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Here is a text version of the Christmas Eve sermon. The “live” version is slightly different because I preach from notes rather than a full manuscript. But this will give you the idea.
I wonder what it was like on those streets of Bethlehem that night, as Mary and Joseph looked for somewhere to spend the night. Did they squabble at all? Did Mary remind Joseph that they should have called ahead? Did they argue about whether they would have found a spot at the inn if they had not stopped twice to eat along the road? Did the words “I told you so” pass through Mary’s lips at any point that night as they wandered about looking for some place to stay?
A couple years ago, my family headed south for Florida the day after Christmas. All went well, until we hit Chattanooga, Tennessee. There we became part of the biggest parking lot in the United States – one that stretched from north of Chattanooga to nearly the Florida state line. We were caught in a wave of humanity. We were just one speck in a vast tide of people seeking the sun in Florida. Our car, our family, was itself not worthy of any notice at all. We were just another car on the road. read more…
Luke 1:39-45
Bishop Mike Coyner shares the following thoughts in his latest e-pistle:
Recently one of our excellent Indiana Conference pastors, Herb Buwalda, used an interesting phrase that has captivated me. We were talking about all of the terminology which various churches use about reaching the “lost” or the “unchurched” or the “seekers.” None of those terms seems to fully capture the essence of the difference it makes to live one’s life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Herb offered this thought: Since many people in our culture claim to believe in God, the real issue is not belief. It is being convinced that this belief can and should make a difference in my life. It is, he said, all about “living as one of the convinced.”
I think he is onto something. During this season of Advent and Christmas, we will hear and see lots of what might be called “cultural Christianity” as people give lip service to the birth of Christ and to their belief in God. Our American culture loves to feel good about Christmas, and there will be TV specials, community programs, and decorations to honor our belief in Christ.
But … and here is Herb’s point … will any of that make any difference in how most people actually live their lives? Sure most people say they believe in God (according to the Gallup study “The Unchurched American” nearly 90% of Americans claim to believe), and a vast majority even express belief in Jesus and his resurrection (over 2/3 according to that same Gallup study). But when it comes to living our lives as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, those “beliefs” seldom translate into action. It seems that most people believe in the basics of the Christian faith, but they are not convinced that such belief should really guide and change their life.
The real danger of this season is not “Bah-humbug” of those who oppose Christmas, it is the “Ho-hum” indifference to the true essence of the Incarnation.
We have an opportunity as Christians during this Advent/Christmas season to do deeper. We have an opportunity to explore how we can live like those who are convinced that Jesus makes a difference in our lives and in our world.
We have an opportunity to live as one of the convinced.
Jim Campbell bailed out his pastor on Dec. 6, stepping up to deliver a sermon. Here is the text of the sermon that he sent me.
1. I like to go to auctions. The contagious reaction of the audience to the auctioneer’s chant is most interesting to me.
2. I spent many Saturday nights at the Worthington Auction House for a span of three years. I have a lot of Craftsman tools as a result, but nothing that I don’t need.
3. Attending auctions can lead to a divorce.
4. One time at an auction, an old violin in a dusty case came up ——— finally a $5.00 bid was made. Auctioneer worked and worked, but no increase. Finally an old man with gray hair, old worn clothes, creased face asked, “May I see the violin?” He rosined the bow, tuned the violin a bit and begin to play. The crowd hushed as the magnificent sounds emanated from the instrument. He held the crowd’s attention for more than five minutes, then replaced the violin in the case. The auctioneer began the bidding once more. Quickly, the bids came in–$50, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and finally 3,000. What made the difference here? It had to be the touch of the Master’s hand didn’t it?
5. When my granddaughter, Lizzie, was four months old, I was holding her and looking at her beautiful face (she was the most
beautiful baby that ever was by the way). It occurred to me that I could not even create one of her eye lashes. Where did her beauty come from? Again, it had to be the Master’s Hand.
5. Tom Bredweg and Teddy York are two farmers in our community who farm in excess of 3,000 and 4,000 acres. They both have the latest in farm equipment capacity and design. Corn planters that plant 24 rows at a through, combines that pick 12 rows at a through, tractors that pull a 40’ tillage implement. Grain carts that haul 800 or more bushels and weight the grain accurate to 20 lbs. Teddy picked my 15 acres of corn the other day in 45 minutes. It used to take me———–with my J.D. 45 combine. Max—if you are insuring any J.D. 9800 series combines for $250,000 and one burns, the pay-off is going to be $100,000 short. My granddad would sit by the stove in the winter and hand shell his seed corn for the next spring. He had a two-row planter and would check-plant it. Who knows what that is? I bought my seed corn in bushel bags when I farmed. Then bags of seed were measured by how many seeds were in it—maybe 50,000 or so. Today, farmers buy seed in large containers that fit on a pallet and are lifted by forklifts up onto a trailer where the seed is augered into the planter or grain drill—no more handling by hand. Conner, as you have seen many grains of corn in your lifetime, could you go home this morning and make a grain of corn that would grow? How about a soybean? Or maybe an alfalfa seed that is so tiny—wouldn’t be much to creating that would there? I think you would need help from the Master’s hand.
6. Ever been on a mountain in the spring when there are huge fields of multi-colored flowers growing? In Alaska, Colorado, and Tenn., Janice and I have seen these huge fields of beauty, but as good a gardener that Janice is, I don’t believe she can re-create one tiny flower by herself, not even a dandelion seed that blows so easily in the breeze.
7. Almost two years ago a very good surgeon in Bloomington removed the cancer that was blocking Janice’s small intestine. In Dec. of 2008, it came back. The Dr. said he didn’t expect it to return for three years. He repeated the surgery and again opened the small intestine and connected two loops of it to the stomach directly. He said, “You may die some day of cancer, but you won’t starve in the meantime.” In May of 2009, Her oncologist and gastroenterologist dismissed her, in essence to go home and die. Chemo didn’t work and radiation was not an alternative. This past summer she paid two visits to an Amish Practitioner who prescribed herbs and diet for several weeks, then pronounced her healed. I have no doubt that I have witnessed the Master’s Hand at work, here, but who was he working through?—the surgeon, the oncologist, the gastroenterologist, or the practitioner?
8. Ask the two acololytes to pass out the transistors—one to each row, then to collect them at the other end. Just look at the object that is being passed, but do not identify it to the person sitting next to you. After they are collected, ask who can identify the object that was passed. Identify them. 1947 Bell Telephone scientists invented this device by blending some silicon with an impure substance, connecting three wires to the junction, and eureka the world was changed from that day. The Master’s Hand made this invention possible—the scientists were simply the instrument used. I could be burned at the stake, banned from Methodism, ex-communicated from Prairie Chapel, etc., but I am sad to report that probably more people’s lives are influenced by that little object than by Christianity. That is a sad fact to report. Medicine, transportation, communication, toys, computers, space vehicles, pace-makers, you name it—all use this device, but not all users of the transistor subscribe to Christianity. The Master does leave some things to us.
9. In conclusion (Conner) (has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) when God made the world and the earth, he put all things either into it or on it—all chemicals, food, water, light, darkness, heat, cool, etc. When man comes up with something new, it has been here from the beginning of time—maybe certain connections had never been made before to make it work. We can never destroy any part of the world or earth—we may change its appearance or makeup. Remember, when we leave this place we are just tenants. Only the Master’s Hand makes things happen.
10.Prayer. Make us aware that the Master’s Hand controls our life and gives us our direction as we journey down life’s pathway. Amen.
The United Methodist Church has a series of resources to help you in your journey through advent.
Click on this link to be taken to the UMC web site.
Services for Jim will be at noon on Saturday.
Read the obituary here.
