Power through the Water, through the Blood, through New Life: An Advent sermon
Grace and Peace to you,
My sisters, brothers and siblings in Christ
Because of God’s sacred and loving breath
Given as a gift, so that we might live
We must remember then,
We were created for a powerful purpose
In this life
Even when we don’t appear so powerful
Then again,
Neither did He
The babe, the birth in whom we are all waiting
The one whom His Power will transform us, forever
Jesus Christ, the Coming Savior and Lord
Amen.
(pause)
It is among the vulnerable,
Where the restorative power to effect change
And speak the power of the Gospel
Into the streets
At the boardroom bargaining tables
In judicial courtrooms
And in legislative chambers
Happens
It is among the least of these,
Where powerful change is birthed
Because,
Humanity gets so disconnected from one another
Making decisions
Laws
That fulfill nothing
Of what Emmanuel, who is to come
Commands us,
Challenges us
Calls us to do.
(pause)
For the past couple of years on Twitter,
I’ve been a part of a group called,
#SlateSpeak
Every Thursday night,
This interfaith group of
Faith leaders,
Spiritual discerners
Gathers in a virtual sacred space
A place where many of us treasure to be
When we need to lament,
When we need to express anger
When we need to affirm our humanity
When we need to find safety,
Every Thursday night,
We have a conversation,
About systemic issues
That affect the places we are called to serve,
Or the communities we cling to.
This past Thursday,
It was my turn to moderate,
And I raised a question,
That for me,
Has always been the elephant in the room
Why are we,
As people of Faith
Afraid to display
And enact the POWER
To effect change in the places we reside
And the places that we are called
To engage stewardship of one another,
And of Creation?
(pause)
Seems to be a strange question to be posing to the faithful
In this 4th Sunday of Advent,
So close to that night
When all was still
All was dark
Except for that one, bright and Holy Light
That would bring the world
To its knees
To witness
To honor
The birth
Of the One,
Whose very presence
Shatters the lies
That this world attempts to force into us
Through its powers of persuasion,
Coercion
And Tyranny.
(pause)
But in reading
Both for academic focus and research
As well as practical application
To the work I have been called to,
I came across an article
That addressed the mass exodus
That is happening everywhere,
Of people seemingly leaving the Church
But the context of this article
Centered on young African Descent millennials.
Among their concerns was this,
“For us, there is a longing to see
the church of the Civil Rights
and Black Power Movements;
the church that was not afraid to position itself
at the front lines to fight
against systemic oppression.”
(pause)
Then Mary said,
“Here I am,
The servant of the Lord
Let it be with me
According to your word.”
(pause)
Mary,
A woman,
Unmarried
Of lower class,
Visited by angels
Told that she carries
POWER
Within her was
POWER
A power that had not been truly realized
Because this babe,
Had the POWER
To restore those who had been hunted down
Cast out
Pushed away
This,
Emmanuel,
God with us,
Would be born
Not in the high places
But
AMONG THE PEOPLE
GIVING US POWER
Because it restores us
Reminds us
God has not forgotten.
(pause)
Why are we,
So fearful sometimes
Of displaying our POWER
A power of
Grace
Mercy
And
Truth?
Forgetting that we,
Are the Body of Christ
Or perhaps
We,
Don’t think we have any power
That our humanity is flawed
That our social location doesn’t matter
That we don’t have access
To real power
Human made power
(pause)
Created because of this gnawing desire
to dominate
Because we as humanity
are afraid of not having power
Or that we can’t rely on God’s Power
because we can’t feel it
or manipulate it to our will.
(pause)
So instead,
humanity turns to known examples of power
Of Wealth
Status
Where powerful people
Immersed in greed
Decide that those on the outskirts,
The outcasts
That their humanity
Means nothing.
So then
Are we willing
To tap into that power
That is
Christ’s grace?
(pause)
Are we willing,
To take a powerful stance
Embrace those on the margins-
The undocumented
The refugee
Those who are fleeing a life of terror
Of Emptiness
Of certain Death
Taking them into our communities
Sharing of ourselves
Bringing them,
Through Love,
The Love that was taught and shown to us
So powerful,
So that they can experience
Liberation
Joy
Freedom?
(pause)
It’s so hilarious,
That people of Faith speak of Mary
We revere Mary
We uphold Mary
As a Saint,
As this Powerful figure
Because she was chosen
To give BIRTH
To the Restorative POWER
That gives us HOPE
But,
We are quick to ignore
Those in our midst,
Young
Unmarried
Undocumented
Unwanted
We are quick to count them out
Disregard them
Belittle them
Point out their sin,
Without pointing out that
The systemic and broken systems that we have created,
No access to prenatal care
Canceling wellness and health care for children
Crumbling infrastructure in many communities
Which have been erased off maps,
So that the local governments and corporations
Don’t have to acknowledge that these people exist
So they are not responsible to uphold laws and regulations
That call for equal access to education
That each child has a chance
To explore and be mesmerized by what is out there,
To learn and explore.
(pause)
So, who knows what the children
That so many Marys’ carry within them
Will blossom into-
Simply because they are not born into a known lineage
Or privilege
Or a place of power.
(pause)
But Mary,
Even though I am sure,
Just like all of us
Facing uncertainty
Fearful about what is to come
Bewildered with the choices before us,
When we,
Hear GOD SPEAKING
Through Angels
In prayers
Echoed in the voices of those who love us
Manifesting through silence,
We recognize
That there is nothing we cannot do,
Because the Creator God,
Is lending US GOD’S POWER!
Is working through US
(pause)
Then Mary said,
“Here I am,
The servant of the Lord
Let it be with me
According to your word.”
(pause)
Mary was able to gather strength,
Because of the presence
Of the Angel,
To carry out her task
To carry something so precious
Do we realize,
That the transformation of this world
The hope of this world
Came from the womb
Of Woman!
That change comes,
Because of a Woman
That Life is nurtured
Life starts
Within Women.
(pause)
Women,
Answering the call,
Being the example,
To live into our POWER.
Where are we empowered, beloved?
What empowers us,
To go out
And live out our purpose,
That the Creator God,
Molds into our hearts?
(pause)
Here,
Washed over in Water
And the Word
Where we are affirmed,
That we are not alone
Here,
At the table
Where time and again,
The Crucified One that is to come,
Will call us to consume,
To be bonded
Through His sacrifice
His body,
His blood
His Life!
(pause)
So,
what is your power?
In these times when we flock to movie theaters are dream,
What is your power?
There is power here at Augustana!
Because we live into those moments of stewardship
We are living into the power that the Creator grants us,
because we know
and we wait
and we rejoice!
Christ is coming!
Thanks be to God.
