These are the readings and the written version of what I preached conversationally for worship on 12/13/15. This new worshipping community in Driggs is on its way to becoming chartered as a PCUSA congregation next Pentecost. They meet in a community center which is transformed by their creativity and artistic gifts.

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Common English Bible (CEB)
14  Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel!
         Rejoice and [sing] with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem.
15  The Lord has removed your judgment;
        he has turned away your enemy.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; 
you will no longer fear evil.
16  On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem:
        Don’t fear, Zion.  Don’t let your hands fall.
17  The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory.
        He will create calm with his love;  
he will rejoice over you with singing.
18        I will remove from you those worried about the appointed feasts.
        They have been a burden for her, a reproach.
19 Watch what I am about to do to all your oppressors at that time.
        I will deliver the lame;  I will gather the outcast.
        I will change their shame into praise and fame throughout the earth.
20  At that time, I will bring all of you back,
 at the time when I gather you.
        I will give you fame and praise among all the neighboring peoples
 when I restore your possessions and you can see them—says the Lord.

Isaiah 12 Common English Bible (CEB) Hymn of trust
12 
You will say on that day: “I thank you, Lord.
Though you were angry with me,
    your anger turned away and you comforted me.
2 
God is indeed my salvation;
    I will trust and won’t be afraid.
Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my shield;
    he has become my salvation.”
3 
You will draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.
4 
And you will say on that day:
“Thank the Lord; call on God’s name;
    proclaim God’s deeds among the peoples;
    declare that God’s name is exalted.
5 
Sing to the Lord, who has done glorious things;
    proclaim this throughout all the earth.”
6 
Shout and sing for joy, city of Zion,
    because the holy one of Israel is great among you.

Philippians 4:1-14
… I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.
I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little.
I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry,
hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am,
I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Luke 3:7-20 The Message (MSG)
… When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: “Brood of snakes!
What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river?
Do you think a little water on your snake skins is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin.
And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.’

…..
I have to be honest with you –
there are times I can really be a Scrooge about Christmas.
I can go into full Grouch mode when I see
Stores stocked for Christmas before Halloween ….
Bah! Humbug!
Mall music jingling a Holly, Jolly Christmas before Thanksgiving…
Fa la la to you too!
Decorating, shopping, gifts, hustle and bustle ….
Add the extra holiday chores to every day demands …
and some years, I’ve just said – not gonna do it.
The thought of dragging out all the decorations –
and then having to take them down and pack them away again…
well it’s just overwhelming when everything else is overwhelming too.

Some times I want nothing more for Christmas
than to just sit for a few days,
to just stay home and rest.
For others, home is the worst place they can be.
Add the stress of the season and holiday expectations
to already troubled relationships,
To households where there is domestic violence, addiction,
financial struggles, family feuds,
and home may be the last place to find peace on earth.

Home for the holidays is supposed to mean
Gatherings of family and friends-
but for some, this will be the first Christmas –
or another of many – without a loved one.
Grief doesn’t move on and out of our hearts
just because the calendar says time has passed.
Relationships aren’t reconciled just because
we want everyone to get along.
The sights and sounds of the season can be so insistent
we have a Merry Christmas that we feel at odds with the world.
Merry may be on our lips, but not in our lives.
Happy may be what we say, but not what we feel.
We may be surrounded by crowds, and be so alone.
We may be stuffed with holiday goodies,
and have a gnawing hunger in our heart.
We may be peaceful and calm on the outside,
and churning with the turmoil inside.
We may be ho, ho, ho-ing out loud,
but silently hurt and hurting.
We may be smiling and laughing, but close to tears.

Any one can have good reason to not feel very happy,
at any time of the year,
but it seems especially jarring to feel that way
at a time when the rest of the world is insisting:
be merry & bright!

Who wouldn’t want to thunder like John in the wilderness:
you brood of vipers! you den of snakes!

From the news of the world, the nation, our own lives –
we are all too aware that
so many families, neighborhoods, communities
are engulfed in the raw pain of tragic loss this holiday,
and now must find a way to live with broken hearts.
Too much senseless violence,
Too much senseless suffering,
Too much injustice
Too much evil.

Now here we are on the Third Sunday of Advent,
which the church calendar insists is Joy Sunday.
Zephaniah, a prophet to tell us to:
“rejoice with your whole heart”
Isaiah says to “shout out loud and sing for joy.”
Paul tells the Philippians to
“rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!”

Luke’s account of John the Baptist
doesn’t exactly fit the theme of rejoicing in the other readings.
his message doesn’t have much merry and bright,
calling his congregation a bunch of snakes.
But John does promise the One who is Coming,
whose very presence in the world is Good News,
who comes to the world, to us, to be God’s love.
Don’t be afraid, God is in your midst!

There’s an urgency about John’s message:
repent – now!
change your ways – now!
The people seem to be getting the message
because they asked
– What should we do?
John’s answer is very simple – share
Something anyone can do, in our everyday life.
If you have 2 coats – give one to someone who has none
If you have food – give some to someone who is hungry
If you have power – don’t use it to abuse someone who doesn’t
Do your job – tax collector or soldier or whatever you do every day –
with integrity and compassion and fairness.
How we live our lives every day, in little things as well as big
makes a difference in the lives of other people –
That’s how we contribute to the work of justice,
That’s how we do God’s work in the world.

Rejoice! Sing! Be joyful!
That’s not the same as “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Paul advises us to “shape our worries into prayers.”
According to John, we should be worried,
because we will be held accountable before God.
We will be judged, not by what we say we believe,
but by how we live out our faith.
Are we living as God’s agents of love, peace, hope,
working for justice, with generosity, compassion?
Rejoicing always is not the same as being happy.
The difference is the source.
Happiness is an emotion based on circumstances.
We are happy, pleased, glad about a particular thing.
We don’t rejoice because of our circumstances
but in spite of our circumstances. …
Making the choice to rejoice,
even in the midst of tragedy,
is a reminder that life is a precious gift,
that we have to make the most of today
and that we have people who love us and whom we love.

Joy comes from within, a gift of the Spirit,
an expression of a peace
that the world cannot give – or take away.
Joy recognizes the presence in our lives of the Divine,
knowing we are beloved by our Creator & Redeemer.

Two years after the sudden death of her husband,
Artist and poet Jan Richardson spoke about her heart
being widened to be filled with both grief and joy.
“…in the deepest, sharpest grief – she says,
Joy can come and inhabit the very same space …
In the mysterious physics of mourning, they abide together…
Joy allows sorrow to have its say –
But it does not let despair have the final word.”
Reflecting on today’s scripture readings she says:
“Advent is a season for remembering
that the joy that makes it way toward us
does not depend on mere happiness.
Joy is what comes when –
In days that tempt us toward despair –
We choose to celebrate –
Not in denial of the causes of despair,
But in defiance.
In hope.
In delight.
In gladness for the One who comes
To sing for us and with us,
Ever renewing us in love.”

The book of Zephaniah is mostly warnings to Israel
of God’s judgment to come,
but the last chapter is filled with praise because:
“The Lord is in your midst.”
You shall fear disaster no more.
God is the One who Rules, the ultimate power –
not the conquering armies, not earthly leaders, not terrorists.
Zephaniah insists that God has plans for the world,
that God will act, does act in history, to keep promises:
the hurting will be rescued, the outcast will be gathered
God will bring us home and restore us.

Isaiah offers a “hymn of trust” in God’s promises
Isaiah reminds the people of the Exodus,
that time when God did act to rescue a people.
The faithfulness of God is the source of our hope:
“Surely God is my salvation.
I will trust and will not be afraid,
for God is my strength and my might.
Sing praises to the Lord … give thanks, sing for joy …
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

In our midst,
God is with us.
The very meaning of the name: Emmanuel.
One Bible translation puts it this way:
God put on flesh and blood
and moved into the neighborhood.

That’s what Christmas is all about,
celebrating and remembering that God loves us,
loves the world so much,
that Jesus was born to show us God’s love,
to BE God’s love for us, with us.
Joy for the Christian comes from knowing Christ.
That’s why Paul can write to the Philippians
from a Roman prison and say:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice.”

[NOTE: I omitted some of the paragraphs above referring to Zephaniah and Isaiah, along with a quote I was going to use about Advent written by a pastor in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy and an Advent Affirmation of Faith by Rebecca Harrison. Instead I shared much of a blog post that I read that morning by a young mother titled “The Brutally Honest Christmas Card” detailing what a difficult year it had been for their family, concluding with her affirmation of hope.]

“But perhaps the most significant thing is that Jesus is no longer an abstract person, a walking theology, a list of do’s and dont’s to me. This is the year I recognized him as my battered, bruised brother, and I see how he never once left my side.

Every year I think now this year, this is the year I finally *get* Advent. The sadness, the waiting, the longing for all things to be made new. And every year I do understand it a little bit better. This does not show any sign of stopping.

It’s been our hardest year yet my husband said. He paused for a minute. But our kids sure are great. We don’t have the energy to pretend we are OK, because we aren’t really. But the light around us remains, we take our mercies as we get them, we see a new year just around the corner. Maybe, just maybe, this one will be a little bit easier.”

http://www.dlmayfield.com/dl-mayfield/2015/12/9/the-brutally-honest-christmas-card

For the prisoner, for the lonely, the outcast,
for the grieving and hurting and fearful –
the Christmas story is glad tidings,
good news of great joy for all people.
God is with us.
The Lord our God is in our midst.
We are in God’s loving embrace.
And because we know God’s embrace,
we are called to reach out and embrace others,
to be the flesh and blood of God’s love to our neighbor.
What should we do?
We are called to speak and to act
to bring peace to a violent world.

In every day, in every mood,
even in sorrow and distress,
in every season of the year:
God is our strength and salvation.

This is the sermon I intended to preach yesterday – but my iPad froze just before worship so I ad-libbed from an old version of a similar sermon that was in my file.

Luke 1:46-56 Mary praises God
46 Mary said,
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
47  In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
48  Who has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
     Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
49    because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is God’s name.
50  God shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next, who honors him as God.
51  He has shown strength with his arm.
     and has scattered those with arrogant thoughts
and proud inclinations.
52   He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
         and lifted up the lowly.
53  He has filled the hungry with good things
     and sent the rich away empty-handed.
54  He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
         remembering his mercy,
55  just as he promised to our ancestors,
         to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

56  Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months,
and then returned to her home.

The Gospel is Good News for Us,
Thanks be to God!

What if she says: “No?”
What if he gets down on bended knee in the jewelry store,
or points to the plane towing a sign in the sky,
or arranges for the scoreboard at the stadium to ask…
What if her answer is “No.”

What if …
in front of the whole family,
in front of the whole congregation,
in the middle of the Ellen show,
he proposes …
– and yes, there are You-Tube clips of all these ….
and she says, “no?”

What if Mary said to Angel Gabriel:
nah, don’t think so, no way,
You can’t be serious!
You’ve gotta be kidding!
Do you realize the commitment you’re asking me to make?

Mary does not say yes immediately.
She’s puzzled, what the angel is proposing makes no sense.
How can this happen?
Gabriel assures her that with God nothing is impossible.

This scene of the angel and Mary has been a favorite subject
for artists, especially in the Italian Renaissance.
I love that they so often picture Mary with an open book, assumed to be Scriptures.
It’s as if Gabriel has interrupted her reading,
in order to announce a future event that the Gospels have already described.

Frederick Buechner writes about the work of these artists:
“The pastel blues and pinks and purples,
the angel’s shimmering wings,
Mary’s look of quiet wonder,
her head tilted toward the angel
as his head tilted toward hers.
He tells her not to be afraid but he is quaking in fear
at the thought that the history of humankind
now depends on the answer of a young girl.” (Peculiar Treasures)

There’s an Irish legend that when Gabriel visited Mary,
the sun, the moon and all the stars stopped moving,
that the whole universe held its breath, waiting for her answer.
Not until she said, Yes, did they begin moving again.

Mary did say yes,
she said, I am God’s servant, let it be.
And then this young woman went to visit her relative,
Elizabeth, whom Gabriel said is also expecting a baby.
Two pregnant women-
one young, one old,
one long married, one never married.
And in their meeting, their greeting of each other,
they confirm that the Spirit is indeed at work in each other,
creating a new future for Israel, for the world, for us,
in and through the babies whom they will mother.

Mary said, “Yes!”
When she visits her relative, both Elizabeth and her unborn child
recognize the significance of Mary’s unborn child.
With this greeting, Mary responds by singing.
Another of Luke’s arias,
one of the show stopper songs of praise in his Gospel:
the song that is the Magnificat.
My soul magnifies, my whole being praises God,
for the great things God has done and will do.

The Magnificat has been a favorite subject of composers
and hymn writers.
Mary’s song is not just awesome praise music,
she sings a full-throated revolutionary protest song.
The words follow in the tradition of Israel’s prophets,
echoing the praise and promise of Hannah’s song,
the calls to justice and righteousness of Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and all those who kept reminding the people of
both God’s faithfulness and their responsibilities
as God’s covenant people.
In tune with the prophet Micah,
who says this is what the Lord requires of us:
     to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.

Mary’s song is not a sweet, soft lullaby,
but a subversive threat to the powers that be
and who do everything they can to stay that way:
to be rich at expense of the poor,
to be powerful at the expense of the powerless.

The Magnificat, Mary’s Song, has been banned by governments,
because it’s politically dangerous –
because this prayer dares to claim that
God’s priorities are not the world’s ways,
that in and through this child will be God’s great reversal:
The powerful brought down, the lowly lifted up,
the rich turned away empty, the hungry filled.

In liturgy written for this season,
Presbyterian pastor Thom Shuman says:

Every notion we have about power, success,
wealth and achievement,
God takes and tosses out the window.
More importantly, God comes to us,
to upset our idea that we have to save ourselves.
In Jesus, God comes to us,
removing our sin, our failures, our expectations,
so we might have life.

This is the hope of Advent,
the promise fulfilled in Christmas,
and the mystery we call faith
which Shuman states this way:

Christ was born,      so that we might see hope in the flesh;
Christ lived,      so that we might hear grace spoken aloud;
Christ died,     so that we might feel the breaking of God’s heart;
Christ is risen,      so that we might know the promises are true;
Christ will come again,      so that we might be blessed as God’s children.

One of the Advent hymns included in the new Presbyterian hymnal
is John Bell’s lyric of Gabriel and Mary, set to an Irish melody:

#101 No wind at the window, no knock on the door,
no light from the lamp stand, no foot on the floor;
no dream born of tiredness, no ghost raised by fear;
just an angel and a woman and a voice in her ear.

“O Mary, O Mary, don’t hide from my face.
Be glad that you’re favored and filled with GOd’s grace.
The time for redeeming the world has begun,
and you are requested to mother God’s son.”

“This child must be born that the kingdom might come,
salvation for many, destruction for some;
both end and beginning, both message and sign;
both victor and victim, both yours and divine.”

No payment was promised, no promises made;
no wedding was dated, no blueprint displayed.
Yet Mary, consenting to what none could guess,
replied with conviction, “Tell God I say, Yes.”

Mary said, Yes,
Yes, to Angel Gabriel,
Yes, to God’s new future.
A yes of joy, amazement, foolishness and risk.
Mary song of praise will be followed all too soon
by the wailing and mourning of the mothers of Bethlehem
whose children were slaughtered by Herod’s soldiers.
Herod ordered them to search ruthlessly for and
to destroy any possible threat to the King and his hold on power.
Herod was only one of the many tyrants throughout history,
and throughout the world today,
who seek and keep power and wealth through violence.

Yet, the child he saw as a threat was the one who grew up to say,
…put down your sword,
…blessed are the peacemakers,
…love your enemies,
…forgive those who hurt you…

Mary’s yes, Mary’s song says
…that God’s rule is more powerful than any earthly ruler,
…that God’s love is greater than any hate,
…that God’s good is greater than any evil,
…that God’s light is greater than any darkness.

Mary said yes to an awesomely life-changing,
history-changing call to serve God.
She would be blessed and burdened by saying yes.

Can we, will we say yes to what God asks of us?
What will we say, each and every day …
when God calls us to live, to pray,
to act as if God’s new world is already here?

Will we say yes?
Yes, we will feed the hungry, and house the homeless.
Yes, we will visit the prisoner, and friend the lonely,
Yes, we will speak and act to lift up the lowly.
Yes, we will sing Mary’s dangerous song of God’s promises
Yes, we will be people of love.
Sharing love by loving those we see regularly.
Sharing love by loving those we do not know.
Sharing the love of Christ with all we meet.

May God’s love, God’s joy, God’s peace, God’s hope
so fill our hearts and our lives,
that we, too, sing with Mary –
“with my whole heart, my entire being, I praise God, my Savior.”

And now let us sing praise to God, with another of the new Advent hymns:
“Love Has Come”