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Sometimes it’s hard to imagine or think about that the Gospel writer St. Luke was actually a travelling co-church planter with St. Paul… He in some ways has become a legend with several speculations about what he did in historical times. Some accounts say that he was a Physician others say that he was the artist responsible for inspiring the famous painting of Jesus in St. Catherine of Sienna’s monastery called the “Mount Sinai Jesus.”
How
God’s Word speaks to us, works through us is amazing but we don’t take enough
time to think about that… That Sinai
painting is the one painting of Jesus that for me truly and spiritually
represents Jesus. It was the one image
that I always have to have hung by my bedside to have watching over me and that
is the first thing I see that makes my soul rejoice and declare: “See, God, I
have come to DO Your will!” That movie
about the little boy meeting Jesus and describing the painting another little
girl did is in the same category. Though
the Jesus in that film looks like the “Barry Manilow” Jesus in my opinion but
this is what those two children were inspired to see.
Speaking
of inspiration, I don’t know about you but I think one of the first questions I’m
going to ask Jesus when I get to heaven is: “Ok, what really happened in the
Book of Acts?” And Jesus will point to a
cloud and say: “Sit back and relax, it’s a long story…” St. Luke is an amazing testament to how he
painted the story of Jesus coming into our world. He technically had no eye-witness account at
all to what actually had happened BUT the Holy Spirit gave his soul a witness
to proclaim, and let me tell you, what a witness! He very brilliantly captured, brought
together St. Peter’s eyewitness and his own heart’s conviction of Jesus
together to truly tell the story of Jesus to inspire disciples everywhere in
the wilderness of the Gentile world!
Mary
the Mother of Our Lord or as the Orthodox would say the Theotokos, was like
Luke an ordinary person that God chose indiscriminately to “DO His Will.”
Elizabeth was just her cousin another average person who would bore Christ’s
coming into the world’s herald: John the Baptist. A voice of defiance, BOLD witness who heard
God’s voice to his heart that he needed to get people to prepare the Way of the
Lord!
Both
women were witnesses to God’s extraordinary work in our lives. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped with
joy. Joy is another Word that in just
hearing it on one level we think of desire and of pleasure… But that is our human nature to do so. Joy in the context of speaking about God
literally means GRACE. The Biblical
Greek basically has both words sharing the same understanding. Isn’t that amazing? And truly I am sharing all of this
information not to be an “intellectual Pez dispenser of Biblical knowledge;” I
share it in order to open the ears of Your soul to deeply discern the meaning
of that revelation.
Verses
46 & 47 are amazing when you think about it… The soul is the seat of life granted, created
by God to us for we are His children of Grace and promise! Promise for the Lord knows we have a hard
time listening to Him; but He still is working on us to lay down the Old Nature
that naturally rules us to beautifully spiritually be shaped to see sacrifice
and offering in a completely profound mind blowing way!
How
do we understand sacrifice and offering today?
I think its original, Godly purpose has been destroyed by our justifying
sin. We have intellectually usurped the
Gospel to answer and justify our political, social and economic “justice” over the
freely responsible servanthood the Gospel calls for us to BE and willingly
DO. We have allowed this to not only
deny the peace of God to rule in our hearts and actions (Shalom) but we have
willfully and defiantly responded with gracelessness.
Just
take in a few days of the news… protests, demanded firings, educational
strikes, raising taxes, political circus performances and what not during the
most important time of year for us all… God coming into our world! The story, His continuing work in our ever-growing
IN-gratitude for all that was GIVEN freely to us! How awful and frankly disturbing… but here is
where we are 2,000 something years later after the profound entry of Christ
Jesus into our lives.
And
it is hard to find “Joy” yet alone Grace in the world right now… ISIS’ rising and latest activities prove how
the ruler of the world is moving through his minions. Satan’s rise is something we’ve been turning
an indifferent eye to for it is the season to shop and be “politically-correct”
about the “holidays” lest we offend one another. It’s NOT about us, but that’s
where its at.
It’s
hard to find peace when there is too much of the “worldly ways” not only acting
as stumbling blocks but robbing our hearts to KNOW God’s peace. There has been no peace, not much anyway and when
you look at those boxes holding your ornaments, a tree parts just sitting there
collecting dust in your living room.
There is a deep sadness in wondering about it all and expecting… but not
as God is hoping for you to see or do.
It’s
been nearly four years since my husband & I put up our Christmas tree. The last time was right after we lost our
house and moved up to Mundelein for me to finish seminary at Trinity
Evangelical Divinity school. Quite a
contrast though in circumstances—out of tragedy, we willingly chose to see
Christ’s love, calming peace and Grace restore us—He shined upon both of our
hearts a new beginning!
This
year is no different… out of political motivations and evil indifference I was
robbed of my first solo church call as well as I lost the position due to this
call at Great Lakes as the CREDO Chaplain.
My heart is still broken on some levels especially if I allow myself to
dwell on the evil I “eye-witnessed” and spiritually felt trying to drag me down….
BUT we were blessed by friends to find a new apartment here in Wheeling, to
painfully and slowly move into a New Beginning.
It
is a wilderness, much like St. Luke and St. Paul’s wilderness journey into
planting churches, building disciples and whatnot but it is through the
sacrifice and offering of Christ that renews and restores us to carry on! God
is with us—He is that great and glorious star—the main event in our center/
core of being the soul. And if I can’t
carry on; I would be letting the world rule my soul and spiritually wither and
die!
I
recently have been spiritually immersed in my tasks as a Franciscan postulant;
the most recent being to study and spiritually ponder upon a Nativity scene…
Christmases from long ago bring both tears of joy and sadness in remembering
those days of innocence and remembering my grandparents’ wonderful Christmas
tree and a giant under the tree Nativity set.
In the frenzy of moving I recently came across some wonderful close up pictures
of it and then packed them up… I can’t find the box right now… lol, C’est La
Vie! BUT my heart has the image and the
moment embedded upon me.
That
white Christmas tree with the blue and gold ornaments and lights and this huge
bulky wooden set surrounded by handmade painted ceramic sculptures of Jesus,
Mary, Joseph, the animals and yes the Wise men.
My family was marginally Roman Catholic at best and didn’t know about or
practiced that the Wise men should be put out on the Day of Epiphany… But hey, just now Biblical and historical
scholars debated and decided that there were probably a dozen or more of “wise
men” from a variety of areas from the East.
That
Nativity set was sadly lost several years ago when my grandparents’ old house’s
basement flooded with a collapsed sewer problem… Most of the basement was destroyed by the
flood in the late 70’s, their tree, their 1960’s “Rob and Laura Petrie style”
furniture and many memories of dancing and running around in the basement to
Ramsey Lewis’ ‘Sound of Christmas’ album from 1961.
That
Nativity set brought joy and hope to then an innocent child who had no clue
what kind of promise their lives would be striving to live for yet alone the
peace of Christ Jesus who does indeed surpass all understanding! But who are we
living for if we can’t live for God, sacrifice for Him? He, who gave us LIFE
and soul to paint His Gospel imperative into the future for the whole world to
be RESTORED and renewed for a Godly righteousness not a worldly one!
Let
us Pray—
Gracious
Lord,
May
we come to Know the peace You bring
And
truly rejoice in the Grace You have freely given us
You
have set us free from sin, death and the power of evil
Help
our hearts to be shaped by and through the light shining from Your face, Your
peace and Grace
May
our lives be and become a humble offering to You sacrificing the will of the
world out of love for You and our neighbor.
AMEN
Below
is a link to my favorite Christmas song from my childhood:
December 20th, 2015; 4th Sunday
of Advent; Year C; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon By Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, pos FODM
Psalm 80:1-7;
Micah 5:2-5; Hebrews 10:5-10 & Luke 1:39-56
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