PROMISE IN A WORLD OF BROKEN PROMISES Luke 1: 26-38 Sometimes it can be said that we live in a world of broken promises. We are certainly used to politicians breaking promises. We know that many of the promises made in election campaigns will never be kept. During election speeches at my high school, one of the speakers said, "My opponent is promising you the moon." Someone piped up in the audience and said, "If he gives me the moon, I'll vote for him". In fact some of the things that politicians promise we hope will never be kept because they would ultimately be bad for the country, province and us personally. It is difficult for us to keep promises. There are some promises that we fully intend to keep, but circumstances change and make it impossible. I remember in some parishes that I have been in, promising my children a picnic, or leaving on vacation on a certain day. They would look forward to it. They could not imagine it not happening. Then, a funeral would come up that I would have to take and so we would change our family plans. It is impossible to keep that kind of promise in the face of the circumstances. There are a lot of broken promises in marriages these days. Some are necessary. We live in less than a perfect world. We don't have perfect relationships. We can't keep perfect promises. Sometimes people do not intend to keep them . Instead of "death do us part" they might as well say till "winter do us part". Sometimes you wonder whether in fact anyone can keep their word anymore. How good is the word of city council, the government, the business community, the church? How good is your word? Who do you believe in a world of broken promises? *  Sometimes we could think of our life as a broken promise because we expect from life more what we are experiencing.  Martin Marty, the onetime editor of the Christian Century wrote a book a few years ago entitled, You Are Promise. I like to think about it that way.  I believe our life is like a seed in the garden. The conditions all around the seed, like soil and water, help it to grow. They do not determine what it will become. What it will become is within it. What we were meant to be is within us. That is the promise, but there is a difference between the seed and us. If the conditions are right the seed will definitely become what it was meant to be. Not so with us! We have a choice. In the choices we make we often get in the way of what we were really meant to be as human beings. It is Us, and OUR ATTITUDES that can close the door on the opportunities to become what we were meant to be. Our whole day can be the denial of promise.  The alarm rings and we don't want to get up. All we want is the big sleep. There is nothing to get up for. We anticipate nothing, we expect nothing, and we receive nothing. We get to noon and we are completely bored. We don't see anything meaningful in what we do or interesting in the people we meet. By the time we get to five o clock we want to drown ourselves in the happy hour. Then on into the evening we just get lost in activity and noise of crowds of people asking, "Are we having fun yet?" By 3 am we are awake worrying about nothingness. What is our life means nothing. What if there is nothing to be found in life. Promise has been sucked out of us.  The question  faces us. "Is it possible for us to regain the sense of our life as promise?" * When we get ready to celebrate Christmas we come face to face with promise. Christmas is about a new born child, which is always promise. This is not just any new born child. This is the Christ child and so this is about God's promise. Centuries before the birth, we see in the Hebrew scriptures that the world was being prepared for this birth through the prophets. In the Gospel today we see this promise of God being fulfilled when it is recorded that the Angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced to her: And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  We see the promise of God being fulfilled here after centuries of longing and hoping. We see promise being lived out in the birth, life, passion, death,. resurrection of Jesus. It is also our promise. We see everything that WE were meant to be in Jesus. We need to see Jesus, our true humanity, in the meaninglessness of our mornings, in the boredom of our noons, in the pain of our evenings, and in the doubts at 3 a.m. God has entered our world in Christ and remains with us in the muck, misery, and marvel of the world. * What a wonderful gift it is that this Love of God can be born and reborn in us again and again.  The Advent season is a time to wait for this rebirth like Mary waited through her pregnancy. I have always loved the last verse of the hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in; Be born in us today. We hear the heavenly angels The great glad tidings tell: O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel  "Be born in us" . "O come to us, abide with us". Today I need this prayer and I need to submit myself to God's Spirit and like Mary, allow his great gift of Love to be born again in me. The birth of God's love always comes with forgiveness for us for the times that our love has proved inadequate. God's love comes almost like a blanket that engulfs our love in all it's weakness, takes it up and  makes it a part of God's great love for the world. Our love is made sufficient in God's Love. The message of Christmas is that it can be born in us again. In this world of broken promises, here in the midst us is the promise of God, as we wait for the celebration of the birth of Christ, there is a promise within us waiting to be born, waiting to be nurtured, waiting to be completed. There is a promise within us waiting to be set free.  It happens when we realize that God is within us. The real gift at Christmas is not something you can buy. It is that Christ can be born in us as surely as he was born into the world long ago and in a far off place. Christ can be born in us, and we can become who we were really meant to be. That is a promise.  You are visitor number UK Online Casinos This free counter  is supplied by Visible Counter   Connect with Deacon Sils Homelical resource   Also for more sermon and lectionary resources connect to SERMON AND SERMON LECTIONARY RESOURCES Check Out my daughter's web site CARLY'S STRENGTH THE GODDESS WITHIN MUSIC PROJECT Each year, thousands of women and children become homeless as a result of domestic violence.  "The Goddess Within" music project is designed to empower those whose lives have been affected by domestic abuse and to raise awareness of this issue. "The Goddess Within" compilation album will showcase artists and their songs, written for or relating to those escaping the cycle of violence.  The C.D. will be distributed throughout North America and proceeds from the sale of the C.D. will be donated to women's shelters. More information on the CD is available at ARTISTS FOR CHANGE My daughter Carly is featured on the album with her song The Mask.  The art for cover for the CD album is the creation of another daughter, Mary Anne Molcan. Another site to access is Ending Domestic Abuse * Mary Anne is a very talented artist.  She has a new web site called Faerie Artist where she displays her Art.   You can access her site at: Faerie Artist   Megan's Blog You can check out some of Megan's recipes and meal planning on her Blog  Food and Whine, Adventures in making food for my toughest critics, my family.