Thanksgiving was and is always a great day and a delightful season! For our family, and I hope for you, it was a unique opportunity to say thank you to people and to God who have blessed our lives. It is a time for family and friends to be together. The first Thanksgiving, in 1621, witnessed the pilgrims and the Indians in Plymouth MA Eating together at a common table.
Our family historically comes together at thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, I became very much aware, as did many of you, that there were empty chairs at our family table. And yet, the sweet memories of times past filled my heart. In my mind and in a mystical reality, there was my mother, who died in March, standing in the kitchen, baking and cooking, and my Dad and brother, now in the nearer presence of God, but in my heart, crammed in the TV room watching football games. Someone would always make the mistake and rush my mother by going into the kitchen and asking, "Isn't it about ready?" Or, "When will it be ready?"
Being the youngest of the family with a little more intelligence than the rest of the family, I would clothe my question in an affirmation like:
"It smells so good and I'm starving." This would always get you a little sample of something. It was always a miracle to me that my mother had the ability to have everything ready at the same time and everything hot. She was an amazing lady, as is my wife. But some Thanksgivings, I can remember when things maybe were not going as planned and when someone would inevitably ask my mother, "When are we going to eat?" she would abruptly respond: "Well, don't just sit there, do something! Set the table, empty the trash, pour the drinks, and fold the napkins. Don't just stand around, do something to help."
Today thanksgiving is complete or at least finished for another year, but we find ourselves in yet another season of waiting, waiting for something that is not yet. We are hungry for the gifts of Christmas: hope, joy, peace and love, but Christmas is not yet here. We are hungry for God's presence, but some days there seems to be so much distance. He is coming, but He has not yet arrived. Christmas is coming, but not yet.
Like the prophet Isaiah, we long for God to "rend the heavens and come down". As the mystics of all the ages, in our heart, there is a hunger for completeness, for God.
Amazing that as full as one becomes at the Thanksgiving feast, so quickly you realize that you are still hungry, but now hungry for meaning, for God, for completeness, for ultimate fulfillment. Well, this Advent, this pre-Christmas season, if you are hungry for God, then don't just sit there, do something!!!
1. Our waiting for God is not like a person nodding off in a doctor's waiting room; it is more like a waiter who waits on an important visitor in a restaurant. Our waiting on Christmas and the coming of the Lord is not a passive experience, but it is an active kind of waiting. Alert to everything around us, busy and doing, serving, and praying and hoping and giving to others all those kinds of things which enables and prepares for the coming Kingdom.
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning. (Ps. 130:5-6) It is a kind of waiting which is filled with eager expectation, longing for his arrival. It is through this kind of active waiting that we can truly enter into the deeper meanings of this sacred season.
2. Let us wait intentionally and carve out space for quietness and solitude. In this rather challenging season, very quickly all space and time can be occupied by noise.
C. S. Lewis has written, "it is easy to avoid God in our time and place if we will only fill our lives with noise and activity."
I remember one Christmas Advent when Ike Terry, Frank Horn and John Servies gave what they called "A Christmas Gift" to the church, which was a Sunday evening concert of sacred music here in the sanctuary. It was so wonderful. Quiet, subdued with candlelight and the sounds of piano, base and drums. I remember it like it was yesterday although it was a good 14 years ago. After the concert, I made the mistake of running by what was then K-Mart on 9th avenue to pick up something for a Christmas party the next day. There I was coming down from those moments of ecstasy now standing in a long, noisy line at one of the few checkout counters which was understaffed, when these two people got into a pushing and shoving match and then it broke into curse words. I was overcome with disbelief. I simply left my cart where it was and walked out of the store and back to my car and drove home with tears in my eyes to go to bed early. To think that there were people in the world that had, that night, missed what I had earlier experienced and there they were fighting over space to give money they really didn't have to spend for junk that would not last past the holidays, just broke my heart.
3. I hope you don't fight over space in the midst of all the noise of this Christmas. I hope you don't just sit there doing nothing but that you will be industrious, prayerful, compassionate, kind and generous—be the embodiment of those kinds of words that best describe human beings at their best. Be creative with the space given to you!
And finally, be intentional to be generous and kind and to make space for quietness. For so many of you this will be as natural as falling off a log, but for others of you to be generous and kind and compassionate and quiet you will have to be intentional.
In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle states the case for generosity as the right and good thing to do. He would have known of Jesus' parable in Matthew 15 where Jesus said, only those who help the poor, give food to the hungry, visit the imprisoned, cloth the naked, they and they alone will receive the gift of abundant and eternal life. Don't kid yourself about your generosity or the lack of it, it is of crucial importance.
Says the apostle Paul, “He who sows sparingly also will reap sparingly. We reap what we sow. There is something about life, which balances itself. What goes around comes around.
A few years ago, Jane and I purchased airline tickets and had hotel reservations in NY, for me to run the NY City Marathon. Well, it didn't work out that year for that to happen and the next year I was still not able, but on the third year, we decided on the first weekend in December to use our reservations and enjoy the plays and museums in NY and to celebrate that we had survived two difficult years. With no play reservations, save Miss Saigon, we never had a moment’s problem getting tickets to any play we wanted to see. Except for Radio City Music Hall's Christmas extravaganza. Jane wanted to see it so we tried by hanging around the closed box office window looking forlorn and sad and this fellow came up and said, I have an extra ticket in the third balcony, and I will be glad to sell it to you, so we purchased it and there we stood in the cold of bleak mid winter in NY City, two people with one ticket. I said to Jane, look you wanted to see it so you take it and enjoy and I will meet you back outside the theater when it is over. Really she offered it first to me, but I refused and then I offered it to her. She finally agreed, out of character for her, accepted the ticket and went in, leaving me in the dark, snowy night air of Broadway. It wasn't a minute later that another guy came up and said to me, "Say, I have this extra ticket, would you like it?" And I said, sure, but let me pay you for it, and he said, "No way, it's a gift, merry Christmas". So I took the ticket and went in and then realized that it said orchestra level and this very nice usherette, who should have been dancing with the Rockette’s personally escorted me to the second row, front and center. I looked way up in the distant balcony and waved to Jane. Giving her that balcony seat affirmed her but opened the door for an even more exciting opportunity for me. You can never out give God or anyone else; it always comes back better than you gave.
But understand, that is not why we are generous and giving people who love and care for others. The reason we are intentional about finding opportunities for solitude and worship, and being alert to opportunities to help and be generous, is because that's how God's people wait for the coming of God's Kingdom. They live as though it is already here and in living in such a way, it is!
Christmas takes a lot of getting ready. Coordinating calendars, cards to be selected, notes to write, and reservations to be made. Gift lists to be created, and then shopped for and then wrapped and then some wrapping paper and then a mailing box if the recipient is out of town, and then a trip to the post office and in the words of Lucy in the Charlie Brown cartoon---Yipes!!!!!!
During this busy time, many children in preparing for the big day, will write to Santa a letter with a well worded list of desires for gifts. Maybe some of them will sound like these letters:
Dear Santa, Please give me a doll this year. One that will eat, walk, do my homework, and help me clean my room. Thank you. Jenny.
Dear Santa, Thanks for the racecar last year. Can I have another one, only this time one that is faster than my best friend's racecar? Ricky
Dear Santa, I wish you could leave a puzzle under the tree for me, and a toy for my sister. Then she won't want to play with mine and I can have it to myself. Merry Christmas, Cassie.
Dear Santa, You can send me one of everything from the boys' section of the Sears catalog. But nothing from the girls' section. I can't wait for Christmas to come. Kent
Dear Santa, Could you come early this year? I've been really super good, but I don't know if I can last much longer. Please hurry. Love, Jordan
Preparing for the big day takes time and great effort.
The Prophet, named John the Baptist, born about the time of Jesus, told the people who lived in Jesus' time that they should prepare for a big day--the coming of the Messiah. The big day would be a time when the invisible God would become visible; the creator would take on flesh and blood and dwell among us. John in no uncertain terms pointed out that the people should prepare for this coming big day by "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Next week you will hear his words: "You brood of vipers! Repent of your sin." Well, let us wait 'til next week for that kind of language.
A few years ago, the former Chrysler President, Lee Iacocca spoke at the commencement address at Duke University. As he stood there he said to the soon to be graduates of the University, "The only thing that stands between you and your graduation from Duke is me."
I always feel like that about this time of the year, as the only thing standing between the Christ Child and us is John the Baptist. And in order to get to Bethlehem, you have to get by John, and he is a thorny pathway: "Repent of your sins," this prophet in wilderness dressed in a camel's hair sweat shirt and overloaded by eating wild honey, cried out to those who would listen.
His message was a call for "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" and it is a message which needs to be heard in our own language in this our time. God will forgive us and remove our sin as far from us as the East is from the West, but only when we convert, turn, repent, and change.
In preparing for the big day of God present with us, we should:
as we teach our children in learning how to cross a busy
street:
stop, look and listen—God
is present everywhere, but only to those who are alert to his presence,
sensitive to his suggestions, aware of his silent prodding. Only those who are
not overwhelmed by the aimless busyness of the season will hear or see the
holy mystery of these days. In spiritual matters, contemplation is far more
advisable than action, and waiting is a special virtue and an art.” Thomas
Moore in The Soul’s Religion. “Be still and know!” Psalmist.
We prepare by repenting of our sin, turning from our aimless distractions, from a closed mind, from irresponsible behavior of filthy language or not keeping the Sabbath, or spending God's tithe, or laziness, or any other wrongdoing we have gotten caught up in over times past. Repent! Turn Away! Change directions! That's what John the Baptist said.
God offers to you his forgiveness of sins, and His understanding love, but you must turn to him. You must repent, change your ways, and turn from your evil selfish, destructive ways. You must choose to reject evil.
Let us repent from our sins and live for God today, as though this will be our last Christmas. Bill Moyers and his wife Judith, did a documentary on death and dying for Public television a couple of years ago and discovered that many of the terminal patients they interviewed found peace and joy in the face of death. In fact, many of them found greater meaning and beauty in life after learning that they would die. One man lived four years past his doctor's prognosis. In that time, he learned to cherish every moment of life. Moyers quoted him as saying: "If you are told you will never see Christmas again, and you live to see Christmas, Christmas takes on a whole new life." Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but for some of us, this will be our last Christmas. There are twenty-seven of our Church friends, not counting our friends and family who will not be with us for this coming big day. This possibility being our last Christmas means that there are some things I am going to do this time, I have never done before and there are some things I have done before that I am not going to do.
I'm not going to get caught up in the rush of the season or the materialism of the remaining 17 shopping days till Christmas. Just not going to do that. I am going to write some notes to say "I love you" to some people who have really gone out of their way to be God present for me this past year.
One of the ways some celebrate the holidays is by an irresponsible use of alcohol. Drinking to excess at any time of the year is inappropriate, but during the holidays when family is around or at any big festive occasion is foolish. I tell people preparing for weddings, be sure to leave alcohol off of the list, if you want things to go right. People don't always listen to me, but neither do you so that is nothing new. You don't need alcohol to have a good time, and more times than not, it will lead to disaster.
Last year, in our community at Christmas time, we had five people killed because someone was drinking and driving. Don't be foolish, be wise and chose to live in such a way that you will not be embarrassed about how you behaved when tomorrow is yesterday. And give your minister something to brag about at your funeral, not something that he has to apologize for. Repent of your sin, Change selfish, destructive ways.
Prepare for the Big Day by putting first things first. Love God and love others. I know a lot of people who would like to have a church home and be involved in community building and to participate in programs like supporting the Children's home, like doing quilts for the girls, or building a Habitat for Humanity house, or teaching children in Sunday School, but they can never quiet get focused enough. They never quite get around to joining the church, or get even financially with their bills so that they can contribute to something beyond their own desires or needs. No, they don't quite make it, because they are unfocused, undisciplined, and unsuccessful and consequently unhappy. They have too many priorities. Now we don't talk about the wasted time on TV or sitting around or worry time, that's where the black hole for many is to be found. But they just don't get around to doing the important things.
Christmas can be and will be overwhelming, unless, you decide what is important, focus yourselves, and methodically take care of first things first! Repent of the foolishness of trying to do everything and neglecting the important things. For those of you in school, you have another full week before your break. Take care of business first and then play.
We have this Magnolia tree planted on the back of our property where many wild vines grow. I like the natural look, and am thinking next year about letting the entire yard go natural. Well, this past summer I cleaned out around the young tree and clipped the vines that were literally choking the life out of the tree. I noticed the other day that since this summer, it has grown three feet and looks so healthy. I wonder how many wild vines will choke the life out of you and stunt your growth this year? Really and truly now, how important are all the things that you do? You tell me? I know it is hard to make choices, but we make them every day, and one day we wake up and realize that we are really healthy and have grown while others wake up one day and realize that their language is nasty, their grades are awful, and they have no idea how to pray the Lord's prayer, and they are miserable and their family is a mess. They have achieved nothing and they are going nowhere!
Summary: Some have lost their joy and find no love in these December days, because they see life on the human horizontal level, and Christmas is a month of demands and distractions. Listen, if nothing else, Christmas is about lifting up our heads and believing that something is coming to our world that is far larger than ourselves. It is about light coming to a dark world. It is an angelic message of peace not war, good will to all men. It is about the invisible God becoming visible.
Prepare for Christmas by not just sitting there, but by doing nothing or something, what ever opens your mind and heart and life to something beyond yourself.
I met Millard Fuller this week when he came to Pensacola to dedicate another Habitat for Humanity House. Here is a long, tall drink of water as tall as a Georgia pine, from the country of Americus, GA. He graduated from Auburn University and married a girl from Huntingdon College in Montgomery. He made a lot of money as a lawyer and businessman, but almost lost his wife and his family because of a convoluted value system. He repented. He changed. He turned in another direction and from a vision given to him by a forgiving God, Habitat for Humanity was born. Today they, we, are building homes in 87 countries and complete a new house for the poor somewhere in the world every 26 minutes 24 hours a day. His vision was and is to eliminate substandard housing from the face of the earth. He said, "This past week, Jacksonville, FL pledged to eliminate substandard housing in their city by the year 2022." Maybe we could do such a thing right here in Pensacola. You want to do something marvelous this Christmas, when the offering plates are passed on Christmas Eve and we remember that the Christ child's family did not have a home in which to live, give a check that makes it possible to build a home for a poor family here in our own fair city. I am committed for our church to participate in building one of these Habitat homes for the poor every year, until Pensacola eliminates substandard housing and no family in our fair city is uncomfortable wet or frightened on cold December nights.
I cannot tell you how to repent of your sin, but I can tell you that if you are involved in anything that is contrary to the will of God as taught in the Bible, if there is anything that you are not doing that the Bible teaches that you should be doing, then we must turn in a different direction, for that is what repent means.
Turn in a different
direction.
Accept God's forgiving love
and the joy of these mysterious days will be yours once
again.
Let us prepare to receive the joy of Christmas.
God sends individuals, sometimes called prophets, in difficult times to encourage and instruct His people. In the Bible, both John and Isaiah, were prophets who were like "voices crying out in the wilderness"
Said Isaiah 500 years before the birth of Jesus: " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives"
John the Baptizer, born around the same time as Jesus, said: "I am not the light, but have come to bear witness to the light". "Make straight the way for the Lord".
The voice of the prophets of God of every age, speak to us who yet live in the wilderness, their messages of judgment and hope, of coming doom less we change our ways and of exciting new possibilities.
Please, let me illustrate the precious gift of the prophets to God's people through a family story. My father was an electrician by trade and for 35 years was a local manager of a small rural Power Company Office in West Alabama, which means that he and his helper covered the electrical needs of all of rural Marengo County in the central-western section of the state.
When the customers failed to pay their bills, the lights were cut off and restored when the bills were paid. You don't pay, you don't have electricity, that was the simple rule. The work of restoring electricity for the unpaid bills was done in the ease and comfort of the light of day, but many a cold dark night when a sudden storm would blow a limb across a fragile, line and knock the lights out, my Dad would have to drive out into a rainy, cold night to restore the electricity for a rural customer.
Sometimes, he would let me ride with him and operate the spotlight on the top of his red truck to locate the trouble spot. The customers all knew him by name as "Mr. Jim, the Light and Power Man" and they were always appreciative of his coming out in the night. They knew he was not Mr. Ready Kilowatt himself, but he was the closest to it that any of them had ever seen, so when he came, usually the lights came back on.
As a kid I can remember going out one night with my Dad when he climbed a pole and set the fuse to reconnect the flow of electric power. And then we drove down the road and he would check the small homes to see that their lights were on. On this particular night, all the lights were burning brightly on in this stretch of country road, except at one house, where my Dad pulled up in the yard, and asked this fellow who came out on the rundown parch, "Just checking to see if your lights are on?" We could hear a child crying in the house. My dad knew he had set the fuse and other folks had lights, but was worrying about this house, with no lights and especially about the child crying in the darkness. He looked at me, and said, "Stay here". He got out of the truck, walked up on the porch and asked, "Why is the child crying?" And the fellow said: "Well Mr. Jim, she's afraid of the darkness and we have no light." And Daddy said: "Well, I've set the fuse, why don't you flip on the switch." And the man did and the lights came on and the crying stopped. There this child had been crying in the darkness when all it took was flipping on the switch to get the light.
We, are at times like that poor family sitting and crying in the darkness, waiting for the Power man to arrive. Israel spends a lot of their time, sitting and crying in the darkness, waiting for the power man to arrive. Again, as was their custom, Israel was in the darkness of political oppression 500 years BC, not necessarily unrelated to their foolish, sinful, careless, poor choices. They had not paid their power bill. They had disobeyed the law of God and the lights had been turned off.
Judea, the Southern Kingdom of Israel, 500 years after Isaiah in the time of Jesus, was again in the darkness of the oppression of Roman occupation, not necessarily unrelated to their own foolish, sinful, careless, poor choices.
To Israel, God sent Isaiah. To Judea God sent John. And for all Jesus came as the light and power man for all.
II. Here in the early beginnings of the 21st century, strange that in this age of enlightenment and technological advancement, we find ourselves in a moral and spiritual darkness once again, not necessarily unrelated to our own foolish, sinful, careless, poor choices.
When we violate the commandments of God and live in anyway outside the expressed will of Christ, then the lights will be turned off. When we do not keep the Sabbath as Holy unto the Lord, when we take God's name in vain, when we do not bring the tithe into the King's House, when we steel, or kill or bear false witness, the lights will be turned off, and we will find ourselves in the darkness. When we do not live up to the standards of God's Word and the teachings of Jesus, the candles will cease to burn.
If the lights of your life have been turned off because of your carelessness or foolishness, or if they have begun to grow dim, then you get what you deserve, but know this, this situation can be reversed. That was and is the message of the prophets of God.
There are some things happening in our world, which you know is self-destructive, and watching them happen is like a man watching a train wreck. You see it coming but are powerless to do anything to stop it.
First of all, when human beings curse one another and hurt one another, and betray one another, and slip around behind peoples back; it doesn't fit well as we live in a small global neighborhood, where what is hidden eventually will be revealed.
Secondly, it hurts when people of leadership in government or churches, or businesses prove not to be trustworthy in the management of their lives and their responsibilities. When the cord of public trust is cut, we lose something that is basic in the nation. When basic laws of goodness and the common sense are violated, then a price is paid by all of us. And today we are paying a price.
And thirdly, occasionally you see the ugly head of racism. We must be ever diligent to find and root out racism in our schools, the professions, in business, and in our hearts. Racism has no place in the life of a healthy nation or a godly person.
And fourthly, it is most disturbing that our nation is not perceived well in the eyes of the third world countries. The recent findings of the Pew Research Center published as, "What the World thinks in 2002", reveals that America is regarded as a giant that doesn't care about the other nations of the world.
The truth is, we give more than any nation on the face of the earth to help the poor and developing nations. Our soldiers sacrifice their lives on foreign soil to safe guard human rights for people whom we do not know by name. And yet, increasingly, public opinion swings against our President and Americans in general as a haughty, self-serving nation of people that is increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. That is not who I perceive us to be, and yet third world countries increasingly view us in this way. For example, 47% of the citizens of Bangladesh hold an unfavorable opinion of the US.
Although, I cannot understand, I can only observe that if they are right and we are wrong, then we must turn from our talk of war and from any motivation toward selfishness, and from our accumulation of wealth. We must repent of our sin and turn ourselves over to Jesus.
I remember years ago on a citizenship tour in Washington DC, when as a high school teenager, I listened to then undersecretary of State, Henry Kissinger speak in his strong German accent, to our small church group saying that "By definition, a nation exists for serving its own selfish needs." I can remember praying that night and hoping as a teenager, that Henry Kissinger was wrong. Even to this day, I sometimes pray that same prayer with much more understanding and fear and trembling. Over the years, Kissinger became one of the recognized leaders of the most powerful nation of the world, and I suspect that he maintains that early-formed understanding that a nation is by definition self-serving.
May God, save us from our selves, from any spirit of haughtiness or racism or any form of self-destruction, and may God help us to come to view ourselves and the future of our world, through third world eyes and minds.
God has used in times past, the lowly, and poor, the disenfranchised prophets, like Isaiah and John, to reveal His divine will to the powerful and the rich.
Isaiah living in the Exile of Babylonian capacity said: "the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives."
Mary and Joseph had no place to call home in which to have their baby, and yet Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden."
Mother Teresa, died as she had lived, without a dime to her name but admired by millions for she served the poor.
John Wesley, finished his life of work and service, possessing two silver spoons and a small stack of books. And we as a people called Methodists in our 181st year carry on his tradition of vital piety and concern for the least in society.
Perhaps America is disliked, because we talk big of eliminating poverty and substandard housing from the face of the earth, when most of the people of the world are hungry and have come to realize that poverty means needing others, and supporting one another, not controlling one another.
In Summary: It is in our giving and in our prayers here at Christmas that we identify with the poor of the world. But the truth is, we are all poor. We are poor of spirit, and there is in the center of our being, a hunger for one another and for God, that can only be satisfied by God's gift of divine love, which comes to a people when they view the world through the eyes and minds of "third world hopeless natives". When we realize our need for one another and for God, then he will come to us.
Today, the church sounds like "a voice crying in the darkness" to those who are hopeless; it says, "He is coming to bind up the broken hearted, to release the captives, to proclaim good news to the afflicted". And so like Isaiah and like John, I announce to you that a "light and power man" is coming who will restore your source of strength and energy. He will come to save you from your own carelessness, and foolishness, and haughtiness, and from your poor choices, and from your sin.
Wait in confident hope, for he is fast coming to you in Christ Jesus.
The season of Christmas is a mysterious time when there is much talk about, a time when a right jolly old elf arrives bringing toys for the children, when light appears in the darkness, a time when the invisible God becomes visible, when shepherds hear an angelic chorus, a time when Angels appear on the earth. I have no trouble with the mystery of Christmas, because most of my year, I am aware of a mystery which totally surrounds me.
I live year round, in a world full of spiritual realities, love and sadness, hope and despair, joy and peace, to name but a few. At Christmas, the rest of the world simply becomes aware for a brief moment of what we are aware all the year round.
So, when at Christmas we hear talk of angels, I have no problem, for at certain moments throughout this past year I have experienced unexpected and unexplained support, comfort, and safety from some spiritual presence. Now I have trouble visualizing these angelic beings, but that is merely a limit of my own artistic, imaginative inabilities.
And so, here in the scriptures for the day, we learn of an angel who appeared to Mary, saying: "Do not be afraid, with God nothing is impossible."
This angelic message would be repeated to the Shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem and later by Jesus as an adult when he would teach:
Mark 9:23 "All things are possible for him who believes"
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you, knock and it shall open for you, seek and you will find."
John 15:7 "If you abide in me, ask anything you will and it will be done for you"
John 14:14 "What ever you ask in my name, I will do it."
"Do not be afraid, With God Nothing is Impossible!"
There are two messages in this powerful scripture for the day:
First, do not be afraid and Secondly, with God nothing is impossible.
Hear this message today with a receptive heart and your life will be changed forever.
Mary's life was surely changed. She would have been 14 or 15 years old at the time of the visitation and the result of her giving birth to Jesus. A mere child having a child. Someone has suggested that to the angel's address to her: "Hail, O favored one", she might have responded saying: "With favors like this, who needs bad news." Surely, a mere child herself, she would have been afraid and confused, and thus the message: "Do not be afraid". It came to her, as it comes to us, in a time of greatest need.
Name your fears to God-name them, one by one, call out their identity! Close your eyes, and whisper them, not a stage whisper so that the folks three rows beyond you will hear them, but only so that you and God will hear them. Name your fears, Call their name out as you breath them out of your system.
Today you will leave your fears in the atmosphere of the church's ventilation system and they will depart your life. Out, out of my life, say it to these haunting fears, which have hindered and held you back for years.
And today when you leave, you will carry your hopes and dreams with you, not your fears. The same angel who said: "Do not be afraid", also said, "with God, nothing is impossible."
Sometimes your prayers don't work out exactly as you envision them, but when you are in the center of God's will, they work out better than you envisioned them. I have been convinced for some years that God wanted a retirement home in Downtown Pensacola. Here in all of Pensacola's downtown churches, there are people who are growing older and need assistance in living, and here in the heart of the city, near the places where they have worshipped most of their adult life and found security and tranquility, the vision was born that here, near these places where they have loved and been loved, individuals could in the later days of their lives, find peace. Baptist hospital tried to work this vision out in the old San Carlos hotel, years ago, but that failed. And some 8 years ago, we tried to work it out by envisioning a high-rise luxury apartment building. That didn't work out but finally in the early beginnings of this coming new year, because of a three million dollar grant from the State, Methodist Homes for the Aging will begin construction of a two story, 55 unit, assisted living facility for the elderly. Those who suffer with mild dementia, which includes most of us over 50, will find a home here in the heart of the city, within walking distance to their churches where they have in times past found security and tranquility. It wasn't what I thought we might do when the vision was born, but it is what God has made possible. God answers prayers. And He will answer your prayers, as he answered Mary's prayers.
Remember: "With God, nothing is impossible".
Think back over your life and some of the things you worried about, stewed over, and yet never lost hope, which have now been accomplished. Maybe not in the same form as you originally envisioned, but different and in some cases, even better.
In 627 B.C., the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Israel in a low time in their history, saying in first person singular of God's voice: "Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. When you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart."
And the prophet Isaiah, said: "I will trust in him and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)
Because you are God's people, you can deal with life with confident hope. George Bernard Shaw in his play "Back to Methuselah" writes: You say things and say why? But I dream of things that never were and say "Why not?"
Each time a person seeks to do God's will, or stands up for a moral right, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, or helps a child, or supports the Kingdom's work; he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. History has verified this fact in a thousand ways.
I know that there are those who believe there is nothing you can do to fight against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the belief and work of a single person.
believe that the world is changed one single, solitary, unseen, unrewarded act of kindness at a time, by individuals like you who are blessed by God, who know his will, and is supported by His holy presence. Recall in passing the fact that:
A young monk began the Protestant reformation,
A young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth
A young woman reclaimed the territory of France,
A young Italian explorer discovered the New World,
The thirty two year old Thomas Jefferson proclaimed in one of the earliest documents of our nation that "all men are created equal".
A young circuit rider by the name of Alexander Talley, rode on horseback into Northwest Florida to provide medical help for the Indians and to organize a Methodist Church, 181 years ago this December and to this very day we continue his work, which is the work of Christ,
And Yes, Mary, 14 or 15 years old, heard an angel say to her: "Hail to thee oh favored one, Do not be afraid, With God all things are possible." And she believed and gave birth to a son who was named Jesus, and the rest is history—.
Be still and quiet in these remaining days of Christmas, and perhaps you will hear the angel's voice saying: "Trust in him and be not afraid; for the Lord our God is our strength and our Saviour."