December 10 - Second Sunday in Advent
Advent is the season that
comes before Christmas. And John the
Baptist is the man who comes before Jesus.
In the gospel, we read about that time, when Jesus was about 30 years
old and John prepared the people for Christ’s ministry.
Advent is the season of preparation; John is the man who prepared the
way for Christ.
John the Baptist went into all
the region around
the
Luke 3:3,4
We prepare for Christmas - the
advent of the Savior - by listening to John the Baptist‘s call to repentance,
as the way to “Prepare the way of the Lord”
You remember that word, repent,
means to ‘turn around’ or ‘return’ - or even ‘think again’.
We are to turn around - away from our busy-ness and turn to the Lord -
to think again about the meaning of Christmas.
A great preacher who reminds
me of John the Baptist is Billy Graham - a fiery preacher like John of
old. “We’re suffering from only one
disease in our world. The basic problem
is not race - or poverty - or war. Our
basic problem is a heart problem. We
need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed.”
The theme for the second Sunday in Advent is love. We can begin
to transform our hearts by meditating on the love of God. The Father’s love for us is shown in the gift
of His Son, Jesus, who came and gave His life so that we may have life. We mediate of Christ’s command, that we love
one another as he has loved us. Those
two thoughts are connected: the kind of love He offered is the same kind we are
to share.
It is not a sentimental love,
not a warm feeling - although it does flow from the heart. It is even more than the love between
brothers and sisters, or the love among family members. The Greek language had different words for
each of those kinds of love. But Jesus -
and Paul - used another word for love.
In Greek, it is agape - in English either love
or charity. A love
that flows from the heart and the will.
From the will in the sense that it is a conscious
decision to love. Rather than an emotion that overwhelms you,
it is something you decide to do. For
example, remember the parable of the Good Samaritan.
* The Samaritan did not love that Jewish man who had been robbed as a
brother. They’d probably never even be
friends under ordinary circumstances.
Rather the Samaritan’s loving action - coming to his aid - was an act of
the will. He chose to obey God’s
command, Love your neighbor as yourself, and understood that anyone who
needed his help was His neighbor, for we are all children of God.
* That parable illustrates another aspect of agape - love and charity. It is a kind of love that puts the needs of
another above our own - that leads us to go out of our way for someone
else. The Samaritan was on a business
trip - he had someplace he had to be.
But he interpreted his trip - now he’d be late to his appointment - to
stop and help. He took the man to an inn
- and paid for his care.
* Then he left. Which is the third point about this kind of love. It expects nothing in return. The Samaritan left without knowing the name
of the person he helped. He’d probably
never see him again - thus never be thanked.
As Jesus said, do your work of charity in secret - don’t tell others
how generous you have been - and your heavenly Father, who sees in secret, will
openly reward you. God sees and
remembers.
Christian love and charity - agape - is an act of the will that does good for another person without seeking any reward.
*
A pastor was greeting folks after the service. He commented on the great tie one member was
wearing. The man smiled, thanked him, and
immediately took it off and gave it to him.
The others standing there seemed shocked and embarrassed by such a
spontaneous act of generosity.
Then someone else whispered to the pastor, “Aren’t you sorry you didn’t
complement him of the great new Cadillac he’s driving.”
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Actually, Paul says overflowing Christian love is not indiscriminate and spontaneous, but wise. This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and full insight. Philippians 1:9
Since it involves your will - your decision - Paul advises love with “depth
of insight”, which means discernment and common sense. We
love others thoughtfully.
You instinctively know that
already. There are so many in need - and
there are all kinds of needs. So we
naturally offer help selectively - we select specific situations where we think
that we can make a small difference. In
performing loving acts we make an effort, as Paul says,
to determine what is best.
*
Some time ago, Dolly Parton was promoting her
own line of cosmetics, and once she was asked whether she believed in giving
money to homeless people.
“I believe in my cosmetics line.
There are plenty of charities for the homeless. Isn’t it time someone helped the homely?”
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* In the Narthex, you saw our angel tree. The decorations are commitments to buy gifts
for children who have a parent in prison.
They’ll be a party for them here this Saturday. We’ve done this before and your response has
always been generous.
* Our ladies also put together layettes for babies. They are distributed by Lutheran World
Relief in other parts of the world.
* And you are all familiar with the Daily Bread ministry that
distributes food here on Tuesdays. We
are part of a broader ministry that works through out
All of these are examples of the kind of love that Jesus commands - a
love that involves both heart and mind - and thus discernment and common
sense. A Christian love manifested in
loving deeds and that asks nothing in return.
We may be a little church, but
you have a big heart - and a generous spirit.
You faithfully support the work of the church - and these additional
acts of charity. It makes me proud to be
your pastor.
Your generosity emerges both
from gratitude and obedience. We are
grateful to God for all the blessing he bestows on us - and for His gift of
love and salvation. It is good to be
thankful to the Lord - to cultivate that attitude of gratitude.
And like the Good Samaritan,
we also give in obedience to God’s command to love Him and to love others. Our generosity shows our faithfulness to
Christ and His way - sacrifice is good for the soul as well as helpful to others.
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Another aspect of a generous spirit - of sharing Christian love - is
sharing the message of Jesus with others.
Like John the Baptist, we are called to be messengers to prepare the
way. We bring the message - the
invitation - and thus prepare the way for the Holy Spirit to work in the life
of another person. As a messenger, we
are not responsible for the result - for someone else’s response. Our task is only to deliver the message - the
invitation.
So please start thinking about
whom you might invite to visit your church during this Christmas season. Take some time to sit quietly and think about
your friends and neighbors and co-workers.
Who doesn’t have church of their own?
Pray about how you might find the opportunity to invite them to your
church. Thus, let the Lord use you.
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God, by his Word and Spirit, is preparing us for his
Advent. He is at work within us, and
Paul writes:
I am confident that the one who began a
good work among you will bring it to completion
by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
We may not be what we should be
- could be - but we are not what we were.
Paul has complete assurance
that “God will bring to completion” the good work he has begun in us.
The
Savior is at work within us
Christmas Eve Services at 5:00
& 7:30 pm