12/21/2025 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent ~ Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 ~ The Sunday in Advent on Which We Commemorate Joy ~ EKC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv08qQ2_aNg
HARPSWELL TV VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXhkQ5wHcxw

God with Us

“The virgin shall be with child, shall give birth, / and the child shall be named Emmanuel— a name that means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of God had directed and they went ahead with the marriage. They had no marital relations until she had given birth to a child, Who was named Jesus.” — Matthew 1:23-25.

A couple of weeks ago I started my comments by addressing my time from ordination to my time working as a pastor. A couple of weeks before that I offered a story which was the brief version of what happened when I heard a call to ordained ministry.

For me those stories raised a question not just for people who hear a call to ordained ministry but for each local church and the church as a whole. From where do pastors come? Where does ordained ministry start and become nurtured? (Slight pause.)

Ordained ministry starts in the pews. It starts with you. After all, we Congregationalists make the claim that while I may be a “Pastor” you, the people, are the ministers. Indeed, I have watched you over the last three years as you minister to one another. I’ve seen your ministry in action. It’s real.

Further, Congregationalism is known to be a bottom/up, grass roots way of operating. Nothing illustrates that more clearly than the reality that a call to ordained ministry starts in the pews.

Generally, there are three participants when it comes to a call to ordained ministry. While the individual called to ordained ministry is pivotal, the first participant is not the individual. The prime movement comes from the local church— you. It’s the duty of the local church, your duty, to identify those in your midst with gifts for ordained ministry.

When someone is identified, the local church needs to work with that individual, to act as mentors in this process. Any individual identified as a candidate for ordained ministry needs to be nurtured and assisted by the local church as training is pursued.

That nurturing and assistance is needed because this is a time of testing, a time of trial and a time of discernment. This is a time which both explores and questions whether or not a person has gifts for ordained ministry.

Indeed, an often ignored fact is the washout rate in Mainline Seminaries is larger than the notoriously high washout rate in Law School. Why? Everything you ever thought was true is questioned in seminary. So the process of ordination needs to be collegial, as the local church and often a local Association works with an individual toward ordination.

The last segment involved in ordination is the “calling body.” A calling body is a church where the gifts and talents of the perspective ordinand is called.

Once called by a church, the local church who has supported the ordinand usually in conjunction with a local Association ordains the candidate for the church to which the candidate is called. So please note: a candidate is ordained for the whole church but ordained on the local level— again bottom/up, not top/down. (Slight pause.)

We find these words in the Gospel we have come to know as Matthew. “The virgin shall be with child, shall give birth, / and the child shall be named Emmanuel— a name that means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of God had directed and they went ahead with the marriage. They had no marital relations until she had given birth to a child, Who was named Jesus.” (Slight pause.)

There are two things the Bible is not about. The Bible is neither a rule book nor is it a history book, a repository of facts.

Equally, there are two things the Bible is about. The Bible is about the relationship of God with humanity and the loving relationships to which God calls people, the loving relationships to which we are called to maintain with one another.

Within this passage we find exactly that idea. However, most of the time we don’t pay any attention to that. Rather we pay attention to this (quote): “The virgin shall be with child, shall give birth,…” And we go, “Oh, yeah— the virgin!” But the virgin birth is a nearly meaningless historical oddity which comes out of the context of that era.

It gets included in part because Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus were both said to be born of a virgin. If it was not mentioned, the reality of Jesus in terms of the literature of that era, would have been seen as abnormal and then summarily dismissed.

So, what is important here? The very next words (quote): “…‘the child shall be named Emmanuel’— a name that means, ‘God is with us.’”

We also tend to miss the fact that Jesus is right away, in the next words, given a second name and a title. (Quote:) “…this is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about.”

Now, the name Jesus is the anglicized name of the Latin version of the Greek name which originates in Hebrew. Yep— that’s four steps. The Hebrew name is Yoshuah— Joshua in English. In Hebrew the name Yoshuah means God is our salvation or God saves. And then the passage states Jesus is the Messiah, which means an anointed one of God.

So this passage is about a message— a message concerning God Who is with us, the anointed one of God, here to offer salvation. Further, in Biblical times salvation was not a reference to an afterlife. Salvation meant freedom.

Hence, this passage illuminates a basic understanding of Christianity. God Who is with us, wants to be in relationship with humanity. God Who is with us, calls us to be in loving relationship with others. God Who is with us, assures us of our freedom. (Slight pause.)

That brings us back to the process of a call to ordained ministry. When I thought I heard the call to ministry I entered a process.

For over a year I met with a discernment committee, listened to what was said, their recommendations. They then recommended me to the Council at First Parish where I was a member who approved and I was dispatched off to Bangor Seminary. (Slight pause.)

So where does the work of pastoral ministry start? It starts in the pews. It starts with you and you and you and you and you. (Slight pause.)

A fallacy goes around that says pastoral ministry is easy for some— extraverts perhaps. That’s not true. Pastoral ministry is hard for anyone.

But pastoral ministry is a calling and it’s a calling that starts with you. Why do I think that’s true? God saves. God is with us. God is present to us. God is present to you and you and you and you.

The very presence of God among us empowers ministry. The very presence of God among us is the real message of Christmas— Emmanuel— God is with us. Amen.

12/21/2025
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “You’ve heard me say this before. Biblical prophecy is not about predicting the future. Biblical prophecy is about speaking the truth of the Word of God. So here is a word of Biblical prophecy: God calls us— each of us— to ministry. Further, God does call some to ordained ministry. And it is up to the people of a church to recognize that God is working among us and do the work of discerning who might have the gifts for ordained ministry.”

BENEDICTION: Let us be present to one another as we go from this place. Let us share our gifts, our hopes, our memories, our pain and our joy. Go in peace for God is with us. Go in joy for God knows every fiber of our being. Go in hope for God reveals to us, daily, that we are a part of God’s new creation. Go in love, for we rest assured, by Christ, Jesus, that God is steadfast. Amen.