The Collect and Gospel text for 4th Sunday of Advent, 20 December 2020

 The Collect        Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Luke 1:26-38         In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection        “Purify our conscience.” This is the work of Advent. This is also the work of Lent. In fact, this is the work of our lifetime; to prepare a room in the mansion of ourselves and welcome the light of Christ to be born again and reign through us. If that sounds like a tall order, it is. That is why we need a daily visitation with Almighty God. That is why today’s opening collect is worth praying every single day.

But what does it mean to purify our conscience? I believe it means cleaning out our proverbial attics and downsizing;  discarding our disappointments, annihilating our affronts, casting out complaints, releasing our losses, banishing blame,  shutting the door on shame,.  A daunting undertaking. No wonder we need a daily visitation with God to purify our conscience. 

Now let me be clear. Not everything we experience and store in our attic belongs in the incinerator. The process of purifying our conscience is meant to reform whatever prevents the innocence of our open, empty, receptivity. I hear you protest, “I am an adult. I have a long and patchy past. My innocence was lost when dad took the training wheels off my bike. As a matter of fact, it is probably a bad idea to be open, empty and receptive. Seems like a sure recipe to be exploited or abused.”

Let me clarify. I believe you are speaking of naive innocence. In the context of the purification of our conscience I refer to what I call “wizened innocence.” Please ponder with me the possibility of the open, empty, receptivity of wizened innocence one word at a time.  What does it mean to be open? It means to be honest, transparent and accessible. What does it mean to be empty? Humble, not full of our self. Being empty we are content, not envious or grasping for more. What does it mean to be receptive? It means being sensitive and open-minded, responsive to others and hospitable. To purify our conscience means to abolish whatever prevents us from being honest and transparent, humble and content, sensitive, open-minded and hospitable. It means purging whatever inhibits our wizened innocence. Why does this matter? Why should we bother?

We welcome this process of purification because the work of Advent, Lent and our entire lifetime is to prepare ourselves to be the hospitable mansion in which the Christ incarnates and through which the Christ Light reigns on earth. Here is the wrinkle.  The single greatest stumbling stone in our attic is fear. Fear of being open. “If I am honest and transparent people will see who I really am. I will not measure up and I will be rejected.” Fear of being empty. “ If I am empty I will have no sure footing, no safety net. I may be lacking and suffer.” Fear of being receptive. “If I am receptive I will be vulnerable,  influenced or deceived. People will take advantage of me.” 

Thanks be to God there is an antidote to fear. Every time Almighty God breaks through our conscience to prepare a human mansion in which to incarnate and through which to reign, an angel or prophet appears and proclaims, “Do not be afraid, Mary (Diann, John, Linda, Dave, Susan, Ron, Ken…)  do not be afraid.” 

Then God said (to Jacob), "I am God, the God of your father;  do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. (Gen 46.3)

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid.”(Jos 11:6)

Then the angel of the LORD said to Eli'jah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid.” (2Ki 1:15)

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid: Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (Luk 1:13)

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid: Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luk 1:30)

But the angel said to the women (at the tomb), "Do not be afraid: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (Mat 28:5)

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid: go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Mat 28:10)

God knows we are afraid AND we know that every time one of God’s people steps over fear to say “Yes, here I am… “ their fear is replaced with light that incarnates through them and reigns on the earth.  

Here is the punchline. We are all virgins until we abolish every obstacle, step over our fear and say, “Yes. Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then, with our consent in a baptism by fire, fear is incinerated as the Light of Christ finds in us a mansion in which to live and from which to reign. 

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Gospel Text for Christmas Eve 24 December 2016

Luke 2.1-20       In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph 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. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And 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.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When 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." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Reflection        Peace and glory, glory and peace, these two are handmaids that tend the birth of peasants as well as nobility.  Peace and glory, glory and peace, this holy couple is the right response of humanity to the birth of a child because peace and glory acknowledge the arrival of light in the depths of darkness, they declare the entrance of hope on the stage of suffering and despair.

And that is the reason ‘this day’ more than two billion Christians around the world are telling the humdrum tale of an impoverished couple and their newborn “child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” We never tire of retelling this story because it is full of peace and full of glory. We replay this saga because it is a story for all people and for all time. We recall this drama because we hunger to be fully alive, which is to say, we long to be full of peace and glory, right here, right now... this day. 

Many of us are exhausted. We have been living life as if we are people in exile; lost, wandering and wondering when we are going to get to some happily ever after state. Here is the thing. Life is not about what is missing. Life is not about waiting for some utopian ideal. Life is about ‘this day,” full of peace and full of glory. 

Of course you may reply, “Really? Have you not heard the news? According to the Global Peace Index of 2016 only ten countries in the entire world are not currently at war and are completely free from conflict.  Have you not heard, currently nearly 1 in 3 children, 1 in 5 Arizonans, and 1 in 7 seniors in Arizona live in poverty? Have you not heard that 40% of the people who receive emergency food assistance are working?*  Have you not heard, some of us have lost our jobs, our health, our loved ones? Where is the peace? Where is the glory?”

This is when the rest of the angel’s message is essential, “Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.” The light that pierces the heart of darkness is here, this day. We do not have to wait until we find the perfect job or place to live. We do not have to wait until our student loans are paid, our tax debt is clear and our retirement plans secure. 

^“This is the day that the Lord has made;   let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118.24)  Let us be glad and grateful purveyors of God's peace and glory for all of humanity, this day. After all, God IS with us and with God nothing is impossible. 

Merry Christmas!

 St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance  www.firstfoodbank.org/learn-more/hunger-statistice-in-arizona. accessed 22 December 2016.

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Christian Testament Text for Sunday 23 August 2015

Ephesians 6:10-20   Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Reflection Sitting with a group of folks who come together every Thursday afternoon to ask questions of meaning and value, this week a woman asked, “How are we to live, to be, in the presence of all the disasters and chaos in our world today?  From brutal politics to starving children, dying whales to worldwide economic unrest, poisoned water to no water at all, I just don’t know …” She was visibly frustrated, distressed, at a loss. 

“Take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand that evil day…. to stand firm.” That is Paul’s wise counsel to our ancestors and to us. But, it raises another question. “What is the armor of God?” I believe the armor of God is faith, which means, finding our strength in God, rather than in our selves. When we put our faith in God’s ability to overcome the impossible, to transform even death to life, we have the courage to speak truth to power, we receive the grace to stand for what is right and are able to behave accordingly. When we put our faith in God rather than our selves, our ordinary behavior in our ordinary communities is rooted in the promise of faith, not fear because, God is faithful.

Faith is our shield. Faith renders us “able to quench all the arrows of the evil one.” The politicians and secular moguls, the media and mass marketers of our geopolitical world use fear in their efforts to capture their markets and sure up their power.  Every day we are bombarded with threats of earthquakes, terrorist plots and rampant disease. Images of shootings, massacres, economic and natural disasters indoctrinate us with a sense of impending doom, fear. When we react with fear to these messages it means we believe them, we believe they are real and consequently they have power over us. The truth is, fear mongering is the work of evil undoing our faith because the opposite of faith is fear. In faith we look beyond the realm of appearances to the something more that we call God, by whom and with whom and in whom we live in the light of faith rather than the darkness of fear.

Twenty-five times the counsel “do not be afraid” appears in the Bible. I believe this acknowledges the temptation to fear is omnipresent, therefore we must constantly make the choice to “put on the whole armor of God,” putting our faith in God ’s faithfulness rather than ourselves regardless of all that conspires in our geopolitical world to indoctrinate us with fear. 

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