Perimeter People- A Hope Molozaiy Inspired Word, Luke 2:15-21

 

Rev. George Miller

Dec 26, 2021

Luke 2:15-21

Note- This entire message comes from the Rev. Hope Molozaiy.  Like a chef, I simply took all the ingredients she gave me, and made them into my own pie.  Rev. Molozaiy has allowed me permission to give her the well-deserved credit for making this message possible

 

Recently a clergy colleague shared a thought- that there are people who exist on the perimeters of our lives who we aren’t aware of until we see them after a long time has passed.

 

8 months ago her city went into lockdown.  The day before, she went to the local library and checked out 70 items to hold her family over.

 

The librarian who checked out her items was someone she described as surly, abrupt, not her most favorite.

 

During the past 8 months, her family has used every item, sometimes 2 or 3 times.  With storage an issue, she was creative about where to put the books, tapes, and DVDs.

 

Last week the good news arrived- the library was open!  So she went about the house trying to recall the locations where the 70 items were.

 

Once found, she made her way to the long-closed library, and who was there to check back in the 70 items? 

 

The surly, abrupt, not so favored librarian…and immediately my friend began to cry…

 

Just seeing this sourpuss of a person made her realize how much she missed him and that he was someone on the perimeter of her life.

 

A historic event helped her realize the important, almost invisible role that librarian was to her and her family.

 

Sort of like today’s shepherds. 

 

Back then, in Judea, shepherds in a field working the overnight shift were people on the perimeter.

 

Like the women in Immokalee who pick our vegetables, or the men in Frostproof who pick our oranges, and the Florida Crackers who keep track of the cattle in Zolfo Springs.

 

No one would have given a 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th thought about these shepherds.

 

They were People of the Perimeter, working where people could not see, when most folk were at rest, doing their thankless task amongst the stank and the stunk of a field full of animals.

 

Who thought about shepherds as they bought the milk they drank, the meat they ate, and the skins they wore?

 

If anyone did take the time to think of them, the shepherds would be seen as lower-class, uneducated, and crude.

 

And yet these People on the Perimeter were the very ones the angels appeared, to sing their Good News; they were the ones who made their way to see Jesus, Mary, Joseph- a family that was on the perimeter too.

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were so much on the perimeter, there wasn’t even a place for them to stay or for her to give birth, besides a stable.

 

Today’s story is about Perimeter People visiting a Perimeter Family who witness the fact that God had done something new, something outside the perimeter of human logic.

 

Isn’t that just like God?

 

God, who used a maid and a widow named Judith to save God’s children.

 

God, who used a country-bumpkin’ named Amos to be the first prophet.

 

Hannah- praying alone, barren, in the sanctuary, accused of being drunk, becoming the mother of Samuel. 

 

Perimeter.  Perimeter.  Perimeter.

 

One aspect of the Christmas Story is how God uses Perimeter Folk to do fantabulous things.

 

Ain’t that just like God?

 

And doesn’t this reading totally reflect where we are today?

 

Once again, another Christmas in which things are not as we imagined or hoped they would be,

 

facing another season of masks and handwashing and minimized festivities.

 

And yet it seems so right.

 

So often we place a huge burden on Christmas to be big, flashy and all the things we think it needs to be,

 

then come to discover that the true reality is more intimate, private, less perfect than we realize.

 

None of us expected to have another COVID Christmas.  Yet here we are.

 

Just like Mary did not expect to welcome Jesus the way she did. 

 

Mary probably thought she’d be back home, in her own bed, surrounded by family- her Mom, her aunties, her grandmother, her close girlfriends.

 

Perhaps Joseph, as a carpenter, had spent months crafting a crib.

 

But here they are, in Bethlehem, on the perimeter.  Surrounded not by family, but by shepherds.  Jesus is not resting comfortably in a custom-made bed, but a manger.

 

And yet this is where they are…and the world has forever changed.

 

Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds- People on the Perimeter. 

 

It is to them, that Jesus Christ, embodying the Holiest of Holies, has entered into human existence to walk with us, eat with us, nourish us.

 

By God entering humanity’s story through the body of Jesus, we witness how God is here to be with all of us,

 

-regardless if we are part of the in crowd or the out crowd,

 

-regardless if we are in the center of attention or on the perimeter.

 

In many ways, that is beautiful.  It is reassuring. 

 

And it is realistic.

 

And upon witnessing the Good Great News of Jesus, born to Mary and Jospeh, we too can be amazed and excited about what lays ahead.

 

For that, let us say Amen.

The God Who Breastfeeds- John 1:14-18

 

Rev. George Miller

Dec 19, 2021

John 1:14-18

 

Over the past 2 weeks there’s been a conversation about the sanctuary, more specifically, the placement of the Communion Table.

 

Why is it front and center?  Is it a distraction?  Great questions to ask.

 

When worship is done intentionally, worship leaders should be able to answer “Why?”, even if it’s an “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

 

Where worship items are placed allows people to understand what matters to a particular congregation during a particular season in their life.

 

For example, if the Communion table was on the side, the altar would be front and center.  What does an altar represent- sacrifice.  And, in ancient days, sacrifices were made to appease gods so they wouldn’t be angry.

 

Is the altar a place where we fearfully offer sacrifices to make sure God is not mad OR… is the altar a place where we joyfully lay down our offerings as a form of thanks to the God of Agape love?

 

We could move the pulpit to the center because that would say we feel the sermon is most important, BUT if we’re not careful, we could send a message that the preacher is a star.

 

So the Communion Table, as front and center, sends a message to all- the Lord’s Table is the heart of our sanctuary, just like the kitchen and dining room is the heart of any home. 

 

To our fellow Faith Travelers, the Lord’s Table is to a sign of welcome. Inclusion.  AGAPE LOVE.  Where those who hungry are fed, those who are thirsty are quenched.

 

This Table is a sign of nourishment, as Isiah 55 talked about last week. 

 

Are you hungry- come to the Table.

 

Are you hungry for life everlasting- come to the Table.

 

Are you hungry for justice, kindness- come to the Table.

 

And after you are fed with Heaven’s bread and wine- go and do likewise.

 

By having the Lord’s Table front and center we are sending a message to folk not only here, but in Ohio, in Canada, and South Africa-

 

You are being nourished, and it is God the Father through Jesus the Son who is nourishing you.

 

Eat, drink, rest, then go and do likewise.

 

Nourished- that’s the theme for today.

 

After weeks of anticipation we are finally being introduced to Jesus.  But John does not focus on Jesus the baby, or Jesus the son of Mary.

 

He focuses on Jesus as the Word.  The Word who was with God, the Word who is God, the Word that slips into human flesh to become one of us: Emmanuel.

 

In today’s reading, John does something amazing; it has relatively gone unnoticed, missed by the minds of men for hundreds of years (and I intentionally use the word “men”).

 

In verse 18, John states “It is God the Only Son who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

 

Except, there’s a mistake in the English translation.  You see, the Greek word was not “heart,” nor was it “side” as other Bible’s state.

 

The correct Greek word is “bosom.”

 

“It is God the Only Son who is close to the Father’s bosom.”

 

Heart/Side/Bosom.  May not seem important at first.  But it is.

 

Ask any woman who has ever breast fed a child.  It is a dramatic difference.

 

Because what we have here is not an image of Jesus the son being held by God; we have the image of Jesus the child being breast fed by God.

 

Let that sink in.

 

John is telling us that Jesus dwells at the bosom of God, where Jesus is nourished by God.

 

This amazing, powerful understanding of the original Greek text comes from Professor Karoline Lewis, a teacher at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.

 

In her commentary of John, the Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis explores the meaning of bosom in John’s Gospel.

 

It turns out that up until 1750, a prevalent image was of the baby Jesus being nursed at the breast of Mary.  It was an image that used to symbolize the grace of God.

 

Think of the image- how Jesus being breastfed by Mary represents love, closeness, tenderness, intimacy.

 

AGAPE.

 

Could there be a more intimate experience in all of human life than a mother feeding her child via her own body, holding that child in their arms, looking upon their face, her heartbeat beside the baby’s ears?

 

This image represented God as provider, sustainer, God as nourisher.

 

This image of Jesus held at Mary’s bosom, fed by her fully exposed breast was a way to let believers know that God would provide everything necessary to sustain life.

 

Isn’t that what God did with bread and quail in the dessert?

 

Isn’t that what Jesus does with loaves and fishes in the wilderness?

 

All these stories, these images- of God who is Father who feeds us when we are hungry, who breast feeds the Son.

 

No wonder Isaiah 55 called all who hunger an all who thirst.  It’s God’s very nature.

 

This image of Jesus being at God’s bosom finds its culmination in John 13:23, during the Last Supper.  We hear of the beloved disciple resting upon Jesus’ bosom. 

 

Who is this BELOVED ONE?  No one knows.

 

But 1:18 and 13:23 are the only times the word “bosom” is used in John.

 

What if the unnamed disciple is actually meant to represent you, represent me, meant to represent us?

 

Then we have a deep image of Jesus, at the very beginning, being nourished at the bosom of God, and us, at the end of his ministry, being nourished at the bosom of Jesus.

 

It’s a shame we lost that image.

 

Why was that image lost?  Because after 1750 a cultural shift took place.  Modern medicine began to see the breast as just a piece of the body.  Pornography began to sexualize it.

 

Eventually the church and culture began to sexualize the most natural of all things, and so the image of Jesus at the Mary’s breast was taken down, hidden away.

 

Male scholars who translated the sacred texts could not image God having a bosom, nor a God who breastfed, so they changed the word to mean side or heart.

 

In doing so, we lost a delicate, stunning image of God that could have made all the difference.

 

Imagine where we would be as a faith and a people if we were back in 1749 when an image of Mary feeding her son was seen as an act of intimacy, moment of nourishment, a time of tenderness.

 

How different we would be as Christians, Americans, as you and as I if all along we thought of Jesus being fed at the bosom of God?

 

But here is the Good News- thanks to the work of Rev. Dr. Lewis we know this now, and with this knowledge, we have been granted a new opportunity-

 

To see and talk about God as the Heavenly Parent who nourishes.

 

To go about worship believing this to be so.

 

To welcome and share God’s AGAPE love with those who are hungry, those who thirst, our neighbors, our community, those as far away as Biloxi, Haiti, even to ourselves.

 

Let us continue to come to the Lord’s Table so that we can find out. 

Amen and amen.

Emmanuel UCC-Where You Are Fed; Sermon on Isaiah 55:1-5

 

Rev. George Miller

Dec 12, 2021

Isaiah 55:1-5

 

We are blessed.  From the north to the south, to the east and the west.

 

When I say “we” I mean Emmanuel, because here we are 21 months into an international pandemic, and…

 

We are here.

 

Unlike other churches that have forever shut their doors, unlike other congregations that have moved to part time ministry, unlike other sanctuaries that have yet to reopen.

 

We are blessed because not only are we here, but we are finding a way to thrive and grow.

 

Just this week our Garden of Hope team began building our handicap accessible flower beds.

 

A few months ago we sent 50 students to school in Haiti, while at the same time seven of us were in Biloxi working alongside an Iowa church to care for folks in Mississippi.

 

We are blessed because while so many churches are struggling with how to be church in the middle of a pandemic, we have been CHURCH-

 

hosting community conversations, feeding the hungry, celebrating Women’s Equality, Men’s Health, Cuba’s Independence, and Haiti’s flag.

 

Next year we’re preparing to honor Filipino Independence Day with a menu that Fe and My-My are planning. 

 

Today we have set aside time for parents who have lost a child. 

 

And on November 21, we had an Annual Meeting in which we not only voted in leadership and adjusted our bylaws, we made the decision to become Open and Affirming.

 

Open and Affirming, empowering us to be an oasis of love to people who have historically been told “you are not welcome here.”

 

Not to mention the grants we have received from the FL Conference and No Kid Hungry.

 

Sisters and Brothers, never for a second fail to realize that in the midst of a globe-stopping pandemic we have continued to be Emmanuel.

 

Never for a second forget that we are here.

 

And never forget that we are here because we worship a mighty God.

 

We are empowered by the Lord’s mighty, overflowing Agape Love.

 

How exciting that we have done the hard, demanding work and as a result have these gifts to offer to the community and to one another.

 

To people who are hungry, Emmanuel is a place where they can be fed.

 

To people who are lonely, Emmanuel is a place where they can be fed.

 

To people who feel like chaos has become consuming, Emmanuel is a place where they can be fed.

 

To those whose soul have hungered for something more, Emmanuel is a place where they can be fed.

 

To those who have thirsted for something to quench their spirits, Emmanel is where the Living Water of Christ is found in abundance.

 

We are here.

 

Amid COVID, valleys of dry bones, and national discord, we are here, and we have Good News to share.

 

A few weeks ago we voted to become Open and Affirming.  A momentous event that happened so naturally.

 

The nest step of the process is to create and accept an ONA Covenant that can be posted on our website.

 

With the faithful work of Council and the input of the congregation, we have produced a statement.  It reads-

 

“Emmanuel UCC is a church that has a passion for God, and compassion for all, embracing Micah’s call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our Lord. 

 

We are Emmanuel- loving, giving, sharing, and ready to face challenges for the sake of God’s Kingdom. 

 

We are an inclusive and diverse church, a worship and ministry center of Agape Love that is willing to actively participate in the community, and welcome God’s children, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ability, culture, and socio-economic status.

 

As we live out the teaching of the commandments, the preaching of the prophets, and love of God made known through Jesus Christ, we continue to extend our welcoming arms, discarding oppressive systems and hurtful ideologies that harm God’s Creation and prevents our Sisters and Brothers from experiencing a complete life.

 

Following the actions of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we proudly declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Church.”

 

This is a powerful proclamation for anyone who has felt lost and lonely. 

 

This is a powerful testimony to anyone who thought they could never belong.

 

This is the meaning of Christmas wrapped up in words of love, words of light, and words of welcome.

 

In today’s reading, Isaiah spoke to a group of people going through their own national tragedy who wondered if they would ever feel complete again.

 

To those misplaced, misunderstood, lost and lonely people, Isaiah said –

 

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you that have no money, come buy and eat!”

 

Isn’t that what we have been doing for the past 21 months?

 

To a people feeling lost, lonely, scared, and unsure, Isaiah says

 

“Listen carefully, eat what’s good, incline your ear so that you may live.”

 

Live- not just a daily grind, but live in a way that brings joy and purpose.

 

To a nation that has been torn apart, Isaiah says “You shall call nations that you do not know because the Holy One has glorified you.”

 

People of Emmanuel UCC- without even knowing it, we have been existing in the words of Isaiah 55. 

 

Offering food and drink.  Celebrating places like Haiti and Cuba.  Creating a Garden of Hope.  Providing safe spaces for necessary conversations.

 

Voting to be a church that officially, publicly says “Ho, everyone that thirst come to the waters, eat what is good, incline you ear so that you may live.”

 

What a journey we have been on.  What a difference we get to make.

 

In a nation full of discord, in a world full of doubt, we are here, and we are Emmanuel.

 

Amen and amen.