June 24, 2001 - Third Sunday after Pentecost

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June 24, 2001 - Third Sunday after Pentecost - Father Fred Myers

THE FIRST READING: 1 KINGS 19: 1-4, 5-15a

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with a sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place, he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now, there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Then, the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

PSALM 42: 1-7

1 As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long they say to me, "Where now is your God?"

4 I pour out my soul when I think on these things; how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,

5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, among those who keep holy-day.

6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me?

7 Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

THE SECOND READING: GALATIANS 3: 23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO LUKE (8: 26-39)

Then they arrived at the country of Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time, he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me" - for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion", for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man, from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

It is always strange to be preaching in a new place, especially when there is a "thing" attached to your ear. But, I am happy to be here and happy to be with my fellow Christians.

Don't you love a good story? I love stories! The other night, I went out to the movies and went to see Pearl Harbor, and I was so glad it was not another documentary, but was rather a real story, about real people, involved in a real crisis. It was wonderful! You could follow the story along, and it reminded me that, when I was back in Michigan, I had a parish in northern Michigan, and, in my parish, I had a man and a woman. He was a retired Navy captain, and he told me about the time that he was in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He never talked much about it at all, but his wife did. His wife told me the story - the human story - about what was going on at that time. She was at home, and he had the duty that day and was on board a ship somewhere down in the harbor. She was at home with two kids, and the Japanese struck, and it happened. She said she didn't see John for at least three days, and she was worried sick, because she didn't know what had happened to him, or whether he was even alive or not, and she was getting no word. And, finally, after three days, he got home. And that movie just brought all of that back for me. I lived in Pearl Harbor, and I knew where all of these places were and what had happened there.

The story! The story was so important - to know what human beings are really like, and what they are going through, and how they are living their lives.

We have another story today in our Gospel lesson. We have a story about a man, and Jesus, and people who are gathered together. Let's look at what is going on here.

Let's look at the man first - the man who has these demons. What do the people see when they look at him? What do they see? They see this dirty, retched man, unclean, unclothed, bound in chains, sitting by himself in the tombs where dead people are! He is outside - he is outside of society. That's all they see, and they just turn away - they just turn away.

But, what does the man see? What does the man who is sitting there see? He sees all of these people around him, sneering at him, and turning away from him, and holding their noses. He sees rejection - he sees rejection. He hears the people say, "This is a dirty man. This man has evil in him." Demons were supposedly evil, as they were against God and against God's teachings. And so, that is what the man saw. He saw these people rejecting him.

But, he saw something else - he saw something else! He saw Jesus, walking toward him, and, for some reason, whatever that reason might have been, he recognized in Jesus someone who would say, "I don't care who you are, I still love you."

What did Jesus see when He looked at the man? Did He see a dirty, awful man? No. When Jesus looked at the man, He saw a person. He saw an individual. He saw someone worthy to be loved - someone worthy to be loved.

All of these other people were putting this man in a category - in a little box. Do you know that when you put somebody in a box, what you do to them is that you set up a wall. You say, "O.K., this is your box. You stay there. I have control over you as long as I have you in that box. And, don't step outside of that box, because you will scare me!" Categorizing people do that all the time, don't we? Oh, biggest sinner of all, right here! We say, "You are . .", and I am going to put you in that category, and then I will have control over you."

Jesus didn't categorize people, except to say, "You are a child of God, and you are worthy to be healed. You are worthy of being cleansed. You are a worthy individual." As Paul was trying to tell the Church in Galatea, "You are all children of God. It doesn't matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. It doesn't matter. You are a child of God. You are a child of Abraham. You are saved by your faith - you are saved by your faith."

But, let's get back to our story. After the man encounters Jesus, something happens - something happens. The evil leaves. The demons are gone. (Don't you love that story about the demons going out into the pigs, and the pigs going into the water and drowning?" That's a whole other story! We could do lots of things with that!) But what is important is what happens to the man. He is transformed - he is transformed. And he is clothed. He is in his right mind. And now the people see him as he really is - as this child of God, as one whom Jesus cares for. And what happens to them? What does the Gospel say? "They were afraid." Why? Why were they so afraid? You would think that they would rejoice and say, "Yay! This guy is healed!" No. They were afraid, because he no longer fit their categories - he no longer fit their categories. He was a new person. He was something new.

And this is what Jesus promises us - something new in each and every one of us. How often do we categorize people, and even ourselves? Somebody says, "Hi! How are you?", and you say, "I'm fine." If they had asked you, "Who are you?", what would you tell them? "I'm a priest. I'm a doctor. I'm a lawyer." We identify ourselves by our jobs. That is not who we are! We are children of God! We are individuals. Sure, we do different things. We have different jobs, and we have different personalities. We have different characters. That is all true, but we are still all children of God and heirs of God's promise to Abraham, as Paul tells us in Galatians. When we look at someone else, do we put them in a category, or do we say, "You are a child of God. You are a child of God, and you are my brother, and you are my sister, and I love you because of it - not because of what you do, but because you are new."

That is what is so wonderful about these stories. This story is about real people, just like you and me, and God is saying to us - through Jesus and through the Gospel writer - He is saying, "You are special. You are a child of God. It doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter what your character is like. You are still a child of God. You are worthy to be healed. You are worthy of salvation. I love you."

Do you believe it?
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September 16, 2001 - The 15th Sunday after Pentecost

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September 16, 2001 - The 15th Sunday after Pentecost - Father Fred Myers

THE FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 4: 11-12, 22-28

At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse-a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them. "For my people are foolish; they do not know me; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good." I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger. For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.

PSALM 14

1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon us all, to see if there is any who is wise, if there is one who seeks after God.

3 Every one has proved faithless; all alike have turned bad; there is none who does good; no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers who eat up my people like bread and do not call upon the Lord?

5 See how they tremble with fear, because God is in the company of the righteous.

6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, but the Lord is their refuge.

7 Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

THE SECOND READING: 1 TIMOTHY 1: 12-17

I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason, I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO LUKE (15: 1-10)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

When Father Vern asked me on Wednesday or Tuesday, or whatever day it was, if I would preach this morning, I said, "Well, O.K., I guess." Then, I looked at the Gospel lesson, and I read it over; and I said, "What has this got to do with what is going on in the world today? How do I make any kind of connection?" And then, as the information was being forced upon me through the television and radio, and wherever else - the information I didn't want to hear - and, as we went through the week, and I was here on Wednesday to sit in prayer and to pray at noon, and then I was here again on Friday - it began to occur to me that there is a sense of lost-ness in all of this. I listened to my own emotions, and they were so varied. I was angry. I was confused. Sometimes, I had joy. Sometimes, I felt lost and lonely. I had all of these feelings going on at the same time. So, there was a sense of lost-ness, and I said, "Yes, this does fit."

If we look at the Gospel, we see who Jesus is and what He did. The Pharisees and the Scribes were grumbling because Jesus was sitting and eating with these sinners. Who defined the sinners? The Pharisees and the Scribes, of course! But these were people who were outside - they were outside of the regular workings of everything that was going on. They were outside of the religion, and Jesus was sitting there and having a party with them. And the Pharisees and the Scribes pull up short and say, "Who is this man? Why is He doing this? He knows it is against the Law to do this." And Jesus - I can just picture Jesus looking at them, chuckling, and saying, "You still don't understand, do you?" And then He tells the story about the lost sheep - the story that we have heard so many times - the sheep that was lost - the sheep that was lost from the rest of the flock.

Now, this sheep didn't do anything wrong. This sheep was just being a sheep! The sheep saw some grass that probably looked greener over there somewhere, around behind the rock, and just went over there to eat. He didn't do anything wrong.

And the coin - the woman's coin didn't do anything wrong. It just rolled off the table. It may have gotten knocked off the table, and it fell in a crack where no one could find it on the floor. The coin did nothing wrong.

And yet, Jesus tells us the shepherd sought the sheep - went looking for the lost sheep - went looking for that sheep that had wandered off. The woman looked diligently for the lost coin, the lost coin that had rolled off the table into the crack in the floor somewhere. She swept that house. She looked for it everywhere.

What does this tell us about our God? What does this really tell us about our God? That God seeks us out when we are in that place where we feel lost. Being lost doesn't necessarily mean that you are hidden somewhere. It could mean that you are confused. It could mean that you are lost in a crowd - that you don't know where you are - that you don't know what you are doing - that you don't know who you are. And Jesus tells us that this is what God's love is all about. It reaches out and seeks us. We don't even have to ask for it. We don't have to ask for it. The sheep didn't have to ask to be found by the shepherd. The shepherd just did it - just went out and looked for the sheep. The coin didn't ask to be found. The woman just looked for it.

The other thing that happened that I think is important in these parables is that, when the shepherd found the sheep, he took it in his arms, placed it on his shoulders, and carried it back to the flock. He didn't demand that the sheep repay anything. He didn't say, "O.K. Let's lock this sheep up now. Let's make sure that that sheep never gets away again." I am sure that sheep got away again and again, just like we do. We get into those lost places again and again.

Then, the next thing that happened, which I think is very, very important, is that the shepherd said, "Come and rejoice with me! Rejoice with me! I have found my sheep." The woman says, "Come and rejoice with me! Let's have a party! I have found this coin that was lost." God says, "Come and rejoice, because I have found you again. I have found you and brought you back in."

And, you know, this is what we are called to do as the Church - to reach out to those who are lost. I sat in this darkened Church on Wednesday afternoon, and some people came in, not a lot, but a few came in; and I could tell that they were feeling lost. They just needed some one to find them and say, "It's O.K." If you have a chance, I would like you to go outside here where this altar is out here in the rose garden. Take a look at the altar. There are mementos on that altar that were brought there by one, two, three - I don't know how many people - but these were people who were feeling lost, and they came to that altar and said, "Look. I need to express my lost-ness in some way and be found." I happened to be talking to one of the young men who did put something on that altar, and he said, "You know, I just sat there, and I found peace." He said, "I think God really found me here in your garden." He is not even a member of this Church, and I thought, "Wow! This is what it's all about! This is what being found by the shepherd is all about."

We are called to be shepherds. We are called to be willing to find the lost and to bring them back - not condemning them - not saying, "O.K., go over there now", but to bring them back in to God's love and to God's grace; and we need it more now than we have ever needed it. We need each other. We need to reach out to one another and say, "You know, I love you. I love you, and you are loved. You are an important person." When we saw that disaster on television, we recognized out own vulnerability. We recognized how we could possibly have been going to work that morning, not knowing that that was going to be the last day of our lives. We are vulnerable, but we have the love of God shown through each other, and we can reach out to the lost. We can reach out and say, "You are important. You are God's child. You are loved."

Are these lessons today important? You bet they are! Jesus sat with the sinners, and He ate with them. Today, you are being invited to that table. We are being invited to come together and eat with Jesus - to be found and recognize that we are found, and we are in God's love, and we are not lost in God's arms.

So, I invite you to come to the table, eat with Jesus, be found.

AMEN
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December 30, 2001 - The 15th Sunday after Pentecost

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December 30, 2001 - The First Sunday After Christmas Day - Father Fred Myers

THE FIRST READING: ISAIAH 61:10 - 62:3

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. For Zion's sake, I will not keep silent, and, for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

PSALM 147: 13-21

13 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion;

14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you.

15 He has established peace on your borders; he satisfies you with the finest wheat.

16 He sends out his command to the earth, and his word runs very swiftly.

17 He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.

18 He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; who can stand against his cold?

19 He sends forth his word and melts them; he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.

20 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel.

21 He has not done so to any other nation; to them he has not revealed his judgments. Hallelujah!

THE SECOND READING: GALATIANS 3: 23-25; 4: 4-7

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child, then also an heir, through God.

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO JOHN (1: 1-18)

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 cane 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. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

I heard some comments earlier at the early service about, "Why are we still singing Christmas songs? Isn't Christmas over? We have heard these since Halloween! Isn't it time to stop and get on with life?" . . . and so on. Well, in the Church, we have just begun. We are only in the 6th day of Christmas. Remember the 12 days of Christmas? Now, the 6th day - which one is that? Geese? I don't remember.

Anyway, we are in the 6th day of Christmas. We are at the Sunday of Christmas, and we hear this magnificent Gospel of John. This is called the Christmas Gospel. In years past, in the Church, this Gospel was always read after the final prayers in the mass, and it was read by the Priest. Then, after that Gospel - then you were dismissed. You heard it every, every Sunday - the Christmas Gospel.

"In the beginning was the Word. . ."

You know, actually, it's a hymn. We are a singing Church, you know. The way we express ourselves best, and the way the Church has expressed itself, and the way all the religious people have expressed themselves, is through singing what is in their hearts. It comes out in song. I heard the expression, at one time, that, "He who sings hymns, prays twice." -- not only the words, but also the melody. And so, we have this wonderful, wonderful hymn that is the prelude to John's Gospel; and it has to do with what we Anglicans hold dear to our hearts, and that is the incarnation. That is a wonderful word for saying, "God became flesh and dwelt among us."

Now, isn't that wonderful about God? God becomes flesh. God becomes just like us, with all the limitations that we have. Jesus might have caught cold. Jesus felt pain. Jesus actually died. Jesus is one of us. Jesus is the Son of God, just as we are sons and daughters of God, also. This was what God was doing for us, and John just had to sing about it! "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." I think it is just a wonderful hymn, and I was so glad when Andrew said, "Will you preach on it?" I said, "Yeah! I like this one!"

But, what has God done? What has God done? God has said to us, "My friends, my brothers and sisters, my children, you are worthy of being loved. You have value, and I am going to prove that to you by becoming like one of you - becoming as you are." And Paul reminds us in his Epistle that we heard this morning that, in the beginning, there was the Law - O.K., we had the Law, and the Law told us what to do and what not to do, mostly what not to do, and we lived by that, and we became slaves to the Law. If we were outside of the Law, we were considered to be not righteous, or to be sinful. But God said, "Oh, wait a minute! That's not what I am about." God said, "I am about Love. I am about acceptance. I am about compassion. I am about just being with you and you with Me." And so, God chose this wonderful way of becoming like us, and, through this process, through this life, this Jesus, we are redeemed. We are brought in a right relationship with God.

Now, it is not something that we have to do. You see, God already did it, and this is an explanation of what we witness here in the crèche - the birth of Christ. This is the meaning of it. This is the meaning of Christmas.

I can imagine what John must have been thinking when he was writing his Gospel. John, you know, was the beloved disciple. Last Thursday, in the library over here, we celebrated the life of St. John. John was the closest disciple to Jesus, or so we are told. He was the one who was sitting next to Him at the table when He was betrayed; and Jesus talked to him and was great friends with him; and John was great friends with Jesus. I can imagine what must have been going through John's mind after the crucifixion and the knowledge of the resurrection. He would be saying, "What is this all about? What is this birth story all about? What is this resurrection and what is this crucifixion all about?" And that is when he came out with The Word. Jesus is the Word of God.

Words have strong, strong implications. You know, we give our word when we say we mean something definite. We give our word. Words can hurt - as you know when you are called a name - they hurt. Words are powerful, and the Word of God was in the beginning and was the Word of God that created all of the universe and all of the world - the Word - and Jesus is equated with that Word. It wasn't as if Jesus suddenly appeared on the earth, and God said, "O.K. I choose you, and you will be my Son, and you will do these things." No, no, no. In the beginning was the Word. God had this in mind all along. God had Jesus in mind all along.

Now, Jesus is the one who shows us what it is like to be in a right relationship to God. Jesus shows us what it means to be in a loving relationship, and He did it by gathering his disciples and gathering the people around Him. Look at what Jesus did. His mission was to seek out those who were on the margins - to seek out those who were lonely, to seek out those who were ill, to seek out the dying, and to bring healing, and to bring comfort, and to bring joy, and to bring an acknowledgment of their specialness in the world. This is what Jesus is all about. This is who God is, and we benefit from that.

John says that Jesus was like the light in the darkness - a light in the darkness. Have you ever been in absolute darkness? Absolute darkness? I was a submariner, and we were out operating in a submarine, submerged, and, all of a sudden, we lost power. Well, when you lose power, you lose lighting, and everything was pitch-black. I mean, it was black! And, I had a sense of being lost. I had a sense of not even knowing who I was. I had a sense that I had lost all sense of direction and all sense of everything. Of course, the emergency lights came on shortly afterwards, but, in that period of absolute darkness, there was a feeling of lostness. When those emergency lights came on, although they were much dimmer than the regular lights, it was glorious; because, at last, I could see where I was, and I could relate to where I was and to who I was. You just lose all kinds of things when it is absolutely dark.

Jesus is the light in the darkness of our lives. Those times when it seems like everything is just gone - we have no sense of direction; we have no sense of being; we have no sense of who we are - and Jesus is that light in the darkness. I love the way that John puts it. He says, "And the darkness could not overcome the light." It could not overcome the light. My friends, this year, 2001, we have seen a dark time in our lives. In September, we saw a very dark time in our lives, and there are other dark times in our lives, also. This was sort of universal. It included everyone, and it was darkness. But now we know that that darkness cannot overcome the light. The light is there and shines on for us.

And so, we have hope for the year 2002, and beyond that, and our hope is in the Lord; because God has redeemed you and me. God has considered that everyone in the world has a special understanding, a special place. St. Paul even goes so far as to say that we have become "children." John says, "You have become children of God." We are no longer slaves. We are no longer slaves to the Law. We are no longer slaves to sin or darkness. We are no longer slaves to any of that, but we have received, as John says, "grace upon grace." We have received so much grade from God - we have received so much love from God - that each one of us, no matter what our status is, no matter who we are - male or female, black or white, gay or straight - no matter, we are loved, and we are redeemed by God. And that is the magic of Christmas. That is what the babe in the manger is all about.

And I think that John expresses it well. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

AMEN
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