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“Our Pilgrimage”
Isaiah 7:10-16
A Sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley
It is such
an honor to be amongst you wonderful people here at UBC. Deidre and Jim just gave us an object lesson in
our pilgrimage. They show a faith in
Jesus Christ and the ongoing revelation of the Spirit. They represent our pilgrimage. All of you do, really for our pilgrimage is
one that goes through the baptismal waters, traverses the avenues familiar and
unfamiliar on our faith journeys. It
takes us through the dark nights of our souls and brings us up on the other
side with a clarity of purpose and a desire to make something of our lives. The only thing I have to say is, we had
better fasten our seatbelts.
For when
people take the ministry of Jesus seriously, they start making some noise about
the way things are and the way things ought to be.
They start to feel that spirit that
alights upon their shoulders and angelically encourages them to do the right
thing.
They start questioning our answers.
And they always, ALWAYS point us in
the right direction.
They do this because they are on a
pilgrimage to a new future. And they
remind us that we are on that pilgrimage, too.
Every time we witness a baptism, we remember back to our own baptismal
experiences. Think about what led to
your own choice. Think about what
happened after you emerged from that water.
Think about what is left undone.
If we do that, then our pilgrimage is clear—at least the destination.
Imagine, if
you will, that each and every one of us viewed our lives as a pilgrimage. Where would we go? What would be our
posture? How often would we find
ourselves all wet?
It’s
appropriate that we celebrate these baptisms today as we approach Christmas. We do so because at Christmas, everything
changes for the people of God. It is
when God is no longer far off and aloof, but close-by, with us as today’s
prophecy from Isaiah states.
At
Christmas, we await the birth of a child and all of the newness that
brings. We know that Jesus was born away
from the places of power and privilege, primarily because that’s how God wanted
it to happen. The savior of the world
needs to be like the rest of the world—an outcast, a misunderstood and suspect renegade
who sees the truth and is not afraid to tell it.
That’s the Christmas story, which
begins in six days.
It’s a story of God setting the
people free.
It’s the story of the lost being
found.
It’s the story of the forgotten
people being remembered.
It’s the story of the challenge
that is our lives.
And it’s a great story.
Each and every one of us makes a
pilgrimage each year to that manger. We
stand still in its awe. We sing the
lullabies to the little baby.
But those of us with commitment,
those of us doing more than paying lip-service to the wonder of Christmas will
also pause and pray for direction, and then go about with Jesus at our side to
change our little part of the world.
That’s what we did when we got baptized.
We grafted ourselves onto the Christmas story and chose to have it
define our lives. That’s what we do if
we are more than passively celebrating Christmas.
We see the world with new
eyes. We look to heaven and thank God
that amidst all of the heartache and pain out there, God has not left us
comfortless. Look, Immanuel is here
again, God-with-us. We don’t go on this
pilgrimage alone. Each of us is on a pilgrimage. The Beauty and power of a church community,
made stronger by Beth, Colleen, Deidre and Jim, is that we make “my” pilgrimage
into “our pilgrimage. And when the
church comes together and is really the church, then the power of all of our
pilgrimages gets combined and hope breaks through in this tragic, fragile and
beautiful world of ours.
As we
prepare for Christmas, we have lots of gifts stored under the trees. Why not make one gift, your life recommitted
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? This
Gospel is one that brings good news to the poor, releases the captives, grants
recovery of sight to the blind, puts an end to warfare and bloodshed, proclaims
the acceptable year of God’s favor. Why not begin a pilgrimage to make something
of your lives that will change others and change you at the same time?
How about being no longer defined
by who wins an election, which policies get passed, which groups secure their
rights, which budget gets cut, but rather by the measure of our commitment to
Immanuel—God-with-us?
How about our lives being defined
by the pilgrimage we make to the manger on Christmas, with all of its hope, its
promise, its challenge, its wonder and its beauty?
If we can find our way to focus on
this, then we truly have a hope that cannot be bought or robbed.
Why not pursue a pilgrimage to make
all things new?
For when we do, then we are made
new, too. And whether or not we are
dripping wet from our spiritual rebirth or sitting on the edge of our seats in
anticipation, may we celebrate this Christmas, the power that comes when our
pilgrimages are mingled together. May we
approach that manger with the awe it deserves and experience the comfort it
brings.
May we celebrate the way we commit
to change ourselves with Immanuel, God-with-us at our side.
May we always see that together we have hope and a power that can move even the greatest mountains of discord and distrust. For our hope comes from God, here with us at Christmas. And our power comes from on high and it alights on our community and is made manifest in the world. As the baptismal hymn says,
“O how deep your holy Wisdom.
Unimagined, all your ways.
To your name be glory, honor.
With our lives we worship, praise.
We your people stand before you,
Water-washed and Spirit-born.
By your grace, our lives we offer,
Recreate
us; God transform.”