“Healing in the Temple” a sermon based on Deuteronomy 18:15-20 and Mark 1:21-28 preached at Trillium United Church Caledon January 28, 2018

God will raise up a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” God said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them prophets like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in the prophet’s mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name; but a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”

Mark 1:21-28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
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There are two things in my mind, in this sermon: one is right at the very beginning of the Harry Potter series, at the Hogwarts School, when Draco Malfoy (son of the villain) says to Harry ‘You don’t want to be seen with the wrong sort, Potter. I can help you there.” Harry responds “I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks.” This one tiny part defines the whole of the ground of the Potter books - a young man who isn’t afraid to get hurt for what he knows is right, and another young man who is afraid. Harry is the prophet in this story, the one who walks willingly to death for what he believes is right - the power of Love.

The other is the story of First United Church in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. In case you don’t know, the downtown east side of Vancouver has for many years been a place of drug use and abuse, alcohol abuse, mental illness - and a life expectancy of about 32. First United Church runs a centre where those people who struggle with demons can come for a meal, a place to sleep, connections to help, and unconditional love. First United never saw itself as a shelter, but rather a radical example of the Gospel in action. They became a shelter when the City of Vancouver asked them to do so, because there were not enough shelters for the many homeless. But their radical living of the Gospel meant that they defied laws which restricted the number of those who could come in to any shelter. The staff of the shelter took in anyone who needed a place, and  pushed the City to build more shelters. Local police complained they had to answer calls; ambulance attendants claimed they had to go in there to pick up people; there were a couple of assaults. In the end, the shelter closed in 2013 - at the direction of the Presbytery. Political and legal pressure won, over the living of the Gospel, and the three staff who worked to live this radical and prophetic vision of Gospel were forced to resign. 

Lots of people these days claim to be speaking on behalf of God. People of every stripe, every colour, every religious and political persuasion are all claiming *they* speak on behalf of God. And it’s interesting that much of what God says, according to them, is about hate. God deliberately selects certain people to be leaders, rather than others.

In every denomination, at every level, people claim they speak on behalf of God. The staff at First United on the Downtown East Side said they spoke the message of God. The Presbytery says it speaks for God. When we call our ministers, we write in our position descriptions that we want strong, relevant preaching, current scholarship, and the word of God. We want prophets to teach us - but what happens, of course, is that it’s only the word of God if it’s the word we personally agree with; it can’t be the word of God if it makes us challenge authority, or feel uncomfortable.

So the question is, how do we discern who really is speaking for God? Who really carries this authority? In the reading from Deuteronomy we get one idea. Moses is coming to the end of his time, and knows he will not enter the Promised Land. The Israelites want to know who will tell them what God wants, when Moses is gone. Moses replies “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” But Moses isn’t talking about one prophet, but a new prophet for each generation - the phrase actually used is “raising up prophets.” who will *continue* to speak on God’s behalf – and there’s no time limit.

In today’s world our guide is partly Moses, but mostly Jesus. Anyone who says they are speaking for God must be held up to the ministry and teachings of Jesus. So today Mark tells of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry; Jesus begins with a sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum. He and the disciples walk in to the synagogue, the resident rabbi hands Jesus the first scroll, and he sits down to teach. So he reads the lesson, and then opens the service with the traditional ‘berakah’, or blessing. Probably not more than five minutes into his sermon, it happens. Just when the congregation is starting to notice that the sermon notes are not on an old yellow legal pad, just when they discover that the topic is not being put to them the way the traditional scribes would, just when they realise this man doesn’t speak like the scribes and religious leaders at all, just when they are starting to see that faith without action in the world is a dead faith, a raving man in the middle of church shouts vague threats at the young preacher who dared to say something radical.

"I know who you are," the man yells. “You’re God’s holy messenger, come here to destroy us.”
"Be muzzled, you evil spirit" Jesus yells back, jumping up from his chair, "Leave him alone! Stop hurting that man." The man falls to the synagogue floor, tears and shudders going through his body, wails coming from so deep inside they seem to touch a primordial chord in everyone there. Then he becomes calm. He picks himself up, now tranquil and calm, and finds a seat in the congregation.

How would you respond if that happened here? Most of us would be so shocked that we would just sit. Some of us would leave making disgusted faces at such behaviour in church. Maybe we would have called the ambulance and told them to bring the jacket and restraints.

Would you walk out of the church complimenting the preacher on a great sermon? If the teaching went contrary to what you had always been taught by the scribes and Pharisees, what would you do? My personal experience is the good sermons rarely draw comment; the sermons which provoke, which make people feel uncomfortable, get a strong backlash. If a sermon made you uncomfortable, would you compliment the preacher? A wonderful teaching, with fresh insight? Yet, that is what happened in Capernaum. The congregation leaves the synagogue commenting about how wonderful the teaching was. What has teaching to do with expunging a demon?

And the crowd is “astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.”(v. 22) This man clearly is different – his teaching sets him apart from those who claim to be the successors of Moses, who claim to have authority from God. Mark doesn’t say *what* Jesus taught, just that he taught, and it made an impression.

The religious leaders who claim they speak for God have shunned a man who, according to them, has a “demon”. They have *talked* about the Realm of God on earth. They have used established procedures to interpret and debate the Law of Moses. Their interpretation might be intellectually demanding, but does not demand that they change the way they think, or change their lives.

Jesus is different, because while he understands the scholarly interpretations, he also knows that theory is useless unless it is put into practice. Jesus works to bring God’s realm right into the present situation. So when a man comes to the synagogue, clearly suffering social discrimination, Jesus acts to free the man, so that he has the courage to be who he truly is regardless of what the authorities claim is God’s law.

Jesus’ authority does not come from being born into the *right* family. His authority does not come from attending the right schools or studying with the right people and earning the right degrees. Jesus’ authority is granted by God, and is demonstrated through the many ways in which he works to make the Realm of God a reality throughout his ministry. Jesus is authoritative; but there is a difference between speaking with authority, and being authoritarian.

Two words are crucial in this text; teaching, and authority. Mark wants us to see that in Jesus, God is among us to confront our own demons, the things which hold us back from a Gospel of Love. When Jesus is the teacher, no one snores through the sermon! When Jesus is the teacher, we all are faced with a choice - to let the demons speak or let Jesus drive them from us so that we learn to live and love in the very same way he did.

Most churches tend to deal with issues through the rumor-mill, or the ‘parking lot’ conversations, instead of honest inquiry and ensuring that there is truth. There is not a congregation in any denomination which is completely free of this behaviour. Talking behind, talking about, half-truth or incomplete information. Gossiping in front of others, putting down things or people. When this happens in a congregation, energies are turned inward, and commitment to the Gospel together is divided. The congregation is divided - the result often is people turn away, just not come because they expect more of us, and we let them down. And interestingly enough, mission and commitment to the world outside our doors begin to take a back seat. Martin Luther once said, "When the gospel is preached, devils are set loose and start to roam among us."

Rev. Thomas Hall, one of my favourite preachers, asks “Could it be that preachers have lost our nerve? Our voice?” I ask “Could it be that we don’t *want* anything transformative to happen at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning? That we don’t want to be disturbed by the Gospel?” Could it be that we preachers have lost our prophetic voice in the face of self-preservation? Could it be that we as a congregation of disciples have lost the sense of mission which brings us to God and then sends us out to Love in risk and sacrifice of ourselves? Could it be that this is a message we want to contain?

The message of the Gospel is that Love can get us hurt. Being church can get us hurt. Taking three congregations and making a new one can get us hurt. We risked and were hurt; but our task is to work tirelessly at being the “right sort”; our task is to work together, to work at being inclusive and thinking of the good of all; our task is to work in love and commitment to each other, for the creating and building up of the whole community of the Gospel. The Gospel prophecy lives here. True prophets, in my definition, work for Love – radical hospitality, radical inclusivity.  Our work is to be prophets.

May it be so.



Sources:

1. The Middle Generations, Joshua 24:1-24 January 27, 2012. A sermon by Rev Christina Berry, outgoing Moderator of the Synod of Lincoln Trails

2. Speaking on Behalf of God? a sermon based on Deuteronomy 18:15-20 & Mark 1:21-28
by Rev. Richard Gehring

3. A New Teaching a sermon based on Mark 1:21-28 by Rev. Thomas Hall

Called and Named Epiphany 2 1 Samuel 3:1-10, John 1:43-51 Trillium United Church, Mono Mills, Ontario January 14, 2018

The boy Samuel ministered before God under Eli. In those days the word of God was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of God, where the ark of God was. Then God called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again God called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know God: The word of God had not yet been revealed to him. A third time God called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that God was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, God, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
God came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

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The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”   “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

During the presidential election campaign in the United States ten years ago, the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday falls tomorrow, found its way into the election campaign. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, claimed that he saw his father march with Dr. King in 1963. In fact, Romney’s father had never appeared with Dr. King, even though he had been a strong supporter of civil rights during his political career. What Romney *meant*, his campaign stated, was that he “figuratively” saw his father with Dr. King. Frank Rich, a columnist for the New York Times suggested that the insertion of race into the discussion was to deflect any possible charge of racial insensitivity; Romney’s own Mormon church discriminated against blacks until 1978, and he had never spoken out.

Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton said in a speech that “Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964... It took a president to get it done.” Members of Barack Obama’s staff felt her comment diminished Dr. King’s legacy. Senator Clinton’s staff said she was paying homage to both men.

Dr. King, however, would always point to the God who had been his guide throughout his life, and would have seen himself simply as a disciple living the call.

Today, one might in a mood of complete depression, feel as if all the movement forward has been lost, that all sense of equality and sense of decency has been lost – and we may find ourselves asking if anything good can come out of the current situation..the extent of lies and deceit almost renders the tale of Mitt Romney pale by comparison.  And the question which hangs in the air now – why do people come from those ******** places? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

In her book “The Gospel of John: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” author Gail O’Day talks about the “drama of discipleship”. And this morning we have two stories of both call, and discipleship – one which is quite dramatic, and one which contains a slur against a  particular place. – Nazareth, a backwater noplace……

Samuel, just a boy lying in bed, who we are told doesn’t yet know God at all. Now, the name Samuel in Hebrew means “God hears”, and it also means “son of God”. This boy wakens to God's voice calling him. God tells Samuel that he is to go and speak to Israel with the authority of God behind him. It is the story of a great prophet being called, even when still a boy. God’s intent leaves absolutely no possibility of any doubt. Yet it takes several ‘calls’ before Samuel’s teacher Eli realises that something significant is happening, and that Samuel – a child – is being called.

And this is probably what most people consider a call - something so dramatic as to stop us in our tracks, and change the course of our lives so significantly that there can be no doubt. For Samuel, God’s call set the course of his life even before he had ‘come to know God’.

In December of 1955, Rose Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to move to the back of a city bus. Leaders in the African-American community organized a city-wide transportation boycott, and turned to the young black pastor, Martin Luther King, Jr. as the leader. King was just 26 years old, and he wrestled with issues of call; call to ministry, call to discipleship, and whether or not his role was call to be a local pastor. In the end, he concluded that God called him to this new ministry as well - and the rest is history. He became President of a new organisation called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He organised the great civil rights marches. We know he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, but we also know that this call first set the course of his life, and eventually spelled the end of his life.

Well, let’s look at the second story - the call of Nathanael. Nathanael means, in Hebrew, “a gift of God”. The story tells us Jesus had seen Nathanael sitting under a fig tree even before Philip went to get him. Fig trees give good shade, and maybe sitting under the tree was a good place to read, get cool, take a nap, or sleep off the previous night’s fun. And if we read the prophet Micah, the fig tree was one symbol of a place of peace, of rest, of community and hospitality. Now, Jesus simply talks to Nathanael after Philip goes to “call him out” from under the fig tree. That’s all Jesus did. Nothing spectacular - and the funny thing is, Nathanael is called to be a disciple. No dramatic vision, just a man saying "Follow my way." And Nathanael saying yes.

Now, as the author of the story, John believed Jesus was the Messiah, born in Bethlehem, but he *identifies* Jesus as from Nazareth, and Nathanael’s first question is “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nazareth being considered a ‘******** place. John’s whole point, of course, is that this Messiah is a real human being from a backwater town - and that this man was called as well. In current vernacular terms, Nazareth was a zero-horse town of maybe 250 people on a good day – and not considered the best place to live, or to come from, by any means. Nazareth was one of those places the current US president has a name for – and the name in Jesus’ time was pretty much the same. Can anything good come from a place like that? What do we want with someone from a place like that?

But today’s story is about call, and more importantly that God calls who God will – sometimes from the very places we figure God just wouldn’t. And whose call was more real? The drama of God’s voice in the middle of the night, in the temple with Elli the priest? Or something as quiet as “Come and see.” offered to an ordinary person sitting in the shade of a tree, who begins his call with a slur aimed at Jesus’ hometown. What’s curious here is that both Samuel and Nathanael were disciples - ordinary people who were called by God to live and speak faith. They were called to ministry - but the point is they were *not* called to *ordained* ministry or a specialised priesthood. God named them and called them to ministry – not to a prescribed role.

We tend to think that a call has to be something dramatic, like a Damascus road experience, or a burning bush, or a voice in the darkness. Yet most of us who feel a call to ministry can’t say it was a dramatic event. For me, it was almost a non-event, kind of ‘well, duh’. I wanted to apply for a position in the Canadian Council of Churches, and was told by the then-General Secretary that I didn’t qualify because I didn’t have a Master of Divinity. When I repeated that to a colleague and mentor, that I needed the MDiv – his response was “Well, why don’t you go get one?” Really – well, duh indeed.

John demonstrates to us clearly that we are all called and named, and it isn’t any sudden flash of insight - but instead something as simple as the words “I saw you sitting there. Come.” Samuel’s story, for all the seeming drama, is simply a boy hearing God. He has an open heart and God sees.

Discipleship, or call, doesn’t mean you have to take up formal ministry in the church. Not at all. It *does* mean that as someone professing to be Christian, you are professing that you are called and named as a follower of the way, and that discipleship means doing something.

Dr. O’Day asks this question; “Why are there so many names for Jesus? Each disciple sees something different in Jesus and bears witness in his own way. Each disciple came to Jesus with differing expectations and needs – one needed a teacher, another the Messiah, another the fulfillment of scripture – and each of these needs was met…”

Can anything good come from Nazareth? Can anything good come from Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump? Or Ferintosh, Alberta? Or the tiny island of Aukra in Norway, or the lump of land in Finland known as Korvatunturi? Well, yes, actually. There are some fabulous people in Ferintosh, Alberta population 202, who are committed to being disciples; I have a friend living on Aukra in Norway who is a sailor, building ships – and by all accounts in northern Lapland/Finland, the real Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi which means “Ear Fell”, or the place shaped like an ear, where Santa hears the children.

Nathanael missed it completely at first. So do most of us. God’s call *does* come to the ordinary people - farmers, fishermen, sailors, truck drivers, mechanics, engineers, carpenters. It is not a call to drop our current lives and go into ordained ministry - but a call to follow even while doing what we do. Seeing what we do as a calling, with God at the centre, as the voice which moves us.

All Philip said was "Come and see" – a simple invitation to meet Jesus. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Can anything good come from Trillium? What is our call to discipleship? It is up to you - because you are all called and named. Each of you - each of us, is a Nathanael - a gift of God, and we are each a Samuel - a child of God. So - come, and see - what is the call in this world, today, in this tiny corner of Ontario. Because that presence is here – calling each of us into something larger and fuller than ourselves.

CALLED

We are called
to leave behind our solitary searching,
to put on that single garment of destiny -
the uniform of faithfulness -
worn by creatures great and small,
old and forgotten,
young and eager,
broken and bewildered,
spirited and set on fire:
sisters and brothers who share not race or tongue,
but whose hearts are claimed by love,
signed by a cross.
Our future is together, arm in arm,
finding healing as we heal,
knowing freedom in our forgiving.
We are the strangest travellers:
seeking no reward at trail's end,
As long as we know the joy of journeying with him.
We are called
Disciples.
We are called
His.

Sources and acknowledgments:

1. Dr. Frank Trotter, First United Methodist Church, Pasadena, California Sermon “The Drama of Discipleship” January 20, 2008.

2. Dr. Gail O’Day. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995). Dr. O’Day is Professor of Homiletics at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia.

3. Rev. John Nadasi, Paonia United Methodist Church, Colorado. Sermon “Can Anything Good Come from Nazareth?”

4. Poem by Timothy Haut, Deep River, Connecticut. January 18, 2009.

“Past, Present, and Yet to Come” a sermon based on "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, December 17, 2017 Trillium United Church, Mono Mills

Read Matthew 1:20 - 2:22

Christmas is a time most of us associate with family, friends, good feelings, food, wine, laughter, - for those who are religious, it is a time of reflection, celebration, affirmation, joy. They are all positive emotions, and in general they put us in a more generous and better frame of mind, we are a little more open to others, a little more patient - we come a little closer in touch with what we are supposed to be about all year around, all our life..

Dreams are strange things. We can do things in dreams that we can’t do during our waking hours. Most of our dreams, we don’t remember. Some we do, and often they bring us messages we need. Musicians tell stories of memorising pieces of music in dreams, or composing in dreams. Our minds - amazing things that they are - keep on working. Dreams tell us things about ourselves that we aren’t always able to face otherwise. There are lots of logical explanations, but it is still miraculous what the mind can do, and how it can help us see ourselves.

I remember vividly one particular dream, early on in ministry, and after what seemed to be a particularly trying week. I dreamed I was laboriously climbing up a very steep mountain, grabbing on to small trees, tufts of grass, anything which provided a handhold - hand over hand climbing the mountain. At one point I stopped for a rest, and happened to look off to the side - and there, parallel to the course I was charting up the mountain, was a clear path - unimpeded by trees or rocks or grass.

For Scrooge, Christmas Eve could have been described as a nightmare. He certainly thought it was a series of pretty bizarre nightmares. Had the visitations stopped after Marley, or maybe the first of the three “spirits”, he might have been able to write the whole thing off as that particular piece of mouldy cheese he’d eaten earlier in the evening with his thin gruel - and nothing would have changed.

The last visitation is the one which really makes him sit up and take notice. This spirit is a phantom - none of the light of the first spirit of the past, or the generosity and joy, and yet clear criticism of the spirit of abundance. He is visited by a phantom which seems to suck light in, and cast nothing but gloom around. There is no conversation, no words, no real interaction, only a relentless insistence that he continue this journey.

And so the phantom shows him a father walking slowly home from the graveyard; in the home by the fire, a small chair sits empty, with a small crutch beside it. Tim, Bob Cratchit’s son, has died. Scrooge begins to realise that the boy did not die because of something he might have done, but precisely because of the opposite - because of what he did not do. He sees the result of his philosophy, that if he minded his business and the rest of the world minded theirs, he caused no harm.

The phantom shows him a man lying on a four-poster bed covered in a sheet, hears people derisively sneering over the body, stealing the very slippers off the body and discussing the waste of even giving the man a funeral. They’re dividing up bedclothes. And he doesn’t even recognise any of them – yet they are people he knows, who look after his home, do his cleaning and cooking for him. And at the end, he finds himself up against that which we all face – the end of life. He is in a graveyard, seeing his own name etched on a gravestone. In a most powerful way, he is faced with the end, and suddenly how feeble and inadequate his life seems. A life of nothing but amassing a fortune, just because; a life of obsession, and shutting out light and love, and warmth.

But hear the words, as he falls to his knees in front of the spirit - his soul finally broken open, and the realisation that it is this which breaks his heart open to learn and grow, and his vision is clear to look at himself.

“I am not the man I once was” he says, “I will not be the man I might have been, had it not been for this. Why show me this if I am past all hope?” “Assure me that I may yet change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life.”

Now - as I said - it may be that Scrooge was dreaming. Today we would say his subconscious finally opened up. A Buddhist teacher of mine would have said internally something shifted, and he could see. Maybe - but maybe not - who knows for sure?

Dreams have figured strongly in the story of Jesus birth. Mary had a dream that an angel visited her to announce her pregnancy. Joseph had a dream, just as he was about to separate himself from Mary - an angel again announcing that her child must be born, and be named Jesus - because he will save his people. After the birth, Joseph again has a dream - that he, Mary and Jesus are in danger. Each of these visitations begins with “Do not fear.” Life is about to turn upside down, but don’t be afraid. Life will be dangerous, but don’t be afraid. God is here, God is with you. Don’t be afraid.

About fifteen years ago, in my very first parish, a group of us went to the town of Creemore, Ontario, to the “Journey of Love” - which is a recreated walk of the road to Bethlehem, complete with props and actors. The first time I went, the journey ended at the manger. The second time, one walked on around a corner, further from the manger. There stood a cross, and a Roman soldier.

Both life, and faith, are a journey. Scrooge was taken - however we care to explain his experience - on a journey in which his life literally passed before his eyes. He was a man afraid – oh, not always that way – but little by little fear took hold of his life – and it was fear which gave him his life back. He was shown his life as it had been, as it was, and finally what it might be in the end.

The story of Scrooge is a story of past, present, and possible futures. It's a story which tells us how not doing anything is really, actually, doing something, but not something constructive. What would have happened if he had not made change? The first possibility – the death of a despised man, and people celebrating – maybe a decrease in the surplus population. Bob Cratchit’s son Tim, dead because of a lack of action. Scrooge himself, when he awakens in his own room and realises it is Christmas Day, and he hasn’t missed it, exclaims “I will live in the Past, Present and Future! The Spirits of all three shall strive within me!”

The church year is also designed as a journey, with Past, Present and Future. I don’t think we can say it enough - that Christmas would be nothing without Easter. Christmas and Easter take their meaning from each other - they are, to some extent, the bookends. Without the birth, there would be no Easter. If there were no Easter, there would be no Christmas.

And we as a church declare faith in the connection of past, present and future. The birth, the life and death, and the new life. In one way or another, at the communion table we note that Jesus died, Jesus rose, and that Jesus will come again.

Christmas past - the historical birth of a small baby in a backwater town – the most humble of beginnings;  Christmas present - the celebration of that birth, Jesus reborn within us each Christmas – for the meaning of Christmas is that Jesus continues to be born into each of us who claim this faith; and Christmas yet to come - that Jesus will continue to come into the world to be active in the world through the hearts and spirits of all people of peace and goodwill.

That was, I believe, the message in Dickens great drama - in those words of Scrooge “I will live in the Past, Present and Future. I will keep Christmas in my heart!”

Past, Present, and Future.
What we were once - what we are today - what we may yet be. Who knows?

Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas yet to come.

Christmas in all of life, and the story is unfinished...................................................


Sources:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“Christmas Present” a sermon based on Isaiah 61 and Luke 1, preached at Trillium United Church, Mono Millls December 10, 2017

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The Spirit of God is on me, because God  has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. I am sent to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the Jubilee, the year of  God’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of God for the display of splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Luke 1:46-55

 My soul magnifies God and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, who has been mindful  of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,  for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is God’s  name.  His mercy extends to those who fear him,  from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm and has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones  but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,  just as our ancestor s were promised.”

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Poor Scrooge. He was exhausted after trying to shut out the light of the Spirit which shone on his past. Finally, aware of being back in his own bedroom, he fell into a deep sleep. For some reason he wakened early and pulled back all the bed curtains to have a good view of the whole room. - and waited...the bell tolled one. Time passed, fifteen minutes in fact, before he realized the light across his bed was coming from under the sitting room door.

Dickens describes the scene as Scrooge entered his sitting room:
“It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a surprising transformation. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green that it looked a perfect grove, from every part of which bright, gleaming berries glistened. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there. Such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney as that dull hearth had never known, either in Scrooge’s time or Marley’s, if at all. Heaped upon the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, great joints of meat, suckling pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.”

Seated on this throne sat a Giant, who Dickens described as “free in its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its joyful attitude.” Scrooge was timid, hung his head, not wanting to meet the clear kind eye of the Spirit.

“The Spirit was dressed in a deep green robe, bordered with white fur. The robe hung loosely, the large chest was bare. Its feet were also bare, and on its head it wore a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles.” He carried a kind of torch which looks like a horn of plenty - and as Scrooge and the Spirit travel the city, Scrooge’s eyes are opened to the world around him, to the things he doesn't know about that world.

"Is there a particular flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?" asked Scrooge.

"There is. My own."

"Could it apply to any kind of dinner on this day?" asked Scrooge.

"To any kindly given. To a poor one most."

“Why to a poor one most?” asked Scrooge.

"Because it needs it the most."

In this visitation, Scrooge is stunned that the ghost blesses the home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit -  a tiny place of four rooms. He didn't know Bob had children - he didn't know one of them was ill. When he begs to know that Tim will live, he hears back his own words "If he's going to die, he should do it, and decrease the surplus population."

And - says the Spirit. "Will you decide which men shall live and which shall die? It may be that in the sight of heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. O God! To hear the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his brothers in the dust!"

And in one of the versions, when Scrooge is offered a drink and gets decidedly tipsy, he asks the ghost what is in the cup, and the ghost answers  “The milk of human kindness.”

“The Spirit of God is upon me, for I have been appointed to bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, - to proclaim the Jubilee, the year of God’s favour.”

“For God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich have been sent away empty.”

It's not hard to relate this to the present. We all know people like Scrooge, hurt by life and by their own actions, who also believe that by not doing anything, no one is hurt. Yet even doing nothing is tantamount to doing something. Don’t we all know people who are critical of the poor, who blame the  poor for their poverty, without ever knowing their circumstances. Scrooge blamed the poor for their own circumstances instead of looking closely at the conditions around himself and them, even instead of finding out from them *why* or how they got into such a position.

The Spirit takes Scrooge to see Bob Cratchit’s home - where the feast is meagre, yet Bob Cratchit’s family are full of gratitude for that which they do have. It’s a sharp comparison - the great bounty around the Spirit, and the meagre Christmas meal of the Cratchits. There are a couple of things to draw from this today - just as Dickens did then.

First, that the Spirit, - and the huge feast laid out around him, the green-ness of the room and the warmth of the fire - are representative of the realm of God - the vision God has for people on earth, living in creation without any fear or want. The Spirit represents Immanuel, God-with-Us. This whole scene to me is a representation of the Jubilee year in which all debts are erased, the hungry are fed, the poor and sick are now well looked after, everyone participate in the realm of God. And I see it as God offering to Scrooge a glimpse of the real kingdom – a table full of good things, and Scrooge is invited to the table, if he wants to come.

Second, it reinforces a very real truth. For Dickens it was clear that there was lots of food to go around, opportunities to make the world a better place – but that the wealthy were not so willing to give others good employment and access to exactly the same things the rich treated as their right. For us today, the story shows us that there is actually more than enough food in the world already to feed everyone. The problem is not with the amount of food available, but  the distribution. The so-called First World countries take more than their fair share of what’s needed, often wasting it - and the poor of the rest of the world go without. In some parts of our country we live with a sense of entitlement - that we somehow deserve everything we have, even if it is over-the-top. And we are seeing the bulk of wealth increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, and those who really need being pushed aside. “Are there no prisons, are there no poorhouses?” “This boy is ignorance, this girl is want. Be most afraid of the boy.”

At the end of this part of the story there is a particularly telling scene. The Spirit and Scrooge are standing out in the cold, Scrooge asks the Spirit what is under his robe  - the Spirit pulls back the front of his green robe, and huddled there are two children: hungry, shriveled, destitute, prematurely aged.

“Are they yours?” asks Scrooge?

“They are Man’s.” replies the Spirit. “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy.” “Have they no refuge or resource?” asks Scrooge, and again hears his own words flung back at him “Are there no prisons? Are there no poorhouses?”

Today, I guess we would say are there no jobless programs, are there no shelters? Today we still live side by side with Ignorance and Want, and think it doesn’t affect our lives.

In the scriptures, angels were messengers from God. Joseph has a visit from an angel, telling him that Mary’s child will be “God-with-Us”. Scrooge encounters angels, who shine the light of God into his heart; who proclaim the good news. In this open and joyful Spirit we hear these words from Isaiah – and which we hear from the Scriptures in Jesus’ lifetime: “The Spirit of God is upon me. I am sent to bring good news to the oppressed, to comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

The picture of this messenger - God’s green creation full of everything human beings could ever need, also proclaims the year of God’s favour. Christmas Present - every year should be the year of God’s favour.

Marley came to Scrooge in the darkness of his rooms and his soul, to speak of repentance, of changing his ways. Two Spirits come in the bright light of vision, into the recesses of hard hearts, and then the bright light of vision on the world around. Yet neither Spirit *was* the light. Dickens’ Spirits are those who come to testify to the light – to quote the Gospel of John, to bring messages from God. They point to the one who is coming - the centre of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Present comes to testify to good news for all people. As Scrooge took another step along the road to his repentance and reclamation, so we also take a step on the road to repentance, a commitment to living the Gospel to its fullest. May our hearts at Christmas be broken open for those who are dismissed, ignored, hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick in spirit and soul – may the true message of Christmas be heard as we approach the time of birth. Amen.