December 9 - Second Sunday in Advent
Prepare the Way of the Lord
John the Baptist began his
sermon; “You brood of vipers - You bunch of snakes.” What a way to begin a sermon. It sure got their attention.
Those who design Christmas
cards have never seen the
connection between John the Baptist and Christmas. Although in the church for centuries, the
gospels on two Sundays before Christmas have been about John’s preaching, religious Christmas cards that quote
scripture have never quoted John the Baptist.
A John the Baptist Christmas
card might begin:
Season’s greetings, you brood of vipers . . .
Bear fruits of
repentance if you want to have a Happy New Year”.
In some ways John the Baptist
is like the season of Advent - an annoying, yet persistent speed bump on the
road to celebrating the birth of sweet baby Jesus. The church put Advent - the winter Lent -
before Christmas as a time of preparation - of reflection and self-examination. Are we
ready to receive Jesus?
Part of that preparation is listening again to John the Baptist, for he
is the one who prepared people for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, so that
they would be ready to meet Christ - hence
John’s words are appropriate for
us who prepare for Jesus’ rebirth in our hearts at Christmas. His message:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matthew
3:2
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Repent - turn away from sin and turn toward the Lord and his way. . .
away from darkness and toward the light of Christ.
A Baptist church was having an
evangelistic service, and after the sermon was the altar call. One of the members came forward to ask the
preacher to pray for him. He said he had
to confess, and began his testimony:
“I’m a sinner, a terrible sinner.
I’ve been a sinner for years, but I never realized it before today.”
The deacon put his hand on the
man’s shoulder and said: “You can sit down now, brother, the rest of us have
known all along you were a big sinner.”
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Repent - turn around in your mind - turn your life around, so that
others can see the fruit – the result of Christ in your life.
Advent is an unpleasant speed bump on the road to Christmas because you
want to hear about peace and joy, not sin and repentance.
Yet Jesus, the one we’re preparing for, told us that God wants and
expects repentance - for us to turn to him.
More than that, it is by the grace of Christ that we can - for it is
His Spirit that calls us and draws us to Him.
God makes repentance possible.
God can take our small, broken lives, turn them around.
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Will Willimon, a Methodist
pastor, told about the time he went to the funeral of a relative in rural
“It’s too late for Sam. It’s
over for him - the Lord has taken him.
But it’s not too late for you.
People drop dead every day. Why
wait? Today is the day. Repent!
Make you life count for something.
Give your life to Jesus. You
don’t know what tomorrow will hold.
Repent!”
After the funeral, as Willimon
and his wife were driving home, he said to her: “That sermon was terrible. I never would do that to a grieving
family. That was the most inappropriate,
manipulative funeral sermon I ever heard.”
His wife responded: “You’re right. And the worst part is - it was true.”
We all need repentance,
conversion and transformation. And now is the time to begin. That God’s grace has provided for those
things is good news.
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When John the Baptist spoke about repentance, he said: It’s your life that’s got to change. And now is the time. What matters most is your life. Is it bearing fruit for God? If your life is changed, people will be able
to tell. That’s bearing fruit.
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A guy was accosted by a street evangelist: “Are you a Christian?”
“Why are you asking me? I could
say anything. Ask my family. Ask my neighbor - my co-workers. They should be able to tell you whether or
not I’m a Christian.
That’s why I don’t have a
Pastor or Clergy sticker on my car. I
know how I drive. I don’t want those
Drivers I cut off to say “He’s a pastor?
That’s another reason not to go to church.”
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Our Christian life-style
should be most evident in our human families - our extended families - and our
church family, which is the body of Christ. God has no room for disunity or
division among his people. For God asks
His people to exist for one another, and to imitate the self-giving love of
Christ.
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At Christmas we celebrate the
birth of the Prince of Peace. We pray
for the gift of peace. And the Lord
responds: Be an instrument of my peace – in your family and among your friends,
and in your church.
And perhaps that’s a difficult
aspect of our faith, especially if your extended family is like mine.
To live in peace in church, we must embrace the whole body of
Christ. This includes the person who
bores you by rambling on during Bible class.
It includes the opinionated and the difficult members - even the
grumbler and the mal-content.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7
Paul reminds us that Christ has welcomed us as we are. The word translated welcome connotes
wholehearted acceptance. Accept
others as they are just as Christ has accepted you. Because we were received when we were
less than worthy, so we must extend the same welcoming and accepting
spirit to others who may be very
different, even annoying.
It’s a given that we should
love all people, and extend the hand of kindness without thought for recompense
or reward. But we are also called to
show compassion toward all.
Compassion: to think and feel
from the perspective of another person.
It’s a spiritual challenge especially if that person is harder to love.
Welcome and
accept one another, therefore, just as Christ has accepted you, for the
glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant…
As mature Christians we care for, and even defer to others, having the
attitude of a servant, and placing ourselves in service to another, imitating
Christ who became a servant.
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A little girl and her mother were driving home from the church, and the
girl said: “In Sunday School my teacher said God is so big that He can hold the
whole world in His hand.”
Then in church, the pastor said that God can live in our hearts.
Before the mother could attempt to explain this paradox, the girl said
“If he’s that big, and he’s in our hearts, God should be sticking out all
over.”
The love of Christ should be sticking out of our lives. Our faith should be active and visible.
The goal is living in harmony, that we may experience the peace of
Christ.
Paul prays
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God Romans 15:5
Harmony is not easy and does
not imply homogeneity - being the same.
It is the differences that make for the beauty of harmony.
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Think about musical
harmony. When soprano, alto, tenor and
bass combine to make four-part harmony, their different and unique sounds,
acting together, create one multi-faceted chord. The result is more beautiful than the
individual parts. The beauty of the
harmony lies both in its complexity and in the effort in which it is
maintained.
But harmony is not accidental.
It’s practiced and trained.
In the same way we must
recognize that it is in our nature to like some people better than others -- to
easily relate to some, and maybe not even care for others.
But Paul says, the body of
Christ is to be different. Those who are
less favored by you are necessary for the beauty of harmony. Living in Christian harmony means we practice
a forgiving attitude. Living in Christian harmony requires humility, and a
positive bent toward putting others before ourselves. In other word, having Christ-like attitudes.
Harmony is intentional and sustained by the grace of God. The acceptance and deference, unity and
harmony that Paul commands in the church are not natural. They are
gracious. The grace of Christ at work
first in us, and then out of us.
As that little girl said, “If
God’s that big, and he’s in our hearts, God should be sticking out all over.”
The love of Christ should be sticking out of our lives, for all to see.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Christmas Eve Services at 5:00
& 7:30 pm