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Baptism of our Lord; January 13, 2019

Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; ICCM

It was the middle of the night in Mansfield MN, in the winter of 1992 when I got a call from the hospital.  Lenore had gone into labor early. I was pregnant too and we were due about the same time. The baby was two months early and the parents wanted me to come quickly to baptize him before he was airlifted to Rochester’s neonatal unit. They had already loaded Lenore into an ambulance for transport when I got there, but Brian, the baby’s father met me and led me to the delivery room where the doctors and nurses were circled around the tiniest little boy.  His fingers were like paper matches, his head the size of a tangerine. 

As someone helped me gown and mask, I asked for water. I opened my occasional services manual and I dipped my finger in the medicine cup filled with sterile water I had been given. I looked to Brian and asked the baby’s name.  Dripping a few drops on his head I said, “Paul, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  While the medical staff inserted an umbilical cord-IV I made the sign of the cross on Paul’s tiny forehead, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”  I invited the medical staff to join with me in the Lord’s prayer beforee they whisked him off to the helicopter. 

As Brian and I returned to the room Lenore had been in he asked, “Is that all there is to it? Why do you do all that other stuff in church then?”  I explained that in infant baptism there are three promises—the promise of God to claim the child in Christ, the promise of the parents and sponsors to raise the child in faith, and the promise of the congregation to support the family and surround them with the resources of faith, welcoming the child as a fellow member of the body of Christ. I reassured him that when Paul was strong enough to join us in worship, we would complete the other parts.  A few months later we did just that. It was a happy day in church then, with little Paul out of danger, his big sisters standing with his parents and sponsors, the congregation breathing sighs of relief and joy after carrying the family in their prayers for months.  I often think of that baptism, the fear that first night in the hospital, the many sleepless nights for the family… the three promises of claiming love and all the ways they work.

Here in this community of faith we come from all different denominational backgrounds, traditions and locations. Most of you have primary membership in a congregation in the USA or Canada.  Some of you were baptized as infants, some as teens or adults.  There may be some of you here today who have never been baptized—if that’s the case I’d love to talk with you more privately. Our various doctrines could divide us, even as the scriptures about Baptism indicate the unifying aspect of baptism. No matter the age, the setting, or the method—the waters of baptism claim us, hold us, call us to live in God’s love, to love others with God’s love, to know that we are loved with an immeasurable grace.

Paul says in 1 Cor 12: 13 “for we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”  We could add, whether Baptists or Lutherans, Evangelicals or Progressives… we are one body in Christ.  And in Galatians 3: 27 Paul wrote, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ.” It is traditional to wear white for baptism, symbolizing the cleansing of our sins and emphasizing that we put on Christ.  In Ephesians 4: 4-6 Paul reiterates again, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to on  hope; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all in all.” 

Baptism is God’s embrace, welcoming us into the fellowship of the church.  We are united with Christ in baptism into the life, death and resurrection of our Lord.  In the passage from the Old Testament today we can hear God’s affirming claim on our lives, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One.  You are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you. …I created you for my glory!”

Six years ago, Steve and I celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary with a trip.  We were thrilled to be able to visit Turkey, spending a day in the ancient city of Ephesus, where Paul preached to the Gentile converts. It’s a stunning archeological site from about the time of Christ with miles of marble streets and an amphitheater that could seat 15,000 people.  There are crosses carved into the doorposts juxtaposed with carvings of Roman gods and goddesses.  We stood on one spot and saw a temple to one of the Roman gods, the Basilica of St. John, and the ruins of an early Mosque. 

For me, though, the most amazing thing I saw was a baptismal font, carved in the shape of a cross and a coffin at the same time.  Each arm of the cross was a stairway, descending or ascending, 6 feet from a 6-foot long trough.  I read that in those days the candidate for baptism would descend one side and lie down into the watery tomb three times, with the priest asking before each dunking, the first time “Do you believe in God the Father,” the candidate would rise up sputtering for breath, “I Believe” the second time “Do you believe in God the Son,” and the third time “Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit.” 

After their three responses the baptized would rise and ascend the stairs on the other side, with their new Christian name, having died to sin, having been buried with Christ, rising to new life in forgiveness and promise on the other side.  When I saw that font I recalled Paul’s words from Romans chapter 6: “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 

John the Baptist may have been one of the members of the community of the Essenes, an ascetic group of Jews from that time period who practiced a strict adherence to Jewish law. They had a special concern for purity, and a belief in the imminent coming of Messiah. John’s baptism for forgiveness and repentance may have been an adaptation of the Jewish patterns of ritual cleansing. John was doing something new that day when Jesus and the other people were baptized.

Luke tells us that the heaven was opened and God spoke directly to Jesus. It’s a moving and dramatic scene – Jesus emerging from the waters of baptism as the Spirit alights upon him. What power and symbolism there is in that scene, an Epiphany—a shining revelation of God’s presence encountering Jesus – and, through Jesus, all of us. God removes all that separates us from God and meets us where we are.

This is the mystery and the power that Baptism offers– that God comes to meet us where we are and as we are, with water and the word that we might know that we, too, are beloved children of God and that God is well pleased also with us.

This week, as you swim, or wash the dishes, or drink your first glass of water each day, or as you bathe or wash your hands, even as you gaze at the waves or the sunset over the ocean, I invite you to make the sign of the cross on your foreheads in memory of God’s claim on you. 

Pastor Adam Hamilton handed out waterproof tags for his congregants to hang in their showers with these words.  “Lord, as I enter the water to bathe, I remember my baptism. Wash me by your grace. Fill me with your Spirit. Renew my soul. I pray that I might live as your child today, and honor you in all that I do.”  Perhaps you could post a little note in your own baño with what your baptism means to you. 

On this Sunday we remember the Baptism of our Lord. And we remember our baptismal identity as part of our celebration. Today we can remember that Jesus came as one of us and in our union with him we are also caught up in the power of the creating and redeeming God.  We are clothed in Christ, we are one body in one baptism. 

ICCM; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; January 6, 2019; Epiphany

It seems that Christmas just won’t let go this year.  The gospel for today seems to be the Christmas story all over again.  A closer look reveals that this is not the story we’re used to hearing.  We’re used to Luke’s version of the Christmas story, complete with the songs of Mary and Elizabeth, the journey to Bethlehem on a donkey, the search for a room, the stable, the shepherds, the angels.  That’s the reading assigned for Christmas each year.  Today’s version of the birth of Jesus come from Matthew’s gospel and is the assigned reading for the day of Epiphany, January 6^th, which only falls on a Sunday every 7 years or so.  That means it’s hardly ever the assigned text for preaching.

There’s very little overlapping material between these two different Christmas gospels. So, today I want to look at the differences and focus in on the diversity of witness we find even within the Bible itself.  A bit of background first…  of course, you know that we have four gospels.

Mark was the first gospel written, sometime around 60 or 65 AD.  It has a particular character to it—it’s short, direct and immediate in focus.  The stories are brief and urgent.  Mark doesn’t mention the birth or childhood of Jesus at all but starts his gospel with Jesus baptism by John.

Matthew and Luke were both written later, after 70 AD.  We know, from historical documents, that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. Since both Matthew and Luke refer to the destruction of the temple, we can date those gospels as later than Mark’s which doesn’t mention it at all.   Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels both follow the same general outline as Mark’s.  Most scholars think that they each had access to Mark’s gospel and used it as their foundation. 

Matthew was most likely written in Greek and then translated into Aramaic which tells us he was writing for a community of mainly Greek speaking Jewish Christians.   He’s interested in showing the way that God is reaching out beyond just Jews with a messiah for all the people.  He is interested in showing Jesus as both the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the bringer of a whole new era too.

Luke’s gospel has a literary elegance to it.  It’s the gospel that’s most focused on the poor and on Jesus as the bringer of justice.  It was written by the same hand that wrote the Acts of the Apostles. 

John’s gospel follows a completely different outline and includes many passages that don’t occur in the other three.  John focused on the divinity of Christ and has a sort of anti-Jewish theme that indicates that it was written much later, perhaps as late as 100 AD, after the Christians as a group had time to separate a bit more from the Jews.  John’s gospel is marked by long monologues and poetic passages, many layers of meaning and rich symbolism instead of the stories, parables and sayings of the earlier writings.  John doesn’t write about Jesus birth or childhood at all.  Instead he gives us a poetic and symbolic passage about the Word becoming Flesh, the Light shining in the darkness.

There is a rich diversity of thought and even a pluralism of ideas within the Bible when we compare the various writers and the different schools of thought represented.  I find that diversity of thought stimulating—it gives us room to explore, sets the pattern for us to see that God’s revelation to us isn’t finished.  God is still speaking today. 

In Native American storytelling the speaker will sometimes begin a tale by saying, “I don’t know if this really happened, but I know it’s true.”  It’s only our modern, factual focus that gives us trouble when we compare Matthew and Luke’s Christmas gospels and see that they don’t match exactly.  When we read the scriptures, the questions we ask make a big difference.  The gospel writers weren’t intending to write a historical report.  They crafted their writings to answer the questions: What does it all mean?  What is God’s message to us?   How does God speak to us today in this text?  Those questions lead to a rich depth and a variety of understandings over the ages. So, let’s dig into Matthew’s version of the Christmas story boldly, confident that there is a message there for us today.  

It seems to be another Christmas story but without the shepherds, angels, donkey, inn or stable.  We have Jesus born in Bethlehem and the wise men coming from the east looking for the baby with their gifts.  We have King Herod with his concern and suspicion and his false words about wanting to worship the newborn king.  We have the star of David shining over Bethlehem, leading the magi to the baby and then a dream of warning to the same magi, prompting their quick retreat by another road. 

All we know for sure about the wise men was that they came from the East, following the rising of a star and looking for a newborn King.  They went to Jerusalem–the place of local power.  King Herod took them seriously, calling them into his presence so he could learn everything they knew. After their audience with Herod the magi continued to follow the star until they were overwhelmed with joy at finding Jesus and Mary.  They gave their gifts–gold a gift for kings, frankincense an incense used by priests in Temple worship, and myrrh a healing and embalming salve.  Each of those strongly symbolic gifts that tell something about Jesus: a king sorts, a religious leader, a healer, and a man who would die. 

The wise men were not Jews.  They were from the Median tribe of ancient Persia–an area that is now part of central Iran.  They were priests of a religion that worshipped a god called Zoroaster.  The religion started in about the time period of our OT lesson for today–500 years or so before Christ. As priests, they were responsible for offering sacrifices, making prophecies, and reading the stars. They were astrologers.  There are historical records of a star from the time of Jesus’ birth that rose in the daytime with the sun.  It was called the Mesori star, which by the way, means the Birth of a Prince.  That is about all we know about the magi and their visit to Jesus.

We’re left with questions:  Why did they come?  What significance does their bowing down before Jesus have?  What does it mean that these strangers to Israel would recognize Jesus while no one else did?  Why in the world is the glory and wonder of Christmas clouded over by the presence of these astrologers, these people who deal in the occult and magic? 

And what about this business with Herod.  His words “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage”, reek of falseness and his secret scheming to get his hands on the child.  In the very next section of Matthew’s gospel, a section often called the massacre of the holy innocents, we read that when Herod found out he had been tricked by the magi he was furious and gave orders for all the children in and around Bethlehem under the years of age of two to be killed.  Clearly, Matthew doesn’t give us the happy, glorious, wondrous Christmas gospel we are used to.

Matthew pushes us back into the real world, showing us that Jesus came not just into a peaceful stable in Bethlehem, complete with singing choirs of angels and adoring shepherds.  No, Jesus also was born into a world of manipulations and darkness, a world filled with scheming political figures and distant travelers from other faiths.  It is good news that the baby we celebrate as the Messiah cannot be imprisoned in the sheltering confines of romanticized scenes or memories.  Christmas speaks to the harsh realities of life, too. 

Today we move into the season of Epiphany.  The word Epiphany means the shining or the showing.  The season that starts today has historically been a time to focus on how God is shown to us in our world. Epiphany celebrates the identity of this baby being made clear.  The season’s symbol is the revealing light of the star, shining its light on all the dark places too. 

Matthew’s gospel reminds us that the effects of Jesus’ birth reach beyond our happy celebrations. The magi were astrologers from the East who reminded the Jews of that time period that Jesus could not be possessed by the Jews alone.  The plotting of Herod reminds us that the powers of the government cannot contain the love of God.  Herod was not able to stop the message of God’s grace from getting through. Yes, eventually Jesus was put to death.  But not even the governmental power to execute a person was enough to stop the love and power of God. 

Today’s gospel is a strong reminder to us that God’s gift of grace is to all creation, that God’s grace enters the world of shady dealing hucksters and powerful political manipulation with an even stronger power.  Today’s gospel brings Christmas out of the manger scene and into the real world where, like it or not, we live.  AMEN

Let us pray— O God, you continue to show yourself to people in every age.  As we move past the seasonal glitter, as we put away the Christmas decorations and lights for another year, teach us to look for your coming all around u.  Open each of us to your word for us today.  AMEN

Dec 29, 2018; 1 Christmas C; ICCM; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; Growing Up;

Do you remember being twelve years old? I was in 6^th grade, I had braces and glasses and was physically quite small.  My grandmother had died the year before and I was asking all kinds of questions about faith and life, death and meaning. Twelve is an in-between time. Cognitively most 12-year-olds can do some abstract thinking and are beginning to separate from their families in terms of identity. At that age we are engaged in the important work of growing up.

When Jesus was 12, he and his parent went to Jerusalem as they did each year for the festival of the Passover. It’s strange to think about Jesus as an adolescent. Luke is the only gospel writer to give us any information about that stage of Jesus’ life.  Like pencil marks on the door frame Luke measures Jesus’ life by ritual scenes.  Earlier in this chapter Jesus was dedicated in the temple. Later he is baptized in the Jordan and then faces temptations in the wilderness.  We learn how Jesus was shaped by his parents and by the rhythms and rituals of Jewish life. It was about the time for his bar-mitzva.  The words mean the “son of the law”.  It was a coming of age rite where adults would no longer speak for him. He spoke for himself there in the temple and the others listened. 

We get a fully human portrayal of Jesus in this gospel as he grows into who he will become. I hope we can refrain from reading back into these early stories the doctrinal formulations many of us know by heart, you know, “Of one being with the Father, through whom all things were made… true God from true God…” 

Even after his baptism though, Jesus had to live into what it meant to be God’s son.  In the wilderness he was tempted with his identity.  “If you are the Son of God turn these stones into bread…” Jesus didn’t rely on some kind of super human power there in the desert.  He depended on the sustaining power and presence of God and God’s word. 

From the cross he heard those same challenges thrown at him by the crowd.  “He saved others, let him save himself is he is the Messiah.”  Nailed to the cross, we see Jesus reaching inward to the words he learned as a child, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  And we hear an echo of today’s text, “Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” The Word of God dwelt in him richly, at every step, from the time he was 12 until the day he died. 

In our text today we see Jesus growing up, establishing his identity.  That task involves creating relationships, setting priorities, making decisions. It’s a process we all engage in.  We choose values and beliefs that structure our lives. Along the way we make mistakes, get lost, backtrack, and sometimes just need to start over. Ultimately, growing up means moving out and finding a new home. This may be a geographical move, but most certainly it involves psychological and spiritual moves.

It is no surprise that Mary would be in a panic when she discovers that Jesus is not with the group of travelers. With great anxiety she and Joseph search for him. Three days later the one who was lost has been found. Mary’s first words are, “Child, why have you treated us like this?” What I really hear is, “Where have you been young man? Your father and I did not survive angel visits, birth in a manger, and living like refugees in Egypt only to have you get lost in Jerusalem.” But Jesus isn’t the one who is lost. He knows who he is and where he belongs. Mary and Joseph are the ones who are learning the most.  This gospel may be about growing up but not just about Jesus’ growing up. It is about Mary and Joseph and you and me growing up too.

On some level Jesus is the one who pushes Mary and Joseph to grow. Children have a way of doing that to their parents. They challenge us to look at our world, our lives, and ourselves in new, different, and sometimes painful ways. That is exactly what Jesus’ question to Mary does. She had put herself and Joseph at the center of Jesus’ world. His question was about to undo that.

“Why were you searching for me?” he asks. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus has put the Father at the center of his world and asks Mary and us to do the same, to move to the Father’s home.

Authentic growth almost always involves letting go and stepping forward into something new.  Carl Jung said we live our lives in too small shoes.  We resist the change required by growth. How true.  Part of Mary’s pondering in her heart must have been about letting go of her “boy Jesus” image. Jesus was born of Mary but his identity becomes so much more. He is with her but does not belong to her. She can give him love but not her thoughts or ways. He is growing into his own soul’s purpose. 

This movement of Jesus is not a rejection of his earthly parents but a re-prioritizing of relationships. It is what he would ask of Simon and Andrew, James and John. “Follow me” would be the invitation for them to leave their homes, their nets, their fathers and move to a different place, live a different life, see with different eyes. It is today what he asks of you and me.

Given the demographics of this congregation it’s safe to say on one level we’re all grown up.  But on another level, we’re never really done moving into deeper and more authentic relationships with God, our world, each other, and ourselves. We move through stages all our lives, from one pair of small shoes into the next size, from one level of awareness to the next.

Maybe you’ve heard the joke about the Rabbi, the Priest and the Lutheran Minister debating when life begins.  That’s easy says the priest, life begins at conception.  No, life begins when the baby takes it’s first breath and starts to cry says the minister.  Oh, you’ve got it wrong says the Rabbi, Life begins when the last child moves out and the cat dies.  Certainly there is some truth to that joke.  Life begins again and again offering opportunities for joy and sorrow, for growth and learning as we go along. One of the early church fathers, Irenaeus, described this truth when he said The Glory of God is a fully alive human being. 

I read a story this week about a grandmother told by her granddaughter.  At the time of her grandfather’s death, at 90 years of age, her grandparents had been married for over 60 years. Grandma felt the loss deeply and retreated from the world, entering into a deep time of mourning for nearly five years. 
 
One day the granddaughter visited, expecting to find Grandma in her usual withdrawn state. Instead, she found her sitting in her wheelchair beaming. When the granddaughter didn’t comment quickly enough about the obvious change, Grandma asked her “Don’t you want to know why I’m so happy? Aren’t you even curious?”

She explained her new understanding: “Last night figured out why I’ve been left to live without my husband. Your grandfather knew that the secret of life is love, and he lived it every day. I have known about unconditional love, but I haven’t fully lived it. … All this time I thought I was being punished for something, but last night I realized that I have a chance to turn my life into love, too.”  Although age inevitably continued on its course, her life was renewed. She became a force for reconciliation and good relationships in her family. In the last days of her life, the granddaughter visited her grandma in the hospital often. As she walked toward her room one day, the nurse on duty looked into her eyes and said, “Your grandmother is a very special lady, you know…she’s a light.” Yes, love and joy lit up her life and she became a light for others until the end.

Our text from Colossians today describes the growth pattern set before us.  It involves letting go of what is safe and familiar, a necessary process if we are to grow in the love and likeness of Christ.  It means letting go of an identity that is limited to our biological family, job, community reputation, ethnic group, or political party and trusting that who we are is who we are in God. It means that we stop relating to one another by comparison, competition, and judgment and begin relating through love, self-surrender, and vulnerability. It means that we let go of fear about the future and discover that God is here in the present and that all shall be well. We stop ruminating on past guilt, regrets, and sins and accept the mercy and forgiveness of God and each other. We see our life not in opposition to others but as intimately related to and dependent upon others.

Our Colossians text puts it out there for us.  We are to put on Christ, to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and to live in the name of our Lord Jesus.  Amen.

12/23/18 4 Advent C, Luke 1: 39-55; ICCM; Songs of Blessing; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson

Today we heard the prophetic blessing songs of Elizabeth and Mary as they share their outrageous pregnancy experiences together.

Who would you run to if you, like Mary, had exciting, unexpected, life-altering, potentially world-changing news?  Mary ran to Elizabeth, a cousin of sorts, a mentor-like figure at least a generation older than herself. In addition to providing a refuge and a comfort to Mary, Elizabeth functioned as a prophet who proclaimed a benediction, a blessing over Mary, over her child, and over Mary’s trusting faith.  The minute Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice she sings out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting the child in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill God’s promises to her!”  Elizabeth foretells with joy that Mary will bring liberation in God’s name. 

Biblically speaking, blessing goes all the way back to the creation stories.  God created life and blessed it.  We see blessing in the stories of Abraham and Sarah with the establishment of their family in order to be a blessing to others.  Rebekah’s family blessed her as she left her homeland to marry Isaac. Jacob cheated his brother to get a blessing and later wrestled with the angel to be blessed again.  We can trace blessing throughout the scriptural stories, songs and prophecies.

There are two basic meanings of blessing in the scriptures.  Blessing can be a proclamation, a statement of goodness to or for another.  It can also be the condition that results from a right relationship with God.  God’s intention for all creation is to experience blessing:  wholeness, peace, and fulfillment. But of course, that blessed condition is broken by sin.  So, a blessing is a declaration of that inherent goodness. New life and forgiveness through Christ is the ultimate blessing.  We use the word so lightly in ordinary speech, count your blessings, we say.  But the material ease and happiness we enjoy from day to day are temporary.  Spiritual blessings available to us in Christ reach a different level. 

In Jewish households, at sundown on Friday nights, in celebration of the sabbath, parents embrace the custom of blessing their children.  There are many variations on how the blessing is made.  Often the bless-or places one or both hands on the child’s head and concludes with a blessing from scripture; “May God bless you and watch over you, may God’s face shine toward you and grant you peace.”  The parents might whisper a word of praise for something they have done or a word of encouragement or love, even a recognition of something good in their character or identity.  It is concluded with a hug or a kiss. 

When we bless someone, or are blessed by them, we honor our connection with them and with God.  We affirm God’s presence and intention for blessing among us.  The poet, Vaclav Havel, said it this way:  Speaking a word of blessing “is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced and it is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.”

Elizabeth’s announced God’s blessing for Mary, that she would live into God’s plan for her in the world.  It’s a powerful thing, to be blessed.

Who would you run to, if you, like Mary were overwhelmed by what was ahead of you?  I’ve had several older, wiser, mentor-like women in my life.  There’s Norma, and Barb, and Pam, women who have really seen me, deeply; women I trusted who knew my strengths and challenges and who encouraged and blessed me. They were each a refuge for me at a time when I needed it.

But, my big sister Betsy, has always been there for me.  She’s the one I’d run to. Betsy was here visiting two weeks ago. It was the first time in our adult lives that we’ve spent a whole week together without our parents or children there too. We walked and talked and laughed ‘til we cried and held our stomachs. It was a blessing for both of us. 

Betsy happened to be here on December 12^th, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Having been raised Lutherans, neither of us knew much about the traditions associated with the day. Evidently on December 12^th ,1531 a poor young Indian named Juan Diego from Tepeyac, near Mexico City, experienced the presence of a woman who identified herself as the Mother of God and instructed the boy to get the bishop to build a church on the site of her appearance. She left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma, a poor-quality cactus-cloth. It is said that the tilma should have deteriorated within 20 years but shows no sign of decay after over almost 500 years.

I showed Betsy the cathedral on that day, with the hundreds of families making their procession to the booths set up around the outside of the building, small children dressed up in peasant attire for their annual holiday photos. I also showed her the backside of Icebox hill, just a few blocks from our apartment, where there is a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe as Mary is called in Mexico.

Even though Mary has never played a significant role in my faith development I enjoy walking past the shrine, looking at the blinking and flashing light display, the fresh flower arrangements, the many manger scenes complete with every imaginable figurine, and the recorded music that jingles into the December air, I wonder how the story from 1531 has shaped the lives and spirituality of the people of Mexico. Guadalupe is also called La Virgen Morena, the Brown Virgen and her image has been emblazoned on the banners of revolutionary groups throughout Mexico’s history. She appeared to a humble peasant boy, she looked like the indigenous people. She is experienced as a blessing for many.

For Roman Catholics, Mary functions as a go-between with sinners on earth and God in heaven. During the Middle Ages, as the church’s leadership became more and more distant from the people, Mary became important in the prayer lives of the common folk, as one who could empathize with their plight and mediate forgiveness.

In the councils of the Church through the centuries, Mary gradually gained supernatural qualities and Protestants see Roman Catholics as overemphasizing Mary’s role to the point that she is venerated almost on par with her son. We don’t have to worship Mary though to see her as a person of faith, called by God, struggling with the daily demands of her life.

Our gospel today shows us her startling role. For Luke, Mary is first a prophet. Every painting or statue or tilma I’ve ever seen of Mary shows her as quiet and passive. But Luke shows us a bold  singer of justice who has gone through all the classic steps of the call of prophets familiar in the Old Testament: God’s initial call, God’s task, prophet’s objection, God’s reassurance, prophet’s acceptance of call.

The angel called and commissioned Mary to her prophetic task in the annunciation: “Hail, favored one . . . you will conceive in your womb.” Like Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah God sent a messenger to tell her that she has been chosen. It’s not a proposal, it’s a pronouncement.  The angel doesn’t say, “Your mission, Mary, should you choose to accept it.” The angel says to her, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” Like other prophets, Mary is informed, not consulted, about what she is going to do.

The prophet always objects to the call by protesting their inadequacy or pointing to some factor that makes it impossible. Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” Moses said, “Lord, I am not a very good public speaker. Here am I, send Aaron.” So, it’s quite expected that Mary would object with the highly practical question: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

But, God never pays any attention to prophetic objections and says, “You’re right. There probably is someone better temperamentally suited for this and with a better resume. I’ll keep looking until I find them.”

Then comes the next step: God’s reassurance that God is committed to the prophet: God reassures the Old Testament prophets that the divine presence will abide with them in carrying out the call. The prophet’s job description is not to speak out of his (or her) own wisdom or eloquence, but to be a messenger for God, to do and speak what is commanded. In fulfilling this task, God promises to be with the prophet as deliverer. In Mary’s prophetic call, the angel Gabriel is the mouthpiece for this divine reassurance: “Nothing will be impossible with God”

Call, task, objection, reassurance, acceptance: these are the five stages of the prophet’s call. They may sound quite familiar to you from your knowledge of the Bible and its prophets. They may sound quite familiar to you from your knowledge of your own past and present struggles with God.

This Christmas season, we have much to learn from Mary and Elizabeth, the prophets.  Their individual tasks were unique to each of them but the prophetic call extends to us all. We, like them, and like all those named in the stories of our faith, are blessed, to be a blessing with the reassurance that God will carry us through.  Amen.

Christmas Eve 2018, ICCM ; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson 

Merry Christmas!  I’m so glad to see each and every one of you here.  We come each year to the manger, seeking what is true and holy and we open our hearts to the mystery of God in flesh. We sing timeless carols in the candlelight and then we track our way back into the messy world, centered somehow again by the most true and holy reality of all.

I brought just a select few of my favorite Christmas decorations to Mexico this year. I have the glass nativity set I received on my first Christmas as a pastor, one of the angels from my collection, and a candle holder of cut metal that shines a halo of light around the holy family. I also brought this ornament which has been displayed in our entryway this year. It reminds me of a plumb bob—you know the simple carpenter’s tool that measures a vertical line. To me this ornament says perfection, truth, clarity.

The plumb bob is a biblical image for the righteousness and justice of God against which we can measure our lives.  Amos 7: 9 says “behold I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people.”  And Isaiah 28: 17 says, “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb bob.” 

Righteousness and Justice are concepts, principles, subject to interpretation and context.  The plumb bob on the other hand demonstrates the underlying and unchangeable laws of physics.  The bob will always hang plumb, just as water will always rest level.  They are tools that show us truth, dependably.

This definition of True has been right there in front of my eyes this year.  You see, there’s been construction in our building again this year, the building of balconies.  We’ve heard the pounding of hammers and seen the mixing of cement and the carrying of buckets of cement. I’ve been shaking my head in amazement over the ability of the workers, with such simple tools to create structures that are true, you know: plumb (perfectly vertical), level (perfectly horizontal) and square (two lines meeting at a 90 degree angle) at the same time.  Those mathematical and physical concepts show up in reality.

This holy night is something like that. In the crude and simple manger bed, the holy Christ Child lay.  The birth of Jesus presents us with a visible reality of the underlying and ever-present truth. Language can barely convey it.  The first chapter of Hebrews tries to capture it.  Christ is the exact imprint of God’s very being.  Paul tries in the first chapter of his letter to the Colossians: In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.  John’s gospel begins with that great poetry, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory… full of grace and truth.  But words can only do so much.  And that’s the real beauty and power of this holy night.

The Christmas gospel call us in, right back to the center, to what is true, grounded in the mystery of reality itself.  When we think of the angels’ song, “Glory to God in the highest,” the shepherds visit to the lowly manger, the beautiful face of Mary with eyes all aglow as she beholds her Messiah child, and the invitation to come close to the holy this Christmas we can get back to the standard set for us, to the center of our created purpose, to keep our eyes fixed on the one who calls us to faith. 

This holy night invites us to realize that by varying degrees we have been out of plumb, off kilter.  One writer put it this way: “unless that which is above you controls that which is within you, then that which is around you will.” 

Last week ABC broadcast A Charlie Brown Christmas for the 53^rd year on prime time television. In a world where the latest greatest technology is outdated in a matter of months, and social media trends come and go in a matter of days, 53 years of anything becomes quite meaningful. I was four when the program first aired and I suppose I’ve seen the show a dozen times or more.  I’m guessing most of you have seen it too.  It’s really the only Christmas show I miss watching. 

I love that climactic scene where Linus responds to Charlie Brown’s question, “Doesn’t anyone know what Christmas is all about?” by boldly heading out to center stage, asking for “lights please” and then reciting the Christmas story from Luke’s gospel… Right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket.  

Charlie Brown is best known for his uniquely striped shirt, and Linus is most associated with his ever-present security blanket. Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up… until that particular moment in the Christmas story, when he simply drops it…

Three years ago, the last time I saw the show I noticed for the first time a little detail that I am now convinced was intentional.  At the specific moment when Linus drops the blanket he utters the words, “fear not”.   Looking at it now, it is pretty clear what Charles Schultz was saying, and it’s so simple it’s brilliant. 

The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.

The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves.

The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly and learn to trust and cling to Him instead.

The world of 2018 can be a scary place, and most of us find ourselves grasping to something temporal for security, whatever that thing may be. Essentially, 2018 is a world in which it is very difficult for us to “fear not.”

But in the midst of fear and insecurity, a simple cartoon image from 1965 can remind us to seek true peace and true security in the one place it has always been and can always still be found.

It’s what Christmas is all about.

Hearts, Heads, and Hands;  Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; ICCM; April 15, 2018; Easter 3b, Luke 24: 36-49

In today’s gospel we find Jesus risen from the dead, touching his disciples’ hearts, opening their minds, and sending them out with a job to do.  Christ utilizes all of who we are, our hearts, heads, and hands.  Some of the last words in Luke’s gospel are Jesus’ last words to his disciples, a sort of parting sermon.  In the lesson from Acts we find one of Peter’s first sermons after Pentecost.  Preaching is an important part of the Christian life.

Preachers are probably the butt of more jokes even than mothers-in-law.  A preaching professor of mine tells the one about a student preacher who after finishing preaching his masterpiece, piously asked the professor, “With what prayer should I begin my sermon?”  The professor responds, “How about `Now I lay me down to sleep?'”  Continue reading “Hearts, Heads, and Hands”

Peace Be with You!  April 8, 2018;  ICCM; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson

I regularly read a blog by Pastor Dawn Hutchins of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.  I like her stories and her fresh approach to the lectionary readings each week.  This week she told a story about two Irish guys named Fergus and Connell.  They were the best of friends. One day, walking along the seashore, they started to argue. The argument heated up so much that Fergus slapped Connell across the face. Connell didn’t retaliate. Instead he took a stick and wrote in the sand, “Today, Fergus slapped me.”  They went off to the pub and over a few pints and as she said, a wee touch of the nectar, they made up. Continue reading “Peace Be with You!”

Easter 2018; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson; ICCM

The Easter gospel as told by Mark has the startling ending, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.” At first glance it seems like a strange way to end a gospel.  There is no shout of victory, only astonished silence.  No leap for joy, only running in fear.

Both Matthew and Luke end their gospels with resurrection appearances, reunions with the eleven, and a commandment to preach.  Some scholars explain Mark’s abrupt ending by suggesting that the scroll of Mark had become worn and frayed and the last lines were lost.  In the second century, longer and “more expected” endings were added to the original text.  Modern editors of the English versions of the New Testament don’t always agree on what to do with those later endings.

In any case Mark certainly believed in the resurrection even if he did not include any dramatic resurrection appearances.  His account zeroes in on the difficulty the women had with what they encountered, their questions and fears.  The gospel of Mark was written for believers.  It is described by Mark as “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.”  It IS open ended perhaps because it is only the beginning.  The rest of the story takes place out there– where he meets us, in Galilee– in the place of life.  The women obviously found their tongues– we wouldn’t have Mark’s gospel or the church at all if they hadn’t been able to tell witness. but early on that first Easter morning their response to the empty tomb was fear and silence.  Continue reading “Is God Coming? Easter 2018”