December 24, 2023 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent ~ 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/898416158

Proclaiming the Reality of God

“And Mary said, / ‘My soul proclaims / Your greatness, O God, / and my spirit rejoices in You, my Savior, / for You have looked with favor / on Your lowly servant.’” — Luke 1:46-48.

I said this in my comments just a couple weeks ago. I was a member of All Angels Episcopal Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. When I left New York for Maine the membership numbered nearly 500 souls, a pretty good size.

Compared with the population of Manhattan, that’s minuscule. But it was not a small church. Now, a church that size or larger needs to find a way to encourage people to be engaged with one another or people can get lost just because of the size.

One way to prevent getting lost is for members of the laity to form small groups who met once a week outside the Sunday service. Even though in Manhattan everyone lives in apartments, these groups are called house churches, not apartment churches— I’m not sure why.

They met to pray, study Scripture, have discussions and for camaraderie. Let me put that a different way. These groups meet to explore their faith, get to know one another and to have fun.

Small groups are, in fact, the secret of being an effective large church. All these small groups then gather as one at the Sunday service.

But by its nature, a Sunday Service is a difficult place to have fully developed prayer, Scripture study, discussion and camaraderie. Indeed, even in a smaller church, often a Sunday service is a place where not everyone really knows everyone. And clearly prayer, Scripture study, discussion and camaraderie more readily happens in a smaller, intimate context where each member gets to know the others.

Here’s the paradox: this practice— what large churches do to be effective— somewhat copies small churches, who by definition and because of their size, present a much better chance for people to know other people. But I maintain even in small churches these smaller groups for the study of Scripture, discussions and camaraderie are necessary since these things cannot be fully explored in the context of a Sunday worship.

Now, when those small groups started at All Angels back in New York City, a friend invited me to a group. I was hesitant as I had a limited amount of time in my week. Thinking I didn’t know what a house church was like he said, “You should try it just to see what it’s like.”

“I know what it’s like,” said I. “When I was growing up my family was a house church.” I continued, “My mother had been in a convent but dropped out before taking her final vows, met my father and they got married. My father taught at a Jesuit school.”

“Every Friday after dinner the family gathered at the dinning room table. We prayed, read Scripture and had discussion. As my brother, my sister and I got older the discussions dealt with topics which ranged from the writings of Augustine to the writings of Aquinas to the existentialist Jesuit theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.”

“So do not tell me I am unfamiliar with house church. I know it better than most.” That probably sounded a little defensive. (Slight pause.)

These words are in Luke: “And Mary said, / ‘My soul proclaims / Your greatness, O God, / and my spirit rejoices in You, my Savior, / for You have looked with favor / on Your lowly servant.’” (Slight pause.)

This morning we celebrate the Fourth Sunday in Advent. This evening we will celebrate Christmas Eve. The Second Chapter of Luke, the one with a stable, angels and shepherds— some might dismissively identify it as the Charlie Brown Christmas reading— the Second Chapter of Luke is always the Christmas Eve reading. But that story is a mere 13% of the full Nativity story as Luke tells it.

The readings we heard from the First Chapter of Luke today are as pivotal to the story as the stable, the shepherds and the angels. The story Luke tells starts at the Fifth Verse of the First Chapter. (Quote:) “In the days of the ruler Herod, there was a priest named Zechariah…” This is about the birth of John the Baptizer.

Further, the story does not end until the Fortieth Verse of the Second Chapter with the circumcision of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. Why is that important? This happens not in Nazareth or Bethlehem but at the Temple in Jerusalem, thus fulfilling ritual requirements set out in the Torah.

The point I’m making is simple. The story about birth of the Messiah is not just a story about the shepherds, angels, a stable, a manger. I would also maintain the story of the birth of the Messiah cannot be well understood unless we know and unless read (to quote the late Paul Harvey) the rest of the story.

So, that leaves the obvious question: what is the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke about? I think it is absolutely clear the proclamation in Luke is about the real presence of God, the reality of God, the in-breaking of God into our world.

What Mary says reiterates and reenforces what Luke says throughout the Nativity story. First, the birth of the Messiah is proclaimed to those who are poor, powerless. Second, we are called on by the story as Luke tells it to do what Mary is doing— proclaim God is real, God is present, God walks with us.

Indeed, in the context of the story what is Mary doing? Mary is deepening her relationship with Elizabeth and discussing what God means in her life. In a real sense it is a story about having fun. It is a story about house church. (Slight pause.)

That brings me back to the aforementioned small groups and worship. Worship is significant, necessary, important. It is a wonderful way to support our faith. We are called by God to worship. But there are other needs.

And that is where small groups come into play. As I said earlier— prayer, Scripture study, discussion, camaraderie, in short having fun— all these can more readily happen in a smaller, intimate context that each individual group provides once members get to know one another.

As a small church by our nature we do have small groups who gather for all kinds of reasons. To name a few these range from the Choir to the Women’s Fellowship to the boards and committees.

And yes, in these groups we do learn from each other. But the trap into which many small churches fall is these committees become only about work, about what needs to be done, what needs to get done.

So I want to suggest we need to concentrate on being intentional about prayer, Scripture study, discussion, camaraderie in our small groups. To put that a different way, the danger in small churches is they sometimes forget to have fun.

I think this kind of activity might help us as we strive to do our work, the work to which God really call us, the work on which we really need to concentrate. What work is that?

The work to which we are called is to proclaim God is real, God is present, God walks with us, proclaim as Mary did. Our work is to reflect on the goodness of God, make that proclamation, as Mary did.

I think one way we can effectively and deeply learn to reflect on the work to which God calls us and to reflect on goodness of God is by being intention with each other as we engage in these kinds of practices that house church might illustrate. Put another way, having fun is a necessary aspect of church. That’s a secret; don’t tell anyone— O.K.? Amen.

12/24/2023 — Note: the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “A reminder: we do not celebrate the birthday of Christ. That would simply be remembering something that happened a long time ago. We celebrate the amazing reality of the incarnation, God entering our world, this in-breaking of God into the world. The Christian belief is because of this in-breaking nothing has been the same since. In short, what happened two thousand years ago is not as important as why it matters. It matters because of what is happening now. Christ is with us.”

BENEDICTION: Let us go in hope and in joy and in peace, for we find love in the One who has made covenant with us. And, indeed, God reigns. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.