preached by the Rev. Tammy Martens on December 6, 2009
Prayer: Loving and Welcoming God, you have for us the words of life. Help us to receive them. Amen.
In our 9:00 Sunday School programs for children we try wholeheartedly to create an environment where children’s curiosity and wonder will be nurtured. It is a delight to see all of their senses engaged and present to them opportunities to enjoy the wonderful nature of God, God’s creation, and God’s presence in their lives. For we know it is in the very early years of a child’s life, that their images of God are being formed. So we seek to nurture their wonder and spiritual capacity with images of the kingdom from the Gospels, and images of Jesus such as the good shepherd and the light of the world. These images have a powerful effect on a child’s understanding of God and certainly lay the foundation for what will become their theological framework later in life.
When I worked in campus ministry in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I spent a fair amount of time with students who were desperately searching for an image of God that was life-giving for some of them came to college with an understanding of God that was largely vindictive and judgmental and this brought to them enormous inner pain and suffering. Healing from the emotional damage these images caused took time and trust and intentionality. It took passages like the one we read today—Zechariah’s prophecy and vision for what the kingdom of God is like—and other passages before some students could trust in an all loving and compassionate God.
In this passage from the Gospel of Luke, I can’t help but think that through the messages and vocations of John and Jesus, God is trying to present new images of who God is and what the kingdom of God is like. Or maybe they really aren’t new images for God but somehow God is trying to correct any false images that are out there. Perhaps God is trying to paint a picture so that we can visualize what God’s healing mercy and love is all about. And this painting is so profound, so full of beauty and truth that people will need help seeing it. Therefore John, Zechariah’s son, is to be sent ahead of Jesus to prepare people’s hearts and minds so that they can see this picture and receive it. It reminds me of how much more I appreciated and valued and understood Rembrandt’s painting of The Return of the Prodigal Son after I learned about all the intricacies of the painting and what Rembrandt was trying to communicate. I could see the painting in a much richer and fuller way after some preparatory work had been done. Same is true with this painting from God. God sends John before Jesus because the message, the painting is so rich and full it will need some advance work.
And what is this painting of? How will John describe the painting? It is a painting that is gushing with mercy, forgiveness, and grace. It is a painting that depicts a rescuing love that pulls us out of our darkness of loneliness, despair, chronic anxiety and defeat and brings us into the healing arms of God. The painting is highlighted with strokes of light that break in upon us and pull us out of the shadow of death and onto the path of peace. The painting is so beautiful that it will take our breath away. This is the painting, the image of God, that John is to describe to the people. And this image of God comes in the form of Jesus.
I spent time going over this text with some of the 6th/7th graders from our church a couple of weeks ago. I asked them to read the verses and then share what word or phrase captured their attention. I had them read from the translation The Message and the one phrase that all of them latched onto was “God’s sunrise.” “Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s sunrise will break in upon us.” In other translations this phrase is written “the dawn from on high.” “By the tender mercy of God the dawn from on high will break in upon us.” Either way, it is a beautiful image of how God’s mercy invades our lives. It breaks in upon us like the morning sun. We can’t stop it. And this sunrise will bring us out of darkness and show us how to walk in peace. Mercy/forgiveness/salvation/light all mixed together will be what guides us into the way of peace.
We then talked about our own experiences of peace and when/how we know peace. Some of the youth felt like they knew or felt peace or came in touch with God’s peace when they ate dinner with their families. Some of them shared that they felt peace on Sunday nights when all their homework was done. Some of them knew or felt peace when they were in church, making connections with others. But there was one comment that was uniquely different and caused me to think about the nature of peace. This person said that she feels peace when she is finally sent to her room after there has been conflict or some kind of argument in her family in which she’s been involved. Can you picture it? A conflict begins, hurtful words are exchanged, anger builds and fills the room, screaming/shouting, the damage is done…enough! Go to your room! Silence, feelings of anger begin to change to sadness. Time to think of what just happened…there is an honest awareness of the part one has played in the conflict. God’s sunrise breaks in, mercy is released, light is given and the way to peace is shown.
What this 6th grader knew and what the passage tells us is that we cannot arrive at peace on our own. We need help with our broken human condition. We need the blanket of God’s tender mercy to rest on and bring healing to our lives.
Mercy/forgiveness/salvation/light—peace.
This is the painting of Jesus, the image of God as mercy and love, that is to be sent forth. And yet, this painting of Jesus, this image of God, is often met with great struggle, apprehension and suspicion. Some of us walk by this painting and turn our face the other way because it is too much to take in.
One of my favorite well-known Christian authors is Henri Nouwen. He was ordained as a priest in 1957 and then completed graduate degrees in psychology and theology and became well known as a writer and teacher. He taught for a number of years at Harvard and Yale and was described as an electrifying teacher and compassionate priest. He became a published author and international speaker. Yet throughout his life he struggled with deep loneliness, a sense of unworthiness, and a fear of rejection.
After he left Harvard, he became a priest at L’Arche Daybreak, a small community of mentally and physically challenged adults in Toronto. After arriving at L’Arche, Nouwen found himself for the first time in his life in a community of people who did not know who he was and who could not be impressed with anything he had done. He describes the experience as the most important one of his life, because he discovered his true identity through being his “vulnerable” self.
His time at L’Arche made him realize how for so long he had lived for the approval of others and how his roles of priest, teacher and author disconnected him in many ways from his own humanity. And then while he was at L’Arche his closest friendship fell apart and he experienced a complete breakdown.
He left L’Arche for a few months to get the needed therapy he needed for his recovery. And it was in this recovery time that Nouwen became deeply aware that his greatest temptation in life was to doubt that he was loved. What Nouwen came to deeply trust and what ultimately brought healing to his soul was what he calls the “first love” of God. Out of that love, Nouwen came to know his true self.
As I look at this painting being described in the Gospel of Luke I see God’s first love. It is a love that is full of tender mercy and acceptance. It is a love of light and forgiveness. It is our way to peace and shalom. It is our best picture of God and it comes to us in human form—in Jesus, our Emmanuel. Thanks be to God. Amen.
