A Bold New Love :: Dec 24 @middlechurch

welcome to a bold new love Christmas Eve with middle Collegiate Church from New York City on CBS [Music] see in sadness [Music] with [Music] with the line [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] good evening everybody my name is Jackie Lewis and I'm the senior minister here at middle church merry Christmas to you we're so glad that you can worship with us tonight and I ask that you would now stand wherever you are and joining us in our opening hymn joy to the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey man be seated middle family Merry Christmas beautiful gorgeous stunning middle church family this is the time in our worship where we gather together in prayer and tonight's prayer will be sung by the art and soul chorus grateful by Titus Burgess now let us pray together [Applause] [Music] [Music] just even more think so and to watch a news they come [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the first day that we walked in to middle jackie was preaching about gay marriage and how basically the higher-ups in the organization were telling her to stop preaching about gay marriage it was that moment that cemented it for me that very first service that made me think this is a place for us when I look at the kids here at middle and how both their parents and middle are raising these kids I got told yeah I'm a little envious throughout Advent we've lit candles representing hope peace joy and love tonight we light the Christ candle a symbol of the bold new love God has given the world through the birth of Jesus may this flame shine bright bringing God's light and truth into a world desperately in need of joy [Applause] [Music] [Applause] a reading from the prophet Isaiah for a child has been born for us a son given to us authority rests upon his shoulders and he is named wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father Prince of Peace his authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom he will establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this a word from God for the people of God thanks be to God [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the blacksmith was so disturbed by the Aurora shootings and the shootings at Sandy Hook but he decided to turn a gun into a plowshare [Music] is an action it's a word to abused and take lightly sort of said to me [Music] and reactions [Music] [Music] here now the Christmas story as told to us in the Gospel of Luke in those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered this was the first registration and was taken well Karenia s-- was governor of syria all went to their own towns to be registered Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to the City of David called Bethlehem because he was descended from the house and family of David he went to be registered with Mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child while they were there the time came for her to deliver her child and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the end a word from God for the people of God thanks be to God [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we continue the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke in that region there were Shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night the angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified but the angel said to them do not be afraid for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people to you Is Born This Day in the City of David a savior who is the Messiah the Lord this will be a sign for you you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest heaven a word from God for the people of God middle church takes their religious teachings and makes them relevant in the context of today's events at middle church I can be everything in my entire complicated identity of Brooklyn born daughter of Palestinian immigrants a mom a social justice activist a warrior a fashionista I can be it all and I don't have to give up any part of my identity to be a member of the middle church family you'll find me often at middle coming with a broken heart to be healed [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] one day when the glory comes it will be [Music] [Music] when the war is won we will be sure and I can hear God's people say [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] one day it will be [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] charge me just me [Music] [Music] the word was first the word presents of God God presents of the word the Word was God in readiness for God from day one everything was created through the word nothing not one thing came into being without the word and what came into existence was life and life was light to live by the life light blazed out of the darkness and the darkness could not put it out the life light was the real thing and every person entering life bring into light they were there in the world and the world was there through them yet the world didn't even notice they came to their own people but they didn't want them but whoever did want them those who believed they were who they claimed they were and could do what they said they could do they made it to be their true selves their child of God selves these these people are the God begotten not the blood begotten not the flesh B guy and not the sex begotten the word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood and we saw the glory with our own eyes that one of a kind glory like parent like child generous inside and out true from start to finish word made flesh they say walked around in the flesh and if that is true then I guess you must understand how refuse when your faith is wavering and you want to pray but can't find the words to say oh god what a mess I made of things I know reversing it that's how it seemed but a second chance from you is always guarantee I know they don't who but you say my child take as many as you need you're my true you're my P nice and all my cares I cast on thee [Music] your love it took a little while to understand that you don't operate with the mind of man [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you're my [Music] you say a prayer with me God your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and in these days we need a word from you so Holy One may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight God our rock and our Redeemer amen this story is the greatest story ever told it's why we're still telling it we're telling it to millennia later we're telling it all around the world all around the globe the story of God the story of God who loves the world enough to come all the way down to be present in the world not as a soldier not as a warrior but as a vulnerable baby who can't fend for himself who can't do anything for himself except that a community raises him and loves him into adulthood this is the greatest story ever told God entering into human history the same God who created the world the same God who blew spirit into the world the same God who animated the ha Adam the human one the same guy who sent judges and prophets to teach us and raise us comes in history the same God that hears the cries of God's people and rescues them from bondage that same God enters into a time of occupation and oppression to once again rescue the one God loves once again believe it or not God showed up in a particular time and place in a particular politically tough time for God's people in a particularly town God showed up hovering over the one called Miriam she is with child they travel she and Joseph 80 miles from their hometown to the place where there is no room in the end it's a particular time and place in a particular kind of baby it's a Jewish baby the Gospel writers help us to understand it's an African Semitic baby that's what matthew's genealogy is all about let me let me show you where it comes from it's a baby born in a scandal hello Joseph I'm Mary I'm pregnant but God did it I'm sorry that's scandalous somebody believed it but lots of people didn't so it's an unwed mother having a Jewish poor Palestinian baby boy with it with a with a stepfather named Joseph standing in and standing up this is the way God chose to come down to the marginal places to the edgy places to the scandalous place to the Unruh putable place that's what God chose to do which tells us a whole lot about God about God's preference for the edge God's preference for the margin God's preference for the dispossessed the outcast the Nair do wells the funky shepherds and they were funky finding their way to the manger where the babe is lying in the place where the cows eat God God goes there that's God there this is the greatest story ever told and sadly this story this amazing story of God's intervention to the edges on the edges to heal the whole world this story has been hijacked by Empire and co-opted by Greece I say hijack my empire as soon as Constantine sees the the cross in the sky and makes Christianity the state religion it is Empire let's watch the church mirror the world map critique the world come on let's watch us bless oppression and division as a way to convert people to the religion of the one who is only called love let's watch the crusades march across Europe and torture Muslims to be Christians let's exterminate Jews because they're not Christians that's what I mean by had judge by Empire neither that brown Palestinian Jewish baby in the crib nor the man who grew up to be demanded allegiance and Christian armies to destroy the world in the name of love and what do I mean by co-opted by greed who is that little white shiny baby on the Christmas cards I don't mean any harm white people but really have you been to Israel there might be one blond baby in the whole state I don't know what happened read the commerce commodification of a beautiful story because we can't bear to imagine that the powerful ones aren't the ones in the center of the narrative somebody say men are you with me God comes to the margins my friends God comes to the powerless to the poor to the disenfranchised to the ones over tax it over burns that's where God chose to show up we only have a Christmas to celebrate because Mary and Joseph took their little Jewish baby to Egypt and were welcomed there that's a poor brown homeless refugee baby now man No how in the heck are we going to in the name of Jesus where we're bullets at our babies gassing our children refugee children how dare we how dare we not welcome the stranger when it was the stranger who pilot side alone come on we need to get back to the story if we go back to the story if we skip the Christmas cards if we skip the tinsel and go back to the story we find there the meaning of life love comes all the way down and puts on baby flesh somebody same in that's love in the manger wrapped in little afro semitic flesh that's love in the manger meeting Imani in a daddy in a community that's love and a major needing us to rave love to make love everywhere what if all of this is about a bold new religion simply called love when the baby grew up and was asked what does it mean to be faithful how do we do this that rabbi that African Semitic rabbi said love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself love God with everything love your neighbor as yourself love period everything else is commentary so this Christmas this holiday I'm inviting us to strip it all down to the story of God letting us enough to come as us loving us enough to come as us to change us and us he modeled the us God decided to in her amazing wisdom be is the other the other the so-called other to teach us how to love the outsider in I wish you could see what I see I wish the world could see what I see because I actually see us living out a love period kind of ethic up in here nowhere do I see this much diversity we love everybody we look all kinds of different ways this is what is required of us this is the religion to which we're invited this is the religion that simply called a bold new love this is the religion of Yeshua Ben Joseph Mary's boy Joseph baby come on now this is love enough for everybody you are not required to speak any particular language you don't have to say any particular Creed you don't have to come from any particular ethnicity or space your culture doesn't matter your gender doesn't matter your sexual orientation doesn't matter all that matters that you love period well Terry well here amen friends one of the fondest memories I have from my childhood Christmases is the way candle light danced around the sanctuary and we're so excited right now to invite you into a time of reflecting on the light as Genesis reminded us so beautifully it's the life light that came in the world the life light that came in the world that nothing shadowy nothing ominous nothing dangerous nothing hazardous nothing in all of creation can really snuff out that light and I'm here to remind you this evening that you are light you are light designed by the Holy One to shine joy and love and peace and healing in a world so desperately in need so as the ushers as my friends come forward to take this light we are going to share it with each other and with you as we sing verses 1 & 3 of silent night and share the light with your neighbor listen as we begin to sing [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Jesus Yeshua Yeshua Ben Joseph Mary's boy Joseph son carpenter rabbi teacher healer preacher freedom fighter Liberator waymaker Lord at birth in a stable in a manger how crazy is our God you too are loved by God in a crazy way you too are light shining in the darkness take a look at the light and take it in I could let the flame heat you up just a little bit and as you extinguish your light know that you are loved you are loved you are loved I'm in Merry Christmas everybody you may be seated we have one more beautiful piece of music for you [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you don't church above me alone Oh [Music] in the return but cou though I you articulated by service [Applause] middle church men whele mode [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Middle Church

Views: 10,184

Rating: 4.848485 out of 5

Keywords: LGBT, Collegiate Churches of New York, Middle Collegiate Church, Rev. Jacqueline J. Lewis Ph.D., Jacqui Lewis, East Village, inclusive, spiritual, social justice, gay rights, christianity, interfaith, sermon, homily, gospel, spirituals, music, progressive

Id: Svf0KC_8pNM

Length: 59min 26sec (3566 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 24 2018