Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Lord may your light shine through me, in the words that I have to share, and stir in the heart of those gathered here this morning, what purpose you have for each of us.
Amen.
It comes as no surprise to anyone that today is known as the 1st Sunday after Christmas.
A day that has become known as one of the “Low Sundays”
The Sunday after Christmas and after Easter are the two “Low Sundays” of the year
With all the excitement *that* the high holidays bring
- The follow up to that, is a naturally… a let down
- A time of recuperation
It is certainly understandable that the Sunday following Christmas will be a low Sunday
But it is precisely at these “low days” of the year, where how you live out your life in faith really characterize your “relationship with Christ” - our Lord and Saviour
These are the days of character building
It reminds me of a billboard that I used to pass by most days when I lived in Hamilton - it said:
/6am practices lead to 7pm games/
/ /
Not that we are not involved in “competing” *where* what we do /results/ in a trophy
But we are *training*
We are *conditioning*
We are *journeying* along a path with a goal in vision
That goal is a “life in Christ”
And the vision is for *both* the *journey* and the *outcome*
As it is written in the Lord’s prayer - /“on earth - as it is in heaven”/
The readings for the day are ideal for this particular day and this time of the year
The last Sunday of the year - marking an ending
But also the first Sunday after we celebrate the incarnation - God coming as Emmanuel
- God with us
Time when we think about *Beginnings* and *endings*
- and how we will live…
“all the *life* in the middle”
This reminded me of a time long ago, grade 9 science class to be exact…
I know that we have a lot of teachers in this church, but occasionally, school can be boring
And my friend with a slightly dark humour passed a note to me during one of these boring moments
It was folded and the front cover read something like this:
Enclosed in this booklet you will find the whole story.
The ups and downs, the triumphs and failures
The loves and the love lost.
Schooling, career victories
The heartaches and pain and the great accomplishments
All to found in this booklet… please open up
And when I opened up the folded piece of paper it had written simply…
Paul Tinker
1970 – (dash) 2050
And so on these days of character building when we consider “all the *life* in the middle”
Beyond my friend’s humour, maybe consider this poem by Linda Ellis titled “The Dash”
I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?
Today is not merely a ‘low Sunday’ a day of duty for the faithful - but a day for considering what God is calling you to be in your time marked by a dash
With that let’s consider the readings for today
It has been observed that the entire book of Luke is structured as a journey, as Jesus travels from Galilee to Jerusalem, repeatedly, in important stages in His life
As a Baby - then young adult - finally His adult ministry
This is no accident, Luke arranged the material to communicate his message.
This suggests that the journey in Luke is more than just a physical journey, and the setting is more than geographical.
Our Gospel reading from Luke today tells part of the story of the greatest gift the world has ever seen
The miracle baby - Jesus - born of a virgin
Tells the story of how Mary and Joseph made an annual pilgrimage - /as usual/ – scripture reports
This time with a 12 year old Jesus who stays behind and…
/ /
/After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers(Luke 2:46,47)/
/ /
It is in the 13th year of Jesus life that we have *only* this glimpse into his upbringing in Jewish culture.
During the 13th year a boy went through a Bar Mitzvah and was considered *an adult* for the purposes of accountability and responsibility under the law
As now, a legal adult, we see Jesus learning /and/ answering questions
Luke also plays with the word father
For the first time Joseph is referred to by Luke as father not as Joseph
This is done because I believe he wants to show the contrast and the power of Jesus’ statement
/ “I must be about my Father’s business”/
This is a radical call ‘for all of us followers of Jesus’ to a discipleship that unfolds from being /"about our Father’s business"/
*Let us all be about our Father’s business!
*
* *
The Old Testament reading tells of Samuel who was a miracle baby
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