Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, December 9th, 2012
A printable PDF file can be found here
John the Baptist went into all the country around the Jordan inviting the people to get their lives straightened out for the light of the Lord was coming. 'The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth and all the people will see God's salvation”.
We are in the season of Advent. Advent is the season when we declare “People get ready, the Savior is coming!” How do we prepare ourselves to truly celebrate the coming of Jesus into our world? How do we set about living in the light of His love?
We can find some pointers in Paul's letter to the Philippians. In the section we read this morning, Chapter 1, verses 3-11, we are invited to;
- Energize our minds. In verse 10 Paul suggests we discern what is pure and blameless.
- Express what's in our hearts. In verse 9 we are told to commit to loving more and more,with knowledge and deep insight.
- Empower our souls. In verse 11 Paul implores us to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus.
Let us consider the advice Paul gives us.
Energize our Minds
Verse 10 invites us 'to discern what is best' that we may be found 'pure and blameless for the Day of Christ'. John the Baptist offered the people a baptism of repentance. He offered them an opportunity to turn their lives around and symbolically wash away the past by going through the waters of baptism. He holds up the idea of starting over again, with the slate washed clean.
Seasons in the Christian year, such as Advent and Lent, offer us the chance to re-evaluate our spiritual lives. We have the opportunity to reclaim our own baptisms, to remind ourselves that we are baptized children of the One True God, brothers and sisters in Christ's service, empowered by the same Holy Spirit that descended as a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized by John.
As we travel through this season we see the best and worse of what we are capable of. Christmas can be marked by both excess and by generosity. We are encouraged to spend, spend, spend, yet also to give, give, give. If we become consumed by consumerism we lose our souls. But if we become consumed by endless giving we end up tired, cynical and bitter.
Hurricane Sandy brought out the best and worst in people. There have been reports of looting and of scams and price gouging, people taking advantage of others in their time of deepest need. We saw tempers flare when gas was rationed and as folk felt LIPA was not living up to their expectations. That's been the negative side.
On the positive side there have been many angels headed in our direction. The will to rebuild, the sense of community, people who have gone beyond what is expected of them to help others through, many heroic acts and untold stories of generosity.
Paul invites us to 'discern what is best'. To energize our minds so that we make the right decisions. He also invites us to...
Express what's in our hearts
In verse 9 he writes “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” We sometimes think of love as something fluffy and evasive, as something people fall into, uncontrollably and seal with a ring from the jewelry store. But love isn't something that just happens. It's hard work. True love requires depth and insight.
A Sunday School teacher in Oregon asked the class, “Does going to church make it easier for you to love all people?” One of them answered, “Not particularly. You want us to love everybody in the world. There are only five in our family and I have a real hard time even loving that many!” You have to admire that answer. Telling it like it is! Loving everybody in some vague 'Peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind' is not what Paul is praying will happen in our church communities. He wants us to work at love.
I sense in our post Sandy state of mind many are finding it hard to think about celebrating Christmas. Their hearts not in it. They've had the stuffing knocked out of them. Before the hurricane we took it for granted that when we turned on the light switch the light came on. We didn't really think much about the wiring, or the poles or the sub-stations or the infrastructure, or the work crews. Now we know better. We understand that we are vulnerable.
That sense of vulnerability lies at the heart of the true message of Christmas. Jesus does not arrive as a warrior King, riding on a great white horse, blasting His enemies into oblivion but comes to the womb of a young, yet to be married girl. He is born in poverty, displaced from home, in the most desperate of circumstances. His family become refugees in Egypt, fleeing from the acts of a murderous tyrant, before they ever establish themselves in a place they can call home again.
At His birth there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty and vulnerability, part of the Christmas story that we bury under layers of sentimentality and commercialism. If we are finding it hard to get in the spirit of things, maybe we can focus on the parts of the story we often pass by and discover that, even when everything is bleak, and the road ahead is uncertain, the light still shines. It's not easy. True love never is. It has to be a heart thing. We need God's help. So Paul also invites us to...
Empower our souls.
In verse 11 he writes 'Be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ'. Being together in worship can really make a difference when we go through difficult days. It takes us out of ourselves for a while and points us to a larger framework surrounding our lives. I know we are busy. I know there's a thousand things to do. But that's exactly why we need to recharge our spiritual batteries.
Through our music and hymns and readings and prayers we can reconnect with God. Through seeking to do that as a community we reconnect with each other. Through seeking to serve those around us, we find ourselves lifted up. So pay attention to the words of scripture and the songs that we sing and hear. There's a lot of hope in them! People have traveled down dark roads before us. That's part of the Christmas story. Jesus is born and they give Him the name “Emmanuel” meaning “God is with us”.
When Paul wrote these words to the church in Phillipi he was in prison. He'd been arrested for preaching the gospel. Such was his faith that he could interpret his circumstances as being an opportunity rather than a setback. A few verses after our reading finished he writes; “As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” (verse 13).
As people of faith we are invited to interpret our lives in the light of the God who is always with us, revealed in Christ, and present through the work of His Holy Spirit, within us and around us. John the Baptist challenged the people of his day to repent and get ready for the Savior to come. During Advent we have a fresh opportunity to reflect on the implications of Christ's birth all those years ago and consider how we can live in the light of His love today.
Paul, in his letter to Phillipi, gives us his perspective on living in the light.
- We energize our minds. We seek to discern the good and bad in the world around us. We make informed decisions as to how we are going to live.
- We express what's in our hearts. Paul tells us it's OK to say how we really feel. If we are going through a hard time, be it in our practical circumstances or our faith journey, then acknowledging that's how it is, can be the way forward. True love has room for vulnerability and hurt. It's a process, not a destination.
- We empower our souls. We seek Christ in all things and all places. In worship. In service. In community. It is as we listen for the still small voice and as we open ourselves to God's influence, that we discover ourselves empowered by God's Spirit for whatever lies ahead of us.
Looking at the decorations in our sanctuary, hearing the Christmas music around us, seeing the children's smiling faces, anticipating the events of fellowship we will enjoy with family and friends... these are tangible ways that we can enter into the celebrations.
These are difficult days for many around us. But there are aspects of the Christmas message that remind us... love never guarantees an easy ride. The good news of Christmas is not that 'Everything's going to be all-right'. The good and great news of Christmas is that, no matter what, God is with us!
And that, I believe, is something worth celebrating. Amen.
Rev. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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