INTRODUCTION

Twelve years ago, during my first Advent Season as pastor of this church, I told you the story about a fire on Christmas Eve, 1952, that burned the roof off of our home in Sag Harbor, Long Island. I was only five years old, but I still remember, as if it were yesterday, the sight of those flames, the sound of the sirens, the bitter cold weather, feeling afraid and wondering what would happen to our family as we huddled together to keep warm inside our Power Glide Chevrolet.

Around midnight, as the fire was finally put out, a couple arrived and spoke briefly to my parents, inviting us to come stay with them. Their names were Karl and Emma Kluug, he was the town garbage collector, they had five children of their own and they belonged to the church where my father was pastor.

Gratefully, the invitation was accepted, and we spent the night at the Kluugs, sleeping on cots and bundled up in blankets. And somehow, someway, that next morning - Christmas Day - there were presents under the tree for all of the children and adults of both families. (From the sermon “The Power of His Name: The Christ,” December 23, 1990)

That happened fifty years ago. But I will never forget, together with the gratitude for being rescued and the gracious hospitality of the Kluug family - I will never forget the pungent smell of smoke and the stench of smoldering wood as we went back the following day to salvage what we could from our home.

Now the fact is, when you and I smell something burning, an inner alarm system is activated in our bodies and minds. Because the way God has made us, with all of our senses, as we pick up the smell of pot roast burning in the oven or a fire on the roof of the house, we know immediately that something is wrong and we’d better not wait too long to deal with it.

But in ancient times, both the Old and New Testaments record that the smell of burning incense was good - a sweet aroma for human beings and a pleasing and sacred fragrance to the Lord.

The book of Exodus, chapter 30, reports that as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and observed their rituals of worship, they made an altar to burn incense upon…and Aaron (the brother of Moses, acting as a priest) burnt fragrant incense every morning…and evening…and it was holy to the Lord. In similar fashion, the book of Leviticus describes the burnt offering (as) a pleasing odor to God (Leviticus 1:17).

When the great temple in Jerusalem had been constructed, the priests burned incense there. And once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest carried a censer of burning incense into the holy of holies as he approached the mercy seat. And it was all done as an act of purification and atonement for sin, believing that the fragrance would elicit God’s forgiveness as it wafted up to Him in heaven. (Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, “Incense,” page 698).

So it was, in keeping with that ancient tradition, that the priest Zechariah, according to the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense (verse 8). And while the people outside were praying, an angel appeared to Zechariah inside the temple and told him that he and his wife Elizabeth, who was barren in her old age, would bear a son and call his name John (verses 10-13).

If Zechariah had been an optimist, he would have received the angel’s revelation with joy and great expectation…somewhat similar to the 90-year-old woman who was celebrating her birthday in a nursing home. In the midst of the excitement, a friend asked her, “Do you have any children?” And the lady replied “Not yet, not yet.”

Well on that particular day in the temple, with the burning incense and holy smoke swirling around him, old Zechariah’s reaction was just the opposite. He didn’t believe what the angel predicted could or would actually happen, and the Bible says that because of Zechariah’s lack of faith, his voice was taken away until the baby was born (Luke 1:18-20).

As we read on through the rest of the story, Luke is the only gospel author who tells us about the birth of two children during that first Advent season. Elizabeth and Mary are described as kinswomen (Luke 1:36), meaning that they were related to each other. So their sons, John and Jesus, were more than likely cousins who were connected together from the day they were born.

But there is another connection between these two birth narratives and it is found in Matthew’s gospel. Do you remember when the wise men finally arrived in Bethlehem and bowed down before the child whom they had come to honor? Matthew says that they opened their treasures and offered Him gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:9-12).

Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened to those gifts. And yet, I think it is possible that Mary and Joseph would have performed the ritual of burning the frankincense, just as Zechariah had done in the temple, to recognize that something, someone sacred and holy was coming into their lives. So one way or the other, these stories reveal that the smell, the scent, the aroma of incense was a sign of God’s presence to those ancient people. And I believe that is still true today.

Now most Presbyterian churches, since the Reformation, have not used incense during the celebration of worship. We know that Catholics, Episcopalians and Eastern Orthodox Christians still do, and I have attended some of their services when the censer was swung up and down the center aisle or at the altar, and let me tell you - the fragrance of that incense filled the place with an awesome sense of holiness.

We Presbyterians don’t use real incense in our worship services, but I still believe that we can experience the incense of Advent and Christmas as God reveals His presence to us. Last Sunday we celebrated communion and passed the bread and the cup throughout this congregation, and there was an incense in this sanctuary which filled our lives with the presence and the love of Jesus Christ.

Earlier today in the 9:00 service, more than 200 of our children presented the Christmas Pageant, and as all of us watched and listened to The Greatest Story Ever Told, we, all of us, young and old were overwhelmed and blessed with the incense of joy.

In this service just a few minutes ago as the Ojego family from the Sudan, refugees here with us in our church family now, and Fouad Abu-Akel, an elder in this church, led us in lighting the Advent candle, all of us in this room were exposed to the incense of hope and the promise of peace on earth.

And a week from next Sunday when we welcome all of the homeless guests coming to us from across this city to a prayer breakfast and give them the stockings which have been filled with things they need by members and friends of this congregation - when that day comes, I anticipate that this Christian community at 16th and Peachtree will overflow with the incense of gratitude and thanksgiving, as we come ever so close to what Jesus said long ago: In as much as you have done it unto one of these, you have done it unto me.

CONCLUSION

My friends, all of that and so much more is in store for us during this sacred season! What Zechariah discovered as he burned incense in the temple, and what the wise men found when they brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Bethlehem, is the same revelation that is offered to us today: the incense of Advent and Christmas leads us into the presence of God as we celebrate the birth of His Son, our Savior Jesus.

That is the greatest gift which the Lord has ever given to us. And what He wants in return is nothing more and nothing less than this: that our lives would be lived and lifted up as a fragrant incense to Him. The apostle Paul described it with these words as he wrote to the Corinthian Christians: For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing… (II Corinthians 2:15).

Which means that as we embrace the sweet, sweet spirit, the incense of Jesus Christ right here in this place, then we can go out there into the world to tell others about His love and to share His amazing grace.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.