Everybody Loves an Underdog Micah 5:2-5a and Gospel: Luke 1:39-45 (46-56) This week we were given a big bag of used DVDs and videotapes. The first one that drew Toby’s attention was the DVD Sky High. As many of you know super heroes hold a very special place in our house. So when Toby saw those spandex clad cape wearing teenagers on the front of the DVD case he knew what movie he wanted to watch again and again. However as the movie developed he realized it wasn’t a typical superhero movie. The typical superhero flick is about mighty and powerful individuals that can be depended on to save the day. But as Sky High’s story evolved it was evident that the heroes of this story were going to be a crew of weaker, less significant students known as the sidekicks or “hero support’ if you wanted to be politically correct. You see this movie went from being about the extraordinary to being about the ordinary. It became a quintessential underdog story. And I was ok with that; after all everybody loves an underdog. Believe me, I’m a lifelong Cubs fan…We love to hear and see stories of people who seem to defy all the odds and do great things; people who somehow transcend normalcy or even mediocrity in inspiring ways. Friends today I would like to recommend a book full of underdogs. This book if you will is an anthology of underdog stories (hold up bible). As much as we love underdogs, the entire biblical witness reminds us that God loves them even more. Moses wasn’t even supposed to make it out of infancy let alone be able to lead his people to the Promised Land. David, a little shepherd boy from the small town of Bethlehem watches his brothers go off to war and then slays the giant and becomes the king through whose line the savior of the world is promised. And then there is Mary. This poor and insignificant young girl from an isolated farming community would become the mother of the messiah. How cool is that. You see the story that we hang the eternal state of our souls on is a true life underdog story. Mary goes from being poor and insignificant to being an object of ridicule and shame. As an unmarried pregnant woman she could’ve been stoned to death but God uses another underdog to protect her and provide an upbringing for his son. Joseph, whose royal ancestry meant absolutely nothing to his friends and neighbors, lived the quiet and average life of a tradesman in that small community of Nazareth. This seemingly ordinary man was called to be Mary’s husband and protector and Jesus’ foster father. His decision to stand by Mary despite her supposed indiscretion wouldn’t have won him any steps up the social ladder either. Of course the miracle that these two were going to participate in couldn’t happen in a small and insignificant place like Nazareth. So God had to call Mary and Joseph out of Nazareth; but not to a place of more import to the comparable hamlet of Bethlehem. God calls His chosen parents from the boonies to the sticks. Today’s prophecy from Micah reminds us that this small forgotten town will see the birth of yet another king. Of all the underdog stories we love, this should be our favorite one by far. Why does God reveal himself in this way? Why doesn’t he offer salvation through a savior that would be easily recognizable and who would demand loyalty and dependence. I think that a God who is known only through the eyes and values of a fallen world would prove Himself to be nothing but an idol. For the incarnation of God to be truly well… incarnational God with us, Immanuel, would have to be born into the common and ordinary. A look around reminds us that the common and ordinary are full of things like poverty and pain, shame and struggle. And it is those things that are redeemed by the birth we remember this week. Part of my Christmas season devotions always include a Christmas sermon of Martin Luther’s. The sermon includes this quote. She starts out on the journey with Joseph, her husband… Then when they came to Bethlehem, they were the most insignificant, the most despised people, as the evangelist indicates. They were obliged to make room for everybody, until they were shown into a stable and had to be satisfied to share with the animals a common hostel… Thus God indicates that he pays no attention at all to what the world is or has or can do, and on the other hand the world proves that it knows nothing at all of, and pays no attention to what God is, has, or does. You see brothers and sisters our best and brightest will never cure what truly ails us. No eloquent head of state will legislate true justice into existence, no mighty military leader will force true peace on a people, and even the world’s brightest doctors can hold death off for only so long. But justice, peace, and eternal life are exactly what God brings forth in this baby’s birth. The hymn that Mary sings today, that the church has always sung with her in its daily prayer is as clear a summation of God’s good news as we’ll find in all of scripture. Listen again to Mary’s song. 49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” God exalts the lowly and calls the mighty to place themselves in His hands so they too may be exalted. And the world may see its messiah trough those who trust in His care. This is what it means to gather around the manger this Christmas season, to humble ourselves before this child in the hay, to join with Mary in singing her song. So we may be blessed and God may be known. I pray that as the birth of the Christchild approaches we can all find ourselves as underdogs in humble estate so we may fully know God’s presence and participate in His marvelous work.

Waiting with the Prophets Dec 4th 2011 Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15, Mark 1:1-8

Waiting with the Prophets

Peace and Grace to you all from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ,

In my exploration on this week’s texts one fellow pastor found it interesting that we began Advent with a Gospel lesson from Mark’s 13th chapter, and this week we hear a reading from the beginning of that same gospel. In his exact words, he told his hearers that it was not a step backward, but rather a move forward—forward to the beginning. I had to chuckle at Reverend Fisk’s treatment of time. In some strange way the more I thought about it, it made sense. It seems to me that during Advent, time does something really funny. Christians all over the world are preparing for a birth that happened just over 2000 years ago. That is exactly what is happening; Advent is not merely a time to get ready for the holiday, but it is a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Messiah. During Advent, the story of Jesus’ first coming and the promise of his second coming become intertwined in a way that denies all we think we know about time.
This divine compression of time shows up in today’s readings. Our lesson from Mark’s gospel begins with, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” It seems like a good place for Mark to begin his gospel. However as we read on, we realize that where he places his beginning is not with the birth of Jesus like Matthew and Luke. Mark actually begins his Gospel by bringing his hearers all the way back to the prophets.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; [3] the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' "
John the Baptist is then introduced to us as the messenger who was sent ahead. John’s message calling God’s people to repentance is nothing new. It sounded much like the messengers who prophesied about coming Messiah centuries before the birth of John the Baptist. Even his seemingly unique wardrobe and dietary choices are important—only because they connect him to all of Israel’s prophets, people for whom living in the wilderness as hermits was often a part of the task. The job of “prophet” is by far the only position when dressing in camel hair and eating insects actually lends credibility. This connection would have been made by most—if not all—of the people who wandered to the Judean countryside to hear him.
It is a connection we should make as well. This morning we are reminded that we are waiting for the same Messiah on whom the prophets and their hearers waited. When we realize that the prophet Isaiah lived and ministered 750 years before Jesus was born, this seems astounding. How is it that we are waiting with prophets who walked the earth almost 3000 years ago for a Messiah who was born 2000 years ago? Perhaps today Peter had a word for us in this regard:
That with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. [9] The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
Whenever I hear this passage from Peter, I am reminded of a line by Gandalf in Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. When Frodo accuses him of being late, his response is “A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.” Peter’s letter today reminds us of two things. First, the thousands of years between the prophet Isaiah and us is merely a blink of the eyes to the God of Eternity. Secondly, this is important: as we wait and prepare for the Lord, He never stops waiting on us and preparing our hearts and minds. As a matter of fact, the acts of repentance that John the Baptizer (and the prophets who went before him) are never something we can do on our own. The very act of acknowledging our need for God’s righteousness depends on God’s guiding presence.
You see, brothers and sisters, God’s will is more perfect and holy than anything we could ever come up with. And as easy as it is to be impatient with what we perceive as God’s slowness (or even absence), we must remember that God keeps His promises. He has promised to be with us yesterday, today, and tomorrow. As we prepare to know God in yet another way, we remember all the ways He has been present for His people.
He was present for Isaiah’s original hearers in the midst of exile—in the words of comfort and hope spoken by His prophets. Also many who came to be baptized by John in the wilderness experienced God’s presence by experiencing firsthand the birth, earthly ministry, death, and resurrection of His son Jesus the Christ.
He continues to be present for us as well. In the words of scripture, we come to know the God of all Creation who humbles Himself so we may be in relationship with Him. As we gather as a faith family to worship, we encounter God in the words of the liturgy and songs—and in the mutual love and support of each other. Moreover, in Holy Communion, we get to taste and see God as He offers Himself as bread and wine for our eternal sustenance.
So in typical Advent fashion, we prepare for the coming of God’s Messiah with all of God’s people that went before by acknowledging the ways that God is already present for us—or rather (recalling Rev. Fisk’s query about the opening lines of Mark’s gospel), we prepare ourselves for God’s future by remembering God’s beginning. May the coming of the Christ-child be a source of great joy and hope this Advent season