Dancing for joy in the womb...

NOTE: Here are my notes for this Sunday, Advent IV, where I look at the image of John the Baptist dancing in his momma's womb as an invitation for renewal. It will be worship with children and adults, guest musicians and more. Join us at 10:30 am in you are in town.

One of the central truths of Christmas involves birth: the birth of Jesus – the birth of God’s grace incarnate within and among us – the birth of new possibilities in our church and world.

+ What other truths come to you when you consider the promise of birth at Christmas?

+ Certainly there is the simultaneous awareness of innocence, humility and the ordinary in the birth of Jesus, yes?

Frederick Buechner is quick to point out that there is nothing more humble and ordinary than birth – tiny and naked and helpless – babies are about the size of a loaf of bread. And innocent and helpless, too. So what does that tell you about one of the ways God comes to us, any hunches? The great German mystic, Miester Eckhart, used to say what good does it do us if Jesus was only born once 1500 years ago? The challenge is to find how he is coming – and continues to come – within and among us today. Listen to one of the lessons for today and see if it gives you a clue. It comes from Luke and tells the story of Christ’s mother, Mary, visiting Elizabeth.

Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

You're so blessed among women,

and the babe in your womb, also blessed!

And why am I so blessed that

the mother of my Lord visits me?

The moment the sound of your

greeting entered my ears,

The babe in my womb

skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.

Blessed woman, who believed what God said,

believed every word would come true!

And Mary said: I'm bursting with God-news;

I'm dancing the song of my Savior God.

God took one good look at me, and look what happened—

I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,

the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave

on those who are in awe before him.

He bared his arm and showed his strength,

scattered the bluffing braggarts.

He knocked tyrants off their high horses,

pulled victims out of the mud.

The starving poor sat down to a banquet;

the callous rich were left out in the cold.

He embraced his chosen child, Israel;

he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It's exactly what he promised,

beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.

Any clues come to you upon hearing these words? Any insights about birth, Jesus, Christmas and the way God comes to us through humble and ordinary events and people? Ok… take a little time – listen to the way the choir puts this truth - and then we'll see what you come up with after they sing. (Choir anthem takes place here...)

Now what is going through your heads and hearts? What this evoked for me can be found in one of the old Christmas songs that I learned as a child: The 12 Days of Christmas. We used to sing it in the car on long trips to visit our wider family in Connecticut – my dad taught it to us – and with three little children it was a good one to help pass the time.

Musicologists tell us that it was probably written as a 12th Night event for a memory game. They think that people went around in a circle and added a new verse but also had to sing all of the previous ones, too. So who knows what a 12th Night Celebration is all about? It marks the end of the Christmas season when the Magi – the 3 Kings – are said to have arrived after following a star. It is the time God’s promise to Israel was expanded and shared with all people. This old song, the 12 Days of Christmas, is both fun AND a way to teach folks about the wider truths of our faith. But before I tell you the symbolic meanings of each verse, let’s sing part of it so that we all are on the same page. And here’s one of those great moments when the older members of the community can really help the younger so that we all learn it together. Are you ready?

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… a partridge in a pear tree. Try the next one: On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me… 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Here are some of the ideas that people have come to believe are involved in this old song – and they are kind of fun as well as theologically significant – and help us recall that even in the most ordinary of things there is always something of the Lord being born.

+ First, Jesus is supposed to be the deeper meaning of the partridge in a pear tree – Jesus who died on the cross – a tree. Second, what do you think the 2 turtle doves are all about? The Old and the New Testaments.

+ Third we have… 3 French hens – and they are the key virtues of our tradition: faith, hope and… love. Fourth – four calling birds are… the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

+ FIVE GOLDEN RINGS: what in the world do they mean? The Torah – the first five books of the Old Testament and the key to the Jewish tradition – and they are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

+ Six… six geese a laying? The six days of Creation after which God rested and created – the Sabbath! Seven… the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which include: wisdom, knowledge, discernment, courage, understanding, piety and awe or fear of the Lord. They come from both Isaiah 11: 2-3 and I Corinthians 12: 8-13

+ Eight… the eight Beatitudes found in Matthew 5: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek who shall inherit the earth, those who mourn for they shall be comforted, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers and those who suffer for their faith.

+ Nine… the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Ten… the Ten Commandments, right.

+ Eleven… the 11 faithful disciples… hmmmmm! And 12… this is a tough one: the 12 points of the Apostles’ Creed – the first creed of the early church – and a key document for people of faith. Are you ready?

1. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth.

2. and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord

3. who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,

4. suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried: He descended into Hell:

5. the third day He rose again from the dead.

6. He ascended into Heaven,

7. and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

8. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

9. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

10. one holy Christian Church, the fellowship of saints,

11. the forgiveness of sins,

12. the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

This old song – a song many of us considered just an old children’s ditty – also has some important truths – truths that need to be shared and taught and passed on. And that’s another of the important truths about this birthing process at Christmas: We have to nourish and nurture this faith – pass it on and help our children get its essence – because too many contemporary Christians confuse their opinions – and biases and sometimes their very worst habits – for the heart of the faith.

+ I’ve seen modern folk do this with music – evangelical young people who say we can only have NEW music in church – and the treasures of our tradition are lost – and I’ve seen it go the other way, too….

+ I’ve seen well-respected church people confuse their habits and preferences and racism and class bias for building up the body of Christ, too: being critical when it would be better to be still, gossiping or even lying about one another, shutting grace out for some who need it profoundly.

That’s why we used to teach – and preach – about the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit: they help us overcome our worst selves so that we might become our BEST selves. One of my deepest hopes for us in the New Year is that we can help our best selves come to birth as we let the Spirit heal our worst selves. Christ’s birth within and among us is how it begins. It made the little baby John the Baptist dance for joy… and I suspect it can do the same for me and you? This is my prayer for us all so... let those who have ears to hear, hear.