There are times when it is more easy than others to lose perspective given all that swirls around us. Times when the world seems both too trivialized and too fraught with "heavy" events at the same time. The past few weeks have given me pause to think of the extremes between which we live. First the trivialization – a week before Christmas I ran to AC Moore to buy some glitter. It was a bit disconcerting to see that instead of Christmas decorations, the store had already moved on to Valentines and St. Patrick's Day décor. Christmas was to the store simply a merchandising issue; and by December 18th they figured they had gotten what they could. In many ways the world has reduced Christmas to economics and sentimentality.

The heaviness of our world is often apparent, but this morning the war in Iraq dominates that heaviness. The execution of Saddam Hussein leaves me with such mixed feelings. The words of Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury in speaking on BBC radio give voice to those feelings: "I think he deserves punishment and sharp and unequivocal punishment. But I would say of him what I have to say about anyone who has committed even the most appalling crimes in this country, that I believe the death penalty effectively says there is no room for change and repentance." Coupled with the death of Hussein is the quickly rising death toll of American soldiers. Somewhere around Christmas Day, the death toll of soldiers surpassed the number of people killed on 9/11. By the time you hear these words it is likely that the death toll will be over 3,000. And of course that death toll does not begin to approach the number of civilian casualties in the war.

It is into such times and places that we are called to proclaim the Good News of God's birth into the world…a message that is anything but trivial and sentimental…a message that is more than enough for the darkness and heaviness of our times. This morning we celebrate the evangelical tradition of our faith journey. Like the charismatic tradition, the evangelical tradition has gotten an unfair treatment. I won't elaborate, but suspect that many of you have a visceral reaction when hearing the word. Let me just say that the living in the stream of evangelism is not about unthinking religion or browbeating others. As we've been doing these past many weeks, let me share with you Richard Foster's definition to help re-shape what the evangelistic life is about. He writes: "The evangel message is the good news of redemption and reconciliation, powerfully captured in the words of St. Paul – "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Godself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making an appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf – be reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:17-20; Foster p. 218) Faithful living in the evangelical tradition does not have the goal of conversion, but is a personal lifestyle issue. It is a life that calls us to be faithful to our vocation – our life's calling – so that by our witness in living out that vocation, others might come to see the love of God in Christ Jesus. Placing ourselves in the stream of evangelism means that we both talk the talk, and walk the walk. We cannot go to church on Sunday morning and act one way, and then go to our Monday life and act in a way inconsistent with our Sunday behavior. We are called to be at our Sunday best every day.

We lift up the Magi today as a reminder to that life. These men, probably Zoroastrian priests from the Persian region, followed the signs that a great king was born. Quite understandably they went to Jerusalem thinking if a king were to be born in this region, it would surely be in that great city. Also understandably they went straight to the palace and consulted with Herod. Herod, threatened to this perceived threat to his rule, consulted his advisors to see if they knew anything about this king the wise men were seeking. We have the faithful, evangelical witness of those advisors to thank for the rest of the magi story. Because these advisors had been faithful students of scripture, they knew to tell the magi that the king was to be born, not in the great city of Jerusalem, but some 7 miles away in the tiny town of Bethlehem. The advisors stand to remind us that it pays to know your Scriptures! The magi continue their faithful witness and travel to Bethlehem to meet the new king and present their precious gifts.

Of all the traditions of faith we have lifted up it is perhaps the evangelical life that ties them all together. For this is the one that calls us to be most visible to others. It calls us to be live consistently with belief and practice. God became visible to the world in the extraordinary birth of Jesus – God-with-us – Emmanuel. In response to the incarnation of God we are called to be faithful evangels – bearers of that great news to a world that is constantly in need of reminders of God's love. If not us, then who?

Who will go to a world that surrounds people with trivial promises; when people are truly hurting and alone. In many ways the loneliness of our day is illustrated in the poignant opening moments of Steven Speilberg's movie, The Terminal. Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a man without a country who finds himself forced to live in limbo while his immigration status is determined. He is forced to watch his country falling apart on the TV screens located in JFK airport. The camera shows his anguish in the midst of the crowds of people surrounding him. Even though he is with thousands of people, he is utterly alone, an aloneness made all the more acute by the crowds who ignore his cries. As evangels we are called to witness God's love in the midst of such aloneness.

If not us then who?

Who will go to a world where the heaviness of human actions leads to hopelessness. As we hear of death after death in Iraq and other places in the world and human lives get reduced to numbers and statistics instead of names and stories…do we dare find our voice and proclaim God's word to such brutality and chaos? As evangels we are called to proclaim loudly and clearly that God names every human life as costly and precious.

If not us then who?