Smells Like Teen Spirit – The first Sunday after Advent we have Khette Cox as guest preacher. She is a hospice chaplain and a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School. The scripture is the familiar story in Luke of Mary and Joseph and their young son, Jesus, having gone to Jerusalem, but on the way home the boy’s parents discovering he was not with them. When they found him after searching for three days, he was in the Temple, talking with the “teachers.” The story is placed in Luke between the story of the miraculous birth and the story of Jesus’ baptism, and as such, it is a literary bridge but also a bridge as Jesus develops into the person he is to be. This story is of Jesus beginning to discover who he is and is to be. At this stage he may not know who he is, and, in her work as a hospice chaplain, Khette has often posed the question, “Who are you?” to patients. It is a question for us, too, perhaps a challenge posed by God, prompting us to discover who we are among the people of God. During the baptisms of infants, we are always introduced as the church community who will surround this child as she/he grows up, helping to form the child into the person God intends them to be. But as we might help the child discover who he/she is and is to be, we, ourselves, are also in our role, developing into the person God wants us to be.

Good Will To All – This traditional Christmas Eve service is one that West End UMC has held for decades. It highlights the reading of the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, read by the minister in the center of the sanctuary, among the worshippers. Our Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Carol Cavin-Dillon, recounts Christmases growing up when their extended family drew names to give gifts, but sometimes after all the gifts were opened, there was yet another gift under the tree, and the question quickly became “Who is this gift for?” She compares that to the experience of the shepherds where the angel appears and says, “I bring you good news of great joy for all the people.” Later, the group of angels declares, “. . . peace among those whom he favors!” Whom does God favor? Carol presses a grammatical possibility that, with a particular comma, the statement refers to God being pleased with all of the people, not just the rich, or the accomplished, or the Jews, or any other particular group. We as a church hold, as a bedrock belief, that “God loves everyone unconditionally.” And that shapes how we look at everyone. There is a gift waiting for each of us tonight: God’s giving of God’s self to each of us and to every person we encounter.

This is the fourth Sunday in Advent, and our theme for the season is “Messages of Hope,” during which we are hearing some messages from the ancient prophets. Today’s scripture is the passage from Luke wherein a pregnant Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary’s response to Elizabeth is what has come to be known as “The Magnificat,” based on the first words of her praise, “My soul magnifies the Lord!” The text of her praise/prayer is the prophetic message for today’s message of hope. Prophecy is not so much predicting the future, but telling the truth about the present, and Mary’s message is that God is in the midst of turning things upside down with this baby in her womb. Of course, when the baby was later born, Mary (and Joseph) had all the responsibilities of parents of the infant and then as a child. As he grew up she had to let him go and saw him become a controversial figure, and then she suffered through his trials and crucifixion. After that, she was among the people gathered in that room when the Holy Spirit filled those believers at Pentecost. To follow Mary’s example, we have to let Jesus “grow up,” and we must have the faith and courage to follow Jesus wherever he leads.

Breath for Dry Bones – This Service of the Longest Night is designed to hold space and a quiet place for those who are suffering loss or other distress. Delivering the sermon is Tammy Lewis Wilborn, our Pastoral Intern, and the text is Ezekiel’s well-known vision of the valley of dry bones. She compares much of today’s situations to that valley in that we are alive but not living, trying to navigate the loss of a loved one, or a dead relationship (with people or with one’s own spirit), or dead dreams where one’s dreams are not being fulfilled. In Ezekiel’s vision, God asks him whether the dry bones can live, and the prophet replies, “O Sovereign Lord, only you know.” Then God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and that enlivens them. If we focus our minds on the things that are life-giving, we are accepting God’s direction that we have a response-ability to respond to God’s plans for us, and through a God-directed word we, too, can enliven what has seemed to be dead. God does what we can’t do, but God does not do what we won’t do – we have a part in life and the living.

This is the third Sunday in Advent, and our theme for the season is “Messages of Hope,” during which we are hearing some messages from the ancient prophets. Today’s message is from Zephaniah. The candle we light today is the pink one, symbolizing joy. In this season we experience a lot of joy with Christmas cards, gifts, and such, but, in contrast, during Advent we are waiting, preparing for the final return of Christ into the world. Through Advent we name the difference between what is and what shall be. Advent is a period of joy, not necessarily happiness. Joy is a gift of God, no matter what is going around us. Pastor Carol gives examples of words from Paul and Jesus who expressed joy in the midst of imprisonment and imminent crucifixion. The book of Zephaniah begins with scorching words of condemnation against the people, but in chapter 3, our text for today, God’s word is of forgiveness and hope, showing that God doesn’t look on us with condemnation but with presence and grace. A further word from God through the prophet is that God delights in the people: God’s joy animates us. The last word from God is for us not to fear and not to let our hands grow weak.

This is the second Sunday in Advent, and our theme for the season is “Messages of Hope,” during which we are hearing some messages from the ancient prophets. Today’s message is from Malachi. Our Senior Miniter, Rev. Dr. Carol Cavin-Dillon, cites a book, Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, who says that in the corporate world feedback is important. Carol says that although sometimes feedback is tough for the person receiving the critical input, we all need it, and our response to God’s correction is important for our growth in faith. In some ways the book of Malachi is a scene where the people have been complaining through the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem that they are not thriving and God has forsaken them. The prophet is presenting God’s case against the people’s accusations and thus the feedback. One of the key words is “return,” which can also be translated from the Hebrew, “repent.” Malachi’s image of the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap, both of which are harsh for the recipient but are purifying, is a good image for us to receive correction. God loves us, but if that is all we hear, our faith is bland. It is crucial for us to respond and to live our faith.

Our Hope Is Built – This is the first Sunday in Advent, and our theme for the season is “Messages of Hope,” during which we will hear some messages from the ancient prophets. Today we begin with a passage from Jeremiah, who, while in prison and having witnessed Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonian army, nevertheless offers a promise from God of restoration and a coming “righteous Branch” to lead justice and righteousness in the land. Today marks the return of Senior Minister Carol Cavin-Dillon after a three months sabbatical, and she delivers the Communion Meditation based on this word from Jeremiah, through which she encourages us, no matter our situation as a people or as individuals, to remember, through Jeremiah’s prophecy, that God is a builder and is with us. She also reminds us that we must be vigilant for God’s presence and willing to participate in the rebuilding. The communion that we share today is a sign and an act of that coming together with each other and with God as we gather around the table without restriction and with each other at the invitation of Jesus.

This is Reign of Christ Sunday, and the scripture reading from John is the encounter between Pilate and Jesus when Pilate asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews. Jesus doesn’t deny it, but he says that his kingdom is not of this world. As Americans we understand monarchy knowing our country was founded upon rebellion against such rule, but Jesus demonstrates that his reign is different – there aren’t people fighting for him in this conflict. Coincidentally, Reign of Christ Sunday was founded in 1925, a hundred years ago, and in his sermon, the Rev. Will McLeane gives some historical context from 1925, contrasting the Reign of Christ to monarchies in our history. Under the kingship of Jesus, followers aren’t enslaved or oppressed but are inspired to claim Jesus as the ultimate authority in their lives. The followers of Jesus do as Jesus did and give themselves in service to others. The bottom line is that we need each other, even in times of division, and that means that the world needs a different kind of follower than those trapped in traditional monarchies.

The scripture for today is from the first chapter of 1 Samuel wherein Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, goes into the shrine at Shiloh to pray to have a child. Not only has she been unable to conceive, but Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, often makes fun of her “mercilessly.” Our Pastor of Children and Families, the Rev. Maggie Jarrell, delivers the sermon and relates Hannah’s frustration and dilemma to some situations we face today. Even when Hannah prays desperately in the presence of the Lord in Shiloh, her tears and moving lips prompt Eli, the priest, to accuse her of being drunk. In the end, though, Eli blesses Hannah, and, certainly, God blesses her as she does conceive and gives birth to Samuel. It is important for us to learn to cope, to live through the rough times, to talk about our issues with God, with family and friends, maybe to cope through exercise, to cope by serving others. Ultimately, however, it is crucial for us to remember to trust God’s love and presence. As we say in the last line of our Affirmation of Faith each Sunday, “God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.”

An Open-Handed Future – Today we are following the story of Ruth that we began two Sundays ago when Ruth, leaving her own land, went with Naomi, her mother-in-law, to Naomi’s home in Judah. Ruth, an immigrant in the territory of what had been the enemies of her people, was there out of love for mother-in-law, Naomi. Delivering the sermon on the second part of the Ruth story, Rev. Will McLeane, our Pastor of Spiritual Formation, says that, as widows, they were among the poorest of the people, and Ruth had begun gleaning in the fields in an attempt to provide food for them. Naomi encouraged Ruth to establish a relationship with Boaz, in whose fields Ruth was gleaning, and that cultivated a marriage of Ruth with Boaz that resulted in a son who would end up being the father of Jesse who was the father of David. As unlikely as all of this was, it was love that changed the courses of those lives through a radical openness to receive another. And that is the path of Jesus. We can’t control or predict where love will lead when we are accepting of others. And when there seems to be no way forward, through love God will make a way.