Well, Well, Well
Well, well, well…
Well, well, well!
Well… well? Well …come!
Welcome!
It is well that you have come!
Have you ever thought of that before? That the word “welcome” means that it is well that you have come?
Well come
If you put it that way the word welcome is a very good church word.
It is well that you have come to church…
And why is this?
Well…
Church is about God
And it is well to come to God – to have the intention toward God.
Now that I’ve mentioned “God” let me point out that I am not talking about a big old man with a big white beard on big golden throne surrounded by a choir of angels playing harps…
That’s what I call The “Big King Version” of God.
The BKV God.
For most of the history of the Christianity, everyone took for granted that God was a kind of King in the sky.
The reason for this was simple enough – we were picturing God as the ultimate authority – and that was what authority looked like: like a king.
A big king.
But there are big problems with the Big King version of God.
If God is nothing more than a Big King, then God can take sides. And as soon as God takes sides, then someone is no longer welcome.
Human history is filled with people claiming to have the BKV of God on their side, so that they can justify having power over someone.
And this never ends well.
SO… when I say that it is well that you have an intention to come to God
I am talking about something else…
I’m talking about God as the Mysterious Concentration of Good…
MCG God.
The mysterious concentration of good has no gender and wears no crown.
MCG God does not take sides.
And because we can have faith in our hearts, we can be collected into the Mysterious Concentration of Good.
We are part of the concentration.
And this is welcome! A welcome thing indeed!
So welcome! It is well that you have come to the mysterious concentration of Good!
Well, well, well.
Well, well, well…
Well… well… well… being.
Well-being is another good church word.
Especially tonight.
Because, even though I just got done convincing you to do away with the Big King Version of God,
Even though I affirmed a mysterious God without gender and without a crown…
I want to also say at the very same time that during one moment in human history, God did have gender.
But this God who had arms and legs and eyes and feet…
This God-among-us
This Emmanuel that we celebrate tonight…
He wasn’t born in a castle.
He had very little interested in being powerful.
This God was born in a barn,
He was wrapped in cloth and laid in a feeding trough.
Jesus
God’s well-being…
Well-being, because, when he had being –
When he walked the dusty roads
Shared our common lot
Considered the lilies
And fed the poor
He taught us how to be.
How to be forgiving and forgiven
How to be peaceful and at peace
How to feel grace, and be graceful
How, of course, to love and be loved
So welcome to this house dedicated to God’s well-being.
God’s well-being, who was named, Emmanuel
God among us.
Well, well, well…
(What’s it going to be this time?)
Well done?
That works… well done for coming, for joining this in with this, part of our small town’s mysterious concentration of good!
That’s good, but I’m thinking of another well…
Well off?
Well… it never hurts to have a couple nickels to rub together, but it’s not a requirement around here…
No that’s not it…
Well well well…
I’m looking for a third well
What’s it gonna be folks, any guesses?
*****
How about just “well” all by itself…
Not the adverb this time, but the noun…. as in, a hole in the ground where you go to get water?
It is often said of religion, that it is a crutch…
A crutch, of course, is something that you lean on when things get tough…
This metaphorical description of religion is a favorite of its critics – those, that is, who believe themselves strong enough not to need such a crutch.
I would like to offer another metaphor…
The metaphor of the well.
Back in the day, before we had town water, the well was a place to go to be replenished.
Replenished with the source of life – the element out of which we were born, and the element that sustains us.
I offer you the teachings of Jesus, and this humble church as a well
A place to be welcome.
A place to find well-being.
A place to find a mysterious concentration of good in the form a holy little child
Well, well, well.