Hitherto and Henceforth!

Text: Isaiah 63:7-9
Theme: “Hitherto and Henceforth”
1st Sunday After Christmas
December 26, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the LORD has done for us—
yes, the many good things
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.

There seems to be just as much a mad rush to get away from Christmas as it is to get to it. Even the church year calendar gets into the act. This Sunday is rather sadly called “The First Sunday after Christmas.” Oh, so I guess Christmas is over; it’s done; call off any impulse to further happiness; unplug the lights; down with the tree; it was fun while it lasted, and now it’s back to the 9 to 5 and the daily grind.

Not so fast! Yes, today is the first Sunday after Christmas Day, but it’s only the second day in the twelve days of Christmas! You mean, there’s more celebrating to do? Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.” On it goes. After the twelve days of Christmas are over, the “true love” has a whole bunch of birds! Do the math.

Isaiah the prophet, in today’s Old Testament reading, does not speak of birds or drummers drumming, pipers piping, or maids a’milking. But we do hear of kindnesses. “I will tell of the kindness of the Lord,” says Isaiah, “yes…the many good things He has done.” Thus, a good way to enjoy the twelve days of Christmas would be to get out your journal and write down a gratitude list. You may be surprised at how therapeutic such an exercise can be.

I know of an individual who was once in a group therapy session at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. The counselor asked him to write down on a legal pad one hundred things he was angry at his loved one about. At first, he balked. There was no way he could come up with one hundred different instances of anger. But the counselor urged him on. “Get specific,” said the counselor. The man did – and he ended up with well over one hundred instances. A few therapy sessions later, the counselor asked the man to read aloud the one hundred or so items on the anger list. The man began, and he only made it a little way before he began to cry. For the first time, he “owned”, as they say, his emotions.

Contrast with a gratitude list. What are the kindnesses that you have been on the receiving end of? Do the hard work – and it is hard work! Our world instills in us – like light bulb to a socket – not a sense of gratitude for kindnesses extended but rather a senseof entitlement. We feel as though we’re entitled to the good things that come our way. We might even say that we’ve earned the right to have kindnesses extended to us. It’s only fair! But this is not a fairness list. It’s a gratitude list. Write down the kindnesses. See if you can get to one hundred. Read them aloud. Caution: your eyes may fill with tears – of gratitude and joy.

One the kindnesses of the Lord for which I am grateful is that our FPC family is extended this morning. Today, we welcome Rodney and Amanda and Tristan and baby Noah to our little flock here. They, too, are in on the covenant with us. One of the Lord’s kindnesses to me is that the first baptisms I perform as minister of Word and Sacrament here are those of my grandsons. Our Lord flat-out rocks!

The title of today’s message is “Hitherto and Henceforth.” Both words are rarely used and pretty much out of circulation. But when put together, it does have a nice ring to it: “Hitherto and Henceforth”!

“Hitherto” means, quite simply, up to this point. “Henceforth” means – again, quite simply – from now on or from this time forward. At this very moment, we are smack dab in the middle of hitherto and henceforth. Every moment we live, we are set firmly in the middle of hitherto and henceforth.

The hymn-writer Amilie Juliane, who saw many loved ones die during the Thirty Years War on the European continent, wrote:

The Lord hath helped me hitherto by His surpassing favor;
His mercies every morn were new, His kindness did not waver.
God hitherto hath been my Guide, hath pleasures hitherto supplied,
And hitherto hath helped.

Help me henceforth, O God of grace, help me on each occasion,
Help me in each and every place, help me through Jesus’ Passion;
Help me in life and death, O God, help me through Jesus’ dying blood;
Help me as Thou has helped me.

This sounds like a plan for the twelve days of Christmas: to count up the kindnesses that have brought us hitherto – up to this point, and to learn to count on the continuing help of the Lord henceforth.

There are two final items from the Isaiah passage. First, the kindnesses that we have received are “according” – that’s the word Isaiah used – to the kindness and compassion of God. Kindness and compassion are parts of God’s nature. If people are not thinking of God as some sort of human construct, they usually construe God to be a kind of cosmic kill-joy or buzz-kill. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything our Lord does is geared toward kindness and compassion.

Second, Isaiah says that it was the “presence” of the Lord that saved the people. This is the indestructible truth of Christmas, and it’s worthy of the highest place on our gratitude list: God is present for whoever we are, wherever we are, wherever we’ve been, wherever we’re going. In the newborn baby Jesus, God is as close as our skin. And when He grew up and faced the looming specter of the cross, He did run away and hide, or remove His presence, or demand what he was entitled to. But, for our sakes, He endured it all. And, with His resurrection, His mandate and promise are sure and certain: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age.” God is with us – hitherto and henceforth. Amen.

DEVOTION FOR CHRISTMAS DAY (12/25/10)

GOD’S WORD—John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

MEDITATION
Greetings to you this Christmas Day, the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord! Wherever you may be, celebrate the message of this holy day for all the gift that it is. The light and the life of God have come together in the person of Jesus Christ. Attempts have been made to end that life and snuff out that light, but the story of the Lord Jesus – His birth, life, ministry, teachings, passion, suffering, death, and resurrection – always carries the day and gives to our own lives that hope that can truly be called eternal.

Since God loves us and tells it like it is, perhaps this Christmas can offer each of us a new opportunity to love our God and our neighbors as ourselves. Maybe we, too, can set aside the fear and tell it like it is. Let me give it a try with today’s devotional: God, I love you. Dear reader, I love you too. And here is truth about me that I wish to share: there were certain periods – long periods – in my own life where life was little more than existence. I thought, selfishly, that divine light was for someone else, and I pulled away from it. As early as five years ago, if someone were to tell me that I was going to be a pastor again and I would serve a beautiful congregation once more, I would have said that they had consumed too many adult beverages. I preferred, if you will, the darkness; I could hide and be anonymous. But the Word of God, shared and embodied through loved ones like you, created a new beginning. An existence became a life. Listlessness gave way to purpose. A job became a calling. My own darkness greeted the dawn, and my God, in Christ Jesus, became brother and friend.

O Thou boy, lying in the manger, thou art truly God who hast created me, and thou wilt not be wrathful with me because thou comest to me in this loving way – more loving cannot be imagined. If you would truly love, let him be this way in your heart.
--Martin Luther, from a 1527 Christmas Sermon

PRAYER
O God, You wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature. Grant that we may share the divine life of Him who humbled Himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
All glory for this blessed morn
To God the Father ever be;
All praise to You, O virgin-born,
And Holy Ghost, eternally. Amen.

The Grand Miracle of Light!

Text: Luke 2:1-20
Theme: “The Grand Miracle of Light!”
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

The late C.S. Lewis, a well-known Christian writer, described Christmas – the story of God becoming a human being, the account of the incarnation – as the “grand miracle.” All other miracles flow forth from it; all other miracles flow back into it. I have no expectations going into tonight’s message with you, but I do have high hopes. I hope, for each of us, that a miracle will take place – flowing from that “grand miracle” of Christ’s birth. I hope that there are as many miracles tonight as there are people in this place. I hope that we will venture forth from this house of God with owning a miracle: the miracle of a stronger faith, a fuller joy, a greater love, and a deeper resolve to share – and live! -- the good news we’ve heard.

On this holy night, we have, so far, heard three readings from God’s Word. Chief among them is the Holy Gospel from Saint Luke, the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Having heard this, our task is clear: to proclaim it.

As one called and ordained to do this publicly, I want you to be aware that I am aware of you. When I prepare a sermon, please know that I have one eye on the Scripture and the other eye on you. Any time you come into worship at church with its people and pastors and proclamations and prayers and readings and sacraments and hymns, we are, in a sense, a captive audience for awhile. We all live, move, and have our being in a world that fires off messages to us at the speed of light – be it through our high-definition televisions, our satellite and internet radios, our newspapers, our email inboxes, or our cell phones and the myriad applications that come with them. I’m only too aware of how that creates a kind of sensory overload. It used to be that attention spans were about this long (stretch out hands). Now, they are about like this (bring two fingers together at sixth inches apart).

Recognizing this, the message-producers out there try to stretch that attention span with as much Madison Avenue polish and glitz, technical wizardry, choreography, and razzle-dazzle that they can. One of the popular YouTube videos going around this holiday season is called “A Digital Christmas” – with the mother Mary sending emails to Joseph on a Google account and the wise men following Mary on Twitter. The message is that “times change but feelings don’t.” But is this the real message of Christmas? The theme for worship at one congregation in our area is, quite simply, “A 3-D Christmas.” It makes you wonder if you’re going to get those special glasses when you come into church. My point is that, in many respects, the medium has become the message. More attention is paid to how the message is delivered than the message itself.

Picture in your mind the most beautifully wrapped Christmas present you could ever imagine. The wrapping paper is thick and shiny and gold and glittery. There are red and green ribbons surrounding the package’s length and width. There is a gorgeous red velvet bow on top of the present with a sprig of holly nestled in there. It may even be spritzed with some Christmas pot-pourri! There are no rips or tears; the angles are clean; you can’t even see the scotch tape. It’s so stunning that you almost don’t want to open it. But then you do, and you discover that there’s nothing there. The box is empty; there’s no present in it. You end up with torn wrapping paper that goes in the recycle bin. I wonder: do we just recycle Christmas every year?

Now picture in your mind something else. A new mother approaches you with her first-born child tightly wrapped and safely snuggled in her arms. She smiles. There’s a tear in her eye. She says, “This child was born for you.” Gently, she cradles the baby in your arms. The child looks at you, with all that tenderness and vulnerability, and you realize that you will never be the same.

So there you have them: two mental images. One of them captures the medium, but the other captures the message.

The message: our task is to proclaim it.

The Christmas story that we proclaim is not published by Houghton-Mifflin, with high-grade paper and binding, and neither is it wrapped in cellophane with a sticker including bar code and price. It doesn’t begin with the “Once upon a time” or the “Long ago and far away” of cherished literature. Instead, coming off the pages of Holy Scripture, it reads more like a newspaper report. A decree had gone out from the government regarding a census of the people. It’s amazing how some things don’t change. We’ve had a census of our own recently.

Citizens were required to go to the place of their ancestors’ birth. So a man named Joseph, following the law, went. He traveled the eighty some odd miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, to the birthplace of his ancestor, King David. He took his fiance’, Mary, along with him. She was about to become a mother. The mode of transportation, obviously, was not a Cadillac Escalade with heated seats, drop down DVD, a GPS, OnStar, and a brand-new Graco baby seat to take the child home in. More than likely, it was a donkey.

“And while they were there,” we are told, “the time came for the baby to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger” which was a feeding trough for animals. There was an attempt to find lodging, but there was no room, no vacancy. Think of Presbyterian Hospital (just down the road) or Denton Regional Medical Center (just down the highway). On this Christmas Eve, there are likely expectant mothers there – and doctors and nurses on-call to attend to them. There are warm cribs in the birthing rooms at the ready. But Jesus – the Christ, the anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the wonderful counselor, the prince of peace, the Savior of the world – was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals.

Meanwhile, just outside of town, on fields that are there to this day, shepherds were doing what shepherds do: keeping watch over their flocks. With Bethlehem being only a few miles from Jerusalem, the sheep, most scholars think, were destined for religious sacrifice in the temple. It was just another night on the job for them – that is, until an angel appeared. Not only that, the report is that the “glory of the Lord” shone around them. The immediate reaction from that audience of shepherds was not “Encore! Encore!” Rather, it was total fear. Faced with a supernatural miracle of light, their reaction was actually quite natural.

The angel put their fears to rest. “”Do not be afraid,” the angel says. “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.” The angel went on – giving them, you might say, the GPS coordinates: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Then, suddenly, there was yet more glory. Luke reports that “A great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.’”

But the miracle, the grand miracle, was not in the glory and the glitz. The grand miracle was lying in the manger, a feeding trough for animals.

The Christmas angels did not leave them with tour dates for their next performances. They just left – and left the shepherds alone. What would they do? “Lets go to Bethlehem,” they said to one another. They didn’t take their own sweet time. Luke says that they “hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” The message – with its coordinates – was true!

The grand miracle spawned a miracle unique to the shepherds; they became witnesses. Their witness, like a YouTube video, was a viral phenomenon. It spawned another miracle: people were amazed. The grand miracle spawned a miracle unique to Mary; she “treasured up” what had happened and “pondered” it in her heart, we are told.

What will the grand miracle do with you?

When I was a boy, my pastor told a Christmas story about two brothers who lived only a few miles from one another and who had been estranged for quite some time. There were simmering resentments between the two, and they hadn’t kept in contact. One brother lived on the edge of the forest. The other lived in town.

It was a cold Christmas Eve. There was new-fallen snow on the ground. Alone in his home, the brother on the edge of the forest thought of his brother in town. Something was going on in his head and his heart. He thought, “You know, I don’t have anything else to do, and he’s probably cold on account of the snow. I’ll just bundle up, chop some wood, and take it to him for his fireplace. That’s all.”

Meanwhile, the other brother sat alone at his home in town. “You know,” he thought, “my brother probably isn’t coming into town on account of the snow. Maybe he doesn’t have any Christmas dinner. I’ll just go to the store and get some things and take them out to him, and that will be that.”

On that Christmas Eve, the two brothers met for the first time in a long time – halfway between town and the edge of the forest. They each saw what the other brought. Not a word was said. They embraced for a long moment, and years of resentment peeled away and the forgiveness was a fresh as the new-fallen snow. They made it to their own Bethlehem, and the grand miracle did not disappoint.

Dear sisters and brothers, we come to our own Bethlehem tonight. Let us keep the feast and celebrate miracle. For now, faith is strong; joy is full; love is great; resolve is deep, and the good news we’ve heard is grand!

Amen.

DEVOTION FOR CHRISTMAS EVE (12/24/10)

GOD’S WORD—Isaiah 9:2
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.

MEDITATION
On this wondrous day, in churches, homes, and diverse settings throughout the world, the account of Christ’s birth will be read and proclaimed – as it has for centuries. The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel, which records the nativity of our Lord and its surrounding events, puts it out there like the lead story on the front page of the paper. Refreshingly, there is no spin, no slant, no editorializing. It isn’t garnished with high-tech pageantry or 3-D animation. But there it is with all its simplicity and wonder. The first folks to hear the amazing news were not seated in a performing arts center waiting for the conductor to begin an angelic oratorio.

The story of Christmas meets people where they are at – ready or not. During this Advent, we had opportunities to ready homes and hearts for Christ’s coming, and this is all to the good. But the shepherds didn’t have a four week season to prepare. They didn’t purchase tickets for first row, center section, on the main floor! It just happened. It was announced to them. They had the word from God dispensed via God’s messengers, the angels. They went with haste and verified that Word. They told others about what they heard and saw for themselves. Unexpectedly, upon the darkness of their human condition (and ours!), a light shined.

Tonight we celebrate that light. The radiance and illumination it provides has never failed. The light was not given for the sake of razzle-dazzle. Rather, it is our light that leads us out of the darkness of humankind’s inhumanity to humankind. It beckons us forward to the glories God has prepared for us that defy description. Savor this night. Trust its message. Be at peace. Look forward to the rest of your days with joy, for you have the light; your Lord is with you!

PRAYER
O God, You gladden us with the yearly expectation of our redemption. Grant that we, who now joyfully receive Your only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, may also behold Him without fear when He comes to be our judge; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Christ, redeemer virgin-born,
Let songs of praise Your Name adorn,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Spirit evermore. Amen.

DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT IV (12/23/10)

GOD’S WORD—Matthew 1:19-21
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

MEDITATION
There is a time and a place for Christians to ponder the gentle Jesus who is meek and mild. There is an evident tenderness to Christmas what with a vulnerable, newborn child and his mother who was far from home.

While not denying the tenderness and vulnerability of it all, Matthew’s telling of the Christmas story takes on more of a masculine edge. While Luke gives us the “Mary side” of Christmas. Matthew gives us the “Joseph side”. Based on today’s reading, it is evident that Joseph is a gentleman. The angelic implication is that Joseph was afraid of taking Mary as his wife. Like Joseph, a real gentleman knows fear from time to time. Much depends on how fear is dealt with.

Joseph took his direction from the words of the angel. He didn’t move quickly on what his “gut” was telling him to do. He received a word from the Lord, and he “manned up”, as it is said. He gave Mary’s newborn Son the name of Jesus. And with that name came the job description: this child would save people from their sins. When the time came, Joseph stepped up to the plate and undertook his tasks with vigor and energy.

The church of Jesus Christ has its feminine/Mary side. It also has its masculine/Joseph side. God grant to us a full measure of both.

PRAYER
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, Your power and come; and with great might protect us, so that our deliverance, impeded by our sins, may be hastened by Your gracious mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Immanuel,
Our Sovereign and Lawgiver,
Desire of the nations and Savior of all:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT IV (12/22/10)

GOD’S WORD—Isaiah 7:13-14
Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”

MEDITATION
Time for some Dr. Seuss:

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, ‘till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

And what happened then…?
Well…in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch’s small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he…

…HE HIMSELF…!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Indeed, Christmas can be a wearisome exercise. Our mental, emotional, and/or spiritual resources may run dry and our soul screams at us to adopt the attitude – if not, the actions! – of the Grinch. If we can’t be happy at Christmas, why should anybody else?

Our Lord knows that weariness of soul, as Isaiah pointed out in today’s reading. We weary one another; we weary God. That’s just “the nature of the beast” – or, to carry the analogy through, the nature of the Grinch!

God understands, and gave us a sign anyway. A virgin would give birth to a son. His name would be Immanuel – which means “God with us.” With love like this, small hearts can grow three sizes in one day!

PRAYER
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, Your power and come; and with great might protect us, so that our deliverance, impeded by our sins, may be hastened by Your gracious mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Ruler of the nations,
Monarch for whom the people long,
You are the Cornerstone uniting all humanity:
Come, save us all,
Whom You formed out of clay.

DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT IV (12/21/10)

GOD’S WORD—Romans 1:7
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

MEDITATION
Today’s Word from God – including a portion of Paul’s opening comments in his letter to the Roman Christians – offers opportunity to shed some Christmas light on what it means to be a saint. Pictured above is Saint Thomas, one of the disciples of our Lord who is recognized in many Christians traditions this day. He wasn't always "saintly". He had his doubts. No wonder he is referred to as "Doubting Thomas."

But what exactly is a saint? Does saint refer to someone who has died? Do they wear halos above their heads? Are they kind of like Christian Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts who do good deeds?

A saint, quite simply, is a holy one. To be holy means to be without sin. It also refers to someone or something that belongs to the Lord. If we look only at ourselves, we are not saints. However, at the first Christmas God gave to us His only-begotten Son. Looking to Him and taking into consideration all He did on our behalf (His perfect life, death for our sins, and victory over death and grave in His resurrection), we qualify on both counts. By the grace of God in Christ Jesus, we are saints. Being a saint is not as much about behavior as it is about being!

PRAYER
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, Your power and come; and with great might protect us, so that our deliverance, impeded by our sins, may be hastened by Your gracious mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Radiant Dawn,
Splendor of eternal light,
Sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who live in darkness
And in the shadow of death.

DEVOTION FOR MONDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT IV (12/20/10)

GOD’S WORD—Psalm 80:3-7
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

MEDITATION
In the midst of the warmth and goodwill of the holiday season comes this prayer from an angry psalmist. It strikes a discordant note and doesn’t mesh well with images of all things bright and beautiful that we view at Christmas. The prayer actually calls God to account for an embarrassing predicament: the people of God were facing scorn and laughter from enemies and neighbors.

Along with the fevered lament comes a plea for restoration and salvation. Had the divine ears gone deaf? The answer of Christmas is a resounding no. The “lion’s share” of the scorn and laughter was ultimately heaped upon the babe of Bethlehem. His entire life was under attack: from King Herod who tried to kill him in infancy to the crowds that mocked Him at His crucifixion. Nevertheless, the purposes of God worked out. Sin – in all its dizzying, dismal, and discordant variety – was paid for at Calvary’s cross, and the resurrection of Christ from the grave was God’s “Yes!” to our pleas – angry though they be – for restoration and salvation.

PRAYER
Stir up, we beseech You, O Lord, Your power and come; and with great might protect us, so that our deliverance, impeded by our sins, may be hastened by Your gracious mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Key of David,
Scepter over the house of Israel,
You open and no one can close,
You close and no one can open:
Come to set free the prisoners
Who live in darkness and the shadow of death.

DEVOTION FOR SATURDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/18/10)

GOD’S WORD—Matthew 11:11
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

MEDITATION
In today’s reading from God’s Word, Jesus Christ Himself pays John the Baptist a high compliment: “Truly I tell you,” Jesus says, “among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist.” Our Lord extols the greatness of John and puts him in a class by himself. John is at the top of the heap and at the height of the hierarchy!

But where does that put us? Obviously, compared to John, we’re not so great. We find ourselves in the vast multitude called the human race that has its good points and bad points. We may think great thoughts, say great words, and do great deeds. But John the Baptist, at least according to Jesus, has set the bar impossibly high.

Fortunately, Jesus had something else to say about John: “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” In one short sentence, full of clip and punch, Jesus sets implosion charges around our notions of greatness. In the kingdom of heaven, genuine greatness does not consist of “movin’ on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky.” Genuine greatness has to do with service. Jesus says: “The one who is great among you must first be your servant.” “I am among you,” says our Lord, “as one who serves.”

Servants, at their best, are barely noticeable. Even the birth of Jesus lacked what we might call the “pomp and circumstance” of worldly greatness. Heads of state and persons of privilege were not the first to greet the news of the birth of the Messiah. Rather, it was a group of lowly, not-so-great shepherds.

Television programs like American Idol can garner viewers(and Nielsen ratings). But what garners God’s view and rates high with the Almighty is genuine service.

PRAYER
Lord, we beseechYou, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Adonai,
Ruler of the house of Israel,
You appeared in the burning bush to Moses
And gave him the law on Sinai:
Come with outstretched arm to save us.

DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/17/10)

GOD’S WORD—Luke 1:54-55
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

MEDITATION
Promises! Promises! Promises! People make them every day. Then days, weeks, months, and even years pass. The promises, apart from not coming true, slowly fade from our collective memory. We doubt our ability to trust another – on account of promises made and broken. Sometimes we doubt even ourselves and our own initiative and ability to keep the promises we’ve made.

Mary, the mother of our Lord, had studied her Bible. She remembered that the promises of God were merciful ones. Sometimes promises are made to curry favor from someone else. God’s promises are different. The intent is not to seek our favor. Rather, their intent is mercy and redemption. Months prior to giving birth to Jesus, Mary was grateful that God helps; God remembers his mercy; God keeps His promises from the get-go.

As children of the same promises, we take our cue from the virgin-mother and sing our hymns and carols to God for a divine and unblemished record of promises made and promises kept. In a world that lets us down with false assurances and when we let ourselves down in the same way, this is truly good news!

PRAYER
Lord, we beseech You, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
O Wisdom,
Coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
Pervading and permeating all creation,
You order all things with strength and gentleness;
Come now and teach us the way to salvation.

DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/16/10)

GOD’S WORD—Luke 1:47
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

MEDITATION
During this Advent season, football fans across the nation mourned the passing of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Don Meredith. After a stellar career in the Cowboys organization, “Dandy Don” took to the broadcast booth along with Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford to offer commentary on (then) ABC’s Monday Night Football. When a team had “put the game away”, as they say, Meredith would intone – in the words of country singer Willie Nelson: “Turn out the lights; the party’s over.”

That could very well be the theme song of many souls in our day and age. People live lives of what Henry David Thoreau once called “quiet desperation.” The holidays bump up against a fleeting but very real sense of foreboding. We hear Sinatra sing: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas; make the yuletide bright. Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.” But will they be out of sight? We’re not sure.

Mary, the mother of our Lord, had the lights turned on. The party had just begun. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She had a good Word from God to pin her hopes on. Divine promises were extended to her; they came to pass. She brought forth a babe, the Savior of the world. Her joy rides the wave of the years right into our heads and hearts. We have a good Word from God too. Through the apostle Paul (a man whose life was changed by the light of God’s love) says: “All things work together for the good of those who are called according to God’s purpose.” God’s call is coming to you anew this Christmas. Ride the wave. Turn on the lights. Lets get the party started!

PRAYER
Lord, we beseech You, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide!
Let me Thy inner presence feel: Thy grace and love in me reveal.
Thy Holy Spirit guide us on, until our glorious goal is won:
Eternal praise and fame we offer to Thy Name.

DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/15/10)

GOD’S WORD—James 5:7-8
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

MEDITATION
In an age where gratification isn’t gratification unless it is instant, today’s Scripture about being patient seems hopelessly naïve and profoundly out of date. Wanting what we want when we want it is not the sole domain of the toddler; it rides along with us at nearly every stage of life. We tend to brush aside any and all urgings to be patient.

If impatience ever had soft and dull edges, it must have been long ago. Based on any one of a number of experiences, impatience has since been sharpened into a way of life. The thought is that we can’t sit still and wait. Patience, we have somehow concluded, is the lot of those who let life pass them by.

But then there’s the farmer. The farmer knows the harvest isn’t safe in the silo on the day after the seeds were planted. The anticipated results will require patience. After the farmer plants the seeds, control is basically surrendered. The farmer is at the mercy of the elements.

As children of God’s covenant, you and I are at the mercy of the Almighty! Words from the Almighty, like seeds in the ground, are planted in our minds and hearts. They take root and grow. There will be a harvest for the Lord of the harvest. The gift and practice of patience allow us to savor the growth process. A good-natured expectancy and a lively hope ensue. Impatience is hard on the heart. Patience strengthens it.

PRAYER
Lord, we beseech You, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
From the manger newborn light sends a glory through the night.
Darkness now must fade away; faith within the light shall stay.

DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/14/10)

GOD’S WORD—Psalm 146:9
The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

MEDITATION
The first fact about being an orphan is this: you no longer have parents. The first fact about being a widow or widower is this: you no longer have a spouse. Among the first facts about Christmas is this: it has to do with families. We speak of the “holy family”: the infant Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We work to gather our families together as best we can to celebrate, exchange gifts, eat, laugh, play games, and sing.

But think of an orphan or a widow. It has to be tough any time of the year, but the holiday season can be almost too much. There are memories, yes. Many of them are happy ones. But Christmas is different because family isn’t what it once was. Yes, there is something to be said about starting new traditions and so forth, and many do. But what of the child at Christmas this year who had to grow up too fast – without parents? Or consider the dear lady at the assisted living facility. Yes, she is safe and warm in her apartment; her physical needs are provided for. There are Christmas cards and scrapbooks and photo albums with images of Christmases past when her husband was alive. But most of the time, there is no one there but her. Her phone is cradled silently.

In honor of today’s Scripture, phone calls can be made; visits can be undertaken; cookies can be baked, and the circle of family can be extended. We are told today that the Lord watches over the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. One surprising and unforgettable joy is when we are privileged to join the Lord in watching over them.

PRAYER
Lord, we beseech You, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Stretch forth Your hand, our health restore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon Your people shine
And fill the world with love divine.

DEVOTION FOR MONDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT III (12/13/10)

GOD’S WORD—Isaiah 35:8
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.

MEDITATION
Be it by boat, train, plane, motor vehicle, or perhaps even a sleigh, people are up and about and on their way to who only knows where this holiday season. Be sure to yield the proverbial “right of way” and always check your “blind spot”!

Compared to what your author has just done, the prophet Isaiah does not offer tips for travel. Instead, we are told of a highway that has name – and it is not “I-35W” or any other road designation we might be reminded of after we set our GPS. This highway is called the “Holy Way”. If you’re carrying a load of what the Bible calls sin, you won’t be allowed on the “Holy Way.” But if you wish to rid yourself of that heavy burden, it will be “green light” and “clear sailing” for you! In fact, that’s what the Christ-child came to do – to take away that baggage of sin that we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to haul around ourselves (only to find that it is getting us nowhere)!

We get somewhere when, by the grace of God in Christ, we travel through this life on that “Holy Way”. We may not know what’s around the corner, but the architect and builder of the “Holy Way” goes with us. And the destination, we are reliably told, is glorious. Enjoy safe – and meaningful! – travel this holiday season and always!

PRAYER
Lord, we beseech You, give ear to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
See the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heaven.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiven.

"The Evening Light"

Text: Luke 1:47-55
Theme: “The Evening Light!”
The 3rd Sunday of Advent
December 12, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

46 And Mary* said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Through the electronic communication known as email, a friend sent along some responses from 2nd grade children to specific questions about motherhood. Again, bear in mind that the answers are from 2nd graders. Here are just a few:

Question: Why did God make mothers? Reply: “She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.” Another question: How did God make mothers? The 2nd grade reply: “He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.” Another question: What ingredients are mothers made of? Reply: “God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.” Another 2nd grader wrote, “They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.” Question: Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? Reply: “God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me.” Question: What kind of a little girl was your mom? Reply: “They said she used to be nice.” Question: Why did your mom marry your dad? Reply: “My grandma says that mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.” Question: Who’s the boss at your house? Reply: “Mom doesn’t want to be the boss, but she has to because dad’s such a goofball.” Question: What’s the difference between moms and dads? Reply: “Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.” A final question: If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be? The 2nd grade reply: “She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that.”

On the secular or civil calendar here in the United States, Mother’s Day is observed on the second Sunday in the month of May. But it could very well be that today, the Second Sunday of Advent, is Mother’s Day on the church calendar. After all, one of the appointed readings from God’s Word set aside for our consideration and delight is the song of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is otherwise known as the Magnificat. Magnificat runs with magnify – as Mary sang it to her relative Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

Mary and Elizabeth were relatives. They were in a family together. Sometimes, when we mainline Protestant Christians think about our sessions and synods and presbyteries and polity and rules and regulations and teachings and doctrines and motions and amendments ad infinitum and ad nauseum, we quite forget that it’s about family. What is the Biblical witness if not a story about family? Cut through the cobwebs and ask the question that springs from the deepest part of the soul: what is it, really, that God really wants? It’s a one word answer: family!

Whether one was an aunt and the other a niece, we don’t know. They may have been cousins; we’re not one hundred percent sure on that either. But this much we are told. They both were pregnant; they were expectant mothers. Elizabeth was getting toward the end of her second trimester. At about that time, the angel Gabriel – as the story is told in Luke’s Gospel -- announced to Mary that she would conceive and give birth to a son. The name would be Jesus. Gabriel said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Mary wondered how it could be. Gabriel said: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary spent little time processing all this. She could not sit still. She “got ready and hurried,” we are told, to a town up in the hills of Judea. Perhaps it took her all day to get there. She enters the lowly little world of Elizabeth’s home. One can imagine the sun beginning to set in the Judean hill country as the evening candles were lit. She greets her relative. Luke says that “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb.” We fathers can feel our unborn child leap on the outside, but only a mother can on the inside.

Filled with the Holy Spirit and all the joy that comes with it, Elizabeth cries out: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

And there and then, Mary’s response is sheer poetry of soul. She cries out: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She praised God and God’s family in which she was a member. What a happy and joyful family time it must have been! Mary and Elizabeth, the relatives and expectant mothers, were there with and for one another.

But life isn’t all an endless round of warm fuzzies where, as one life insurance advertisement puts it, we “experience wellness everywhere.” Contrast this and happy family time in the hill country of Judea to the cold and dismal counting house of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol. There sits the manipulative, controlling, cranky, crotchety old miser Scrooge on Christmas Eve. His only living family member is his niece, and he is estranged from her.

The husband of the aforementioned niece, the nephew as Dickens tells it, drops by in the early evening to visit Scrooge and invite him to Christmas dinner the next day. The candles in the counting house were already lit – for light and for what warmth they could afford.

“’A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!’ cried a cheerful voice.”

“’Bah!’ said Scrooge, ‘Humbug!’”

“’Christmas a humbug, uncle!’ said Scrooge’s nephew. ‘You don’t mean that, I am sure.’”

“’I do,’ said Scrooge. ‘Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough?’

“‘Come, then,’ returned the nephew. ‘What right you you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.’”

“Humbug,” said Scrooge.

“’Don’t be cross, uncle,’ said the nephew.”

“’What else can I be,’ returned the uncle, ‘when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ‘em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will,’ said Scrooge, indignantly, ‘every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas, on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!’”

“’Uncle!’ pleaded the nephew.

“‘Nephew!’ returned the uncle, sternly. ‘Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.”

“‘Keep it!’ repeated Scrooge’s nephew. ‘But you don’t keep it.’”

Imagine a spectrum with Scrooge and his nephew on one end and Mary and Elizabeth on the other. Where, along that spectrum, would you place yourself and your own family? Down through the years, we Christians have said a few things about “family values.” But to what degree do we actually value families? There are different kinds of them – families of origin, extended families, adoptive families, single-parent families, broken families, blended families, to name a few.

Families are as wonderful as they are messy and as sweet as they are sticky. At this time of year, we sing: “Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays, for no matter how far away you roam. When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze, for the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home.” Yet, we also sing that song, made famous by Bing Crosby, that was first penned in the midst of the World War II: “I’ll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree. Christmas Eve will find me where the love-light gleams. I’ll be home for Christmas – if only in my dreams.”

Hearts can be broken in the lives of families. The breaks can be caused by many things: dysfunction, divorce, abuse, sickness, addiction, war, death and on and on. And it is at the time of Christmas that the hurt of that brokenness can be especially acute. Sometimes, when a heart is broken, a mental or psychological hedge or wall can be built around that broken heart. It is built – and there are those of us who have built it – because we are afraid of being vulnerable. When you’re vulnerable, you expose your heart to all the possibilities – including that of being broken. If it’s already broken, why add insult to injury? You keep Christmas, if you can call it that, to yourself.

But go back with me now to the Mary and Elizabeth end of the spectrum. Come into the evening light of that home in the Judean hill country. Elizabeth had a broken heart. For years she had suffered the shame of not being able to bear a child. And what of Mary? She grew up in a land overrun by a foreign government. She had heard the amazing stories her ancestors told about God’s mighty workings through the years, but now that was over. They were paying the price for turning away from God, and God, it seemed, had turned away from them.

But the announcements they had received from those angelic visitors were proof positive that God is real, that God’s love won’t stop, that God keeps covenant. The most powerful reminder for them was that they were in a family way. The walls and hedges and fences they had built around their hearts were no more, and both of them were far more than vulnerable. They were joyful. It wasn’t choreographed piety or finery. It was deep, genuine happiness.

I pray that the kind of love and joy that sprang from that home in the Judean hills be yours this Christmas. May it please our Lord to shed the warmth of an evening light on the cold, dark night of soul that we all experience. God give us the grace and dignity to say to all the forces that drive us to despair in this world what Scrooge said to the doorknocker that once bore the image of Marley’s ghost at the end of the show: “I must leave you now. I must get ready. I’m going to have Christmas dinner with my family.”

The lyricist John Rutter has captured everything I’ve tried to express today in his “Candlelight Carol”. It goes like this:

How do you capture the wind on the water?
How do you count all the stars in the sky?
How can you measure the love of a mother,
Or how can you write down a baby’s first cry?

Shepherds and wisemen will kneel and adore Him,
Seraphim round Him their vigil will keep;
Nations proclaim Him their Lord and their Savior,
But Mary will hold Him and sing Him to sleep.

Find Him at Bethlehem laid in a manger:
Christ our Redeemer asleep in the hay.
Godhead incarnate and hope of salvation:
A child with His mother that first Christmas day.

Amen.

DEVOTION FOR SATURDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/11/10)

GOD’S WORD—Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

MEDITATION
The person and work of John the Baptist is at the forefront of meditation this week. The great preacher of Advent somehow drew a massive crowd out to the Judean desert and along the Jordan River. If they had a Time magazine in Jerusalem back then, he may have been named “Person of the Year”! He’s certainly quite a character – clad in camel’s hair and lunching on locusts and wild honey.

But don’t let appearances fool you. It was his message that packed all the punch. People wanted something – or someone – to believe in again. God seemed A.W.O.L.; a foreign government was in control; their “religion” had become a conglomeration of hundreds of rules that were impossible to keep. The opportunity to confess their sins, to change their mind and redirect their hearts, and to enjoy a sense of belonging again (through John’s baptism) must have been quite a drawing card.

But John wasn’t finished. He told them of One far more powerful who was on the way. If God could be so good to give such blessing through the John the Baptist, what more could possibly be in store? The excitement was palpable. Their joy is linked to the anticipation of more joy to come! This all adds up to a wonderful way to live: the Gospel way!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Zion hears the watchmen singing, and all her heart with joy is springing.
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all glorious, the strong in grace, in truth victorious.
Her star is risen, her light is come.
O come, awaited One.
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son. Alleluia!
We follow ‘til the halls we view where You have bid us dine with You

DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/10/10)

GOD’S WORD—Matthew 3:1-2
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

MEDITATION
In our environment of rampant political posturing, let us cut to the chase: Was John the Baptist a liberal? He does come off a bit hippy-ish, and He certainly challenges the status quo. Was John a conservative? He did call sinners to repent – an age-old conservative message if there ever was one. Oh, so he must be a wishy-washy moderate or “independent voter.”

No. Here’s a wonderful truth about John the Baptist, that great preacher of the Advent season: Thanks be to God! He doesn’t fit the labels we use. He bursts them! He is not liberal. He is not conservative. He is not moderate. He is a voice! “This is he,” Matthew’s gospel tells us, “who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

John the Baptist was a happy, crazy partisan when it came to the will of God! His voice and message is not political hot air. It’s a refreshing breeze!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Those dear tokens of His Passion still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exaltation to His ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture gaze we on those glorious scars.

"The Light at Noon!"

Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Theme: “The Light at Noon!”
The 2nd Sunday of Advent
December 5, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2‘Repent,for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’* 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 ‘I baptize you with* water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Lucius Annaeus Seneca is his full name, but we can just call him Seneca. He is a Roman philosopher who lived at the time of Jesus. Good-humored and always ready with a quotable quote, he once said: “There is no genius without an admixture of madness.” To state it differently: if you’re really, really, really smart then you’re probably crazy too. But craziness does sound much better than insanity. A modern lyricist, something of a poet in his own right, said: “If we weren’t all crazy, we’d all go insane.”

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, and the Gospel reading takes us to the Judean desert. On the Second Sunday of Advent, Christian churches throughout the world have a date with John the Baptist – the man and the message. He’s featured prominently in reading that you’ve just heard. He is the son of a priest named Zechariah. His mother’s name is Elizabeth. He is a cousin to Jesus. Maybe Seneca had heard about John.

“There is no genius without an admixture of madness.” With Seneca’s dictum in mind, is John the Baptist a genius? Is he crazy? Is he insane? Based on what he wore, it might be somewhere between crazy and insane. Our reading says: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.” What about the leather belt? I suppose most of us have one of those – nothing really out of the ordinary there. A wardrobe of camel hair, however, is a rather odd fashion statement given our current sensibilities. But who knows? Maybe he was just being trendy or “fashion-forward” as they say. There there’s his diet of locusts and wild honey. It doesn’t sound – how do I put this politely? – “balanced.”

In addition to all of this, our text relates that John came to the desert of Judea to preach. Uh oh, a preacher! We best sit back and listen up. But there were no pews or pulpit. He didn’t stand with a bullhorn on the courthouse or public square as someone might do today, and neither did he go to the temple in Jerusalem back then. He seems to be more than comfortable with his nomadic, vagabond-like existence in the desert. Symptoms of crazy are there.

But is it good crazy or bad crazy? If good crazy, then what can we take from John the Baptist – the man and the message – for our own crazy, busy, dizzy trip to Christmas this year and for our lives in general? We best take a closer look!

To begin with, I would say that John the Baptist – despite the questionable diet and fashion faux pas -- is a delightfully refreshing character. He’s not like some ambassador, in a Brooks Brothers suit, firing off diplomatic cables to only a select group of uppity-ups. There was nothing secret, covert, or for someone else’s eyes only. There were no Wikileaks with John the Baptist – and no need for them. What you saw and heard is what you got!

John the Baptist emerges off the pages of Holy Scriptures as one who could care less about proper civil discourse, or polite propriety in general, or puffery of any kind. John does not fit the profile of polished political correctness.

In our environment of ideological posturing run amok, let us to to the chase: Was John a liberal? He does come off a bit hippy-ish, and He certainly challenges the status quo. Was John a conservative? He did call sinners to repent – an age-old conservative message if there ever was one. Oh, so he must be a wishy-washy, middle-of-the-road, moderate or “independent voter.”

No. Here’s another wonderful thing about John: Thanks be to God! He doesn’t fit the labels we use. He bursts them! He is not liberal. He is not a conservative. He is not a moderate. He is a voice! “This is he,” Matthew’s gospel tells us, “who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

We need the Lord today – more than ever. It behooves us to prepare the way.

The person and mission of John the Baptist apparently struck a nerve. We are told that the entire city of Jerusalem went out to the desert to see him and hear him. The people of Judea came out along with the folks who lived along the Jordan River. We are told that they confessed their sins and were baptized by John.

Our reading specifically mentions the Sadducees and the Pharisees coming out to John. They were the religious elite, the educated class among most of the folks that came out to John. Perhaps they were curious about his popularity, his dress, or his diet. Who knows? But John didn’t greet them diplomatically. He took verbal aim and fired away. He said: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

It was all very dramatic and all very simple. What makes the cut with God? Is it race or class or income level? Is it educational attainment or street smarts? Is it patriotism toward the country? Is it political ideology? Does it involve shooting straight and playing by the rules? Is it because of what you eat or how you dress? Is it because of sexual orientation? Is it because you pass a background check? Is it because you’ve been a child of the covenant for nearly seventy five years and an ordained elder for twenty of them?

All of the stuff I’ve just listed amounts to a sack of leaves from a tree– no more, no less. But John said that the “…axe is already at the foot of the tree.” It’s as if he’s saying, “Don’t show me your leaves. The tree is about to come down.”
“Bear fruit that is worthy of repentance,” he says.

God is not an afterthought. God is either everything or nothing at all. John baptized the people. Baptism, throughout its varied history, has always been a sign of belonging. Even though people want and need solitude from time to time, they so desperately desire to belong, to know that they are not alone and trust that someone has their back.

These folks poured their hearts out to John; they confessed their sins. It was a baptism of repentance. Repentance is about a mind that is changed. They wanted that to bear that fruit. They had long since become weary of the constant thinking and endless fretting about the military, political, and religious forces that were sapping their spirits, forces inside of them and outside of them that plunged them into despair and darkness. Can you relate?

For them, John the Baptist was like the sun at high noon on a cloudless day. There was confusion. There was no cloak and dagger maneuvering,or shady backroom deals, or secret, covert, or classified activity. It was all out in the open and in the light. People responded. They wanted to respond. They ached for something different, something better, something real.

“He’s coming,” said John. “I’m not worthy to even untie His sandals. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
John the Baptist has been described as the great preacher of Advent. In and of himself, he was not great. The greatness came with the message: the good news that Christ, the light of the world, is coming! Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you and I are in on that. The light shines on! We belong. Amen.

"The Morning Light!"

Text: Romans 13:11-14
Theme: “The Morning Light!”
The 1st Sunday of Advent
November 28, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

Sing a song of gladness and cheer, for the time of Christmas is here!
Look around about you and see what a world of wonder this world can be!
Sing a Christmas carol!
Sing a Christmas carol!
Sing a Christmas carol – like the children do.
And enjoy the beauty, all the joy and beauty
That Merry Christmas can bring to you!
(from the overture to the motion picture Scrooge)

Happy new year to the church! The time of Christmas is here! Just for the record, there are three seasons in the overall Time of Christmas. First, we have Advent; that runs for four weeks. It’s a season of reflection, of repentance (which is turning back to God), and eager expectation for the coming of Christ. Advent means coming! “Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long; let every heart prepare a throne and every voice a song!” is how one hymn puts it. After that, we will observe the season of Christmas itself which goes on for twelve days. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree”; you get the idea. Then, on January 6th, Lord willing, the the third and final season in the overall time of Christmas begins with the Epiphany of the Lord. We recall the arrival of the Magi. “We three kings of Orient are bearing gifts; we traverse afar – field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.” They were not kings; they were not from the orient, and there were likely more than three of them, but that’s for another sermon.

The time of Christmas – with Advent, the twelve day festival of Christmas itself, and Epiphany -- does seem as though life is being injected with steroids. Almost everything is amped up to warp speed. Schedules are packed and so are the malls. The fragile seams of our existence – economic or otherwise -- come close to bursting. Will we make it to and through another Christmas?

There are those who, if truth be told, dread the holiday season. They have very deep, very personal, and reasonable reasons for feeling that way. Existential despair can sink its talons in deeper at Christmas. A sickening realism can invade life. While the world around sings carols, the song in some folks’ hearts goes like this:

Turn out the lights the party’s over.
They say that all good things must end.
Call it a night, the party’s over –
And tomorrow starts the same old thing again.

That was Willie Nelson.

But contrast Willie with old Fezziwig, the boyhood boss of Ebenezer Scrooge. In the motion picture Scrooge – with Scrooge played by Albert Finney – old Fezziwig sings:

Of all the days in all the year that I’m familiar with,
There’s only one that’s really fun: December the Twenty Fifth!
Ask anyone called Robinson, or Brown, or Jones, or Smith,
There favourite day and they will say: December the Twenty Fifth!

At times we’re glad to see the back of all our kin and kith,
But there’s a date we celebrate: December the Twenty Fifth!
At times our friends may seem to be devoid of wit and pith,
But all of us our humorless: December the Twenty Fifth!

If there’s a day in history that more than any myth,
Beyond a doubt one day stands out: December the Twenty Fifth
I don’t hear any arguments, so may I say forthwith,
I wish that every day could be December the Twenty Fifth!

December the Twenty Fifth, me dears!
December the Twenty Fifth!
The dearest day in all the year: December the Twenty Fifth!

Add the violin, and you have a sweet song! But who is telling it like it is in your life as you head in to Christmas– Willie or Fezziwig?

As you can see, our chancel is now bathed in yet more light – light from the Lord’s table, from the Advent wreath, from the Christmas tree. Put it all together, and you have a sign that points to the Light of the world – even Jesus Christ our Lord. St. John says that “In Him (Jesus Christ) is life, and that life is the light of all.” Years before the arrival of Christ on the world stage, King David wrote, in the thirty sixth psalm: “In Your light we see light.”

Having taken a good, long look at the Scripture readings scheduled for this holy season, the theme of light presented itself powerfully to me. Today’s epistle suggests a kind of morning light. Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent, we’ll look at light in the middle of the day. On December 12th, the Third Sunday of Advent, we’ll consider the evening light. On December 19th, the Fourth Sunday in Advent, we’ll gather for the traditional and lovely service of lessons and carols where our focus will be on the light of life! Then, on Christmas Eve, we will celebrate what C.S. Lewis described as the “grand miracle” of light.

Start with the morning light. We all know it’s coming, but there are times when we wish it would wait awhile longer so we might sleep more. Others are used to being “up before the sun and gone with the wind,” as it is said. The season of Advent can be described as a wake up call for the soul, for the spirit. “It is now the moment,” writes the apostle Paul, “to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near.”

What kind of day will it be as the morning lights shine? In their famous song, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, lyricists Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein write:

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky.

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's going my way.

Some mornings are like that. Others aren't. On many days, we almost can sense whether things are going to go our way or not. On any given day, we can wake up to predict, prognosticate, and prophecy about how the new day will play itself out. Whatever the condition of our soul may be, the apostle’s call is to set aside, to cast off, anything that deepens the darkness of our souls. He lists the darkness deepeners: dishonorable living, for example, and reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling, and jealousy. He says to not make “provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” The flesh, our flesh, will always have its needs – like air, food, and water among other things. But it also has its desires – and we run into trouble when the gratification of those desires becomes the all-encompassing, all-consuming reason for our existence. All of that desire that’s run amok and all of those darkness deepeners we’ve mentioned are like old, worn-out, dirty, tattered clothing that ought to be tossed and not recycled. Instead of even thinking of wearing that, he says to “Put on the armour of light” or “Put on Jesus Christ.” Advent, therefore, is a time of spiritual grooming. Like the morning light, it reminds the soul and the spirit to wake up, get up, clean up, and suit up!

A few years back, the poet Sharon Olds told a story that her mother had related to her about when Sharon was only six months old. They had gotten up one morning to go the doctor. Here’s how Sharon describes what happened on that day:

By the time I was six months old, she (my mother) knew something was wrong with me. I got looks on my face she had not seen on any child in the family, or the extended family, or the neighborhood. My mother took me in to the pediatrician with the kind hands, a doctor with a name like a suit size for a wheel: Hub Long. My mom did not tell him what she thought in truth, that I was possessed. It was just these strange looks on my face – he held me, and conversed with me, chatting as one does with a baby, and my mother said, “She’s doing it now! Look! She’s doing it now!” And the doctor said, “What your daughter has is called…a sense…of humor.” “Ohhh,” she said, and took me back to the house where that sense would be tested and found to be incurable.

Friends in Christ, we have a very busy season in front of us. Hopefully, it will be a most meaningful and joyful one too. In God’s light we can see light – in our souls, in our understanding, and even at the end of the tunnel. With the morning light, we can wake up, get up, clean up, and suit up with Christ, the Light of the world. Having a sense of humor – even an incurable one – isn’t too bad either!

Amen.

"In Thy Light We See Light": An Invitation

In Thy Light We See Light!
--Psalm 36:9b

In Thy light we see light? What exactly does this mean? Commenting on this short verse from the Psalms, the great Charles Spurgeon once wrote: "We need no candle to see the sun, we see it by its own radiance, and then see everything else by the same luster. The knowledge of God sheds light on all other subjects." This inspired riddle declares that in order to understand anything in life, we must first be drawn to God, the light of life, and then see everything from God's perspective.

Advent and Christmas afford us a new opportunity to bask in the glow of divine light! You are invited to visit THE STRAIGHTFORWARD PULPIT (prdunklau.blogspot.com) every day in Advent and during the twelve days of Christmas. A short Scripture selection, a meditation, a prayer, and verse will be provided for your devotion.

A meaningful Advent and a Merry Christmas to all of you!

Your Friend,

Paul R. Dunklau

DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/9/10)

GOD’S WORD—Romans 15:7
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

MEDITATION
Holiday decorating contests are underway, and I’m pretty sure our neighborhood is having one. (With a couple of outdoor wreaths and a Christmas tree in the window, our look is colorful, traditional, and restrained!) A couple houses down, the Grinch has reappeared in blow-up version (he sleeps on the ground during the day) with candy canes all around. Further down the street, the residents have strung up the new-fangled neon Christmas lights. Pretty cool!

Radiant outdoor displays do more than qualify for a prize. They point to the true Light, which enlightens us all, that is coming into the world! They exude a sense of welcome, of hearth, and of home. It’s as if the light welcomes the Light!

Christ, the Light of the world, welcomed us, first, as an infant. All through His growing years, He spoke out for and championed a child-like faith and trust in God. What joy it is to welcome one another in such a way this year – with a child-like faith in God that is put into practice with love. This sort of thing is the “decoration” worth keeping up all year long!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
The Lord is just, a helper tried, with mercy ever at His side;
His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress,
The end of all our woe He brings; wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise Thee, Savior, now, mighty in deed art Thou.

DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/8/10)

GOD’S WORD—Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

MEDITATION
“Why do we study the Bible?” asked the pastor to the class. Silence followed. With a smile, the pastor went on: “We study it for all kinds of reasons, but, for starters, I’ll tell you why we don’t study it: we don’t study it to become better Bible trivia players.”

For a child of God, the study of God’s Word is not trivial pursuit. The logic is impeccable: a child of God is a disciple of Christ; a disciple is a learner; a learner receives instruction, and the Scriptures were written for just that purpose. The Bible is brimming with “steadfastness” and “encouragement”, asserts the apostle Paul. All of it is geared toward you and me having hope! The all-but-stylish and pervasive pessimism of our day is overrated. Give me hope – and I don’t want the kind that comes when one masters the art of whistling in the dark. Real and tangible hope is where it’s at and what it’s all about – the kind that was embodied and brought by the infant in Bethlehem’s manger.

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Not by human flesh and blood; by the mystic breath of God
Was the Word divine made flesh –
Woman’s offspring pure and fresh.

DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/7/10)

GOD’S WORD—Isaiah 11:9b
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

MEDITATION
We live in the meantime. We carry on between right now and that occasion when, finally, Isaiah’s prophecy will be fully realized and the “…earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” With the prophetic analogy in mind, we note times of “drought”; it would appear that our world and culture are nowhere near to being full of the knowledge of the Lord. Such knowledge seems to have periods of weal and woe, of up and down. One person’s “knowledge of the Lord” may be different and another’s. Tension can result. Confusion seems to cover the earth more than the waters of the sea.

Dear friend, this is where the gift of faith comes in -- faith that, although the ways are mysterious, our God remains sovereign and gracious. Advent is a great time to adjust our spiritual vision. Until Isaiah’s prophecy comes to fruition, Advent will always challenge us to not overlook those smaller and even unexpected dispensations of grace. Think, first, of the child in the manger!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
For You are our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without Your grace we waste away
Like flowers that wither and decay.

DEVOTION FOR MONDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/6/10)

GOD’S WORD—Psalm 72:3-4
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May He defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

MEDITATION
From the opening chapter, “Marley’s Ghost”, in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens:

“A few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?”
“Nothing!” Scrooge replied.
“You wish to be anonymous?”
“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t’ make merry myself at Christmas, and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.”
“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”
“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Ebenezer Scrooge, while a fictional character, sheds light on a dark mindset that is only too real. Dickens may have engaged in a bit of “exaggeration for effect”, but he nailed it. Someone has said that depression is “anger turned inward.” Scrooge appears to have so much of it – anger – that his inward self can no longer contain it. Thus, he flings his verbal bile at two chaps who are trying to bring some Christmas cheer to needy people. As A Christmas Carol progresses, it become clear that the “psychological approach” is not the cure for Ebenezer’s woe. There were no happy pills. What happened was something bordering on redemption.

Scrooge was self-absorbed. King Solomon, the author of this week’s psalm (Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19), took a different tack. Despite his gargantuan wisdom and wealth, He implored our Lord to provide prosperity, righteousness, defense, and deliverance.

This kind of dependence on God – genuine and prayerful – is a gift in itself. Remember it! Unpack it! Use it! It’s the perfect antidote for Scrooge-ish-ness!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earth-bound soul arise;
Christ her sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.