SENT: Jesus Brings New Life December 27, 2015 Reinbeck UMC

SENT: Jesus Brings New Life

December 27, 2015

Reinbeck UMC

That is a strange scripture for the Sunday after Christmas. Or is it?

Ezekiel was a prophet during the Babylonian exile. The Israelites had been dragged 500 miles away from their homes, and their land, and their temple.

God shows Ezekiel a vision. It is a valley of dry bones. This was an ugly vision. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of bodies. Not even one was intact where there might be some hope that there could be a survivor or two. They were just bare bones; dry and dusty. At one time each one was someone’s child, someone’s spouse, someone’s parent. But they had been killed and left to suffer the indignities of rot and decay, sun and weather, animals and birds and bugs. There was nothing left of them. No hope. No life. They were dead, dead, dead.

God asks Ezekiel, “Ezekiel, tell me, can these bones live?”

Ezekiel had to stifle a laugh. Maybe he thought God lost his mind. Maybe he thought it was a joke. Maybe he was just overwhelmed. So he hedged his bet saying, “I don’t know, Lord but I’m sure you have a trick or two up your sleeve.”

Ezekiel probably thought, “Whew, I weaseled my way out of that one.” He thought he was pretty sly, and assumed the test was over.

God did have a trick, but Ezekiel was not off the hook. Sure, God could have done anything he wanted without any help. God, however, said, “Ezekiel, go preach to the bones.”

Ezekiel probably thought to himself, “Well, at least they won’t be checking their watches to see if I am running long this time.” But what kind of congregation was this?

You might say it would be a challenge to preach to the dry bones. For United Methodist pastors that is a code word. When the DS says “this church will be a challenge.” You better not get rid of your moving boxes.

 This, however, was more than a challenge… it was a dare. God said, “Ezekiel, I dare you to believe in my ability to bring life from death.”

So Ezekiel started to preach. He told an opening joke and was getting ready to move into the message itself when the strangest thing happened. Ezekiel said, “As I preached, there was a sound and… oh… a rustling! …The bones moved… they rattled …they came together, bone to bone. Then tendons and ligaments formed. Then muscles, then skin stretched over the bones. God breathed breath into them and as soon as Ezekiel was done preaching they marched to the fellowship hall and had cookies and juice.

What happened there? Not to put down Christmas, but frankly, a baby in a manger is child’s play, compared to this story in Ezekiel.

Mike Slaughtrer from Ginghamsburg UMC says, “God does some of his best work in the graveyard.” And this is a great example. In light of Christmas, I might add that “God does some of his best work in barnyards.”

It might be a barnyard of graveyard; or a desert, hospital, or war zone;…Be it the dry places, the scary places, the dark places, the hurting places, the broken places, the hopeless places, the filthy and stinky places. If you want to see the glory of God, that is where you have to go.

But that is a good thing, because we are surrounded by those places. Just on the other side of those doors …are nations in which Christians are persecuted, are refugee camps. Just on the other side of those doors is Nigeria and Costa Rica and Haiti; plenty of dry places, scary places, dark places, hurting places, broken places, hopeless places, filthy and stinky places. Those are exactly the places God chooses to do some of his best work!

 Just on the other side of those doors… in our neighborhoods, schools, work places, and homes there are plenty of dry places, scary places, dark places, hurting places, broken places, hopeless places, filthy and stinky places. Those are exactly the places God chooses to do some of his best work!

And do you want o know the truth? We don’t have to go on the other side of the doors. Look within your own heart and you will find plenty of dry places, scary places, dark places, hurting places, broken places, hopeless places, filthy and stinky places. Those are exactly the places God chooses to do some of his best work!

But after the creation of the world, God chose not to work ex nihilo. That means out of nothing. The world was created ex nihilo - out of nothing- but that is not the way God works any more. (At not at least most of the time) Most of the time God doesn’t do a solo act.

God could have raised the dry bones by himself, but he chose not to…. he appointed Ezekiel to preach them into new life.

God could have had Jesus just “poof” appear as a 30-year-old rabbi. But instead he chose to use Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and Herod and the wise men and (you know the whole cast of the Christmas story!) God chose to work through those people to bring new life to the world.

God could fix the problems in the world, our nation, our community, our families, and our hearts all by himself. But instead, God chooses to work through the church as his hands and feet in the world.

God chose to work through Ezekiel 2600 years ago…

God chose to work through Mary and Joseph and the shepherds 2000 years ago.

God chose to work through the church and the people in the church to carry his good news for 2000 years.

NOW God CHOOSES to work through you and me and the rest of the church to be the hands and feet of the kingdom in our world today.

But how do we do that. 13 years ago, the Charge conference adopted a tremendous series of statements: a vision, a purpose, mission, and a theme. Can any of you recite them? Neither can I. And neither could the leadership team. So we have been working for months now, to distill all of those statements into one Biblically sound statement that we can all remember and use. One that we can use as a measuring stick for our existing ministries, a blueprint for new ministries, and a guide for each of us in our discipleship. It was hard work. But I think they have done it.

Look at the front of your bulletin and read that Ministry Statement with me. (If you don’t have one, it will be on the screen)

The ministry of the Reinbeck United Methodist Church is to help each other experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ ….. ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus.

If we experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ…ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus; our dry bones will begin to take on life.

If we experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ…ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus; the filthy and Stinky places of our lives will be transformed into sanctuaries for God’s grace.

If we experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ…ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus; the brokenness, the hurts and the hopes of our families will begin to take on newness and life.

If we experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ…ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus; the loneliness, the alienation and the mistrust in our neighborhoods will be transformed into a true community of love and respect.

  If we experience Christ’s LOVE, KNOW God’s Word, GROW in Christian discipleship, and GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ…ALL BECAUSE OF Jesus; the hopeless places of the world, the farthest places of the world, the most frightening places in our world can begin to experience hope through the powerful love of Jesus working through someone we touch, who touches someone, who touches someone who makes a difference in those faraway places.

God chooses to work - not by himself- but through each of us, and all of us together to shed light on God’s kingdom vision, bring life to God’s plan for humanity, and be the flesh and bone of God’s love for each and every person both inside and outside of this building. That is our ministry. And this new ministry statement is intended to help each of us individually, and all of us collectively to be God’s hands and feet in each of our ministries, and each of our lives, each and every day.

Can we do that?

Experience Christ’s love… sure, we can.

Know God’s word… sure, we can

GROW in Christian discipleship… sure, we can

GO share our faith, bringing others to Christ… Sure, we can.

Ezekiel was God’s hands and feet, preaching new life into dry bones.

Mary was God’s hands and feet carrying the promise of eternal life into this world.

Let us be God’s hands and feet in this place. What God has in mind for the future, we don’t know… but we do know that if Ezekiel can do his part, and Mary can do her part, we can do our part as we LOVE, KNOW, GROW, AND GO and we will be part of whatever God has in mind.

Thanks be to God AMEN

JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING Reinbeck UMC Christmas Eve 2015

JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Reinbeck UMC Christmas Eve 2015

It has been calculated that the probability that you would exist as the unique individual you are is something like 1 in 4 trillion. That is a 4 with 14 zeroes behind it.

One person has done some calculations and estimates that the probability of your ancestors meeting, and falling in love, and having children is, get this, 1 in 10 to the 2,685,000^th power. That is 1 with 2,685,000 zeroes behind it.

That person continued, picture 2,000,000 people playing a game of dice and each of them gets to roll their 1 trillion sided die one time and only one time. They all roll at the same time and they all roll exactly the same number. Could it happen? Mathematically it could. Now I’m not a betting man, However, I am pretty sure that you would have to be awfully bad at math to bet your life savings on that happening.

Calculating the probability that both of these things would happen, the combination of relationships and the genetics is pretty simple, but when I used an on line, statistical calculator to perform that calculation the display read simply, “infinity.” The chances are so small that mathematically speaking our existence is a virtual impossibility.

Mathematically speaking we shouldn’t exist. In the grand scheme of things in a random universe, our chances of existing are zero.

The Christmas story that we celebrate tonight, is that the infinite, God of all Gods, creator of the universe did something even more unlikely than that. Even though we are zeroes, God loves us, and chose to become one of us. God chose to become a zero, and even more, he chose to come as a completely helpless infant-- a baby “zero”-- in a nowhere corner of a smallish planet--- in an off-the-beaten-track part of the universe. Right?

“While they were there, (in Bethlehem the place Micah calls the least of the clans of Israel)… While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. (She being Mary, a young, unknown, poor, unmarried girl) And she gave birth to her firstborn son (one of us… a mathematical zero)… and wrapped him (that mathematical nothing) in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, (an animal’s food trough) because there was no place for them in the inn. (because she was considered too unimportant even among the other mathematical zeroes.)

Now that may sound harsh, but that is the miracle of Christmas! Philippians tells the Christmas story this way

Though he was in the form of God,
 did not regard equality with God
 as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
 taking the form of a slave,
 being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,

 he humbled himself
 and became obedient to the point of death

If that is not a miracle, I don’t know what a miracle would be.

·        The result is that we who were “nothings” are suddenly “somethings” because we are loved by God; because Jesus Changes everything.

·        We, who were formerly a mere statistical anomaly, have been given the gift of the presence of God in our midst because we are loved by God; because Jesus Changes everything.

·        We, who were formerly trapped in our sin, are suddenly loved by God. And that makes all the difference; because Jesus Changes everything.

·        Nothing can ever be the same again. Nothing can ever go back to being the same; because Jesus Changes everything.

(Say it with me “Because Jesus Changes everything.”)

·        Suddenly the heavens sing with choirs; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly the old evergreen glows with magic; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly the world glistens with tinsel and lights; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly cold hard, broken, dysfunctional, dead hearts start to beat; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly, we who are tragically sinful have hope; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly, we who were restless and troubled can be filled with joy; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly, we who have become accustomed to fear and hate, can be filled with peace; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

·        Suddenly we who, if we are lucky, have only experienced a faint reflection of love in our lives are awash with God’s love; “Because Jesus Changes everything.”

You might not feel like everything is changed, because like the wise men Jesus birth set us on the journey of a lifetime.

That journey that  began 2000 years ago, but begins anew tonight, no matter how many times we have set out on that journey before.

The journey begins anew tonight because tonight we celebrate this miracle of miracles, Jesus changes everything because tonight like a new mother gently leaning over to kiss the forehead of her newborn child, tonight heaven comes down and kisses the earth with a miracle.

·        Heaven comes down and kisses the earth with hope.

·        Heaven comes down and kisses the earth with joy.

·        Heaven comes down and kisses the earth with peace.

·        Heaven comes down and kisses the earth with love.

Tonight my prayer is that heaven will come down and kiss your heart, kiss your life with the miracle of Christ at Christmas; (one last time together) Because Jesus changes everything.

Sent: Jesus is God with us December 20, 2015 Reinbeck UMC

Sent: Jesus is God with us

December 20, 2015

Reinbeck UMC

·         On a cold November night in 1984, Robyn and I went to Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana to have our first child. Everything seemed like it was going well, so I went to move the car from the ER lot to the regular parking lot. I was no particular hurry.

As I returned to the labor and delivery floor, however, the elevator door to opened and I was assaulted by a nurse in full-blown emergency mode. Pushing papers in my face and telling me they need to take Robyn to surgery immediately. I discovered that the baby’s condition was compromised and they needed to do an emergency c-section. There was a flurry of activity and they whisked Robyn off to surgery.

I was young, scared for my wife and unborn child, and alone. I made some phone calls to family and church friends and waited, and waited, and waited. I knew from Lamaze class that they could have a baby out in like 4 minutes. But time dragged on 30 minutes…an hour …an hour and a half…and I was quite stressed.

While I sat in that little waiting room, the cleaning woman came through. We visited casually and I shared what was happening. She did her dusting and cleaning and then did something surprising. She sat down with me. We continued to visit off and on but mostly she just sat. It wasn’t until after it was all over, and I knew Robyn was OK, and Amber was safe, and I was on my way home that I gave a second thought to the cleaning woman.

She didn’t try to make it all better. She didn’t have any magic answers. She didn’t know the future. But she was there. She made me feel less alone and less afraid. Just being with me was enough.

I have wondered through the years if she was an angel. I suppose even if she wasn’t the heavenly kind of angel, her presence was certainly a message of God’s grace. Because she was there, I knew that God was with me, and God was with Robyn, and God was with Amber. Emmanuel; God with us.

·         Fast forward several years. A 10:30 pm call is never good at a pastor’s house. This was one of those calls. A young woman from the Musserville church had just given birth, and the baby was dead. They asked me to come over to the hospital and baptize the baby. (Now we know that God is gracious and loving and the baptism was more for the parents comfort than anything else, but in those moments one doesn’t quibble over sacramental theology.) I arrived at the hospital and found their room dark and quiet with lullabies playing on the CD player. I went in and they handed me the child. I held their lifeless baby in my arms and baptized her. And we just sat there. I held her. They held her. We didn’t say much. We just sat there in the dark quiet of the hospital room.

I knew there were no more words to say. I knew they didn’t need words. They didn’t need me to DO anything else. They just needed someone to BE with them. In that moment we experienced Emmanuel; God with us.

·         Fast forward a few more years. I left the ministry 21 years ago next month. Never thought I would be back. In 2002, Amber was going on a mission trip and at the last minute, I went to help. We went to United Methodist campground in Colorado. Over the course of the week, since I was still ordained, I lead a couple of worship services and presided over communion, but mostly I spent a lot of time hanging out with the youth. On the way home, several of them cornered me. We all knew their current youth leader wanted to retire, but they hadn’t found a replacement. They cornered me and asked me if I would be their next youth leader. I turned them down flat.

 “Something” kept working on me, though. And I kept resisting. One day in November or December that same “something” got me up off the couch and I went in to tell Robyn I was going to inquire about that youth job at Asbury. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I had resisted it and ignored it. But I couldn’t deny it any longer. 2 months later, I was standing in front of those same youth who cornered me on the mission trip, introducing myself as their new youth pastor. It wasn’t because I wanted to, not because the kids wanted me to, but because in my deepest times of doubt and denial I was still not alone. God was still working in me. Even when I didn’t want him, God was with me; Emmanuel.

·         Fast forward a few more years. I was on retreat this last fall. I had just finished the 5-day Academy of Spiritual Formation. I was at Beads lake State park sitting on a bench near the lake. (Silly me, I forgot to take my fishing role with me) The sun was shimmering across the water; the breeze was blowing in my face. The only sound besides the wind was the geese squawking on the west end of the lake. Suddenly and unmistakably, an overwhelming peaceful assurance came over me. I just felt it. A very strong sense of wholeness. A sense of being enveloped in warmth and light. I can’t describe it any better than that. But it was a very palpable reminder that I was not alone. I am never alone. Because no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, there is Emmanuel; God with me.

I could go on and on telling stories of Emmanuel; God with us.

How does this work?… well very smart people have worked for 2000 years to explain Emmanuel God presence and power with us. Let me sum up the best answer we have. How can I simplify this so you will all understand? Are you ready to take notes? Get your pencil and get ready to write it down. Are you ready? Here we go. “We don’t know.” Yea that is the best answer of how God is with us. If anyone tells you otherwise, they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes. There is no understanding how Emmanuel; God with us works. The important thing is that it does.

And that shouldn’t surprise you.

·         Today’s scripture affirms the promise first made by the prophet Isaiah, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, ”which means, “God is with us.”[i]

·         Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”[ii]

·         Jesus says, “I will be with you always to the ends of the earth.”[iii]

·         Paul writes, “The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God.”[iv]

Scripture is very clear that God is Emmanuel; God with us, and we should not be surprised. God with us is very special, but it is not a surprise.

·         It is not that God knows ABOUT us like the IRS knows about us. No God is Emmanuel, God with us.

·         It is not that God is just near us, like strangers on an elevator. They are near each other, but not with one another. No, God is Emmanuel, God with us.

·         It is not that God is watching us at a distance, like Santa Clause or a traffic camera. No God is Emmanuel, God with us.

·         It is not that God solves all our problems, or even protects us from the struggles of life. No but God walks though our deepest struggles with us. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me.” [v] God is Emmanuel, God with us.

No matter what… no matter when... no matter how hard things are, or how great they are, God is Emmanuel, God with us.

It should not be any surprise to anyone who has read the Bible or been around the church that Jesus is called Emmanuel; God with us. Yet it is. Maybe it is just me, but it always surprises me when I become powerfully aware of God with me. Does it surprise you? It isn’t that I don’t want it or expect it, or know in my head that God is with me, but I don’t always feel it. In those moments when Emmanuel is palpably, and undeniably present I always find myself awed and a little surprised.

This week I bring to you the message that God sent Jesus to be God with us. AND not only did God send Jesus to be Emmanuel; God with us. Jesus sends us to be vessels for Emmanuel; God with others. We are sent to be the hands and feet that make God’s presence real to a world that is not expecting it.

·         We have done that. We sent almost $1200 worth of cash and gifts to the Christmas in Grundy event last weekend. And we had volunteers at the event. Did we preach Jesus to everyone that walked through the door? No. But to that father who felt like a failure because he had to take the money he had saved to buy a gift for his son and give it to the electric company so they wouldn’t shut off his power, it made all the difference that by our gifts, money, and presence, we were with him that morning. We didn’t solve all of his problems. But we were God’s hands and feet quietly walking with him, helping him to not feel alone, and not feel like he failed his little boy.

We are the hands and feet that make God’s presence real to a world that is not expecting it.

·         We did that when Sarah Circle bought a hand full of Trunck’s gift cards for Edie to give to anyone whom she thought needed one. No strings attached. Not solving all their problems. Not preaching at them about whether they bought potatoes or potato chips, but just coming along side them with a gift card that says someone cares because of Jesus. One woman with tears in her eyes, said something like, “Do you know how long it has been since someone has given me a gift?”

We are the hands and feet that make God’s presence real to a world that is not expecting it.

·         We do that. I was giving a ride to a woman a while back. Something Pat organizes whenever there is a need and we are able to find a driver. I picked this woman up from the cancer center. Stopped by Trunk’s and picked up a few things for her, and helped her get them up the steps into her kitchen. She turned to me with tears in her eyes and asked, “Why do you do this for me?” I told her simply because Jesus loves you, and I am trying to be his hands and feet. She cried and hugged me. I hadn’t cured her cancer. I didn’t fix her financial problems. I just walked with her for an hour being Jesus hands and feet, Emmanuel; God with her.

We are the hands and feet that make God’s presence real to a world that is not expecting it.

·         When you go to a funeral visitation, it is always hard to know what to say, isn’t it? Everything seems so inadequate, or trite, or could be taken the wrong way. But you know what? The point of that time is not what you say, but that you are there. You can’t fix it. You probably can’t make the hurt go away. But you can just be there to walk with them in grief for a moment. And then hopefully being there to walk with them in their grief a month later, and 6 months later makes all the difference in the world. It is your opportunity to be God’s hands and feet in this world.

We are the hands and feet that make God’s presence real to a world that is not expecting it.

·         It is the bread and the juice that are important in communion? No, it is the real presence of Christ. Emmanuel; God with us.

·         Is it the water that is important in baptism? No, it is the real power of the Holy Spirit at changing lives. Emmanuel; God with us.

·         Is it really the box of trinkets that makes an OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD box so magical? No, it is knowing that someone somewhere cared, even if for just a moment, and even from 10,000 miles away, they cared enough to pack a box because they love Jesus. Emmanuel; God with them.

·         It wasn’t the ham dinner that made the thank you dinner to the GR staff the highlight of their week. It is knowing that some people from the church appreciate them enough to invite them in and share a meal with them. To walk with them as “God with them” for just an hour one night. Emmanuel; God with them.

·         The youth mission trip fundraisers are not about money (well they are, but more importantly) they are an opportunity for each of us to walk with the youth for just a few minutes. You might not have the privilege of going to camp with them. (I wish every one of you could just once) But you can be Emmanuel to them by making a donation, or writing them a note, or patting them on the back. Or just saying thank you. It is not about what you do, it is letting the light shine through you Emmanuel: God with them.

·         It is not whether a Christmas program goes smoothly that matters, it is the love of the leaders, the joy of the kids telling the story, and that magical moment when they held hands and prayed before they came into the sanctuary. That is the church being Emmanuel to those children and their parents. Emmanuel; God with them.

I could go on and on.

But my point is, you are all ministers. It is not hard. It is not complicated. You don’t need a degree or an ordination to do it. You just need to personally experience Emmanuel, God with you… and then go to be Emmanuel to a neighbor, a friend, or a stranger. Then you are in ministry.

·         This is what we are talking about when we say on the bulletin covers the ministers are the entire congregation. The entire congregation being Emmanuel to everyone we see.

·         This is that the leadership team is talking about when they say set the goal for 2016 that every person will be in ministry. Every person being Emmanuel; God with us to someone else.

The Christmas message is that Jesus was sent to be Emmanuel, God with us. I pray that in worship, in devotions, in caroling, is something you do this season, that you will experience the surprising power of Emmanuel God with you.

And when you experience it, may your heart overflow with the desire to share Emmanuel. To be Emmanuel. To be Emmanuel God with us for everyone you meet.

·         Sit here and experience Emmanuel God: with you.

·         Go be Emmanuel to someone every day.

---

[i] Matthew 1:23 from Isaiah 7:14

[ii] John 14:16-17

[iii] Matthew 28:20

[iv] Romans 8:16

[v] Psalm 23

Jesus sets us free December 13, 2015

Jesus sets us free

December 13, 2015

RUMC

That should have been the response of the folks in the synagogue that morning.

Come to think of it, that is how we should respond to the gospel reading too!

What a morning that must have been. Jesus had just returned from church camp- you know... 40 days testing in the wilderness. You know how excited we are when we come back from camp! He had just defeated the devil in a head-to-head battle of spiritual wits. He must have been really pumped up.

As was his habit, he went to synagogue on the Sabbath. If there was ever ANYONE who could afford to skip church, it was Jesus. But he never missed… it says it was his habit… Remember that next time someone tells you, “I can be a good Christian without going to church.” Even Jesus needed to go to church.

Anyway… as was his habit he went to the synagogue. Everyone stood to read the scripture; men on one side, women on the other. The kids probably played in the back. Jesus was asked to read the scripture. Now I don’t think it was a coincidence that the scroll was open to what we know as the 61^st chapter the prophet Isaiah. This was the launch of his ministry. I don’t think God left anything to chance. Jesus stared to read,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
  bring good news to the poor.
Proclaim release to the captives
recovery of sight to the blind,
let the oppressed go free,

Good news, release, recovery, freedom! What great words.

Then Jesus sat down, as was the tradition for teaching and he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That’s not just good news, that’s GREAT news! Great news for us. Release for us. Recovery for us. And freedom for us!

But wait… most of us are not poor compared to the rest of the world, we are not prisoners, we are not blind, we live in the freest country in the world. Why do we need to be set free?

Think about it… the word oppressed, basically means to pressed down. I’ll bet that if you think about it there are things that press you down, things that rob you of joy and hope. If so you are oppressed. Politically, we might be the freest people in the world, but still in very personal ways, we are all oppressed. We are all captive to something, blinded by something, a prisoner of something.

Maybe it is the illness, which might be physical or mental, that you have been fighting for so long that has become your prison.

Maybe it is an addiction you can’t manage.

When you hear the news every day, are you captive to hopelessness, fear, anger? What is it that keeps you down?

Guilt, shame, unforgiveness.

Some of you may be trapped in a relationship that is almost like a prison.

Some of us are approaching the first (or maybe it is your 21st) Christmas without our loved one we are captive to your grief and emptiness.

Is it uncertainty, or your job, or the expectations of others?

Or is it something else for you. What oppresses you? What makes you feel trapped?

Whatever your prison is, Jesus came to set you free.

Do you feel free?

Just over 70 years ago, January 28, 1945, an elite group of army rangers liberated over 500 American POW’s from a Japanese prison camp in Cab-an-tuan Philippines. The story is remarkable because the POW’s were so defeated, diseased, deceived, that they could not believe they were free. They literally couldn’t grasp their newfound freedom. Japanese guards gone and the American army rangers standing in front of them they wondered Was it a trick? A trap? An illusion? It was almost impossible to convince the now free POWs that they were indeed free.

Are we like that? Jesus came to set us free. The prison bars are gone, but we continue to live as though we are behind the very same bars that have imprisoned us for so long.

Are we is like a dog that spends most of his life on a leash in the yard. I saw this once or I wouldn’t believe it. When I was a paperboy, there was a dog that was “always” on a leash. He’d come to the end of his chain and bark at me as I put the paper in the paper box. He had worn a big circle in the yard so I knew exactly how far he could come. One day as he stood there barking at the edge of the dirt circle, I realized he was not on his chain. There was nothing keeping him there, except that he believed that he was still tied up, he stood right at the edge of his now imaginary prison and barked his head off while I safely walked back to my bike. It was amazing. But I think we do the same thing. We live as though we are at the end of our leash, even though we are not. We live as though we are trapped, even though Jesus has set us free. We live as though we are blind, even though Jesus has restored our sight. We live as though we are prisoners even though Jesus has torn down the prison walls.

The Christmas message is not really about shopping, and greed, and meeting unrealistic expectations, and waking up in January to the credit card bills, like a bad holiday hangover.

No, the real Christian Christmas message is that Jesus was sent to set us free. Jesus was sent to set us free from anything that imprisons us. Jesus was sent to set us free from anything, real or imagined, that oppresses us. Jesus was sent to set us free from anything inside or outside us that keep us from being the best that God wants us to be. The Christmas message is one of emancipation, liberation, hope, and freedom.

Half of the Christmas message is that we are set free FROM something. The other half is that we are set free FOR something. We are not just set free for freedom’s sake.

We are set free FOR something.

Jesus did not come in the manger to be cute… he came in the humility of the manger, and the humbleness of a rabbi, with the attitude of a servant, in order to show us what God’s love really looks like. He died on the cross to set free from sin, and was resurrected to set us free to love as God loves.

If you haven’t seen the recently released movie about the life of mother Theresa, called Letters, I recommend it. It won’t keep you on the edge of your seat, but it will open your eyes. Mother Theresa was a nun in the Sisters of Loreto. But that was an order devoted to prayer, not service. It was not where she was called to be. That convent became like her prison. She worked and worked until she finally was set free by the church hierarchy… not just to be free, but she was set free SO THAT she could love the poor and dying in the slums of Calcutta.

We are not set free for freedom’s sake. We are set free to love.

Christ does not set us free just because he loves us, but because he wants us to love.

Let me tell you, if you haven’t figured it our yet… Jesus came and set you free, the prison door is hanging open, the bars are melted, and the oppression is lifted. But that doesn’t mean it is time to sit back and enjoy our new freedom. (There will be a time for that) but that is not why we are set free.

You have been set free in order to love.

You have been set free in order to be an instrument of God’s love in this place and wherever you go.

The second half of the Christian Christmas message is that Christ comes in the humble manger of your heart, the lowly places of your lives, the dark silent nights of your soul SO THAT you can humble yourself enough to love God and those around you.

Lanecia Rouse is a pastor and artist in Houston Texas. Her church is part of a project they call “Room in the Inn” in which churches take turns taking in homeless people feeding them, and giving them a warm place to sleep for the night. Lanecia writes of one time that their turn to host “Room at the Inn” fell on Christmas Eve. She immediately volunteered to be the staff person in charge that night.

As soon as the staff meeting was over, she called a group home in which one of the member lived. The member’s name was Ms. Ruby. Ms. Ruby had an intellectual disability, but she loved to be at the church and she loved people. Lanecia asked if Ms. Ruby would like to host, “Room at the Inn” on Christmas Eve, and the answer was an immediate “yes.”

When the time came, the beds were ready, the dinner was cooking, and 12 men came to the door. Lanecia announced to Ms. Ruby that they had guests, and Ms. Ruby squealed, “Wheeee. Jesus is here!” Well, being Christmas Eve and being called “Room in the Inn” that seemed like a logical conclusion.

Ms. Ruby proceeded to greet each man with the words “Hello Jesus, Ho, Ho, Ho.”

There were many special moments that night, but at one point she turned to one of the homeless guests and said, “I love you, Jesus.” The man replied, “I love you to Ms Ruby.”

Finally, as the night wound down, Ms. Ruby said good night to each man one by one. “Good night Jesus. Ho, ho, ho. Good night Jesus. Ho, ho, ho.”

Ms Ruby’s ability to see Jesus in each and every one of those men that night can be a lesson for us on how we are to live the love of God.

I asked you earlier to not write on both sides of your red prayer card. I wanted you to save one side for this moment. I want you remember that the first message of Christmas is Jesus set you free, the second is you were set free to love. Think of someone you don’t normally show love to. It might be a specific person with whom you have conflict, or someone to whom you don’t pay much attention, it might be a complete stranger in line behind you at Wal-mart. Write on your prayer card. “Free me to see Jesus in ___________. “ Let that become your prayer for the week. And during the last song, we will bring them up front and hang our prayers of love on the advent wreath.

Free me to see Jesus in _____. I guarantee, if you make that your prayer “Free me see Jesus in _____.” I guarantee you, that you will find a way to love them in a special way. It is a prayer that Jesus set you free from your preconceived ideas, your unforgiveness, your prejudices, your self-centeredness, your busy-ness, or whatever prison you carry around with you. It is a prayer that Jesus will help you to step out of that self imposed prison long enough to see Jesus in the manger-heart of the person who bumps in to you at the grocery store. In the grouchy clerk at the quick shop. Or in the family member to whom you haven’t spoken for years.

Jesus, free us to see you in all the people around us. And to love them as you loved us. AMEN