Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] December 5, 2021 “Laying the Foundation” Luke 1: 57-66 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. For this story to make sense, we have to go back and put it into context. It’s actually the first story Luke told in his gospel. After explaining why he wrote it, Luke said, During the reign of King Herod (kind of like a “once upon a time”), there was a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. She was descended from the daughters of Aaron, part of the priestly class too. With two parents like that, can you imagine the pressure on John to become a priest as well? In many ways, John was a typical PK – preachers’ kid. Instead of going into a more traditionally respectable form of the family business, John was like one of those wild-eyed preachers on street corners yelling for people to repent. A kind of rebellious 1960s love child with wild hair, a cloak made of rough camel hair, who ate a simple diet of locusts and honey. But I’ve gotten way ahead of myself. Here’s how the story goes. One day Zechariah was inside the sanctuary of the temple, the holiest of holies where only priests could enter. When we hear the word sanctuary, we think of a place like this. But this room was so holy, only a priest could enter. And it was thought that if a priest wasn’t pure enough, he could be struck dead. In fact, there is a legend that on Yom Kippur they tied a bell around the ankle and a rope around the waist of the assigned priest so that if he was struck dead by his impurity in the face of the holiness of God, those outside the sanctuary would hear the bell ring and know the priest had dropped dead and then use the rope to pull the body out. Might be true. Might not. Anyway, as Luke tells the story, while Zechariah was in the sanctuary to carry out his duties, an angel appeared next to the incense table. Zechariah was terrified. No one else was allowed in there. But the angel, named Gabriel, said, “Do not fear,” and then proceeded to tell him that Elizabeth would bear a child who shall be named John. Zechariah replied, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.” And because Zechariah didn’t believe, he became mute. It has echoes of Abraham and Sarah, who laughed at the idea she would become pregnant at age 90. When Zechariah emerged from the sanctuary, people could tell by looking at him that he had seen a vision, not to mention, he couldn’t speak. I might add, it doesn’t say that anyone bothered to tell Elizabeth… But sure enough, she conceived shortly after and went off to be by herself for 5 months. I’d love to know why and what was going through her mind. In the 6th month of her pregnancy, the same angel Gabriel visited a young girl in Nazareth named Mary and told her she would, improbably, become pregnant too. You’ve heard this part of the story many, many times. Mary went to stay with her cousin Elizabeth for 3 months. As Mary approached, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb jumped for joy. Elizabeth sang to Mary: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” And Mary responded with the words we call the Magnificat. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because God has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” And then the time came for Elizabeth to give birth. That’s where our story began today. Eight days after his birth, it was time to name the baby. Instead of calling him Zechariah, she said he was to be named John. The neighbors stood around looking at each other. What kind of funny business is this? There’s no John in Zechariah’s family history. So, they went to Zechariah and asked him. Because he couldn’t speak, he wrote on a tablet – the name John. Suddenly he could speak again and everyone was amazed. And a little frightened. Who is this child? Like the songs of Elizabeth and Mary to one another, Zechariah then broke into song, which ends with these beautiful words: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in the night and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” The story ends, “The child grew and became strong in spirit.” This provides the foundation upon which the rest of the story of Jesus is built. At our Lunch and Lectionary on Thursday, I asked the architect in our group, Al Mazur, about the importance of foundations. And he said, of course, that without a proper foundation the whole thing will collapse. And it made me think. Zechariah and Elizabeth provided the foundation for John. Who laid the foundation for our practice of faith? For me, the witness of my parents played a huge role. So, on Friday I asked that question during my Daily Connection. On Facebook I asked, who provided the foundation for your faith and how. The responses were immediate and overwhelming – more than 50 long and thoughtful posts. And lots of similarities, especially parents. But in some cases, for example, it was a neighbor who brought them to church. Or grandparents, aunts, uncles, or just walking in on your own initiative. One of my dearest friends from my days in Washington, DC said, “While my parents and grandparents were influential in getting me to church, it was the myriad of adults I encountered there that tended the spark and nurtured my growth - Sunday School teachers, youth directors, camp counselors, choir directors, and retreat leaders, folks in the pews. In particular, the Director of Christian Education at my home church opened so much up for me. She laid the groundwork for my faith practice to this day. Through her I learned that creation and creativity, laughter and joy are integral to seeking justice.” One of my cousins from my home church agreed. He said his parents brought him to church but once my parents got me there, if there had been nothing, I would not have had a strong foundation. It was all those other adults who took over, adding that my Mother was one of them! But his example pointed to this: while his parents may have brought him to church, it was all the people of the church that brought him to faith. That is such an important insight. His parents brought him to church, but it was all the people of the church that brought him to faith. And faith, not the church, is the point. Which makes we wonder: Do we realize what an impression we have on the children and youth of our congregation? And more significantly, is this a role we embrace? The most impactful change we can bring upon the world is by shaping and forming the faith lives of children, introducing them and practicing the love of God, compassion of Jesus, and justice of the prophets. I want to raise again an expanded vision of ministry with children, youth, and families, at church, at home, and for our community. We are finishing a job description, and still welcoming input, and hope to begin advertising soon for a Director of Ministry with Children and Families, in addition to our Director of Youth Ministry. But if we expect this to be the duty of one part time employee, then our foundation would be so small, it could tip over almost immediately. Who is supporting this person? But more importantly, what system do we currently have in place to lift up and hold this ministry together? We don’t really have one focused on children. And even if we did, just one ministry would be a pretty narrow foundation too. How can all of our ministry groups ask questions of themselves about supporting children, youth, and families? The Faith Formation Ministry has one role, among many other responsibilities for adults. But, in addition, for example, what specifically can the Fellowship Ministry do, such as events that bring generations together? How is our worship service designed with children, youth, and families in mind? What can Personnel, Property, Membership, the Diaconate, or Mission and Outreach do? Mission and Outreach just gave the youth group $1,000 to support a project they wanted to do for Just in Time for Foster Youth. That’s a great collaboration and the youth felt supported. Friday night they made Christmas ornaments people can buy after worship today for a donation the youth group will give to San Diego 350, a local environmental group. I encourage each ministry group to ask the question: What are we doing, within our area of responsibility, to lift up children, youth, and families. Remembering, of course, that the definition of families and vision of our church is much broader and inclusive – single parents, LGBTQ families, grandparents, foster families, families of choice when families of origin fail us. My own household: An uncle raising his nephew as his own child along with his male husband of a different race. Focus on the Family would say our family is going to hell. These are exactly the families welcomed here. I also invite our Church Council to think of children, youth, and families as an ongoing priority at our meetings. What is the impact of one decision or another? That in no way diminishes the importance of other groups or people who are older. In fact, I think it honors the legacy of decades of faithful service and financial generosity. Certainly more than anyone, a church elder wants a vibrant congregation for the next generation. But in this church, our hope is not just a vibrant congregation. We seek a world that is more open, inclusive, just, and compassionate than the one we have today. Again, faith is the larger point, not the church. Whoever may bring someone with them to worship, adult or child, are the people of the church ready to bring them to a faith that might actually change the world? Who did that for you? Who is looking to you? It is finally said of the child John, he grew and became strong in spirit. May the children of our church and of our community also grow and become strong in spirit – because of the witness of your faith.
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