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I had well-meaning relatives who, probably at the instigation of my mother, would give me socks for Christmas.   What, you too?   I really would have preferred a game, or a truck!  To my best recollection, I never got a pink sleeper with bunny ears and slippers.  This year (so far) Santa brought me two pair of slacks and a nice pullover.

On this First Sunday after Christmas, many of you will hear an account of the boy Samuel serving in God’s Sanctuary (I Samuel 1:18-20).   His proud mother would bring him a new robe, every year, just the right size; she wanted him to look clean and at his best before the Lord.  Church-clothes have been a part of culture for a long time, now.

The Letter to the Colossians  refers to the New Threads we get from the ChristChild (l3:12-17).  “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience….Above all, clothe yourselves with love.”   The amazing thing is that these are God’s gifts to US, we who have recently traveled to the Manger!  I have several tee shirts which were gift souvenirs of participating in a Handbell Festival, or a CHOW walk.  Although the event is now over, I wear them to say, “I was there!”  What do your clothes say about you?

The Gospel Lesson is unique to St. Luke’s account, that of the boy Jesus hanging out in the Jerusalem Temple until his earthly parents come for him (2:41-52).   Recalling the earlier story about Samuel, it’s a remembrance (Mary’s?)  of the transformation initiated by God.  This is the only tale we have of anything about Jesus’ boyhood, and we cling to it to celebrate his divinity speaking through his humanity.

The Birth of Christ is a signal that Something New, Something Further has now come to be.  Beyond the stable, we wear the markings of that Holy Night, burned into our souls, in the clothing of Community Perfection and Personal Holiness.   WARNING!  These Christmas Clothes may well not be fashionable!  People may look at you….like THAT!   But you and the Baby will have to iron that out.

God Bless Us Every One!             H   B    King

One of the best parts of fatherhood is getting to read all those fun kids’ books!  One of my favorites was a Richard Scarry series with Ali Cat, Pickles Pig & friends.  One of those friends was Mr. Fixit Fox, the neighborhood handiman who was always rushing off to repair a fender or a washer or a gutter.   Something had always been broken!  Mr. Fixit’s job was never done.

Scriptures for the Fourth Sunday in Advent talk about our less-than-perfected world, and especially about  God’s Big Attempt to make it right.  We begin with the prophet Micah, who’s audience was the Kingdom of Judah about 700 years before Jesus’ birth.   Things were pretty broken, then:  Sennacherib of Assyria had smashed Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and his army was knocking on Jerusalem’s gates.  The people had given up hope, and were acting out their survival instincts of “Gimme!”  “I want it!” and “I don’t care about anybody!”  And Micah has the audacity to announce a new ruler, from Bethlehem of all places, who “shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord….and they shall live secure…and he shall be the one of peace.” (5:4-5)    Oh, Micah, really!

MUCH later — almost 800 years later — the unknown writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that “it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (10:10)   Sanctified!  Made Holy?  Is there hope for perfection in my twisted mind, our gun-ridden & selfish culture?  Dare we speak of Holiness to our fearful cities and farms?  Will “this holy tide of Christmas all others now embrace”?  Only by God’s will…

And the final Good News before the Evangel of Christmas Eve is the Song of Mary (Luke1:46 ff).   She names the Mighty One as holy, and spells out some of the repairs:  he has scattered the proud, brought down the powerful and lifted the lowly, filled the hungry yet turned away the rich — what a change from Business as Usual!  Will he do this?  Are we to let Messiah take over our impotent lives?

I like what Steven P. Eason, a Presbyterian minister, has to offer:   “If we could fix ourselves, we would not need a savior.  The hope that the church holds out for the world on this Fourth Sunday of Advent is that God has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves.  Jesus came on a mission to retrieve us.”

God Bless Us, Every One!  (Christmas says that indeed God has!)

          H   B    King

You probably remember the story of a little girl who attended Church,  one Sunday, with her grandma.   When she returned home, her parents asked her what the sermon was about.  “Don’t be scared, here’s your blanket!”, she answered.   Totally puzzled, they phoned grandma:  “What did the minister preach about, today?”    “Let’s see…. oh, yes, it was “Fear not; your Comforter is near!”

I love the Hebrew scriptures, especially at Advent!  The first one to come at us this week is from Zephaniah:  “The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more….do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.” (3:15-16)   Some will be hearing from Isaiah of Jerusalem:  “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid” (12:2)  Here, in the dreary cellar of the year, post-election and pre-fiscal cliff, we need some words to dispel our fear.

As you may suppose, St. Paul has some words, as well:  “The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything…”  (Philippians 4:5-6)   I inherited a worry-gene from my mother.  A little sound-byte in my head keeps playing, “You’re not good enough.  It’ll never work.  Something will go wrong.  They’re out to get ya.”   If Jesus is near, what’s to worry?

The Gospel continues Luke’s narrative of John the Baptizer (3:7-18).   “Bear fruits worthy of repentance,” he said, and then goes on to suggest what these fruits might look like.  If you have enough coats and food, give some to someone who has none.  Don’t charge more than a fair price.  Don’t ruin someone through lies or blackmail or gossip,  Be content with what you have.   Don’t be scared!

For me,  the Advent challenge of getting ready for Jesus involves letting go of being afraid. This is easier to say than to do!   The Evangel reminds me that terrors by day and things that go bump in the night turn to dust and ashes in the Face of the ChristChild.  May that which was and that which is to come bring us Peace.

Don’t be scared; here’s your blanket!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

God Bless Us,Every One…..          H   B   King

Preparations.   Each evening, more homes on our street show outside lights on bushes and wreaths on the doors.  My own house now has a festive runner on the dining room table — which Lucy the Cat thinks is just for her.  The radiator-shelf in the front window has a nice tapestry of red ‘n’ green; and pictures of the chancels of churches we have served, laden with poinsettias and greenery.   A newly-cleared mantle awaits my creativity in building our miniature village.   When younger,  Steve & Jon would observe their mom cleaning, and ask, “Is someone coming?”   Must be.

Scriptures for Sunday announce this Advent:   the prophet Malachi writes (3:1-4), “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me….indeed he is coming.”  And then the Messiah is likened to the metal refiner, who turns up the heat to separate the silver from the slag.   Sometimes we’ve gotten so used to the everyday stuff that it’s too hard to give it up, even for the Holy.  How pure must we get?

If I were creating a sermon for this week, I’d probably let the Philippians passage choose me:  “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (1:6)  Advent is looking ahead to “the day of Jesus Christ”  AND observing that God has already begun a perfect work in us!  Although we’re works in progress, there’s that understanding that we are indeed “going on to perfection”, as John Wesley would remind us!

Luke’s Gospel remembers John the Baptizer (3:1-6).  His ministry was to prepare the way for the immanent coming of the Messiah:  the valleys shall be filled, the mountains leveled, the crooked straightened, the rough road made smooth.  In Binghamton, major highways come near and through the city.  We grumble about construction delays.   But in some nations, only stony tracks lead through jungles and over marshlands.  How to help?  Or, what roads have YOU paved lately??

My  dad always had a reluctance about housework, but when company was coming, he spent much time straightening every picture-frame in the place!  This was his contribution to the preparations; and one not to be taken lightly.  The weekend’s readings challenge the faithful ones to do what needs to be done to welcome the One Who Brings the Kingdom of God.

God Bless Us, Every One             H    B   King