December 4, 2011

Sermon for Advent 2, Year B

Reverend Gregg D. Wood

     “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

      What amazing words. The deepest sense of these words is that peace, harmony, and healing will break out all over the world!  Sounds impossible doesn't it?  This promise, from John the Baptist, brings to mind the words of Jesus to his disciples, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."  [Matt. 19:26] 

--Try to imagine what it would be like:

--War is just a memory.
--Hunger and poverty a thing of the past.
--Every human being experiences love and a caring community.

Sounds like heaven doesn't it? 

     

     And... when you look at the state of human affairs these days, it sounds impossible... For mortals.  Nevertheless, this is a time of year for dreaming.  Many of our children are writing lists of all the things that would fulfill their dreams.  The child within us reaches out for the wonder and mystery of this "season of good cheer."  One friend described his feelings about the Christmas season this way, "It is as though we take leave of the real world for a time and wait for that wonderful something that will come to us all and bring peace and joy to the world -- but it never quite arrives and we wait for another year to dream again." 

     If somehow you were given the gift of writing a headline for the morning newspaper that would come true as you wrote it -- what would that headline be? Would it be the kinds of headlines that fill our newspapers today? Of course not. Deep within our hearts we want good news and not bad news. Life is filled with bad news. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see good news break out in our national newspapers. 

     A group of high school young people were asked to write headlines they would love to see and here are some of them:

"Peace declared all over earth!" 
"Hunger and poverty to be eliminated by year's end!"
"No reports of child abuse in the US for over a year!"
"Religious tolerance at an all time high!"
"Vaccine for all forms of cancer discovered!"
"Officials to investigate complete absence of violent crime!" 

"Wonderful dreams, but not very realistic," you say.  "Impossible!" 

     And you would be right with such thinking.  Human beings on their own will never bring such a thing about.  In the words of scripture, "For mortals it is impossible..."  And yet, there is a promise which is deep at the center of our faith that points to a spiritual truth that lies at the center of this season and calls us to be ready for God to intervene in the world, "but for God all things are possible." 

     In plain talk, here is the message John the Baptist proclaimed in the wilderness of Judea.  Though the message is an ancient one, it speaks quite directly to the spiritual wilderness of our contemporary world. 

"Make room for God!"

"Get rid of everything in your life that is a barrier to God!"

"Every person will see the promises of God come to pass!" 

There is a natural division of this message into two areas of concern.  There is first of all, the area of: "That which is possible for mortals..."  and  "That which is possible only for God." 

Let  us consider "That which is possible for mortals...":

When John the Baptist brought his message to the wilderness, he said there were two things we need to do in our relationship with God.  First of all, we need to make room for God.  "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  It is easy to find our lives so cluttered and busy that there is no room for our relationship with God.  There are times when our religious activity is rather perfunctory. The hard thing is that the times we celebrate, the central events of the Christian faith, are precisely the times when the pace of our lives is most hectic.  Think about it.  Are you prepared for the holiday season?  Are your cards all written, your shopping done and your preparations for holiday company completed?  And in all of this -- have you made room for God in the center of your life for this Advent season?  Is God's way into the center of your heart a straight and easy path or is the way cluttered and winding? 

     The intent here is not to add one more thing that you have to do on top of everything else.  But how about if you addressed a question to every aspect of your celebration of Christmas this year: "How does God relate to this?"  We aim the question at our shopping and spending, our relationships and family life and our inner life.  Reflect on this:  "How can I make a straighter path and more room for God in my life?" 

     Secondly, we need to get rid of everything in our lives that is a barrier to God.  When John the Baptist spoke the words of the prophet Isaiah about the leveling of the mountains and the lifting up of the valleys, he was talking about justice and righteousness becoming the norm.  He was pointing to a world where "good news" was a reality.  He spoke of the kind of world it would be when God was truly in charge, a world Jesus said his ministry would be all about:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Luke 4:18-19] 

     To celebrate the Advent of our Lord is to line our lives up with God's purposes and join the followers of Jesus Christ in bringing "good news" to the corner of the world we inhabit. 

     This can take many forms.  It might mean trying to bring some joy, laughter and caring into the life of someone who has every reason to feel oppressed and victimized.  But it might also mean asking, “Why is this person suffering so?”  It may be because of something we cannot change.  On the other hand it may be a result of injustice.  It may be the result of a social condition that could be corrected.  In that case we ought to try to correct the social injustice that caused the suffering in the first place. 

Now let turn our attention to "That which is possible only for God...": 

     When we have done all we can do to make room for God and to remove barriers to the presence of God, it is time to trust God for the outcome of all things.  We have control over our actions and even a modicum of influence on the world around us - beginning with our own small part of the world.  But -- we are not able to bring about the stunning completion of all things -- the final goal of God's divine purposes. 

     Advent and Christmas are all about a world that finally comes under the sovereign rule of God.  This is the good news that can not be rescinded or denied.  In the deepest sense, Advent and Christmas are the celebration of victory in a war against everything that is wrong.  Yet, the battles have yet to be completed and the time of fulfillment lies ahead.  The victory is secured in our faith and is being worked out in our lives.

Give yourselves once again to the wonderful victory of God's divine purposes in our world.  A new world which is described in some of the last words in our bible:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;  he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."  [Revelation 21:1-4] 

The prophet Isaiah said it best: 

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

`Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,'"