Title: Be Born in Us Today
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
In June, major league umpire John Turpane was walking across the Roberto Clemente bridge over the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, just a few hundred feet past the stadium where he would call a game between the Pirates and the Rays later in the evening. He saw a woman climbing over the railing of the bridge and knew that he had to help. Two other bystanders assisted in restraining the woman.
What followed were chaotic moments of panic, fear and ultimately, grace.
“I couldn’t tell you how long we were waiting for everyone else to get in place,” Tumpane said. “Obviously another power comes into be when you’re hanging on and you know what the alternative is of you letting go and not having other people to help you.”
They were able to keep the woman from jumping until emergency responders arrived. “Not too many times do you call your wife and say you helped save somebody’s life,” he said. “A really special moment.”
Maybe it is hard for us to imagine because our “suicide bridge,” the Skyway, is a driving bridge, not a walking bridge. We are busy keeping our eyes on the road. Would we see someone stopped and poised to jump? It’s hard to say, but on a walking bridge, we can envision Turpane walking, seeing, and stopping. Because at heart, we care. We want to be helpful. We want to have purpose and make a difference, especially in a situation that involves danger or peril.
When Jesus was born, the Jewish people had been waiting hundreds of years for a Messiah. Their geographical location, a small country, with access to the sea, and surrounded by big empires, made them a constant pawn in larger international relations’ dramas. At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish homeland had been absorbed into the Roman Empire. This involved the cultic worship of Roman deities going on in Jewish territory which was very much against their religious beliefs and their devotion to one God, Yahweh. The Roman occupation also meant extreme taxation that was strangling the people of Palestine economically. They were also forced to work on Roman construction projects which took them away from self-sustaining labor and forced them to directly assist in the strengthening of their hated captors. Many Jews wanted to pursue armed rebellion against the Romans. Others thought that was folly and cooperated with the Romans. Make the best of a bad situation. Some, religious leaders among them, even colluded with the Romans for personal power and gain. Times were extremely difficult and there was much division and anger. Tensions were building. Something needed to give.
And Jesus was born. Some people believed that he was the one sent by God to save the Jewish people from this perilous situation. Jesus offered a path of resistance that was anti-empire and anti-violent. He taught about resisting the Romans by being fiercely devoted to God, to love, to forgiveness, compassion, and reconciliation. Don’t hate your enemies and try to kill them. Violence always breeds violence. It will always end up coming back to bite you. No. Love your enemies. Do good to them. Show them kindness. Transform the relationship, don’t just put the shoe on the other foot. Hold nothing back. Love all the way. Don’t retreat from love. Even though this kind of loving led to his death, Jesus did not compromise when it came to love.
In the churning caldron of pressure, violence, anger, and fear that characterized first century Palestine, Jesus was born, the incarnation of Divine, unconditional love. God came to save.
We, too, live in perilous times. Wars persist. For those here who are 16 or younger, the US has continuously been at war since your birth. If you are an American taxpayer, you are helping to pay off a war bill estimated at $4.8 trillion. And new wars seem to hover on the horizon with weaponry that those in the first century could never have imagined. In addition to war, there are economic inequities that cause harm and suffering in our land and around the globe. We know that there is too much power and wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. And looming over it all is the threat of some kind of environmental cataclysm. Maybe a storm or a tsunami, but maybe a virus or an insect infestation, that takes down the whole fragile web of life as we know it. These are extremely precarious times. We know that we are in a time of major historical transition but we can’t see the other side. It may be a future of peace and harmony and oneness. But we can’t be sure.
Like the Jews of the first century CE, we, too, need the spirit of love, the fearless passion of forgiveness, compassion, and reconciliation, to carry us forward. We need love that is stronger than death opening up a new future for humanity. We, too, need to release ourselves from whirlpools of violence that suck us into more and more violence and death. The world needs to see the embodiment of love: Love of enemies. Love of Earth itself. Transforming, resilient, creative love. The love that we see in dear Jesus, born in the manger, crucified on the cross.
How will this love that the world is desperate for, hungering for, aching for, appear today? Will there be another Jesus? Should we be expecting a second coming? The people of the first century, those who were there for the crucifixion of Jesus, thought that Jesus would be back in their lifetime. They expected his quick return. But we know now that was not to happen. Jesus did not come back the way they thought he would, but the light of Christ, the spirit of God, the flame of Love, lived on – in them. The power of the Divine Love that they saw in Jesus, they saw in each other. They found it within themselves. The stories of the book of Acts abound with the remembrances of what the disciples and followers of Jesus did after his death. Jesus is remembered for telling them, You will do even greater things than I. And they did do great things.
This is not a season to look for the coming of another. It is the season to look back at the first coming of Christ Jesus so that we can find the love in ourselves and one another that is so desperately needed in the world today. The same love and power that was in Jesus is in you. And it is in others. If you have a hard time seeing it in yourself, look for it in others. People you know, maybe. People you don’t know. Like John Turpane crossing the Roberto Clemente bridge. “I just happened to be there,” Turpane said. “I think I’ve been a caring person in my life. I saw somebody in need, and it looked like a situation to obviously insert myself and help out.”
Look for the love, the service, the other-centered orientation in others. And they don’t have to go to church. They don’t even have to be Christian. One thing the Bible shows us for sure is that Divine Love can be enfleshed in anyone and everyone. So pay attention. Be aware and alert. You will see it in others. And that will help you find it in yourself.
We don’t know what will be asked of us. We don’t know how we will be needed to serve. But we are the ones to make the difference. This Christmas Eve, know that the spirit of Christ, the unconditional, sacrificial love of the Divine, is seeking to be born in us today. Amen.
For the story of John Turpane and the quotes used see:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/06/29/safe-at-home-mlb-umpire-tumpane-rescues-woman-on-bridge/103278400/
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
