United Church of Two Harbors

You see one every year, with puffy cheeks and diaper, often wearing a top hat with the new year emblazoned on the band. As the aged old year dies a natural death, this avatar of the new year takes over. We symbolize the dawning of a new year with a baby, an icon of hope and potential, but also one of vulnerability and immaturity. And this, I think, speaks to our ambivalence of the turning of the calendar. We are hopeful and we are guarded too.

My son, Simon, was baptized on New Year's Day as an infant. It was a good way to start a new year, baptizing a baby, for all the reasons mentioned above and more. The fact that we baptize infants is an act of audacious hope and resignation. In the act of baptism we recognize that while our choices matter, things are largely out of our control. We baptize not as a sign of our own power, but of our powerlessness and God's sovereignty.

A great deal is made of vows at baptism, just as we make resolutions at New Year's. I will lose weight. I will write more. I will budget better. I will resist evil. I will fight injustice. And so on. And we know what happens to those vows and resolutions, even in the best of circumstances and with the best of intentions. But the point of baptism and, I'd argue, the point of a new year is not what we do, but what God does.

When Simon was baptized it was after a horrible year of cancer and tough decisions. There was no guarantee that Simon would make it into this world alive or intact. The fact that he is at all is a miracle, a very humbling miracle. His baptism in a new year marked a new beginning of hope for us. I was overwhelmed in the sacrament with the realization that he does not belong to me. Nor is he his own. He belongs to God. As his parent I am his guardian, teacher, and steward, but never his owner.

Can we think the same of the New Year Baby in the same light? This new year does not belong to us. It is profoundly and ultimately God's. It's potential is tied up with our potential. It's vulnerability is also ours. But we are mistaken if we think we can call it our own, that we earned it somehow. This new year is a gift put into our charge for awhile and then taken away.

And so, with that, I wish you a blessed New Year. May it be holy.

[Stranger Than Fiction is rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.]

Harold Crick has a problem. He is aware of his fate.

Well, not entirely, but one morning as he is going through his paces he suddenly hears a disembodied voice narrating his every move and commenting on the mundaneness of his routine. He soon realizes that this voice is narrating a story that will culminate with his ultimate demise... and soon.

He sets out on a desparate odyssey to find this disembodied voice and convince the owner not to finish the story. Along the way he contends with his number obsessed colleagues at the IRS, an anarchist baker who becomes the object of his affection, and a professor of literature who tries to guide him through the narrative of his life.

[Spoiler Alert - Plot spoilers ahead. You've been warned.]

What would you say if I told you that the legend of the Three Kings is only that... a legend with no biblical basis whatsover? The "wise men" (or magi or astrologers) are only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and they are not numbered and are never refered to as kings. They are said to come from the east with three gifts for the newborn king.

In my sermon today I proposed that the tradition of the Three Kings probably grew more out of pairing up this reading from Matthew with Psalm 72 which speaks of kings from three distant lands bringing gifts to a king of Israel. This also explains why so often these three kings in our nativity scenes are often depicted as being African, Oriental, and Hispanic.

More important than all this Biblical trivia and archeology is what the Three Kings represent. The work of God in the world was discerned first not by the wise of Israel, not by those who should be in the know, not by the "righteous," but by foreigners from distant lands with other religions. In this spirit I encourage us to remember that we learn best when we listen to others, even those whose faith backgrounds are different than ours. I hope that 2007 will be a year when we can hear the wisdom of those outside of our own faith and we can better discern God's work in the world.

[Today's Call to Worship can be found on Leiturgia.]

[Image: Three Kings by J. C. Leyendecker]

[Superman Returns is rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.]

I watched the new Superman movie and thoroughly enjoyed it as a film, but less so as theology. Before I go there though let me say, see this film. It's brilliantly conceived and directed by Bryan Singer with a good story and fantastic performances, especially by Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey.

The movie goes boldly into theological turf, and that's where it runs into trouble.

[Warning: Mild spoilers follow.]

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

When we talk about "parting the waters" we typically think of Moses at the Red Sea leading the people out of slavery into freedom.

We may also think of Joshua at the River Jordan leading the people out of wandering into the promised land.

In a similar way when the heavens were opened at Jesus' baptism I argue that there was another kind of parting of the waters, but not one we in our 21st century mindset would necessarily be attuned to. The 1st century cosmological view was of a three tiered universe where the earth on which we live is surrounded by water, above and below. When the heavens are parted then, in fact, the heavenly waters are parted.

The significance of this is that Jesus is a kind of second Moses, leading the people to liberation, and a second Joshua, leading the people to the promised land, but instead of a lateral and temporal movement, his aim is higher and of eternal significance. Instead of settling for a short term military or political solution to the ills of his people, Jesus takes the long view and looks to bring peace and reconcilation between all peoples and God.

It is not the Messiah that the people were looking for. But in many ways Jesus exceeded their expectations. We often desire a God who descends from above, like Superman, to solve all our problems, smite the bad guys, and bless the good guys. Or we want a God who will make war on our enemies. But God's power in the Baptism of Jesus is made manifest in a dove.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman? Nope, it's a bird. And not even a cool bird of prey, but a dove, a symbol of peace, a symbol of God's covenant.

And so, in our own baptisms, we are called to resist evil and fight injustice, but with a long view of reconciliation and peace.

"He who sings, prays twice." - St. Augustine

Wednesdays in Lent we will be gathering with Emmanuel, Bethlehem, and Knife River Lutheran churches for evening worship. This year we are structuring our theme around favorite hymns. Each week we will take one hymn and not only sing it, but explore its history, its meaning, and its Biblical roots.

So, what hymns would you like us to explore? We're taking suggestions. Leave a comment, drop me an e-mail, or leave a note in my box at church.

This week Bishop Sally Dyck announced that the new Northeast District Superintendent will be the Rev. Kathryn Schneider-Bryan. She is currently serving as the senior pastor of First UMC of St. Cloud and her appointment begins July 1 of this year.

I wrote to her to congratulate her and welcome her to the district and she wrote back:

Although it's hard to leave the local church for a season, I'm looking forward to new relationships and discovering what others are doing in their churches a bit more!

While I don't know Rev. Schneider-Bryan personally, colleagues from around the area are very enthusiastic to have her coming as our new DS.

[Night at the Museum is rated PG for mild action, language and brief rude humor.]

Larry Daley has a mess on his hand. It's called history.

Larry is the hapless new security guard for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. What he doesn't know when he takes the job is that history comes alive at night in the museum... literally. And the problem is, history is full of conflict and he's right in the middle of it.

The Ancient Romans don't get along with the folks from the American Wild West. The North and the South are still fighting the Civil War every night. And the Huns don't seem to get along with anyone.

[Warning: Mild spoilers follow.]

It's the existential question of our day - "Paper or plastic?" The best answer, of course, is to bring your own reusable bag. But if you forget, what are the pros and cons of plastic bags vs. paper bags and their impact on the environment?

Today Joanne Colan of Rocketboom discusses just this topic. I also found a good article by Nikki Tundel of Minnesota Public Radio. The Sierra Club had these statistics on their site:

• Reusing a bag meant for just one use has a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.
• In New York City alone, one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by 5 million lbs. and save $250,000 in disposal costs.
• Plastic bags carry 80% of the nation's groceries, up from 5% in 1982.
• When 1 ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, 3 cubic meters of landfill space is saved and 13 - 17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the United States.
• When 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.

[Image by Jere Smith]

John 2:1-11

In today's reading from John Jesus performs the first of his miracles at a wedding in Cana. When the wedding runs out of wine Jesus bids the servants to take six water jars for the rites of purification and fill them with water. When they take a sample of the water they've drawn to the head steward not only has it turned into wine, it is a wine surpassing that which they had before.

While it would be easy to let this text devolve into trying to figure out how this was done, I would encourage the reader to suspend disbelief and try to understand how this miracle teaches us who Jesus is and what his mission was all about.

Covenant - This first of Christ's miracles takes place in the context of covenant making. In wedding the couple promises something they do not have the power to back up - eternal love. This just isn't something people can rationally promise to one another. Hence, God's presence is necessary to see through this human covenant. Our love runs out. God's love is infinite. Our wine runs out. God's doesn't. This first miracle is a reminder that God keeps covenant with us.

Abundance - We often operate out of a notion of scarcity, of not having enough. God's kingdom operates by different rules. When I found out that I was going to have a second child I worried that I wouldn't have enough love for two children. I couldn't imagine I could love another child as much as I loved my daughter. This, of course, was a foolish worry. But we do that to ourselves, don't we? We worry that we can spread our love too thin. Christ reminds us that there is always plenty to share.

Party! - God's kingdom is about joy. We may come to Christ out of fear, sorrow, or shame, but we should stay for the party. Christ acts to keep the party going. Why? Well, despite theological pretensions, can't we say that Christ just likes a good party? A joyfilled and abundant life is a sign of God's kingdom drawing near.

So let's keep the party going!

[Image used with permission of the artist, Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese who is preparing to have her show A Batik Bible at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music from January 29 - March 23. This image was found on the Asian Women's Resource Centre for Cuture and Theology.]

After hearing a discussion about the proposal to build the George W. Bush library at SMU, I was moved to sign a petition asking that the library not be built there. The rationale was many fold. First, many of the actions of this presidency fly in the face of Methodism and the tenets of many of the churches in the denomination and so such a direct connection with the church is inappropriate. Secondly, it appears that the "library" would not really be a library for the study of the presidency. It would rather be a place designed to promote the presidency of George W. Bush. Archives would not be available for true study. For these two reasons alone I signed the petition. Please reflect on the role of members in affecting the actions of the Methodist church. Here is the site: http://www.protectsmu.org. Any thoughts?

Thanks
Bill H.

Luke 4:14-21

The future ain't what it used to be. When I was young I was promised that the future would be rocketships to Mars, hotels on the Moon, jet packs, robots, and cell phones. Well, we got the cell phones at least.

This disappointment in the future could be heard on a recent episode of Weekend America. Commentator John Ridley deemed the news of the testing of a heat ray by the United States "the best news ever." "Since childhood," he mused, "how long have you been waiting to say 'set phasers to stun?'" To him it seemed like we are finally getting part of the future we were promised.

In the passage for today Jesus seems to be thwarting the future hope of his audience when he reads from the prophet Isaiah. He reads the part about bringing "good news to the poor" and "release to the captives" and proclaiming "the year of the Lord's favor" but Jesus stops short of the passage which promises "a day of vengeance." Abruptly, in the middle of a sentence, he closes the scroll and denies his audience perhaps what they wanted more than anything - revenge.

And can't we relate? Don't we want our heat rays? Don't we want our grievances redressed? Don't we want our enemies to suffer?

But instead Jesus offers something more immediate. He says, "today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus offers not only hope for the future, but for the present. Today is the day of "good news to the poor." Now is the time for release of the captives. This is the year of the Lord's favor.

Our hope rests not only in a future redemption, but in a present redemption. The world we hope for tomorrow we realize in our actions today.

[Image: Cover art from Captain Future and the Space Emperor by Edmond Hamilton first published in the Winter of 1940.]

[Pan's Labyrinth is rated R for graphic violence and some language.]

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) is a new fairy tale, but it's also from the pre-Disney world of fairy tales. As such it is magical, brutal, gruesome, mysterious, and full of wonder. This movie is honest about its R rating and is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is also one of the best cinematic studies of dealing with violence I have seen in quite some time.

The film is set in 1944 Fascist Spain right after the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia, a young girl, and her pregnant mother go to stay at a military outpost to be with Ofelia's new stepfather and the father of her unborn sibling. Her new stepfather is a Captain charged with hunting down the remaining rebels hiding out in the woods and he does so brutally and without remorse.

Ofelia is entranced by fairy tales which she reads constantly. She finds an ancient labyrinth in the woods near the compound which she visits one night. At the center of the labyrinth she encounters a faun who tells her she is the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld and gives her three tasks to prove her royal lineage. These are also a test to make sure that her soul hasn't gone native to this realm and that she is still worthy of her royal title.

[Warning: Major spoilers follow. I completely give away the ending. Read on only if you've seen the film or never intend to do so. You've been warned.]