a pearl downunder: Loud Love

a shorter sermon again this week, we will also be watching a video message from the President of the UCA.

My mother grew up in the country, one of 11 children. Some of Mum’s sisters have very loud voices, and Mum would say they had forgotten they weren't down the paddock anymore. I know some families talk about outside voices and inside voices. Luke records that Elizabeth “cried out in a loud voice,” This phrase in Greek means to shout as though one is using a mega-phone.^{^[i]}

In the Magnificat, or Mary’s song, the opening words are translated in the NRSV as “My soul magnifies the Lord ...” , which in the Greek means Mary's soul will "make mega" the Lord. [ii]

And what does Mary speak of?

“Mary sings of God’s mercy, promising that God lifts up the lonely, the downtrodden, and the oppressed, not just of her day, but of our own as well. ….. According to Luke, when Mary sang, she didn't just name those promises but also entered into them.”[iii]

I wonder, how loudly do our words and our actions speak of God?

Over the past few weeks we have thought about hope, peace, joy, and today we will think about love.

Advent 1: you received a piece of paper, and wrote one thing you will do this year that will grow hope in the world, in your life, or in another’s life.

Advent 2: stars were handed out, and you wrote down in which way you are a prophet for peace or one way that you would like your life to show the peace of Christ.

Advent 3: we talked about joy, “experience joy that is experienced when we are aware that in a given moment we are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing.” You were each given a small bell, and were asked to think of a place or way in which you live out your joy, your discipleship.

All 3 symbols have been placed in the manger.

Today we think about love, not mushy romantic kind of love, that we see in movies and TV ads. Strong, brave love, love that steps in front of bullets, love that brings out our best, love that offers hope and peace. Love that we celebrate in the birth of Jesus, but also love of people shown in many ways .

The teachers at Newtown, in the US, who were killed trying to protect their students, reminded me of the verse “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” [John 15:13] which in the Message becomes “This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.”

Love, then, becomes what we give our life to.

Love is what we give our life to.

This week you will each receive a heart shaped sticky note, on it I want you to write what you give your life to.

Hearts to manger

Group singing ‘Nothing is lost on the breath of God’

….

Advent is a time when we think about hope, peace, joy and love as we wait for the coming of Jesus. the waiting is an active waiting, not sitting around being bored, but waiting with intent, waiting while working toward the goal. Waiting for Jesus to come, is about waiting for the birth, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus that we call Christmas. We also wait for the coming again of Jesus, the time of the fulfilment of God’s kingdom. And we also wait and watch for signs of that kingdom in our midst.

The box we use for a manger was originally a munitions box, remember Isaiah and “ turning swords into ploughs” well we have a box for holding ammunition turned into a cradle. But it only becomes a cradle, when it is filled with our hopes, when we speak out about peace, when we live the joy of being known by God and when we give our life in love for what matters to God. An ammunition box becomes a manger when we live out the gospel values of hope, peace, joy and love.