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Pastor’s Pen for July, 2012

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ (Luke 8:43-46)

We never know for sure what sort of influence our lives are having on other people. Over the course of my ministry, people occasionally come up to me after a worship service and tell me about something I said that was particularly helpful to them. Often, when they tell me what it was that they found so meaningful, I realize that what they “heard” was not something I actually said! Nevertheless, what they “heard” had made a positive difference in their lives. Was this a case of they’re having misunderstood something I said, or was it a case of them hearing God speaking to them in a voice they thought was mine?

On the other hand, I’ve also had people accuse me of personally “attacking” them in a sermon, even though that was never my intent. Was this a case of poor communication on my part, or were they hearing the voice of God telling them something that they didn’t want to hear?

In the passage above, Jesus found himself having an unintended healing impact on the life of the woman with a hemorrhage. He didn’t know who it was that unexpectedly touched him, but he realized that it had a more profound meaning than just random jostling from the crowd. He may not have immediately realized what results that gentle touch had produced, but he knew that some divine energy had passed between himself and that particular stranger.

Similar things may happen to us without our knowing it. God may touch others through us without our realizing it. Our simple act of thoughtfulness and compassion may bring healing to someone hungry to receive it. Likewise, our insensitivity or careless gesture may bring all sorts of unintended harm. For instance, simply coming to church on Sunday may give an enormous lift to your fellow worshipers, while your absence may bring pain and discouragement to those who long for the touch of God, acting through your presence and support.

Jesus could have such a powerful impact on the woman with the hemorrhage because he cultivated his relationship with God so that his life simply flowed with the energy and love of God. Our lives have that potential too . . . but we will need to be just as intentional as Jesus was about cultivating our relationship with God if that’s going to happen. The Church isn’t about our becoming perfect people – it’s about us becoming God-saturated people. Worship isn’t about participating in archaic rituals – it’s about opening ourselves to God’s love for us . . . and experiencing it through the touch of the people around us!

So how will God’s power leak out of your life today? Who will you draw near enough to so that you can feel the full force of it? What crowd will you have to wade through to touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment and find the healing you so desperately need? That healing energy is what draws us into the Church, and it is our desire to become better conduits of that life-giving energy that keeps us coming back. Join us – you never know what sort of power may flow into your life . . . or out of you and into the life of a stranger!

– Duane

Pastor’s Pen for June, 2012

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’ (Matthew 18:20)

Although Jesus spent a lot of time and energy showing even the most discouraged individuals that their lives were infinitely important to God, he never minimized the important role relationships play in reshaping people’s lives. His healing miracles were never impersonal or mechanical, but always conveyed his sensitivity to the uniqueness of the individual, thereby establishing a relationship with them through which God’s power could flow.

When it came to developing disciples, his took a similar approach. His method of spiritual formation was to invite them into a special relationship with himself and with each other. He also made it clear to them that he expected those conversations to continue, even after his death and resurrection.

Those first disciples didn’t start out as spiritually giants – they were just a bunch of ordinary folks, (some of whom had very noticeable character flaws!) most of whom were pretty slow to catch on to what Jesus was trying to teach them. In other words, they were just like most of us! But Jesus never lost confidence in their potential to become spiritual leaders if they would just keep the conversation going with him and with each other.

Conversation is the life’s blood of relationships, and if we let Jesus be part of our conversations, our relationships can be transforming – even something holy. If the right spirit is present among us, even mundane, everyday topic can open us to something divine. It doesn’t matter whether the participants consider themselves “religious,” “secular,” or “agnostic.” It doesn’t matter whether they agree with each other or not – God can use the conversation to lead everyone into a deeper appreciation of what respect, compassion and love can mean.

Contrary to popular opinion, the church’s job isn’t to convert people to their way of thinking – Jesus says that’s God’s job (John 6:44). Instead, our job is to initiate conversations about things that matter to people – to engage them in a process of discovering deeper levels of meaning than they were able to find on their own.

Therefore, in order to foster such conversations, the Sharon Congregational Church will be sponsoring a new adventure we’re calling “The Lighthouse Café.” On the second Thursday of each month, you are invited to join us in Steele Chapel for a time to spend an hour or so exploring a topic of current interest. Join your friends and neighbors over a good cup of coffee to share insights, questions, and experiences related to the topic of the day. The goal is not to reach consensus, but to deepen our appreciation of each other’s perspectives.

This adventure will begin on Thursday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. The topic of the evening will be: “Caught Between Parents and Kids” – a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “sandwich generation.” Please mark your calendars, and plan to join us for some meaningful conversation.

– Duane

Pastor’s Pen for May, 2012

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

New Englanders in general, and Vermonters in particular, are known for being fiercely independent. They like doing things their own way, thinking their own thoughts, regardless of how others may regard their “peculiarities.” They’re not lemmings who follow the crowd, or “joiners” who need to be part of the latest craze or movement. I suspect that it’s this independent streak that lures many Vermont transplants to this area where they can feel free from the chains of cultural conformity.

Unfortunately, even the greatest virtues can be taken to an extreme where they become negative and counterproductive. Independence is no exception. Excessive preoccupation with independence can lead to isolation, lack of intimacy, and reluctance to make a firm commitment. It can lead us to underestimate our need for other people. It can lead us to hide our vulnerabilities and come across to others as superior, hostile, or aloof. Too much independence can destroy a relationship or ruin a marriage. The result can be loneliness, depression, conflict, and unspeakable pain.

This obsession with independence has had a particularly destructive impact on churches. It has led many to the heretical conclusion that a person can faithfully follow Jesus apart from the company of other people of faith. There are far too many people today who suffer from the illusion that what they privately believe about God or Jesus makes them a Christian, and that they have no need to associate with other Christians or participate regularly in the life of a church. While it is common these days to refer to such folks as “spiritual-but-not-religious” (or SBNR), I suspect that in many cases a better description would be “spiritually lazy” or “spiritually irresponsible.”

From the earliest days of Jesus’ ministry, he never called people to follow him apart from the company of other disciples. He knew that spiritual maturity requires not only a committed relationship to him, but also to the others who traveled with him. While he knew that their discipleship would be flawed and filled with misguided blunders, he also knew that suffering through that process together would be an essential part of their spiritual development. Love can only grow in community, not in isolation. Forgiveness and redemption can only be experienced in the context of a community where our vulnerabilities and flaws are exposed, acknowledged, and absolved. Such a faith community requires regular participation in order for the experience to be transformative – Christmas and Easter appearances can’t provide the formative context for genuine spiritual growth.

The “light” that Jesus speaks of in the passage above will never be seen if we hold on too tightly to our independence. That “light” is not our good deeds or moral accomplishments, but the light of God’s presence shining through us into the lives of others. It’s not a light that we generate or that we can always see in ourselves, but it’s a light that is much more easily seen in each other’s company. The light is God’s Spirit residing within you and is not your private possession, but God’s gift to those with whom you associate. That light was never meant to be contained exclusively within the church, but to shine into every dark corner of Life. But it is only within the community of the church, as we stand together in the presence of God, that our egos become transparent, and we are reminded that the light is really there, and still burning within us. Only with that regular reassurance can we possibly dare to believe that we are what Jesus said we are: The light of the world!

Please don’t allow the light God has invested in you to be hidden from the rest of us.

– Duane

Pastor’s Pen for April, 2012

And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’ (Luke 4:6-8)

Over the years, it’s happened to me many times, and I never know quite how to respond. I will meet someone at a store or public place, and we get talking. Eventually, they find out I’m a clergyman, and they say: “Oh, I’ll have to come and hear you preach sometime!” While I realize that their statement is meant as a compliment (i.e. that our conversation was enjoyable enough for them to want to continue the relationship), it still leaves me with an uneasy feeling. Though I would be delighted to see them at a worship service, it makes me a little uncomfortable to think that their primary motive for coming would be just to hear me preach. Like most preachers, I know how nice it is to have people interested in hearing what I have to say. A lot of work goes into preparing sermons that we hope people will find meaningful.

But sermons are NOT what worship is all about! Worship is about God’s activity, and our desire to celebrate it and participate in it. Hopefully, a sermon will contribute something to that process, but without lessening the importance of: the prayers we say and sing; the scriptures we read and explore; the music that arouses and expresses feelings too deep for words; the practice of offering God our hearts, hands, and resources; and the reconciliation and communion we feel with one another when we gather in the spirit of Jesus. Worshiping isn’t just hearing a sermon or going through the motions of a familiar ritual. Worship is bringing ourselves into the presence of the Holy Mystery that lies at the center of Life and connects us with other people and the rest of God’s Creation. Whether the sermon is good or bad; whether the music is uplifting or discordant; whether the hymns are familiar or unsingable; whether the prayers are inspiring or boring; whether you are surrounded by friends or strangers, loved ones or enemies, worship is always more than the sum of its parts. Worship is a conscious, intentional act of being in God’s presence together.

Though having a rich private devotional life is important to cultivate, something happens when people gather to worship that simply can’t happen when people worship alone. For all the benefits of private worship, miracles of transformation like reconciliation, community, and mutual ministry can only happen when we’re together. They don’t just happen to us automatically by walking into a church building on Sunday morning – an attitude of reverence, openness, and anticipation are all necessary as well. But when those ingredients are all present, God is more than likely to be revealed in wonderful ways that no one can predict.

So while it may be personally gratifying to have you come to hear me preach, I’d much rather you came in order to worship God. There’s something much more important going on in worship than just me flapping my gums. I’d hate to have you come and fail to notice it . . . especially on Easter!

–Duane

Pastor’s Pen for March, 2012

It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me. – Colossians 1:28-29

Sooner or later, you’re going to hear someone say: “This church needs to grow!” I suspect that the first thing that will come to your mind will be a picture of more people attending worship, more money in the collection plate, and more fresh faces on boards and committees. But while those would all be desirable outcomes, I don’t think those are the kinds of growth that the church should be most concerned about. Rather, as indicated in the passage above, our focus needs to be on the cultivation of spiritual maturity. Attendance figures, bank balances, and membership rolls may be useful measures of institutional success, but they tell us nothing about the maturity in Christ being fostered within the church community.

In my 40 years as a pastor, I have seen numerous examples of churches whose members readily acknowledge their biblical illiteracy, have no sense of God’s presence in their lives, and have grave doubts about whether Jesus is anyone they really need to pay attention to. I have seen congregations repeatedly elect officers who know how to run a successful business, but who have no idea how to discern God’s will for their church. I’ve seen churches who are zealous to maintain their buildings and their endowment, but indifferent when it comes to building up the Body of Christ. Yet I’ve also seen tiny churches, teetering on the edge of financial ruin, that are vibrantly alive with God’s love for each other and for their community. Secular measures of success can be misleading when we apply them indiscriminately to the life of the Church.

The future of local churches will be determined by their commitment to help people achieve maturity in Christ. It won’t be our buildings, our social events, our children’s programs, or our fundraisers that will insure the church’s survival. It will be our determination to help people work through their doubts and misconceptions, and introduce them to the life-giving power of God that can offer them a more meaningful and satisfying way of life than our materialistic secular culture can provide. It will involve showing them a faith that is more than doctrines and ideas, but a lifestyle that can turn each day into an exciting opportunity to find God’s Spirit working within us. It will mean helping them access the bottomless well of spiritual energy hidden within them that they never knew existed before. The growing numbers of people who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” have turned their backs on churches precisely because we have failed to offer them the tools they need to grow into the kind of spiritual maturity that Jesus offers us. If we fail to respond to their longing for spiritual nourishment, the exodus from churches will only accelerate.

But if we, as churches, rededicate ourselves to cultivating spiritual maturity, then that process won’t begin in our church sanctuaries or classrooms, but in living rooms and across diningroom tables. Like the Early Church, faith will sprout and grow healthy roots in those safe, intimate, comfortable environments before it is ready for exposure to a more impersonal, institutional setting. Healthy sharing of personal faith experiences will be needed before a person will be ready for liturgical expressions of such transformative events.

Obviously, if we are to cultivate spiritual maturity in others, we ourselves have to be engaged in such a process ourselves. Many of us would like to grow, but don’t know where to begin. It is my hope that our current Lenten program called “Discipleship 101″ will be that starting point. Your participation and feedback will be a valuable step in our becoming the kind of church that will be known in our community, not only for its Food Shelf, but for its success in feeding the spiritual hunger of those seeking maturity in Christ.

– Duane

Pastor’s Pen for February, 2012

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ (Luke 19:5)

It’s a bit shocking to realize how few of the significant events of Jesus’ ministry took place in religious sanctuaries. Open any of the gospels at random, and you’re much more likely to find Jesus out in the country, walking through some obscure village, or hanging out in somebody’s home, rather than in some religious sanctuary. This wasn’t because he devalued public worship, but because he knew that what was going on in people’s lives the rest of the week was as important in nurturing their relationship to God as what they did on the Sabbath. He knew that it was their homes, their workplaces, and in their social hangouts that God’s presence was most needed . . . and most often went unrecognized! It was in all those places where people weren’t expecting to meet God that Jesus was most concerned with making God’s presence known.

Despite the example that Jesus’ ministry gives us, churches unfortunately (and probably unintentionally) have given many people the impression that Sunday worship is the primary (or only!) place that we can foster our relationship with God. Families no longer see themselves as responsible for cultivating spiritual growth and religious devotion. The workplace often feels like an environment which God is forbidden to enter. Even informal social gatherings and civic service projects seem like activities in which God is not welcome to participate.

But Jesus knew that our public worship life will only be vital and meaningful to the extent to which our spiritual lives are nurtured throughout the week. We can’t expect to recognize God’s presence on Sunday if we haven’t practiced recognizing it throughout the week!

I suspect that the reason that so many people have given up on regular worship attendance is NOT because of what happens in the service, but because of what DOESN’T happen throughout the week. If God is so absent from daily activities, how can God suddenly become a V.I.P for us on the weekend?

If churches today are to regain a place of significance in community life, the place to start is to cultivate awareness of God throughout the week.

∙ Instead of always meeting in church buildings, lets let restaurants, cafes, and other public spaces become venues for religious conversations.

∙ Instead of focusing on building a robust Sunday School program for children, let’s provide periodic workshops and ongoing mentoring for parents on how to become spiritual educators for their children.

∙ Instead of pretending that the workplace is a place God doesn’t care about, let’s gather in groups to support each other in coping with some of the soul-wrenching decisions and issues we have to deal with each workday.

∙ Instead of allowing sports, travel, and recreational activities become the enemy of our religious life, let’s embrace them and tease out their untapped spiritual possibilities.

∙ Instead of just volunteering for some worthwhile cause that excites us, let’s learn to articulate how we see ourselves joining in God’s redemptive activity by participating in this project.

Weekdays will always be hectic, busy, confusing times for us, where God will not always seem close by. We will need each other’s help to reverse this condition. Church growth will not begin by inviting someone to attend a church service, but by inviting them to join you in some form of weekday discipleship. They won’t join you in worship until they can see how you have come to recognize God’s presence during the week. It won’t be your words or your moral perfection that will be the deciding factor, but the warmth and power of Jesus walking beside you. People won’t join us on Sunday until they meet Jesus during the week. It’s up to each of us to help them find an appropriate occasion to meet.

– Duane

Pastor’s Pen for January, 2012

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5.17)

As we begin a New Year, these words from 2 Corinthians are worth remembering. For Paul, more important than any of shiny new Christmas presents or well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions is the “new creation” that God brings about in us through the gracious influence of Jesus Christ.

For most of us, the suggestion that some kind of wonderful change could take place in our lives without our effort, cooperation, or initiative is hard to take seriously. Usually, even minor changes require careful deliberation, extraordinary motivation, and a substantial expenditure of funds. Even then, the results are often modest, at best.

But Paul was convinced that something revolutionary has taken place in us – something that can change the direction of both individuals and communities! Was this just wishful thinking? A delusion? The product of an over-active imagination? Or is this something that we should take seriously, even though we haven’t noticed any dramatic changes taking place in our souls? Could God somehow have planted a tiny seed within us that is quietly growing stronger, just waiting for an opportunity to burst forth with unimaginable beauty and power? It may seem highly unlikely – even impossible – to some of us, but if it IS true, can we afford to miss the chance to enjoy it and cultivate it?

In the same way, it’s hard to imagine churches changing very much. Churches are notorious for their glacial rate of change. These days, large numbers of people have given up on churches as having anything relevant to contribute to the quality of their daily lives. Churches often seem too preoccupied with maintaining their buildings and underwriting their shrinking budgets to care about the needs and problems of the “real” world.

But strangely, more and more churches today are discovering a “new creation” taking place within them. The seed of the gospel, which for so long seemed dead or dormant, is being rediscovered as a vital, creative, live-giving dynamo for growth and change. As its roots sink ever more deeply into the soil of people’s lives, the tired and weary are finding new energy and nourishment. It’s blowing open the closed doors of self-serving ecclesiastical institutions and offering the world its ripening fruit.

The promise of the year before us doesn’t lie in the boldness of our ambitions, the grandeur of our dreams, or our determination to win popular acclaim. Instead, the promise lies in the spiritual power and resources that God is bringing to life within us and among us. Jesus once said that, “With God, all things are possible!” This may be the year for us to discover just how true those words really are!

Happy New Year,

Duane

Is Christmas Really Just for Kids?

by Duane R. Brown

During Advent, I often hear people say: “Christmas is just for the kids.” I also hear people frequently complain that Christmas services often deal with too much “adult” material. I want to explore those concerns in this article.

While the Christmas traditions associated with gift-giving, Santa Claus, and happy family gatherings does indeed provide an enjoyable atmosphere for young children, those things have little in common with the Nativity story found in Matthew and Luke’s gospels. In fact, if we are concerned about the impact it might have on impressionable young children, we might need to censor the story so severely that virtually nothing is left but to say that “Jesus was born.” All but the most theologically conservative biblical scholars agree that the Nativity stories were never intended to provide historical details of Jesus’ birth, but rather to provide an introductory theological interpretation or overview of Jesus’ entire ministry – his life, death, and resurrection. But even if we were to take the story as historically factual, there are many elements that parents might not want their children exposed to.

Obedience to Dreams

In Matthew’s account, Joseph discovers that his fiancé is pregnant, and rather than create a public scandal, decides to quietly abandon his wedding plans. It’s easy to imagine how deeply hurt a man in that position would feel, and how disillusioned he would be with the moral character of his intended spouse. But then, he has a dream in which an angel instructs him to go ahead and marry her anyway, because God is the One responsible this shocking and unexpected development. So Joseph gets up and does what he’s told in the dream. (In fact, he will respond to the instructions given to him in dreams several more times as this drama unfolds.)

But is this responsiveness to dream messages something we want to expose our children to? Do we want to encourage them to even entertain the idea that their dreams might be divinely inspired? Do we want to suggest that decisions about something as serious as choosing a spouse or finding a place to live should hinge on the power of dreams? Are we so confident that God speaks to us in our dreams that we’d like to encourage our kids to find God’s word for them there . . . and to act accordingly?

Unwed Motherhood

Most parents feel tremendous ambivalence about dealing with children’s questions about sex and reproduction. Although we want them to have adequate and reliable information, we usually try not to give them more information than they’re able to handle. We usually want to instill in them at an early age the idea that babies are the result of the wonderful love that two committed (i.e. married) people have for each other (. . . and then hope they won’t ask too many more questions about the process by which that happens!)

But both Matthew and Luke’s gospels indicate that Mary was pregnant before she was married. Not only that, but they go on to assure us that it’s not only OK, but something to be happy about! Obviously, the Nativity stories don’t intend to advocate unwed motherhood, but if we expose our children to this story, are they going to know how to draw the line between when it’s OK and when it isn’t? Are you willing to take that chance? Are you ready to explain how to draw that line if your children ask?

Homelessness, Refugees, and Immigrants

Luke’s gospel states that Jesus’ first shelter was in a dirty, lowly stable, and that his first bed was an animal’s feeding trough, because there wasn’t any room at the local inn. In other words, on the night of Jesus’ birth, his parents were homeless “street people.” From the moment of his birth, he had more in common with transients and vagrants than he did with middle- or upper-class families who give birth in sanitary hospitals or lovely mansions. Luke seems to be going out of his way to remind readers that the world is a place where even the most wonderful, beautiful, and innocent children aren’t always welcomed or appreciated. Instead, they’re rejected and dismissed as unimportant and without value, having to settle for the most primitive accommodations just to survive.

Are we sure we want to introduce that serious and frightening truth to our young ones? Aren’t we worried that they’ll be traumatized by grim realities of homelessness? Don’t we worry that they will use their active imaginations to vividly identify with the emotions and dangers that afflict the lives of the homeless? Or are we willing to encourage them to go prowling the streets of our modern cities in order to see for themselves the Christ Child who may be being born today?

Furthermore, how will this story influence our children’s attitudes toward strangers and foreigners? We usually teach our children to be wary of strangers, and to be careful about associating with the “wrong” kind of people. In our post-911 world, we may be particularly concerned about undocumented aliens, immigrants, and refugees from other lands. Aren’t we worried that the Nativity story will lead our children to have a more hospitable, welcoming attitude toward such people than we as parents might feel is warranted?

Politics

Politics is a subject that we don’t like to talk about much in church. But both Nativity stories liberally uses words like “Son of David,” “Savior,” Son of the Most High,” “Christ/Messiah,” “King of the Jews” to describe Jesus. These are all highly political references. All the kings and emperors of the time used those titles to describe themselves. (Many of them also claimed to have had births accompanied by supernatural phenomena.) No early reader of the Nativity stories would have missed the point that the gospel writers were saying: “This poor, insignificant child born in such obscure and scandalous circumstances is the TRUE leader of our people, and NOT the ones who currently sit in the chambers of political power.” These titles are political dynamite! They make claims that political leaders of the day could only hear as revolutionary and seditious. That’s why Matthew tells us that Herod wanted to kill the child. The message here is that not only is Jesus’ own life in constant danger from the political rulers of his day, but that those who acclaim him as “Christ” are also in danger of from those who would challenge Jesus’ right to have supreme control over our lives.

But are we willing to introduce our children to the fact that there’s an element of political disloyalty to current governmental officials that’s inherent in the Nativity story? Do we really want to expose our children to the idea that in Jesus we have someone with a higher claim to authority than presidents, congressmen, policemen, military personnel . . . or even their own parents?

Responsible Behavior

Luke tells us that shepherds were working in nearby fields when Jesus was born, and that they were visited by angels who told them the good news of the Savior’s birth. After the angels left, the shepherds decided to leave their appointed tasks and go see for themselves whether this was all true. So off they went, and sure enough, they found the child just as they were told they would, and they all ended up amazed and delighted by the whole experience.

But are we comfortable exposing our children to a story that might encourage them to walk off from their assigned responsibilities to investigate current rumors? “Angel” means “messenger,” and there’s nothing about the word that implies wings or white robes or halos. So how are our kids going to distinguish the “angels” from the other “messengers” they encounter who may offer them news about things they may be tempted to walk off and check out for themselves? If the owner of the sheep had come and found that his hired help had gone AWOL and left his sheep unprotected, he probably wouldn’t be very happy about it. Neither would we, as parents, be very happy to find that our kids had wandered off somewhere and hadn’t stayed in the place we left them. (Interestingly, herding sheep in ancient times was often a job relegated to young children.) So what will our kids take from this story about what constitutes “responsible” behavior? Will they continue to listen to us, or will they listen to “angels?”

Conclusion

As you can see from the discussion above, the Nativity story is filled with potential land mines for the unsuspecting parent. Should we even expose our children to such volatile material? How can we let them hear this story without being afraid that it will give them nightmares . . . or worse, lead them into behavior that we may not approve? If we “censor” or “sanitize” the story from all these disturbing elements, then what do we have left?

There’s no getting around the fact that the Nativity story is not designed to lull our children to sleep with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. It’s not really a children’s story at all, but a story written for adults – adults who know the brutal and coarse ways of the world; who understand the heartbreak of a lover who feels betrayed; who understand the dilemma of an unwed mother; who know the bitter reality of homelessness and life on the streets; and who know that walking off a job usually has serious consequences. It is for such people that the story is written, and it is written in such a way as to jolt, shock, and dazzle them with the utter unlikelihood that such a series of difficult situations and circumstances could possibly contain a revelation of God’s ultimate act of love for the world.

No, the Nativity story is not for kids, but for adults who have adult experiences and face adult problems. Unfortunately, that’s not the way most of us have thought about it before. Against the background of our culture, with its Santa Clauses, Christmas trees, and flying reindeer, it strikes us as a violation – an unwanted intrusion – into the comfortable familiarity of our holiday traditions. Like Jesus adult ministry, it challenges us to embrace something radically new and different that God is bringing into our experience. But in order to embrace that new reality, it requires us to abandon some of the ideas, traditions, and behaviors that are no longer relevant to the new situation in which we find ourselves. And just as Jesus’ ministry was met with resistance and hostility, so do we sometimes feel ourselves angrily resisting a Christmas message that turns out to be much different than we had expected.

Perhaps the following questions will help us to figure out how we should deal with the Nativity story in the year ahead:

What is the essence of the Christmas message for you? Where is that essential element found in the birth narratives?
In light of the discussion above, what is the most important element of the Nativity story that we would like to emphasize to our children? How much of the Nativity story would have to be ignored or downplayed to do that?
The birth of Jesus (as well as his life, death and resurrection) challenges the status quo of his day – religiously, socially, politically, and economically. How can we celebrate Christmas in such a way that allows it to challenge our lifestyles, but still be a joyful experience?
What aspects of our Christmas traditions should be maintained at all costs, and which should be abandoned or reinvented? Why?
Should the Christmas story always make us happy, or are there aspects of the story that should make us uncomfortable? What is the basis of our joy at Christmas? What about it should cause us some discomfort?

Pastor’s Pen for November, 2011

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus makes it very clear that the essence of Life is to be found in loving God and loving others. It is an incredibly simple concept, but one that experience teaches us is much more difficult to live out. For one thing, when Jesus uses the word “love,” he’s talking about actions, and not about feelings. It’s not about what we think or feel about God or the people around us, but about what our behavior expresses about our level of concern. Many people say they believe in God, but those beliefs don’t always reflect much love for God – they don’t pray; they don’t spend time immersing themselves in scripture; they don’t attend worship; they don’t talk about God’s presence in their lives. They may be good, moral, socially-responsible citizens who work tirelessly for worthwhile causes, but nothing about their behavior points to any sort of relationship to God.

On the other hand, there are also those who spend so much time in prayer, bible study, and cultivating their inner spiritual life that they never get around to serving anyone else. They may have a rich personal prayer life, but keep it carefully hidden behind closed doors. Their love for God is never in doubt, but their love for others may not be evident. In fact, they can sometimes come across as so self-righteous, judgmental, and holier-than-thou that they drive others away!

Depending on our past experiences and current circumstances, most of us probably tend to lean toward one extreme or the other. We see the dangers of both, and choose to embrace whichever seems to be the lesser of two evils. As a result, we find ourselves with churches that cultivate piety without social responsibility, or churches who cultivate social engagement without any spiritual witness.

But Jesus doesn’t settle for an either/or approach – he wants our faith to be a both/and experience. He calls us to cultivate a spiritual life that connects us simultaneously to God and to others (both friends and strangers alike). He doesn’t call us to love God and then love others, or love others and then love God, but to show our love for God as we show our love others.

For churches like ours, this means learning to dissolve the artificial line between Christian education and mission. It means integrating service with spiritual development, and making our witness to Jesus an integral part of our effort to alleviate injustice and relieve human suffering. Strengthening our faith and offering practical assistance to others should be two sides of the same coin. When people get involved in our church’s life (whether they’re members yet or not), they should be able to find immediate opportunities to deepen their relationship to God even as they roll up their sleeves to help others.

The Church is not a social-service agency. Our job is not primarily to solve social problems, but to introduce people to a Higher Power that is at work in us and in the world, healing the brokenness of our lives and relationships, and empowering us to accomplish more than we ever thought possible. We can only do that effectively when our love for God and love for others are both visible simultaneously. Jesus’ life showed us how our humanity and God’s divinity can be indistinguishable. Our ministry as a church should be that way too.

– Duane

Sharon Congregational Church, UCC

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