UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in Simi Valley

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in Simi Valley
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT - December 8, 2002 - PEACE
Communion Sunday
Anne G. Cohen

Isaiah 40:1-11
2 Peter 3:8-15a

FOR OUR REFLECTION:
Just when you felt convinced that the inevitable was already happening,
just when the dailyness of every single thing had finally persuaded you
 not to expect, not even to look,
just when tomorrow had completely lost its meaning as distinct from
 everyday,
          a melody of dancing was caught from far away,
one sigh became transmuted in mid-air into a gasp of sheer astonishment,
    and now a word, He comes, new whispered on December’s wind,
melts grim-set lips to simple speech and song and framing salutations.
   - J. Barrie Shepherd –

 

A Letter from Lydia:
Packing for the Journey Home

A letter arrived in the church office this week, delivered by messenger. It was written, apparently, by a woman named Lydia who has a "house church" meeting in her home - and who supports that church and makes her own living by selling purple fabrics and clothing.  You can see why I was intrigued and proceded to read the letter - rather than toss it into the circular file.

As I read, I realized that she had some important things to say to us as a church, especially as we are a sort of "house church" of our own. Lydia's letter reminded me of the profound sacredness of all of our ritual life together - in particular those rituals we perform as individuals in our own homes - especially those rituals performed around the holidays.

So, I decided to read this epistle to you - hoping that you find it as interesting and as thought provoking as I did.  Here it is.

*****
Lydia, dealer of purple, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and the peace of our brother, Jesus Christ;

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, Light of the World.  (of 2 Peter 1:1-2)

I know that you wait, as I do, with impatience for the day of homecoming, the arrival of Emmanuel, God among us, the birth of the holy in our hearts.  Even so, I call upon you to remember that with God, "one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day." (2 Peter 3:8) 

Time, given to us by God as a gift of breath and awareness, memory and hope, time is in our favor.  Let us use this time to patiently prepare ourselves for the "new heavens and a new earth."  Let us make for ourselves and our communities a place where "righteousness is at home,"   (2 Peter 3:13)  where "steadfast love and faithfulness will meet," where "righteousness and peace will kiss each other" in welcome and joyful reunion. (Psalm 85:10)

Beloved, the journey home, wherever home might be, the journey begins in the mind and heart.  It begins with the rituals of preparation, with those things we pack for the journey - in anticipation of those things we expect to find at journey's end.

As you pull garments from their hooks, as you fold and tuck them into your knapsack, remember that what you wear reflects the condition of your soul.  Your costume is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible relationship with your Creator.  One's dress often indicates one's values, one's spiritual priorities.  With this in mind, as you pack for the journey home, remember the words of our companion on the journey - Jesus of Nazareth.  He told us to dress simply and leave adornment to the hands of God.  Like the lilies of the field - God will care for us and inner beauty will be the gift of our Maker.

Therefore, I say to you, clothe yourself with the humility of Christ so that those among us who suffer the humiliation of poverty might find in us a kindred spirit and encounter in us a compassionate presence in a dispassionate world.  Such pale costumes of humility will be transformed with a spectrum of spiritual jewels from the storehouse of God's approval.

Dear Ones, as you prepare and wrap the gifts that will join those personal belongings in your knapsack, keep in mind the intention of the gift.  Is not each gift purchased or made for a particular person?   And does each person not bear the unique and peculiar imprint of God's hopeful purpose? 

Consider, then, the spiritual gifts of each intended recipient.  What particular beauty has God imparted to them?  What strengths, what passions, what desires and visions guide the life of this loved one? Then choose your gift in honor of that attribute, a reflection of the beauty you see, a recognition of their contribution to the "new heavens and new earth" that we, together with God, are creating.

Ah - and then, my cousins in faith, as you prepare the food and drink that will be consumed in community, remember the nature of the table that will bear the fruits of your labors.  At the center of our faith, at the heart of our mission, in memory of our teacher and brother Christ Jesus, table fellowship is the most profound of our rituals.  Table fellowship is the most essential component of our preparations, the most apparent and obvious sign of the health or dis-ease of our community, an indication of our spiritual readiness for God's arrival.

For was not the TABLE the central theme of Christ's teaching?  Was not HOSPITALITY the HEART and SOUL of his life's work?  Was not the WELCOME of all living creatures to the divine banquet the most profound metaphor for the radical inclusivity of the Christian life?

How can we prepare for the birth of God in human terms, how can we prepare such fabulous feasts for the senses, how can we share these things which sustain and fill us with pleasure, contentment and joy - and, at the same time, exclude certain "elements" from the table?

The One who Made us and continues to Remake us has given us time - millennia, eons, portions of eternity - allowing us to evolve and learn, hoping against hope that we would finally come to understand that NO ONE - NO ONE in heaven or on earth - is outside the Presence, beyond the Reach, beneath the Attention, unworthy of the Love - of God.  After all this time, have we really learned this?

As we bake and broil and simmer, as we prepare the bread and fill the cups to overflowing, as we preserve the special dishes that will travel with us on the journey home, let us remember to share this feast with others - as Christ has shared bread with all of us.

Let us not exclude the children from the table or keep the feast inaccessible to those with perceived disabilities.  Let us prepare not one - but a hundred empty places - to welcome the outcasts of the empire: these tender souls who find their love fulfilled with another person of the same gender - these hopeful hearts who seek God in rituals of emotion rather than discourses of the intellect - these disconsolate spirits who are lost to themselves in the darkness of mental illness, depression, unseen and misunderstood realities that mystify medical authorities - these who have lost hope as they have lost all financial assets, finding themselves unsafe and unprotected in the social abyss of poverty - these who suffer from the cruel hands of evil and the heartless weapons of violence - and these victims who have become perpetrators because they have never known peace, never known safety, never experienced unconditional love - the kind of love we encounter daily at this divine feast where all are genuinely welcome.

All of these, our sisters and brothers of time and existence, all of these, too, are participants in our rituals of repentance and restoration. All of these, too, are partners in creation - residents of that new earth where "righteousness is at home" and "peace" greets us at the door with open arms. All of these sit at table with us, wherever home is, whenever we share in the good things of God's hand.

(Here forward of 2 Peter 3:14-18): Therefore, beloved, as you are packing for the journey home, wherever home may be, while you are anticipating the arrival of Light to a dark world, as you adorn your homes with evergreens and adorn those symbols of hope with symbols of faith, "strive to be found by" our God "at peace," without reason for regret or disappointment.

"There are some things" in our world which are "hard to understand," things "which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability." Do not lose heart or grow weary with homesickness for that which has not yet come to be. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of... Jesus Christ."

Place the holy at the center of all ritual and in this season of darkness and anticipation, remember, to God be the Light of "glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."
*****
Keeping in mind all that Lydia has shared with us about the rituals of the season and the meaning of our faith, let us be together in prayer.

                                                                               Pastoral Prayer

Ancient One, God of all Time and History, Future and Hope, we gather in Your presence in this season of celebration to be reminded of the reasons for our joy.
As we prepare for Your arrival, once again, in the person of a child, keep us mindful of our sisters and brothers who are vulnerable and suffering, destitute and desperate. 
Clothe us with the humility of Christ so that we can offer a compassionate presence to those in pain.
As we celebrate our family and friends with the exchange of gifts, keep us mindful of the gifts we have already been given by You. 
Remind us of the unique beauty of each person we encounter, keeping alive the true spirit of Christmas.
As we share the bounty of Nature, keep us mindful of our responsibilities - to honor the delicate balance in Creation, to return in kind for what we have taken - and to honor the delicate balance of Society, to share equally with those whom we meet on the journey of life, the journey home to You.
May our daily lives be filled with rituals of remembrance, may each task be a prayer, may each breath be worship. 
May the fire of Your unconditional love for us ignite our passion for justice and kindness. 
And may the soothing breeze of Your eternal care bring peace to our hearts and to the world. 
We pray in the name of Jesus, Light of the World, Gift of God, Answered Prayer.  Amen.