 Dr. John E. Harnish Senior Pastor |
To
All People
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There are lots of stories of woe-be-gotten nativity plays. This one comes from none other than the Rt. Reverend John Bryson Chane, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C. and head of the National Cathedral in Washington. He describes an unforgettable Christmas pageant at the parish he served before going to the National Cathedral—not unlike our celebration last week. There was always strong competition for the best parts…Mary, Joseph, angels. And, of course, the three kings and Gabriel always got the best costumes. But no one wanted to be the shepherds. He says they were seen as “…a gang of undesirables and misfits unable ever to attain the status of the Holy Family, the announcing angels or the regal monarchs of the Epiphany.” On this particular Christmas Eve, the whole cast was assembled dangerously close to the Advent wreath with large, burning candles. Then he writes: As the nativity story unfolded, the shepherds grew unruly as each sought more visibility in front of the packed church. Pushing progressed to shoving and eventually, to the horror of all who had gathered to hear the sacred story, the lead shepherd was shoved into the Angel Gabriel, a goody-two-shoes type who, in flowing golden tresses, white robe and perfectly attached halo, screeched at the top of her lungs, “Rev. Chane, these damn shepherds are screwing up everything!” But that’s not the end. The good Bishop goes on. When Gabriel attempted to push the lead shepherd back into place, she succeeded in pushing the whole bunch of them “… en masse into the lighted Advent wreath. The wreath fell from its stand and rolled down the main aisle. With a gasp, the ushers ran forward with fire extinguishers, dousing not only the remains of the Advent wreath, but what was left of the nativity pageant.” The worst thing we had happen in our pageant last Sunday was baby Jesus royally filling his swathing bands just before he was supposed to go on. The Bishop, of course, says it was a Christmas Eve no one will ever forget, and in the process he learned:
No matter what its history, no
matter how co-opted Christmas has become through the
tentacles of commercialism and contemporary culture, Christ
is still with us, and Christmas will come in spite of
ourselves.
Christmas still comes:
Christmas still comes…with good news of great joy to all people. The good news is that God—the great God of creation, the God of the Old Testament covenant, the God revealed throughout the ages—still cares for his creation, still loves, still forgives, still seeks to bless. In a baby born in a manger, this God comes in human form, to share in our human experience, to become one with us.
In spite of our sin… Christ still comes. God still loves. God still seeks to redeem and to make whole. 1. BUT FIRST…A MESSENGER, BRINGING GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY I love the story of good old Zachariah. When the angel came to tell him that he and good old Elizabeth were going to have a baby in their good old age, he just couldn’t believe it. Essentially dumb-struck by the news, he was struck dumb by the angel for his doubting. Nine long, silent months…it had to be hard on a preacher! Then when the baby was born, his voice returned so he could name him John, cousin of Jesus, who would become known as the Baptist, a child to be called the Prophet of the Most High. Zachariah says this child was born with a mission:
Here comes John, announcing the good news of One who will come, the good news of a Savior, good news of great joy for all people. And when the church has been at its best, we have been about the business of John, the business of announcing the coming of the Lord:
How we need to hear the message of Zachariah today. How we need to recover the ancient task of the church, to proclaim the ways of peace, to allow the light of Christ to shine into the dark places, to proclaim the tender mercies of God. Quite frankly, a lot of the religious rhetoric of our day doesn’t sound at all like the prophecy of Zachariah and the message of John. It sounds more like a battle cry than it does the cry for peace, more like a word of vengeance rather than the word of mercy. I don’t mean to be uncharitable, but have you heard the angry preaching of TV evangelist Rod Parsley who calls himself a “gladiator for God,” breathing venom against other faiths and scapegoating homosexuals? Or have you listened to the ranting and raving of an O’Reilly or the fear-mongering of a Pat Robertson? What ever happened to the good news of Zachariah proclaiming a God who:
Christmas still comes to bring good news of great joy which shall be to all people. The call of Advent is the call to be a messenger; one who goes out to proclaim the good news of a Savior, born unto us in the city of David who is Christ the Lord; messengers with good news of great joy. 2. AND IT IS GOOD NEWS FOR ALL PEOPLE I’ve been reading a wonderful new book by Brian McLaren called Generous Orthodoxy. He reminds us that the Gospel is supposed to be good news not just for us, but for all people; not just for the believer, but for the whole world. He writes: Jesus did not come to help some people be right while leaving everyone else to be wrong. He did not come to create another exclusive religion. Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom for everyone, especially the poor. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came on behalf of the sick. He came to save the world. His message is universally good news for Christians and non-Christians alike. (Page 109) Then he draws the comparison with the promise God made to Abraham: “I will bless you and I will make your nation great, and through you, all nations will be blessed.” He says that we have unfortunately tended to focus on the first half (“I will bless you and make your nation great”) and neglected the second half (“through you all nations will be blessed”). McLaren’s conclusion is: Any form of Christianity that takes the first part more seriously than the second part is not missional, or generous or orthodox. (Page 110) We are blessed in order to be a blessing…to all nations. And when the church has been at its best, when we have truly sought to live out of this message, we have been the channel for good news for the whole world, not just ourselves. When John Wesley built Kingswood School—still in operation more than 250 years later—he was committed not just to the education of Methodist children, but the education of all children. When Faith Fowler and the people of Cass United Methodist Church reach out to the poor and the homeless, they don’t limit their compassion to the Christians or the Methodists or the baptized….they serve the whole of the city. When our tutors touch the lives of children in Pontiac, when our teams travel to Costa Rica or Chile or Prague or Estonia or Sneedville, when our youth go to Memphis, they go to be a blessing to all. Again, to quote McLaren, when Christians have been at their best… …they have left the comforts of home and gone to every corner of the world, spreading the good news in word and deed. They have built hospitals and schools to heal bodies and strengthen minds. They have crossed racial, ethnic and class barriers, seeing all people as brothers and sisters.
They’ve done their work as teachers, farmers, bricklayers, nurses, scholars, mechanics, public servants, scientists, homemakers, cab drivers and cooks with a special sense of purpose, love and joy. Whatever they did was seen as part of their holy, sacred vocation in God’s creation.
Sure, they have never been perfect, but they have often been wonderful. That’s why I am proud to be a Christian. (Page 165) Oh, I know it has not always been so. There have been times when the church has been part of the bad news for all people.
May God have mercy. But when the church has been at its best, we have known that we do not exist for ourselves but for those who haven’t found it yet, for those outside the fold, for those who have yet to know of God’s love made known in the birth of the Savior. The church exists to bring good news of great joy to all people. All people. All people. All people. Now tell me, how many ways are there to say all? I lived in Tennessee long enough to know that the plural form of the word “you” is “ya’ll”—as in “ya’ll come.” Maybe I’m childish and naive, but if so, blame my mother. She’s the one who sang me to sleep with the words:
Jesus loves the little children,
all the children of the world. Now tell me…what part of all don’t we understand? When I was growing up in Methodist Youth Fellowship they taught us to sing:
We’ve a Savior to show to the
nations who the path of sorrow has trod; Now tell me…has it changed? What part of all don’t we understand? When I was in college I was challenged with Jesus’ Great Commission, and the last time I checked it was still there in the Gospels: “Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” Now tell me…what part of the world does that leave out? What part of all don’t we understand? The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church says we will commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all people, regardless of race, gender, status, economic condition, nationality. That says to me that in a United Methodist Church, it doesn’t matter what clothes you wear; it doesn’t matter what color your skin; it doesn’t matter what language you speak, how much money you make, what zip code you inhabit. In the United Methodist Church, “our minds, our hearts, our doors are always open.” We are committed to be in ministry to all people. I believe the Christmas angel meant it just the way he said it, and if you want to take any part of the Bible literally, I’d suggest we start right here: “All” means “all.” It’s good news of great joy for all people. When the Savior of the world came into a musty manger in a secluded stable, he comes alike to unruly shepherds and arrogant angels, over-anxious ushers and exasperated preachers, a foul-smelling, diaper-filling baby Jesus and a world full of stinky folks like us. He comes with good news of great joy for all people. I am sure the good Bishop Chane was right. It was a Christmas pageant no one would forget. It was also the pageant which taught them that “no matter what its history, no matter how co-opted Christmas has become through the tentacles of commercialism and contemporary culture, Christ is still with us, and Christmas will come in spite of ourselves.” (John Bryson Chane, Cathedral Age, winter, 2002, page 12) Good news of great joy which shall be for all people.
NOTES: The story from Bishop Chane is taken from the sermon entitled “The Divine Yes” by James A. Harnish, Hyde Park UMC, Tampa, Fl, Dec. 24, 2003. I highly recommend Brian McLaren’s new book, Generous Orthodoxy, published by Zondervan, 2004. One more quotation: “Remember, in a pluralistic world, a religion is valued based on the benefits it brings to its nonadherents.” (page 111) If you would like to explore the commitment of the United Methodist Church to inclusiveness, I refer you to the Book of Discipline, 2004, para. 126, 138, and 161g. Article IV of the Constitution reads: The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members, in any local church in the connection.
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