HAVE A MERRY CHRIST-MAS AND A HAPPY HOLI-DAY

      Years ago, when we attended a large church in Omaha, Nebraska, it became clear to my wife... that our pastor did NOT believe that Christ was divine in any way. To give him the benefit of the doubt, we invited him to our home and asked him directly. "No," he said, "I don't believe that Christ was born to a virgin. I don't believe that he came down from heaven either," he added. "Instead, I believe that he was a godly man who lived an exemplary life... and that we should all follow his teachings on love and peace." The Christmas message in the Bible then, to the good Reverend, was (and is) just a story-no more real than Santa Claus. In his view, there were no angels who sang about a baby, no unwed Jewish teenager who gave birth to God's child,, no shepherds who gathered around an cattle trough, no astrologers who followed a star, no promise of a new world in which the meek will be blessed and the last will be first. Christmas, in this minister's view (and he's not alone) is an occasion for families to gather and exchange gifts in the spirit of harmony and love. For him, Christmas is a time for people to "slow down" and reflect on how things would be if... they would be more loving and follow the Nazarene's teachings.
      To our former pastor, Christmas is NOT about Christ breaking into our lives with a radical message of grace and obedience. It is NOT a transformingly divine moment, but a completely human moment that invites us to be gentler and more caring. Now-to be clear- there is much to be said for being less judgmental and more loving... and I am the first to confess that I love Christmas. I love Christmas! I love the fact that families who ordinarily don't gather together, come together on Christmas. I love the fact that people who don't give much of themselves or of their treasure during the year, take the time to serve food to the hungry and drop money into the Salvation Army's red kettles. I love the fact that people who haven't experienced worship in months... will once again worship God in a church of their choice. I even love the sharing of gifts, and I love the joy that these gifts give to others even more. Christmas is a wonderful holiday... but it is NOT a Holi-day without Christ! Indeed, when we urge others to "put Christ back in Christmas," we are understating the matter... because Christ is the very essence of Christmas!
      Without Christ, we can wish one another a "happy holiday"... because the secular trappings of the holiday affect Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a time of joy for millions of people, Christians and non-Christians alike, and it is good to celebrate that... but we can"t prepare for his coming if we don't believe he is coming, and we can't embrace a new king if we don't believe that he is our king. In short, although I can celebrate the joy of the holiday season without believing, it's hard to see how I can honestly wish someone a "merry Christmas"... unless I take him, his ministry, and his Lordship seriously. The Bible says that there were "wise men" who followed a star to worship the Christ-child... because they took Christmas seriously. And that there were Shepherds who worshiped him in joyous wonder because they took seriously. Even Herod took Christmas seriously and he was a madman. Indeed, wise men and women still take Christmas seriously because they know that God Incarnate- Immanuel- a Savior born unto us- is much more powerful and life-changing- than a gentle snow and a sentimental song!
      May the Christ of Christmas be very real to you and your loved ones this year. May he shower you with grace, may he mend your heart and heal your wounds, and may you invite him into your life as Lord and Savior. Amen.

BE A DROP GIVER!

      You've noticed, I'm sure, that there are "dippers" and "drop givers" in the world. There are people who go out of their way to fill another person's bucket of self-esteem, and there are many... who look for every opportunity to dip into someone else's bucket. I don't know why, but dipping into another person's bucket of self-esteem seems to give them pleasure. Maybe it makes them feel better about themselves. Maybe they're just fixated on the negative, but they seldom miss an opportunity to bring someone else down. You've known many "dippers" yourself, I'm sure. Instead of enjoying the power of the song, they harp on a note sung off-key. Instead of enjoying the beauty of the poem, they fixate on a "typo" in the poem. Instead of applauding a job well done, they try their best to find a mistake. Well, I've got news for the dippers. We all hear the notes that are sung off-key; we can all see that there are "typos" in the story... but we loved the music and the story anyway. You see, those of us who have learned the art of "giving drops" are not unaware. We have discovered that there is joy in filling up someone else's bucket of self-esteem.

      When I was in the business world, I worked with a company who had copyrighted a practice that they called "Drops for Your Bucket," and they were kind enough to give us permission to use it. So, we did. We drew drops on paper and we made them big and small. We ran copies in all sorts of different colors and we encouraged our employees to use them whenever they had an opportunity to affirm someone else. We supplied "drops" to grown men and women and invited them to be "drop givers"... and they did. In large numbers. They developed the art of looking for positive qualities and they took the time to respond in specific ways. We made it possible for people to share affirming words with each other and they did. They affirmed acts big and small. They thanked others for supporting them, for accomplishing particular things, for listening to them, for visiting them, or for helping them achieve a goal of some sort. 

      The "drops" weren't designed to be formal.They were simply our way of tapping into the power of affirming words and they were a big hit "back in the day." A writer named Sam Crabtree has written 100 specific ways in which we can affirm one another and I will cite just a few, Crabtree notes that we can... 1) commend the usefulness of an idea that solves a problem. Break away from the agenda for a moment and say, "That was an excellent suggestion. Thanks;" 2) let someone know that you admire a quality of theirs. "You know, Morgan, I haven't said it before, but I really love your music. Thanks," 3) find someone whom you are thankful for, and tell them that you are. "I just want you to know that it makes me feel good to have you on our team;" 4) tell someone that you are praying for him or her, and that God has placed them on your heart; and 5) Ask someone's advice and act on it. There are 95 more and dozens that you can add yourselves, but you have the idea. Develop the art of affirming the good in others. Be sincere, be specific, be faithful in your ministry of affirmation. 

      It's not hard to do. Just open your eyes to the Christ that abides in each one of us and affirm what God is doing in another person's life. It's not a matter of flattering someone else, but rather, the ability and willingness to honestly affirm that another person has touched your life, or that you've noticed that he or she is growing, or trying, or helping, or simply being present to you. God affirmed his Son after his baptism and again on the Mount of Transfiguration- "this is my Son, with whom I am well pleased." Christ often affirmed others for their faith and acts of service, and as people of faith, many of us look forward to hearing the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Perhaps, one of the ministries that God is calling you to undertake is simply the ministry of lifting others up by giving them drops for their buckets. Remember, affirming words can build others up, encourage them to go on, comfort them. and even change their lives. These things lie at the very core of what it means to be a "minister."

THE CHRISTMAS STORY IN SIMPLE WORDS

T'was the night before Christmas-

       when the young couple completed their long

            journey... and arrived in town.

T'was the time of the census, and
      men throughout Israel were returning to their hometowns
            to register... so that they could be counted and taxed.

One of these men was a man named Joseph-
      Yosef, not Joe, and he came from Bethlehem,
            which means "house of bread" in Hebrew.

It was a homecoming of sorts for the young man,
      but he couldn't find a room for his fiancée, Mary (age 15ish)
            and himself, and she was very pregnant with their first child.

So,,, they ended up in a cattle shed, behind an inn... 

      grateful for a place to lay their heads... because 

            Miriam (Mary) was tired and in need of rest and shelter

It was there, in that cattle shed, where Mary gave birth
      to a boy they named Yeshua, which is a variant of Joshua,
            and comes to us as "Jesus."

At the first Christmas...there were no Christmas lights, nor a tree,

      just a young man, a young teenaged girl- and a baby lying vulnerably... 

            in a cattle trough... and no one knows how many animals,

Other than the love and the sense of wonder that they shared,

      there were no gifts... but the angels did sing of good news... and
           to cap it off, they sang their song to a number of unclean shepherds.

No one could've known it then- not even the boldest of among them,
      but time itself, or the way we count it, split in two on this day,
            with BC (now called BCE) giving way to AD (or CE).

Before his birth, they lived in a world without hope, and then...
      there was hope- hope that would never be squelched,
            They had no Savior... and then they did. We all did.

The shepherds were amazed, and they knew they had seen a king.
            Come morning they were still just shepherds... 

                  but they were never without hope again.

Next, but not at the same time,
      some astrologers came from Persia to give gifts of love
            and homage...to a baby King whom they would worshiped.

They were "wise men" because they went to great effort to find Him.

      And because they worshiped him and brought him gifts, knowing

            that no one came into the presence of a King empty handed.

           
Come morning- on what we would now call Christmas Day-
      it looked for all the world like any other ordinary day...
            with babies crying, women making bread, and men working at their trade...

But that first Christmas was no ordinary day... 

      and there would never again be an ordinary day...

            because a Savior had been born. 

God had come to earth, bringing gifts of healing, forgiveness, joy, peace, 

      love, meaning, hope and salvation to people who needed to be

            forgiven. empowered and made new... more than anything else!

Come morning, it was AD, Anno Domini,
      because our Lord had arrived in Bethlehem. 

            Unto us a Savior had been born! Hallelujah!!

MY EXPERIENCE WITH CANCER

      Shortly after my friend, Dave, was diagnosed with liver cancer, he was told that it was inoperable ... and as he struggled to come to grips with what he considered to be a death sentence, a chaplain would visit him and read devotions from his book of devotions. The devotions were designed, I am sure, to lift Dave's spirits... but they infuriated Dave's wife because she was in no mood to hear that "there's a rainbow at the end of every storm." Even though she was a faithful church leader, she wasn't ready to hear the good news because her world was dark and ugly. She was angry and in shock and she took in out of the hospital's chaplain.
      As it turned out, Dave outlived his wife by many years, but when you are diagnosed with cancer, it shatters your dreams and shakes you to the core of your soul. I remember how Sherry and I felt when she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma shortly after Thanksgiving in 2002. We were both in shock, but I think she took the news better than I did. I googled "Multiple Myeloma" immediately and discovered that her life expectancy was 1-3 years (it's much higher now)... and I would sometimes sit upright suddenly in bed in the middle of the night because I could scarcely take it in. We were both in shock for some time, but as we went through her treatments and endured her transplants, cancer became an unwelcome member of the family. Even as she lost the last strand of her hair and was plagued with neuropathy, we began to journey with her cancer. We discovered that one can live with cancer and that there are even moments of joy. It was always around- the cancer- just below the surface, but the time came when we laughed again and shared time with family and friends. We learned that there was life after a diagnosis of cancer, but our life was not the same as it was before... because we were forced to live one day at a time. We didn't talk of retirement or worry about things in the distant future. Long-term investments no longer made sense and we focused more on the here and now. None of us know what lies ahead. The future belongs to God and it is not ours to claim. Deep down we all know this, but when you're told you have cancer... it becomes very clear that the present moment may be the only time that you have.
      Sherry is still moving along after all of these years- dinged a bit and tired much of the time- and we are still living day by day. We are blessed to see our children and we've had a grandson and a great-grandson join the family since Sherry was diagnosed. We've been blessed in this way... and yet we know that it won't last forever. The future is still God's and it is our job to trust in that as we enjoy the present. We will continue to live with cancer and make our long trips to Chicago for blood tests and treatment. Our faith has never been shaken because it was never based on our health, but I confess that I prayed again and again that God would take Sherry's cancer away. I offered the same prayers for my friend, Jeff, and for my brother, Larry, before they died of cancer. I miss them both and I wish that they were alive, but I don't hold it against God that they aren't. They died with grace and with their loved ones around them.
      Cancer begins as a pit in the soul and then it becomes an unwanted traveling companion. It creates fear and sadness, and my heart breaks whenever anyone, and especially someone I know and love, is diagnosed with it. I hate it because I know a little about the anxiety and pain that it will bring. Even now, I am saddened and in prayer for a friend in Peoria and another friend in Rock Island. I pray that God will cure them both and if that is not to be, that He will walk with them and give them a peace that surpasses all understanding. Please pray for my friends in Peoria and Rock Island and for all of those people in your world who have cancer. Visit them, listen to them, laugh with them, and let them know that you love them!
      My experience with cancer has left me with these thoughts: 1) it is the last diagnosis that anyone of us wants to hear. It is alarming, disorienting, and threatening; 2) however, being told that you have cancer is not the end of your life. It will change your life, but you will continue to enjoy time with people you love; 3) no one can tell a person how long he or she has to live because they don't know. Even now, the average life expectancy with Multiple Myeloma is 5-7 years, but Sherry has lived with it for 15 years; 4) the person who has cancer needs to be in charge of his or her own journey because they are the ones who have cancer; 5) cancer often presents an opportunity for people to do business with the depth and meaning of their lives. It will not lengthen life, but it may well enrich a person's life in many ways; 6) while it is tempting and understandable to focus on the person who has cancer, their caregiver needs a little TLC too; 7) God is always faithful and always with us, even as we walk through the deepest valleys. This doesn't mean that we won't walk in the valleys (we will) or that we will always feel God's presence (we won't)... but it does mean that we will never struggle, wonder, doubt, or die alone!

On Being the Church

      Mama often said that the church was filled with hypocrites... and she was correct. There are a lot of hypocrites in the church. but what she didn't see is that the church, for all of its failings and unfaithfulness... is the body of Christ here on earth. It is the church- the people of God- who have been called to live out the Sermon the Mount and to follow the Nazarene wherever he leads them. It is the people of God- the church- who have been called to make disciples, pray for their enemies, and forgive others again and again and again. It is the church who is called to serve the world and love one another in Christ's name... and if the church doesn't do these things, no one will. The church is an organization no doubt, and thus it is filled with meetings and agendas. We are defensive and willful at times. We get lost, hurt, angry, and disappointed...but we are also a people who, to one degree or another, are striving to be faithful. We get lost in our activities and our traditions, but beneath and along side our self-will and ordinariness... is our firm conviction that we are a forgiven and empowered people. We know that we are sinners, but we believe that God is not through with us yet, and we cling to the notion that we will be better Christians tomorrow than we are today. Some of us are "faking it until we make it." This is true. Some of us have slid backwards a time or two, and some of us are making steady, if uneven, progress in our struggle to let go and trust God. Our faithfulness ebbs and flows. We are more hypocritical on same days than we are on others... but the vast majority of us feel that we are ordained- for a special calling and a sacred work.
      In short, we- the church- are forgiven sinners who are striving to serve God in ways that are faithful and perhaps even transforming, despite our hypocritical ways. We, apart from Christ, are nothing to brag about, but in His hands, we can be a mighty force for good. Indeed, each of the churches I have served as pastor has been filled with people whose faith was palpable and whose effort to serve Christ commendable. Having seen the worst of the church at times, I continue to be optimistic and pro-church because I know how strongly God's people want to serve Him. I've always been impressed with the passion that God's people have for their work, and tomorrow I have the privilege of telling the members of the first church I ever served how special they are in God's hands. It is their 150th Anniversary. I am grateful to the invitation because I love these people. They have had and continue to have (I suspect) some of the issues cited above... but by and large they see themselves as a people of God and they strive to be faithful servants for their Lord. With that in mind, I plan of saying something like this to them:
      The Church... is a people... called out... to carry a cross... along the narrow way... in surrendered service to their God... by loving the unloveable, touching the untouchables, loving one another is ways that glorify God, and doing that things that Christ did and taught us to do, such as preaching good news to the poor, standing up for justice, and breaking barriers that divide us and diminish the image of God in others. Does the church have budgets and goals, and committees, and infighting? Yes. Are their typoes in our love notes and notes that are sung off-key as we lift our voices in song? Yes? Has the church replaced our Lord's last words with its own last words- we've never done it that way before- yes. Yes, yes and yes. But we are saved by the grace- by the blood if you like- of our crucified and risen Lord- and we are filled with His Holy Spirit, This is either true or its not, and if its true, we can do wonderful and transforming things!
      I can't tell you how great it is to be here today, You are my first love you know. In 1990, maybe 89, when I attended a Presbytery meeting in your sanctuary, I was struck with its stately beauty, and in 1991, when I interviewed with your PNC, I was struck with their faith and their sincerity; and when I walked in my office for the first time, it was the moment when my life as a corporate vice-president met my new life as a servant of the people, and as I got to my feet, I was even more impressed with you commitment to serve the community- we joined JACOB and you had already established the Medical Clinic. I was also struck by the grace in which the older members welcomed new members and invited them to share in the church's leadership. This is a rare thing, and I was impressed too in the way in which you ministered to one another. There was Stephen Ministry, and the Women't Retreat, and Marriage Enrichment, and then Dinner Bells and our Golf Outings. And you had- still do I know- a commitment to Adult Education (we had several classes) and to the Children (Brooke was part of Logos), I could go on of course. The music was wonderful and known to be wonderful, and our youth groups were flourishing. The church had a pulse. It was living and responsive, and it was bold. The energy came from the Spirit, through you, but the vision came from Craig, who implemented the vision that God gave him with boldness and discipline!
      We were a going Jessie, a happening thing, and I will never forget it- just as Sherry and I will never forget the trip we took to Israel. I will never forget the people I loved- from Isabel Whitley to John Pocius,,, and I know that you have your memories too- deeper and wider that mine. Friends, this is a day to embrace your memories. Pick them up and give them a hug... but this is also a day to look ahead- a day in which we dream of ways in which we can do God's work in our time, in the same bold and faithful ways that others have done for us. Today is an extension of the past, but it is also the beginning of a future. Therefore, I encourage you to struggle with ways in which you can bring others to Christ, break down barriers, serve this community, and love another in the years ahead... in new ways, just as faithful and as bold as anything done before. In short, I encourage you to use this occasion to resolve that this church- the people called First Presbyterian Church of Joliet- will continue to be bold and faithful as you strive to reach new heights in your quest to break down barriers, build up hope, and welcome any and all people whom God sends your way. 
      You will find ways of being stronger and bolder tomorrow that than you even are today. I am sure it because you are in God's hands. Thanks for the invitation. You who were the first to embrace my ministry. You are a special people, with a special calling. You are blessed with a special staff and you have also been blessed with a unique opportunity- one which no other church in Joliet has, Now, go forth and claim it! Amen.