Sermon Advent 2

PEACE

The amount of preparation that is put into a task can be seen as a rough indicator of the level of enjoyment that one will receive.

As you know, almost any event is made better by decent preparation. When I stray into the kitchen, and produce a culinary delight for my family, I always think that I should have spent more time preparing. They never complain, but I know that I could have done better.

A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to prepare by reading Mark 17."

The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."

In our time of advent, we have the golden opportunity to spend time with God, and with each other, to think and pray about what Christmas really means to us. The preparation to celebrate the incarnation God in human form is as important as the celebration itself in many ways.

When I worked in social services, advent was a busy time. The pressures on families and individuals to ‘do the right thing’ seemed to be immense. The never-ending shopping trips and catalogue deliveries to get the latest toys and presents cost more that they could afford. This pressure revealed itself in people desperately scrabbling to get extra money where they could.

By the time I finished work on Christmas Eve, I was thoroughly fed up with Christmas, and all it meant in our popular culture. For my clients, the preparation was centred on money, the obtaining and spending of it.

Debts accrued in the Christmas rush were usually paid off over the next year, at extortionate rates of interest to unscrupulous loan sharks- and some would still be paying for the last Christmas as they borrowed again!

The message to them that we are preparing to celebrate Christmas, because God took human form to share in our sorrows and joys, is not fully lost on them. But the jolly Father Christmas icon is a long way from that homeless family sitting in a stable 2,000 years ago in the near east.

(The fat jolly man in the suit was actually created by the Coca Cola company in the 1930’s – Hence the Red and White – the colours on a coke can).

Similarly, the picture we have of Christ sitting with the lepers, prostitutes and the outcast, the Christ that turned over the money-lenders tables in the temple, is a long way from the temples of Mammon, that entice us all at this time of year. “All that glitters is not Christmas”

As we prepare ourselves for Christmas, I try to remember one golden rule, which has helped me, when I am uncertain what I should be doing. It is that I believe that God calls us all to a twofold ministry. The tasks are;

1. To spend time with GOD for PEOPLE – to engage God in prayer, for ourselves and for others. And secondly,

2. To spend time with PEOPLE for GOD – To be with people to share the love of God with them. If you like ‘to show Christ to them’

I am sure that we will spend more time in prayer this advent, but will we spend more time with people for God?

The revealing of Christ to people, is not simply the act of a concerned individual, but it is where we ALL become prophets. Yes! We become prophets. We tell of the importance of Christ coming to earth, and we put the story into a modern context, by showing the love of Christ to people today.

That is why, we must do both…. be with God for People, and be with people for God. To recreate the importance of the Christmas story on a daily basis.

In the Gospel reading this morning, we heard that God spoke to John, and he went around Jordan to proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

The scope and design of John's ministry were, to take the people from their sins, and to bring them to their Saviour. He came preaching, not a sect, or party, but a profession; the sign or ceremony was washing with water.

Our Gospel reading this morning tells us that John preached the necessity of repentance, for the remission of sins and that the baptism of water was an outward sign of that inward cleansing and renewal of heart, which is the effect of true repentance.

The fulfilling of the scriptures from Isaiah, is in the ministry of John

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

It is not only an allusion to the preparations made for a king, on a royal tour, but is meant to signify the Gospel message.

It is about making way for the Gospel in our lives, by clearing out our lives.

As it says in Hebrews “Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely.” If we want to finish the race, we must remove the excess baggage that is on us.

When way is made for the gospel in us, by taking down our high thoughts, and bringing is into obedience to Christ. This then removes all that stops us from accepting the way of Christ and his grace. This is what John was doing…making the way for God incarnate, the word made flesh.

The Gospel goes on beyond what we heard this morning to give warnings and exhortations that John gave. John also spoke of what he called ‘terror’. He said;

The guilty, corrupted race of mankind is become a generation of vipers; hateful to God, and hating one another. There is no way of fleeing from the wrath to come, but by repentance; That’s a bit harsh isn’t it?

To John the Baptist, the whole point of the Messiah appearing wasn’t just to give him the opportunity to baptize, but to get people to CHANGE THEIR LIVES. Nothing less! That was the deal.

John the Baptist gave instructions to several sorts of persons. Those that profess and promise repentance, must show it by reformation, according to their places and conditions.

The Gospel requires mercy, not sacrifice; and its design is, to engage us to do all the good we can, and to be fair and caring to all.

When we spend time in prayer, or working for the Kingdom of God, we are all preparing the way of the Lord, making his paths straight. It may seem strange, and I have said it before, but we are this generations PROPHETS. Prophets sent to give a message of hope to a confused and broken world.

Quite how we got to the festival of spending, from the joy of God incarnate, I will never know. It is however up to us to level the playing field a bit – let’s try to do something different that might just change the lives of others – and us too!

As we prepare for the birth of our Lord, we will reap great rewards from spending time with God, and with each other. I believe that our preparations will reveal God to us just that little bit more.

“Spend time with GOD for PEOPLE and spend time with PEOPLE for GOD.”

My sister-in-law came to visit yesterday, and as she was speaking she mentioned that whilst at the hairdressers she had a conversation with the woman cutting her hair – she said “I told her I was a Christian. And we started to talk about Roman Catholocism, and she couldn’t understand that some of us worship differently, honestly, she said “well you call it midnight mass” but only at Christmas” I started to laugh! In amongst the conversation Emily had managed to tell the hairdresser she was a Christian, the most important thing in her life. She had just done it in a matter of fact way. Do we share our faith so easily? If we do, I would suggest that we are doing well on our journey with God. Can we talk to strangers this Christmas about Jesus and His love for all people? The real Christmas message! It’s worth thinking about!

So as you leave Church today, go forth as prophets, proclaiming and showing the love of God; a God who is not distant, but one who joined us in the form of Christ, to share our pain, sorrow, joy and love.