Do not be afraid

Do not be afraid

Do not be afraid

I have called you by name

I will save you

I will be with you

Do not be afraid—I am with you!

For I am the Lord your God

 [from Isaiah 43:1-7]

Fear not [AKJV]

Do not fear [NRSV]

Do not be afraid [GNB]

I wonder what comes into your mind when you hear those words.

Maybe you think of Mary and the words of the angel

Or the shepherds, with angels again saying: don’t be afraid.

Or maybe it is some time in your life, when those words came to mind.

Some time when fear threatened to overwhelm you

But the presence of God with you enabled you to continue.

There is a beautiful hymn that begins: [words on screen]

I will come to you in the silence,

I will lift you from all your fear.

You will hear my voice, I claim you as my choice,

be still and know I am here.

I am hope for all who are hopeless,

I am eyes for all who long to see.

In the shadows of the night, I will be your light,

come and rest in me.

Refrain:

Do not be afraid, I am with you,

I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me, I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine.

© David Haas, 1991

As One Voice, vol.II

When we baptise, these words are spoken to the one being baptised:

N and N,

for you Jesus Christ has come,
has lived, has suffered;
for you he endured the agony of Gethsemane
and the darkness of Calvary;
for you he uttered the cry, ‘It is accomplished!’
For you he triumphed over death;
for you he prays at God’s right hand;
for you, N,
even before you were born.
In baptism the word of the apostle is confirmed;
‘We love, because God first loved us.’

That is true not only for the person being baptised, but for each one of us, baptised or not!

[Words on screen]

I am strength for all the despairing,

healing for the ones who dwell in shame.

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free,

and all will know my name.

Refrain:

Do not be afraid, I am with you,

I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me, I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine.

....

In the gospel reading we heard the story of the Baptism of Jesus.

After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized …. heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.” [Luke 3: 21-22]

This passage from Luke’s gospel tells us who Jesus is. Son of God.

“… Jesus says, “we’ll do things God’s way. I’ll go down. With you. Where you are. In the deep. In the dark. Where all your hard stuff is swirling around. Where there’s the danger you could drown, the danger you could get lost and succumb to your despair. That’s where I’ll go, a sibling in your own flesh. That’s where I’ll always be. That’s how you’ll know that God is not against you. That’s how you’ll know you’re not alone.”  http://sicutlocutusest.com/2016/01/08/the-one-down-god-sermon-for-the-feast-of-the-baptism-of-jesus/

[Words on screen]

I am the Word that leads all to freedom.

I am the peace the world cannot give.

I will call your name, embracing all your pain,

stand up, now walk, and live!

Refrain:

Do not be afraid, I am with you,

I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me, I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine.

It can be hard sometimes to remember that we are precious to God, loved and known and named,

forgiven and free.

It can be hard to remember

when you are being ridiculed for your weight,

when you are being ignored because of your age,

when you are being called names because of your faith

when the news is about floods and fires

when politicians speak of terrorism

when we watch people die of malnutrition while we throw out food

it can be hard to remember who we are and to whom we belong

  

Isaiah reminds us:

That we are created by God,

To bring God glory

Being one of Gods people can sometimes seem difficult,

Am I good enough?

Have I prayed correctly?

Am I living out my faith properly?

I don’t know how much of my life brings glory to God.

But I do know that my living in fear and shame isn’t what God has planned for me, or any of you.

Do not be afraid

I have called you by name

I will save you

I will be with you

Do not be afraid—I am with you!

For I am the Lord your God

 [From Isaiah 43:1-7]

 In Baptism you are named and claimed by God

In baptism we are all reminded of how much we are loved by God

Even before we knew it, God loved us!

We take some time to reflect and rest in God’s love.

Mary Remembers

Early in the Service, because I like these thoughts and they don't fit with the sermon :) 

Story: What Do We Expect?

A ten year old girl went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas lights at various locations in her town. At one church they stopped and got out to look at a beautiful nativity scene. "Isn't that beautiful?" said the little girl's grandmother. "Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus." "Yes, Grandma," replied the granddaughter. “It's really nice. But there's one thing that bothers me. Isn't baby Jesus ever going to grow up....he's the same size he was last year!"

http://seedstuff.blogspot.com.au/

What is our expectation of Jesus?

Time and time again in our scriptures, Jesus is found in unexpected places… having unexpected conversations.

Where do we expect to find Jesus? 

In the articles I read this week, one commentator noted:

“We are not ready to accept that Jesus did not come to fulfil our expectations. He is not to be found in sentiment for the way things used to be or the way we wish things could be. Jesus is about the future. Jesus was born and lived and died and rose to be about God’s business of putting an end to our searching by making plain the way to God, even if that means shattering our expectations.
Our searching will come to an end in new life, meaningful life, the life God intends, but not the life we expect.”

https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1524

........

Monologue 

People ask all the time, what was he like as a boy, your Jesus? They hear what he is up to, and they wonder if I knew he would be different?  And I guess you want to hear the story as well.

 To tell the truth, he was bit of a surprise package at times.

Like, before he was born, when there was the message from God that this child would be special.  I guess lots of parents think their child is going to be special; but this was different somehow.

And then when I travelled to visit my cousin Elizabeth, she said her child leapt within her, I wondered if she was exaggerating about how special the child within me was going to be.

I mean, even being pregnant was unexpected.

At least Joseph stood by me, and the baby.

Then there was the census, of all the timing!

So we travelled to Bethlehem, Joseph and me. That is like walking from here to Nelsons Bay, try that at nine months pregnant and see how long it takes.  After little Jesus was born, we waited for the eighth day, and went for the naming ceremony in the Temple at Jerusalem, only a half day’s walk from Bethlehem. [Ettalong to Patonga] A few weeks later we were back in the temple for the purification offering, two pigeons. We couldn't afford anything more than that.   

Ahhhh… another thing happened that day, there were these two people in the Temple, what were their names … ah, yes, Simeon and Anna.  Simeon scared me, just walked up and took Jesus out of my arms – I didn't know what was happening.  Not knowing what is going to happen next seems to happen around Jesus.

  

Seemed God had told Simeon he wouldn't die until he saw the messiah, the one who would save the people of God. It was all a bit unreal, this old man talking about God speaking to him, and how he could die in peace because he had seen this child. He talked about salvation and light and how wonderful God is. The he said something really strange…  I remember it like it was yesterday: “And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.”

I didn't know what he was talking about at the time, how could this special child break my heart?

Then the old lady, Anna, came and sang songs of praise and talked about Jesus, not just to us, but to everyone in the Temple area.  

Jesus was just over a month old, and people were making a fuss, telling us he was special.

I know as a mother I wanted the best for him, I wanted him to grow into a good man, a godly man like my Joseph.  

You see, Joseph and I raised him according to our faith and our culture, he knows the stories of how God has been with our people, he knows about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, about Moses and the freeing of the slaves from Egypt.  He knows about the exodus and the exile, the great King David and the wise King Solomon, the prophets and priests. He knows all that.

We are a devout family

Each year we travelled to Jerusalem for Passover. They were great trips with family and friends, and a good way for Jesus to get to know his cousins and the people we travelled with.  A way for him to be steeped in the story of who we are as a people.

Though, there was this one year, when he was twelve…

We were on the way home, we thought he was with his cousins, and they thought he was with us.  

Anyway, when we set up camp after the first days travel, we couldn't find him.

Talk about Panic!

Joseph and I were beside ourselves,

We asked everyone in the group we were travelling with.

No-one had seen him.

So we went back to Jerusalem to start searching.

Hoping,

Praying,

that our boy, our eldest son was safe.

Eventually, after 3 days, we found him.

In the temple

With the Rabbis

He was still a child, he wasn't yet 13.

Well part of us was pleased, we had found him, and he was safe, and alive!

But part of me wanted to ……..

He told us we should have expected to find him in the Temple.

I expected to find him with the group!

Anyway, he never did it again. Mostly he was good boy, but sometimes, there were the unexpected moments.

And now, he has left home,

He tells us he is doing what he came to do.

We see him sometimes, and I worry about him.

He behaves in ways some people don’t expect.

And I think of the words of Simeon….

(we are singing a song based on the words of Simeon)

Light, Travellers, Fear or Joy

Epiphany is the season of the Church year when we focus on Jesus coming as light to the world. In a place like Australia, celebrating the coming of light in early January may seem a little odd, as we have so much sunshine. But I want us to think a little about light, and the place of light.

If I shine this torch into the room, it doesn't make a lot of difference, however if I shine it into a dark corner, or under the table, it makes a lot of difference.

Light can uncover things we try and hide, light also shows us things we don’t want to see.

A few weeks ago I read you a story called: Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. Here is a further reflection by the author.

Part 2 from ‘It was on Fire when I lay down on it’, P 108

…

A friend doesn't like the essay “All I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten.”  Says it’s nice as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. Things should go beyond ‘nice’.

He’s right. There are things I learned – and needed to learn – that were not taught in primary school. Teachers and adults would never tell you these things. Oh, they knew them all right, but they would never tell you they knew. You had to find them out for yourself or from your friends.

            [Sex, crime, power, skills and death]

Here’s the tough part of what I know now: that the lessons of kindergarten are hard to practice if they don’t apply to you. It’s hard to share everything and play fair if you don’t have anything to share and life is itself unjust. I think of the children of this earth who see the world through barbed wire, who live in a filthy rubbled mess not of their own making and that they can never clean up.

They do not wash their hands before they eat. There is no water. Or soap. And some do not have hands to wash. They do not know about warm cookies and cold milk, only stale scraps and hunger. They have no blankie to wrap themselves in, and do not take naps because it is too dangerous to close their eyes.

Theirs is not the kindergarten of finger paint and nursery rhymes, but an X-rated school of harsh dailyness. Their teachers are not sweet women who care, but the indifferent instructors called Pain, Fear, and Misery. Like all children everywhere, they tell stories of monsters. Theirs are for real — what they have seen with their own eyes. In broad daylight. We do not want to know what they have learned.

But we know.

And it ain't kindergarten stuff.

The line between good and evil, hope and despair, does not divide the world between “us” and “them”. It runs down the middle of each one of us.

…….

I wonder, what are the things you don’t want to see?

What are the things in your own life that you don’t want to see, or that you don’t want others to see?

Pride?

Shame?

Guilt?

Greed?

???

What are the things in the world around you that you don’t want to see, that you wish you could unsee?

A lonely neighbour?

Domestic violence?

Oppression?

Racism?

???

……

When friends or family are expecting a baby. We wait anxiously for news of the birth, and are eager for photos and news. Most babies are born into a family and community that loves them and are excited about their birth.

I find it interesting to see how people respond to the birth of a child.

Generally I think people respond with excitement.

But sometimes there is caution:

• Is the baby healthy?
• Will I cope with this tiny creature?
• And sometimes siblings will be less than keen on this noisy imposter who takes the attention away from them.

In the birth stories, Matthew tells us that the Magi travelled for many months, so eager were they to see the new arrival

Luke tells us about Shepherds leaving their flocks – a very dangerous thing to do.

Herod was very upset.

 The Greek word: ταράσσω [tarasow] translates as trouble, disturb, upset or terrify [p 179The Greek New Testament Aland et al, United Bible Societies]

Why would anyone be terrified at the birth of a child?

Why would anyone be disturbed by the birth of a child?

The birth stories in Matthew and Luke tell us that this baby is special, this isn’t just another child.

This child is special,

·         visited by shepherds – some of the lowliest in the land

·         visited by Magi – wealthy, but not Jewish!

·         A threat to the powerful

·         A saviour for the oppressed

I wonder if we would read this passage differently if we lived in a place where fear haunts our daily living.

If we were being bombed in Syria,

If we lived in  Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR),  where one person has arranged for the kidnapping of over 600 children in 3 years to be used as soldiers and sex slaves.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/07/joseph-kony-united-nations-report

Now, as in the time when Jesus was born, life is fragile.

The Magi returned by a different road.

My experience is that relationship with God through Jesus

• invites transformation,
• challenges our values,
• and encourages us to live differently.

As we look into the manger

As we look at the cross

As we share in bread and juice together

Are we changed?

How will you respond to Jesus?

Does the idea of Jesus bringing light into your life fill you with joy or terror?