December 22, 2013 at Advent Lutheran Church in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Fourth Sunday in Advent. Matthew 1:18-25. The birth of Jesus according to Matthew. Does anyone have a question for me this morning? This is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent and the word for this Sunday is love. The four words of Advent, hope, peace, joy and love capture the essential emotional and physical needs of every child of God. Our first Advent word is Hope. We have often heard it said that without hope the people perish. History has taught us by vivid example most poignantly in the Nazi concentration camps that people who were physically strong enough and well enough to go on living would die before their time because they lost all hope. Others, as we know from photographs and movies were nothing more than skeletons with virtually no body mass left but survived because they somehow were able to convince themselves that while still living and breathing there is always hope for another day. Our Second Advent word is Peace. Another essential need of all human beings is more than just the absence of war. The word that is used in the Old Testament is Shalom, and means not only the absence of war or conflict but total and complete wholeness. Balance. Well being. That means not only no physical danger but having emotional harmony as well. In the New Testament Jesus uses the word peace to mean the presence of the Holy Spirit. In his words; “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” And this peace is further expressed in St. Paul’s benediction in his letter to the Philippians 4.7 that was a part of our liturgy in the Lutheran church for years and spoken after the pastor finished his or her message: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Without this peace, mainly the Holy Spirit, we will not find the ability to trust God and will be anxious about many things. The third Advent word is Joy. Many people seem to confuse joy with happiness. Joy is so much more. It’s interesting how some things etch themselves in your memory and mind and live with you the rest of your life. My 4th. Grade teacher Miss. Petersen would hold devotions on Tuesday mornings when such things were allowed in Public Schools and we were taught a little song called “Joy” around the three letters J-O-Y. J is for Jesus, let him have first place. O is for others we meet face to face. Y is for you and whatever you do, put yourself last and spell JOY! As a child I’m quite sure I really did not understand what that meant other than a fun little song that continues to live within me. As an adult with many years of life behind me I think there is a certain truth to the fact that joy is indeed found in the giving to others that Jesus so often talks about. If we see Jesus in the other we are also putting Jesus first, and as Anne Frank had written in her diary so long ago, and amazingly under the worst of circumstances, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” Giving is the God-given road to true joy in this life, and as a Christian Author who wrote a book on tithing also wrote in his work: “I have never met an ex tither.” And as the much beloved Prayer of St. Francis so eloquently declares, “For it is in giving that we receive.” The fourth Advent word is Love. Our fourth and last, and all-encompassing word that captures the very essence of God’s nature. As is recorded in the Bible in the first letter of John, chapter 4, verse 8: ” Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” The very important thing to point out here is that the Greek word for God’s love that is the word used in this passage is much more correctly translated “charity” as we find it in the King James Version of the Bible. The passage I cite is from St. Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. 1 Corinthians 13.13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” The English word love that is used in the more modern translations has too many uses and manifestations to accurately capture what the author was trying to convey. We use that word loosely and carelessly at times. I love my house! I love my car! I love my new shoes! Or whatever else we like, but Biblically speaking it is not about feeling great affection for something – but rather doing for someone, or as we have been saying as of late, “Practice more kindness than necessary!” That is God’s love that is charity. In today’s Gospel lesson we hear Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus, a much shorter version than Luke’s which the common is one read at Christmas time. I believe the heart of this message is contained in the expression Emmanuel, the name by which this special baby shall be known which means, “God is with us.” For me that means that the Christmas miracle, the whole Christmas story is about how God is found in each and every child of God through the birth of Jesus. It’s not as if God was absent before the birth of Christ – but with the Advent of Jesus’ birth a whole new way of experiencing God’s living presence was given and revealed to us! As I wrote in my News Graphic Column last Thursday, the birth of Christ makes every day a Holy Day so feel free to wish me Happy Holidays a much more all- encompassing greeting and wish than Merry Christmas. Christmas unfortunately is anything but Merry for far too many children of God. Instead of arguing about semantics we who claim to believe in God and Jesus would do well to show that charity that is our guiding word for this fourth Sunday of Advent. Last Sunday Margaret Anderson asked about the difference between the Advent Season and Christmas and why we observe it in the way we do. That’s an excellent question and a wonderful insight. On Wednesday morning Cindy Westgor, reflecting on Margaret’s question said that it is our Wednesday evening Advent worship services that keep her grounded, peaceful and her life less stressed than it would be otherwise. Most of us do and quite unwittingly allow ourselves to be swept up by the pressures and rushing around of the season. Quite unhappily we end up anything but hopeful, peaceful, joyful or loving! Every year the number of people who tell me they are tired of the expectations and pressures of this holiday time of year increases. And it doesn’t have to be that way. Christmas is just two days away, the shopping probably done, but if you want you can make a pledge to yourself that you will not fall into the rush trap again. Because more people get sick, have accidents and even die during this time of year than any other time, this is really, really important. I agree with Cindy, the Wednesday evenings of Soup’s on and our more peaceful worship offer a much needed respite from the necessary as well as unnecessary pressures of the season. No matter how busy you were or how many things need to be done, take the time to sit, relax and recharge. Get plenty of sleep. The holidays are meant to be spent being happy around people you care about. Focus on the things that matter most and do without the things that are really not necessary. Don’t feel obligated to say yes to every invitation because you are afraid that you will offend someone. Be honest, tell them you need a break. Some quiet time. Some rest. Remember that the Holidays are made Holy because they offer an opportunity for sharing, giving and above all love, or to use St. Paul’s wonderful word: Charity. And speaking of charity, I learned yet another example of how true charity works and it flows right out of this church. I had a meeting with Pastor Randy Raasch of 1st. Immanuel Lutheran Church up the hill from us by the High School. Randy has expressed support for our columbarium project and I wanted to update him on our plans and progress. Well it turns out he too wants very much to build a columbarium and has already like us built the prayer garden that will house it. But as we chatted about our respective ministries Randy mentioned that he noticed that Garth or Bill Hoffman had recently died. And I asked if he knew Bill. “Oh yes,” Randy responded, “most certainly I do.” And then he proceeded to tell me this story: (Tell the story of how Bill Hoffman and family sold June’s mother’s house below cost because, “we don’t need the money, but you need a house!” And Bill told no one about this, because that’s how true charity actually works because it is not as we moderns use the word now an act of pity toward the poor, rather it is the way we live our lives. Bill Hoffman was consistent in the way he treated everyone he encountered with no exceptions. That’s true charity!

AMEN.