A Very Pregnant Christmas

Luke 1:39-55

My daughter-in-law Sarah and my son Ernie are expecting their second child - a girl this time – due on January 7. That is just two weeks away! So Sarah is very pregnant this Christmas. Having them living here in Sandwich makes this holiday is a very special one for us as grandparents. Expecting a child at Christmastime gives a new dimension to Advent and Christmas. All of England is thinking about the royal couple William & Kate expecting a child in the summer, but we are counting down the days to the birth of our own little princess. Expecting the birth of a child soon makes me think more about Mary’s pregnancy. A couple of weeks ago I entitled my sermon “What to Expect when you are Expecting Jesus” and today it is entitled “A Very Pregnant Christmas.”

At Christmas we normally focus on the baby born in Bethlehem – and the shepherds, angels, wise men, and all the cast of characters who appear on the scene on Christmas day and shortly thereafter. We generally don’t ponder too much the nine months leading up to this great event, nor about the labor and delivery. During those nine months before Christmas Day, Mary was getting bigger and bigger, experiencing morning sickness and cravings. Who knows what Joseph had to run out to the marketplace to buy? Mary was getting increasingly uncomfortable as Christmas Day approached, having a hard time sleeping, and so forth. Today, two days before Christmas, imagine what Mary was feeling two days before Christmas. As we celebrate Christmas, there are certain elements I want to emphasize about the meaning of Jesus’ birth.

I. First Jesus is God With Us. That is the meaning of the word Immanuel, one of the prophetic names for Jesus in the OT. The famous prophecy of Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” The gospel writer Matthew picks up that prophecy and applies it to Jesus, saying about the birth of Jesus, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

When a child is born it completely changes your life. The parents forget what it is like to get a full night’s sleep. All of a sudden a new person is living with you, a person you have to pay attention to all the time. On that first Christmas that happened to Mary and Joseph, and in a sense it happened to all humankind. Jesus is God with us. Everything changed that first Christmas. Christian theologians use the term incarnation to describe what happened at Christmas. Christianity teaches that God became enfleshed (which is what the word incarnation means) in the person of Jesus. This is understood as something new in the history of humankind. In the OT God spoke to humans through inspired prophets. Angels were seen as messengers of God (which is the literal meaning of the term angel), speaking on behalf of God. There were even what are called theophanies, that is appearances of God in things like the burning bush, or the fire on Mount Sinai, or mysterious figures who appear and disappear suddenly in the OT narrative, like the one who wrestled with the patriarch Jacob.

But with Jesus something new happened. No other religious leader in the history of religion has ever claimed to be who Jesus claimed to be, according to the gospel accounts. This fact is not well known today. There is a lot of ignorance concerning what different religions teach. In what is thought to be a magnanimous spirit of religious tolerance, some people believe that all religions are basically the same. That they all teach the same thing, and that all the founders of all the world’s religions are pretty much equal in importance and spiritual standing - a sort of spiritual egalitarianism.  But an objective study of the religions does not bear that out.

No other religion claims for its founder what Christianity claims for Jesus. Judaism does not claim that Abraham or Moses were God. Islam does not claim that Mohammed was God. Buddhism does not claim that Buddha was God. Nanak the founder of Sikhism did not claim he was God. Even the Baha’i religion, a faith that started in the 19^th century in Iran and which comes closest to embracing this idea of spiritual equality, does not claim that Bahaullah was God in the sense that Christians say this of Jesus. They call their founder a Manifestation of God and that he was like all the founders of all religions, who were also manifestations. Their term means something much closer to the concept of prophet in Islam, because Bahai arose from Islam. In fact all other religious founders all expressly denied that they were God. Even Hinduism which teaches that all humans are by nature divine, does not have an historical founder who claimed divinity for himself. They have Krishna, who is a purely mythological figure and avatars who are likewise mythological.

Out of all founders of all the religions in human history only one person claimed divinity for himself – Jesus Christ. That is one of reasons he was killed - because that was considered blasphemy. At Christmas, Christians claim that Jesus is “God with us.” The eternal transcendent God became a mortal human. Every human ever born can be called a child of God in a general sense. When preaching in Athens to Greek philosophers, the apostle Paul said that we are all God’s offspring. But something qualitatively different happened in Jesus on Christmas Day, a unique event in the history of the world. Jesus is the Son of God in a different way than any other human is a son or daughter of God. God the Creator entered into his creation in the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ is God with us.

 II. Second Jesus is God In Us. This idea also comes from scripture. In his letter to the Colossians the apostle Paul writes “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Not only is God with us in Christ, God is also in us. This idea is usually expressed in the Christian doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Christianity teaches that the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us when we give our lives to Christ in faith. We are literally a God-possessed people. The apostle Paul says our bodies are temples of God. He says to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Usually Christians speak of God as the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, but it is also biblically accurate to speak of Christ spiritually dwelling in us.

This is truly an amazing point to ponder. It makes Christmas much more than the celebration of something that happened two thousand years ago. It makes Christmas into a living experience for today. If we really want to experience Christmas, then it is not about having the right decorations, presents, party, music, Christmas dinner, or the perfect family gathering. It is not about anything outward. It is the interior experience of the indwelling Christ. I have a mystical bent to me. For me Christianity is about the present awareness of the inner Christ and his Kingdom here and now more than it is about rituals or beliefs or God’s kingdom coming in the future. I have nothing against the rituals, beliefs or a future coming of the Kingdom. As a pastor I practice the rituals and I believe the doctrines. But I find spiritual and emotional sustenance chiefly in my personal awareness of Christ in me.

The apostle Paul talks not only about Christ being in us, but also us being in Christ. This is a helpful corrective for me to what can become excessive introversion in religion. Some people make spirituality into a purely individual experience. Contemporary spirituality is often designer religion, custom made by ourselves for ourselves to accommodate our own personality quirks. Modern expressions of spirituality can be very narcissistic and self-serving. People craft a private interior world where they do not need anyone else. They do not need church. What matters is what they experience and believe on their own, and that’s all. But that is not all. The apostle Paul makes it clear that Christ is in us only insofar as we are in Christ – that is, part of a bigger picture of spiritual community. Paul talks about the church being the body of Christ and Christ’s spirit indwelling and animating the church. Just as our spirit indwells our body, so does Christ’s spirit indwell his body, which is the church. I am not talking about the church as a religious institution or an organization. I am talking about the church as a community that cares for one other and loves one another. When true community is present, Christ in the midst of it. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” God is in us when are together in community.

I recently read a book that I borrowed from the Wentworth Library. It is entitled “Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion” by Phil Zuckerman, published November 2011. Zuckerman is a sociologist and college professor. He and his research assistants interviewed 87 people who used to be religious but are no longer. The book describes the reasons they gave for leaving religion. Their reasons for leaving faith behind were the purpose of the book, but what was more fascinating to me was what they missed about religion after they left. Most of the people interviewed said that what they missed the most was community. Apart from the spiritual connection with God, I believe the greatest strength of churches is providing a sense of community. Christians are connected not only to God through Christ as individuals, but in Christ we are connected to each other in a powerful way as part of a spiritual family. This is what people need and long for. Humans are a social species. We need each other to give our lives meaning, purpose and direction. People can find community in nonreligious groups. But it seems that no other group in our society fulfills that function as well as religious communities do. Christ experienced in and through a church gives meaning and purpose to people’s lives. We experience Christ as immortal God in us when we experience ourselves in Christ’s body on earth. We are part of something bigger, a part of a community of faith, the body of Christ.

III. The third point I want to make this morning is God Through Us. God With Us, God in Us and God Through Us. This is the point made in Mary’s Magnificat, which is our gospel text for today. Mary is an example of all three of these points. She physically had Jesus in her womb; God incarnate was literally in her in the infant Jesus. Christ also literally physically dwelled with her in her home in her family for the first thirty years of his life. But the point I want to make here is that Mary also experienced God through her. Mary says in our gospel lesson, the famous passage  known as Mary’s Song or the Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

God was magnified thorugh Mary. I love the idea of Mary’s soul magnifying the Lord. I picture her soul as a magnifying glass. People have a hard time seeing God these days. The book that I just mentioned a moment ago “Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion” made it clear that increasing numbers of people are leaving faith behind. I am not just talking about leaving church; that has been going on ever sense the 1960’s. I am speaking of no longer believing in God’s existence or practicing any form of spirituality. The most dramatic shift in religious demographics this 21^st century has been the rise in the number of people who claim no religion at all. Most of these call themselves atheists or agnostics. This is the fastest growing group in America today. They are growing much faster than Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. That is the direction that our country is headed; we are following the UK and Europe into a post-Christian secular society, where most churches are big stone empty buildings. More and more people no longer see the need for a belief in God, and they no longer sense the presence of God. In this type of godless society Christians are called to magnify the Lord – to be a magnifying lens so that people can see God again.

As we get older most of us need reading glasses. I have been near-sighted most of my life and have needed glasses to see objects at a distance. But a few years ago – actually more than a few – I needed reading glasses as well. So now I have bifocals, those graduated ones so I don’t have a line in the lens. People in our society do not see spiritually very well. They cannot see God in heaven or on earth. They are in need of corrective lens. We are that lens. Our job is to magnify the Lord - to make God bigger and clearer to people so they can see what they could not see before. There is a wonderful passage in the book of the prophet Habakkuk 2:2. God says to the prophet: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Another translation puts it: And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.” God is telling the prophet to write the message in an extra-large font so that even a person running would be able to read it while he runs. That is our job. Our task as Christians is to make the gospel so large and clear that people who are on the go – who don’t have either the time or inclination to read the gospel message – can see the gospel written in our lives.

Those who do not believe in God are not going to step inside a church to hear a sermon, not even at Christmas. They will not open a Bible. Most American homes own a Bible, but most of those Bibles are not read. Most Christians have not even read the whole Bible. That is because the Bible is not easy to read or understand. People need someone to magnify it and make it clear. We who believe that we have God with us, in us and through us, have that task. We are the only Bible most people will ever read. Are we making the message of Christmas plain? The message of Christmas is that God is with us in Jesus Christ. God is in us. God desires to live the life of Christ through our human lives. We are to be channels of God’s blessing and presence to his world. We are to mediate God.

Paul speaks of Christians as ambassadors of Christ. We represent Christ to this world. That is what it means to be made in the image of God. It doesn’t mean that God looks like us. It means that we should look like God to others. People should be able to look at our lives and see something Christlike in us, something Godly, something literally out-of-this-world. God came into this world in Jesus Christ at Christmas, so that we at Christmas might be examples of Christ-like living in the world. That the light of Christmas might shine through us, that we might magnify the Lord so that people might see more clearly that God is real. That God is with us. God is in Us. God is through us.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Ye Brood of Vipers!

Luke 3:7-18

I love the figure of John the Baptist! He is the crazy uncle invited to the family holiday gathering. He dresses inappropriately for the occasion and is always saying things that embarrass everyone. That is the way John the Baptist invades our scripture readings in church during December. People pay to bring their children to have breakfast with Santa at the Corner House. No one in their right mind would eat breakfast with John the Baptist! After all his diet is locusts and wild honey. Santa has his jolly “Ho, ho, ho’s.”  John the Baptist says, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” That is not the message we want to hear at Christmas! This is supposed to be the sentimental season where we Ooo! and Ahh! at the baby Jesus in the manger. It is the season of angels, shepherds and Christmas carols. But instead of angelic lullabies about peace on earth, goodwill to men, we get in our scripture lessons today John the Baptist saying things we really do not want to hear at Christmastime. But we are not here in church to be coddled by Santa; we are here to be challenged by this wilderness prophet. There are five things John the Baptist says in our gospel lesson for today.

1. First, he says it is not about who you are – or who you say you are - it is about what you do. In other words actions speak louder than words. Our scripture lesson begins, verses 7-9: “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

These people who were listening to John preach considered themselves children of Abraham, God’s chosen people, and that was enough. Who they were was most important, not what they did. We hear the same type of things today from both Christians and non-Christians. Christians talk about being children of God, born of the Spirit, redeemed by Christ, the elect of God. Christians emphasize being saved by faith by the grace of God. Christians say that it is all about who we are in relation to God, and not about what we do. That is the foundation of the Protestant Reformation – salvation by faith. That is true … in part. But it does also matter what we do. Those outside of the Christian tradition say the same sort of things. People will say that everyone is a child of God and that this is all that matters. That we are all perfect just the way we are, and to suggest anything less would damage our self-esteem.

In the new book Proof of Heaven, neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander relates a Near Death Experience that he had while suffering from rare form of bacterial meningitis. He says that while in a coma he went to heaven where he saw and heard wonderful things. Alexander says that he traveled through heaven, surrounded by "millions of butterflies," with a woman, who later turns out to be his deceased sister. This woman gave him three messages: “You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever," “You have nothing to fear" and “There is nothing you can do wrong.” Do you hear the message? That we are fine just the way we are and we can do nothing wrong. That is exactly the opposite message from John the Baptist, who preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He not only says we can do things wrong, he says we certainly do wrong, and we have to own up to it and repent of it. John doesn’t care about possibly damaging our self-esteem. He tells his hearers that it doesn’t matter who they are. God can raise up children of Abraham from the stones on the ground it he wants. John says that what is most important that we repent and bear fruits worthy of repentance. That means it matters what we do.

It is a message worth listening to today. It is a message worth hearing at Christmastime. It is a message that Santa used to echo in years past. According to the song, Santa used to dole out gifts based on whether you were naughty or nice. Not these days. Nowadays, it just matters how much money mommy and daddy have, or at least grandma or grandpa have.  There seem to be less and less of moral responsibility and accountability in our society. I think John the Baptist’s message is a good counterbalance to the fluffy spirituality and ethical immaturity of our culture. It does matter what we do. Not when it comes to Christmas presents for kids. I think every kid ought to have Christmas presents no matter what. I disagree with the Naughty or Nice criteria, and the thought of putting coal in a child’s stocking is just plain mean.  But when it comes to real life it does matter what we do.

In the gospel story the people who heard John preach wanted specifics about what they ought to do. What type of things are fruits worthy of repentance. Three different groups of people came to John to be baptized asked what they ought to do.

II. The first was a question asked by the general audience in verses 10-11. “So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” In short his answer was to Share the Surplus. If you have two coats, give one away to the person who has none. If you have food, give some to those who are hungry. This fits in well with the spirit of Christmas giving we hear at this time of year. Newspapers and evening news shows are filled with human interest stories about people and organizations that are giving to those in need. There are a lot of people in need in this country and in the world, people suffering from this bad economy as well as natural catastrophes, those injured in war, those suffering from debilitating diseases. There are a lot of people who need help. And there are a lot of people who are well off who can help. John is saying that if we have the resources to help people who have less, then we have a moral responsibility before God to do so. John talks specifically about food and clothing in this verse, and that is a good place to start.

There was a wonderful story on 60 Minutes last month. It was entitled “Children Helping Children” about a movement called Free the Children, started by a 12 year-old named Craig Kielburger. He is now 29 years old and heads this multi-million dollar charity and volunteer organization that helps children in bondage and poverty. It is wonderful mission. And it is all done by children. 95% of the volunteers are under 18 years-old. He holds rallies around the US and Canada where 20,000 kids attend at a time and get excited about helping other kids. This is not a religious mission, but it is exactly the type of thing that religious faith should prompt. It all boils down to individuals giving of their time and resources to help others.

That is what the essence of religion is. The apostle James says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” John the Baptist could have spoken those words. It is about seeing the world as about more than ourselves and our immediate families. It is about adopting a wider vision of human community. It is about understanding that we are responsible for those who do not have enough. We are responsible as individuals, as households, as a church, as a religion, as a nation. We are our brother and sister’s keeper. I don’t get into politics and I don’t care how we do it, but the most vulnerable of people in our country need to be helped. I will let the Republicans and Democrats fight over what the role the government should have in this task. But we should have no doubt that the church has a role and responsibility to be part of the solution.

III. After John the Baptist gave this answer, another group spoke up. Verses 12-13 “Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Tax collectors were coming to be baptized by John. These were Roman tax collectors, normally Jews collaborating with the Roman occupiers. Tax collecting back then was one of the most corrupt professions in Palestine. People bid to get the job. Those who made the highest bid to collect the most money for Rome were awarded the job of tax collector. They had to raise this certain sum of money to pay the Romans, and they were allowed to keep a percentage of the total as their wages. But there was also an extra perk. They could also keep any money that they collected over and above the agreed amount that they raise for Rome. If they were supposed to raise 50,000 denarii but actually raised 60,000, they could legally keep the extra 10,000. So the incentive was strong to collect as much as they possibly could by any means they could! Therefore a lot of tax collectors were very greedy, very corrupt, very rich and very despised by the taxpayers. John tells that if they surrendered their lives to God, then they should not collect more taxes than agreed. So their faith was going to cost them a lot of money. 

This instruction is about what we might call today business ethics. Being a follower of God and Christ means that we conduct our financial dealings in an honorable fashion. Even if it costs us money. This has tremendous implications, if we think about it for a moment. S individuals it means we don’t cheat on our taxes. It has implications for big retailers. You remember the clothing factory that burned in Bangladesh three weeks ago, killing 112 people. The 1,400 workers were trapped inside the eight-story building because exit doors were locked. This unsafe factory, which did not even have emergency exits, apparently made clothing for Wal-Mart, Sears, Disney and other retailers. John the Baptist’s words speak to the type of business ethics that will put people’s lives at risk to make products cheaper and produce a bigger profit.

III. A third group questioned John in verse 14 “Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” Soldiers were being baptized by John. It is possible that these were Jewish temple guards. But it is more likely that these were Roman soldiers who acted as a sort of police force in Palestine. If that is true, this is remarkable! And it tells us something about the military and police. First, one can be a soldier and a follower of God. The two occupations are not contradictory as pacifists believe.

Second, those in the military and police are required to live by ethical standards established by God. It means not to abuse power, mistreat people, or use one’s position for financial gain beyond one’s wages. There is a lot that can be applied here to big city police departments where corruption and abuse of power are problems. It also speaks to members of the military who must remember that even though they pledge allegiance to the nation, they are accountable to a higher power, the one who is the ruler of all nations, in how they conduct military operations. This applies all the way up the chain of command to the Joint Chiefs and the Commander in Chief and the way our nation conducts foreign policy. John the Baptist was no stranger to speaking prophetically to the heads of state. In fact his outspokenness in challenging the immorality of Herod is what got him beheaded. We see this is still true in my countries today.

IV. There is a final question asked by the crowd. This question was not asked to John but instead about John. Verses 15-18 “Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.”

This final question is about Christ. This is the most important question to ask during Advent. It is important to raise questions about morality and repentance during this season when most people are not thinking about either. But in this story the ethical questions lead up to a theological question. The people wondered if John was the Messiah. John rightly denies the title and points to the one who is to come after him, whose sandals he is unworthy to unstrap. He will baptize with a greater baptism and cleanse the soul and not just the body. He pointed people to Jesus Christ.

That is what Advent is about. It is about Christ. Although the secular holiday is mostly about festivities, family and gift-giving, the sacred holiday is purely about Christ. There are some Christian groups that refuse to even celebrate Christmas because they see it as polluting the message of Christ. I don’t go that far, obviously. I had a visit from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who came knocking on my door while I was working on this sermon. They don’t do Christmas. The Puritans whom we celebrate at Thanksgiving did not celebrate Christmas. Christmas was banned in Boston in the 17^th century. There are some conservative Christian churches today that refuse to celebrate Christmas, saying that it is too mixed with pagan symbolism. That sounds too much like Ebenezer Scrooge to me: “Bah, humbug!” I like celebrating Christmas. But it is important to focus the celebration on Jesus Christ, like John the Baptist focused people’s attention on Christ. The question of Advent is “Who is Christ and what does he ask of us?” 

What to Expect When You Are Expecting Jesus

Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. I hope you are ready! Hopefully the Christmas shopping is getting done. Certainly the decorations are up by now – candles in the windows, wreath on the door, maybe your Christmas tree up and decorated. Christmas cards on their way out – if people still do that sort of thing anymore. These are the types of things that Americans do to prepare for Christmas.  On top of these preparations, Christians do some other preparations – spiritual preparations, Advent preparations. I know it is a busy time of year, but it is important that the spiritual dimension of the season does not get swept aside by the secular aspects. It is important that as a community of faith during December we listen to the prophetic voices of scripture that instruct us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In our OT passage today we hear from the prophet Malachi, traditionally considered (at least in Protestant Christianity) the last of the prophets to speak before the birth of Christ. Between this last book of the OT and the first book of the NT, there were 400 years of silence from the prophets. It is as if God were taking a breath before sending his Son at Christmas.

The name Malachi simply literally “my messenger” and is used in the first verse of our passage today in the third chapter.  “Behold, I send My messenger, [Malachi] And he will prepare the way before Me.” That is what this prophet does. He prepares the way in the OT for the coming of the Savior in the NT. Malachi was probably not the prophet’s real name. The book is simply given that title from this verse in 3:1. We don’t know his real name. Almost certainly the nameless prophet who authored the book of Malachi did not have himself in mind when he penned verse 1. He was thinking of another messenger who was to come in the future. Christians see this prophecy fulfilled in part by John the Baptist and fully in Jesus Christ. Our passage says:

And the Lord, whom you seek,

Will suddenly come to His temple,

Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

² “But who can endure the day of His coming?

And who can stand when He appears?

For He is like a refiner’s fire

And like launderers’ soap.

³ He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.

In our passage from the Book of Malachi, the prophet gives us two powerful images connected to expecting the coming of the Lord. We can apply this to the future advent of the lord in glory. It is also valid to apply this to the coming of the Lord in the incarnation of God at Christmas. In either case, these verses tell us of the effects that the coming of the Lord has on our lives. They describe ways that God works in us, as we expect the coming of Christ. There are three powerful images used in our texts today. Two in Malachi and one from Isaiah used by Luke in our gospel lesson.

I. The first is the Refiner’s Fire. “For He is like a refiner’s fire…. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.” It says that the Lord is like fire. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” We have seen a heard in the news a lot about fires this year. Most recent are the the fires that struck the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, in New York City, during Hurricane Sandy. These fires destroyed 80 homes. During the summer we heard of forest fires in Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Califormia and elsewhere in the West. We know how fire can completely destroy everything in its path. That is not the type of fire that Malachi is speaking about. A forest fire destroys indiscriminately everything in its path. The fire that Malachi speaks about is different. It is not a forest fire or a wildfire; it is a refiner’s fire. It is under the control of a Refiner. A refiner's fire purifies in a controlled and intentional manner. “For He is like a refiner’s fire…. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.” A Refiner’s fire melts down the silver, separating the impurities. The refiner’s fire burns up impurities in the precious metal, and leaves the silver intact.

“He is like a refiner's fire.” We are the silver and God is the Refiner.  This tells us that we need to be refined. That there is a work that needs to be done in our lives, and the process to accomplish that is hot and dangerous. This is not a message that is welcome these days. People don’t like to hear that they need to be refined or purified. They do not like to hear that they need to be change at all. We in America like to hear that we are perfectly fine just the way we are. No change necessary. This is the cheap grace of the Americanized gospel that treats people like pampered children. Many churches have bought into this philosophy, thinking that if they challenge people then it might damage their self-esteem, or even worse, keep them away from church.

The concept of sin is unpopular these days. It is viewed as too negative. It might be destructive to tender egos. To this psychological pabulum masquerading as enlightened spirituality, I want to say, “Grow up!” Human beings do not have to be coddled and protected from the theological bogeyman of sin. We need to be challenged to grow. Growth means growing pains. That means to face our shortcomings – and not be afraid to call them sins. Sin is not a four letter word. We need to be willing to be spiritually refined in the refiner’s fire. The truth is that we do not really have a choice when it comes to whether or not we are going to go through the fire. You can’t go through life without going through some fires. The only choice we have is whether we will see these events as senseless tragedy or as spiritual opportunity.

What is the refiner’s fire that Malachi is talking about? In what form does it come to us in life. The NT tells us that it is the Fire of Affliction. 1 Peter 1:6–7, "Now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold, which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." James 1:2–4,"Count it all joy, my brethren when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Life has trials. Life involves suffering. You cannot get around it or avoid it. Life involves hardships. Life involves emotional suffering. Life even involves spiritual suffering. That is another thing that the superficial spirituality of today does not like to hear. People want to hear a prosperity gospel, a health and wealth gospel, that says that it you have faith in God then God will put a hedge of protection around you and yours and you will live happily ever after. That fairy tale gospel is not true, as anyone who looks at the facts of life honestly will admit.

Life has trials – whether people believe in God or not or in Christ or not. It is all about how you approach the trials.   You can approach them in faith believing that God can use the sufferings and difficulties of life to purify you, so that you come out of the furnace with your faith stronger. Or you can curse the injustices of life, and see fiery trials as hell on earth with no redeeming value – just senseless suffering in an uncaring universe. If you see it as the latter, it will destroy you completely like a forest fire -  body, soul and spirit. If you see the trials of life as a Refiner’s fire then it will purify you.

II. I want to move on to the other metaphor that the prophet Malachi uses. ² “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.” Personally I like the translation that says, “For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.” Fuller is not a brand name, like Ivory or Dove. There are Fuller’s brushes – the Fuller Brush company – but Malachi is talking about fuller’s soap, which is not a brand name but a type of soap made and used in biblical times.

A fuller in biblical times was one who fulls cloth, that is make the material it fuller, makes it bulkier, richer, softer, more malleable and therefore more usable for clothing. Specifically it refers to the process of wool being cleansed. In biblical times there were people who specialized in cleansing wool. In fact there is a place called Fuller’s field in an area west of Jerusalem where the fuller’s practiced. The area around Jerusalem and Bethlehem 9only a few miles away) were known for their sheep. The shepherds who were residing out in their fields on Christmas Day when the angels appeared to them raised sheep, mostly for the temple sacrifices and for Passover lambs. There were a lot of sheep. That means there was a lot of wool that was sheared before the sheep were offered. A group of tradesmen arose in Jerusalem who specialized in cleansing the wool to prepare it for the making of it into cloth.

All the wool that was sheared from the sheep was brought to the fullers at Fuller’s Field. The fullers cleaned, conditioned and bleached the wool. I don’t know how wool is processed these days, but in those days they used a strong alkaline soap. Fuller's soap was no gentle dishwashing detergent, easy on your hands. Remember the commercial for Palmolive dishwashing liquid, “tough on grease but not on your hands.” Fuller’s soap was not Palmolive. Tide and Cheer laundry detergent will advertise how gentle they are on your colors. Fuller’s soap was not gentle. Fuller’s soap was strong alkali used for serious cleaning.  When the fuller was finished the end result was a pure white soft wool. The New Testament's story of the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountaintop refers to Christ's white garments as whiter than any fuller could get them. This is the metaphor in the Bible for the purifying work of the Lord in our lives.

We would love it if God would use the nice gentle soap – Ivory or Dove, with cold cream added preferably, so afterwards our skin will feel soft and smooth. That is not fuller’s soap. That is not the way life is. We wish that life would treat us like Johnson & Johnson’s baby soap that is so gentle it will not even bring tears to an infant’s eyes. But that is not the way life is. Life often brings tears to our eyes. But it also cleanses us and makes us usable to God.

III. There is a third image used in our texts for today. The first two were from the OT prophet Malachi and talk of cleansing and purification. The third is from another OT prophet name Isaiah, whose prophecy is quoted in the Gospel of Luke to describe what John the Baptist was doing in expectation of the coming of Jesus Christ. This prophecy is not about fire or soap. It is about road construction.  The gospel writer sees John the Baptist’s ministry as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, who said he is “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Every one of these metaphors could be a whole sermon in itself, but let me expound this one just briefly.

It is saying that in expectation of the coming of the Lord – and I would also say in preparation of the celebration of the coming of the Lord – we are to build a road to welcome him. When the space shuttle Endeavor was retired this fall, it was transported to its final resting place in California. First it was flown piggyback on a modified Boeing 747 jet into the Los Angeles International Airport. Then it was pulled on the ground to its destination at the California Science Center where it is now on public display. To get it there through the streets, they had to cut down trees and take down power lines and street lamps in order to make room for its wingspan and height. They had to prepare the road for the coming of Endeavor.

We are to prepare the road for the coming of Christ. This passage describes serious roadwork. It is not just putting a new layer of macadam over the frost heaves to smooth it out. This talks about cutting through mountains, and straightening out the curves of the old winding road. It would be like taking all the curves and hills out of the Holderness Road and replacing it with a four lane highway. I would not want that happen to the Holderness Road, but that is what the prophet Isaiah is saying is necessary for people to welcome the Messiah. This means digging down deep to bedrock and building our foundation. It means clearing the forests of habitual sin and carelessness, which has allowed second growth to strangle our spiritual lives. I could go on and on with this metaphor, but you get the idea. There is preparation work to be done this Advent. There is purifying with fire, cleansing with fuller’s soap, and carving a highway in the wilderness for the Savior to travel until he take up residence in our lives and in our church. 

Its Beginning to Look a lot like Advent

Luke 21:25-36

“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas / Everywhere you go / Take a look in the Five and Ten / Glistening once again / With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.” The words of the old song are dated. There are not too many Five and Ten Cent stores anymore. You couldn’t buy anything for a nickel or a dime if you tried! There are no more Woolworths. Now there are Dollar stores, and most of the stuff there costs more than a dollar. But even if the lyrics are from yesteryear, when December arrives it still begins to look a lot like Christmas. That is true for the town of Sandwich. The Christmas in the Village was yesterday. I will be going to hear Bach’s Magnificat in Alton next Sunday, then there is the Sandwich Singers Christmas Concert the Sunday after that. It is barely December but already it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The song talks about the signs of the season, the changes that begin to take place that tells us that Christmas is coming.

Our Scripture lesson for today is about the signs of Advent. Advent is different from Christmas. It is a season unique to the Christian church. You won’t find it advertised in commercial holiday flyers. For most of American society this is the Christmas season. We are given regular reminders how many shopping days there are until Christmas. But in Christian churches it is Advent, which is a season unto itself. Advent is about a lot more than just Christmas, as our Gospel lesson for today reveals. There is no mention of the baby Jesus in these texts. Instead the passage in the Gospel of Luke tells us about the signs leading up to the Advent of the Lord – which is the coming of the apocalyptic figure known as the Son of Man. Jesus says in our gospel reading verse 27 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” That is what advent is about. I am not saying it has nothing to do with the birth of Christ. We are certainly look forward to celebrating that also. But it is about more than that; it is also about the so-called second advent of Christ. There are four different types of signs of Advent mentioned in our gospel reading today.

I. First are the Signs in the Natural World. Verse 25 says, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.” A few verses earlier Jesus spoke of other signs in nature: “And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”

We have been seeing some unusual signs in the natural world this year. Things like the superstorm called Hurricane Sandy, which the East Coast experienced not too long ago. Talk about the “sea and waves roaring!” That is a pretty good description of what happened to New Jersey and New York! And we all felt that earthquake a month or so ago. Californians are used to earthquakes, but they are rare for us. They may not be so rare in the future. The most dramatic, long-term and far-reaching natural sign of our times is climate change, or global warming. The arctic ice cap is melting at an alarming rate, glaciers are receding rapidly, the ice pack on Greenland is melting and causing the land mass to rise, which will in turn trigger more earthquakes as the earth’s crust adjusts, and then the sea levels to rise which will cause more coastal flooding when future hurricanes appear. I know there is political controversy about whether or not climate change is caused by human beings and what steps we ought to take to stop it or slow it down. But regardless what your opinion is on that question, it is irrefutable that climate change is happening and accelerating and we are in for many more natural signs like flooding, famines, fires and hurricanes as a result of this change in the ecosystem of our planet. These are the types of natural signs that Jesus mentions as the signs of Advent. Clearly it is beginning to look a lot like Advent.

II. The second type of Advent sign that Jesus mentions is the sign of the fig tree. “29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

Jesus tells us here that Advent is about the coming of the Kingdom of God. He says that when you see the signs of Advent, then know that the Kingdom of God is near. The Kingdom of God is the central teaching of Jesus Christ. Virtually all of Jesus’ parables were about the Kingdom of God. He would usually start most parables saying, “The kingdom of God is like ... a mustard seed, or a woman kneading dough, or the prodigal son returning home” or some other illustration. Here he says that the coming of the kingdom is like a fig tree.

Christianity understands that the Kingdom of God began appear the first Christmas in the birth of Jesus Christ as a baby in Bethlehem. The Kingdom of God unfolded in the earthy ministry of Jesus. It was powerfully demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was further advanced in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. These are some of the events that Jesus had in mind when he said that “this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.” It seems clear in the context of this chapter that he is also talking about the destruction of the city of Jerusalem which he predicted would occur within that first century generation, within the lifetimes of some of his hearers. Indeed it did happen in the year 70 AD, about 40 years after Jesus predicted it. The destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem by the Romans was also a sign of the coming kingdom of God.

But the Kingdom of God has not fully come. It is still not fully here today, even at the end of the year 2012. There is still a future fulfillment of the coming of the Kingdom of God. That is why he speaks the parable of the fig tree. “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” His words are relevant for us today because the Kingdom of God is still to come. We are to look for the signs of its coming. The sign of its coming is the fig tree.

Some interpreters think that the fig tree refers to the nation of Israel being reestablished in our time in 1948. I don’t think that is what Jesus had in mind. That feels too much like reading current events back into ancient texts. There are a lot of people who get very wrapped up in this type of prediction. They read the morning newspapers looking for modern day fulfillments of ancient prophecy. This type of thing has been going on for 2000 years, but has been particularly active the last couple of hundred years. Every generation has thought that they were the last generation. But all these predictions, date setting and identification of the symbols of Revelation and Daniel with nations, leaders, wars of recent centuries have been wrong. Every single one of them! That ought to tell us something. I think it tells us that it is time to stop and take a different approach.

I think Jesus is talking much more generally. He is saying that just like you can see the signs of spring in the natural world – specifically in the budding of the trees – (notice Jesus mentions not just the fig tree but all trees) so are we to pay attention to and look for signs of our times and what they say about God and his Kingdom. We are to look for the coming of the Kingdom but not get too wrapped up in date-setting and scare tactics. That is the sign of the fig tree.

III. The third sign that Jesus mentions are the signs in people’s hearts. Jesus mentions the human heart a couple of times in our passage. He says in verse 26 “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” He says in verse 34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” He says two things about human hearts.

He says, that “men’s hearts fail [ing] them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth….” One sign is fear. Have you ever noticed how the network news always tries to scare you. I never noticed this until I read an article that pointed it out, and sure enough it is true. The first two or three stories on the evening news every night are designed to scare us. We are supposed to be afraid of meningitis from Massachusetts or hurricanes brewing in the Carribean or forest fires or earthquakes or terrorists or natural gas lines blowing up our homes. Be afraid of nuclear weapons in Iran or salmonella in your peanut butter. During this most recent election both major parties were doing their best to make people feel afraid of what would happen to America if the other party – whichever party that is – got elected. Financial, political, social, moral Armageddon!

 Be afraid! be very afraid! That is the message of the news today. And that is one of the signs, says Jesus, that will be present as the Kingdom of God approaches. It will be a time – to use Christ’s words -  when “people’s hearts will fail them from fear of the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.” It sounds a lot like our time. Theh front page story in USA Today on Novem ber 13 was on the preppers. The headline was “For preppers every day could be doomsday.” It was about those people and groups of people who are convinced that a nuclear or biological terrorist attack will happen any day, and so they hide themselves in bunkers in the wilderness to prepare for the end of civilization as we know it. It is beginning to sound a lot like Advent.

Then Jesus says in verse 34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life….” This is another way that some people react to the climate of fear. They numb the fear in their hearts with alcohol or drugs. Or they get emotionally “weighed down … with the cares of this life.” People are emotionally burdened and weighed down by life – by the financial burdens of mortgages, student loans, credit card debt, unemployment. If they are employed they feel weighed down by their jobs. People feel social pressures – bullying, isolation, loneliness. Emotional pressures can lead to suicides and depression. People are – like Jesus predicted - weighed down by the cares of this life.

IV. What is the solution? What is a faithful response to these signs of Advent? Jesus gives us two at the end of our gospel lesson. He says in verse 36 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Jesus tells us to watch. The word “watch” often refers in the OT and NT to a spiritual practice. It is a deliberate way of approaching life. It means to view the world from a spiritual perspective. It means to be awake. The word is often used in combination with prayer and fasting. Just like fasting is to go without food, so is watching to go without sleep. To watch means to stay awake. People in biblical times would sometimes stay awake throughout the night – fasting and praying - as spiritual preparation for an important decision they were making. On the night before Jesus’s death, he watched and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and asked his disciples to watch and pray with him. But they were unable to do that and fell asleep. Jesus in one of his parables talked about the bridesmaids who did not watch but fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom to appear – a clear reference to the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Here in this passage he is using the term “watch” more generally to mean to be spiritually awake. The epistles use the term that way. Paul says in Romans, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” He says in Ephesians, “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” To watch means to live awake.  Many people are not living awake. They are sleepwalking through life, completely oblivious to spiritual reality. Completely unaware of anything beyond today’s physical or emotional needs. They are completely immersed in work or family or friends or social commitments. Entirely wrapped up in the affairs of this life and the things of this world, living unconsciously and unaware of the spiritual dimension. They might get little glimpses of it once in a while in an experience of beauty in nature, art or music. But it quickly passes and they fall asleep again. The gospel of Jesus is a call to wake up out of sleep, and to live the awakened life every day. Watch!

The other advice Jesus gives is to pray. Watch and pray. This is likewise a spiritual discipline. But like watching it is much more than speaking words to God. In fact I think that true prayer transcends words. There is a saying attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel always; if necessary use words.”  I think the same is true of prayer. “Pray always; if necessary, use words.” Prayer is not about the words we use. Words are optional. It is about the orientation of our heart and soul. Prayer is about orienting our hearts, souls, lives, and everything we do and say in relation to God. It is about opening ourselves up to the Kingdom of God in our midst now and opening ourselves up in love to the world. 

People close themselves off from God and others. Jesus tells us to love God and others with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. That is a prayerful attitude. That is living a life of prayer. Our whole lives are to be a prayer to God. Some writers – including Friedrich Nietzsche and Oscar Wilde – have talked about viewing life as a work of art. From a Christian point of view, we can say that life is to be a living prayer. Let us lives awake to God and awake to God’s presence in the world and in others. Then we can see the signs of God’s presence everywhere, and not be afraid. We will watch and pray, standing before God rejoicing at the coming of his Kingdom to earth.