Musical Prelude and Service.

Jeremiah 31:7-14 & John 1:10-18
When we enter a new year, we typically do so with a sense of hope. We may not be entirely satisfied
with the previous year, but we are resolved to make the coming year better. Some of us make
resolutions to make changes – perhaps in terms of health or finances. perhaps in how we live in the
world. The list is endless, but the new year acts a demarcation. This coming year will be different.
That tends to be based on some sort of reflection on the previous year, and a conclusion that there
were things that could be done better. At the heart of those resolutions, or those commitments to a
new way of doing things, is the hope that change is possible.
Hope is certainly at the heart of what we read in scripture today. Jeremiah offers us a part of what is
often referred to as the Book of Comfort. For the most part, Jeremiah is a lament; a warning of the
sadness and heartbreak that confronts the people of Judah. Invasion, conquest and exile of its
leaders. Any glory that Judah enjoyed is coming to an end.
But God’s love does not end, and the middle part of this book is one of comfort; a promise of a
return. A gathering of the people scattered by the exodus and the conquering of the land. The people
will return home, gathered by a loving God.
Our Christian faith is grounded in many ways by the notion of the Incarnation. That is the belief that
Jesus is God with us, Emmanuel. We find our hope in God’s love and presence through the idea that
God enters the world as Jesus; a human, to live among us.
We cannot know or see God, but through Jesus we have an image of who God is; or how God loves
us. And what does that hope of God’s love; of God’s grace and God’s redeeming presence look like?
Essentially God becomes accessible to our human senses and understanding through the person of
Jesus. In Jesus, God becomes finite and vulnerable. It’s a powerful statement. We are witness,
through the scriptural recounting of Jesus life and ministry, to the extent of God’s love; of God’s
capacity to heal and to forgive and to walk with us in the best and the worst of times. And ultimately,
we may be emboldened to live our lives with that sense of hope and demonstrate our hope and our
own love to others. To follow Christ’s example of grace and justice and healing in our relationships
with one another and with the world.
Jeremiah extols a sense of hope to the people of Judah. That they will be gathered by God and
returned home, bringing an end to the humiliation of conquest, an end to the exile and the
marginalization that they experience at the hands of the conquerors. But pay close attention to who
Jeremiah says are gathered and returned. The widow, the blind, the poor; those who are pregnant
and those in labour. Jeremiah does not speak of the rich, the powerful, the royalty.
Jeremah’s hope is for those who are voiceless; those with no power. They will be gathered and
returned to the centre. Who they are does not change. They remain poor, they remain blind; they
are still widowed. But God sees them and comforts them and centers them. There is room for them
in the world God is creating.
I often feel like we overlook or simply forget this aspect of the Good News of Jesus. That God never
forgets the poor, the oppressed, the disabled, the silenced. In fact, more than simply seeing the poor
and the marginalized; God walks with them and blesses them. This is made clear in the Sermon on
the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. Luke tells us Jesus preached on this. The spirit of the Lord is
upon me. To bring good news to the poor. Mary sings of this. My soul magnifies the Lord. He has
brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.
There is a sect of Christianity that holds to a gospel of Prosperity. It is often referred to Prosperity
Theology or a Prosperity Gospel. It preaches that by following certain biblical rules or belonging to
the right church you will experience prosperity. If only you pray long and hard enough, you will gain
wealth or physical health.
I understand the appeal this can have. God desires health and wealth for us, and we long to have
more control over those parts of our lives. But. But. This runs counter to so much of what I find in
scripture. I am not condemning money or wealth. I am not condemning a desire for greater health
and efforts to be healthy or fiscally responsible. But I see no evidence that God is offering a
transactional path to greater wealth. Do this and God will give you this in exchange.
God is offering wisdom on how we use the wealth we might have. God offers wisdom and courage in
how we live the lives we are given. God guides us to be a part of making the world a kinder and
more just place for everyone. No matter if we are poor. No matter if we are blind or if our bodies are
limited in some way. No matter if we find ourselves in prison. God loves us and is with us. And if we
are well, if we are not struggling financially, God tells us to not look away when we encounter our
neighbours.
John tells us that when we know God through Jesus, we become children of God. Children of God.
Not defined as the world might define us. As poor, as disabled, as popular, as wealthy. Not defined
by what we do or cannot do. But identified as Children of God. Beloved children of God. It’s not that
God waits for us to acknowledge God’s presence to love us. But when we take time to acknowledge
God’s presence; to truly recognize that we are loved, that God desires to be in relationship with all of
creation, it can radically shift the way we see the world and see ourselves. We are all of us, beloved
Children of God.
That is the incarnation. Do not be afraid. Unto us a child is born. God is now with us, living, loving,
laughing, weeping. Eating, dying. God is with us; God knows us; God sees us.
What a remarkable statement. What a remarkable vision of our world. May we embrace it. May we
live it.
As we have done in recent years. We have distributed stars with words printed on them. These are
not fortunes or predictions of your coming year. They are prompts. Words to encourage you to
reflect on your relationship with God and creation over the coming year. Words to guide our thoughts
and your prayers. They are not telling you this is a strength or something in need of work. But where
does this value or this quality occupy a place in your thoughts and your efforts in the coming year.
How does it interact with the other qualities and challenges you might experience in the next 12
months?
We are not alone in our journey through this world. We live in God’s world, and we are accompanied
along our way by our friends, our family, our community and by Jesus the Christ. May we find hope
and peace in that recognition. And join together in saying, Thanks Be to God. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789