Delivered Dec. 17, 2006
by Pastor Marilyn Henderson
This week's "cage match" on the CBC Radio 2 broadcast "Music and Company" with Tom Allen was between two Christmas favorites - "Sleigh Ride" and "Winter Wonderland." And the question was this, "While you're out shopping, which of these two classic holiday songs helps you spend more?" I don't know which song "won." I do know that, for any number of us, the thought of Christmas and all that means in terms of decorating, baking, family gatherings and, in particular, gift-giving, does not necessarily bring feelings of "comfort and joy," as the Christmas carol suggests. There may be emotions and feelings of dread, of sorrow, of anxiety, of weariness, of frustration as easily as there is excitement, enjoyment, content, love and joy.
We hear the voices of culture - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," particularly if your house and tree are beautifully decorated and with lots of carefully (expensively) wrapped presents under the tree. There are notices of stores open at 6 a.m., tax-free days of sales, school holiday programs in which nothing from the Christ event can be mentioned. We are encouraged to shop 'til we drop, max out the credit cards for "Kiss begins with K."
Eric and I are well-acquainted with a young man who, as a little boy, made a prophetic statement that we remember to this day. A bright little boy with little use for repetitive school work, he refused to do a math work sheet because he already understood the concept. His teacher was understandably frustrated and marched him down to the principal's office. When they reached the office, the principal wasn't in, so the teacher asked the little boy, "Sammy, do you know why I brought you here?" Sammy said, "Why no, Mrs. Smith."
Mrs. Smith said, "Sammy, I brought you here because you disobeyed me and I want the principal to spank you."
Sammy's reply: "Cool it, Mrs. Smith, cool it. Math isn't the most important thing in life. The most important thing is to know what's right and do it."
How do we keep "the right thing" in front of us at Christmas time?
The voice of John the Baptist breaks into the Christmas frenzy:
"...One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
We hear the Apostle Paul, the outspoken and eternal optimist, telling us not to worry, for "God is near." We aren't to worry, but are instead to take all of our concerns to God and we will experience peace.
What does Advent mean anyway? What is it, anyway?I have been using a Celtic prayer book for the last year and have found that the Christian Celts emphasis on incarnational theology is helpful in my experience and in my faith. Incarnational theology is the understanding that the God of the Hebrews became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Another element of incarnational theology is that, as followers of Jesus Christ with Jesus' Holy Spirit living in us, we are Jesus to those we meet. Following is an excerpt from A Spiritual Formation Workbook: Small-Group Resources for Nurturing Christian Growth:
"...all that we say, all that we do, all that we are becomes a means to make God's presence real to those around us."
"When our life is a "seamless garment," we are free to reveal God to the world. Wholly available to God, we become his representative, his emissary, and he does his work through us. Our mind becomes the mind of God helping his children understand his love. Our hands become the hands of Jesus nursing the sick. Our voice becomes the voice of Christ proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of god. Our arms become the arms of the Holy Spirit loving the sinner unconditionally. As we let the power and life of God flow through us, we become the person he created us to be and God becomes known to the world through us."
But even as we try to define the Incarnation, both in Bethlehem and now in us, the Incarnation remains a profound mystery.
Do you understand how the King of Glory, the Holy One whom the Jews call "Master of the Universe," chose to come down to our level and live as a person like you and me? I have a hard time understanding that. Most of the time I'm quite willing to stay as far away from the mess and mire of life as much as my life and conscience and God allow me. I have so many questions.
For instance:
what does it mean that the Creator became the created?
What does it mean that the Guide became the guided?
What does it mean that the Provider became one who needed provision?
What does it mean that the All-Powerful God became powerless?
What does it mean that the Ever-Present God became finite, limited to time and space?
What does it mean that the All-Knowing God became dependant upon his Heavenly Father for his knowledge and understanding of earthly companions and situations?
What does it mean that YHWH became one of us? Not just like us, but actually became completely human.
What must it have been like to suddenly take on the weight of human flesh and human emotion and human intellect?
What must it have been like to know the limits of human function?
Did Jesus remember what it was like to be God, unlimited by anything?
And we think change is hard for us!
"And God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes on him shall be saved."
Jesus left his heavenly family and joined his earthly family because of Love.
A Love that created all people.
A Love that knows all people.
A Love that cares deeply and tenderly for all people.
A Love that invites people since Creation to be God's friends.
A Love that grieves when the invitation has been ignored or refused.
A Love that longs to free us from our fear, ignorance and stiff-necked, stubborn pride.
Love desires the best for us, the most for us - all that we were created to be. We were created for joy, peace and harmony and an eternal companionship with God. It is the sorrow and agony of sin that keeps us from realizing our destiny of perfect relationship with God. I believe that God became a human being for our sake. That may mean different things to different people, but the bottom line is that Jesus came because of us and for us. Jesus' entire human existence was one of preparing the way for all people to know and experience the immeasurable greatness and goodness of God through the acts of his followers and his Holy Spirit. The Kingdom Jesus established was prepared for all those who choose to be a part of his family through repentance and changed lives.
What is Advent? Yes, it's a time of preparation for Christmas. But what does that mean - preparation for Christmas?
An old Advent tradition says that the door to the stable where the Christ-child has been born is very low - and only those who kneel find access. The Celtic Christians observed Advent for 40 days in preparation for Christmas, matching the 40 days of fasting and prayer before Easter. It seems that Christians from ancient times made Advent an opportunity for spiritual reassessment, a time of humbling themselves, repentance and "interior housecleaning" (Celtic Daily Prayer (CDP),228).
In Luke 3, we read of The Baptist's prophetic call to all people to stop treating others unfairly and restore their relationships with others in order to prepare themselves for the coming of Messiah. Both Isaiah and John call each of us to prepare the way of the Lord into our hearts, to make that path straight and "level and clear" (CDP, 228). And this is how we do that:
Every "pothole" is to be filled in - we are to repent of every deed left undone, every kind or encouraging word left unsaid. And we are to make this right with God and others when possible.
Every "boulder" must be moved off that path - we are to repent of every unkind, unworthy or mean deed or word or thought or attitude - anything that hinders our relationships with God or others. Intentionally considering true repentance is a humbling experience that enables one to clear and repair the road to the heart so that King Jesus enters with no hindrance.
While for some the Baptist's message may be scary, we are called to be unafraid of the purifying effects of repentance. When we obey the prophets, when we prepare God's way to our hearts, we "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3.8a). We will be ready for the coming of Messiah, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with purifying fire.
We will rejoice in the Lord always and there will be no place for fear, for the Lord is near. God is always ready to hear our requests for forgiveness, for others, for needs. God waits for us to move towards the God who has already come towards us, who has already come much more than half way.
Filling in the potholes and removing the boulders in the roadway to our hearts may be a big job - but not impossible. It may be that you can only fill in one or two potholes and/or get rid of one or two boulders this season. After all, preparing the Lord's way is an on-going task. It sometimes seems to me, anyway, that I remove a boulder only to see a bigger one behind it. It's disconcerting, it's frustrating, exasperating and wearisome. One is never done.
However, hear the word of the Apostle Paul: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication (or plea or entreaty), make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Peace. Comfort and joy. They sound wonderful, yet our lives often don't reflect even the basic results of faith in God. At least, mine doesn't always. And if there is even one instance that comes to mind of un-Christlike behaviour - whether thought, word or deed - our hearts are in need of road repair.
God rest ye merry gentle folk, let nothing you dismay;
Remember Christ our Saviour was born upon this day
To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!
O tidings of comfort and joy!
And in-between the times of road construction and repair, let's remember the old Advent tradition: the door to the stable where the Christ-child has been born is very low - and only those who kneel find access.
The word "Immanuel" consists of Hebrew words. "Im" means with. "El" is an ancient word for God. God with us. And inside the stable, where Immanuel - God with us - lies, we find comfort and joy - and peace.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Prayer and Response:I don't know what you're used to doing here, but it seems good this morning to offer an opportunity to respond to God by kneeling for our prayer - to enter through the door of the stable on our knees into the presence of Immanuel. Let's kneel forward this morning. Those of you who are able and/or choose to, would you please kneel in preparation for prayer?
Immanuel, we kneel to You only.
We acknowledge our inability to find comfort and joy other than with You.
We repent of the sin in our lives - all the boulders and potholes in the roadway to our hearts. Show us which ones to fill in or remove this week. Empower us by your Holy Spirit to repair our heart roads.
Remind us of your constant nearness when we need reminding.
Help us to bring all our concerns and worries to You.
As we give You our lives, give us Your comfort and joy and peace.
In the loving and living name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Petitcodiac Mennonite Church