“Holy Hospitality”

1^{st
Congregational Church
of Redwood City, UC=
C}

Carol Barri= ger

Sunday, December 11, 2005

3^{rd in
Advent}

Isaiah 61:1= -3, 11; Psalm 126

“Shouts of Joy”

…the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. (Isa 61:1)

&nbs= p; Have you even been so happy that you couldn’t contain yourself? Take a minute to think about that,= and try to recapture a little of that moment – whatever it was. If your more recent life seems to = have had more than its share of difficulties or darkness, it’s easy to lose sight of the happy moments. I= f each of us were asked to draw a life-map, or a life-line, there would be peaks a= nd valleys for all of us. And th= anks be to God for all of life! So think for a minute. How did you react to those high times? Clap your hands? Smile= ? Yell? Cry? Jump for joy? Sing? Slap a few high-fives? Hug the person near you, and then everyone else in sight? Utter= a prayer of thanksgiving, out loud or silently? How did you react to such happiness? Give yourself the = gift of recovering that feeling right now…

&nbs= p; As human beings, especially Euro-Americans, we monitor our self-expression pre= tty carefully. We are conscious o= f whom we are with, what we think is expected or socially appropriate, and what ki= nd of a model we are setting for others, especially children. Some of us also have certain overl= ays as a result of our professional position.&nbs= p; We may stop and consider whether people will think less of us if we = “let it all hang out.” I am = not saying that any of that is wrong, but it can come at a cost, and that is a certain potential – emphasize potential, not guaranteed – loss of authenticity, of our real self.&nb= sp; We wonder what “other people,” whoever those other people are, would think if they saw the real, unfettered person that we are, and we developed the habit of censoring that self. In reality, that authentic person = is the richest and most genuine persona we have to offer, a unique manifestation of God in each of us.

Of course, we do look for w= ays to express ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, because as thinking, feeli= ng beings, the pain of staying bottled up is immense and eventually self-nullifying. The Self wil= l find a way to leach out. Some expr= essions are positive and creative: ar= t, music, writing, dance, athletics, building life-sustaining enterprises. Some expressions are negative and radically destructive: consta= nt anxiety, anger, the need to control, cheating, manipulation, physical or em= otional violence to self or others. Feelings always find a way out, no matter how many dams or roadblock= s we set up. Medical science knows= that people who are not open enough about their true feelings, and courageous en= ough to live authentically, or seek help in that process, actually suffer more i= llness and die sooner. Life is an experience – and you only get one pass to live it out with what the Spirit has placed in you. Inc= luding those uncensored shouts of joy.

&nbs= p; So what did you come up with? Ho= w did you express yourself in those high, happy times? I laughed and cried on my wedding day. I wept at the births of = all of my children. I raised my arms= in triumph when I received my diploma and graduated from seminary. The day I was installed here as yo= ur pastor, I danced down the aisle – completely spontaneously – because I = was so happy and excited about being called to be a part of the life of faith a= nd possibility here. Now my chil= dren have grown up and left home; after many years, my marriage ended in divorce; and the life of the church has been a challenging path for all of us. But I would not trade away a singl= e one of those moments of supreme joy. They stand on their own for me, as your moments do for you. I once read a dialogue between two people discussing joy, and trying to determine what its opposite might be.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What is the valley to that peak? Several things were suggested R= 11; like “sorrow,” and “fear.” In the end they agreed true joy wa= s so deeply rooted in God, that it had no definable opposite. It simply existed on its own.

&nbs= p; Shouting for joy seems a little out of control in this modern, developed world, but I’d like to suggest we need a little more of it. We live in a world that associates intense, heartfelt expression either with seriousness, sadness or trouble – or being dangerously out of control. This is not just a reflection on c= urrent events – it’s a mindset which has forgotten to have uncomplicat= ed fun. We are so consumed by an= alysis that we forget to come to God like little children, full of wonder, and rea= dy to be pleased and delighted! How about it? If we shout for joy, people = might begin to wonder what we are up to, what’s so darned good, and whether they should be a part of it. = Ah, yes. This is a sneak sermon a= bout evangelism. We have to do a l= ittle shouting for joy – or at least talking out loud. Let’s shout for joy about our church!

&nbs= p; Shout for joy that here we always have a supportive hand, a listening ear.

&nbs= p; Shout for joy that here we have embraced the deepest values of true Christian fai= th – our highest calling in the image of Jesus to work for justice and p= eace, and the path is through radical love for all people.

&nbs= p; Shout for joy that here questions are honored as acts of faith.

&nbs= p; Shout for joy that here we face the future and engage change as the very work of = God.

&nbs= p; Shout for joy that here diversity is beauty, and that we love difference as the w= ork of the Holy Spirit.

&nbs= p; And we can practice shouting for joy right now by saying, “Yes!” [YES!]

Have you ever attended a Pentecostal worship service? There’s a lot of participation, movement and talking. I envy those preachers because the= y get some feedback! A few “amens,” or “that’s rights,” or “yesses” would be more than appropriate. Am I right? Are you with me?? Why should worship be something th= at is “done to us,” something that others present and put on like a s= how, instead of something we all create together in joy? People in those Pentecostal-style services are possessed by joy because they truly understand that is the purpose, the purpose of being the people of God – to rejoice and to be authentically ourselves in the presence of God. What’s more important for us to see is that there is absolutely nothing incompatible there with a progressive point of view, or anything in our congregational tradition. Worshipping in a way that we have = come to associate with conservative Christianity – well, that’s an association that needs examination. Among a few other things that the Right has gotten very right – which is why they are so successful – is the idea that worship should be joyful. Is it rocket science that people will gravitate toward joy, and something that includes them, invites them in, rather than a plodding presentation in which they are passive recipients? Why shoul= d a divisive theology have a corner on joyful worship? Why not us??

&nbs= p; Soren Kierkegaard, a great 19^th century theologian, wrote extensively = on many areas of Christian faith, but was particularly outspoken on the subjec= t of worship. He had the idea that Christian worship was like a drama or play. But what he observed in many churches was a distortion – that in the drama, God was seen to be lik= e a prompter for the worship leaders (musicians, readers, preachers, and so for= th) who were the actors in the play, so they would say the right things, and th= at the gathered congregation had become the audience – a passive audience. An elitist class of leaders was implicitly modeling that they were better equipped to be the performers in this drama, and the congregation accepted the role of onlooke= rs, or very limited participants. This understanding of worship is maintained in many churches today. Kierkegaard taught that this understanding of our worship drama was totally wrong – and this in th= e 19^th century! People were taking o= n the wrong roles. Rather, worship leaders are merely prompters, reminding the congregation and ourselves of w= hat we already know – that God is love and power; both changing and changeless; that the Spirit which shone through Jesus can bring Light into = our lives – and that God alone, the Holy, the Spirit, our shared Divine, = is the audience for our actions of worship!

Hearing the phrase in today= ’s scripture, and in the song I sang… “The Spirit of the Lord is u= pon me” can bring up the idea of being possessed, not a particularly good image if all you focus on is horror movies about demon possession. But there are many wonderful thing= s by which we could be possessed, overtaken – if we only allowed it to happen. The Spirit of the Lor= d is upon me – goodness instead of ashes, the power to bind up the broken-hearted – the very words, according to Luke, which Jesus read = when he was called to the Torah is his home synagogue in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Nazareth. We could be overtaken like Jesus.<= /p>

&nbs= p; When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion …

our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy…

The Lord has done great = things for us, and we rejoiced. =

My God! We rejoiced!

May those who sow in tea= rs … come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

(Psalm 12= 6)

And somewhere along the int= entional path to joy – for it surely is a choice to let go and show unfettered, authentic joy at an experience of God – somewhere along the intention= al path to joy is where hope and healing happen. So let us walk that path. And let all the people say – “Amen!”

<= /span>

Isaiah 61:1-3, = 11

1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the L= ORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bin= d up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the da= y of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give the= m a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mant= le of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousn= ess, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.

11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a = garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Psalm 126<= /u>

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our ton= gue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has = done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoic= ed.

4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses = in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.<= /p>

6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowin= g, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.