Sermon - Advent 2

As we continue through Advent we have come to the second candle, signifying for us the role of the Prophets in the nativity story. Though they spoke of the coming messiah hundreds of years before the event, still we remember the part they had to play in the piecing together of the event of the birth of Jesus, marking it out as God being born amongst us.

In the school this year they have made a Jesse tree- Basically it is a branch of a tree. After telling a story about our faith, we can hang a picture on it. The idea is that through December we go from Adam and Eve through the patriarchs and the prophets to the Christ child in and the Holy family. It is really important that we see that this twig starts as insignificant and ends up as an historic record of stories told. Hopefully, the children will enjoy the journey through the thousands of years – and the clergy and teachers too, as they refamiliarise themselves with the stories.

At this time of year, stories and remembering are at the heart of what we do.

UK 'lacking nativity knowledge'

More than a quarter of adults in Britain do not know where Jesus was born, a survey has suggested.

The poll found that 27% of people were unable to identify Bethlehem as his birthplace, rising to 36% of people aged between 18 and 24.

The poll, for public theology think tank Theos, also found 27% did not know who told Mary she would have a son.

Last week a Sunday Telegraph survey suggested only one in five schools is planning a traditional nativity play.

The majority of the 1,015 adults questioned, 52%, could not name John the Baptist as Jesus's cousin.

When asked where Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to escape from King Herod - which was Egypt - more than three quarters of people, 78%, gave the wrong answer.

The majority, 52%, thought they escaped to Nazareth.

'Cultural bloodstream'

Only 12% of adults could answer all four questions about the Christmas story correctly.

Theos said the findings showed the Christmas story was still "very much" in the "cultural bloodstream" of the nation.

Paul Woolley, director of Theos, said: "The fact that younger people are the least knowledgeable about the Christmas story may reflect a decline in the telling of Bible stories in schools and the popularity of nativity plays.

"No one seriously thinks that being a Christian or a member of the established church is the same thing as being British today.

"But, at the same time, if we are serious about social cohesion we can't afford to ignore the stories that have bound us together as a culture for 1,000 years."

Here rests the case for the defence.

The transmission of our faith has depended on us enjoying and understanding the stories of faith down the generations, and passing them onto the young, who can apply the stories to their lives and pass them on when the time comes.

The image of the priest running with the baton in the great race of life, and passing it onto the next willing runner at the end of his or her allotted time is good – but it isn’t just the clergy. We are all entrusted with keeping faith alive for those who come after us.

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”’

Today as we consider the work of the prophets, we can see how Isaiah gives us great pictures of He who was meant to be and with Isaiah we watch and pray for “Great David’s greater Son” - The coming king.

Here is the FIRST startling picture — will be “a shoot from a stump”. Matthew Henry comments: “Both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig is easily broken off.” A later poem, also attributed to Isaiah, will speak of one who “grew up like a root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 53.2). “The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation,” says Matthew Henry.

The SECOND image of the coming messiah is that: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him.”

We would definitely agree with this – but would we go on to realise that the Spirit of God is invariably given for a specific task. So here the promised king will come with a particular mission.

And as the reading continues, we can see the THIRD image of the Messiah. His royal role will be to “judge the poor”.

Judgement in the Old Testament is not the deliverance of a verdict. It is the deliverance of people. It is setting wrongs right.

As Christian readers of Isaiah’s prophecy we hear words that startled the back row of the synagogue in Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4.18).

So Isaiah gives us a picture of a coming King – one who will restore paradise to the poor and the needy with the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him to fulfil His purpose.

On that day “the wolf shall live with the lamb.” – this is a picture of the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom that the Messiah will bring.

The interim few thousand years hasn’t been good for humanity really – the powerful still aren’t sharing creation with the powerless, and the images of creation being cared for with due diligence are still a far away dream.

This doesn’t diminish Isaiah’s wonderful vision though, of the magnitude of the coming of the Messiah is still something that brings hope and joy –and still changes lives.

Perhaps the church needs to share this vision with others more widely, so that people might know where Jesus was born, where his family fled to, and who John the Baptist actually was.

Sermon - Advent Sunday

It's been some time since I posted here....Advent, the start of the new Church year, perhaps I will do better now!

An article on the BBC website entitled “’tis the season of ostentation’ reminded me that however much we think that Advent has crept up quickly, the Christmas lights on Oxford Street have been lit since the 7^th November – such is the demand for a good ‘run up’ to the greatest shopping event this year.

I believe that advent is a time of great hope – an advertising executive might say that it ‘has great potential’. Advent has the potential of being the point at which many people encounter Christ. Advent could be the time when people HEAR the Gospel, and not just LISTEN to it. There is the potential that our lives and their lives will change, and none of us will never be the same again….this year.

As we meet those who come through our doors this season, we are entrusted with the task of welcoming them into our family, as they share with us the Advent journey to Christ being born with us once again.

ADVENT, more than any other time in the Christian calendar, is the time when people come close to the gospel message, and the selfless love of God - that resulted in him sending his Son to us.

So today the readings are about us – doing our job, making the paths straight so that all may see Jesus. We are building roads to God, and we are fixing the ones that already exist.

This advent, we are entrusted to share the Gospel with others, and to do that we need to look at ourselves and our attitudes toward LIFE, toward HISTORY and toward GOD. We need to build roads to God by caring for history, by making the Church and our worship available to all, and we need to build roads to God by looking for new ways to speak to those around us in our community – and all in less than four weeks. WE ARE GOING TO NEED HELP!

Don’t worry, help is at hand!

Paul tells us, “Let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light”. This is not the armour used to suppress people, it is not the armour that defends those who use violence. It is the armour that secures peace, and establishes justice for us and all people. The armour has the face of Jesus, and that is why Paul tells us to put on “the Lord Jesus Christ”. And I can tell you that we all need the armour sometimes – because as you know, being a Christian can be hard.

The mission and ministry of this parish takes place here on a Sunday, but it also takes place every day of the week outside Church, with the work that we do. And it is outside the Church that we need to put the armour on. As we follow the demands placed on us by the Gospels we risk a lot by going into the world as Christians.

Children stop coming to Church because it isn’t groovy or smart. I can remember praying that people wouldn’t find out that I went to Church – people can be cruel. It is part of our culture today, that church is seen as here for weddings, funerals and baptisms – anything else is seen as pointless a waste of time.

Most people that I meet have a faith – that is why they want a wedding in Church, and they want a Church funeral, and they want baptism for their Children. It is not just about being proper or posh – inside they have a faith. What they don’t have is a religion, almost everyone I have talked to believes in God – and they also understand what they have been taught about the Gospels. They say “Well, you don’t have to go to Church to be a Christian” – and that is where I have to disagree – You DO have to go to Church to be a Christian – because that is where you join in a church community to share and love and be loved.

It’s not their fault though! People with a faith don’t come to Church because Church doesn’t speak to them anymore, or the pace of life means that they can’t get here. They may work, care for relatives or any of a hundred reasons. They might not understand our worship, they might not like the hymns, or the sermon, or the people in Church.

I am not a great fan of R.S. Thomas, but he muses in one of his poems that we have ‘over furnished our faith’. With our complex theology and traditions, the things we made up to make us seem more important, we are in danger of making ourselves irrelevant to the world. We are proclaiming the most simple message of all – that God who created us, sent his only son to be with us in human form, to show us his love – and eventually die for us to save us from ourselves

Now that is where the armour is needed – when we go outside this church - we need to put the armour on because in the real world we are risking ridicule and rejection for believing what we believe – we are on the battlefield. If I had a pound for every time I have received a funny look or a comment from people I meet, I would be rich indeed.

But that doesn’t bother me, because I thank God that they know what I do, and where I live, and I believe that when they need me they will ring or call. And they do from time to time. As Christians, we are sharing the love of Christ. When we risk ridicule or rejection, we are keeping the flame of faith alive for others.

We are told in the readings from both Matthew and Paul not to doze off. Stay alert and wait for the son of man to be with us. We are called to be watchful and wait for God to give us the opportunity to be a SIGNPOST to HIM, through the way we live our lives and how we worship, and how we greet people. On Thursday night, there may well be over two hundred people sat or stood in this Church – at the carol service. They are God’s gift to us, they have faith – but they may not have religion – they need to be part of a church family – we need to put our armour on and get amongst them, they may be looking for something that we are called to give them.