Monday, December 15, 2014

The Messenger: Gabriel Gives a Promise


December 14, 2014 - Third Sunday in Advent
Luke 1:5-25

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Once when Zechariah was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

“The Messenger: Gabriel Gives a Promise”

There’s a reason people picture cute storks announcing a birth: docile birds who bring you a sweet little bundle of joy.  Angels apparently terrify people when we try to do this.  You see, I’m not a stork – I’m Gabriel, the angelic messenger of God.  And I had a slightly different way of telling Zechariah and Elizabeth a little one was coming.

They were a lovely couple, really: very kind and devout, always serving and volunteering, an example to many.  And they were getting on in years, which is the kind way of saying they were getting AARP literature in the mail.

Old Zech was a priest (don’t hold that against him), and it was his turn to lead the incense offering.  This sounds like someone waving around something smelly – big deal, right?  Well, the thing is, it sort of was.  Zech got to go into the holiest place of the sanctuary, while everyone else remained outside.  It was a big honor, one not taken up lightly.

As he wafted that smelly stuff about the place to worship God (God made flowers – clearly God appreciates things that smell good!  Oh, God made skunks too -- I digress.), anyway as he waved that incense around, Ol’ Zech was in for a bit of a shock.

Me.  The stork angel.  Oh, I terrified him.  He dropped that incense jar, poor fella.  “Don’t be afraid, Zech,” I said.  “God has heard your prayer.”

I watched him screw up his eyes trying to think of what prayer that was:

A nice camel-parking spot near the door of the temple?
A full night’s sleep without having to get up to go to the bathroom?
The rest of his days, quietly spent with the love of his life, Elizabeth?

 “Elizabeth is going to have a baby!  He’ll be named John.”  Oh I just thought that dear old fella was shocked before.  He turned positively white, and I could hear him thinking (I am an angel, after all), “But that was my prayer years ago!  Not now!  I’m too old.”

I pretended I didn’t hear his thoughts (that would scare him more, after all).  “This is good news, Zech!” I said.  “Your son will bring you joy and gladness, and he will be great in the sight of the Lord.  He shouldn’t drink anything strong, for he’ll be filled with a better spirit – the Spirit of God!  An ancient power will go before him, and he will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  It was a big speech.

“But isn’t there a, err, logistical problem here?,” he asked.  “I mean, Elizabeth and I aren’t exactly spring chickens.”  I’ll admit I might have overreacted to this statement. 

You see, I, Gabriel, was telling him he would be father to the sort of child that would change the world – one who would prepare the world for an even greater child.  This was massive, exciting news.  And all he could think of was the logistical problems of it.  So, I made him shut up about all that.  In fact, I made it so he couldn’t talk at all until that baby boy was born.  Quite clever of me, I thought, that father and son would utter their first words together.  Then he would understand the magnitude of my message.

Elizabeth got on board rather quickly (funny how a growing belly will do that).  And I have a feeling she might have just enjoyed those months her dear old ball-and-chain was mute.  (Am I right, ladies?)

Anyway, this was one of my more fun messages to give.  Announcing a baby is pretty wonderful.  A baby means that life as you know it will change.  A baby means placing someone else in the center of your world.  A baby means not wasting time being less that who you want to be, because someone is watching and learning from you, all the time.  A baby means trying to be your best self, for them as well as for you.

And so, you see, before this John was even born, he was already turning the hearts of parents to their children, and making ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Make ready a people.  Prepared for the Lord.  Oh, those are complicated words.  Because, if the story of Ol’ Liz and Zech tell us anything, they tell us that you’re never really ready for the newness God brings.  There’s no “being ready” when an angel like me shows up telling you your world is about to turn upside down.  Though they longed for a child of their own, Liz and Zech weren’t really ready until that moment that father and son cried out – one with joy, the other with fear – at that birth. 

Perhaps that’s the wisdom of how God chose to work in their life.  You see, the only way to “be ready” for God coming in new and startling ways, bringing life when it seems like all is old and stale, is to shut your mouth and open your heart to the impossible.  That’s really why I shut Zechariah’s mouth (not just for Liz’s benefit): so he would stop talking so much and really listen.

So he would stop over-thinking the logistics of things and simply let events unfold as they should.  So he would let go of what he never really had control of anyway.  That is being ready – letting go of expectations, especially those that limit our ability to see God.

Letting go of the worry that our best days are behind us.
Letting go of the belief that we know exactly how God operates in this world.  Letting go of our need to be heard so that we can really listen.
Letting go of our assumption that God is limited by our own limitations.  There’s no expiration date on the work of God.

When we let go, then we are ready to receive what God is always ready to give: new life, even if that prayer is late being answered.  That baby John brought lasting life to many, and he did open hearts to the child who would come after him.  You’ll hear about that child next week, when I played stork once more, to Mary and Joseph. 

But for now, let this old angel Gabe leave you with this:  God is bringing something new, not according to your timetable, but according to God’s.  You need to be ready.  And you can only do that by letting go.  Unclench your hands and your heart.  Believe in the unbelievable.  Hope in the impossible.  And rejoice – new life is coming.  Amen. 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Messenger: Gabriel Gives Wisdom


December 7, 2014 - Second Sunday of Advent
Daniel 9:17-27

17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, and for your own sake, Lord, let your face shine upon your desolated sanctuary. 18 Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!”

20 While I was speaking, and was praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God on behalf of the holy mountain of my God— 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen before in a vision, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He came and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your supplications a word went out, and I have come to declare it, for you are greatly beloved. So consider the word and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand: from the time that the word went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks; and for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with streets and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing, and the troops of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall make sacrifice and offering cease; and in their place shall be an abomination that desolates, until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.”


SERMON: “Gabriel Gives Wisdom”

People have a lot of funny ideas about angels.  They think we spend all of our time singing.  Well, take it from me, Gabriel, eternity is an awful long time.  And, though I do like to carry a tune, that’s more singing than Celine Dion. 

People often expect me to have a fluffy halo, or to be gentle and sweet all the time.  I’m not a puppy.  I’m Gabriel, the Messenger of God, and my messages are rarely warm and fuzzy.  They usually shake the foundations of heaven and earth for the hearer.

Oh, and I don’t have long, golden curly hair, either.  In fact, it’s best that you don’t try to limit me by thinking I look like you.  If I do appear like a man, that’s only to make the person I visit a little more comfortable because, like I said, my message is not always all that comforting.

Take my message to Daniel, for instance.  I tried to present him with God’s vision of earthly kingdoms being toppled and God’s kingdom being established forever but, like we talked about last week, it proved too much for wise old Dan.  So, I gave him a little time for things to sink in, and in the way that it usually does, time brought Dan a lot of perspective.  He began to understand this vision.

And when he realized that it wasn’t a particularly pretty picture, he cried out for help.

“Let your face shine, O Lord, upon this desolated sanctuary!” he cried.

“O Lord, hear!  O Lord, forgive!  O Lord, listen and act and do not delay!”

He might have said, “I can’t breathe.”

You see, everything was crumbling around him.  He saw that things were not getting better at all, but in fact, it all seemed to be getting worse.  King Darius the Mede was as unjust as the others – and sin flourished.  They’re the same sins you struggle with today: greed and materialism, injustice and systemic racism, idolatry and selfishness.  And wise Dan began to see that all of these collective sins were bringing about the sort of destruction and conflict that led only to widespread devastation.

He felt powerless to do anything about it.  He couldn’t breathe.
And so he did the best thing anyone can do in such a place of despair and sadness: he prayed. 

And God did the best thing God does in such a place of despair and sadness: God answered.  I was sent back to Daniel, and this time, I did my job.  I gave him wisdom.

That wisdom began with reminding Daniel who he was, something you human beings must do again and again and again in this troubled world:  “Daniel, you are greatly beloved.” I said.

Do you know the power of those words?  Do you know that even the greatest of injustice and devastation can be overcome if people remember to tell and show each other that they are loved?  A person can withstand a great many things if they know they are loved.  A society can survive even the greatest of conflicts and divisions if they find a way to return to that wisdom of loving one another.

So, I told Dan how loved he was by his Creator, and by me.  His eyes welled up with tears, as relief mingled with heavy sorrow reflected back at me through those watery eyes. 

Then I explained, as gently as I could, that it was going to get worse for Dan’s people before it got better.  It was going to look even more hopeless, the powerful were going to use their power in even more violent ways, and all the peace that was built would be destroyed again.  Dan began to shake.  I knew he hadn’t eaten for days.  His sorrow consumed him completely.  But still, I had to let him know what was coming.  I couldn’t give this desperate man false comfort.  Because if angels are anything, we are honest, even brutally so.

“So, yes, Dan, it’s going to get worse.  Much worse.  But then, there will be an end.  And the one who desolated so many will be overcome by God.  Good will prevail.”

That was the wisdom I gave to Dan that day: he was beloved.  Conflict and devastation were real, and they were getting worst.  He couldn’t ignore that.  But, no matter how bad it seemed, no matter how unending cycles of hatred and retaliation seemed, God would win in the end.  And God’s reign is not one of hatred or fear.  God’s reign is one of peace and light.

I began speaking with you today about misconceptions you human beings have about angels.  I have one more for you: people often assume that we angels spend all day lollygagging on fluffy white clouds playing golden harps in heaven.  Please!  Don’t you know God is intimately connected with events on this earth?  Don’t you know God sends us messengers right into those places of desolation and fear?

We don’t have time to sit on clouds playing harps.
Because we’ve heard people crying out:

“Let your face shine, O Lord, upon this desolated sanctuary!”

“O Lord, hear!  O Lord, forgive!  O Lord, listen and act and do not delay!”

We’ve heard people crying out, “I can’t breathe.”
And we are answering even now, us angels.

Above all of the us-and-them games you people play, above all of the pointing of fingers and drawing of battle lines, we are answering.

Can you hear us?

We are sharing that wisdom I told Dan that day, and we will share that wisdom until it is a reality for everyone:

You – all of you – of every race and nationality, of every size and shape, are beloved by your Creator, who wants you to love each other, too.

Don’t ignore the reality of conflict in this world: it is real.  And it might get worse before it gets better.  But it will get better, because God is still at work in this world – and in this season of Advent, Christ is coming in new and startling ways, sending us angels to prepare the way. 

That is wisdom.  And like I later told Daniel, when all of his wearying work was done, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

You don’t need an angel like me to tell you there is a lot of darkness around these days.  But you just might need this angel to tell you the importance of shining with the wisdom God gives you, now more than ever.  The stars are only seen in the darkness, you know.  So, shine, beloved children of God, shine the light of God’s love on all.

Like that great messenger Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” 

Like John said, whose birth I announced to Elizabeth (you’ll hear about that next week), “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it.”  Amen.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

The Messenger: Gabriel Shares the Vision

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This Advent, I'm preaching a sermon series called "The Messenger" about Gabriel's role in Daniel and Luke, ending with his message to Mary.

November 30, 2014 - First Sunday of Advent
Daniel 8:15-27

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone appeared standing before me, having the appearance of a man, 16 and I heard a human voice by the Ulai River, calling, “Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate. But he said to me, “Understand, O mortal, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
18 As he was speaking to me, I fell into a trance, face to the ground; then he touched me and set me on my feet. 19 He said, “Listen, and I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
23 At the end of their rule,
    when the transgressions have reached their full measure,
a king of bold countenance shall arise,
    skilled in intrigue.
24 He shall grow strong in power,
    shall cause fearful destruction,
    and shall succeed in what he does.
He shall destroy the powerful
    and the people of the holy ones.
25 By his cunning
    he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
    and in his own mind he shall be great.
Without warning he shall destroy many
    and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes.
But he shall be broken, and not by human hands.
26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. As for you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.”
27 So I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days; then I arose and went about the king’s business. But I was dismayed by the vision and did not understand it.


Sermon: “The Messenger”: Gabriel Shares the Vision

Think of the wisest person you’ve ever known.  Perhaps your grandfather’s face comes to mind, or a clear-eyed child, or a favorite writer or thinker.  (If you’re thinking of yourself, try a little harder!)

Daniel was as wise as they come.  His wisdom became his meal ticket, you see.  Dan was one of the unfortunate many exiles of Judah when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took over like some sort of John Wayne renegade, claiming everything in sight as his.  This would have been the time for Dan to fade into irrelevance and obscurity as a refugee in a land where he had no rights whatsoever.  But Dan was wise.  News of his wisdom spread in that subversive sort of way that can make kings of paupers.  Never underestimate the power of a good reputation, whatever your station in life. 

When that gold-craving king was plagued by troubling dreams and visions, none of his so-called “wise men” could help.  His magicians and diviners tried their best, but were about as helpful as a hole in a fishing boat.  Old King Neb was not the most forgiving, you know, and he ordered all of those phonies to be killed.

This is where our man Dan comes in.  His reputation preceded him and he was brought to the king.  He interpreted those strange dreams, and I’ll not bore you with the details except to say that they all had the same basic idea: many kingdoms would rise, and many kingdoms would fall.  God’s kingdom would endure forever. 

Dan was made a high official and, in the changeable ways of kings and powerful folk, he was praised throughout the land for that wisdom of his.  And so, we really did think Dan was the man for the job.

Oh, you might at this point be wondering who “we” are.  You might wonder who I am, too!  I got so busy in telling this story that I forgot to introduce myself.  I’m Gabriel, and “we” are the heavenly host of angels who go about doing the work of God. 

I’m sometimes called The Messenger, often called an angel, and am rarely understood.  It’s not fun showing up and having people turn white as a sheet and nearly pass out, I’ll tell you.  It makes it awfully hard to blend in at dinner parties.

I’ll say those words I nearly always say when I show up somewhere: do not fear.  Yes, an angel appearing is admittedly a bit weird, but there’s always a reason for it.  My reason for showing up to Dan was that this person famous for his wisdom was really, really not getting it.

He had a vision of some wild horned beasts, and again I’ll not go into too much detail except to say that, yep, it had to do with the kingdoms of humanity falling through their own corruption and greed while God’s kingdom would be established forever.  Sounds somewhat simple right?

Well, in short, it’s not.  This is apocalyptic stuff – the story of heaven breaking in to earth in bewildering ways, and even the wisest of people can’t really understand it.  Dan couldn’t.  I tried to explain this bizarre vision to Dan, but it was like trying to feed a cheeseburger to a newborn.  It didn’t work very well, and just made us both frustrated.

I started by explaining the vision that the kings of Media and Persia were depicted as a two-horned ram.  Two kingdoms united by their will to destroy.  Then I got a little carried away talking about the king of Greece being a goat, and more weird horns growing that represented other kingdoms rising up.  I finished by talking about a final king who would wreak the sort of widespread devastation that Dan had never seen.  I did not enjoy sharing this vision with him. 

Dan looked back at me, Gabriel, with the fearful eyes of a little boy, desperate to be told it would all be okay.  But behind those eyes, I could tell he wasn’t really grasping all of this bizarre imagery.  He, the wisest of the wise, was completely stumped.  And, though God had sent me to explain this vision clearly and help him understand, I realized something that day.

I realized that there are more important things than understanding.  Sometimes, the assurance that, no matter how dark the nights may seem, the sun will rise of its own accord is more important.  Sometimes, knowing a vision brings no peace at all.  I’m not touting ignorance here, or willful distractions from reality.  I’m saying that sometimes you need to know what you need to know when you need to know it, and not before then.

And so, I said, “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

Seal up the vision.  Set it aside for a time until you’re meant to understand it.  This is a common call in scripture: Isaiah told the people of Israel broken by captivity and poverty to bind up the vision of the future and, as absurd as it sounds in the midst of such a time, wait on the Lord, and trust in him.  In Revelation, the vision is sealed up still – even then at the very end of things (and beginning of new things), until the last possible second when, in a forest by a river with living water, where leaves on a tree give healing to the nations, it is time for the vision to be unsealed.

And so, as I looked at that tired, befuddled Daniel, I told him to keep a vision of the evening and the next morning at the forefront, and leave the bigger vision to another time.  Think of what you’ll have for supper and whom you’ll serve the next day, and leave the apocalyptic end times in God’s hands. 

But, don’t let your focus on the immediate cloud your ability to recognize the eternal when it appears.  Because, take it from me, the unexpected happens.  God is bringing a kingdom that will defeat darkness with light, guilt with grace and fear with love.  And sometimes, when God decides to be a bit more obvious about it, God sends angels like me to reveal a small part of that kingdom.

There are lots of us, you know.  Some are in heaven – you’ve known and loved many of them.  And some are still mortal like you, but just a little special in their ability to reflect the eternal.  Each of us angels bears a message, and mine was always a vision for God’s new kingdom coming and overturning all we thought we knew about this world’s kingdoms.  That’s why I came again and again: to Daniel, to Elizabeth and finally, to Mary, explaining to her the vision of a baby that would really change it all.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  We’ll journey together through all those events this Advent.

Let me leave you again with those words God told us angels to repeat over and over again: do not be afraid.  You don’t have the complete vision – you’re not meant to.  But you do have enough – enough of a heavenly glimpse through angels like me – to recognize when God’s kingdom is breaking into this world.  When God is bringing down the powerful and lifting up the lowly, proclaiming the sort of justice this world is baffled by (and desperate for).

It might seem strange and unreal and other worldly, but take it from me, the work of God in your place, in your time, even in your complicated life, is the most ordinary, real, earthly thing there is.  You don’t have to be particularly wise to recognize it, either.  Dan showed us that.  You just have to be open to messengers of light bringing you hope of a new world this Advent. 

Because a new world is coming, even now, maybe through you, if you’ll let it.  And even if you don’t understand how or when or why, that is reason enough to hope.  So do not fear.  Have hope.  The vision will be revealed.  When you need to (and not before), you will understand it.  


Well, that is my first message for you about Dan and Neb, about sealing up visions and hoping for God’s kingdom to come.  For now, I need to cash in my frequent flyer miles and jet on to the next place God’s sending me to announce God’s reign.  It’s a busy job, but the in-flight entertainment is fabulous.  See y’all next week!  Amen.