In Christ
“There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1.
It used to be, if you were in the recording business, indeed, it used to be— to use the euphemism— if you were a recording artist, July was an important, special month. July was the month many artists— instrumentalists and singers— went into the studio and recorded... Christmas albums. With technology today, that time frame has gotten a little shorter, in part because the distribution aspect of being a recording artist no longer involves vinyl— vinyl which was a slow process.
I was reminded of that because in the last several weeks Tom Rasely and I have been doing the composer and lyricist equivalent of inhabiting a recording studio in July. The first Sunday in Advent this year is November 27th. So, yes, a couple of weeks ago we wrote an anthem which seems appropriate for the Season of Advent.
And yes, in this last week we’ve been working on something for Christmas. And yes, right now is that part of the monthly cycle within the Julian calendar which seems so opposite from Christmas: the Summer month called July. Or at least it seems opposite when you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. Do remember— Christmas in Australia comes in the Summer and the Summer in Australia comes in December.
Now, the reason I bring up Christmas, even though it is July, has to do with the fact that writing these Advent and Christmas pieces got me thinking about what it is we celebrate at Christmas from the theological perspective. (Slight pause.) And what do we celebrate?
Do we merely celebrate the birth of a child? If so, what details do we connect with the celebration? Was the child born at night? The shepherds hear about the birth at night. But does the birth happen then? Scripture does not tell us. We can imply it was at night, but there is nothing which actually describes the time of day the birth happened.
Was there a bright light? Scripture does not tell us that, either. It tells us shepherds experienced (quote): “the Glory of God.” In Hebrew that word “Glory” would be kabode and we are pretty sure, even though Luke is written in Greek, that’s the reference being made— kabode— the “Glory of God.”
Now, we are not totally sure of the meaning of kabode— but we know it shines but that does not mean it is the same as light. Some scholars believe kabode is something akin to the essence of God or the presence of God. But while describing kabode as ‘light’ may be as close as we can get, that description is probably not exact. (Slight pause.)
Did the angels sing? Scripture does not tell us that, either. In fact, Scripture clearly states that, first, one angel speaks and then a whole bunch of angels— if you will allow me to refer to angels as ‘a bunch of angels’— Scripture tells us a whole bunch of angels speak. No singing is mentioned in the Greek.
Now, don’t worry. I am not a spoil sport. I am not trying to take anything away from how we celebrate Christmas. In fact, the piece Tom and I are working on has singing angels— a bunch of singing angels.
What I am trying to do here is to ask some serious questions. In short, I am not asking ‘what happened at the birth of the Messiah?’ I am not asking ‘how did the birth of the Messiah happen?’ These questions are, in a real sense, irrelevant.
The more important question to be asked about Christmas and the question I am really asking is: ‘what does the birth of the Messiah mean to us here, now?’ What does it mean to us that, as Christians, we proclaim that Jesus is alive and lives among us? (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Romans: “There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Slight pause.)
So, why does Paul say there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? And what might that mean? Indeed, is the very statement, in and of itself, a condemnation of those who don’t accept Jesus or is that kind of separation of wheat from chaff not central in what Paul is trying to say? (Slight pause.)
So, let’s ask that previous question again: ‘what is Christmas about?’ I want to suggest that a deep understanding of what Christmas is about rests not on shepherds or angels. A deep understanding of Christmas rests on our recognition of the reality of the presence of God in our midst.
Equally, a deep understanding of this passage from Romans rests on the reality of Jesus and on the reality of what God has done in Jesus. God has revealed God’s own self in a way which has not happened before the birth of Jesus.
And what is God saying in this event? God is saying ‘I am with you for all times. I am with you for all eternity. Death should hold no fear because of my presence with you.’
Indeed, we need to understand the Christian short hand used in these words, shorthand which claims that we are “one in Christ.” To be “one in Christ” means we recognize the presence of God among us, the presence of God in one another, the presence of God in the lives of all people. (Slight pause.)
I once saw a sign held up by someone who was participating in a protest. The sign read: “Equal Justice, Not Social Justice.” I was left scratching my head on that one since these— equal justice and social justice— are one and the same.
Why? These is no justice but the justice offered by God. There is no such thing as my justice or your justice. There is only the justice of God.
And the justice God offers says we are all loved. The justice of God says we are all one. Hence, equal justice is social justice. And social justice is equal justice.
The advent of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, you see, says we are one, we are all loved, equally. The advent of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah says we are one people gathered to do the will and the work of God.
The advent of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah says God is with us throughout eternity. Hence (quote), “There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Amen.
07/03/2011
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Over time, I have become convinced that when we read Scripture we need to try to understand it the way those who first heard or read it understood it. Those who first heard the story of the birth of Jesus did not comprehend it as being about the birth of a child but understood angels speaking as a sign of the real presence of God. Those who first heard Paul’s words from Romans understood the universality of the message, understood that the lives of all people had been changed— that’s all people— had been changed because of Jesus.”
BENEDICTION
May God bless our minds and help us as we think; may God bless our lips and help us as we speak; and may God bless our hearts and help us as we love. And may we receive this blessing in the name of the Triune God— Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
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