Two Morphemes to Change the World
December 22, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Luke 1:26-38
“Two Morphemes to Change the World”
Douglas T. King
Over the years there have been some famous newspaper headlines that were wrong. Perhaps the most famous is “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Others have included, “No Lives Lost on the Titanic” and in 1956 “Castro is Dead.” Those are factual errors. But sometimes a headline is wrong because it misses the main point of the story.
I think we often give the wrong headline to this text because we miss the main point of the story. We hear this text and the headline becomes “Virgin Birth” in 24 point type. We ponder the physiology. We wonder if it is a bit of a teen pregnancy cover-up.
If we keep our amateur OBGYN hats on we will miss the bigger story, the biggest and most important news we will ever hear or receive. Oddly enough the most important news is not in the bright and shimmering arrival of Gabriel in all of his angelic glory. It is not in our introduction to oh-so-young Mary. It is not even, if you can believe it, the announcement that Mary will give birth to Jesus who will be “called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” And, “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
The biggest news, the actual headline is the final sentence Gabriel speaks to Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” My friend, Patrick Wilson, has called this verse, “the creed behind all other creeds.” He goes on to say, “The church should recite it often, not only at the manger, not only at the empty tomb, but on any occasion of reflecting on its own life, joy, and hope.”
My friend Rick Spalding notes that a more literal translation of the sentence from the original Greek would be, “because not impossible will be every word with God.” He writes, “I like the way it gets the two little morphemes, not, im, right next to each other where they can have an elemental clash, and perhaps, work that odd alchemy that has mystified me ever since arithmetic: making positivity out of two negatives.”
Gathered here on the precipice of Christmas Eve and our Christmas Season, celebrating Jesus Christ’s arrival in our midst, there is a glow that this time of year emanates. But that glow does not blot out the negatives of our complicated lives. In this season we mourn those who used to gather around our Christmas trees and dining room tables but have now gone on to the church triumphant. In this season we continue to live in a world of conflict and fear. In this season we still face the challenges of poor physical health and mental health. In this season we still have simmering family conflicts.
Yes, regardless of season, there are always negatives present as we do our best to navigate our mortal and vulnerable lives. There is no amount of candles, choruses of Silent Night, or cuddly visions of a babe in a manger that will erase the reality that life is hard. Life is often not fair. At times, life can feel like too big a burden to put on our backs and carry yet another day.
In those times when there is so much more darkness than light in our lives, why do we get out of bed every morning? Why do we give up a Sunday morning to gather in this sanctuary? Why do we still find hope when we could stack an impressive list of reasons to trust in hopelessness?
Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, it is the creed that is behind all other creeds, it is those two little morphemes, “not” and “im” that draw us forward into each new day.
In a season when we prepare to welcome the presence of God Almighty who has chosen to take on our mortal form what is not possible? When we welcome our God in the form of a baby in a backwoods barn, what is not possible? When, even in the manger we are reminded that this child will grow into a man that will love us so deeply that he will lay down his life for us, what is not possible?
Today we baptized, young Audrey. We baptized her because Jesus himself was baptized. We baptized her because she is a precious child of God. And in being baptized Audrey is claimed by God and joined to Christ in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection. The scenarios for Audrey’s life are beyond measure. We have no idea in the years to come where she will live, what she will do for work, whom she will love. The permutations are exponential. The possibilities boggle the mind.
What is guaranteed not to occur is that she will lose her birthright as a beloved child of God. There is nowhere she can go, there is nothing she can do, that will remove the beloved status placed upon her by the one who took human form to share with us in our mortal lives.
If God can be born a babe in Bethlehem; if young Audrey, and each and every one of us, can be claimed as God’s beloved; if Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross can defeat death, indeed, “nothing will be impossible with God.”
Just imagine if we intentionally consciously carried this creed behind all creeds with us as we made our way through all our days; if we let it rest upon our lips ever ready to whisper it to ourselves; if we shared it with one another; if we faced each of life’s twists and turns, every challenge, every setback with the words “not impossible” before us.
This year with our program year theme of growth, think about how each of us might grow in our faith if we viewed our lives through the lens of “not impossible.”
When we are so bone weary from caring for a loved one we cannot imagine how we will do it again tomorrow, “not impossible.” When we wonder how we can mend a relationship that appears beyond repair, “not impossible.” When we find our faith faltering and wonder if we can reclaim our trust in God, “not impossible.”
Our lives are filled with innumerable moments of crossroads, moments of joy and moments of sorrow, moments of conviction and moments of confusion, moments of anger and moments of gratitude. We experience so many moments when we need a North star to guide us; a beacon to both lead us forward and lead us home.
As we are gathered in the waning days of this advent season and about to step into the nativity of Christmas, let us hear those words the Angel Gabriel announced to young Mary. Let us hear them in our own ears. “For nothing is impossible with God.” Let us claim those two morphemes that bump against each other “not,” “im.” Let us whisper it to ourselves throughout our day. Let us call it out aloud in protest when we are struggling. Let us proclaim it with joy when our blessings are obvious.
Today, let’s take home the headline in our hearts, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Luke 1:26-38
“Two Morphemes to Change the World”
Douglas T. King
Over the years there have been some famous newspaper headlines that were wrong. Perhaps the most famous is “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Others have included, “No Lives Lost on the Titanic” and in 1956 “Castro is Dead.” Those are factual errors. But sometimes a headline is wrong because it misses the main point of the story.
I think we often give the wrong headline to this text because we miss the main point of the story. We hear this text and the headline becomes “Virgin Birth” in 24 point type. We ponder the physiology. We wonder if it is a bit of a teen pregnancy cover-up.
If we keep our amateur OBGYN hats on we will miss the bigger story, the biggest and most important news we will ever hear or receive. Oddly enough the most important news is not in the bright and shimmering arrival of Gabriel in all of his angelic glory. It is not in our introduction to oh-so-young Mary. It is not even, if you can believe it, the announcement that Mary will give birth to Jesus who will be “called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” And, “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
The biggest news, the actual headline is the final sentence Gabriel speaks to Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” My friend, Patrick Wilson, has called this verse, “the creed behind all other creeds.” He goes on to say, “The church should recite it often, not only at the manger, not only at the empty tomb, but on any occasion of reflecting on its own life, joy, and hope.”
My friend Rick Spalding notes that a more literal translation of the sentence from the original Greek would be, “because not impossible will be every word with God.” He writes, “I like the way it gets the two little morphemes, not, im, right next to each other where they can have an elemental clash, and perhaps, work that odd alchemy that has mystified me ever since arithmetic: making positivity out of two negatives.”
Gathered here on the precipice of Christmas Eve and our Christmas Season, celebrating Jesus Christ’s arrival in our midst, there is a glow that this time of year emanates. But that glow does not blot out the negatives of our complicated lives. In this season we mourn those who used to gather around our Christmas trees and dining room tables but have now gone on to the church triumphant. In this season we continue to live in a world of conflict and fear. In this season we still face the challenges of poor physical health and mental health. In this season we still have simmering family conflicts.
Yes, regardless of season, there are always negatives present as we do our best to navigate our mortal and vulnerable lives. There is no amount of candles, choruses of Silent Night, or cuddly visions of a babe in a manger that will erase the reality that life is hard. Life is often not fair. At times, life can feel like too big a burden to put on our backs and carry yet another day.
In those times when there is so much more darkness than light in our lives, why do we get out of bed every morning? Why do we give up a Sunday morning to gather in this sanctuary? Why do we still find hope when we could stack an impressive list of reasons to trust in hopelessness?
Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, it is the creed that is behind all other creeds, it is those two little morphemes, “not” and “im” that draw us forward into each new day.
In a season when we prepare to welcome the presence of God Almighty who has chosen to take on our mortal form what is not possible? When we welcome our God in the form of a baby in a backwoods barn, what is not possible? When, even in the manger we are reminded that this child will grow into a man that will love us so deeply that he will lay down his life for us, what is not possible?
Today we baptized, young Audrey. We baptized her because Jesus himself was baptized. We baptized her because she is a precious child of God. And in being baptized Audrey is claimed by God and joined to Christ in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection. The scenarios for Audrey’s life are beyond measure. We have no idea in the years to come where she will live, what she will do for work, whom she will love. The permutations are exponential. The possibilities boggle the mind.
What is guaranteed not to occur is that she will lose her birthright as a beloved child of God. There is nowhere she can go, there is nothing she can do, that will remove the beloved status placed upon her by the one who took human form to share with us in our mortal lives.
If God can be born a babe in Bethlehem; if young Audrey, and each and every one of us, can be claimed as God’s beloved; if Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross can defeat death, indeed, “nothing will be impossible with God.”
Just imagine if we intentionally consciously carried this creed behind all creeds with us as we made our way through all our days; if we let it rest upon our lips ever ready to whisper it to ourselves; if we shared it with one another; if we faced each of life’s twists and turns, every challenge, every setback with the words “not impossible” before us.
This year with our program year theme of growth, think about how each of us might grow in our faith if we viewed our lives through the lens of “not impossible.”
When we are so bone weary from caring for a loved one we cannot imagine how we will do it again tomorrow, “not impossible.” When we wonder how we can mend a relationship that appears beyond repair, “not impossible.” When we find our faith faltering and wonder if we can reclaim our trust in God, “not impossible.”
Our lives are filled with innumerable moments of crossroads, moments of joy and moments of sorrow, moments of conviction and moments of confusion, moments of anger and moments of gratitude. We experience so many moments when we need a North star to guide us; a beacon to both lead us forward and lead us home.
As we are gathered in the waning days of this advent season and about to step into the nativity of Christmas, let us hear those words the Angel Gabriel announced to young Mary. Let us hear them in our own ears. “For nothing is impossible with God.” Let us claim those two morphemes that bump against each other “not,” “im.” Let us whisper it to ourselves throughout our day. Let us call it out aloud in protest when we are struggling. Let us proclaim it with joy when our blessings are obvious.
Today, let’s take home the headline in our hearts, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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