Root + Branch Church

Co-pastor Neil Ellingson on the uniqueness of incarnation, seeing the face of God in toast, and how the birth of Christ is God's asking us to take care of others.

Readings:

Denise Levertov - Annunciation

We know the scene: the room, variously furnished, 

almost always a lectern, a book; always

the tall lily.

       Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,

the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,

whom she acknowledges, a guest.

But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions

courage.

       The engendering Spirit

did not enter her without consent.

         God waited.

She was free

to accept or to refuse, choice

integral to humanness.

                  ____________________

Aren’t there annunciations

of one sort or another

in most lives?

         Some unwillingly

undertake great destinies,

enact them in sullen pride,

uncomprehending.

More often

those moments

      when roads of light and storm

      open from darkness in a man or woman,

are turned away from

in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair

and with relief.

Ordinary lives continue.

                                 God does not smite them.

But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’* 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’* 35The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born* will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

Co-pastor Tim talks about the anxiety of waiting, the rawness of Christ, and what it might take to see God coming in the distance.

Readings:

Matthew 3:1-3

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[a] 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight.’”

___________________________

No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor.

The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything,

look down on others, those who have no need even of God- for them

there will be no Christmas. 

Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone

to come on their behalf, will have that someone. That someone is God. 

Emmanuel. God-with-us. Without poverty of spirit

there can be no abundance of God. 

- The God We Hardly Knew by Óscar Romero

Co-pastor Tim talks about the sin of racism, the way it infects everyone, the way it separates us, and how we might begin to overcome it. 

Reading:

James 4:7-10. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 

Co-pastor Neil Ellingson offers a real talk reflection on the complications surrounding the recent birth of his first son and being angry at a God who returns that anger. This week's passage was from the book of Job, which is a story of tragedy, questioning, theodicy, and the search for answers. 

Reading: Job 38:1-7

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3 Gird up your loins like a man,

    I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

    Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

    Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

    or who laid its cornerstone

7 when the morning stars sang together

    and all the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy?

Keron Blair, a longtime Root and Brancher by night and community organizer by day, talks about the Black Lives Matter movement, the particularity of blackness in America, and what it means to do something about racism as a church.

Co-pastor Tim Kim concludes the sermon series, "Could've Moved Mountains," about faith, doubt, and what it takes to move mountains in our lives. This final talk tries to make the case that it is indeed possible to move mountains by faith, but that it is so hard, it is basically impossible. If that makes any sense, you're good. If not, listen! 

Reading:

“Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11: 22-24

This is part two of our series "Could've Moved Mountains" in which we examine faith, doubt, and the possibility of doing the impossible. In this sermon, guest preacher Rich Pak talks about the difference between us having faith in God and God having faith in us. 

Reading:

Romans 5:1-5

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access[b] to this grace in which we stand; and we[c] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we[d] also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 

“Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11: 22-24

Co-pastor Tim Kim starts a series called "Could've Moved Mountains" about faith, doubt, and what it takes to move mountains in our lives. This first sermon is about Jesus' teaching that if you truly believe then what you pray will happen, the difficultly of that formulation, and the differing types of faith we might find in ourselves.

Reading:

“Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11: 22-24

Liz Bajema frames a discussion about the ambiguous relationship between religion and violence using examples from the bible and the slave rebellion of Nate Turner. Liz is a longtime member of Root and Branch and spends her days conducting experiments on unsuspecting elements from the periodic table (a chemist as it were).

Readings:

Ephesians 6:10-20

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

19Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

The Peaceful Shepherd

by Robert Frost

If heaven were to do again,

And on the pasture bars,

I leaned to line the figures in

Between the dotted starts,

I should be tempted to forget,

I fear, the Crown of Rule,

The Scales of Trade, the Cross of Faith,

As hardly worth renewal.

For these have governed in our lives,

And see how men have warred.

The Cross, the Crown, the Scales may all

As well have been the Sword.

Co-pastor Neil Ellingson: 

This week we turn to the Lectionary, which saves us from the crippling anxiety of having always to decide what to talk about on our own. Every week there are readings from the Older Testament (or the Book of Acts), a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles or the Book of Revelation, and a reading from the Gospels. So there's still some room to choose your own adventure. This week the readings are all related to wisdom or food/drink or both. I decided to postpone a sermon on a prohibition against getting drunk (which is a sermon some of us may need to hear, or wished we had, especially that one night...), in favor of one exploring how to taste eternity.

Readings:

“We're always thinking of eternity as an idea that cannot be understood, something immense. But why must it be? What if, instead of all this, you suddenly find just a little room there, something like a village bath-house, grimy, and spiders in every corner, and that's all eternity is. Sometimes, you know, I can't help feeling that that's what it is.” 

-Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

John 6:51-58

6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

6:52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

6:53 So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

6:54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;

6:55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

6:56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.

6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.

6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."