Sharing God's Love and Grace

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 3:1–9

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford

Feb. 12, 2023

Audio of Pastor Karen’s Message:

I enjoyed a long walk yesterday afternoon. Wasn’t the weather beautiful? Not a cloud in the blue sky.

This was my first long walk since my surgery—so the good news is that I am getting stronger.  I am healing. To take my mind off the pain and stress of surgery, I have become obsessed with backyard bird watching.  Anybody else like to watch and feed birds?

My name is Karen Crawford, and I am the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Smithtown, NY.

It brings me such joy to watch the birds—and you know, joy is a gift from the Lord, along with hope, peace, and faith. Paul says in Romans 15:13, ^“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The psalmist is stirred by the beauty of Creation, God’s dwelling place, where all creatures, including the sparrow and swallow, are invited to make their home.

 “How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!” the psalmist sings in 84:1-3. “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God.”

The poet Emily Dickinson was inspired by watching birds to write of her faith in, “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers.”

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

Did you know that Jesus was a bird watcher? He wasn’t big on feeding the birds, but that was because he knew God was taking care of them. He uses them as an object lesson for the crowd in Matthew 6, gathered on a mountain. He teaches them and us not to worry about anything, but to trust in the loving God who provides for all creatures—human, plant, and animal alike. ^“Look at the birds of the air,” he says—and I imagine he is nodding to the birds flying overhead. “They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” He isn’t devaluing the birds when he asks this question. He’s lifting the value of those who would follow him and trust him enough to leave behind their former lives.

My obsession with bird watching has led to me buy a variety of food and feeders to attract different kinds of birds. The finches like thistle seed; they come to visit in noisy groups. When I see them land in the shrubbery, I think of that saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” We usually take that to mean people like to associate with people who are like them. But I have learned from watching birds that just because birds of the same species travel in flocks doesn’t mean they get along. I’ve seen some pretty nasty mid-air squabbles and how they try to knock each other off the feeders! But then, suddenly, something imperceptible to the human ear and eye will startle them, and they will fly off together to the next destination, which the Lord only knows.

The picture of the squabbling flock of finches that ultimately stays together reminds me of the Corinthian congregation. In today’s passage in 1 Cor. 3, we can tell by his tone that the apostle Paul is exasperated with the church he helped to plant. He refers to his previous letter when he tells them how he couldn’t speak to them as “spiritual people” because they weren’t acting like spiritual people! They were “people of the flesh.” They were “infants in Christ” feeding on milk alone and not ready or willing to partake of “solid food.”

Because he believed that Christ was, indeed, returning for his Church within Paul’s lifetime, he wanted to make sure that the congregation for which he felt responsible was living faithfully. I think this is why he used such strong language; he felt there was no time to waste.

The issue Paul deals with in this brief passage is that they are turning the Sacrament of Baptism—and who presided over theirs—into a point of division. Paul names the problem: jealousy and quarreling. Some people are aligning themselves with Apollos, who led the church and baptized new believers after Paul had moved on. They are saying, “I belong to Apollos.” While others, who had been there since the church’s founding and were baptized by Paul, are saying, “I belong to Paul.” If we think about it in today’s church, we might encounter this as a generational divide—those who were here during Pastor Edwards’ tenure may be used to an entirely different style and focus of ministry and membership of the congregation than the church of today. It may be a case of personality or preference. In any case, they are letting their differences divide them rather than remaining centered on Jesus Christ crucified and risen, as Paul urges them to do.

The apostle reminds us that the quality of leadership needed for the Church is humble, servant leadership, with Christ as the model.  It doesn’t matter if the Baptism was done by Paul or Apollos. Both men are servants of the living God. He emphasizes church growth that isn’t about numbers; it’s about seeking to grow spiritually and living out our faith, with God’s help. “I planted,” Paul says. “Apollos watered, but God gives the growth.”

Dear friends, today we welcome, ordain and/or install elders and deacons, encouraging them to follow Christ in servant leadership as they minister in our congregation. They are charged with provoking us to love and good deeds and helping us use our gifts for the good of the people and for God’s glory.

We are charged to encourage and help our leaders.One way we help them is by doing things that spur our own spiritual growth. Healthy churches are full of healthy Christians who care for one another, give generously, and gather regularly for worship, education, fellowship, and mission.

Another important thing we do for our leaders is to refrain from quarreling and other divisive behaviors. I invite you to pray for our Session, Deacons and Trustees, and the congregation. Pray for your pastor. I covet your prayers! We are God’s servants. God’s coworkers, working together!  We pray with gratitude, remembering that the Church is not a human institution, and believing that GOD will provide the growth.

To our leaders, I say this: don’t lose your sense of humor! We make serious decisions in church leadership, but that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh and have fun. Don’t work too hard or neglect your family. Nurture your own relationship with the Lord. Take time for rest from your labors and to pursue JOY, truly God’s gift. I highly recommend bird watching and taking walks to experience the Wonder of God’s Creation, the Lord’s Dwelling Place. Perhaps you will be inspired to write songs and poetry about God, birds, and faith.

And finally—try to forgive all the little hurts. Quickly. Though we are being perfected and made complete in Christ, we are not perfect! I urge our leaders to assume the best intentions for everyone and see one another through the grace of our eternal God, who has forgiven us for all our sins in Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Corinthian church, a wildly diverse congregation that struggles to get along and find common ground, that in Christ, we no longer regard one another from a human point of view. In Christ, we are a new Creation. The old has passed away. Yesterday is gone! Behold, the new has come!

Let us pray.

Holy God, we thank you for your loving provision for all creatures—human, plant and animal alike. Thank you for the Spirit’s work of raising up new leaders and strengthening experienced leaders to persevere through the labor of ministry. Thank you for the birds and your gift of joy and Wonder in your Creation. Help us to be united and to pray and use the gifts, talents, and resources you have given us for your people and your glory. Bless us with spiritual growth so that we are a faithful witness–your loving, humble servants, working together in shared mission. May we today live out the promise that in Christ, we are a new Creation. Help us to forgive, let go of yesterday, and welcome the new day. Amen.

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Pastor Karen Crawford

Feb. 5, 2023

      Dear friends, thank you for your prayers for me and for the beautiful cards and flowers and other thoughtful gifts. The one thing that helped me through the anxious time before my surgery and the painful time afterward was the love of God revealed through your love and faith.

     It was cold and rainy at 5:35 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 23. Jim and I pulled into the parking lot at St. Catherine’s Hospital and despite my fears that I would be late, we were early. When I called the nurse’s station to tell them I had arrived, I was asked to wait until my appointed time—5:45.

     How did I feel that morning, just before my thyroid surgery? I think I was ready to get the surgery over with, after waiting 3 months. But I was also scared. I had heard about the risks. The one that worried me most was that the surgery could affect the nerve that controls the vocal chords. I could have a raspy voice or lose my voice altogether. How would I be able to preach?

  That morning, one of the nurses was particularly sweet to me. When she found out that I was a Christian—and was feeling badly that I couldn’t keep my cross with me—she gave me her own Catholic medals to hold. Just before they wheeled me into the OR, she asked if I wanted one to keep, though I was a Protestant. That made me smile, and I said yes, and she taped one to the ID bracelet on my wrist. It was with me throughout my surgery and recovery at home.

   The apostle Paul says we should always have confidence, no matter the situations we face in this life—not matter our infirmities. We don’t lose heart, he says in 2 Corinthians. “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” Paul categorizes all of life and the difficulties in this world as a “slight momentary affliction” that is “preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”

 Isn’t that wonderful? What a promise! “An eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”

   In our 1 Corinthians reading today, we discover that Paul was also worried about his preaching—and was apologetic about it.  He was honest about his weakness, in general. He is intentional in pointing out his weakness, whatever it might be (some scholars think it was a physical problem or illness, but we don’t know). Paul says that his weakness reveals the power and glory of God at work in and through him. We must all remember that it is God who does the persuading and heart changing—not us. Fancy words may obscure our testimony of hope in Christ crucified and raised, which we are all called to share in the words and ways we are given. “We speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”

    We can trust that God is for us and not against us. God is WITH us, always, in a Spirit that lives inside of us and guides each of us. Listen to this marvelous claim. Paul says that we have the mind of Christ! What on earth does he mean by this? We are connected to Christ, the wisdom of God, freely given to us, even without our being aware of it. This doesn’t mean that everything we do is divine or that we always make the right choices. We have no guarantee of perfection. BUT. But we can count on the help of the perfect Spirit, who never grows weary or holds our past against us! The Spirit doesn’t get mad at us when we have doubts or become discouraged. The Spirit won’t abandon us in our time of need!

    One of my favorite scriptural passages is when Paul says in Romans 8:26 and 27, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

    I saw my surgeon for the follow-up visit on Wednesday. He pulled off the tape, pronounced me well and recommended an ointment for healing the scar on my neck. Later, I thought about how it would be nice if emotional healing worked that way, especially when recovering from life’s many traumas.

I know some of your stories, and how you have persevered through difficult times and scary diagnoses. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an ointment we could dab on our necks that would take away all the painful memories?  A little ointment on the neck, and we haven’t a care in the world!

It’s hard not to look back and second guess our decisions, once the crises are over. In moments of weakness, I still wonder if I did the right thing. Was it the right procedure? Right surgeon? Right place? Right time? Will the cancer return to the other side of my thyroid? Someplace else?

We try so hard. We don’t want to make any mistakes. We can become frozen in uncertainty and insecurity, unable to continue on a confident and peaceful path. This isn’t the way God wants us to live. We have been given the power to live differently. A good and gracious and generous God desires that we live new and abundant lives through the Son, Jesus Christ.

    I wasn’t sure if coming back to lead worship today would be too soon for my healing. But I missed seeing you and being with you. I wanted to show you my love and gratitude for your kindness. Most of all, I wanted to share a word of encouragement, which we ALL need.  I wanted to bless you, with the power of the Spirit living inside of me!  

    May we all be lifted today by the reminder of the Spirit’s making its home in us, interceding for us when we don’t know how to pray, helping us do God’s will when we don’t know what steps to take.

     May we experience peace and complete healing from past and present suffering, knowing that God is for us, never against us—because of what Christ has done. And that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

     May we be emboldened to share our testimonies in our own words so that others would be persuaded to come to know the Lord in a personal way.

    May we be strengthened through life’s many challenges and difficult decisions that await us in the future, knowing that we have the mind of Christ, the wisdom of God, freely given in our time of need.

Let us pray.

Loving and healing God, thank you for sending your Spirit to live within us and guide us through the many hard decisions and difficult paths that we will in the future take. Thank you for giving us one another to love and encourage, so that we would become the people of faith, peace, and gentleness you want us to be. Help us to feel your loving presence with us as we go about our daily lives and to experience the emotional and spiritual healing that only Christ can give. Amen.

Meditation on Matthew 4:12-23

Pastor Karen Crawford

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Jan. 22, 2023

One of our members gave me an amaryllis bulb in a pot for Christmas. It touched my heart, not only because I love flowers in winter, when it is cold outside, and the beautiful red or pink blooms on my windowsill lift my spirits. But it reminded me of a wonderful couple in my former congregation in Ohio. They not only brought me a new amaryllis bulb in a pot every Christmas, but the wife took them back every spring after they were finished blooming and were dying back. Then she planted them in her own yard and nurtured them through the necessary period of rest in darkness until the next Christmas, when they were ready to bloom, once again. It was literally a gift that kept on giving and growing every year, until I had 3 different amaryllis flowers blooming in my office last January, without my needing to care for them the rest of the year.

 Of course, that couple gave us many other gifts over the years, in addition to the gift of friendship and shared meals in their home. The husband, a former pastor, preached for me when I was away. And the wife visited Jim and offered Scripture and prayer when he had his knee replacement surgery.

The couple didn’t serve on Session or the Board of Deacons or Trustees during my tenure, but they were people with strong faith whose ministry calling was not only caring for their family and church family, and the employees and their families through the local business they owned; they also cared for the pastor and her family.

The call to follow Jesus and learn to minister with him came on an ordinary day of fishing. Christ comes to their place of work, calling to them from the shoreline, “Follow me! I will make you fishers of people!”

When I see this scripture every January, I am thrilled by the stories of ministry beginnings and the call of his first disciples—often coming when we are ordaining and installing church leaders. At the same time, I say to myself, “Not fishing again!” Talk to me of birds and flowers! I can more readily identify with spiritual connections to farming and gardening than I can with fishing, which, in my experience, can be incredibly boring and monotonous. In the case of commercial fishing in the first century, it was also time consuming and hard, physical labor, casting and pulling in large nets in all kinds of weather, then having to mend the broken nets when they are bone tired. And there’s always the chance that the fishermen could work all night and not catch a single fish, as they do in the fifth chapter of Luke and the 21^st chapter of John.

And yet, most of the population is relying on fish as a staple in their diet, so this is an important and worthy occupation. We can even say that it is a kind of ministry that they will leave behind—immediately, when Jesus calls to them. They are already feeding the world! Now they will be trained to provide nourishment to new, abundant and eternal life for everyone, including the Gentiles!

What strikes me in this passage is the urgency Christ feels to leave his home of Nazareth at such a time as this. Is it no longer safe for him to be there when he abruptly withdraws to Galilee, saying goodbye to his family and moving to Capernaum by the Sea? Or does he simply decide that now is the time to shine the light of truth and love in what is becoming an increasingly evil and oppressive world for those living in the Roman Empire.

For whatever reason, John the Baptist’s arrest is the signal to begin his public ministry. John has prepared the way for the Messiah. People from all over Judea have come out to the wilderness for a baptism of repentance in the Jordan. Jesus himself has been baptized there to fulfill all righteousness, with John protesting, “I need to be baptized by YOU!” Christ’s early preaching sounds much like John’s message when he calls others to repentance—”for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

I find myself wondering if the fishermen who answer the call to follow from the shoreline that day ever regret their decision. And then I think, “Of course they did. They are only human beings—just like us.” I wonder, did Jesus ever regret calling them? He certainly did feel frustrated with them, at times. Did they know what they were signing up for? Of course not. They might have just been thinking, “Finally, we don’t have to go fishing anymore!”

But I think it was more than that—that Jesus chose them because of their spiritual hunger, their willingness to commit to the work and to him and serving the people in need, and the sheer ordinariness of them—so that we would have the perfect example of those Christ calls to ministry.

In the beginning, the change from fishing for fish to fishing for people is like going from darkness to light. How joyful it must be to follow Jesus in those early days and weeks, when they go with him throughout Galilee. Christ is teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom AND curing every disease and sickness among the people. And they are right there with him! Christ’s fame will spread throughout Syria, and they, through their association with him, will become known, as well. The people will bring to Jesus and the most ordinary of ordinary disciples those who are afflicted with pain or paralyzed, have seizure disorders or are held captive to demons. AND HE CURES THEM ALL.

The disciples couldn’t possibly anticipate the difficult path ahead—leading to the persecution and violence of the cross. They can’t imagine their own self-giving lives as they seek to follow in Christ’s footsteps—ministering in his name and the Spirit’s power, when Jesus is no longer with them in the flesh.

Today, when we install elders and deacons, I want you to remember the call of the fishermen and that beginnings are always beautiful. There will be miracles for us! And we will say, “Praise God!” We will see healing! We will grow!

But the path of righteousness, serving Christ and His Body, will be challenging. As Paul says, we see in a mirror, dimly, now. Not like we will one day see Christ, face to face! It won’t always be easy. There might be some days, when our elders, deacons, or trustees ask themselves, “Why did I sign up for this, again?” They might feel unappreciated and be tempted to give up. There will be times of sorrow and weariness—when the fishers of people metaphorically work all night and catch no fish. That’s when we will learn to trust, more and more, dear friends, in our callings and the God who loves us and has a wonderful plan. That’s when we will have the opportunity to encourage one another in the faith and good works, especially our deacons, elders, and trustees, much like the couple did so tenderly for Jim and me in Ohio.

You who we have been or will be ordained and installed to ministries in the church have been called by God through the voice of this congregation. You have been chosen as Jesus chose his first disciples—for your spiritual hunger, your own willingness to commit to the work and to Christ and serving the people. But you have also been chosen for your sheer ordinariness. You are the clay the Great Potter can mold for God’s purposes. This is our perfect example of those whom Christ chooses and equips. We are ALL ordinary people—loved by God and transformed in Christ’s image!

I saw the amaryllis yesterday—the one that one of our members gave me this Christmas. And though it had already bloomed gloriously, and my cat had pruned off the dried flowers and left them in pieces on the rug, I saw that it is getting ready to open a rare, second flower! Maybe a third! I am delighted.

As I pause from my sermon preparation to give the plant on my windowsill some water, I think of my flock here—SOME who serve quietly behind the scenes and OTHERS more officially, as deacons and elders. Some have just finished 6 consecutive years of service, including the last three during the trials of the pandemic. Here’s the amazing thing! They want to continue serving, unofficially. They are living into their lifelong call and ordination to the Church of Jesus Christ. Other trustees, elders, and deacons have already served three-year terms, the last three during the pandemic. They have volunteered to serve another 3 years! We will officially install some to active service in our congregation today, though they have never stopped caring for us. We will promise our prayerful support while they labor with, for, and among us.

As we install our leaders, let us remember that we are all called to be Christ’s disciples, which is a humbling thing! The first step of following Christ faithfully is to recognize our need for repentance, as Christ preached. For all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. But look, here is the good news: By grace, we have been saved, through faith! AND the kingdom of heaven has come near!

May the Spirit empower us all to put down deep roots and grow healthy green leaves in our community, centered in Christ, flourishing in the fertile soil of our shared mission and faith, watered by Word and Sacrament, and nurtured by God’s love revealed by our church family.

May we all bear good fruit and bloom like the amaryllis, not just once, but again and again.

Let us pray.

Holy Spirit, we come to you with repentant hearts, knowing that this will draw us closer to you and bring us joy. Fill us now and empower us so that we may do your will and follow Christ more faithfully. May we all be stirred to bear good fruit and bloom, again and again. Amen.

Connecting the Faithful

Pastor Karen Crawford

Art by Stushie

Meditation on John 1:1–14

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Pastor Karen Crawford

Dec. 25, 2022

“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 1:14)

Christmas has come quickly for me this year. Has it for you? I haven’t done many of the usual things I do during the Christmas season—or at least I haven’t gone back to my pre-pandemic routines and traditions.

I haven’t baked any cookies. I HAVE eaten a few!

I haven’t gone Christmas shopping.

I haven’t watched a SINGLE Christmas movie—not “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Charlie Brown Christmas,” or “Love Actually.”

I haven’t made a dent in my personal Christmas cards.

But last night, just when I started to feel down on myself for failing to meet my expectations, the sweet memories of this Advent with my new congregation in Smithtown filled my mind and warmed my heart and soul. What a full and beautiful Advent it has been!

I recalled how Advent began with a surprising invitation to share messages for adults and children with Nanume church, the faith community that nests in our building.

And how we welcomed two brothers, Roman and Bronx, into the Body of Christ through Baptism on the Second Sunday.

On the Third Sunday, we enjoyed worship led by our Young Disciples, telling the Christmas story through song and readings and dressed as angels and shepherds, Mary and Joseph.

On the Fourth Sunday, we worshiped with the Sanctuary Choir’s wonderful Cantata, “The Promise of Light.”

And throughout this season, we have served the community through shared mission, such as writing cards and caroling to homebound members, buying Christmas presents for children who may not otherwise have received them through Adopt an Angel, and helping our neighbors with food insecurity through the Smithtown Food Pantry.

Then last night, after these weary pandemic years kept us all from comfortably gathering in person for joyful worship on Christmas Eve, we gathered for two Christmas Eve services.  Even the frigid temperatures didn’t stop the flock from coming! And we had a number of visitors, some older folks and some young families with children.

And now today, a faithful remnant has gathered once again for the BLESSING of Christmas falling on a Sunday.

Looking back over this first year with you, I can honestly say the spiritual lesson that has been brought home to us, over and over, is how the coming together in person to worship, celebrate the sacraments, and share in friendship and compassionate mission unites and heals us and strengthens us to do ministry in Christ’s name. What’s more, when we come together in person, there is JOY!

There’s nothing more powerful than when the people of God come together in Spirit and FLESH.

This makes perfect sense when we consider the kind of God we worship and to whom we belong. This is not a God who created in 6 days, rested on the 7^th, and now watches from far away in the heavens and has nothing to do with us!

This is a God who saw us perishing in our sins and unable to help ourselves. God came near to us as one of us, a fragile human being, Jesus. This is what and who we celebrate today!

The miracle of Christ’s birth has brought us near to God and one another. Christ is our peace, breaking down the dividing walls of hostility between human beings.

This is the Son who has come, IS Come, and Will come again soon! This is our hope!

The Word made flesh lived and still lives among us and desires all to receive and believe in Christ’s name. And through receiving and believing, we ARE God’s children!

We have seen his glory, dear friends. Through the manger, cross, and empty tomb, we have seen the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Let us pray.

Holy Triune God, thank you for your love that brought you near to us and draws us nearer to you and one another. We praise, bless, and thank you for all you have done for us in Jesus the Son, the Messiah, gracious God with us, Emmanuel! Help us to embody through our daily living the compassion, kindness, and generosity that is the Christmas Spirit. Lead us to reveal the love that compelled you to humble yourself and become the Word made Flesh. Stir us to reveal to a world of shadows and suffering the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. Amen.

Meditation on Luke 2:1-20

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford

Christmas Eve

Dec. 24, 2022

I wasn’t going to put up a Christmas tree this year. We’ve just been so busy, and we are preparing to travel in January… And you know, whatever you put up, you have to take down after Christmas. Right?

Then, around the first weekend in December, after the two baptisms, I changed my mind. It just didn’t feel right to celebrate our Savior’s birth with no decorations when we have a basement full. And I just can’t have Christmas without a tree—and this year, we have two tabletop trees. Some ornaments take me back to when my children were small—Baby’s First Christmas in the late 80s and early 90s.

And those homemade ornaments of bells and snowmen the kids make in school with egg cartons, photos, felt, fabric, glitter, and yarn or ribbon.  Other ornaments are much older than that and came from my own childhood in the 60s and 70s. These are the ones that bring back memories of when it was primarily my job, with Dad, to decorate the family Christmas tree.

This will be our family’s fourth Christmas without Dad. Is anyone else here thinking of a loved one no longer with you? But now, when I look at my tiny tabletop trees, the memories don’t make me sad. They bring me joy and peace. It is as if he is still here with us.

Dad’s Christmas decorating passion, when we were young, didn’t end with the tree. I remember sitting on the bottom of a ladder while he climbed up on the roof of our rancher, hauling up strings of lights and extension cords, and, after some time with tools and through some kind of parent magic, the outside of our home would be all aglow with colored lights.  Oh, and somehow he got Santa with his sleigh up on the roof. It was wonderful to see it lit up at night, along with the nearly life-size Rudolph and was it Frosty the Snowman at the entrance to our long, gravel driveway? The plastic figurines were attached to long extension cords, too, and had rocks in their bases to keep them from blowing over in the wind.

Those decorations inside and out—where all the world could see as they sped by on our two-lane country road—was the way my father, a quiet man of few words, expressed his joy.

So, long before I understood what Christmas was really all about—the Coming of the Messiah, Jesus, Savior who is Christ the Lord—I knew Christmas was when our shadowy world was transformed and made more beautiful by light. And that no matter what was happening in the world around us—with politics or the economy or energy crisis, Vietnam or the Cold War—there was still hope and joy. 

It is a broken world in which the Messiah arrives, long ago. A world of corrupt, greedy rulers, puppets of Rome, who oppress and terrorize the common people. Power demands a census so the Empire can get richer and the poor poorer. This also means that more young men would be taken from their families and forced to serve as Roman soldiers. It is a world that compels a young woman in her 9^th month of pregnancy to trek 90 miles from her hometown of Nazareth with her betrothed to the village of Bethlehem. This fulfills the prophecy of Micah of where the Messiah would be born. It is the hometown of David, a shepherd as a boy, who is anointed King and Shepherd of God’s people, Israel.

While Joseph and Mary are there to register for the census, the time comes for her to deliver the child, and we can only marvel that our God of eternity would pick such an inconvenient and dangerous time for the birth of the Son. The only place where Mary and Joseph can stay is the humblest of surroundings, where farm animals are kept. Mary wraps the babe called Jesus in bands of cloth and lays him in a manger, a feeding trough.

The other marvelous thing that happens in the Nativity story is when the army of angels show up, shining in the brilliant light of the glory of the Lord, bringing terror to the hearts of those who are the nobodies of society. These are the ordinary shepherds; in modern language, essentially homeless people living off the grid, sleeping in the fields with their sheep. They are probably hired hands of low status, often with unsavory reputations. Shepherds have few possessions, not just because they can’t afford them but because they didn’t need them; they would be a burden to life in the fields, where everything they have has to be carried on their backs.

The angels tell the terrified shepherds, who by the way haven’t obeyed the command to register for the census, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

We are left to wonder why God would choose marginalized outsiders with such an important message. This idea would captivate Martin Luther, who identified the angels bringing the gospel to the lowliest of ordinary people as something that says more about God than the human beings God chooses and uses for divine purposes. God chooses the weak and humble of this world to fulfill God’s great plan for salvation—and to bring down the proud and arrogant.

 The lowliest people in society matter to God. The angels didn’t come to visit the homes of rich or royalty or rulers of any kind–not even religious leaders. God sends the angels to proclaim the good news to ordinary people who are willing to change their plans and interrupt their livelihoods to respond with gratitude, joy, and obedience to God.

The image that stays with me tonight from Luke’s gospel is the Power of the Light shining in the darkness. The only ones witnessing it are those who live in the fields and have to stay awake to keep watch over sheep.

God comes to us right where we are living and working and breathing. The things of this world that matter so much to human beings—status, wealth, and worldly possessions—don’t impress the angels who come to do the Lord’s bidding.  

When the angels leave the shepherds, they say to one another, (I think this is my favorite part), “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they go with haste (they don’t overthink this decision!) to find Mary and Joseph—and the child, lying in a feeding trough. I imagine that if they go with haste, they couldn’t possibly have taken all their sheep with them. So they are taking a BIG risk with their livelihood to put their trust in God.

 They tell Mary and Joseph what they have heard and seen, what has been made known to them ^“about this child.” And everyone who hears the message are amazed. Maybe part of their amazement is that God would trust shepherds with such an important message at all!

Faithful Mary believes them. She who has told the angel Gabriel that she is a servant of the Lord doesn’t look down on them, who have also heard from angels. She treasures their words and continues to think about them and ponder them in her heart. She doesn’t know what it all means, yet, and how it will all come to pass. These words and the promise of peace, hope and joy strengthen her and help her to persevere through dark times ahead.

When the shepherds have diligently done their job of sharing the good news, they have been changed by this intimate, terrifying encounter with the angels of the Lord and their calling from God. They have a new understanding of God’s love and grace and a new purpose, for they have been chosen to be bearers of the good news of the Messiah, who will bring peace on earth. They return to their former life in the fields with the sheep, but now they are “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.”

Like the angels who shared the good news with the lowly shepherds, Jesus trusts us now with the message. What will you do with it? How will it change you?

 Like Mary, we may not fully grasp how our faith will be lived out in this world of light and shadow, and what it means to witness to the One who shows favoritism to the poor, outcast, and ordinary people.

May we be stirred tonight and always, like Mary, to treasure the words of angels and shepherds and ponder them in our hearts. May they strengthen us with joy, peace, and hope through dark times.

As we leave this room filled with light and the love of the Body of Christ, and as we watch and wait and search the night sky for an army of angels to visit ordinary people like us, may we respond to the good news for all people like the shepherds—with gratitude, joy, and obedience, no matter what the risk.

Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church. You matter to God!

“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people! to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Let us pray.

Thank you, dear God, for the good news of great joy, which is for all people and especially the lowly and ordinary people of the world you have created. Help us to keep the joy and hope of Christmas in our hearts all the year through and to share it faithfully and generously, taking risks like the shepherds long ago. Help us to witness to our life everlasting in the loving presence of Emmanuel, God with us, now and forever. Amen.

Connecting the Faithful

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Pastor Karen Crawford

Connecting the Faithful

Pastor Karen Crawford

Connecting the Faithful

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown

Pastor Karen Crawford

Connecting the Faithful

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Pastor Karen Crawford