LWF Updates from Haiti

LWF Updates from Haiti

CLWR Haiti Appeal reaches $250,000

Winnipeg, January 28, 2010 – Below are updates received from the Act Alliance (Action by Churches Together) on the work being carried out by the Lutheran World Federation in Haiti.

Bobby Waddell, a LWF staff member on the ground in Haiti , is providing brief updates and observations on the situation in Haiti on Twitter. The link is http://twitter.com/Bobby_Waddell/

Pastor Livenson Lauvanus of the Lutheran Church in Haiti has posted a message on YouTube. To view the message, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx9U8EV8rZI

Donations to the Canadian Lutheran World Relief Appeal for Haiti are supporting the work of the LWF and the ACT Alliance. As of January 27, donations received by CLWR have surpassed the $250,000 mark.

For a PDF version of this release including photographs, click here.

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Updates on LWF activity in Haiti provided by the ACT Alliance

January 25

Port au Prince: LWF is already distributing water in three temporary settlements in Petionville, including St Theresse and Nerette. Water bladders with capacity of 20,000 litres have been installed in St Theresse and tanks of water are in process to be installed in Nerette.  Awareness about storage of water and sanitation has been provided to the community by two health promotion teams.  Cleaning implements for clearing the area where the settlement is based have been provided. In Nerette, LWF has already installed eight communal latrines, including separate latrines for children and women, to ensure their protection. Special attention is being given to people with disabilities who cannot reach the distributions of food and water. Female-headed households and mothers and babies are also a priority. In Petionville around 1700 families (around 10,000 people) have benefited by LWF intervention. Coordination with other INGOS working in the area is in process, as well as work with the municipality.  However, the latter is proving to be very fragile and creating confusion among NGO actors.

Outside Port au Prince: Last week (January 20-21) an assessment was made in Leogane and Gressier. In Leogane, LWF will work in two areas: Grande Riviere and Petite Riviere. This was further confirmed in two meetings in Leogane with local authorities on January 23 on coordination related to water and early recovery (especially the cash for work alternative promoted by the UNDP). The total population targeted is 8000 families. In Gressier, LWF will work supporting 800 families.

Another mission went to Gressier today (January 25) to determine, with the local partner, the areas to distribute tents donated by FCA and to plan further action during this week. On January 26, negotiations with the Municipality of Leogane to determine actions and map other actors who want to work in the rural areas will be held.  Few other actors will want to work in the rural areas as most attention is given to the city of Leogane .  On January 27, LWF is going on an assessment mission to Petit Goaves. LWF will also support displaced people who have moved to Thiotte, an area of work of its regular program.

Challenges still being faced are the logistics of acquiring materials and getting materials in place; coordination with government; lack of proper data – information

The main harbor of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince was devastated by the country's January 12 earthquake, complicating the daunting task of getting international assistance to the hundreds of thousands survivors who are homeless. Photo by Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance .

January 27

Petion-ville – St Therese - LWF is distributing 20,000 litres of water per day, around three litres per person.  Health promoters of the LWF team are finally succeeding in getting people to clean areas around water distribution.

 A homeless earthquake survivor constructs a temporary shelter in an already crowded soccer stadium in the Santa Teresa area of Petionville , Haiti . Hundreds of thousands of Haitians were left homeless by the January 12 quake. The Lutheran World Federation, a member of the ACT Alliance, is currently installing a water system for this community. Photos by Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance . 

Petion-ville – Nerette - Hot meals are being provided but people have expressed need for food items so they can cook their own food. It is important that food is bought locally. Four latrines are in place,  and eight more will be in place by January 27. Two trucks of water have been delivered.  Water tanks will be in place by tomorrow. The local committee is working well.  The primary group has now identified 154 families (medium of five members) to receive distributions.  Water distributions are working well. The health and hygiene/community mobilization team has been present.

Next days in Petion-ville - LWF is to put distribution systems in place. Planning and record keeping systems are underway. Distribution has been organised with preferential treatment for vulnerable people. Protection of the people has been organized by committees. Distribution of food, hygiene kits and baby kits is planned from January 28 onward. Distribution of water is controlled by the local committee and monitored by LWF staff.

Leogane - LWF has visited Leogane, covering the whole area from Gressier to Leogane. Coordination meetings from now on will be both in Leogane and Dinepa in Petion-ville. A meeting has been held with  mayor Santos Alexis.  LWF will work in the rural parts of Leogane, in the communes of Gran Riviere, Petite Riviere and Dessources. Assistance will be short, medium and longer term, including: shelter, water and sanitation, hygiene and non food items. Livelihoods are required as well as cash for work.

Journey Through the Liturgy!

You are all invited to come to the church tomorrow evening to learn a brand new communion setting(Setting 1 Evangelical Lutheran Worship), as well as learn/review the theological and historical foundations of the communion service. We'll start at 7:00pm and go for about an hour and a half. Bring your curious minds and your singing voices.

Sermon: Luke 4:16-22, "The Living Word"

                                         "The Living Word"

                  Sermon: Third SundayAfter Epiphany, Luke 4:16-22

If you have been following the church lectionary over the last few weeks, you have read that Jesus was a pretty extra-ordinary person. He was born of a virgin, was baptized in the Jordan River Jordan, whereupon the sky opened, a dove descended upon him, and the voice of God spoke proclaiming him as the beloved Son. Last week we read about his first miracle—turning water into wine-- the first great sign, which proclaimed that the Messiah, the anointed one of God, had arrived, and was on the scene. Today the story of Jesus continues in the Gospel reading, but the story takes a bit of a different turn.

In today’s passage Jesus performs no miracle. Instead, he enters the synagogue, which was, and is the centre, of any Jewish community.  Yes, the temple which stood at the heart of  Jerusalem was very much the focal point of Jewish religion. This was the centre where sacrifices were offered to Yahweh, one of the names for God in the Old Testament. But there was only one temple. The law stipulated that if ten Jewish families were present in any area, there must be a synagogue. So there were synagogues in every town and village. Synagogues were the teaching centres, where God’s law was taught and learned, where the Holy scriptures were read and interpreted by Rabbis. You might wonder, how Jesus, as a layman, was able to walk into the temple pick up the ancient, sacred, scrolls, hand them back, and make a proclamation concerning them. This might think this akin to a parishioner getting up out of the pew, walking up the isle, kindly asking the pastor to step down from the pulpit, and taking over. How many people do that? I know some folks might want to do that, but how many actually do? Not many. But you see, the Jewish synagogue in the first century had a specific order, similar too, but also different from what we might expect in a contemporary church. There were three main parts. The first was the prayer part. The second was the reading part, and the third was a teaching part. In first century Jewish society, there was no such thing as a professional ministry. During the teaching part, the president of the congregation would ask any distinguished person to speak, and discussion and talk would follow.  

So you see, in speaking in the temple, Jesus was following perfect protocol. There was nothing outlandish about what he was doing. Yes, there may have been some slight eyebrow raising about a young, rugged looking, carpenter speaking up on a Saturday service, but it was not so much that he was speaking which would have got people’s attention, but rather what he was saying. Quoting from Isaiah, Jesus was proclaiming that he was the one. He was the one who was anointed by God. He was the one who has been sent to proclaim release to the captives. He was the one to recover the sight of the blind. He was the one to let the oppressed go free. He was the one to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Imagine the reaction to hearing that! The people to whom he was speaking took Scripture, the Old Testament, very, very, very, very seriously. Imagine the reaction to hearing the news that all that they were waiting for, all of God’s promises, which they carried around in their hearts, had been fulfilled.  For their entire lives, they had studied scripture, heard it read, and pondered it. The word of God was central to their lives. Now it stood before them, and was encountering them nose-to-nose. The Word of God stood breathing, and speaking, and proclaiming right before them. Here those 1^st century people in that Galilean synagogue encountered the Word of God, not as words upon a page, but as the Living Word, the Word made flesh. And the Word made flesh made clear his mission, to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim the release of captives, to recovery the sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. The Word of God spoke to those people a Word of liberation and of healing.

The Word of God is unlike any other kind of word. Words are descriptors of things of ideas. God’s Word describes and tells. But the word of God is defined not so much by what it describes or tells, but by what it does. When God’s word speaks, things happen. When God spoke the Word, “let there be light”. There were no ifs or maybes about it. There was light.   So when Jesus, God made man, spoke those words from Isaiah, he was not only telling the congregation, on that day, who he was, but, as equally important, what he does. Jesus brings good news to the poor; Jesus released the captives; Jesus recovers the sight of the blind; Jesus lets the oppressed go free.  And make no mistake brothers and sisters, as we read this gospel lesson today, we are not simply reading an historical account about what Jesus said to that congregation some two thousand years ago. But we are hearing God speak to us now about what God does now. As we hear these words read from a page we hear the Living Word spoken to us at this moment in this place. And if that Living Word, who is Jesus Christ, is heard in our ears, it is bound to do something. It is bound to change us. It is bound to give us comfort; it is bound to liberate us. The same word, which spoke reality into being, is the same word, which speaks to us today. The same word, which created the stars and the heavens, is the same word, which transforms us now.

That Jesus Christ is the Living Word ought to change our perspective of scripture. Since the Living Word is spoken to us through the pages of scripture, it cannot be treated as any other kind of literature. The Bible is not simply an historical record or interesting literature. It is special because it speaks the Living Word. This is why Christians who have read the Bible cover to cover many times over continue to read it. They read it because they know that the Living Word of God continues to speak, continues to liberate and comfort. The Living Word of God moves the Holy Spirit to work gifts within us, which are meant to be gifts to the world. So if you have not begun studying scripture, I would strongly encourage you to do so. Encounter the Word, and be guided by it.

But the Word is not encountered just in the individual reading of the Bible. We encounter it together, here in this place. In a moment Jesus will feed us with his special meal of bread and wine, and in that meal proclaim God’s forgiveness of your sins.  What an incredible gift to us! But the Word of God is not meant to be contained, it is to be proclaimed! You, all of you, every single one of you are called to be a proclaimed of the same Word, which has claimed and liberated you. Amen.

LWF CONVOY REACHES PORT AU PRINCE

LWF CONVOY REACHES PORT AU PRINCE

Winnipeg, January 22, 2010 – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking a lead role in organizing the response of Action by Churches Together (ACT) to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Haiti . Below is the latest communication received from the Lutheran World Information, the communication arm of the LWF.

Your donations to the Canadian Lutheran World Relief Appeal for Haiti are being used to support the work being undertaken by the LWF and ACT.

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION 
LWI News online:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html

First LWF Relief Convoy Arrives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti DWS Focuses on Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons and Long-term Development Work 

PORT-AU-PRINCE (HAITI)/GENEVA 21 January 2010 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) plans to scale up operations and strengthen logistics capacity in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic following the arrival of the first DWS convoy with urgently needed relief supplies on 20 January in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.  DWS Program Coordinator Rudelmar Bueno de Faria underlined the need to expand LWF/DWS response in order to address quickly and effectively the needs of the stricken population.

Reports from DWS country program staff in Haiti indicate that Wednesday's large aftershock of magnitude 6.1 had caused further destruction. Buildings that had already been damaged collapsed completely and more people have been injured. It is still unknown, however, whether the death toll has increased as a
result of the aftershock.

An ACT Alliance rapid support team has already arrived in the region and is providing assistance to partner organizations locally in assessing the extent of the damage and the support
required. ACT Alliance is the world's largest alliance of churches and related humanitarian and development agencies. The support team is led by Elsa Moreno, LWF/DWS staff member in Geneva from 2006 to mid-2009.

In an interview just before leaving Denmark for Haiti, Moreno told Lutheran World Information (LWI) that in the days to come the ACT Alliance would focus on delivering as much assistance as possible to the population in Port-au-Prince, as well as around the city and in other areas devastated by the earthquake. Some of the towns include those closest to the epicenter, Leogane and Petit Goave. According to the United Nations, 80 to 90 percent of buildings in Leogane, 19km west of Port-au-Prince , were destroyed.  Petit Goave, to the west of Leogane, was also badly hit.

Moreno and DWS collaborators in Haiti said that many people had fled Port-au-Prince and returned to their places of origin, putting a great deal of pressure on local communities to host them. "The ACT Alliance will continuously try to assess the number of people going to those areas which are away from response of other agencies.  The main work will focus on water, shelter and care for children," Moreno stated.

Moreno told LWI that two important components now needed to be put together-emergency response and long-term development.  "Our response is not only focused on the immediate needs, but also to help people recover in the long-term and start the process for development," said Moreno , a native of Colombia .

A key task of the DWS country program in Haiti now will be bringing relief to people who have lost everything. DWS would aim to engage and focus attention on internally displaced persons (IDPs) given the department's expertise in camp management, indicated Bueno de Faria. International relief organizations currently estimate the number of IDPs to be as many as 600,000.

The program's main operational areas before the earthquake were in the Macaya zone in Grande Anse and Forêt des Pins, Bueno de Faria noted. "Our target population has always been small-scale farmers, disaster-affected communities and migrants. The LWF will continue focusing on sustainable livelihoods and environment, and food security and advocacy. We are working to continue supporting these communities."

Meanwhile, the LWF/DWS office in Geneva has sent two collaborators to Haiti to reinforce its team there. Mr Bobby Waddell, consultant for resource mobilization, has been sent as LWF/DWS emergency senior advisor for three weeks; Ms Sophia Gebreyes, program officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, will go to Haiti for a week to assess the situation and identify models for optimal coordination between Geneva and Haiti.

For Waddell, a major challenge lies especially in dealing with the reality of logistics and coordination on the ground. Gebreyes wants to "contribute to the emergency response in the crisis phase as well as help plan the early and long-term recovery phases with our frontline staff." Next week another, larger LWF/DWS convoy will be sent to Haiti with more relief supplies.

In collaboration with other members of the ACT Alliance, DWS plans to set up comprehensive, long-term psychosocial counselling structures for frontline staff as quickly as possible. These collaborators are under tremendous emotional stress and are stretched to their psychological limit, Bueno de Faria noted. It is therefore crucial, he said, to offer them respite and professional accompaniment in dealing with their experiences and trauma.

DWS Director Eberhard Hitzler said he was "overwhelmed" by the solidarity of Lutheran churches all around the world. "Their prayers and financial contribution are a great support for our work in Haiti," he noted.

The fact that World Service staff members in Sudan donated to the relief effort is "another fantastic symbol of this solidarity," Hitzler commented. "This is the LWF at its best."

Follow Communio in Action on the LWF Web site at:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/Haiti_Quake.html

Lutheran World Information, Haiti earthquake update

The following report was issued by Lutheran World Information, Geneva:




LWF Convoy Brings Relief Assistance to Haitian Capital

Towns and Other Regions Outside Port-au-Prince Also in Ruins

PORT-AU-PRINCE , Haiti / GENEVA , 19 January 2010 (LWI) - Reports coming from staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) Caribbean/Haiti program indicate that the severe damage from the 12 January earthquake goes beyond Haiti 's capital, Port-au-Prince .

The towns of Gressier, Carrefour and Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince , have also been destroyed, says Sylvia Raulo, DWS Caribbean/ Haiti program director. Getting through anywhere outside the capital takes a long time, she notes, adding that many towns and areas in which the DWS has been working for years were hit hard by the quake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale.

Raulo points out that many people who lost their homes in the capital are now moving to other towns and regions. Receiving and caring for these internally displaced persons is one of the major challenges for the LWF program, she emphasizes.

The LWF representative says many locals welcome the arrival of international aid into the devastated country, however, "during the first 48 hours, it was Haitians who helped fellow Haitians, taking matters into their own hands in a spirit of solidarity." She notes the current situation was particularly aggravated by the fact that so many public servants perished, leaving the already weak institutions completely destroyed. The security situation is an additional problem, she adds.

Raulo says the DWS Port-au-Prince office was "not damaged and is functional," and most of the personnel are unhurt. However, the offices of some of its partner organizations in the ACT Alliance - the global network of church and related aid and development organizations - have been severely affected, and DWS is currently providing accommodation for many ACT colleagues. The LWF program's employees and those from partner organizations who have lost their homes are camping on the DWS office compound, which Raulo says "can accommodate about 20 people in our backyard.”

Need for Long-Term Aid

Raulo points out that "Internet communication is working and most communications are by Skype." Very fortunately, the water tank had been filled just before the earthquake struck, but "depending on usage," she cautions, "lack of water could become a problem."

The DWS program director emphasizes Haiti 's need for long-term assistance. Aid efforts and construction programs "should go beyond the provision of food, water and shelter to include the building and reconstruction of the public infrastructure," she adds.

DWS program staff is currently assessing the scale of assistance required in the capital and other towns. "We are in permanent contact," says Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, DWS program coordinator at the LWF Geneva secretariat. "This weekend alone, we held at least 12 conference calls with our office in Haiti and with other ACT member [organizations]." He underlines the immediate need for temporary camps outside the capital to accommodate people who have lost everything.

As early as Tuesday, 19 January, a convoy was scheduled to set off from Santo Domingo , capital of the neighboring Dominican Republic , carrying urgently needed aid supplies. Bueno de Faria reports that the LWF was currently purchasing basic supplies including water, food, fuel, tents, mattresses and blankets as well as sanitary items for immediate transportation to people in need. Logistics expert Yvon St Martin, sent by the Danish church aid agency DanChurchAid to assist the DWS program, will be responsible for organizing transportation. Haitian by birth, St Martin speaks Creole as well as French, English and Spanish.

In order to provide adequate response to the devastation caused by the quake, the LWF program plans to recruit more local workers, says Raulo. In addition, ACT Alliance partner organizations have promised staff support to the network. Through Church of Sweden , Thomas Brundin, deputy director at the Department for Development Policy with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be seconded to the LWF program for three weeks as coordination and communication officer. He travels to Port-au-Prince on 19 January with former DWS Geneva program staff Elsa Moreno, who is leading an ACT Alliance rapid support team to the Haitian capital.

Nora Serpas from the DWS Central American regional program in El Salvador has been dispatched to Santo Domingo with the primary responsibility of procuring relief supplies and fund-raising.

A senior emergency adviser will be appointed in the next two weeks to assist the DWS team in Haiti in planning and implementing the relief program for at least six months, adds Bueno de Faria.

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: If you have been following the news, you know that Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world, has been struck by a devastating earthquake which has killed upwards of  100 000 people. CLWR (Canadian Lutheran World Relief) will be involved with relief efforts, and is currently appealing for financial support directed toward such relief. The following communication, released by the ELCIC national church office, indicates how donations can be made. Sunday offerings can also be  designated to the "CLWR Haiti Earthquake Appeal". The Canadian Federal Government  has pledged to match every dollar donated between Jan 12-Feb12. Please keep the victims of this unspeakable tragedy in your prayers. Your Servant in Christ, Pastor Thomas January 13, 2010 ELCIC Responds To Haiti Disaster The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), through its partnership with Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR), is appealing to its members for financial support for relief operations underway to assist the people of Haiti following an earthquake on Tuesday, January 12. CLWR is working in partnership with other members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance to address people's basic needs in the affected region and support rehabilitation efforts.  Initial reports received from ACT indicate that the 7.0 magnitude quake has buried alive hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in Port au Prince, Haiti's capital city. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes. The city is without electricity and the telephone network is down.  As the terrible news of the situation in Haiti continues to unfold, I ask that you pray for all those in the affected region, says ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson. And, I call on members of our church to assist through their financial support of the CLWR appeal to aid our brothers and sisters in the coming days.  Contributions for this emergency response can be made in the following ways:  1. Online at www.clwr.org/donate. In the process of completing the form, you will come across a pull-down menu that allows you to designate a specific project. Choose Haiti Earthquake.  2. By calling CLWR's toll-free number: 1.800.661.2597. If you do not need to use a toll-free line or are calling locally from the Winnipeg area, you can reach CLWR at 204.694.5602.  3. By sending a cheque made payable to CLWR to CLWR, 302-393 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3H6. Please indicate in your correspondence that you wish to contribute to  the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.  CLWR will be forwarding immediately to ACT an initial contribution of $10,000 to support the first phase of the emergency operations.  ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination with 162,100 baptized members in 611 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful. For more information, please contact: Trina Gallop, Director of Communications 302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6 204.984.9172 tgallop@elcic.ca

What is so special about the water of Baptism?

Pastor Ernie Lassman, Messiah Lutheran Seattle, explains what gives Baptism its power--God's Word.

Christmas at Surrey Urban Mission

Christmas at Surrey Urban Mission

Christmas brought an abundance of blessings at Surrey Urban Mission.  On 
Christmas Day a feast was served to 200 people by 78 volunteers from 
high schools, churches and community groups!  That same day 150 new 
backpacks filled with new clothing, toiletries and other special gifts 
were delivered by  the firefighter, paramedics,  police and Sexual 
Assault Nurses who work in the community.  Then a local dry cleaning 
firm delivered 30 bags of blankets and clothing that had not been picked 
up over the past months.  A special blessing was the gift of 30 quilts 
from the quilters at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church - these were 
especially appreciated during the 5 nights SUMS was open during the cold 
weather.  We recently acquired a storage unit that is now full of 
clothes and other articles for which we are extremely thankful.

The outpouring of food and blankets and clothing over the 
Advent/Christmas season has warmed both bodies and hearts.  Now as we 
enter into the real winter season, we invite people to consider a 
donation through your offerings to Surrey Urban Mission Society so that 
this work of being in mission to others may continue.  Check out our 
website for more information. 

Truly the light of Christ is shining in a place where darkness has 
prevailed.

Bob Goos
Chair - SUMS

Happy New Year! Forget about resolutions: trust in God's promise!

          Sermon: The Second Sunday of Christmas [John 1:10-18]

Well, we’re three days into it now and it already is starting to really feel like January isn’t it?  Christmas decorations are being packed away, Champaign corks have been popped, New Years dinners have been eaten, and resolutions have been made.  As you all know, making resolutions at New years is popular. Folks want to make improvements in their lives and resolve to do so. They make promises to themselves and others in many and various ways. It might be to lose that belly fat, start a new diet, start a running routine, spend more time with the family, maybe even, go to church more. 

With initial great enthusiasm folks go about fulfilling these resolutions. The scene is played out a hundred times over. The forty-something rookie jogger awakens before sunrise, dawns his new water-proof outfit, squeezes into new, expensive, but slightly uncomfortable running shoes, and hits the pavement. Some will keep this routine going. Most won’t. Most likely, one morning, maybe after several days of torturous trips around the block, that same jogger will get up look out the window, stare at the soaked pavement, and the rain beating down upon it, and make that crucial decision—“forget it, I’m going back to bed”. Those running shoes which need breaking in will get broken in to be sure, but in other ways, involving barely, if any, physical exercise. But hey, there’s always next new years Eve. The fact of the matter is that most New Years Resolutions are not kept. Most of those promises to self or others are broken. But then again, how many human promises are kept at any time? How many politicians keep their election promises? How many married couples maintain their wedding vows? How many human beings in the course of human history are let down by the broken promises by others? Promises are kept, to be sure, but , standing back, looking at the overall picture, it isn’t harsh to conclude that human beings are pretty good at breaking their promises.

            Christians break promises. Every Christian is a promise maker, but also a promise breaker. The promise breaking comes in the form of sin. The promise we Christians make is to follow God faithfully, and to trust in  God and God alone. The First Commandment is very clear: "You shall have no other gods”. It’s meaning is unmistakable. Luther’s Small Catechism tells us it means that we are to fear, love, and trust God above all things”. Every time we sin, we choose not to trust in God, but instead in ourselves. Every time we sin we tell God, “you are not God, I am”. That’s a broken promise. This self  will of humanity is the original sin, and is the path of eternal death. When we break our promise to God, we choose death. That’s the bad news.

            The good news is that while human beings are unable to keep this ultimate promise to God, God has kept His promise to humanity. When God makes a promise; it is a promise. If you read Genesis in the Old Testament you read about that promise, the promise God made to Abraham, the Hebrew desert Nomad. God promised Abraham that he would make a great nation of his ancestors, and that his ancestors would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens. This promise was carried down through the descendants of Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, through the sons of Jacob, but the promise was not simply intended for the Israelites or for the Jewish people, but for all of humanity. God made a promise to humanity, rebellious and sinful humanity—a humanity sentenced to death by their own rebellion, a humanity who chose not to be children of God, who sold their birthright, and lived east of Eden. God made this promise to bring them back, and make them his children.

            But, as you know, promises are not usually easy to keep. Resolutions require work and effort, and sacrifice. So, it doesn’t take a theological genius to realize that the greatest promise ever made, which was God’s promise to Abraham, would require the greatest sacrifice ever made.  God himself would do that; God himself would make that sacrifice. God himself, The Word which brought all reality into being, would enter the human scene, and take on human flesh.  

In order to make all humans his children, God would give his only begotten son. God would give Jesus Christ so that all may be given the gift of eternal life. God made a promise through Abraham, and has fulfilled it through Christ.

            The story of God’s promise made and fulfilled is a larger than life story—it’s magnitude is beyond human comprehension. But it’s a personal story. It is about you. It is about God’s promise to you; it’s about God claiming you. You see. God’s promise is extended to the whole world,  at the universal level, but it is realized in the particular—at the personal level. God works to communicate that promise to you. God communicates that promise through the good news of the gospel. Its simple, it’s direct, and it is communicated to you.  

Through the Word of forgiveness and eternal life God is reaching out to you. So trust in the promise. Through the sacrament of baptism, God claims you, marks you, communicates the gift of eternal life to you. So trust in the promise. Through the sacrament of the altar, holy communion, God communicates to you the forgiveness of sin and the gift of life with him in eternity. So trust in the promise.

Living the life of Christian faith can be simply defined as living in trust of God’s promise.  When we live in trust of that promise—when we trust in that Word of life and love, we are liberated. We are liberated from the yolk of  doing it on our own, of trying to be good people, of trying to please God with works and actions. When we live trusting that promise, we can truly live, live even knowing that we are fallible, that we are sinful. We don’t need to cover up; we don’t need to rationalize. We don’t need to do any of that because we can trust. We can confess our sin and trust in the mercy of Almighty God. Regardless of how mature your faith, ho long you have been a Christian, how many good works you carry out, if your faith is true, you never move beyond this simple trust, because you never move beyond needing to hear the words of eternal life, the words of forgiveness.

Yes, today is the last Sunday of Christmas. Soon the decorations will be taken down and packed away. New Years resolutions will be forgotten. The rainy and sometimes dreary Vancouver winter weather will be a constant reality. But remember the heart of Christmas. The heart of Christmas is a promise, the Word of God made flesh, who came into the world as an infant, to live among us, to claim us, to transform us, and make us the children of God, the children of God’s promise. Amen.