Happy New Year

Dear Friends, January 3, 2011

It is always a pleasure to have Father Phil Schaefer join us as celebrant. His message this week followed the Gospel reading in Matthew on the flight to Egypt by Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. His focus however was on Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents. His reflection was to compare the evil and violent method of maintaining leadership, that Herod displayed, to the overwhelming display of love and peace that made Jesus a true King. The overwhelming message was "We love God because He first loved us."

We were very pleased to have Carol Manuel join us at the organ this week. It was also nice to have Carol's husband adding his rich tenor voice to the hymn singing. John will be back with us this coming Sunday after spending his holidays with family and friends.

This week on January 6th, we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the presentation of Christ to the Magi. As we reflect on the journey of the Magi and the gifts they presented to the baby, we might reflect on our individual journeys in life and the many gifts and talents that the Lord has given each of us. Might we all have gifts or talents that we also could present to the baby in the New Year. Is there a committee you could serve on at Church? Have you been thinking of joining the choir or MEEK as a volunteer? Is there a charitable contribution you have been meaning to make? Is there someone you know in need of help? Might the world be better if we all presented ourselves as a gift to the Lord this week? So if you have not made a New Year's resolution, think about making an Epiphany resolution. Start your further journey by joining us each Sunday in services.

IT IS PARTY TIME!!! Each year our wonderful sexton, Angel hosts his annual Christmas Party following the 10 AM service. This party will take place this coming Sunday, January 9th. All are invited to attend. Be sure to take time to see Angel's remarkable Santa collection.

Please keep in your daily prayers all those in need of healing, and those who serve in our military forces. Kindly also pray for the candidates that have agreed to run for seats on the Vestry. We are blessed to have individuals willing to commit to the future growth of the Church of Ascension. To assist in our spiritual life, Forward Day by Day booklets are $.85 each in the back of the Church [Tower Room].

If we want to grow and share God's prosperity of faith, we must love God, love our friends and then speak openly to them. A congregation grows starting with each faithful person. God will help us share the Bread of Life.....God will help us live into our Baptismal Covenant of sharing His word and our lives and resources [which is the true Meaning of Life]. We never know how ready a friend may be to hear a word of encouragement in faith. We never know when God will bring someone to speak to us, and enrich our own life.

The Ascension Women's Group will convene for its annual luncheon at the Olive Garden Restaurant on Thursday, Jan 6, 2011. Please call Jan Wills by Jan 4 with your reservations.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED: With the holidays coming to an end, we need to restore our sanctuary to its "undecorated" state. This is a major undertaking involving putting the traditional Christmas decorations back in storage for another year. If you are able to help out, the job can be completed in a relatively short period of time. Those willing to lend a hand should gather at Ascension at 9 AM on Saturday, January 15th. The more helpers that show up will make the job finish quickly and with ease.

The Annual Meeting of the parish will be held on Sunday, January 16 during and after the 10 AM service. Kindly mark your calendar to be present. A strong Vestry will guide us into the important times ahead.

Next year will be the 125th Anniversary of the founding and of the ministry of Ascension. In preparation, let us draw closer to God - and partake of the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit to counsel, energize and sustain us all.. We honor our long history, but it is our future that must command our attention and energy.

DON'T FORGET - The Ascension Piecemakers Quilt Group is offering a stunning queen-size quilt. This quilt would be a handsome addition to any decor! Coupons are $2 or 3 for $5. All proceeds will go to the Bell Tower Restoration Project. You can see the quilt and get more details each Sunday at Coffee Hour.

TIME TO MARK CALENDARS! There are memorable dinners upcoming.

Saturday. March 5th, 2011 SPAGHETTI DINNER
Saturday. April 30th, 2011 CHICKEN & BISCUIT DINNER
Friday. June 3rd, 2011 LOBSTER DINNER

PLEASE MAKE NOTE!!!

Coffee Hour after the 10 AM Sunday service is a wonderful opportunity to greet friends, old and new, and catch up on news. There are opportunities to host Coffee Hour in the weeks ahead. Won't you help this ministry? If not sure how to host, you may call Nancy Lennox at 663-5805 or Stu or Gene Denison at 663-0988. To sign up - see list in the back of the church or call 458-5423. Thanks!

Please phone or visit a friend who is not able to get out or whom you've been meaning to contact. There are many who would love a call and an invitation to church or an inquiry as to when you might pay a visit. We can invite friends to accompany us to church - and take them out for brunch afterward!

To beautify our worship, in upcoming weeks there are opportunities for altar flowers. Will you take up this ministry to the glory of God and to our spirits? To donate, please contact Laurie Phillips, 865-2802 or email LBP@rochester.rr.com

If we wish to learn the true Meaning of Life, grow as Christians and share our love of God, we need to know the stories of the Bible. Thursday Bible Study is in the Library at 9 AM. Please 'Come and See'. In this season, the lessons prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child. There is food for thought and often refreshments to share. The study is of the Gospel Lesson for next Sunday, found below. No Bible Thumping, just good conversation!!

The Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry asks your ongoing help - by donating through United Way or directly by check to R I J M, 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613. This will bring books of healing and group sessions to those needing to start lives anew. Remember the Good Samaritan... Please answer this call. To volunteer, call 254-6790. The invitation to help is ongoing, so you are not late to the party! Someone recently made and ongoing United Way designation for R I J M. Many Thanks!

There is God's work for each of us when we see new people on Sunday or at an event. Let's introduce ourselves and make them welcome. An invitation to chat at Coffee Hour is a great ice-breaker. So is sitting with a new person and guiding her/him in the materials, if this is their first time with us.

Do you have a pocket card to hand to a friend who asks about Ascension? Cards are on the table in the back of the church. Please take a few, and be ready to share. We have pocket crosses in the table drawer to hand to those who answer the call to "Come and See"..

In the next day or two, Paul Schwartz will post this e-letter on our blogspot. http://ascensionroch.blogspot.com/

One of the hymns for this coming Sunday is "Shall We Gather at the River". To hear a setting of this lovely hymn, click on the following site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8EIjGXtCLk

I am happy to report that Dyson had a successful trip to Florida. I will be filling in for him by keeping this newsletter going. Please pray for me that I can maintain the good work that he has started through this communication.

If you have a new or better email address for yourself, or know someone who might like to receive this weekly e-letter, please send in that information.

Blessings and good wishes for the New Year,

Jan Wills

585-621-3900

*******************************
The Gospel selected for next Sunday is: Matthew 2:1-12
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

2:2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;

2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.

2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.

2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.

2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

RECIPE: I will continue to try to include a recipe each week. If you have a favorite recipe you would like to share, please forward it to me and I will see that it is included in a future issue.

In keeping with Dyson's theme of warm, cozy foods for the winter season, I am offering a simple

TACO SOUP

1 LB. ground beef

1 medium chopped onion

1 can chili beans

1 large can tomato sauce

2 cans (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes (drained)

1 can diced green chilis

1 packet taco seasoning (mild, medium or hot)

Shredded cheddar or Mexican mixture cheese

Brown ground beef and chopped onion together. Add taco seasoning, beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and green chilis. Simmer about 10 minutes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Serve with taco chips.

Christmas Eve

December 27, 2010

WELCOME ALL VISITORS AND SEEKERS OF GOD.

ALL BAPTIZED CHRISTIANS ARE INVITED TO RECEIVE THE HOLY COMMUNION.

LORD, LET US PRAY AND WORK TO HEAR YOUR WORD, CHANGE OUR HEARTS
AND GO FORTH TO DO YOUR WILL, EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Dear Friends, December 27, 2010

Yesterday, Rev. Denise preached on "The Light of Life", Please visit this weekly feature to reflect on her words.

At the Christmas Eve service and on Sunday at 10 AM, we enjoyed seeing many friends of Ascension from near and far. Special thanks to John Allegar, Organist/Choir Director and to the Choir for the festive music on Christmas Eve, with particular bouquets to Jan Wills for her lovely solo singing. When next you see Mary Vasquez, our Administrative Assistant, please thank her for all the extra work she undertook for the busy holiday season!

Next Sunday we will welcome Fr Phil Schaefer as our guest preacher and celebrant.

As we ring in the New Year, enjoying these 12 Days of Christmas, please set aside time for renewing your commitment to God and to his community of Ascension, by being present in heart and mind and person. The gift of Christmas is that we get to begin all over again. What was old is made new, including ourselves. How many times have we said "If only l had another chance..." Here it is. There are opportunities for prayer, worship, service and sharing. When you attend church, you are saying -"Lord, you may count on me to help". This is what God and the Christ Child ask of us; to take the journey of faith, renewed and refreshed by the coming of Christ and the turning of the New Year.

Please keep in your daily prayers all those in need of healing, and those who serve in our military forces. Kindly also pray for the Search Committee and their work in this time of search. To assist in our spiritual life, Forward Day by Day booklets are $.85 each in the back of the Church [Tower Room].

If we want to grow and share God's prosperity of faith, we must love God, love our friends and then speak openly to them. A congregation grows starting with each faithful person. God will help us share the Bread of Life.....God will help us live into our Baptismal Covenant of sharing His word and our lives and resources [which is the true Meaning of Life]. We never know how ready a friend may be to hear a word of encouragement in faith. We never know when God will bring someone to speak to us, and enrich our own life.

The Ascension Women's Group will convene for its annual luncheon at the Olive Garden Restaurant on Thursday, Jan 6, 2011. Please call Jan Wills by Jan 3 with your reservations.

The Annual Meeting of the parish will be held on Sunday, January 16 during and after the 10 AM service. Kindly mark your calendar to be present. A strong Vestry will guide us into the important times ahead.

Next year will be the 125th Anniversary of the founding and of the ministry of Ascension. In preparation, let us draw closer to God - and partake of the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit to counsel, energize and sustain us all.. We honor our long history, but it is our future that must command our attention and energy.

DON'T FORGET - The Ascension Piecemakers Quilt Group is offering a stunning queen-size quilt. This quilt would be a handsome addition to any decor! Coupons are $2 or 3 for $5. All proceeds will go to the Bell Tower Restoration Project. You can see the quilt and get more details each Sunday at Coffee Hour.

TIME TO MARK CALENDARS! There are memorable dinners upcoming.

Saturday. March 5th, 2011 SPAGHETTI DINNER
Saturday. April 30th, 2011 CHICKEN & BISCUIT DINNER
Friday. June 3rd, 2011 LOBSTER DINNER

PLEASE MAKE NOTE!!!

Coffee Hour after the 10 AM Sunday service is a wonderful opportunity to greet friends, old and new, and catch up on news. There are opportunities to host Coffee Hour in the weeks ahead. Won't you help this ministry? If not sure how to host, you may call Nancy Lennox at 663-5805 or Stu or Gene Denison at 663-0988. To sign up - see list in the back of the church or call 458-5423. Thanks!

Please phone or visit a friend who is not able to get out or whom you've been meaning to contact. There are many who would love a call and an invitation to church or an inquiry as to when you might pay a visit. We can invite friends to accompany us to church - and take them out for brunch afterward!

To beautify our worship, in upcoming weeks there are opportunities for altar flowers. Will you take up this ministry to the glory of God and to our spirits? To donate, please contact Laurie Phillips, 865-2802 or email LBP@rochester.rr.com

If we wish to learn the true Meaning of Life, grow as Christians and share our love of God, we need to know the stories of the Bible. Thursday Bible Study is in the Library at 9 AM. Please 'Come and See'. In this season, the lessons prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child. There is food for thought and often refreshments to share. The study is of the Gospel Lesson for next Sunday, found below. No Bible Thumping, just good conversation!!

The Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry asks your ongoing help - by donating through United Way or directly by check to R I J M, 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613. This will bring books of healing and group sessions to those needing to start lives anew. Remember the Good Samaritan... Please answer this call. To volunteer, call 254-6790. The invitation to help is ongoing, so you are not late to the party! Someone recently made and ongoing United Way designation for R I J M. Many Thanks!

There is God's work for each of us when we see new people on Sunday or at an event. Let's introduce ourselves and make them welcome. An invitation to chat at Coffee Hour is a great ice-breaker. So is sitting with a new person and guiding her/him in the materials, if this is their first time with us.

Do you have a pocket card to hand to a friend who asks about Ascension? Cards are on the table in the back of the church. Please take a few, and be ready to share. We have pocket crosses in the table drawer to hand to those who answer the call to "Come and See"..

As I shall be away in Sarasota, FL until early April, Jan Wills has generously agreed to write and send this weekly e-letter 'til then.. Thanks, Jan!!

For a look at the FL parish where I attend and sing, see:
http://www.bonifacechurch.org/

If you have a new or better email address for yourself, or know someone who might like to receive this weekly e-letter, please send in that information.

Blessings, love and best wishes for a fine 2011,

Dyson
D. Dyson Gay
585-317-4039

P.S. Here is a video of Once in Royal David's City, which we will sing on January 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RC34N1TfCQ

P.P.S. Please see below for this week's recipe - Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo - to warm body and soul on a chilly day. Why not try this and invite some friends to share! Always looking for your favorite recipes to share here!
*******************************
The Gospel selected for next Sunday is: Matthew 2: 13-23

2:13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

2:14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,

2:15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

2:16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.

2:17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

2:19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,

2:20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."

2:21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.

2:23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."

*********************************
And, now, from the internet...

Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

for more detail, see allrecipes.com

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
55 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 10 Min

8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup brown rice
• 4 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas with liquid
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• option - add 4 - 8+ ounces of chopped, smoked ham or flavorsome cooked sausage of your choice

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion, pepper, and celery until tender. Pour in the chicken broth, and mix in rice, black-eyed peas with liquid, diced tomatoes and green chiles, diced tomatoes, and garlic. Add meat if desired. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add water if soup is too thick.
2. Serve with a salad and some corn bread for a complete meal.

.

HAVE A WONDERFUL AND BLESSED WEEK!

Sermon, Sunday, December 26, 2010

“The Light of Life”, A Sermon preached by The Rev. Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Sunday, December 26, 2010 at Church of the Ascension, Rochester, New York

Later this week many of us will stay up very late to see in the New Year. All over the world there will be fireworks at midnight, lighting up the dark night’s sky. In New York City millions of people will crowd into Times Square to watch the ball of light descend during the last seconds of 2010 and all will cheer, toast and dance as the year 2011 begins. We humans are very conscious of time and the passing thereof. We mark birthdays and anniversaries with parties and gifts, we worry about “getting old”, we mourn when someone dies young believing that somehow they were cheated of something by not living to a ripe old age. We are obsessed with saving time, being efficient, doing things quickly, as if somehow we fear that there isn’t enough time for each of us to do whatever it is we want to do or think we must do. For this congregation, as you look forward to a year in which you hope new leadership and new direction will come to this faith community the arrival of a New Year is particularly important. As you face the unknown future, you may sometimes wish you could stop the relentless progression of time and rest even for just a moment in the safety of the familiar and known, the dreams and hopes and good times shared in old times, before the new and unknown comes along to change patterns, routines and established rituals.

In this time bound existence that we know and in which we live out our lives, we often lose any sense of perspective about the vastness of time and space. We who believe in God in particular, occasionally need to step beyond our own time bound existence and see a larger picture. Today’s gospel reading from the Gospel of John is one of those biblical passages that remind us of the vastness and enormity of God’s universe and of the endlessness and boundlessness of God’s time – eternity. The gospel writer, being human, uses language that arises out of our time bound world – “in the beginning” he writes, echoing the words of the Book of Genesis that tells the story of the creation of the world. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In contrast to the synoptic gospel writers Matthew and Luke who give us very accessible human stories of the birth of a baby to a young couple in a manger, John paints the larger picture, encouraging us to understand the enormity of God’s act in becoming incarnate in the human, time-bound world. John uses cosmic imagery and a poetic form to draw us out of our narrow human perspective and into God’s cosmic perspective.

John’s gospel is the most mystical of the four gospels and was the last to be written. John is not concerned with relating historical information to us; he is weaving theology and spirituality into the story he tells. He uses both Jewish and Hellenistic traditions to draw his readers into the wonder of the story he is telling. To those who first read this gospel this opening hymn would have been very familiar, drawing as it does on the ancient Hebrew wisdom tradition in which Woman Wisdom, a feminine divine entity, is present with God and active with God at the dawn of creation, helping to make everything and form everything that is or will be. Scholars generally agree that the figure of Woman Wisdom, the feminine aspect of the divinity, is the one that the early Christians believed became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In true God-like style, there was some gender-bending going on as the feminine aspect of the Godhead enters human history in the body of a male person. This gospel writer lifts us out of our human perspective about time and further pushes our imaginations to think about the transcendent divinity taking on human flesh and entering this earthly world.

John also uses various images throughout his gospel to express his beliefs about God and about what God was doing in entering the world in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. One prominent image, or pair of contrasting images, which we see here in this Prologue, are those of darkness and light. “The life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The images of darkness and light were prominent in our Advent texts too, as we reflected on our longing for the second coming of God into the darkness of human existence. Matthew and Luke give us a baby in a manger, while John gives us Jesus, the light of the world.

All too often when we play with the images of light and darkness we tend to think of darkness as something evil, as that fearful place or state where we cannot see clearly, where evil powers lurk awaiting to grab us, or of a place of ignorance or sloth or apathy of which we must be rid in order to enter into the light of God and live. Humans do not like darkness, on the whole. When we are in a dark place, we are afraid, we feel undefended and vulnerable and we want light so that we can be sure to navigate safely, to see what’s coming our way, to feel in control of what is happening to us. In our world we have managed to make sure that we never have to experience complete darkness, having electrified everything so that even in this season of long nights and short days, we can always have light. At this season particularly we see houses and trees lit up at night as part of our seasonal celebration of Christmas. Jesus as light is an image that even our secular Christmas rituals have incorporated, consciously or not.

There is a darkness however, that is not fearful or dangerous, in fact quite the opposite. That is the darkness of the womb. A child in its mother’s womb is in a place of complete darkness and silence, and yet it is the place where that child is nourished, protected and in which the child grows until it is safe for it to leave because it is capable of independent life. But, that darkness is one that however safe and nourishing cannot go on eternally. If the child is not expelled from the womb at some point, it will die in that dark cocoon. But that process of birth, of going from darkness into light is hardly an easy journey, nor is it one that is without pain or travail for both mother and child. John’s beautiful hymn draws on this birth imagery, using the phrase “what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of the world.” The Greek verb translated “come into being” is a verb that suggests a process of becoming, a dynamic, growth process, rather than the more static verb which we would translate simply as “to be.” John’s imagery as he describes the incarnation weaves birth imagery, a very earthy kind of imagery, into the larger, more cosmic and mystical imagery of the light that dispels the darkness of the human condition.

John isn’t just telling us something about what happened in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth 2000 years ago. John is inviting us to understand something about our own soul’s journey to God, using Jesus as the vehicle for encouraging us to embark upon that journey. God entered human history by being born of a woman, going through the same painful and bloody process of birth that each of us has traveled. What is more important, however, is to understand that the birthing process of the soul is not a one-time event, but rather a continual process of becoming, of being born, of entering the light of the world, even as that process is painful and bloody. Just as a baby must leave the cocoon of the womb in order to live and grow, we each must leave behind the safety and warmth of whatever is safe and familiar to enter a new life with God. Our soul’s birthing process may include overcoming emotional or spiritual issues that impede our relationship with God. It might include such things as overcoming addictions, reconciling old conflicts, learning new ways of behaving or acting in the world, letting go of dependencies which keep us from allowing ourselves to be dependent upon God and God alone. Without a doubt, the birthing process of our souls requires that we give up any idea that we are in control of our own life or destiny and allow ourselves to be guided by the hand of God as we move through our daily existence.

Our soul’s journey to God is one which enables us to gradually gain the larger perspective, to move outside the boundaries of time and space in which we live and to participate in and appreciate God’s eternity even as we live our days on this earth. As we grow and develop spiritual maturity, we are less consumed by worry about the passage of time and the cycle of our own lives and more able to see ourselves as living in God’s eternity in which beginnings and endings are all of a piece and one leads always to the other. The gift God gave in the person of Jesus of Nazareth was God’s own willingness to enter our world, and to live in it as we do, so that we could see and understand that this is not all there is- that God stands outside our temporal existence and God invites each of us to participate in the life of God fully and joyfully.

As we prepare to celebrate the passing of one year and the beginning of a New Year, a fresh start for each of us, John’s reflections on the Word made flesh encourage us to see ourselves as part of that large cosmic reality in which God calls each of us to Godself, out of the dark cocoons in which we would prefer to live, into the challenging, sometimes painful process of the birthing of our soul that God so wants for us. As we are born into life with God, we will enjoy the dynamic and creative life that God has prepared for us and we will know the abundant life that God desires us to share with God. As John tells us, to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Sermon, December 24, 2010

“Birthing the Sacred”, A Sermon preached by the Rev. Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010 at Church of the Ascension, Rochester, New York

Merry Christmas to all of you! We gather on this most holy night, one of the longest, darkest nights of winter, the time of dormancy and barrenness in our exterior landscape, to celebrate a birth, the bursting forth of the sacred in the midst of the cold and barren landscape of the profane world. Our observance of Advent, the season of expectancy and waiting and hopefulness, is now concluded and we move to the festival of Christmas, where we welcome God incarnate in the form of a baby born to two young teenagers in a stable long ago. The idea of God entering the human world in the form of a baby is one with which we are so familiar, having heard this age old story every year of our lives, that the power of this story of the incarnate God may easily be lost on us.

The whole idea of the holy, eternal creator God taking on human flesh is not entirely unique to Christianity. In the Hindu tradition there are numerous stories of God entering the world in human form. In fact Hindus believe that God has to do so periodically when things here on earth get out of control. As I thought about how these two world religions handle the story of god entering the world in human form, I was struck by how each religion puts its own unique spin on the tale and how each can inform the other with its peculiar spiritual wisdom.

The Hindu stories of incarnation are quite different from the story we read tonight in the gospel of Luke. In the Hindu stories God becomes incarnate in a human being who is superhuman, who has magical powers or is able to do wondrous things that mere mortals cannot do. There are stories of the god Krishna being born in the world as a baby, but he is a baby who can talk and, once when he was reprimanded by an adult, he opened his mouth to respond and the person who reprimanded him saw all of the universe, all of the stars and planets of space and the distance between them, all the lands and seas and earth and the life in them, all the days of yesterday and tomorrow in that open infant mouth. In other words, Krishna turns out to be no ordinary human baby. He is divine, superhuman. Similarly the stories of the god Rama and the god Vishnu entering the world in human form are also replete with magical details. These incarnations of God are powerful, mighty, superheroes even when they take on human flesh.

In the novel “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, the protagonist, a Hindu boy who is trying to understand Christianity, says with respect to the Hindu legends about incarnation, “This is God as God should be. With shine and power and might. Such as can rescue and save and put down evil. This Son, on the other hand [Jesus], who goes hungry, who suffers from thirst, who gets tired, who is sad, who is anxious, who is heckled and harassed, who has to put up with followers who don’t get it and opponents who don’t respect Him – what kind of God is that?” (p. 55) What kind of a god indeed. A god that enters the world as a very human baby, so vulnerable that his father has to take the family and flee to Egypt to keep the child from being killed by Herod’s armies. This is no superhuman baby at all but rather a very real, vulnerable human baby in need of care and nurture if he is to survive to adulthood and live into the vocation that is to be his. This God that entered the world in the infant Jesus did not come equipped to survive all on his own. He needed his human parents and his human community to nurture him and raise him to adulthood before he could complete the work that he was destined to do.

While the Hindu stories about their baby gods are full of legends about their superhuman powers, the rituals in Hindu temples belie this notion of superhuman invulnerability on the part of the incarnate deity. In Hindu temples the deities are adorned in exotic attire but every day the priest bathes and dresses them in the morning, and then tends to them again at night before “bed.” In some Hindu temples, the god Krishna, is worshipped in his baby form. In those temples the baby Krishna is bathed, dressed, fed and put to bed each day in elaborate rituals with chanting and offerings of food and incense and flowers as a liturgical expression of human love for God that is analogous to the way parents love their children. Harvard scholar and author Dr. Diana Eck explains, “The religious feeling, called bhava, that is nurtured here is that of the spontaneous, tender love that parents have for their child. … A [Hindu] priest explained, “The bhava I feel is of being both mother and father at once. I often think of myself in this service as Krishna’s mother.” (Eck, A New Religious America, p. 132.) As Diana Eck explains, the human love that Hindus act out in these rituals is the unconditional love of a parent for a child. This particular kind of human love experience becomes the model for an experience of love between the human being and God.

As I reflected on the Hindu beliefs and rituals around their incarnate gods, I was struck both by how similar it is to some of our Christmas rituals, where we tenderly place the Christ child in the manger and sing Christmas lullabies to the holy child, and yet how radically differently we Christians relate to this God who came into the world as a child. While we are completely comfortable with our various Christmas observances wherein we worship the baby Jesus and think about him as the holy child, most of us do not think of God as our child, but rather as our divine parent. We are comfortable with the idea of having a parent/child relationship with God, but we are far more accustomed to thinking of God as the parent and ourselves as the child. What would our relationship with God feel like if we took a page from our Hindu friends and approached God with the kind of love and tenderness with which we approach our children?

If we love God as we love a child, then our love for God becomes something that requires self sacrifice and is lived out daily. Parenting is a full time job and it takes constant attention and emotional energy. No task is too small, no need too great for us to undertake. We feed, bathe, play, laugh, discipline, train, teach and learn with our children. We enjoy an emotional connection and intimacy that is rooted deeply within us, and yet we work hard to let them go and let them become who they are. How many of us are willing to let God go and become who God really is, as opposed to the God we want to have? One thing that Hindus do much more easily than Christians is to hold loosely to their images of God, recognizing that the many images they have of the divine are only that – images that humans need to draw closer to the sacred reality. They are remarkably willing to let God be God in various and surprising ways. As parents we learn early on that the image we had in our minds about who and what our children would be or become would have to yield to the reality of the person who actually arrived in our lives and so it is with God. We can no more force God to be who we want God to be for us, than we can force our children to live out our dreams for them, rather than their own.

Another aspect of the parent/child relationship that is important if we think of our relationship with God in this way is vulnerability. As parents we know that our children are vulnerable when they first enter this world, and we take it upon ourselves to protect and guide them so that they will not be hurt in their vulnerability. Being a parent also makes us vulnerable – open to pain and hurt in ways we couldn’t imagine before the entry of the child into our lives. The idea of God being vulnerable may be a little hard to grasp at first, and yet our Christian story of the God who died on a cross certainly carries that idea of sacred vulnerability to its most extreme expression. It is that vulnerability that so intrigues the character in The Life of Pi as he tries to figure out what all this Jesus business is about. The holy and sacred is best born and nurtured in places of safety and trust, places where justice and peace reign and where violence, oppression and degradation have no place. When we take seriously our call to nurture the holy and sacred in our world we become peacemakers and reconcilers, people who can be trusted with the vulnerable and tender in God and in life. We also make ourselves vulnerable so that the holy and sacred can enter in and transform us in surprising ways.

During this holy season of Christmas, author Jan Richardson writes, “we share with Mary and Joseph in giving birth to the holy. Bringing forth the sacred depends not solely on the physical ability to give birth. ….We give birth too when we create with our hands, offer hospitality, work for justice, or teach a child. We share in giving birth whenever we freely offer ourselves for healing, for delight, for transformation, for peace. And we become, as German mystic Meister Eckhardt wrote in the Middle Ages, ‘mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born.’” (From Night Visiions, p.74-75)

The Christmas story has staying power because it taps into the longing of our human souls for the presence of God in our lives and hearts now and every day of our lives. Christmas isn’t just about an event that happened at some time in the distant past – it is about the joy of the sacred and the holy being born again in our hearts and souls here and now, in our homes, schools, workplaces and churches. As we hear the story of the baby Jesus, we are invited to become adults of God, theotokos (God-bearers), bearers of the sacred and holy in our troubled world, mature, wise, loving and responsible as we care for all of God’s creation. The magic of Christmas is the magic and mystery of the Creator of the Universe, come to us in human flesh, in the form of a vulnerable all too human baby, loving us and transforming our lives quietly, silently and inexorably. May you have a holy and happy Christmas and allow yourself to give birth to the sacred in this holy season and the year to come. Amen.

Sermon, Sunday December 19, 2010 - Advent 4

“Tools in the Hands of God,” A Sermon preached by The Rev. Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Sunday, December 19, 2010 at Church of the Ascension, Rochester, New York

¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:19-20)

Well, we’ve made it. It’s the fourth Sunday of Advent. Our season of expectation and longing and anticipation is almost done and we are ready to join the secular culture in the final push of preparations for the festival of Christmas, just five days away. Even those of us who observe Advent and wait to do anything Christmas’y until it’s over, have to buckle under this week and do shopping, prepare food, decorate the house, put up the tree, and try to make everything perfect for this holiday that has become the archetypical festival of joy and celebration. And, as we all know, while Hallmark and made-for-TV movies suggest that Christmas is a time of love and joy and family togetherness, the truth is that for many families, Christmas is a very difficult time of year. The expectation of good cheer and joyfulness is hard to fulfill when economic times are hard and there’s not enough money to pay the rent, never mind buy expensive presents, or when someone we love has died since last Christmas and the holiday will be punctuated by a deep sense of loss, or for those recovering from addiction who struggle to get through this bacchanalian feast without falling off the wagon, or when Christmas is spent in a homeless shelter or a hospital bed. For all those for whom Christmas is a struggle, Matthew’s birth story is a beacon of hope and good news.

Matthew’s birth story is very different from the one in Luke. It focuses on Joseph and his experience of God’s entry into the world in human form. Unlike the story we know so well from Luke, Matthew’s birth story is not replete with angels and shepherds, animals in a manger and choruses of “Glory to God in the highest, and Peace to God’s people on earth.” This one is very different. Matthew tells us a story of a young man who discovers that his betrothed is with child before they have come together. Joseph is angry, hurt and feels betrayed. A world that once seemed joyful and full of hope and expectancy for this young couple preparing for a life together as husband and wife, is suddenly shattered by an event over which Joseph had no control. His life that once felt so full of promise and possibility is ripped asunder and he is left to pick up the pieces. His first Christmas presents him with a painful personal struggle and a major decision to make about his most important personal relationship. And like it or not, God is right in the middle of the mess.

While the imminent birth of a child is ordinarily a joyous event, it usually complicates things when the child is conceived out of wedlock and by someone other than the husband. According to Jewish law, Joseph could divorce Mary which he seriously considers doing. He also could allow her to undergo the appropriate punishment for what amounts to adultery, which is death by stoning. He is perfectly entitled to such recourse against her and no one would have thought ill of him had he chosen to enforce his rights.

Enter the angel. The angel tells Joseph in a dream that this child that Mary carries is the work of the Holy Spirit. The angel advises Joseph to go ahead and marry Mary as planned and adopt the child. Poor Joseph is asked to believe that God arranged this unwanted pregnancy and that the child to be born of it will have a special mission in the world. The angel even tells him what to name the child. Joseph obeys the angel, even though this entire scenario makes little sense to him and certainly represents a considerable departure from the expected and ordinary course of events that he signed on for when he agreed to marry Mary. Nothing in Joseph’s life prepared him for this remarkable turn of events, and for him, there is little to celebrate based on the facts.

While this Matthean story of the birth of Jesus is much sparer than the one in Luke, and lacks Luke’s endearing elements, it is an incredibly powerful and gripping story. If we could forget all the elements of the Lukan birth story that have been so often portrayed in millions of Christmas cards, carols and crèche scenes, we would find ourselves with a starkly different beginning to the life of Jesus of Nazareth and an entirely different take on what Christmas is all about. In Matthew, the birth of Jesus arises in the midst of a very messy and incredibly painful human predicament in which the presence of God is embedded in every turn of the story. Matthew portrays a human situation that is fraught with pain and shame and confusion. While Joseph becomes aware of the presence of God in the midst of his pain through the words of the angel in the dream, we learn that God was involved in all of it long before the human agents had any idea what was happening. It is only when the complicated human situation comes to light that Joseph and God have their encounter. At that point, Joseph has to jettison his own ideas about how things were going to play out in his life in order to respond faithfully to God. And Joseph has to accept that God is working through, in and under, the painful, shameful, hurtful things that he is experiencing. The idea of Emmanuel, “God with us” is made real for Joseph in ways he would not have imagined.

For Joseph, this first Christmas is painful and frightening. He has to decide what is the right thing to do in the midst of an apparently sordid human predicament. Fred Craddock, in his sermon on this text, points out that Joseph had a couple of options. He could talk to folks in town, find out what they thought he should do. But he doesn’t want to disgrace Mary, so that option isn’t the best. He could listen to the religious folks and they would advise him to read the Bible, do what the Torah says. Problem there is that the Bible that Joseph knew was pretty clear about what he should do. “She is to be taken out and stoned to death in front of the people.” (Deut. 22) “If a man finds something displeasing in his wife, let him give her a divorce and send her out of the house.” Biblical or not, neither of those options appealed to Joseph’s sense of right and wrong. Craddock describes Joseph as “the first person in the New Testament who learned how to read the Bible. Like Joseph, we are to read it through the spectacles of the grace and goodness and the love of God.” (Cherry Log Sermons, p. 5) As Episcopalians we already know that, at least we know that we don’t look just to the Bible in working through difficult or trying times in our lives or for the solution to ethical and moral dilemmas. We also look for God in our human experience. Like Joseph, we listen for God speaking to us at the crossroads of our lives in dreams, through other people and in the unfolding of history and life events around us. Emmanuel means God with us and God is with us, not only in the moments of peace and serenity, happiness and joy, but most especially in the times of hardship and struggle, shame and confusion, despair and bitterness.

In a book by Max Lucado, entitled “He Still Moves Stones” there is a chapter entitled, “Joseph’s Prayer” in which Joseph reacts to the news of Mary’s pregnancy as follows:

'I'm a carpenter. I make things fit. I square off the edges. I follow the plumb line. I measure twice before I cut once. Surprises are not the friend of a builder. I like to know the plan. I like to see the plan before I begin.
'But this time I'm not the builder, am I? This time I'm a tool. A hammer in your grip. A nail between your fingers. A chisel in your hands. This project is yours, not mine....'

I suspect many of us can resonate with Joseph’s prayer and his struggle to come to terms with the reality that “this project is yours, not mine.” Life all too often takes turns we never expected and we are brought up short, having to face the reality that the project of our lives and the course of events through which we live is God’s not ours. No matter how carefully we plan things, God has a way of changing the plans leaving us to learn to think on our feet and adjust our expectations and desires, or wither away with frustration and despair when things don’t go as we expected. Learning to be a tool in the hand of God is a tough spiritual lesson in obedience. Christmas, according to Matthew, is not about unbridled joy and singing hallelujah, as much as it is about surrendering our expectations to God and being open and ready to be tools in the hands of God in ways we did not plan to be. In the Greek text in Matthew’s gospel, the word “birth” is actually, “genesis” – “Now the genesis of Jesus of Nazareth happened in this way” – suggesting a story about God’s action in creation and God’s ongoing creative work woven through all the events of human lives and the course of human history.

When Joseph awoke from sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. Perhaps all of us need to follow Joseph’s lead as we approach the festival of Christmas and a New Year that holds we know not what new challenges and opportunities. Awake from sleep and do as God commands us. The promise of Emmanuel, “God with us” sustains us as we live through the surprises in our lives, the twists and turns and bends in the road that were not part of the plan as we understood it. To do as God commands takes courage and flexibility, a willingness to go to new places and think in different ways. Joseph didn’t do what everyone thought he should with Mary – he wouldn’t put her away. He followed his heart and the voice of the angel, despite what others thought of him. And in so doing he did his part in the genesis of Jesus of Nazareth.

As we conclude our season of expectation and longing, hope and anticipation, may we all be prepared like Joseph to be tools in the hands of God. May we echo Joseph’s prayer, giving ourselves to God as the chisel in God’s hand, the hammer in God’s grip, the nail between God’s fingers. The project is God’s and we are the tools, not the builder. The joy of Christmas lies buried in the midst of the most painful experiences of our lives for even there, God is with us and is creating something rich and meaningful out of the apparent chaos of human history. Amen.