The Big Picture: our Christmas

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Fear is a reality in our time Terrorism, climate change, war in the Middle East, economic uncertainties, violence on our streets And if you can’t find enough to be afraid of, there are political candidates willing to suggest more When the prophet spoke those words of promise in the name of Israel’s God, he spoke to a broken and despairing people who had experienced a political and religious disaster Their nation had been destroyed and they were in exile in Babylon, far from their homes Not only had their political hopes been dashed, but it also appeared that their God had failed them The magnificent temple Solomon had built 500 years earlier was in ruins, Jerusalem abandoned And there would be no descendent of David on the nation’s throne ever again, to our own day The prophet who spoke some of the most familiar and beloved promises in the Bible arose at this time His mission was to convince people to cross the barren desert and rebuild their ancient home and the simple reality is that most people chose not to go, but to stay in Babylon and prosper

Who can blame them, there was so much to fear if they left their comfortable circumstances?

The reality of the Christian life is that you and I are exiles too The beautiful creation in which God placed us has been destroyed by our human sinning. One only has to watch a newscast or spend time at the bedside of a dying loved one. To know that this surely cannot be our home, it cannot be what God created as very good.

Even our churches are experiencing the traumas of exile. I grew up in an era when we seemed very much at home in our various Babylons. My home congregation in Sunbury had 400 or more worshippers on a bad Sunday. I remember sitting in the balcony here when Fred Hasskarl was pastor looking at the crowded nave. As I supply mostly in the Lower Susquehanna Synod, I see the shadows of what I once knew. And we can no longer say that all is OK because conservative churches are thriving. A pastor friend said the average age of members of the Missouri Synod is over 50.

Will our churches all close as young people abandon churches and the “nones” (not any) are the fastest growing religious group in North America? Will the economy tank and terrorism make our world more dangerous? Has the fracking boom ended and along with it prosperity for Marcellus Shale country? Will some horrible disease end our hopes and dreams for us or for those we love?

Fear not, for you have been baptized God has redeemed you, you are called by his name, and you are his. I celebrate with you the Milestones Ministry that has been part of St. Mark’s for many years Those Faith Chests and the symbols you place in them are filled with hope and promise. And the promise is that our God is with us to lead us through this place of exile to our true home, where we will enjoy his presence forever.

The one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire has come to us in our exile. Jesus is even greater than that anonymous prophet whose words are part of our Book of Isaiah. Jesus chose to enter this place of exile and be conceived in the Virgin’s womb. He did not seek glory or comfort or what this broken world thinks is greatness. Jesus came to endure the worst horrors of what it can mean to be human in this place of exile. So at his baptism the one who did not need to be baptized chose to identify himself with us.

And now baptized into Jesus and with Jesus we hear the same words the Father spoke to him: “You are my beloved son or daughter, and with you I am well pleased.” God is pleased with us because when He looks at us He sees Jesus. All our sins, all our weaknesses, all our brokenness was nailed to the cross Jesus came to bear. And in his death our Lord defeated death, rising with death forever behind him.

So that for us who have died with our Lord in Baptism, our real death is behind us too God does not promise us an easy or successful or healthy life in this world. But God promises something far better: “I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Whatever our exile throws at us, we never face it alone. The God who raised Jesus is with us. The God who holds the future has promised that you and I have a future with him — an eternal one.

I don’t know whether we will see full churches again in my lifetime. I don’t know whether any of us will win the PowerBall or be healthy or happy or successful. But I know the one thing that matters. We have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore the prophet’s words apply to you and me: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine”

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.