A pen is an antenna to God
Happy Christmas friends.
Today is the 5th of 12 days of Christmas.
I’m going to try something which going to be an experiment. Either this experiment will help illustrate the idea that, yes, God is with us…using you as the conduits for Grace and Peace or it will be clumsy; illustrating that it’s cold and dark and we all would like to get to another season—quick.
In order to set the stage I’m going to invite the children to remain here in front of the altar after the conclusion of the Children’s Sermon (here’s some crayons and coloring sheets for you).
Grown-ups, I’m going to invite you to do some singing. Would you help me capture some of the joy of our December 24 Christmas Eve Service, by singing the first verse of Joy to the World together.
Good.
Now remember our Christmas Story as told by St. Luke.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…and there were shepherds in the field keeping watch o’er their flock by night. When suddenly there stood before them an angel of the lord who said, “Behold I bring you great news of good joy this day in the city of David a savior is born, who is the Messiah, the Lord. And this will be a sign he shall be wrapped in band of cloth and lying in a manager.” And suddenly with him were angels they were signing…
(Friends, that’s your cue to sing the refrain from Angels We Have Heard on High…)
Really, is there a better beginning of a story?
The story is beautiful as told by a single narrator.
The story is equally wonderful spoken (or sung) in parts.
(You did a great part as Angels. You were intuitive. You knew exactly what to do even before I invited you to sing.)
I said two weeks ago there’s an image we all have of angels as celestial beings with wings. To help put a halo on the heavenly chorus, our Facilities Manager and I told the story of a toll booth attendant on the Chicago Skyway. She had feathers…but mostly she had the promise of prayer.
The Angel in Luke may or may not have had feathers.
But that Angel didn’t fly.
Luke says, the Angel, stood.
Then Angel said, “don’t be afraid.” Which is generally the first thing you say when you’re terrifying.
...Then there’s this guy. I like to imagine that he’s at a table.
He’s writing. Which is not surprising. Tradition says that he, John, is a philosopher. But maybe that way of telling who he is limits our imagination, because John is a mystic too. This is the way John opens his version of the story of Jesus,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
So far so good. This story of Jesus starts off with an image we all should have in our minds. Time and space. Stars and earth. Sun and moon. A voice from heaven separating daylight from darkness. Dry land is separated from sea. It is good. Very good.
Then the philosopher simply cannot help himself,
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
It’s all crashing together, a well-known image of creation, along with the writer’s own imagination, his philosophy; the thoughts in his head.
Clear your minds friends.
Let God come closer.
Be alert only with prayer…not prayer with your words but prayer with silence, with God speaking…
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.
Have you heard this gem about creativity.
“The pen is an antenna to God.”
That image is beautiful. It may even be more beautiful if the prevailing idea about the authorship of the Gospels is right.
The Gospel of Luke, tradition says, is he is a Physician.
He begins his story of Jesus as a love letter. Since many have attempted to writer an account I will too dear Theophilus—which means lovers of God.
Then Luke, the Doctor, tells a story of great love. He tells the story like he’s trying to heal us from an infirmity, not of the body, but of the soul.
In fact, there’s so much love in this timeless story that Luke ends this way…
“And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them”
Even the author who tells this story knows some people aren’t going to believe this stuff is real.
As much as we all think we could use a good doctor. We can equally benefit from a philosopher who loves people as much as he loves ideas about people.
What if you can get another version—one told by a scientist and an artist. What if you could get a story of God, not from a long time ago, but now.
Maybe you can.
Maybe the pen isn’t the only antenna to God.
American space operations engineer Sarah Gillis, age 30, became the first human to play the violin in space on Friday September 13, 2024.
Sarah performed John Williams' Theme from Star Wars while in orbit aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft for the private crewed Polaris Dawn spaceflight by SpaceX. Then this story gets wild. It’s the greatest story you didn’t hear this fall when newspapers were selling you fear about a political election.
Gillis was joined on the ground by young musicians from around the world, all of them students in the international El Sistema network of organizations, including the original El Sistema in Venezuela, The Boston String Academy in the United States, NEOJIBA in Brazil, Dream Orchestra in Sweden, Brass for Africa in Uganda, and BLUME Haiti.
Don’t be a skeptic—listen.
Gillis's performance raised money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and El Sistema.
Sarah said, "Music has been a defining force in my life, thanks to the unwavering support of both my parents, My mother, a music teacher, championed my classical training on the violin, which has helped shape me into the engineer and astronaut I am today. The discipline, work ethic, and creativity fostered through music set me on the path that led to this extraordinary adventure into space.”
“I’ve chosen to support El Sistema USA because they believe every child deserves access to the transformative power of music education, regardless of circumstance."
My father-in-law says this, and I cannot verify it, but he’s seldom wrong about things like this. He says, Sarah is Haitian. At least Sarah’s dad is from the island country. Which means that at the same time newspapers were selling you stories about fear or are making you angry that there’s fear—about Haitians in Ohio—there is a story no one is listening to, about a Haitian in Outerspace
Sarah Gillis, the astronaut, grew up surrounded by music and science. While in high school she went to a lecture where she met her mentor, former NASA astronaut Joe Tanner, who encouraged her to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering.
So, the story goes, “in 2015, while studying engineering and dance at the University of Colorado, Boulder”
Wait. What!
Who studies both engineering and dance?
Maybe given that criteria the old adage isn’t such a weird question. “How many Angels can dance on the head of a needle?”
Anyway, as an undergraduate, Sarah started an internship at SpaceX, working on human-in-the-loop testing of the Dragon spacecraft interior before moving into the astronaut training program full-time. She said she felt one of the things that prepared for astronaut training was playing the violin.
"I feel that one of the skills I’ve gained from music is the ability to break down any problem and practice very small pieces of it until you can build a whole. You are learning, with repetition, how to break down the things you can't accomplish, and then see them through, with practice, and that helps you get to the other side."
This is amazing. Clear your mind.
To all who believed, writes John with his pen, He gave the power to become children of God.
Put your antenna up. Put your arms out. Something incredible is happening.
Gillis was one of two Polaris Dawn astronauts to perform a historic spacewalk.
Then Sarah played the violin with others in an original piece, "Harmony of Resilience."
Gillis said that "as we travel around our beautiful planet Earth on this five-day mission, we wanted to share this special musical moment with you. Bringing together global talent, this performance symbolizes unity and hope, highlighting the resilience and potential of children everywhere."
Friends. this may not be a Gospel story. But it is a Christmas story. It invites us to play a part in making something beautiful—thank God and thank Jesus.
Happy Christmas, Children of God.