December 18, 2022

"Chosen Family"
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch

December 18, 2022                                                                                                                          Based on Matthew 1:18-25

It was a random November afternoon, when the 17-year-old Jamal Hinton got a text from an unknown number:
"Thanksgiving Dinner is at my house on Nov. 24. Let me know if you're coming. I hope to see you all, that includes Amanda and Justin"
Jamal could have ignored this message meant for someone else, but something stirred in him, and he decided to respond: Who is this?
And he immediately got a message back:  Your grandma.
Jamal thought maybe his grandma did somehow miraculously figure out how to use her phone and text him so just to be sure, he said: "Grandma? Can I have a picture"
"Of who?"
"You, lol"
And then Jamal got a picture of someone who was most definitely not his grandma. "Yes, here I am at work"
He laughed, and then decided to respond with a selfie of his own.
"You're not my grandma…"
"Can I still get a plate though?"
to which she replied… "Of course you can, that's what grandmas do, feed everyone!"
Jamal thought, if she's serious, and the invitation still holds, he planned to actually take her up and join her family for Thanksgiving.  He thought "why not take this opportunity and consider this the start of a friendship!" even though at the time they had not even exchanged first names.
Jamal shared the exchange on twitter and of course this adorable story went absolutely viral over the internet, AND being the perfect fodder for local and national news, I'm sure many of you have heard of this story before.
Jamal would learn that the grandma's name is Wanda and the original text was meant for Brandon, Wanda's actual grandson, and was meant to tell him that he could bring his girlfriend, Amanda to the family thanksgiving dinner. Amanda said she and her boyfriend found the whole mix-up "hysterical" and added "[Brandon's] family is pretty amazing, even if it's your first time meeting them," she said. “They are so warm, they adopt you into the family immediately."
Jamal would end up joining this family for Thanksgiving and then again the next year, and for seven years now they've gotten together for a thanksgiving meal… they became each other’s family through this one seemingly random text.  And it’s not just for Thanksgiving, Wanda and Jamal regularly check in with each other and meet up as much as they are able.  

During COVID, Wanda's husband Lonnie died, and by the time Thanksgiving came they decided instead of having their regular meal together they had a small outdoor gathering to celebrate Lonnie, and Jamal of course came. Jamal even went with Wanda to get her first tattoo, a shooting star, symbolic of her husband who she felt now was like a guardian angel watching over her. This year for thanksgiving, they got together again, Jamal who is now 24 brought his girlfriend. [Original Story by Tanya Cen from Buzzfeed News on November 16, 2016: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/your-grandma]
I love this story, and I think I love it because it illustrates so well something I know to be true of life. We have our biological family, the folks we are genetically related to, the people we are in relationship with and really have no choice in the matter… But then in life, we often are given the opportunity to have a family that we choose. Sometimes people appear in your life, almost serendipitously, seemingly by accident but they end up becoming some of the most important people to you. You end up realizing that God brought you together and you nurture those relationships until you become a sort of chosen family.

I think about this in particular today as we read the story of Joseph. We read this story every year and I never cease to be amazed at his willingness to be open to God acting in his life. His willingness to lean into relationship and trust that even in difficulty God was doing something good.

Joseph was engaged to Mary, which in their time meant legally they were already married, everything was following along as it was supposed to, as they had planned, they were becoming a family of their own, bound together in marriage and then… everything was tossed into chaos. All of a sudden Joseph learns Mary is pregnant, and he knows he isn't the father.

It’s the sort of thing that would turn your world upside down and churn your insides. I imagine Joseph’s head awash in all the thoughts and emotions of this revelation and then on top of that the expectations and societal pressures he knew would come which further complicate everything. On one hand he feels his commitment to Mary, he cares about her and their relationship, but then the other hand, he’s hurt by what has happened… and he knows that this pregnancy which happened outside of their marriage is a crime with a hefty punishment.

In the end, Joseph decides that the most faithful thing he can do is not to be with Mary anymore, but he also knows that he can’t let her suffer for this misstep, so he dismisses her quietly so that she isn’t publicly humiliated or punished.

But then he has an awakening that brings him clarity. And I love that it happens for him in a dream. He receives a message of what God is doing through this relationship, what God is doing through Mary and this baby who would do great things. He wakes up and realizes how God is at work in this situation… that he gets to chart his own path and have a choice in what happens but that he can choose a way that leans into love and relationship. That fosters healing and leads to Mary’s welfare, this child’s welfare, his own welfare, and for the welfare of the world.
He doesn’t dismiss Mary and this baby that is coming, but instead he chooses to take part in this family. He embraces that God was behind bringing her and this baby into his life. That this was for a reason, and he decides to trust this dream, to nurture this relationship and in that process, he finds chosen family.
One of the beautiful things about a church when it’s at its best is that we are a chosen family. It’s one of the things I love most about it. God brings us together here, we encounter people sometimes as if by chance but often in the end we find relationships that transform us, and shape us, and help us to grow in ways we never imagined.
I share all of this because today is our last Sunday with a member of this family who now has this amazing opportunity to go and join with an extension of this family, to further his ministry of music, worship and praise.  Orlay has been such a vital piece of this family and we are so grateful for all he has offered us here. Because we have this idea that church is a chosen family, when someone leaves the family, we can make the mistake of imagining it almost even as a death. Like somehow when people move on from this chosen family and that relationship changes, we are cut off, or like the love we’ve known must end. But this is so wrong. Though this relationship is changing, and Orlay won’t be here… Indianola will forever be a part of Orlay’s story, and he will forever be a part of ours. We will always be family to one another, those bonds are inseparable. And we rejoice that that family expands, that Orlay now gets to take part in a new chosen family, that will continue to shape him, nurture him, and love him as he leads them.
May we like Joseph trust that in this change God is at work for us both, for we will see on the other side how God has been at working, bringing about our welfare and the welfare of the world.
Brothers and sisters, Let us give thanks for this family, Let us give thanks that God has brought us into relationship together, and let us give thanks for the bonds of love that hold us so close and truly change the world.
Amen.

We welcome all who worship here this morning!

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                                                                                                                                                                                     

WELCOME                                                                                               Rev. Trip Porch

 *INTROIT           

 *CANDLE LIGHTING                                  The Dent Family                                            written by Roddy Hamilton                          

*HYMN No. 88                    “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (vs. 1,6,7)                   VENI EMMANUEL

 *PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                               Jim Legg       

O God, we are easily distracted and so preoccupied that we cannot believe Christ is almost here.  Sometimes we cannot wait until all this hubbub is over. Where is the time to sit, to sleep— never mind to dream? We have heard the scriptures and stories so often that they have almost become white noise and get so caught up in the busyness of the season that we miss the gift the season is meant to be. For our frenetic pace, for our exhaustion, for our tunnel vision, for our missing the wonder and awe of your birth into this world, forgive us. Restore to us the sense of surprise that you came to us as a little vulnerable baby, unexpected, yet longed for. God of the visioners and dreamers, may we always be ready to receive your gifts. Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*RESPONSE OF PRAISE # 107    “Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn” verse 4        REJOICE, REJOICE

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

         One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

All:   And also

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD        

ANTHEM                            “Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth”                                  Traditional Melody,                                                                                         adapted by M. Praetorius (1571-1621), arranged by David Willcocks

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 1:18-25  MSG

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE                                                                                                         Jeremy Carroll

SERMON                                                                                               Rev. Trip Porch

HYMN NO. 505                       “The Trumpets Sound, the Angels Sing”                            THE FEAST IS READY

CALL TO OFFERING

OFFERTORY                “Esurientes implevit bonis” from Magnificat         Antonio Vivaldi

Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes.
The hungry he has filled with good things. And the rich he has sent empty away.

        Skye Johnson and Betsy Tullis, soloists; Annabelle Brown, cello                                                  

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE #105             “People Look East!”    vs. 4                                                   BESANCON

INVITATION TO THE TABLE

GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

SHARING THE BREAD AND CUP 

      Hymn during Communion: #103           “Come Now, O Prince of Peace”                                          O-SO-SO

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Holy God, you bless us with many gifts, you retrieve us from despair and fear, you visit us with surprising proclamations, and you intend for us good things. We thank you for your steadfast love, for sending signs of assurance, and for the gift of faith. Bring your comfort and justice to those in need, reforming the ways of our world for the sake of new life. Amen.

*HYMN NO. 92                  “While We Are Waiting, Come”                                          WAITING               

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING 

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

BENEDICTION RESPONSE NO.   79    “Light Dawns on a Weary World” (vs. 1 & refrain only) TEMPLE OF PEACE

POSTLUDE 

Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452

WORSHIP LEADERS

Pastor – Rev. Trip Porch

Liturgist – Jim Legg

Children’s Message – Jeremy Carroll          

MUSIC LEADERS

Chancel Choir

Soloists -Skye Johnson, Betsy Tullis

Cello - Annabelle Brown

Organist – Orlay Alonso

Director of Music – Christopher Dent

Assoc. Director of Music – Ariel Alvarado