Home By Another Route

Christmas Far & Near

January 5, 2025
Matthew 2:1-12

Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

Matthew 2:12

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The Magi gaze long and hard into the darkness. They spend years, perhaps, scanning that night sky waiting for the appearance of a certain star.

When they finally spot that star, a star that is bright enough to follow, they set out on a journey. They take gifts of value and meaning: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Never in the course of this journey is there any sense of jealousy among the travelers. They do not compare the gifts they carry, trying to decide which is best. Somehow, they have the grace to cherish and come to love each of the unique gifts that they are bringing, content that those gifts are enough…

When the Magi reach the place where the Christ child is, they gesture their commitment. They do not just journey to this place; they stop and walk over the threshold, they enter in.

Bending low, they open their gifts and surrender them, laying them at the feet of the child. They trust that each gift is received and is accepted.

Then, in a completely unexpected turn of events, just as they have reached their long anticipated goal, they must abandon their intention to return the way they came. They are cautioned to go home by another route, ultimately because of threat or danger.

They must find another way; the familiar and the planned will not work.

~ excerpt from The Epiphany Cycle, Marianne Hieb

Walking through the story of the Magi, Marianne Hieb suggests a 7 stage cycle that applies quite well to our own spiritual journey and it is a cycle we repeat many times throughout our lives. 

     As you walk through the stages on the other side of this page, consider where you  might be on your own journey right now.

The Epiphany Cycle for your Spiritual Journey

1.  Waiting in darkness 

2. Searching the night Sky

3.  Recognizing the star enough to follow 

4. Setting out on a journey

5.  Following the star

6. Identifying and bringing your giftedness

7.  Enter the new place and find the Lord

8.  Offering and laying down your gift

9.  Returning home by a different route.

We may journey through this cycle many times and in many different ways, but a few key themes are necessary every time.  First, we must begin with a deep awareness… waiting, searching, recognizing.  We must be intentional about seeking God’s presence.  Second, we must step out in faith and take the risk.  We bring our whole selves and our gifts, meager as they may seem, to lay before God as an offering which God graciously and lovingly accepts.  Finally, we must return by a different route.  If our lives are not changed, we have not truly encountered God. 

How will you cultivate awareness this week? 

What gifts will you bring? 

What transformation is God preparing in you for the journey home?  What new route will you take?

Listen to full sermon here

Christmas at Paul's

Christmas at Paul’s

December 29, 2024
Philippians 2:1-11, Galatians 2:20

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Though he was in the form of God,
      he did not consider being equal with God some
      thing to exploit.
But he emptied himself
      by taking the form of a slave
      and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
      he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the   
      point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

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Christmas Day is over and for many, the decorations have already been put away.  We’ve enjoyed four Christmas feasts at the home’s of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and now it’s time for everyone to go home. 

I find it strange how much effort goes into Christmas preparation and how quickly we seem to want to move on without taking time to enjoy it.  When a new baby is born, we don’t ooh and ahh over it for a day or two and then leave it behind at the hospital.  We take the child home and our lives are never the same.

So how about just one more stop on our Christmas tour, at Paul’s house.  “Paul?” you might ask.  What does he have to do with Christmas.  He didn’t even encounter Jesus until after the resurrection.  Paul missed didn’t just miss the birthday party, he missed Jesus’ whole life. 

Perhaps, and yet, Paul writes one of the earliest hymns of the church in Philippians 2 that may be one of the most important Christmas songs in history.  Christ was in the form of God and yet did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.  He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For someone who didn’t even bring a gift to the baby shower, Paul seems to have a pretty solid grasp of exactly what God is up to in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Paul understands that Christmas isn’t really about the details of Jesus’ birth at all.  It’s about incarnation.  It’s about God becoming flesh to dwell among us.  No, more than that… it’s about God humbling Godself even to the point of death.  It’s about a God who doesn’t just become one of us and hide away in a royal palace, but who actually suffers with us and identifies with the grief, the pain and the agony of being human. 

Bringing a baby home changes things.  It is usually joyful in many ways, but it is also hard.  There is pain not only in childbirth, but in raising a child, in watching the child struggle and hurt throughout their own lives, in letting the child go, and in learning to walk alongside him or her in a new way as adults. 

Paul says that the attitude of humility in Christ should be our attitude.  In essence, he’s telling us that we can’t just show up for the party and leave the baby laying in the manger while we go back to our ordinary lives.  The incarnation of Jesus changes us.  Through Jesus, God shows us exactly what humanity is supposed to look like, how we are supposed to live, to serve, and to love one another as Christ loved us. 

Paul’s house may not be decorated like the others, but for Paul, Christmas never ends.  The baby doesn’t stay in the manger, and he doesn’t stay a baby.  Jesus makes his home among us.  Jesus grows with us and in us. 

And so we must grow too. 

As Christ becomes like us, so we must become like him. 

Listen to full sermon here

Christmas at John's

Christmas at John’s

December 22, 2024
John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word
    and the Word was with God
    and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
    and without the Word
    nothing came into being.
What came into being
    through the Word was life,
    and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light…

 John 1:1-5

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Of the four gospel writers, John appears to be the poet and artist of the group.  Christmas at his house is no doubt filled with the most creative décor and an elaborate feast.  Technically, like Mark, John doesn’t tell the story of Jesus’ birth at all.  Unlike Mark, however, the beginning of the good news for John is not in Jesus’ active ministry, or in his birth like Luke, or even in his ancestral line like Matthew.  No, the beginning of the good news for John is the beginning of all creation.

The Word was with God and the Word was God and everything that came into being came through the Word… and now John tells us that this very word through which all things were made, has put on flesh and dwells among us. 

In 2010, I tried to wrap my head around what this cosmic truth must have felt like for Mary, and what it means for us as we gaze at the baby in the manger.  Below is the first verse and chorus of the song that came to me:

Here I am, face to face with a faceless God
Gazing deep into the eyes of the all-seeing one

 How can i hold you when I'm wrapped in your arms?
How can i feed the bread of life?
How can this baby have known me in the womb?
How can the angel's words be true?

All of my life, I've tried so hard to believe
In a God so high above, I wondered could you hear me
But now you're here, wrapped in my flesh and bone
And I'm still tryin' O Lord, so hard to believe

For John, it’s not enough that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah or even the Savior of the World.  Jesus is the fullness of the Word that spoke light into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.  Jesus embodies the Word of Life that spoke all of creation into existence.   John takes seriously the words of the Psalmist who writes, “The heavens declare the majesty of God and the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands” (Psalm 19:1). 

Poetry and art exist to express something deeper than what ordinary words can say.  It is the language of the soul.  John portrays Jesus as the language of God’s heart and soul.  The words of the prophets and the angels were not enough for the people to stay in love with God.  Now it’s time for God to speak directly.  But God doesn’t speak in the language of laws or declarations or doctrinal standards. 

No, God speaks the language of love wrapped in flesh… the pinnacle of God’s creation, humanity itself, now showing us what God’s love really means… a love beyond words, a love beyond actions, a love that gives God’s whole self fully for the sake of the world.

 Listen to full sermon here 

Christmas at Luke's

Christmas at Luke’s

December 15, 2024
Luke 2:1-14

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

 Luke 2:8-14

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Let’s just be honest.  When it comes to Christmas, Luke’s house is messy.  Mark didn’t even decorate and Matthew stuck to a deeply traditional family gathering with guests worthy of the royal occasion.  Luke, on the other hand, will invite anybody to the party, even filthy shepherds on night watch. 

One can imagine Luke at the grocery store that morning handing out invitations to every cashier and bagger, and then there’s one for the lady at the drive thru window and one for the mail carrier and the garbage collector.  Oh, and don’t forget the homeless guy under the bridge and the drunken crowd with no place to go after last call at the bar.  Any chance we can get a special day pass for the local convicts while we’re at it?

“Hey, there’s a new baby at the little run down shack at the end of the dirt road!  Actually he’s in the shed in the back yard in an old cattle trough, but never mind that.   Everybody come see!” 

Matthew needs to make sure his Jewish audience recognizes God’s faithfulness to them and their ancestors, but Luke has no such concern.  His primary audience already stands outside the religious “members only” club.  Of course there are Gentiles in Matthew like the magi, and there are Jews in Luke, like Simeon and Ana, and possibly even the shepherds (we don’t know).  It’s not that Matthew is excluding outsiders or that Luke is being dismissive of the insiders.  It’s the same message, the same invitation, just for a different audience.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city.”  This is exactly what Luke wants to make clear.  Jesus has come for ALL people.  He’s not just a “Christian” Savior or a “Jewish” Savior.  He’s not just the Savior for people of a particular nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political affiliation.  He’s not just the Savior for the wealthy or powerful.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are clean and have their lives all put together.  He’s not just the Savior for those who are considered “respectable” in society.  He is YOUR Savior too!

We love to sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine and “Jesus loves me, this I know,” but are we as willing to look in the face of the one we don’t want around and say “Jesus is yours too… Jesus loves you too”?

As we move from one gospel account to the next, the scope of the incarnation just keeps expanding.  Christ comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  This Kingdom comes through the Jews and the son of David AND this Kingdom is wonderful, joyous news for ALL people.  I wonder, who else might Luke be telling you to invite for Christmas this year?

 Listen to full sermon here

Christmas at Matthew's

Christmas at Matthew’s

December 8, 2024
Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-15, 19-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly.  As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  

Matthew 1:18-20

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Overall, Matthew draws heavily on Mark’s account of Jesus life, death and resurrection, but as we saw last week, Mark doesn’t give Matthew much to work with when it comes to Jesus’ birth.  We don’t know Matthew’s source material for the first few chapters, but we do know that he is very intentional about the way he frames the story.  Matthew relies heavily on the hope of Israel’s prophets and he even begins his story with a genealogy tracing Jesus’ family lineage through Abraham and David. 

Christmas at Matthew’s house is a great big family reunion, but when we look closely at the genealogy, we find that he even invites a few of the “black sheep” that some would rather not see at the reunion.  Outsiders ranging from Rahab to the Magi get a seat and Matthew’s table, but it is clearly still Israel’s table. 

At the end of the day it is Joseph, son of David, who is addressed first by the angel.  Joseph must fully embrace Jesus as his own son, to adopt him as a legal part of David’s household, despite the questionable circumstances around his conception.  

I can only imagine how Joseph must have felt being addressed as a “son of David.”  As an ordinary craftsman, his “royal” lineage did not carry much weight.  King Herod was on the throne and he was little more than a puppet of the Roman Empire.  There was no “son of David” waiting in the wings to save Israel from their oppressors this time.  The idea that Joseph would be in line for the throne must have seemed as laughable to him as the idea of having a child in her extremely old age seemed to Sarah. 

But this is precisely Matthew’s point.  He builds on Mark’s emphasis that this Jesus is indeed the son of God and will usher in God’s kingdom, but Matthew also knows that for his people, none of Jesus’ signs or wonders will mean much without some serious credentials in the Messianic bloodline. 

While Christmas for Mark is all about Jesus’ messianic activity through his life, death and resurrection, Matthew’s Christmas is all about family.  Who is Jesus’ family?  Where does he come from?  Can he truly be the one we have waited for? From the genealogy to the announcement to Joseph and even to the foreign astrologers who see the sign of a new king in Israel, everything about Matthew’s Christmas story points to this simple truth, that Jesus is indeed the heir to David’s throne. 

The Jewish people have gotten a bad wrap in history and even in the gospels as they are often made scapegoats for Jesus’ death.  Matthew reminds us, however, that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel.  Gentile Christians are not a replacement for the Jews.  Instead we see God’s promise to Abraham fulfilled, that through him and the nation of Israel, all nations would feast together on God’s Holy Mountain and God, Emmanuel, would come and dine with us.

Listen to the full sermon here

Christmas at Mark's

Christmas at Mark’s

December 1, 2024
Mark 1:1-11

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah:

Look, I am sending my messenger before you.
He will prepare your way,
a voice shouting in the wilderness:
        “Prepare the way for the Lord;
        make his paths straight.

Mark 1:1-3

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Wait, what… how is this the beginning of the good news?  What’s going on here Mark?  Where’s the angel chorus, the miraculous birth, the shepherds in the field and the wise men from afar?  Where’s the manger and that “sweet little Jesus boy” we love to sing about this time of year?

The first time we see Jesus in Mark’s gospel is at his baptism, sometime around age 30.  As comedian Mark Lowery says, “God is in the house, isn’t somebody keeping a journal!” 

Christmas at Mark’s house must have been a little… well… non-existent.  If the four gospel writers were neighbors, it appears Mark would be the Scrooge of the crew… no tree, no lights, no presents, no cookies.  For 30 years Jesus has been walking around and Mark doesn’t even seem to know he was born until he shows up at the river where some strange prophet eating locusts and wearing camels hair is calling the people to repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom of God. 

What’s more, Mark’s is actually the earliest gospel account we have, likely dating to more than 30 years after Jesus’ death and at least 10 to 15 years before Matthew’s version of the story (25 to 30 years before Luke or John).  Could you imagine waiting that long for the next iPhone or Android upgrade?  The world was clearly a lot slower back then.

The bottom line is this, for roughly the first 85 years from the time of Jesus’s birth, there was no written account of the Christmas story at all.  Mark is the first that we know of to record anything about Jesus’ life and teachings and he starts recording only 3 years before the end.  It would seem he came a little late to the party.

On the other hand, birthdays were really not very significant in the ancient world.  Birth narratives in Rome were often more mythological accounts written much later to glorify the divine significance of a person’s life, especially someone like an emperor who they would have called the “son of God.”  But we’ll save that for another gospel.  For now, what in the world can we learn about Christmas from Mark?

The beginning of the good news, Mark declares, is not in a manger in Bethlehem, but in the preparation of people’s hearts for the Kingdom of God that was proclaimed centuries before by the prophet Isaiah.  It’s ironic that Mark, the shortest and most high-paced of all the gospels, is the one that looking back, actually calls us to slow down.  Of course his original audience would not have had the Christmas story in any form, but for us, it is a reminder not to rush too fast into Christmas.  First we must prepare our hearts and change our lives.  Christmas is not the beginning of the good news, it’s just one small part of the Kingdom of God breaking into our reality. 

Mark’s question is simply this… “Are you ready?”

Listen to the full sermon here

The Gift of Silence & Sacred Space

The Gift of Silence & Sacred Space

Simple Gifts - Part 5

Sunday, December 31, 2023
Habakkuk 2:20, Psalm 46:10, Luke 2:25-40

Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,  “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation.  You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.  It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.”

 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him...

 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years.  She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 Luke 2:28-33, 36-38 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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In my opinion, Simeon and Anna are two of the most overlooked and yet possibly the most relatable figures in the birth narratives of Jesus.  They don’t show up in the nativity scene, despite the fact that they encountered Jesus when he was only 8 days old, nearly a full two years before the Magi even arrive in town.

And yet, perhaps that is part of what makes them so relatable, for we did not go to the nativity either.  And if we’re honest, we very rarely go to the out of the way places where the living Christ is born in our world today, among the smelly animals and lowly shepherds on the margins of society.  No, perhaps we are more like Simeon and Anna because we stay in the temple, or in our case, in the protective walls of the church.

In general, we as Christians need to get out more.  Jesus calls us to be in the world and not of it, but more often we are of the world and not in it.  We are consumed by worldly concerns while working hard to separate ourselves from “worldly” people.  Some, like Simeon, Anna, and various monastic saints and mystics throughout the centuries, are called to this unique vocation of remaining cloistered in the house of the Lord, in order to point others to the kind of deep encounter with the Holy Spirit which they experience. 

This is the role of Simeon and Anna.  They have spent a lifetime waiting for God in the Holy Place.  They have devoted themselves fully to prayer, to fasting, and to waiting in silence for the promise of God to be fulfilled.  They study the scriptures deeply and pay close attention for signs of God’s presence among them… until one miraculous day, God actually walks through the door.  Well, actually he is carried through the door in the arms of his mother Mary, as an eight day old human baby brought before the priest to be dedicated to the Lord. 

As one who has spent my life in the church, and admittedly does not get out nearly enough, I find great hope and comfort in this passage.  It is a reminder that even when we fail to show up in the stables where Jesus comes to the least and the lost, no matter how good our intentions or reasons, Jesus still manages to come to us and meet us where we are, even in the church.  But when Jesus meets us here, and he will, we must follow Anna’s example.  We can no longer be silent.  We must  tell everyone who waits for redemption, especially when they don’t yet know what they are waiting for.

The Gift of Mystery

The Gift of Mystery

Simple Gifts - Part 4

Sunday, December 24, 2023
Psalm 8, Luke 2:8-20

When I look up at your skies,
    at what your fingers made—
    the moon and the stars
    that you set firmly in place—
         what are human beings
            that you think about them;
        what are human beings
            that you pay attention to them?

 Psalm 8:3-4 (CEB)

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.  The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.  Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.  This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.”

 Luke 2:8-12 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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David, a lowly shepherd in the field watching his flocks by night, looks up at the skies and marvels and the wonder of creation, and even more at the great mystery that the God who placed moon and stars in the sky would care about and pay attention to someone like him.  One day this shepherd boy would be king of Israel and would unite the Kingdom in a way that no one has seen before or since.  But whether as a king or a shepherd boy, the mystery remains… Who is this God that would pay attention to a lowly human like me?

Nearly 1,000 years later, shepherds sat out upon those same fields, in the city of David, watching their flocks by night and looking up at the sky.  But instead of the moon and stars, they saw the radiance of an angel of the Lord who brought good news for all people, even seemingly insignificant people like them.

It’s easy to get caught up in the mysteries of obscure Bible passages we don’t understand or theology that doesn’t quite make sense.  Biblical scholars and theologians argue over whether Mary was actually a virgin, or just a young maiden as the original languages imply, and whether or not it really matters.  For centuries, Christians struggled to figure out the mysteries of the incarnation, wondering just how much of Jesus was actually God and how much was human?  Historically it was settled in the creeds, but Jesus himself never seemed particularly concerned with his disciples believing in his virgin birth or in explaining how his oneness with the Father actually worked.  The mysteries of Advent and Christmas were simply not mysteries Jesus and his followers ever considered.  The earliest gospel account in Mark doesn’t even have a birth narrative and the “Christmas Story” in Matthew is more about connecting Jesus with Moses than about recording historical and biographical events.

The nature of Jesus as the son of God is expanded in Luke and John, but still, the greater mystery remains.  It is the same mystery David wondered and the mystery the shepherds encountered first-hand when greeted by this heavenly messenger.  Who are we that God is mindful of us, that God pays attention to us, that God cares about us, and even more, that God has Good News for us, and for all people?  

Let us not be distracted by the historical details of Christmas, but let us marvel in the mystery that is God’s hope, love, joy and peace for us, and for all.

The Gift of Gratitude

The Gift of Simplicity

Simple Gifts - Part 3

Sunday, December 17, 2023
Psalm 100:1-5, Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.  As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him,  they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”

When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed.  One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice.  He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.  Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?”  Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

 Luke 17:11-19 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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We typically think of gratitude around Thanksgiving, but the truth is, gratitude is at the center of Advent and at the heart of every part of our spiritual lives. 

When we embrace the gift of slowing down, we notice how much of our lives are filled with clutter, both external and internal.  As we simplify our lives, we become more grateful for those things that matter most, the things that often get buried under the distractions of busyness and clutter. 

Slowing down and simplifying our lives helps bring healing to the chaos of our minds, our hearts, our spirits, and even our bodies, but if we are not careful, we will slip right back into our old habits.  Nine of the lepers were so excited when they found themselves healed that they didn’t even stop to think about the implications.  Presumably they went on and lived normal lives in a community from which they had previously been cut off, but they never pause to appreciate the significance of the gift they had received. 

Gratitude is not just about writing a thank you card for a gift under the tree or praying a blessing around the dinner table for our family and friends.  Gratitude moves us to a deeper awareness of the mysterious and surprising hope, peace, love & joy in our lives.

All ten lepers were likely thankful for their healing.  If they lived today, they would probably share it as a praise report in Sunday worship.  But only one experienced the deep, heartfelt gratitude that moved him to draw nearer to the source of his healing.  He went back to Jesus, overwhelmed by the grace and love he had received.

Notice the man who returned was a Samaritan, a foreigner, an outsider among outsiders.  Once, all ten were united by their disease which kept them in social exile, but now he alone remains an outsider, simply because he is a Samaritan.  I wonder if this is why he, more than the others, was so grateful, because he had no expectation that God should come to his aid. 

How often do we take for granted God’s presence in  because we are good Christians who deep down assume we deserve it?  The Samaritan had been conditioned to believe he was outside the bounds of God’s love.  That is why his gratitude was so much deeper.  He was not only physically healed, but because he was truly seen by Jesus, and his human dignity as a beloved child of God had been restored. 

What would it mean for you to feel truly seen by God in this season and how might a deeper sense of gratitude open your eyes to truly see others and to help others see themselves the same way?

The Gift of Simplicity

The Gift of Simplicity

Simple Gifts - Part 2

Sunday, December 10, 2023
Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 3:8-14, Philippians 4:4-13

Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 Matthew 6:19-21 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Growing up in Baltimore, I remember fondly our annual Thanksgiving weekend trips to the snowy Christmas Tree Farm toward Pennsylvania, hiking through the fresh pines, taking in the wonderful scent, cutting the best one with a hacksaw and laying it on the conveyor to be wrapped up tightly in a net before putting it on the top of the car for the long drive home.  When we moved to Florida, we stopped buying real trees.  It’s not quite the same picking them up from out front of a grocery store. 

They say artificial trees last an average of 5 to 10 years.  Given the price of real trees, that’s not a bad investment. In November of 2000, McKenzie and I set off to Wal-mart to pick up a few decorations for our first Christmas together.  We had only been married 6  months and couldn’t afford much, but my one condition was that a Christmas tree had to be taller than me.  We found a 7.5 foot artificial Donner Fir for $79.74.  At the time, this was a pretty big investment for our budget, but 24 Christmases later, it is still the focal point of our living room from Thanksgiving to Epiphany.  So far, that investment has averaged out to $3.32 per year.  That tree has moved from a 1 bedroom apartment, to a double-wide trailer, to a small campus dorm style apartment in seminary, to 3 parsonages between Kentucky and North Carolina, and now to a rental home in Concord.  Every year it seems to lose more needles than it originally had, and yet somehow it is just as beautiful as that first Christmas.  A few years ago we talked about replacing it, but then we saw at a store how poinsettias could easily fill in a few bare spots.  We’ve moved from trying to find the cheapest one we could to being content with it each year and now to the point where we really never want to give it up.  It, along with the random collection of ornaments that trace our entire family history, have become part of our family. 

So what in the world does this nostalgic story of an artificial Wal-mart Christmas tree have to do with Advent or with scripture?  Well, maybe nothing… on the other hand, maybe everything.  For us, this tree along with the small nativity and two tiny wreaths we bought that first Christmas have served as a beautiful reminder of the simplicity we long for in this often hectic season.  They are no longer decorations just to put something up for Christmas, but have become symbols of what really matters most.  There have been some hard times and very challenging Christmases over these 24 years, and this tree has seen them all.  It’s branches hold space to remember the beauty in every season, no matter how hard it got. 

I wonder, what Christmas decoration or tradition might hold that kind of simple wonder for you? 

What little thing each year, that might go unnoticed by others, holds space for the deepest treasures of your heart?