Category: Sunday Reflections

Following is the text of my Sermon for the 1st Sunday of Advent on December 3, 2023

Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9

Are you ready for Christmas? I’m sure by this point everyone has both asked that question of others and  been asked that question by other people. The typical answers people provide usually run along the lines of recounting how many presents have been bought, how many decorations have been put up, how many baked goods have been prepared, how many party plans have been made and things such as that. All good answers. However, there is a more important question that should be considered during this time. That is this: Are you ready for Christ? This is the first Sunday of Advent. This is a time of waiting and preparation. This is a time when we are invited to once again look for and anticipate a new understanding of the mystery and the wonder of the Incarnation, the coming of Emmanuel with us. God in the flesh to dwell and exist with and among us in a new way.

This morning we lit the Candle of Hope. We must start the time of Advent with a focus on Hope. We must cultivate an attitude of Hope to be ready to continue the preparation to look for the Peace, Joy, and Love that is also being presented and offered during this time. When people feel hopeless, they aren’t in a place to be ready to expect good things. So, we must begin with Hope.

At first, this Scripture from Isaiah doesn’t seem to be a good choice for a message of hope. It is a message of lament. A cry of desperation in the midst of trouble. Where is the hope? It’s there. And we will get to it. But first, it helps to know the context of this passage of Isaiah. The prophet’s words come during the time of the Israelites return from exile. They have returned to their land but things aren’t all back to the glory days yet. The temple has not been rebuilt. They are not feeling God’s presence in a powerful way. We started with the words, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence.” Isaiah, on behalf of the people, is imploring God to make his presence known in a powerful and unmistakable way. I think we can all relate to that feeling. We all have moments when we are waiting to hear a message from God and we long to have it delivered in a way that makes it clear and easy to receive. I know I have longed for that in my life many times when I feel God has been too silent and too quiet for too long.

When I read that passage it brought to mind one specific Christmas memory from my childhood. It was the year I had requested that Santa bring me a typewriter as my gift. I woke up Christmas morning and there it was. That was exciting enough to see. But to top it off, there was a sheet of paper loaded in the typewriter with a note from Santa thanking us for the cookies and milk and wishing us a Merry Christmas. A personal message from Santa Clause – now that was really exciting. Not to mention that now I had proof that he existed for all those doubters in my life. So, while I read these words in Isaiah, I thought how I would rewrite and reword it in my own words. I would say, “O that you would open my computer and come down and compose a letter, email or text message to show me your presence.” It would be helpful at times to hear so directly from God.

Isaiah continues and reminds God of the awesome deeds of the past and how the mountains had quaked at his presence. But, it had been a long time since things like that had taken place. Now, Isaiah does declare and admit and confess on behalf of the people why that is true. The people had sinned, they had turned away from God, they had been full of iniquity. They were not blameless. They were deserving of punishment and correction from God. But, Isaiah doesn’t stop there. He goes one step further. He implicates God as part of the problem as well. In verse 5 he says, “But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.” He doesn’t completely say it’s God’s fault necessarily. But, in what I see has a kind of gutsy move, he does imply that God can’t ignore his role in this situation as well. What I hear in these words is Isaiah saying something along the lines of, “Look God, you know how we people are. You know we have trouble always being obedient. We are prone to make bad decisions and stray from the right path. When you hide yourself from us you should expect and know by now that on our own, things are going to get worse.” Isaiah is not exactly trying to excuse the people’s misbehavior and sin. He is acknowledging that this relationship is broken and in shambles. And he is saying that both parties have had a role in that.

Again, so far, we don’t see much of a message of hope in these words of lamentation. Isaiah continues in verse 6 and admits the people “have all become like one who is unclean” and their “righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth” and they “all fade like a leaf” and their “iniquities, like the wind” have taken them away. Yep, not seeing too much hope in those words.

It is in verse 8 when we finally begin to see a turn. It is here that Isaiah’s words become less lamentation and more of a plea. It is here that we begin to see a message of hope. This turn begins with a very powerful three letter word. Isaiah says, “Yet.” It’s a small but powerful word that signals a change in tone. It is what begins to offer a small glimmer of light in a dark situation. Despite the mess, despite the troubles, despite the desperate situation Isaiah expresses the hope that things not only can change but that they will change. Hear the words of verse 8, “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” This harkens to a similar passage, which is one of my favorites, in Jeremiah where that prophet is sent to the potter’s house to receive the message and lesson that it is God who shapes and molds us. What a wonderful and personal image of God. This is an image of an up close and personal God directly involved in our lives. I hope you have at some time seen either in person or a video of someone working at a pottery wheel. It’s a messy, hands-on process. Initially, the process is not so much violent, but is intense. The potter begins by slapping the mixture of clay and water together and begins to form a rough outline of whatever the work is meant to be. Then as the process continues, the work becomes more delicate and focused on minor details. That is how God works in our own lives. First, it is in a broad manner. The purpose is to awaken in us an awareness of who God is and how he loves us and more importantly our need and dependence on him. Then as we continue to yield ourselves, our plans, and our decisions to his guidance God then begins the more delicate workings in our lives, gently and lovingly making us into the uniquely designed image of the Creator he has destined for us.

Therein, lies our hope. A loving God who wants to be that close and involved in our lives. And to do that, he sent Jesus, the Word made flesh, into this world as a tiny baby in a manger. The God who has the power to tear open the heavens and make the mountains quake in his Presence, instead decided to enter this world as a helpless little child. This willingness to so embody himself to truly experience what we experience is an amazing example of love. We talk often of Jesus and his willingness to die for us. But it starts here. It starts with him willing to live with us. To live with humanity in all of its messiness, struggles, and trials.

The author C. S. Lewis wrote:

God could, had he pleased, have been incarnate in a man of iron nerves, the Stoic sort who lets no sigh escape him. Of his great humility he chose to be incarnate in a man of delicate sensibilities who wept at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane. . . . He has faced all that the weakest of us face, has shared not only the strength of our nature but every weakness of it except sin. If he had been incarnate in a man of immense natural courage, that would have been for many of us almost the same as his not being incarnate at all.

Hope. The Israelites hoped for and waited for the coming of their promised Savior. Remembering their time of hoping and waiting and learning and drawing on the inspiration of the faith they exemplified is part of what we are doing during this time of Advent. Admittedly, their moments of faith had its ups and downs and highs and lows. But, we can learn lessons from both their successes and their failures. Their hope was realized on that holy night of Christ’s birth.

And as I thought of all that time of hoping and waiting, I couldn’t help but leap forward a little in the story of Jesus’ birth narrative. Not far. Just forty days after his birth. That was when we read of his presentation at the temple by Joseph and Mary the purpose of which was to fulfill Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth and to perform the redemption of the firstborn which was in obedience to the Law of Moses. Hear this account of what happened while they were there.

From Luke 2:25-32

 ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

At this moment in time Simeon represents and embodies all of that time of hoping and waiting. He had righteously and devoutly committed himself to the waiting of the consolation of Israel. Led by the Holy Spirit he showed up at the temple courts at the time the child Jesus was brought in. And he took the child in his arms, praised God, and said he could now be dismissed in peace because his eyes had seen God’s salvation. Think about that. Not only had he seen God’s salvation, but Simeon had also literally held the Hope of the World in his arms.

Hope. I said part of Advent is remembering Israel’s time of hoping and waiting. The other part is acknowledging our current period of hoping and waiting. We know the story of Jesus. We know how the rest of it ends. We know that the salvation work of the Cross has been accomplished. So, our hoping and our waiting are different. We are hoping and waiting for the return of Christ in his glory to fully redeem and restore the world and all of humanity. So we hope and we wait. But we don’t sit back and wait passively. It is time of active waiting and preparation.

As we heard at the end of the song In the Bleak Midwinter sung earlier in the service, give God what only you can give. Give him your heart.

Be open to letting the Potter mold you.

And know that like Simeon we can hold the Hope of the World in our arms. Not in a literal sense has he did. But still, as we look for a new revelation and understand of hope remember the Hope of the World is present with us here today.

I end with the question I began with. Are you ready for Christmas? More importantly are you ready for Christ? Are you ready to meet him once again anew and in a fresh way?

I have watched A Charlie Brown Christmas countless times over the years. It is one of the shows I always try to get in during the season. Yet, it wasn’t until a couple years ago that I read an article that pointed out something I had missed over the years. It’s a very subtle action that takes place in the show. But within that subtle action lies a very impactful and meaningful lesson for us all.

Near the end, Charlie Brown in exasperation exclaims, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Linus responds, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He then takes center stage, calls for the lights to be dimmed, and recites Luke 2:8-14, the passage about the angels appearing to the shepherds. I’m sure you all have seen this numerous times as well.

What I never noticed on my own was that at the exact moment Linus recites the words of the angel, “Fear Not” he drops his blanket on the ground. Yes, that blanket. The security blanket that Linus carried with him everywhere and never willingly parted with.

Now, most of us, especially as adults, don’t walk around carrying a security blanket with us everywhere we go. At least not visibly. Because if we are honest with ourselves, we do indeed carry invisible blankets with us all the time. We have our own worries, fears, and problems that plague us. And we also all have our own habits, thought patterns, and ways of dealing with those things. It is the old patterns and actions that become our security blankets. As do sometimes the worries, fears, and thoughts we carry. Sometimes, even unconsciously, we hold on to the same worries and doubts on purpose simply because the work of moving forward and through them can sometimes seem scary and hard. Because it is often scary and hard.

What we all need to hear and know is that the message for the shepherds is the same message for us still today. Fear Not. There is Good News. News to bring joy for all the people. A Savior has been born. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

As we continue through the time of Advent and through the season of Christmastide, I invite you to look within yourself. Consider the security blanket(s) you are carrying around with you daily. And hear the words of the angel to “Fear Not” and be like Linus and drop your blanket to the ground.

As I read other articles about this, many also point out that Linus picks the blanket back up and carries it off the stage with him. And, like Linus, we too will probably sometimes bend back down and pick up the blanket we have dropped. But at the end he gives us another lesson. He and the gang follow Charlie Brown home, whereupon he wraps the blanket around the base of the tree and all the others begin to decorate it. We all will probably go through many cycles of dropping and picking back up our own personal security blanket. Sometimes dropping old ones to pick up new ones. The Good News is that we too have a tree that we can approach and lay them at the base of as well. It is the tree that became the Cross of Christ where he died to save us all. Lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus. Leave them there. And move forward Fearing Not!

Following is a link to the copy of the Sunday morning message I delivered November 27, 2022 in my role as a Lay Speaker.

Waiting with Hope and Walking in Light (1st Sunday of Advent)