Mountain Rise
United Church of Christ
“No matter who you are, or where you are
on life's journey, you're welcome here.”
Silhouettes of the Sacred
Rev. Dr. Greg Osterberg
Mountain Rise United Church of Christ
January 3, 2010 -- Communion
John 1: 1-16
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one
thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all
people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent
from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might
believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true
light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.] He was in the world, and the
world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his
own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his
name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and
we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
Sirach 24:1-12
Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her
people.
In the assembly of the Most High
she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts
she tells of her glory:
"I came forth from the mouth of the Most
High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation
I have held sway.
Among all these I sought a resting-place;
in whose territory should I abide?
"Then the Creator of all things
gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, 'Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.'
Before the ages, in the beginning, he created
me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
Thus in the beloved city
he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem was my domain.
I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
The second ʻLʼ is supposed to be an ʻHʼ. Silhouette... I mis-spelled it in the bulletin!
Oh well, I barely passed French (Sorry mon amis, Ted Nixon!)
Iʼd like to pose two questions for us to ponder this new year, this Christmas-tide.
Itʼs the 10th day of Christmas, on January 3.
These two questions I hope will open us to new ways for the Spirit to be at work in us.
On the way home this dark time of year, it is typically dark, at least for me. Perhaps as
a hedge against the darkness, and who knows what other reasons, so many people put
up decorative lights and elaborate lawn displays. Some make me laugh out loud:
-- the house with 4 ka-jillion lights, figurines, and a large lighted plastic sleigh with
reindeer with glow-in-the-dark “Santa” strung between trees overhead.
-- Then, there are those huge inflatable lighted toys, like snow-globes and rocking
horses that sway in the wind. One tiny house near us had so many of these in their
front yard you could barely see the house behind them!
-- Of course, there are nativity scenes, plastic Jesus and all.
“There is no accounting for taste,” as they say. Freedom of expression is good, I guess.
But, on my regular route home I did see one display that catches my eye each time:
It is a simple one-piece plywood cut-out of the word: J-O-Y.
In the center of the ʻOʼ is a tiny silhouette of a manger, with Mary & Joseph attending.
In the day time it is cheerful, perhaps reverently so. But at night...
It is lit up by single spotlight aimed at it from the ground in front.
In this light, the tiny baby Jesus, Mary & Joseph, in the center of J-O-Y
becomes a HUGE shadow on the house!
JOY! ...with Christ, the word made flesh, in the center!
Henri Nouwen, is a contemplative Christian writer on compassion, spirituality, and
pastoral care. He has a book, Genesee Diary, written near here at Abbey of the
Genesee. In it, he describes the Nativity set under the altar at the abbey, with...
"three small, featureless wooden figures representing the holy family. Although
smaller than a human hand, a bright light shining upon them projected their large
shadows upon the wall of the sanctuary."
Nouwen observes: "Without the radiant beam of light shining into the darkness there is
little to be seen. I might just pass by these three simple people and continue to walk in
darkness. But everything changes with the light..."
This makes me ask the first question:
What difference will the light shining on your life and mine make in the life of the world?
As we walk forth into this year ahead, how shall our lives project the image of God, on
the wall of the world?
To put the question another way: This Year, how will you and I re-shape our lives
to cast a better Silhouette of the Spirit?
OK, thatʼs ONE question to take away...
2. A Second Question...
For many years, Deborah & I kept a tiny wooden nativity hanging on a little Norfolk pine
in our house.
(I think Yukon, our husky, eventually chewed it up.)
The tiny nativity served as a gentle reminder: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us.” Every day, 365 days a year -- not just one Christmas morning, or one
candle-lit night.
This is a comfort, but also a challenge.
This “Word”, translated from the Greek, “Logos” more closely means IDEA behind the
WORD (Word being the symbol of an Idea.)
This Word is not a passive thing.
This Word is person --# God-person, Divine Idea -- come into being!
Sounds a bit dangerous!
This “Word become flesh,” is not just a fragile baby, safely tucked in the beautiful
Christmas tableau, then put away until next year.
In her commentary, Feasting on the Word, Barbara Brown Taylor talks of “bringing a
word to life,” a particular word that each one of us "has a gift for bringing to life,"
whether that word is compassion, justice, generosity, patience, or love.
"Until someone acts upon these words, they remain abstract concepts – very good
ideas that few people have ever seen. The moment someone acts on them, the words
become flesh. They live among us, so we can see their glory."
On this first Sunday in a new year, on this Communion day, as we taste the reminders
of the Word become flesh, with Bread & Cup our second question is:
What Word is your Creator wanting to speak into being in the way you live your life?
Is it: “compassion or justice, generosity, patience, or love”? Some other word?
A corresponding question is:
How much better can we together as a church articulate by action, the words:
# # # “mercy” or, “peacemaking” or, “hope” ?
Let God use these questions “stir you up” a bit.
And, as a church, let these questions tug at the settled routines of our collective habits
too.
So, two questions to ask of yourself, and of God, in the time of reflection:
1. How will I re-shape my life to cast a better Silhouette of the Spirit?
and,
2. What specific Word is the Creator wanting to speak into being in this world by the
way I live my life?
Now, may the Light shine though us; The Word live through us.
Amen.
[Silent Reflection]