It is not the way of the world, this exaltation of the lowliest. But it is the way God works, over and over and over again: an insignificant little village south of Jerusalem. A child born to a young unmarried girl, and that girl's stirring song: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly. Words that resonate.
And so we come to December 20, 2009. It’s just hours till Christmas; and with a few more hours we roll right into the after Christmas frenzy. The question though, is not, really, how will we celebrate Christmas on December 25, but how we will celebrate it on December 26, and January 6, and June 3 and October 21st.
Our scripture for today gives us much food for thought in this regard. Now, of course, we might say "that was then and this is now. Jesus was born long ago, and what does history have to do with how I live from day to day, especially as we approach 2010.
It is all well and good to say that ‘nothing is impossible with God', especially when we see something that we think is out of reach; but when we are the ones called to go out, when we are the ones called to look closely in the mirror, it can be a different story.
Luke’s passage has difficult news for us; the proud are scattered, the powerful are brought down. What are we do to with Jesus’ persistent theme in Luke’s gospel; preferential treatment for the poor. And before we zone out and start making all kinds of rationalizations about how we are not rich, the fact is that compared to the rest of the world, we live in a wealthy country in a wealthy community. We have homes and jobs and retirement plans. We have hobbies, we take vacations. We overeat and we waste food. Many of us are gearing up for after Christmas sales as though we have not spent enough already.
Are we the proud that Jesus speaks about? Are we the powerful? Yes and Yes. That is us. We are major consumers and we are materialistic.
So how do we talk about materialism in today’s world when we ourselves are so materialistic? If we are honest we have to admit to wanting to maintain our middle class lifestyle with all its comforts and pleasures. But Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor and hungry. Woe to the rich and well fed.”
Another way to think of this question is to ask, What does it mean to be a Christian in a rich world? What does it mean to be a Christian when people live in nice homes, have good retirements, and plan nice vacations, all of which we call being blessed?
If this is causing you discomfort, then good! We should feel discomfort. This season above all others shows us that something may be terribly wrong with our Christian lives when it comes to money and materialism. Something is wrong with our Christian lives when we, the richest Christians in the world, give only 2% of our income to those in need. And of course we like to be judgmental about those that we give to.
How do we live as middle class Christians in a rich culture when the vast majority of Christians are poor around the globe? How do we handle Luke’s words? Well, I have some thoughts.
First, we all know that money and what it can buy does not bring true happiness. We tend to privately believe that enough money certainly helps to bring blessings to our lives. But deep happiness has to do with invisible qualities like loving family, loving friends, loving God, loving life, making a positive contribution to the lives of others. These are invisible qualities inside of a person, and not related to material qualities. Rich does not mean happy and poor does not mean unhappy.
Accumulation of material possessions is not the primary goal of life. Love God, love your neighbor; that is what we need to set our sights on. That is what Jesus said. That is where our time and energy is to be put.
Second, we need to be motivated to share our gifts with those around us, and one of the primary gifts that God has given to us is to have been born in America at this time in history when there is great health and wealth in our society, even as we are coming out of a recession. You cannot be a Christian and not share with those in need, both in our local community and around the globe. That’s the way God wants it. That is what the greatest commandment is about. The resources are there, we just need to share.
Third, we need to learn from the poor and hungry and persecuted. This means that we need to spend time with people who have little. We need to listen and learn. We need to listen to them and their perceptions about work and jobs here in the United States. We need to listen to our neighbors in need around the globe. We need to commit to accompany and walk with our neighbors as equals, learning from the other. This means that we need to get out. We need to engage the poor, not from a position of judgment or blame, but from a position of love and solidarity.
And so, I want to set a goal for us as a church this next year. I want every single one of us, old and young, firm and infirm; to participate in some kind of engagement with the poor or participate in a mission trip this year. We already have several opportunities. We feed the homeless at Trinity on a monthly basis. We travel to Lewis County to help rebuild homes. Mary’s Place is always in need of volunteers. Queen Anne Helpline is right down on 3rd. QA Presbyterian, 2 blocks away feeds and houses homeless families on a quarterly basis.
This is the season of Advent and we are awaiting the brilliant light of Christ. And Christ has invited us to get to know our neighbors in need. I know that we have the ability. I know that this is not an issue of money. This is an issue of will, and I know that we can do it. Stay tuned. Trust me, your discomfort will turn into joy a you start thinking about all of the possibilities. I am excited as we begin again in 2010 to bear witness to the good news of Jesus with our words and our lives. May it be so. Amen.
Queen Anne 
