December 19, 2021 “It’s Christmas! Mary, Did You Know?” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

Can you believe it? Two pregnant women are featured in Luke’s gospel. So, really, it’s four people in all who are the main characters. Mary with Jesus in her womb and her cousin Elizabeth with John the Baptist in the womb. Mary, soon to be known as the mother of Jesus, was in a hurry to get to see Elizabeth We can only wonder why Luke notes that she went with “haste” into the hill country, a specific area known to the locals…just, as today, newcomers have to learn the little names for our local areas. Being pregnant, could it have been that Mary was in a hurry because she needed to make a pit stop as pregnant women are prone to do when the baby is sitting on her bladder. Or, she may have wanted to complete her trip before it got dark, for it is so much easier to travel in the daytime when you can best see where you are going and when there are fewer shadowy figures lurking. It could also be that Mary was moving, as the hymn says, “at the impulse of God’s love.” Mary very well could also have been driven by a mission of the Holy Spirit.

When Mary arrived at Zechariah’s house, for it was the man who had ownership, Luke says she greeted Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Suddenly the baby jumped! Surely, the Spirit was in the house, in tune with Mary’s voice. It had to be that the Spirit was moving in their lives and in their minds, as well as their bodies. It doesn’t get better than that. The baby jumped in the womb.

My cousin had several children and she recalls the babies jumping around in the womb. Once, she even saw little fingers stretching through her belly from the inside out. Babies are something else!

After the baby leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, Luke mentions a very interesting thing that happened. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And whatever that meant for her, she spoke these words – and not very softly, but loudly - under the influence of the Spirit she said: ⁴² “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

How did Elizabeth know the baby was leaping, and how did she know the baby was leaping for joy? We can safely answer by saying, “A mother knows. A mother knows. A mother feels.” A mother knows the sounds of peace and contentment expressed by her child. A mother knows the sounds of distress or hunger. A mother knows. A father can have the same sensitivity as well. Parents know. Parents learn to love and understand their children. Even when they don’t have all the words to express themselves, a parent knows some things. God gives them capabilities.

Luke has a whirlwind of activity to inspire us. He tells us that Mary is in a hurry traveling in the hills. She greets Elizabeth. The baby leaps for joy. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. The words she speaks are reverent words. They are blessings. Elizabeth spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps some of us here have drunk some alcohol and found ourselves doing and saying things under the influence of that spirit of alcohol. You may have witnessed someone else doing or saying something while they were under the influence that they might not have done or said otherwise.

So it is for Christians under the influence of the Holy Spirit. We may do or say something in extraordinary ways that we could not have done or said under ordinary circumstances.

When we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit we are a blessing. Being a blessing means that God is honored in special way, that something happens that indicates God has shown special favor. Being a blessing means that something extraordinarily sacred has occurred, that God is being glorified, as the song says, God is doing something, healing someone, saving someone, right now!!

As far as I’m concerned, everything about life is extraordinary and beyond our comprehension, but the declaration of blessings on someone or something is God’s way of blessing us over and above what we could begin to think or even imagine.

Elizabeth blessed Mary three times. First, she says blessed are you among women. Second, she says and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Third she says blessed is the one who believes that God will do what God said God would do. She gave a threefold blessing. Three is a number used in the bible to indicate unity and wholeness. We may bless something or someone once with our words, once out of courtesy, twice out of duty, but three times suggests we are blessing someone or something because we are all in, we are doing so wholeheartedly, we are united with the purposes of God. After three, we are emphasizing what God is emphasizing. There remains little doubt that we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

God help us to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we can say to each other “you are blessed.” Or, we can act reverently and respectfully as if we know that God has touched someone’s life and they are very special to God and can be to us. God help us to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we can exhibit an attitude toward one another or have the attitude toward one another that is under the influence of that Holy Spirit that says: you are blessed, blessed is the fruit you bear, and you’re blessed if you believe God is going to make good the promises that God said and will do what God said God would do.

There are so many blessings in the bible. There are some curses too. Sometimes we humans use curse words, we curse people out, we curse rather than bless. Thank God for the Christmas season. All around the world we remind each other to bless one another.

As Mary was in a hurry to get to her Cousin Elizabeth’s house, perhaps she knew she would be blessed. She understood, more than anything that her God was in the blessing business and took every opportunity to bless. Let’s all be in a hurry to be blessed. Perhaps Mary had no doubt that she would also be a blessing because God uses any and all of us to bless in ways that are great or small. Let’s all be in a hurry to be a blessing to others.  Amen.

December 12, 2021 “It’s Christmas! Two Coats or None?” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

December 12, 2021

“It’s Christmas! Two Coats or None?”

Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

How many coats do you own? It is not likely that many of us here have only one coat, or no coat. We are more likely to have more coats than we can count. In this Advent season, we joyfully give thanks for our coats and other countless blessings. We also find a way to be cheerful givers and do something to bring joy to someone else. I will never forget hearing the story of John Wesley feeling shame after someone knocked on his door. Before him stood a woman shivering in the winter wind. Wesley felt shame because while he was preoccupied with decorating his home, he was oblivious to people like this woman who did not even have one coat to wear in the winter.  Wesley’s eyes were open and he began a journey of becoming more sensitive to those in need, especially those in dire need.

In Wesley’s sermon of 1789 entitled “The Use of Money” Wesley admonished God’s people to “Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” He noted that the church was in need of more sensitivity and compassion for the poor and needy and that a generous spirit would keep the church from what seemed to be its downward spiral.

Wesley concluded that “If Methodists would give all they can, then all would have enough.” He wasn’t trying to increase giving for the sake of the church budget. He was making a plea for generosity and a plea for compassion for the poor and needy.

John the Baptist may have preached a harsher message, even a bit of an insult. Verse 7 reads: ⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? God is angry and about to have a fit, but who warned you? It was if he was saying that no one should warn you because you are guilty, and you deserve a surprise attack. You are guilty and should get the brunt of God’s anger and punishment. You deserve to be cut down and cut off. John put it bluntly. Your heritage does not exempt you or help you if you refuse to do God’s will. They were proud of the Abrahamic heritage. They trusted their roots more than their fruits.

John does not see Christians gathered to be baptized; he sees vipers, snakes in the grass, worthy of punishment. Vipers are long, hollow, and venomous with moveable fangs that you may not see right away. A viper has rough skin and vertical eyes that are weird, but vertical eyes help vipers see at greater distance, which makes them stronger predators.

If you can fathom that God has feelings, think about this: how mad does God get when we are oblivious to the needs of God’s children? How mad does God get when we are insensitive and unkind, thoughtless and belligerent, proud and arrogant to a son or daughter. We think of God as mad enough to send lightening, to frustrate us by blocking our blessings. When bad things happen after we have done something wrong, we are prone to believe that God is mad at us and punishing us. That may be true, though God’s anger never crosses the line to hurt us only help us.

When we think of ourselves as being good and doing the right thing, we may ask like I have from time to time: “Why is God keeping my blessings from me? What is God waiting for? I am done with waiting for certain blessings. I want my blessings now.” Not long after such a complaint I heard a devotional somewhere that said, “We are not waiting for God. God is waiting for us.” God is waiting for us to be still and know that God is able, to trust God’s heart when we can’t see God’s hand. God is waiting for us to understand deeply that God has our best interest at heart and has not forgotten us nor forsaken us.

John the Baptist reminds us that God is not pleased when we act like snakes in the grass, like vipers, preying on others. God will indeed deal with us. God will judge us righteously, fairly, and often with more mercy than we deserve. By now we can say that the crowd that gathered before John to be baptized were followers of Jesus. They were church folk for all intents and purposes. These church folk asked a very, very brave question. What should we do? What should we do?

Last Sunday, Jean said to me, “Pastor, is there anything I can do for you?” Everyone knows that when you ask the pastor if there is anything you can do, a pastor always, always has something to do. For, the harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few, and we are always praying that God will send hands and feet that can do the many tasks that need to be done every day and all the time. Another reason a pastor always has something for you to do is because it is one of my jobs to identify your many gifts and talents and the movement of the Holy Spirit in you. When we use all that God has given us, people are blessed and God is pleased. When we use all that God has given us we grow in excellence and the church becomes spiritually fit and more mature.

When we know we have come short, when we know God expects more of us, we do well to do just as the church folk did with John the Baptist. Ask, “What do we have to do?” Asking that question is asking for change, it’s asking for God’s list of things that have to be done. It is coming out of our comfort zone to do God’s will, not just our own. What do we have to do as a result of falling short of God’s will is a very, very brave and humble question to ask.

People came from many different backgrounds and experiences and John gives them all an answer as to what they needed to do to please God. He says “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Verse 12 tells us that ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³John said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”  

They asked what they needed to do to repent and return to being in God’s good graces. John answered all of them. The tax collectors were considered to be traitors, Roman soldiers were resented for their unfair power over the Jews. There were people with more than their daily share of food and clothing. Unlike many of us most of the time, they were willing to repent, willing to change in order to make it right with God.

So, the text begs the question – What do you and I do when we are out of line with God’s will – even a little?  Do we dare ask, “What do we have to do?” And when we get the answer, do we do what we have to do to please God or do we keep on digging a deeper hole in which our sins are buried and we become more deeply entrenched in our trespasses and farther and farther away from God and God’s sons and daughters?

At the top of John’s list of things they needed to do in order to make their relationship right with God is to look in their closet and see how many coats they had. If they had one to spare, they needed to give it for God’s sake – give it. Give it to the one who has none.

In these days and time, it is probably fair to say that those who have only one coat, may not have a coat for all four seasons. They may be in dire need. If may even be fair to say that if we have eyes to see someone who is in need, especially in dire need, we are seeing what God sees. We are seeing what can only be seen through the eyes of holiness, through the eyes of one who is prayerful. For, our human poverty is often hidden while in plain sight and requires sight that prayer brings. Our human poverty, our hurt and suffering may be pushed to the sidelines or it may tempt us to wear blinders when we have eyes and do not want or cannot bear to see the results of one human’s inhuman behavior toward our brothers and sisters.

John warns us to do the right thing, do the right thing, do the right thing. Be open to God’s evaluation and judgment, get into position to be baptized, to be inundated by the holiest spirit, to be saturated with liquid love from head to toe. Come before God with a heart willing to receive a baptism with a fire that not only gets rid of that which is not pleasing to God, but warms us and comforts us in the deepest ways.

John declared Good news that God is able and willing to lead us into a life of blessings for our lives and especially for the lives of those who need it most among our brothers and sisters. It’s Christmas! Whether we have two coats or none, Jesus is coming. May we receive him as king today! May our eyes be opened and our paths made plain. May the gifts we give be acceptable in God’s sight, and may they bring joy to someone in this world and peace to someone who is suffering. Amen.

 

 

 

 

December 5, 2021 “It’s Christmas: Preparing, Repenting, Forgiving” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

December 5, 2021

“It’s Christmas: Preparing, Repenting, Forgiving”

Pastor Jacqueline Hines

As we enter the Advent season, we declare our hope that Jesus walks with us and talks with us and tells us that we are children of the king. We are part of the royal family of God. We affirm that peace is a possibility even when the world is neither kind nor gentle.

Our text from Luke 3 begins by telling us about a very important person, the emperor. At any given time in history, there are people who seem to matter more than others. In Jesus day, no one mattered more to the public than the Emperor. He had reigned – not four years, or 10 years, but 15 years. During that time, the emperor declared himself to be God and acted like a god as long as Pontius Pilate had his back, as long as the Herod kept the Galileans in check and as long as Pilate’s brother Philip (for as much was kept in the family as necessary)  as long as the brother was in full control of the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitis. The emperor could play God as long as Lysanias could control the people of Abilene and all the others had his back, Emperor Tiberius was God in the eyes of the people. Even today we sometimes wonder if the men and women doing such evil deeds may be more powerful than the God WE worship. We do wonder sometimes.

Protesters who were brave enough to ask for more than an emperor would provide, protesters who advocated for human rights, were, of course, a real threat to Tiberius even after 15 years on the throne. Protesters received push back as well persecution.

We see from verse 2 in Luke’s account that there were two High Priests, Annas and Caiaphas. What’s going on? God only authorized one, whose name was Annas. Jewish law provided for ONE high priest. The emperor was in charge, so he thought. Tiberius chose the priest he could count on to do his bidding. Tiberius corrupted the priesthood and overstepped his boundary of religious authority. No problem, God’s got even those situations. It is said that Annas kept his title as high priest, but Caiaphas was the one who ruled the roost.

The backdrop of every spiritual movement is some political dynamic. It’s all good. God has a purpose and a plan that is greater than any of the politics humans may bring into the picture. Some say that Christians should not get involved in politics. Luke, however, insists that whether we get involved or not, it is good for us to know what is going on in the political arena, so he give us details.

After Luke gives us the name of the Emperor and the other political players, he presents the players that God has chosen, the people who are at God’s beck and call. Luke tells us that THE WORD OF THE LORD – We do know there is a word of the Lord. We do understand that God has something to say – to us and to all who are ready to listen!! THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO JOHN, SON OF ZECHARIAH. We know John; we know Zechariah!! They’re family! The word came to John – where was he when he heard God’s word? In the wilderness. We know the wilderness. The wilderness is a place of trial before God brings us to triumph. The wilderness is a place where we are surrounded by wild beasts and we long for better days. The wilderness has sounds of silence and sadness when we are waiting to hear joyful music. There are mournful cries and confusing chaos in the wilderness while God is creating something wonderful out of our darkness and despair.

Here’s the word of the Lord that came to John. It is the same word that came to Isaiah 700 years earlier. Prepare the way of the Lord, straighten the crooked paths, fill those low places in your life with the joy of the Lord, smooth and stabilize the way for Jesus to enter into your lives as a welcome guest, lower those high mountains you’ve constructed as barriers that separate you from your blessings and behind which you can hide your sins and selfishness. What a word – prepare the way of the Lord!!  The word is as precious today as it was two thousand years ago.

Luke says that John shared that wonderful word handed down from Isaiah. He proclaimed a baptism of repentance for what? For the forgiveness of sins. There are three points I want to share about the word that came to John and also comes to us on this second Sunday of Advent. The three words are - Preparing, Repenting, and Forgiving.  John says “Prepare the way of the Lord.” How do we prepare for someone to come into our lives and in our homes? First, we decide that preparation matters, that Jesus matters that Jesus is worth cleaning up and straightening up for.

Indeed, Jesus is more important than any guest for whom we could ever prepare. Jesus saves us, heals us, and loves us more than anyone. It is good that we are reminded to prepare the way of the Lord. It is good that we get our house in order. Once during my prayer time, years ago, my heart suddenly focused on a little drawer in the living room. I went to the drawer and found a piece of paper with a joke written on it. The joke was not an example of something to share and be proud of. I threw it in the trash. It was no longer there to grieve the Holy Spirit. There was just that much more room for the Holy Spirit to be at home in my home. The Spirit helps us to prepare the way for the Lord. If we do as the Spirit directs us, we can enjoy the fruit of REPENTANCE. And, how sweet that fruit is!

We first decide to prepare the way for the Lord, for Jesus to enter our lives again and again. For, Jesus matters. Secondly, we prepare by repenting, turning things around and getting our house in order as much as we have the faith and strength to do so. God knows. God is with us to lead and guide us in the way that we should go. We yield our every effort to God.

Thirdly, we prepare and repent for one purpose – the forgiveness of sins. What in the world does forgiveness have to do with Christmas? The answer is EVERYTHING!!!

We know it’s true. We know what happens when we sit down for Christmas dinner with someone we have not forgiven or with someone who has not forgiven us. We know. We know what it is like to be mad at God because we are spending Christmas without a certain loved one. It is good to accept God as we accept one another, for God’s ways are not our ways, just as the ways of the one sitting closest to us at this very moment are not the same as our ways.

What does forgiveness have to do with Christmas?  EVERTHING!! Back in the late 90’s, a Christian sister did me wrong. She pulled the rug from under me, though I did not stumble. I was shocked at the level of her insensitivity and callousness toward me, and I knew I had to forgive her. So, our gracious God, gave me a prayer image that saved my life. Every day – and sometimes multiple times a day in prayer - I pictured the three of us – her, Jesus and me with our arms wrapped around each other in love. I did not track the time, but it may have been as much as a year before I felt free of my feelings of anger and hurt. I was no longer perplexed and annoyed that it did not matter to her that we were family. Freedom to forgive is freedom indeed. God is so good.

When we know that Jesus matters in our lives, we prepare for him. We get our house in order. We let go and let God do whatever God wants to do. We do so with the help and grace of God, one step at a time. We cannot do Christmas alone. We need the companionship of the Comforter, the help of the Holy Spirit, the joy of our savior Jesus, the creating hand of our God. We cannot do Christmas alone. We need each other. What does forgiveness have to do with Christmas? EVERYTHING!! Go beloved, prepare, repent, and forgive!! Amen.