Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God

       Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God.

         Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb…

One of the curious features of John’s Gospel is that there is no Last Supper—because the Last Supper was a Passover meal, and John wants to make crystal clear that Jesus is killed at the same time as the lambs are slaughtered for Passover, not because it makes chronological sense, but because Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

         When John the Baptist points to Jesus, he points to a Universal Passover, a cosmic Passover, a whole world…
(this is the God-So-Loved-the-World Gospel after all) a whole world Passover.
Just as death passed over the first born in Egypt and God brought the people out into the promised land—so too this Lamb of God, this Son of God, liberates the whole world, frees us from Sin and connects all of creation to God.

         This Lamb of God, Jesus, marks creation out for life, not death! Calls the world out of death into new life!
Think of those images of joyful kangaroos and their joeys, gathered together to drink from the first rain since the bush fires down in the inferno formerly known as Australia. Life, not death!
The Lamb of God marks the whole cosmos for life!

         Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God. Behold the testimony of the SpiritLook at the evidence given by John
—it is as if he is at a trial and testifies:
“I didn’t know the defendant, but the Holy Spirit identified him in a line-up. And I trust the Holy Spirit. She is a trustworthy witness to the invisible God made visible in Jesus Christ.”
She abides
—she remains, with him.

         It should be a comfort for we who have our doubts, who find it hard to hold this whole faith thing together sometimes
—John didn’t see it, save for the Spirit’s revelation…

         

         Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God. Behold, He in whom we may abide.

         “What are you looking for?” He asks these disciples of John, now following after him, these would be disciples of his.

Take a moment:
         -Ignore all pretense,
         -be honest with yourself,
         -trust that the question isn’t an opening line to sell you something
         -don’t worry about giving a good solid theological answer…
—What are you looking for?

…

         Jesus will sharpen this question as things go along.
         “Who are you looking for?” he asks the detachment of soldiers and guards gathered behind Judas on Good Friday.

         “Who are you looking for?” he asks Mary at the tomb that first Easter.

         Your deepest desires—your truest longings—will be found there, here, in the Life and Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
The whole story is where you will find your story, where you find what you are looking for
—with Jesus
—abiding with him, through it all.

         “Where are you staying?” Where do you abide? They ask him… 

         John’s Gospel is filled with people conversing with Jesus, but only scratching the surface
—Nicodemus, confused about the mechanics of entering a mother’s womb a second time,
the unnamed Samaritan Woman at the Well, concerned first about buckets and fresh watercourses,
while Jesus offers God’s Spirit and the Water of Eternity.

         These disciples ask the question, “Where are you staying,” and the unspoken answer is,
“At the bosom of the Father—I abide in the very heart of God.”

         But that would mean nothing to them
—Just as John can not see that Jesus is the Lamb of God, save through the witness of the Spirit,
so too the disciples…
and so Jesus simply says, “Come and see.”

         “Abide with me.”

         Go on this journey with Jesus, be with him for his life, death, and resurrection
—discover what God is up to,
join the Passover throng through desert and water
—God’s ongoing loving work for creation,
a risky adventure,
curiosity and fear balanced there,
being present with Jesus.

         “Come and see.”

         Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God. Behold, He will call you by your true name.

         Andrew is astonished at his afternoon with Jesus
—did you catch that he’s already become his disciple
—following after him
—imitating his actions to becoming like him.
He says to his brother, Simon Peter, essentially the same thing Jesus said to him, “come and see.”

         There is this whole line of testimony
—a cloud of witnesses gathered
—the Spirit tells John, John tells Andrew, Andrew tells Peter, and on it goes,
the good news that God is on the move, that all of creation is being freed through him—and this life giving liberty includes Peter.

         In Ursula Le Guin’s fantasy series, “Earth Sea” there is a whole magical system based on names—everything has two names, one that is known to everyone, and one that is kept hidden, because if that name becomes known it can be influenced magically, because that name touches upon the essence, interior, the true self.

         And Le Guin didn’t pull that idea out of thin air
—it is a common belief, nick-names and name changes were once a common way to know the character of a person—Just think of Sarai and Abram becoming Sarah and Abraham, Jacob becoming Israel, Saul becoming Paul
—in some fundamental way, these people are changed, are becoming more fully their true self…

         Now, you’ve probably heard some Christians talk about Naming and Claiming things in Jesus’ name… well, we Lutherans have good grounds to suggest that the pattern ought to be reversed. Jesus names and claims Peter (Cephas in the Aramaic) and calls him by a new name. Calls him on a journey that will transform him, will make him more fully his true self. Just as we are claimed by Jesus in Baptism for our faith journey, Peter is claimed by Jesus.

         Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Behold the Lamb—he is bringing the world out of death to life.
Behold the Spirit’s testimony—she points us to Jesus in whom we can see the invisible God made visible.
Behold the one in whom we may abide—he continually calls us to come and see.
Behold your true name—you are children of God.
Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God.
A+A

Baptism of Our Lord

      Have you heard about Jesus? Have you heard about his love for all people?

         Through him, the mystery was revealed
—God’s love for all people
—God’s gracious love!
God denies no one a relationship with him
—God shows no favoritism
—whether you are a no one or a someone, whether you’re relatives are just or unjust, no matter what nation you hail from—God does not play favorites. So hear this if you hear nothing else, the Gospel is for you!

         Peter, whom we read about today in Acts, saw this truth first by way of a vision
—that those dietary rules used to keep God’s people safe and separate from everyone else
—were no longer required, instead he was to take and eat, for God had made all things clean through this new thing God was doing in Jesus
—and then Peter met with these folk he’s preaching to today
—people who he would traditionally have been separated from, now gathered together, so they might hear about Jesus.

         In him we are all brought near to God—all face God,
And that can be frightening, there is a terrible awe in that
—creation confronted by creator, log to flame.

Yes, to fear God means to be in awe of God—but awe is no small thing
—we’re in awe of the Grand Canyon,
in awe of the pace of life,
in awe of true love,
in awe of the depths of the ocean and the heights of the heavens,
in awe of God.

         We are brought near God and our obligation to the rest of creation comes into stark contrast
—you can’t love God and hate, or even be indifferent toward, your neighbor,
you can’t love God and trash God’s creation,
you can’t love God and cheat or steal from God’s family
—yes, this connection to God made through Jesus transforms our connection to the whole world!

         This connection that Jesus lives out—from Baptism to the cross, from birth to death even, an ongoing expansion of God’s goodness—Jesus baptized so that all may know him.
Jesus challenging acts of exclusion at every turn,
being merciful to all in need,
expanding the border of the Kingdom of God,
building bridges of kindness in the face of very attempt to exclude.

         Jesus’ death, the inevitable result of radical inclusion, of opening up the Kingdom when so many were invested in keeping the doors of God’s goodness shut.
His death, overrunning every wall by taking on, putting on, all of humanity, becoming all humanity, that all of humanity might know God.

         It is this message that we are to testify to,
That we are to share everywhere we go, so that all people may trust that, in Jesus name, they are forgiven!

         Have you heard about Jesus? Have you heard about his life?

         His life was God’s message for all people, a message of awe toward God and Justice for everyone! 

         His life, a message from God, spoken in a holy whisper, a quiet king—“Peace by Jesus, he is Lord of all.” 

         In his baptism marked as God’s beloved that all might know God’s love.
In his declarations, hope for the least, last, and lost.
In his sacred deeds, healing and reconciliation for all of those who had been marginalized. 

         If Jesus’ life’s work is what Lordship looks like,
if Jesus’ words are what a proper Royal Decree sounds like,
if John the Baptist performs a coronation calling our attention to Jesus being the rightful heir of God… then there can be no other Lords.

         His conquest too, is strange
—there is a grand gentleness to it. Isaiah points to this, as conquering Lord he is the servant,
-no battle cry in the streets,
-no smashing of brittle reeds,
-even the faintest candle remains lit at his making all things right.
He embraces execution and death, is buried like a seed, and from him springs life for all the ages!

         We enter into that royal coronation
—his baptism
—it is our calling to tell all the world,
to point to Jesus as John points to him,
to let all the earth know that in the end, he is judge of the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

         Have you heard about Jesus? Have you heard that he was dead, but now he lives?

         Each of us find ourselves at the cross and the empty tomb, in awe of that, that gentle power that transforms death into life. His life is for all people!

         Does not Baptism drip with death and new life?
Isn’t that what we proclaim through the waters of Baptism?
—we are now clothed with the risen Lord.
We’ve been buried with him and rise too with him!
Wasn’t his whole life an ongoing confrontation with death, and the spreading of life?

         That death—he is killed on a tree…
that phrase “Killed on a tree” overflows with meaning
—all who are hung are criminal,
all who die on a tree are cursed by God (so says Deuteronomy)
Death and curse,
death and sin
—he knows it all, all that we humans are confronted with, and he confronts us still more surely with rightness, blessing, life! The whole world is being reconciled to God through him!

         How can we not tell the world? He, the one cursed, is the one to judge the cursed,
he, the one killed, is the one to judge the living and the dead.
He always has his arms wide open, now not on the cross, but wide open to embrace us all with forgiveness.

         Have you heard about Jesus? Then tell the good news!

         The Message of Jesus Christ is for all people,
-every ear should hear it,
-no wall should stop it,
-no nation should be bereft of its benefit.

         Tell folk about Christ’s life, how his baptism and our baptism are linked,
how it shapes our life
—better yet, live in such a way that people see Jesus!

         Be like those women, the only ones who remained at the cross and the only ones who came to the tomb—it is because of Mary’s words to the other disciples that we know about the resurrection at all,
that I’m able to tell you about it today
—be like Mary, tell the world about what happened in Jerusalem
—Tree and Tomb which tell the tale!

         Siblings of the faith, as we are gathered in this building, and as we go out into the world, let us bear and be, or at least boldly tell, the saving word of God to the entire world
—forgiveness in Jesus name.

Amen!

On Issues of War and Peace

              Upon hearing about the assassination of the Iranian General Soleimani and the talk of tit-for-tat reprisals from both our president and the leader of Iran, I went back and looked at the pastoral letter I wrote to you all when it looked like President Obama was about to invade Syria because they used chemical weapons. I hope and pray this letter is as unnecessary as that one turned out to be, that peace will eclipse all intentions toward war.

              I started that letter with words that loom large in my heart today as well. Kyrie Eleison—Lord have mercy.

              Kyrie Eleison… This is how we start our opening prayer to God in worship—the start of the prayer, in which we pray for peace from above and for our salvation—peace for the whole world.

              And I would ask that you take a moment to pray this prayer from our Hymnal:     

“Gracious God, grant peace among nations. Cleanse from our own hearts the seeds of strife: greed and envy, harsh misunderstandings and ill will, fear and desire for revenge. Make us quick to welcome ventures in cooperation among the peoples of the world, so that there may be woven the fabric of a common good too strong to be torn by the evil hands of war. In the time of opportunity, make us be diligent; and in the time of peril, let not our courage fail; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

              Now, I recognize the current moment we find ourselves in is different than the one we were in 6 years ago with Syria. In this case we killed a general who, during the second Iraq War, snuck rockets into Iraq that could pierce up-armored military vehicles, which killed hundreds of US soldiers. Consequently we are worried about blowback—that US soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan will be targeted and that, if things swing out of control, we’ll be re-invading Iraq to secure a place from which to invade Iran.

              And our faith has something to say about such things. For two thousand years we Christians have been struggling with being faithful in the world as it is, in situations of persecution, famine, feast, might, and war. And those struggles have given us a rich tradition of thought and action, something much deeper than the knee-jerk reactions of TV pundits and political intellectuals.

              In the early days of the Church, Christians were known for being pacifists. In fact, the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites still are pacifists, they see refusing to go to war as a witness to the world that the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, reigns. Other Christians, such as us Lutherans, follow a tradition that includes Just War Theory, “which requires certain conditions to be met before the use of military force is considered morally right. 

These principles are:

1.      A just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified.

2.      A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.

3.      A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the cause is not sufficient--see point #4). Further, a just war can only be fought with "right" intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury.

4.      A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.

5.      The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought.

6.      The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered.

7.      The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target.”

              Additionally, this Church, the ELCA, in 1995, created a document “For Peace in God’s World” which particularized our understanding of Just War Theory to the challenges of the 20^th and 21^st century. Here are a few stand out statements:

            “Wars, both between and within states, represent a horrendous failure of politics. The evil of war is especially evident in the number of children and other noncombatants who suffer and die.”

            “Helping the neighbor in need may require protecting innocent people from injustice and aggression. While we support the use of nonviolent measures, there may be no other way to offer protection in some circumstances than by restraining forcibly those harming the innocent. We do not, then--for the sake of the neighbor--rule out possible support for the use of military force. We must determine in particular circumstances whether or not military action is the lesser evil.”

            “From the posture of the just/unjust war tradition, the aim of all politics is peace. Any political activity that involves coercion should be held accountable to just/unjust war principles. They are important for evaluating movements, sanctions, embargoes, boycotts, trade policies to reward or punish, and other coercive but nonviolent measures.”

            And finally, and most solemn, "Any decision for war must be a mournful one."

            And so, I conclude this letter as I did the last one, Kyrie Eleison.

God’s love is embodied for all people!

God’s love is embodied for all people!

         If you’re keeping track, we’re on the 12^th day of Christmas. We’ve been celebrating the birth of Jesus
—such a surprising occurrence, the seeds of the Kingdom of God are planted,
God has skin in the game,
God with us,
God’s story is now told from below.
—You know, Christmas!

         Well, we now reach Christmas’ culmination
—Epiphany. 

         God’s love painted on the sky as the sign of a star.
God’s love revealed to the Magi, the Christ Child.
They follow like sleuths chasing after a clue, and find a great mystery made manifest—God’s love for all people, packed into the child of Mary.

         Because of that child, we know that God’s bounty is without boundary. 

         God willing, this same mystery is also revealed in Christ’s body on earth—the Church… God’s love for all people embodied in us.

         It is the Church’s calling to receive and to be, what the Apostle Paul calls, the multi-colored Wisdom of God, this variegated, diverse, multifaceted, face of God for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.

         The center of Epiphany is this: God’s love is embodied for all people!

Prayer

         God’s love is embodied for all people!

         It’s one of those things, this revelation, this Epiphany. In retrospect it is obvious

—It’s like looking in your rearview mirror

—it appears closer and clearer, than it is.

In hindsight, God’s love for all people was always floating just below the biblical surface

—you could even say God’s love of all peoples is the worst kept secret in the bible.

         Think of it—In the beginning, that famous poem in Genesis tells, God created one ancestor for all of us.

         Abraham was a pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans, pushed into a relationship with God through no act of his own.

         Moses, the man who brought in laws to separate God’s people from foreigners, had a foreign wife.

         As Matthew’s Gospel makes abundantly clear in the very first chapter, every time particular people are excluded we have a Rehab, a Ruth, or a Bathsheba who breaks this mold.

         For that matter the Prophet Ezekiel has a vision of God on a throne with wheels, because God doesn’t concern Godself only with things happening in one place.

         The story of Jonah shows mercy upon the Ninnevites, foreigners who had shown no mercy to the Israelites.

         Isaiah goes even further and scandalizes us, not only with today’s reading about foreigners bringing people and goods to Jerusalem, but puts onto God’s lips words about Egypt and Babylon being God’s people before God ever dealt with Judah.

         The book of Proverbs is filled with sayings from foreign kings, and the book of Job is about a faithful foreigner.

         God’s love is embodied for all people!

         It was already there, but we look more closely when we see these strangers from the East acknowledging the Christ Child, signifying that all have access to God through him.

         And God doesn’t stop here, this truth triumphs in Paul’s ministry
—his whole mission is creating communities in which Gentiles, non-Jews, foreign people often excluded from relationship with God, are welcomed and given equal authority and affirmed as having equal access to God.

         By the last book of the Bible, Revelation, John is given a glimpse of the court, the political cabinet if you will, of the Lamb, Jesus Christ ruling as King of Creation, and finds countless peoples from all places present!

         Epiphany reveals something that, once revealed, is apparent everywhere; it’s like getting a new car, once you do, you notice that model everywhere,

so too, once we realize God’s great mystery is God’s love embodied for everyone we see it everywhere in scripture.

         And, in this particular time and place,
         -I especially hope love is manifest clearly for our Jewish siblings—as they encounter anti-Semitic attacks in Monsey and Jersey City, and increasingly violent hate crimes across this country.

         -I hope too for the ancestors of the Magi who discovered the Prince of Peace
—in the face of mounting threats of war in their homeland of present-day Iraq and Iran
—I hope peace shall blossom there, not war.

         

         And I hope we see
 God’s love is embodied for all people
 in our life together—in the Church.

         After all, that’s where the rubber hits the road, the church must always be aware that we not only receive this great revelation—God’s love embodied for all people—but we ourselves embody it…
either poorly or well…
to a great extent that’s on us
—how we live it out witnesses to that love we find in Jesus…

         We as church, must always be aware of who is being left out,

who has not heard,

who we, in our sinfulness, exclude and even try to separate from the love of God found in the Manger.

We cannot say:

“Hey, you have substance abuse problems, or you are depressed,

I don’t like your politics or cultural dress,

your skin tone scares me or your life is a mess,

Or you’re too young or too old,

you just don’t fit the mold.”

No, we live out the reality that first found us— God’s love is embodied for all people.

         In Paul’s day, joint Jew and Gentile Churches were mind blowing and transgressive

—he had to defend non-Jews as:

Part of the Family of God,

Part of the Body of Christ,

Part of the Promise of God.

Co-inheritors, Co-members, Co-Promisees.

He then goes on to say something stupendous and very strange,

“through the church, the wisdom of God in its rich variety (God’s multi-colored wisdom) might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

         Paul seems to be saying: “When the Church holds onto, and lives out, the Epiphany Revelation
— God’s love is embodied for all people —that shakes heaven, even angels quake!”

         In closing, beloved:

“Live out the great Epiphany Revelation, God’s love is embodied for all people, within Christian Community, in all the wonderful diversity God has offered to us, with such vigor that even angels in heaven stop what they’re doing and take note!” A+A

The Case for Warren/Yang 2020

            I’ve been thinkin’ some about the 2020 Democratic Primary. I’ve read Mayor Pete’s book, Sander’s book, Warren’s book, and Yang’s book. I’ve looked at some of the candidate’s ideas and I’ve listened to folk talk up their favorite candidates.

            I’m personally drawn to Mayor Pete, he’s about my age and, as I keep telling people, he makes my Wyoming feel safe. What I mean by that is that he’s been in the military so he understands discipline and I could see him cultivating Aristotelian virtues and handling himself well in a pre-industrial world. This is a gut thing that I am aware is not particularly rational or good, but it is a thing. I also am drawn to Booker, he makes me hopeful, I like how he talks about faith, I like his Baby Bonds idea, and I see some of my own character traits in him. Booker/Buttigieg would probably be the team for me, but I’m one voter. For that matter, Inslee's laser focus on Climate Change is something I wish we still had in the race.

            With that said, I think there is a good case to be made for a Warren/Yang ticket. Their candidacies have clearly stated goals, they would make an interesting electoral alliance, and a Warren/Yang administration would re-center America’s politics in some really good ways.

Clear Solutions for Actual Problems.

            Warren is running a campaign against corruption and for expanded healthcare. Yang intends for America to be ready for the inevitable consequences of automation. These are fairly concrete goals and, I think, goals most Americans can get behind. 

            Everyone should be accountable, even if they have billions of dollars. No one should be able to buy a Senator or an election. Lobbyists should not wear two hats and should not swim in and out of corporate and governmental streams, without some recognition that pollution may occur. In fact, just look at the current administration (and the two billionaires currently attempting to buy a spot on the Democratic ticket) if you need to know what unchecked oligarchy looks like.

            If you’ve ever been without good insurance or any insurance, if you’ve had insurance companies discriminate against you based on a pre-existing condition, if you’ve spent a little time with elderly people and seen how miserable the last few years of life can get on account of our current healthcare system, then you know we need a change. As long as profits are a primary concern in healthcare, the system will rarely care for our health.

            Then there is the coming robot invasion. If 20% of jobs are going to disappear in the next couple of years, and another 40% will be transformed beyond recognition by 2030 (which, as strange as it sounds, is only a decade away)… we need to figure out what to do about that. Yes, there will be new jobs that show up on account of these old jobs going away—robot maintenance, human coordinators… who knows, but I also know everyone’s life will be changed. I think of my dad’s hometown, International Falls, where my cousin Harley is mayor. There was a paper mill, which provided good paying jobs for thousands of people. Now it is automated and it provides good paying jobs for a hundred people or so. Everyone else had to hustle, hang on, or leave. 

            We need to recognize that this challenge is real, and be ready to meet it with concrete proposals, but ones that are freeing to those whose lives are most directly shaped by these changes… yes, freeing. Imagine telling all the truck drivers in the US to become nurses, giving them training to do so even (this was the Clinton solution to NAFTA job displacement). That’s good, but some of their sensibilities are going to be ruffled. Alternatively, if you give them (and everyone else, so it isn’t an act of benevolence, but our inheritance as Americans) $1,000 a month, some financial stability, they can tool around and explore, and find a vocation they find acceptable. You know, they might even all become nurses, but they’ll have chosen it, they will have made that decision. It might be a little messier and take a little longer than a White House economist incentivizing training for particular tasks that are needed—but human inefficiency is a small price to pay for human dignity.

            So, in sum, Warren and Yang are both focused on a few concrete problems facing our country. They are problems the average American sees as a problem. We can imagine what the next four to eight years would look like, where we are headed as a nation, by voting Warren/Yang.

An Interesting Alliance

            I’ve found something interesting; people who like Yang tend to be turned off by Warren and her entitled schoolmarm act, and people who like Warren tend to find Yang to be a pompous know-it-all Silicon Valley no neck. Now, that might not sound like a ringing endorsement—but then again think of Obama/Biden or even the current Trump/Pence coalitions. Obama, the too young, jumping the line, senator and Biden, the old, gaff prone, has been—together, became Barockstar and Uncle Joe with the Trans-Am invited to the cook-out. Similarly, Trump and Pence should be oil and water to one another, a slimy philandering “Greed is Good” reality TV star from New York City and an anti-gay Governor who always looks like the Senator in the X-men comics who is trying to outlaw Mutants. Together Trump is getting Pence to loosen up and Pence can tell Evangelicals that Trump is a “Baby Christian” and try to convince Trump that pets are good (this combination doesn’t appeal to me… but if I squint real hard I can see how such a combination could be appealing—sort of a perverse Green Acres/Odd Couple kind of thing). Perhaps Warren becomes the best version of Kate McKinnon’s Warren/Hillary character on SNL and Yang becomes an entrepreneur-making-android who advocates for special needs children.

            And that’s the candidates—imagine the voters! If the Yang Gang gets together with the Warren Klatch they can energize the Democratic Party and welcome in some new folk. Simply put, Yang’s supporters are mainly young and male, whereas Warren’s “Nevertheless she persisted” is now a rallying cry for female voters of all ages. If Democrats mobilize women and hold their own among men by winning more young men than last time around, they’ll win!

            Warren worked with the Obama Whitehouse Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a nod to the Obama Coalition. Warren has some populist, anti-corporate, positions that should energize the working class. In fact, some Silicon Valley folk are uncomfortable with her Teddy Roosevelt leanings. 

            That’s where Yang comes in, he can corral the Start-up class, he has the relationships, and I think, he can restate some of Warren’s positions in a way “normal people” can hear them more clearly. Finally, some members of the Yang Gang are super savvy on social media, something the Democrats had an edge over the Republicans with until 2016. A young VP who understands the interwebs could be a real plus!

A Sideways Coalition for America

            The tension and synergy between Warren and Yang, and their supporters, could be good for America.  A Warren/Yang administration would re-define America in some interesting ways.

            Firstly, there is the thrust of their policies! Fight corruption, fix health care, and get ahead of innovation before it cripples the majority of our citizens. This team would concretely care about people! Imagine Americans caring for one another again!

            Secondly, there is the tension between entrepreneurship and trust busting that Warren/Yang could make into a partnership. Both of those vocations are needed in America now. The creation of new businesses and application for new patents are down in this country. At the same time, giant companies and the rich are gaining more and more influence over our society—the golden rule is becoming “he with the gold makes the rules.” Policies that nurture new small businesses and restrain monopolies can go hand in hand and will be good for America. 

            Similarly, the ways these two think about problems are opposite, but good for each other, they balance one another out. Warren envisions government’s role as restraining bad behavior and rooting out corruption, making all actors in our society more responsible to one another. Yang recognizes the responsibility of government is to defend the freedom of the populace. When facing the problem of mass automation it is important that the solution encourages human flourishing, instead of treating humans like the very robots that are the cause of the difficulty. Imagine an America that embraces responsibility AND liberty!

            Thirdly, there is the joy of electing America’s first female president and first Asia American Vice President—this would be no small thing, especially coming on the heels of an openly misogynistic and racist president. It would be the first time a white male wasn’t on the ticket; I imagine there would be some backlash, but representation matters, and there are plenty of women and Asian Americans who deserve to feel represented in the highest offices in our land. America is mine too! Ain’t that cool!

            Diversity, responsibility and liberty, innovation, and kindness. What’s not to love?

            A Warren/Yang administration clearly articulates concrete solutions to real life problems, builds a unique election coalition, and would govern and lead America in a good direction.

Christmas 2019: The Manger, God's Story Told From Below

Christmas 2019: The Manger, God's Story Told From Below

          I recently read Phillip Roth’s novel “The Plot Against America.” It is a “what if” alternative history in which Nazi Germany blackmails Charles Lindbergh into running for president, defeating FDR, and keeping America out of World War Two.

          What I loved about it, was that the story was told from below—from the experience of a Jewish boy growing up in Newark experiencing the turmoil of his nation,
the strange loyalties of his older brother and his aunt, experiencing intense prejudice on a family vacation to DC, watching his parents mental health deteriorate under the strains of national discrimination…
It could have been a bloodless alternative history that tells a timeline, but never touches on meaning or experience of everyday people,
 but because it tells the alternative history from below, it reaches greatness.

          So too, the Christmas story
—it tells the tale of God from Below!
Yes, there are those big powerful political and spiritual forces at work—Emperors and Angels, but the focus is not there, it is with parents with nowhere to go and shepherds seen by everybody as nobodies.
Our grand story ends with the smallest of signs,
bands of cloth,
a manger,
a baby.

          Let us pray

          Emperor Augustus—that is Gaius Octavius, “the Revered One” the adopted son of Caesar the Divine, winner of the Roman civil war and acclaimed as a bringer of peace.

          He is able, with a few words and the rubber stamp of the Tribal Assembly, to shape the lives of everyone who lived in what Rome pompously claimed was, “All the World.” Collecting their information for the purpose of taxation and preparation for war.

          And there, being moved around like chess pieces by a careless player,
are Mary and Joseph, the holy family who head home to be counted
—head to Bethlehem—(in Hebrew the House of Bread)
—to be counted, and, as it happens, to give birth.
They arrive and there is no place for them.

          Sit with that for a second, these magisterial machination, intentionally or unintentionally, leave Jesus’ parents with no place to rest their head,
no place to place a new little life born into the world,
no place, save a manger packed with strips of cloth.

          Yes, the grand choices of Emperors have grave consequences for those with no place to lay their head.

          For that matter, you have the Angel of the Lord, and then a heavenly host
—an army of out of this world beings invading the earth
—a scene worthy of a good science fiction movie… crop circles and all.
Yes, their message is good news—is Gospel;
points to God breaking into the world
—the disclosure of a Savior, a Lord, a Messiah
—one who brings us peace and favor
…and yet, imagine the overwhelming experience… these poor shepherds, blessed, but overawed.

          Shepherds, men who spent more time with animals than people,
literally found outside the city walls,
smelling of their flock,
cloths colored and caked with the mud and grass of their trade
—an isolated trade to say the least…
They were likely the first people you would see entering the city, but also likely the first people you would not want to be seen with…
just as Mary and Joseph were nowhere, these men were nobodies.

          Nobodies… the first to hear the Good news for all people, for nobodies and somebodies and everybody in between.
The Glory of God shall reside in the city of David wrapped in swaddling cloth and tucked in,
in a trough.

          With that, Angels and Emperors fade from view, the Nobody Shepherds join the family with no-where-to-lay-their-heads.

          They are left alone… together…
neither angel choir nor imperial edict drowning out their pondering, and praise and joy…
the only sound the night, and perhaps the cries of the Christ child.

          The Christ Child, the Holy Infant. The one of whom angels sing, the one whom all would-be-rulers attempt to imitate…
there in the bottom of a manger, snuggled below strips of cloth, put out of an inn, because there was nowhere for him, nobody outcast shepherds brought in…

          From below…
a story from below,
a savior, a Messiah, a Lord—from below.
A God, from below.

          We need to always remember that. That is God’s great gift for us.
We receive the bread of God in Bethlehem, the house of bread, from a trough.
Sustenance for the whole world, from a manger.

          And where else would we find it?
Certainly not in heaven above, for it is too frightening,
nor in the laps of the powerful, for they do not care…

the manger—yes—the manger.

          The manger is how we can tell God’s story, where we can find God among us.

          God nestled in tight here among us. Our everyday life, being reconciled to God. The manger by the inn… & the classroom, the shelter, the nursing home, the machine shop, the stock floor, the operating room, the waiting room, the war zone and the negotiating table.

          The manger, God with us. God’s story told from below

          God here with us.

          God with the soldier so young he has never known his nation at peace.

          God with the fearful family waiting for a cancer diagnosis.

          God’s favor in the face of overwork and grinding obligation—may you rest with him friends!

          God’s Good news to the isolated and mourning—those with family far away, far gone and even far too close for comfort…

-The manger
—all those who hunger, feed here!
-The manger, drawing nobodies into God’s story.
-The manger, there is a place for you, even if there is no place.
          The Manger tells the Christmas story—the tale of God told from Below!
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Advent 4: God With Us

Advent 4: God With Us

          Advent is a strange season, we start at the end (Matthew 24), and then eventually end at the start (chapter 1), clinging barely over the edge into Christmas… (I can see it from here, can’t you?)

          Here, peering from the precipice of Advent onto Christmas—we, get to, again, consider the History, Mystery, and Majesty—the Past, Personal, and Promise—fill out one more time the Advent Sermon Bingo Card, noting the History, Heart, and Hope of God With Us.

Prayer

          I’m going to help you fill your final bingo card out here—God, With, Us.

History

          “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel” which means “God with us.”

          Originally these were words of comfort from Isaiah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem under siege by their Northern cousins the Israelites and their Eastern neighbors, the Syrians… telling them that this child was a sign of hope for them, that by the time he’s weaned the siege will be lifted and their enemies will be defeated—for God dwelled with them, there in Jerusalem.

          We would miss, if we ignored this history and made a B-line to Jesus, the solemn reality that the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in dire straits,
in need of rescue,
in need of a sign for them…

          This need points us to the Baby Jesus we find in Matthew’s Gospel—look! He will save his people, he will be God with us…
in his life all the saving acts of God recorded in Hebrew Scripture find sacred echoes
—he teaches us a righteous way of humility,
in him, when he is among us, the Kingdom of Heaven comes near.

          These are solemn, necessary, dire needs…

Just as a besieged city needs hope and assurance that all enemies shall be cleared away, so too we have an ongoing need of salvation from sin
—an ongoing need of God being with us.
 With that piece of history, our need of him, our need of the God revealed in Jesus Christ, is heightened.

Heart

          God with us… With!

          Not God for us… but God with us. Not for, but with…

          We would, of course, like God to be on our side—it might feel good when your opponent is clearly in the wrong, clearly irredeemable and hopelessly damned—because that says something about you too—you are redeemable and right, you are angelic and above it all… but we know that is rarely, if ever, true
—We humans are ambiguous creatures, happy to create gods out of whatever our latest opinion and inclination happen to be.

          I was reading through Exodus recently and came to the Golden Calf incident—Moses goes up the mountain, everyone quakes and shakes and are scared, because God is revealing God’s self on the mountain… and then, next thing you know, they’re making a golden idol for God to reside on or in… even as God thunders behind them on the mountain…

          We have such a propensity to produce idols… to assume Jesus is my Jesus, and no one else’s.

          Yet, we must heed Abraham Lincoln’s words during the Lincoln Douglas debates, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.“

          Because God is with us, not for us…

          But what does that mean, with us?
          It means that God seeks to be in solidarity with us, not siding with us for the sake of our ego. As that famed description of God’s love, John 3:16 puts it, “God so loved the world.” Not the world that agrees with me. Not the world in so far as it is brought to heel.
          God loves the world and resides with the world in Jesus.
Jesus with our fears, with our joys, with our sorrows! Jesus more than that—Jesus our courage in the midst of fear, our delight in moments of joy, Jesus passionately moved, mourning with us in our sorrows.

Hope

          And that is the Hope of God with us, the hope of the season to come—God is with us… not with me, not with you, with us.

          Just as we have a tendency to create idols, we also have a tendency to retreat into ourselves, to seek individual gain, to eschew what we have in common for what we can lay claim to as “mine!” To succumb to the sin of selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-importance. As Luther would describe it, curved in upon ourselves, gazing at our belly buttons.

          When God shows up, God calls us into community. To quote biblical scholar Carolyn Lewis, “Jesus reminds us of who we are meant to be and supposed to be—people in community with God and with one another. People oriented toward the other because of God. People who truly believe God is present when even just two of us are gathered.”

          Our faith calls us out into the hurting world to love and serve our neighbor, to be little Christs to the world, and ALSO calls us to share our own pains, to be open and trust that God’s hands and feet will come to us unaware. In God created community we both kindle Christ’s hope in others and ourselves are warmed by that same hope held forth for us!

          We can hope, and know, God is there among us. God is not simply for ME, but with US, and that is what we prepare for these four Sundays of Advent. We prepare for Christmas.

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