1 Samuel 2: 18-20, 26
NPMC
Psalm 148
1 Christmas
Colossians 3: 12-17
December 27, 2009
Luke 2: 41-52
Anita Retzlaff
Ambitious, fair and binding
Grace and peace to
you from God the Father of our Lord and Savior the newborn King. In a moment of
silent reflection this morning let us remember in prayer someone close to us who
could not be here to celebrate Christmas this year. As you are mindful of
someone special give God thanks for the many wonderful people that have been
given you as friend or family member or companion. Let us pray. Lord of hosts,
you who burst open the heavens and come to us as a companion on the journey,
fill us with gratitude for the people who have been our companions on the
journey of life. Throughout these days of Christmas we are ever more aware of
the richness of relationships and community life together. Our lives are full;
help us to see the beauty in those around us. AMEN
In the activity-filled days leading up to Christmas I couldn’t help but ponder
the meaning of the oft-quoted sentiment found in greeting cards, advertisements
and songs: “Peace on earth.” And most especially as the events of the climate
change conference in Copenhagen unfolded the notion of peace on earth seemed
almost surreal to me. For if ever there was an opportunity to experiment with
the notion of an earth at peace -- as the angels once proclaimed -- surely this
was the time and the place to take it to heart.
I know! I know! It’s complicated. We don’t all believe that the planet is
warming or that if it is, it’s not because of anything we are doing. When I hear
about the cost of solutions, I say that I am willing to pay more for some things
but I also know that I want to keep my standard of living. Acting in a positive
fashion to reduce green house gas emissions would cost money and add further
financial pressures to a world-wide recession yet I recognize that the root
causes of the global recession was likely caused by the same mindset and
activity that is also accelerated the warming of our planet. I am sure that we
don’t all agree on this simplistic analysis but like I said initially, it is
complicated.
Some of you may have caught the significance of the words that I used as a
sermon title for this morning: ambitious, fair and binding. These three words
articulated the hope of many environmentalists going into the Copenhagen summit:
the hope for what might be accomplished among nations; an agreement on factors
affecting climate change that would be ambitious, fair and binding. Ambitious
reflects the urgency of the situation and the need to set ambitious goals to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and significantly. Fair is the concern
that wealthy countries recognize their responsibility in having produced the
lion’s share of emissions and now assist developing countries with financial and
technological and social support. Binding is the need to monitor and enforce the
obligations of each country on earth and hold them accountable to implement this
fair and ambitious plan; a necessity if we share the vision of peace on earth.
(Science Matters: Copenhagen climate deal must be fair, ambitious and binding –
David Suzuki)
My intention is not to harangue you about the details of global warming. That is
a conversation which we must continue together in the days, months and years
ahead. Rather the Copenhagen gathering was a microcosmic world gathering and as
such it held up for us a particular picture of what peace on earth requires. The
wealthy simply do not volunteer to compromise their own economic growth in order
to assist others who are just beginning to grow. The Copenhagen conference
clearly shows what happens when unequal powers come together to tend to the best
interests and health of many; in this case the whole earth, all of humanity, the
entire world. Do you see the scope of this? This was not just the G8 or the G20;
this conference had representation from tiny island countries, poor and massive
countries, wealthy, concerned countries. Peace on earth and goodwill to all. Is
it possible? If we believe that the future of life on this planet is at stake
(and I know we don’t all share that same concern) but imagine that we do: how do
we work together as nations, as communities, as individuals so that all will
have life in abundance?
In the midst of the delight of this Christmas season we have been given a gospel
text for this morning that causes a great surge of hope in me. It provides a way
of being in the world that would go a long way in bringing peace to our world,
in caring for our earth. In Paul’s encouragement to the Colossians he reminds
the early Christians that they have been chosen by God. Chosen! You have been
chosen and that is nothing to be sniffed at. The birth of a baby in a place that
would have had little recognition at the Copenhagen conference sets the world on
a new course. The baby is the divine way of intimacy with all nations; a chance
at becoming a world where a comprehensive, all-inclusive invitation to
relationship is ambitious, fair and binding. This is God’s desire for the world.
It is God’s way with humanity… but there is a catch!
And here is the tough part: our individualistic way of life. Success in our
society is often measured by how much we personally achieve, earn and consume.
In an environment where personal wealth and celebrity is held up as the ultimate
achievement it becomes all too easy to forget that nothing we do is done in
isolation. All that we accomplish and achieve is done in the context of a
community whether it is a community of learning or a community of business or
providing a service within a consumer population. The life we live is not one of
isolation or separateness. Everything we do has implications for the community
and the people with whom we live. And so God’s way, peace on earth, assumes a
complex interconnectedness where neighbor holds neighbor in high esteem.
Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience
Paul writes. Imagine Copenhagen operating from this principle: holding personal,
national and world-wide communal needs together! I had a wonderful conversation
with a senior of this congregation this past week in which we talked much about
the neighbor. When all the chaff of a busy life, family nurture and religious
practice is blown away over the years what remains is the quality of life we
share with our neighbor. When we have passion for the other, for those with whom
we live and with whom we rub shoulders on a daily basis, this is the fulfillment
of a life well lived. As vitality and mobility slowly leaves us we are richly
blessed when there are others around who care about us and walk with us. Some of
you may realize that this community of Nutana Park Mennonite Church is integral
to your spiritual, social and physical support today in a way in which you would
never have considered 30 years ago. Some of us who are newer to the congregation
need support too. And so together we live and worship with humility and kindness
toward one another.
Taken to its logical conclusion that means when the going gets tough and we
disagree with each other we can put into practice the “ambitious” part of our
life together; that is to forgive when it is our turn to do so. This is the
ambitious part of God’s plan too; to forgive in a way that defies
self-preoccupation and self-interest. It is not easy to keep our neighbour’s
welfare in focus to this extent but little that is worth achieving in community
is easy. So as we hold out hope that our world can make ambitious plans together
to protect our whole earth, we too, as a little community of practicing
Christians, bear with one another and forgive each other when the need arises.
Around here we can sometimes get our wires crossed and hurt each other
unwittingly. Strong opinion can be misinterpreted by another as a personal slam.
Sometimes we forget to follow through with things promised to another. All of
these scenarios are real for me in my work in this community and there are many
occasions for asking for forgiveness and offering apology. When we meet each
other with grace, apologies are easier and more quickly delivered. Let us
continue to be the bearers of these tiny examples of peace on earth.
For love binds everything together in wholesome harmony, here at Nutana Park and
at conferences like Copenhagen. The same principles hold across the board. We
meet obligations to each other in various ways in this church by being held
accountable through the Board of Deacons and the various responsibilities held
there, in the coordinator and committee positions and in our bylaws and
constitution. We are bound together in covenantal understandings of what it
means to be community together but only because at the centre of it all, we love
each other. We care what happens to the person sitting beside us this morning,
behind and in front of us. It matters that you are hurting, it matters that you
are joyful today; it matters to me that you feel lonely on this occasion. And
because all of this matters, we are bound in covenant to one another, not in
terms of perfection but in terms of health and wholeness. For this is God’s way
in the world and it is ours too!
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called as
one body,” continues Paul’s encouragement to the Colossian faithful. What does
the peace of Christ include? What did Jesus deem essential? To incorporate the
last of the three-part hope for a climate change deal, I will risk trying to
talk about what is “fair.” How does the peace of Christ relate for fairness? I
recall a little saying posted in an elementary school classroom of one of my
children years ago that stated in a very simple way that “fair does not mean
that everyone gets the same thing but fair means that everyone gets what they
need.
Jesus was very aware of the need of those whom he met. He was fair in his
dealings with people; he invites himself to Zaccheus’ home and eats with him. He
forgives the woman caught in adultery and sends away those who would have liked
to stone her to death. Jesus heals a soldier’s ear, casts out demons from more
than one troubled individual and accepts the ministrations of a cast-out woman
who anoints his body with oil. The peace of Christ is about what is fair in any
situation taking into account the current and pressing need. The peace of Christ
is our attention to the details of others’ need. What I need today may be
different than what I needed yesterday and what you need today. The peace of
Christ is living in attentiveness to our neighbour’s concerns.
And so we stay connected and we care for each other; whether it is here at
Nutana Park Mennonite church or in your own home or at a global gathering. We
listen to each other, learn from one another and testify to each other what we
have come to know and hold dear. That is wisdom, is it not: to listen and to
learn from each other? There are ways of giving advice that do not involve a lot
of words.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Out of gratitude do your
piece, however small. It can make a world of difference. It makes the world a
different place.
I would like to close this Christmas meditation with a few words from Henri
Nouwen. Let this be our Christmas hope for ourselves and for our world:
“God, in total freedom, has decided to love us.
This may not seem very inspiring, but if you reflect on it deeply, this
awareness can affect and influence your life greatly. Jesus is the revelation of
God’s unending, unconditional love for us human beings. Everything that Jesus
has done, said, and undergone is meant to show us that the love we most long for
is given to us by God—not because we’ve deserved it, but because God is a God of
love…Jesus is God’s most radical attempt to convince us that everything we long
for is indeed given us. What God asks of us is to have faith in that love. When
Jesus talks about faith, he means first of all to trust unreservedly that you
are loved by God.”
Let us pray. O God, stir in us the knowledge that we are loved by you
unconditionally and for the salvation of the world. In this Christmas season
transform us so that we might be that same redemptive love for our neighbour
that you are for us all. We ask this in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN