God is on the move!

Sermon planned for Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Texts: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Luke 1:26-55

Everything changed for me in the year 1996 – at least it felt that way. It was my second year in high school, attending Kildonan East Collegiate. We had just moved to our new house on Garvin rd., near Birds Hill Park. I was sixteen years old and in grade eleven. The year before had been an exciting one. I got my drivers license. My dad, my brother and I bought a small pick-up truck – a Mazda B2200. I loved that truck – it was perfect for pulling dough-nuts in my parents' church parking lot. In all other respects, 1996 was a great year for me – but something changed in the Fall.

Up until that point, I had a healthy relationship with my parents. We had daily family devotions at home until I was fourteen years old. I could talk to my parents about most of the things that were going on in my life. I think that my relationship with them was as good as it could be – and then something changed. You know... I'm not even completely sure what it was. Perhaps it was a combination of some new hormones running through my body – I matured late. Another piece of the puzzle, I think, is that when we moved to Garvin rd., my time with friends was greatly restricted. I now needed access to the vehicle if I wanted to connect with my friends. And I thought my dad wasn't nearly lenient enough with the keys. Even though I owned that truck, in part, I still needed my dad's permission, and he paid for gas – so I was stuck. Stuck on Garvin rd., and I hated it.

We moved there in Fall of 1996, and by Christmastime I was fed-up with this new life. I was bored, while my friends hung out almost every day. My resentment for my parents grew – especially for my dad. Christmas time was always a big deal in my family. But something had changed. Leading up to Christmas, that year, I knew that family time wasn't something I was looking forward to. I remember Christmas Eve, and my dad's annual "haul out the guitar and sing Stille Nacht"... and I remember pouting. I was angry. The family tradition that had, for so long, captured my religious experience and my spiritual excitement... that family tradition annoyed me for the first time. Something had changed.

To be honest, it frightened me. I was expecting my anger to subside. I was expecting these time-tested family traditions to create the "Christmas Spirit" in me once again. What was I to do if those family practices could no longer cook-up the sappy Christmas-feelings that I longed for so much?

When life was calm, stable and 'normal' – these family traditions were like "temples" – places where I could always return to, to find God and have my spiritual-high. But nothing about my adolescence was calm, stable or 'normal'! It took puberty and Christmas to teach me something crucial about God – that God's more a fan of tents than He is of temples.

The main metaphor and symbol of God's presence with His people, in the Old Testament, was the tabernacle or tent. It was a mobile place of worship. When David summoned the prophet Nathan, he pretty much told Nathan that he wanted to build God a house. How could David build himself a nice house to live in while God only had a tent? And so, David wanted to show this nice gesture to God, and build God a house to dwell in. Even the prophet Nathan thought this was a great idea, and he gave David permission to go ahead with his plans.

That night, God intervened and came to Nathan. He basically told Nathan that he didn't need a temple, and that God preferred a tent. "I have not lived in a house since the day I brought the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle..." God never asked the people to build Him a house to live in up to that point. Is this an important detail? I guess it depends on what that means? What does it mean to want to build a place for God to dwell in? And what does it mean for God to have dwellt among Israel in a tabernacle – essentially, in a tent? What's the difference between tabernacles and temples? That's what we're looking at this morning.

After ignoring David's request to have a house built, God turned the tables on David. Instead of David securing a place for God – God initiated a covenant with David and secured a position for him in God's plan. In 2 Samuel 7:8 we read, "8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house."

David wanted to make a house for the Lord, but in this passage we learn that it's God who does the 'making'. I will make for you a great name. I will appoint a place for my people and will plant them there. I will appoint judgest over my people. The Lord will make you a house. I think David wanted to capture God in this 'kind gesture' of building a house for the Lord. He wanted to secure God's presence. That won't do! Instead, God turns the tables and God secures David for Himself. You won't make anything for me, David... Instead, I'm going to make you an instrument of my purpose! I'm going to make you, and your lineage, into a house for myself!

And isn't this precisely what we read about in the gospel of Luke? In Luke chapter 3 we read the list of Jesus' ancestors, and smack-dab in the middle we find Jesus' relationship to King David. When God turned the tables on David's attempt to capture him, God made His own move to capture King David. God captured his lineage for the sake of His purpose. And that's what we heard about when we heard the story of Gabriel and Mary. Who is the main actor? It's not Gabriel – he's only the mouthpiece. The main actor is God, who makes His move. God shows favour to Mary. There's nothing about her, her intrinsic nature, that made God choose her – she was not Immaculately conceived – or, at least, there's no evidence to suggest this. The whole point is that she was an ordinary person. But we already know that God captures ordinary people for the extraordinary...

The word 'capture' is a tricky one. When you're captured by an evil person – that's bad news. But when you're in serious danger – when your life is nearly extinguished – being captured by a good person is the same thing as rescue. God rescues Mary, he captures her with His favour: you will conveive and bear a Son – the Son of the Most High. But what God was accomplishing with Mary was the fulfillment of what God promised David through the prophet Nathan. By favouring Mary, God was claiming David's lineage for Himself – but for what purpose? In order that the Word of God might dwell among us. The Greek word that John uses to speak about this 'dwelling' is Skeynow, which actually means "to set up a tent"... "to tabernacle". The Word of God set up a tent in our midst. The Word of God dwellt among us!

God loves to dwell among us. It pleased God to dwell among Israel, meeting them in the tabernacle – in a tent. This part of the bible captures my imagination. Israel travelled and lived out in the bush, in the desert, in the wilderness – and God was with them, taking up residence in a tent! How cool is that?!?! I love going camping. I love tenting. I've already told this to some people, but one thing on my "bucket list" is to go on an extended camping trip up north, in the middle of nowhere – for a few weeks at least; so if any of your outdoorsmen want to join me in planning something like this – that would be great! There's something about sleeping in tents that gives me deep joy. It's probably because my parents took us camping a lot when I was young.

But what's interesting about God's tabernacle is not the fact that it was a cool and rugged way for God to be present with His people. It's not that God prefers Cabelas over Michael's or Sears. What's theologically interesting about God's tent-life among the people is that God travels – God is on the move. Now I know that we say that God is everywhere – true enough. But God is personal; we know God as Immanuel... God with us. There is motion in God's being – God isn't nailed down to any one place. In scripture, we can record many different verbs attributed to God. God is constantly doing, making, healing, destroying, calling, reconciling, forgiving, judging, redeeming and raising from the dead. He wrestles with Jacob. God becomes flesh. God calls Mary Magdalene to proclaim the gospel of the resurrection. God is active and vocal. A stationary temple is just not God's style.

Don't get me wrong – God does permit Solomon to build Him a temple. God did accept the sacrifices of the people in that temple. But if you take Jesus seriously, then you'll know that the real temple that God lives in is Jesus himself, and now God's Spirit dwelling in the fellowship of believers. The physical space of a temple isn't flexible enough for the activity God has planned.

What activity? Well, after Mary visits Elizabeth we already get a hint at the activity God has planned for His Son. John the Baptist, still being formed in his mother's womb, jumps with excitement the minute Mary shows up at the house. Even as an unborn fetus, John the Baptist knew what was on the horizon. Later we read about John's vision of God's activity – drawing all people to Zion through the baptismal waters of repentance. God was reconciling people to Himself through His Son, and John knew what was coming.

God's activity involves reconciliation – between us and God and between us as people and creation. The next part of Luke's text has Mary singing a song about this activity. What's God up to in this song? God has mercy, shows strength. God scatters the proud, bringing down the powerful from their thrones. God lifts up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things. God sends the rich away empty, and helps Israel, remembering his mercy and his promise to Abraham. God is active, and being stuck in one place just won't do – not for Yahweh, who causes all things to live, and from whom all things have their being. In the presence of Yahweh, we are those who join John the Baptist, leaping for joy – because somethings gotta change!

Something has to change! And that's good news, because there's so much that needs changing. Our world – you read the news lately? The middle-east is nearly boiling-up into another massive war. Our world leaders can barely get their heads on straight when it comes to choosing between greed and being good stewards of God's creation. We could use some Christmas change! And so it's great news to hear Mary's song... to hear that God is changing things. That the powerful won't sit on those thrones for long... that those who take, and take, and take, without every giving anything to those who have nothing... they will have nothing in their hands soon enough.

Or is this perhaps not good news for you? Maybe you don't want things to change? Maybe you're the one sitting on that throne? Maybe you're the one who has everything they need – a rich person in a world of beggars – aren't we all? Maybe that's why we can resonate with King David so deeply. Maybe that's why we like temples much more than tents. Maybe that's why we like our Christmas traditions and practices that keep our spiritual experiences fairly straight-jacketed and 'regular'. Maybe that's why we understand the story of Aaron and the Golden Calf so well – because we prefer a God that's at our disposal, rather than an untamed Spirit that drives some to speak in strange languages. Maybe that's why we understand Peter so well, who wanted to build a tabernacle for Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration – because we prefer a God we can locate to following Jesus en route to the city that kills God's prophets.

The lesson we learn from God's conversation with the prophet Nathan is the same lesson we learn about God in the gospels – it is not we who have captured God. It is not we who have found a way to put God at our disposal. Rather, we have an angel delivering a message to a young woman – God is going to overshadow with His Spirit and you will bear a Son – the Son of God. God has us at His disposal. He tears rulers down from their thrones and lifts up the lowly. Our God is not boxed-in – not at all!

But this Advent, can we hear the good news that this Wild Holy Spirit wants to meet us; wants to 'capture' 'rescue' and 'captivate' us for the sake of God's Kingdom. Will we relenquish the way we try to man-handle our religious experience through traditions? Might God want to do something entirely new with you and your family, this Christmas? Something that breaks the mould? You don't have to worry about manufacturing that 'good ol' Christmas feeling'... God wasn't stuck in that temple to begin with.

Spend time, this Advent – and what's left of it – to really listen; where is God active this year? Where is God calling for your partnership? Where can you, like Mary, say "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."?

After that Christmas, in 1996, I did some soul-searching. What had changed? What was wrong? Why couldn't I get back into the "Christmas Spirit"? The temple that I had built for God – all the traditions and practices that used to get me in the Christmas Spirit – these things hadn't worked and they don't work anymore. It's as if God wasn't stuck where I put Him.

Like I said earlier, it took puberty and Christmas to teach me that I had never put God anywhere – because God doesn't let himself be put anywhere. God is God, and I am not. Through the voices of friends, family, through study and prayer, I felt a nudge to work at bible camp, that following summer, as a camp counselor. It was in the wild, out at the lake, and in the untamed encounters with God's beloved children, that I began to reaquaint myself with the God who lives in tents. The God who is always on the move – healing campers, reconciling former enemies, and bringing dead things back to life.

May you cast your temples aside and be still, for God is at work! God is active in your life, in your home, in your workplace. And may God reveal to you the partnership of the gospel to which He's called you this year. What does that look like today, tomorrow, and in the coming weeks? I wish you courage and joy as you search, study, wait, listen – and then partner with God. Amen.