Preached at St. John’s Lancaster 16 December, 2012
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| Saint John the Baptist Preaching to the Masses in the Wilderness by Peiter Brueghel the Younger |
Canticle 9 BCP 86, Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
Here we are at the third Sunday of Advent. How are you doing preparing for the birth of the Saviour? Are you finding something to rejoice about in your life? Are you being gentle to the people you meet? Are you doing better not worrying about things? Are you praying more, and taking your issues and problems to God with a real thankfulness and a belief that he will meet your needs? Are you experiencing in a knowable way that peace of God which passes all understanding? If we are to believe the lessons for today, such measuring sticks ought to be regular parts of our lives.
Christianity is a very practical faith. It is not just an exercise in philosophical reasoning or a denial of the realities around us. Perhaps that is why God chose to reveal himself to us through the incarnation of Jesus. We believe that at Christmas God came down and became one of us. As St. John says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.” That is why the Fathers of the Church worked so hard to verify that all four Gospels were eyewitness accounts before they approved them for continued use in the Church. That is why all of those stories about Jesus sitting down and eating with folks are so essential to our faith. That is why of all the stories that could have been told about the post resurrection appearances of Jesus, Jesus telling Thomas to touch him is so important. Christianity is not just about great ideas or noble beliefs, it is about the reality of God stepping into the physical world to assure us of his love.
Lots of people over the years have used Christianity for lots of things. Some have killed in the name of God. Others have used the faith as a stick to beat others into submission. Some have employed faith to get themselves a pretty comfy berth with good pay, social prestige, and a bit of power over their neighbors. Many have taken a verse or two or three out of context and ridden their partial truth into the ground in ways that caused much suffering and pain. But the mistakes, and sins of fallible men and women in no way negate the fact that God loved us so much that he sent Jesus Christ his only begotten son into the world to save you and me from ourselves and our sins, and to allow us friendship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son in the power of the Holy Ghost.
If today’s second lesson tells us what our attitudes ought to be like, and if the Gospel tells us practically how our lives should change after we meet Jesus, then the Old Testament lesson and Canticle give us a glimpse of what the future holds for those who are in the process of living into friendship with God. It is a practical vision of what the world could be like if we all treated others the way God wants us to treat each other. Imagine, no more war or violence against children like we saw this week in Connecticut and in China. Imagine no more worrying about making ends meet or being alone. Imagine a world where there was no laziness or oppression, and where everyone pulled their weight with a sense of cooperative teamwork and justice. Imagine a world where the most vulnerable among us were protected by all of us, and where everyone believed that human life was sacred and that every human being had a God given right to live decently and to earn the respect of his or her neighbors.
Advent is about getting ready for such a world, and about living in the here and now as if that world were just around the corner. To paraphrase that first paragraph of this sermon about how are you doing, perhaps this would be better. Are you so living in this world that when the new world comes, you won’t have to change a bunch of habits or practices, because you are already doing now what you will be doing then? This life you see, is just practice for the next. Jesus Christ came into this world very physically two thousand years ago so that we could see what it would all look like, and to take the steps necessary for you and me to get another chance with God. We are going to celebrate that first coming in just nine days. Some day, Jesus Christ is coming into this world again just as physically to usher in the promises we heard in today’s Old Testament lesson and Canticle. That is the message of Advent.
Are you ready to meet him when he gets here? Are you in the habit of practicing those attitudes and actions which he modeled for us when he was in a physical body living with the disciples in Judea and Roman Palestine? We have been reminded this week, as we are reminded every week, that there are many people in the world who have not yet started making themselves ready for Christ’s Return, and the world is a worse place for it. God calls all of us who name Jesus as Lord and King to be in the habit of practicing today that which will be the norm when he returns. As we follow him in obedience and faith, as we live in humility and love, all the world will see the wisdom of this better way, this promised way, and the Holy Ghost will use our actions and attitudes to draw many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our true King. This is the real meaning of Advent. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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