Rev. Tessie Mandeville
December 23, 2007
Christ Covenant MCC
Decatur, GA 30030

During this season of Advent we’ve been journeying together to Bethlehem. We’ve been paying attention, looking for the signs, keeping watch so that we can be ready for the coming of Christ. We’ve been preparing the way for Christ by clearing the path of any obstacles that prevent us from fully receiving God—like being too busy, like fear of what it will really mean to let God completely in, like emotions such as resentment and bitterness. Along with this, we’ve been pondering the questions about the Messiah: W hat kind of Messiah are we looking for? Do we want to follow the real Messiah or simply our idea of who he should be?

But before we step fully into Christmas, on this fourth and final Sunday in Advent we have one more thing to consider and that is playing our part. When we truly understand the nativity of Jesus Christ that Matthew talks about in his gospel, then we understand that God has a plan of salvation for all of God’s people. In the deepest heart of God lies the desire for salvation for humanity.Liberation from oppression. Healing for our bodies and souls. Hope for the hopeless. Peace on earth.

Our gospel lesson teaches us that not only does God have a plan; we have a part in it, if we choose to.

Somebody has to say yes for the work of salvation to begin.1 Mary said yes. Joseph said yes. They made room in their hearts for God; Mary made room in her body for God. They played their parts because they understood that God has a plan of salvation for all of God’s people. They probably did not know all of the details of that plan; that’s why we call faith and trust in God. We can’t always have the detailed versions of exactly what God wants us to do before we do it—and I know some of us like our plans and want to be in the know. But sometimes playing our part is simply showing up for duty and trusting that whatever God asks of us God will help make possible.

God has a plan of salvation and we have a part in it, if we choose to. Somebody else has to say yes for the work of salvation to continue. According to Matthew, Jesus’ name means, “He will save his people.” As followers of Jesus I believe that we, too, are called to save our people. There are people who need to be saved from despair. Loneliness. Hopelessness. Poverty. Hunger. Endless War. God’s plan of salvation is not finished; there are still people who need to be healed; people who need to find wholeness.

Many of you know about my friend, Rev. Paul Fairley, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in July. He was diagnosed with nonsmoker’s lung cancer that metastasized to his brain before they discovered it. Paul has been very sick, undergoing many radiation and chemotherapy treatments. From the beginning Paul was courageous and used his sense of humor to help him deal with all that was happening to him. But after a while, the disease and its quick progression took a toll not only on his body but his heart and spirit too. He fell into despair and hopelessness.

Paul has many friends around the world and some of us from San Francisco feel particularly close to him because we all worked together at MCC San Francisco. We held a conference call and felt strongly that we needed to go and visit Paul to offer him hope and healing and that we needed to visit MCC Toronto to offer hope and healing to them too because they love Paul so much and have been devastated by this diagnosis. So we flew to Toronto from around the nation the last weekend in October to visit with Paul and the church, to pray with them, to laugh and cry and ultimately to ask God’s healing in Paul’s life. There were 17 of us that descended on our friend and our colleagues at MCC Toronto. And in a service that usually has 75 people at it, there were over 350 people. All gathered to help heal Paul and to receive the healing that we needed too because our hearts are so broken by what is happening to our friend.

Many people played their parts that weekend in God’s plan of salvation and healing for Paul. Some people preached; some sang; some cooked dinners; some hosted all of us from out-of-town; we all laid hands on Paul and prayed for his healing but we also prayed for one another. That really is the best gift we can give one another. And in addition to this, nurses and doctors have been playing their parts too in giving Paul the best medical treatment they have to offer.

It was an amazing weekend. I watched my friend receive us and allow us to be close to him. I listened as my friend talked about death and his fears but also about love and how blessed he has been in his life. Paul was sinking in despair and hopelessness but as the weekend progressed, Paul began to come to the surface. He let people love and touch him. He welcomed us into his home. He spoke honestly and openly about all that was happening to his body and spirit. He made himself available to receive healing by opening his spirit. And healing doesn’t always mean a cure but it can mean feeling more hopeful, re-engaging with life, believing that you are not alone on your journey. Even when diseases cannot be cured people can be healed in their hearts and spirits and they can find peace. And that is salvation. For one more day. One more hour. One more minute.

By the time we left, Paul was above the surface and coming back to life. Two weeks after we left, Paul went back to his apartment to live independently for the first time in months. Two weeks after that he went to see the doctor and discovered that his main tumor had shrunk 50% and his doctors said that this is “a very good and very rare result.” They also told him the nodules on his lungs are shrinking. When I talked with him this weekend he said that the lesions in his brain aren’t growing as rapidly as they were before. And he said, “That means I have more time.” Paul’s 38 th birthday is tomorrow on Christmas Eve and thanks be to God, he’s alive to celebrate it with friends and family. Thanks be to God he will see another Christmas.

When we play our part in God’s plan of salvation, healing and liberation happen. Transformation happens.

The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, said it best when he said: “Without people who live and act, God remains invisible.”2

When we say yes to God and yes to God living in our hearts, then we are saying that we will participate—we will play our part—in God’s plan of salvation and healing in this world. We are saying that we will make God visible in this world through our hands, our feet, our hearts, our resources.

Playing our part is saying that we will be partners with God. We will co-create with God. How God ultimately works out that plan of salvation isn’t always ours to know. Our task is to play our part in it and to trust God with the rest. May we be like Joseph and realize we are God-chosen to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for all of God’s people. May we be like Mary and say yes to God. May we all make room in our hearts for God and get ready to act. Blessed be and amen.

1 Quote from Rev. Isaac Miller, Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, PN.

2 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Spoke in the Wheel.

Copyright © 2007 by Rev. Tessie Mandeville. Permission granted for non- profit circulation with attribution of author and venue. Other rights reserved.