Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel is born to you this night.

© Pastor Daniel Locke, preached at St. Mark's Jacksonville, FL on 12.24.2017

Where Did Christmas Go? And What Is Epiphany?

Where did Christmas go?  

It seems the older I get and the busier I am, the faster the season of Advent and Christmas slip by.  And despite the secular establishments committing to Christmas decorations, music, and gifts earlier and earlier in the year, the season still manages to come and go before I think I am ready.  The moments with family become more precious as the years go by, and the time spent drinking coffee by a fire or watching Christmas specials on TV while sitting in the light of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree have been taken for granted.

It is even more a shame that on Dec. 26^th the stores will pack up their displays, the radio stations will return to the popular hits, and the secular mood will shift to the next major Holiday—Valentine’s Day.  But this isn’t the case for us as Christians.  

In fact, December 25^th marks the end of the Advent season and the beginning of the Christmas season, and for the following 12 days we celebrate the birth of Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel—God with us.  But again, the days seem to slip by faster and faster every year.

The liturgical season of Christmas will soon be over, and we will be thrusted into the season of Epiphany, which starts on January 6 (12 days after Christmas).  Epiphany is the short season nestled between Christmas and Lent, and too often it is understood as only that—the season between. 

Epiphany means “to show” or “to make known.” It is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ (incarnation).  It is marked by the arrival of the Magi, who were Gentiles, coming to worship Jesus.  The birth of God’s son is revealed to the world.  God, in human form, is the light of the world, and the world will never be the same.

Epiphany 2015 - Burning of the Greens - St. Paul's Durham, NC 

On Epiphany, January 6^th, many Christians will celebrate this revelation of Jesus to the world with worship and a burning of the greens.  The burning of the greens is a symbolic service that marks the end of Christmas and the beginning of Jesus’ life and work in the world.  Often, a large fire is built and we burn representative greens.  In the blaze of the fire we are reminded of the light, which has come into the world, the light that no darkness can over come.

Epiphany, Christmas, Advent… it all seems to pass too quickly.  But no matter how fast the seasons change, both liturgically and secularly, there is one constant—God’s presence in the light of Christ.  We should be glad to remember that Epiphany means “to make known,” or “to show,” and that throughout the seasons we remember that God continues to make God’s presence know.  God continues to show God’s people God’s faithfulness and love.

We have five weeks in the Epiphany season this year.  How is God making God’s self known in your life everyday?  How do you see God’s presence among you daily?  How is God’s light shining through your actions, your neighbor’s, or even your enemies?

Originally Written by Daniel Locke for St. Paul's Durham, NC - January 2015 Cross Connections