How Much is Enough? Joy Sunday Preached on December 12th, 2021 At Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture: Luke 3:7-18 On this third Sunday in Advent when the theme is Joy, we hear the echoes of rejoicing in most of our lectionary texts. The minor prophet, Zephaniah, begins “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” The text from the prophet Isaiah, that serves as our psalm for this Sunday reminds the people of the abundance of God’s saving grace, saying “with joy draw water from the wells of salvation.” And, the letter from Paul to the church in Philippi, exhorts the early Christians to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Then we come to the gospel passage that brings us back to the wilderness and John the Baptist. Crowds come from all over the region around the River Jordan to be baptized and John calls them a brood of vipers! He asks them “who warned you to feel from the wrath to come?” And exhorts them to “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” This is not a feel-good passage. It is not what we expect on this third Advent Sunday. The crowds who come to John include the despised tax collectors, who work for the Romans and are known for extortion. He advises them to collect no more than what it due. And then there are brutish soldiers, who hail from many places around the empire. They patrol the villages, keeping a check on any uprising. It’s easy for them to abuse their power, and take what is not theirs: food, money, the young women of the countryside. John tells them not to extort money, not to threaten the people. He tells everyone in the crowd, if you have then share. An extra coat? Give it to someone who doesn’t have one. If there is food in your pantry, provide for those who are hungry. The people cannot argue that the problems of poverty and homelessness are too large to solve. John tells them to start right where they are. This is the work of their repentance and their baptism: who is on their doorstep? What do they have that they can share? How can they provide hospitality for the people they encounter in their own neighborhoods? The gospel passage selected for Joy Sunday this year seems oddly out of sync. The story of John the Baptist’s appearance may make us wonder why we devote an Advent Sunday to Joy in the first place. John addresses matters of extortion, violence and poverty. While Isaiah celebrates the never-ending spring of God’s mercy and salvation, John challenges those who take and keep too much for themselves. John anticipates God’s action as being one of pruning and cutting away. John does not shy away from the pain and suffering of his time. Instead he reminds his followers that what they have right now is enough. Simply having one extra garment allows someone to share the gift of clothing and warmth. Simply having food on the table allows someone to share the gift of a meal. And perhaps this is how they will find joy. In some churches, there is a tradition of holding a “Blue Christmas” service on December 21st, the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice. A “Blue Christmas” is a service honors members who have lost loved ones or are experiencing grief for some other reason. It is a time to recognize that not everyone will be merry, or even happy, at Christmas. The intention is to provide space for those who feel left out of joyous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. We have not observed this tradition while I have been at WCC. But I hope that our Advent services and evening reflections, and even our Christmas services, make space for anyone who is experiencing grief or pain. To be honest, most of us experience some degree of grief or pain at Christmastime. It would be foolish to pretend otherwise. Even if we have not recently lost someone, memories of loss come back to us at this time of year. We may also experience the pain of unmet expectations. Our hopes for a happy family gathered around the hearth are rarely met. There is usually someone who is out of sorts, drinks too much, or doesn’t show up. The expectation of a perfect celebration in a spotless home with every detail of decoration and festive food perfected, lead to someone feeling exhausted and underappreciated. And how many of us hope that this will be the year when our parent, our child, our spouse or our partner perfectly reads our minds and present us with the most lovingly chosen, perfectly wrapped gift? Here at Wollaston Congregation Church, we may lament that the Christmas services are not as lavish as they used to be. Each year, it may seem that there are not enough poinsettias, not enough people in the congregation, not enough singing, not enough joy. We may not see an abundance of joy in the story of John the Baptist. But perhaps this is the place where we find out what is really meant by Advent joy, and how much is enough. Later in Luke’s gospel, when Jesus is an adult and has begun his ministry, we will hear a parable. Jesus warns his followers about greed and seeking an abundance of possessions in life. The story of the “rich fool” tells of a farmer whose land produces so abundantly that he runs out of room in his barn. Instead of sharing the abundance and celebrating with the community, the man re-invests all his money to build more barns. He wants to store away his grain and his possessions. Once he has built the barns and stored his things away, then he will relax, eat, drink and be merry. But that day never comes, because the man will die before he has a chance to enjoy himself. The story of the rich fool contains a word frequently used at Christmas and yet rarely found in the gospels. That word is “merry”. The man who is on a constant quest to store away more and more, imagines that when he finally has enough he will eat, drink and be merry. This story says nothing about joy. Although our gospel passage this morning does not sound very joyous, the gospels frequently mention joy. In fact, first occurrence of joy in Luke’s gospel is said by the angel to Zechariah, who will be John the Baptist’s father. Zechariah is told that his son will be a joy, and many will rejoice because of his birth. Even dour John will bring joy! The contrast of the word “merry” with “joy” brings up a particular memory for me, concerning my grandmother who lived with my family in her later years. I’ve spoken about my grandma before. She was generally a quiet person although she had some strong opinions. Her life was one of both austerity and kindness. During the depravations of the early of the 20th century and then World War II, she had learned to give away her second coat. When she heard that a church member had fallen on hard times she walked down to her home and handed her a ten pound note. When my grandfather died, Nellie, an unmarried congregant with intellectual challenges became her regular Saturday dinner guest. When my mom and my aunt were young, Grandma began preparations for Christmas by having them decide which of their toys they would give away. My mom continued this practice with my brother and myself. We had to “make room” for our new gifts by donating some toys to the children’s hospital. After Grandma moved in with us, she continued her various activities including a weekly “women’s meeting” at our church. When Christmas came around, we were informed that the Women’s Meeting would be leading the Christmas Eve service. My aunt and my cousins, my mom and myself crowded into the usual “family pew” in the chapel. When it was time for the message, our jaws dropped in unison, as Grandma stood up. I’d never known Grandma to speak in church. That had been my grandfather’s role. She began a reflection on a greeting that was becoming more popular in UK at the time: “Merry Christmas.” Typically we would wish one another a “happy Christmas,” but probably as a product of movies that hailed back to the Victorian times, “Merry Christmas” making a come back. For my grandmother’s generation of Methodists this was a conflict. “Merry,” in English parlance, sometimes refers to intoxication. The Methodists of my grandparent’s age continued to abstain from alcohol. This was because of the great social problems caused by alcoholism, particularly among the working classes. To my knowledge my grandma never drank a drop. But this isn’t what her message was about. Her reflection concerned the deep happiness of Christians because of the birth of Jesus, as opposed to the surface merriment of celebrations of the season. And so, Grandma concluded the message by saying that, yes, she did wish us all a “Merry Christmas” but much more than that, she hoped and prayed we would have a “Happy Christmas.” I hope you can understand that the expression “Merry Christmas” will always remind me of this short, simple and profound Christmas message. Even that was enough that Christmas Eve. And, so, friends, it turns out that John the Baptist points the way to joy on this third Sunday. He reminds us that we have enough, even enough to share. He reminds us that hoping for future merriment, by storing away our abundance in bigger barns, is not a wise goal for our lives. Instead, we are to find joy in opportunities to share what is already enough. This year here at Wollaston Congregational Church we have the opportunity to share the gift of warmth and clothing, through our Missions Project for the population served by the Manet Community Health Centers Outreach Team. This team targets people who are homeless and those with substances use disorders. And, also, as a Church, we are in the midst of determining how much is enough for us … enough space, enough activity, enough accumulated “stuff” of our historical church. If and when we decide to turn over the majority of our space to the community, we will need to do some pruning and cutting away. May we do it with joy. May all God’s people say, Amen
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