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“God’s Love Made Visible!”

By:  James L. Brewer-Calvert

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

On page 171 in the Chalice Hymnal you will find a delightful carol with effervescent opening lines:   “God’s love made visible!  Incomprehensible! Christ is invincible!  His love shall reign!  From love so bountiful, blessings uncountable make death surmountable!  His love shall reign!” 

“God’s love made visible!”

What a simple yet encompassing summary of the Christmas story.  The words are by Iola Brubeck, wife of the famed jazz musician Dave Brubeck. Dave Brubeck’s jazz composition, “Take Five” is an all-time classic.

The backstory of this carol is that Dave and Iola Brubeck were driving through Vermont on a hot summer day, discussing a Christmas cantata that Dave was preparing for a mission in San Luis Rey.  Iola said, “You have told the story of the birth of Jesus, but you have not made a strong statement about the significance of his birth. It is God’s love made visible.”  Dave said, “Repeat that phrase.”   She did.  The jazz composer quickly hummed a tune in 5/4 time, and the two of them spent the rest of the drive working up the verses in that unusual time signature.  That evening Dave wrote down the melody and Iola wrote the verses.

“God’s love made visible!”

That is really the essence of a spiritual life in the human condition.  Do you wish to know what God is like?  Do you want to know who God is?  Look at Jesus, who is the Holy made manifest.  After all the theological debates have run their course, that is what incarnation really means:  Jesus of Nazareth is the truth of God, the love of God, the inexhaustible grace of God, made visible to human eyes, born again in human hearts, a gift given to one and all.

A Franciscan monk once said, “The realm of God is both a gift and an assignment.”  His words still echo.

The gift is the love and grace of God.  This sounds so simple yet how many of us have difficulty accepting such a gift?  Ever watch a child tear into a Christmas gift, ripping the paper and tossing aside the ribbon and then hugging the gift to herself, saying, “Wow!  Thanks so much!”   Is this reminiscent of your relationship with the Holy Spirit, or are you like so many of us who receive the package reluctantly, saying, “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Or “It’s really too much.”  Perhaps we say that because we don’t feel worthy or lovable that someone would care so much as to give such a precious gift.

“God’s love made visible!”

The realm of God is both a gift and an assignment.   Our assignment is to do our best to be the love and grace of God for one another.  I agree with you that this is easy to say, a joy to ponder, and yet so difficult to embody.   When we open ourselves to freely accept God’s gifts to us, then we will be equipped to carry out our assignment, our purpose, our vocations of hope.   In this way the realm of God is born in us.  When this happens, we are more able to see God’s realm in other people’s lives and in other lands.

What are God’s gifts to you?  Do you find yourself to be in a place where you can accept them, tearing off the wrapper and saying, “Wow!  Thanks so much!”  What is your divine assignment this week?  Who in your life is God sending you to be a holy gift of grace and love?

“God’s love made visible!”  

Come as you are on Christmas Eve at 6 PM or 11 PM to the Lord’s Supper, where the wood of the manger will be transformed into the wood of the Cross, and then again into the wood of a Table that encompasses the universe.   Open your eyes and your life to receive the blessed gift and beloved assignment of God’s love made visible for one and all.

As always, First Christian Church of Decatur, I am delighted to be your pastor.   Merry Christmas!  James

By:  James L. Brewer-Calvert

December 17, 2015

“Church Dramas”

Church Dramas 

Some church dramas are not fit to be repeated in polite company, not to mention pastoral columns meant for public consumption.   I was raised with the expression, “Don’t air your dirty laundry on the street.”  Good advice for relationships, social media, and Christ-centered ministry.  Take it from one who has been there and bought the t-shirt:  there are interpersonal experiences that simply do not need to become public property.

Yet there are plenty of church dramas meant to be celebrated and shouted from the rooftops and mountaintops.  Thanks be to God, First Christian Church of Decatur has a long and heartfelt history of more dramatic plays and sermons in church than unsavory psycho-dramas that sap energy and drain missions.   Our passion for Jesus’ Way of grace, compassion and bearing our neighbors’ burdens overcomes any lingering temptation to disrespect our neighbor.

This Sunday the curtain goes up at 10:30 AM for our newest Christmas Pageant.  Sunday being the fourth week of Advent, a quartet of our children and youth will offer an original Christmas Pageant this pastor wrote entitled “The Call”.    Here is a sneak peek of a portion of the dialogue between Mary and the Angel Gabriel (aka, Gabe).  We see Gabe approach Mary, who is sitting beside a table covered with telephones of all ages and shapes.

Gabe:     What’s up!

Mary:   What is up is I am waiting for a call.

Gabe:     Who is going to call you?

Mary:    God is.  God is going to give me a call.  Then I will know what to do and become.

Gabe:     I see.  I may be able to help you with that.

Mary:   Ahem.  In case no one ever told you, you are not God.

Gabe:     Thank God I am not!  However, our Lord did give me a message to deliver to you.

Mary:    Is it a call?

Gabe:     You better believe it!

Mary:    Okay.  What is it?

Gabe:     You have found favor with God.

Mary:    Say what?

Gabe:     And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.

Mary:    How can this be, since I am a virgin?

Gabe:     The Holy Spirit will come upon you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

Drama of the Immaculate Conception 

In 1975, I was 15 years old when I co-wrote with my mother Buffy Calvert what would be a first-of-many Christmas pageant.  Today there must be 25 or 30 dusty manuscripts in various files and computer disks.  Some are decent plays; some are in need of serious re-writing; and some will mercifully never see the light of day again.  Yet almost every pageant includes the dramatization of the Angel Gabriel’s annunciation of the Immaculate Conception. Over the course of years of crafting original pageants, the virgin birth narrative has often served as a central portion of the story.

Is this because I personally believe in the Virgin Birth, or is it because the concept makes for great drama?   Does it matter in my heart of hearts whether Jesus was born in such a miraculous manner?  Does it matter more or less that I follow in His footsteps and seek daily to be a disciple in all I say and do?

Being a non-creedal church, we neither ask nor require that followers of Jesus take a test, or a stand, or a testimonial on the Immaculate Conception or other tenets of the historic church.   Some of us believe in the Virgin Birth and celebrate the miracles as proclaimed in the Holy Bible.   Some of us believe in it because we have since childhood and it is a part of our religious/cultural ethos.  Some of us question it as unscientific; or see it as the re-writing of church history to incorporate pagan rites and rituals; or receive it as the merging of ancient mythology into the reality of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.

Regardless of where you or I or the newcomer in our midst stands on exactly how Jesus was born on Christmas morn, know that on Sunday when Holy Communion is served everyone is welcome to participate at the Lord’s Table, where Jesus is the Host.

Virgin Birth All Drama for Some

Jury duty beckoned this past week.   I shared two glorious days with 47 fellow citizens waiting (and waiting and waiting) to see who would be selected to serve as a jury of peers.  While waiting I reconnected with an old friend and made several new ones.  One good sir and I found ourselves at a local restaurant that served delicious soups, salads, and rolls.  As we broke bread together we discussed our careers, families and philosophies.

When he learned that I was active in First Christian Church of Decatur he announced that he was an atheist.  He said he “veered away from religion” because he “did not believe Jesus was born of a virgin.”  Since he could not get past some of our sister church’s creedal emphasis on the Immaculate Conception, he simply stayed away from any ecclesial Body of Christ, choosing instead to deny the existence of God and lead a secular life.

I simply listened to my tablemate.  Then I quietly shared my call to be a follower of Jesus out of gratitude for what He had done for me, my family, friends, and fellow human beings.  No need to argue or get all hyper; there is enough church drama already, and my new friend didn’t need any more dropped on his plate.

Disciples Doubt and Believe, Dramatize and Philosophize 

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was born in the early 1800s as a dynamic movement for God that spread across the American frontier.   Seeking to move beyond denominational division and toward being a New Testament Church, our founders envisioned a united community of faith grounded in the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  Today we are over 3,700 congregations strong across the United States, Canada, and around the world.  The red Chalice with St. Andrew’s cross symbolizes our focus on the weekly celebration of Holy Communion and the openness of the Lord’s Table, where all are made welcome and invited to partake.

On Sunday morning we’ll gather around the Lord’s Table with our doubts and beliefs, our theologies and philosophies, our struggles with interpersonal dramas, and our celebration of healthy church dramas.  We may not all agree – and we don’t! – yet we can choose to disagree and still faithfully serve together the God of Grace and Glory, born (somehow or other!) in our hearts and minds and lives.

Now that is a call.

As always, First Christian Church of Decatur, I am delighted to be your pastor.  Merry Christmas!  James