December 12, 2010
Hark to the herald that the angels sing: Glory to the newborn king.
Peace on Earth, mercy mild, God and Sinners are reconciled.
Joyful, All Ye Nations Rise! Join the triumph of the Skies!
With Angelic Hosts proclaim, Christ is Born in Bethlehem!
As I was preparing myself for today I did some research about Advent, and I learned that, centuries ago, the Advent season began with a period of penitence and fasting. In fact, the use of purple during the weeks leading up to Christmas was meant to create a visual connection between Advent and Lent, between Jesus’ birth and his death.
For early Christians, the four weeks we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christ’s birth are inextricably linked to the knowledge of why Christ came as the "Word made flesh" to live among us and reveal God’s truth to the world through his life and his teachings. As we rejoice in Christ’s birth we are also mindful that Jesus’ life led to his crucifixion – culminating in his resurrection which gives the promise of new life for all of us.
This is the third Sunday of Advent. Traditionally, the third Sunday of Advent was the time that Christians turned from penitence to joyful anticipation of Christ coming to us as a gift from God.
Good Christians now rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye hear of endless bliss: Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened the heavenly door, and we are blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this!
Good Christians now rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save!
Advent focuses our attention on Christ’s birth, while anticipating Christ’s death and resurrection, affirming to us that Christ has come, that Christ lives in us today, and that Christ will come again. During the Christmas season we celebrate God’s miraculous invitation to reconciliation. But, like Christ’s birth, accepting God’s invitation to reconciliation is just the beginning of the possibility of relationship. For, as a people reconciled to God, we become a people commissioned to "love the Lord God with all our hearts" and to "love our neighbors as ourselves."
The birth of Christ, a confirmation of God’s bountiful love and unceasing faithfulness, gives rise to hope and joy during the Christmas season– regardless of the circumstances of our times. But let’s remember, that once we accept God offer, we receive a call of discipleship, a call to spread the good news of reconciliation to others in a spirit of faithfulness, forgiveness and love.
In this regard, Kayla’s sermon last week, when she asked us to consider deeply whether we were prepared for Christ’s coming, and to meditate on what we needed to let go of in our lives in order to receive Christ, served us well. Are we ready to celebrate God-made-flesh-through Jesus Christ? Are we ready to leap with both feet into a relationship with God? Are we ready for discipleship?
Oh come, all ye faithful … Joyful and Triumphant. ….
Come ye, Come ye, to Bethlehem…
Come and behold Him. Born the king of angels. ….
Come, let us adore Him.
The first to hear the joyous news of the birth of the Christ, and thus the advent of an age of reconciliation to God, were poor shepherds. Here again is the passage from Luke 2:8-11:
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
As I understand it, shepherds were some of the lowest ranking members of Jewish society. Their work made it impossible for them to observe the Jewish ceremonial laws and temple rituals, so they were considered religiously unclean and unacceptable. They weren’t considered to be trustworthy and were not allowed to give testimony in a Jewish court of law. They were social outcasts.
So part of the miracle of Christmas is about to whom the angels announced Christ’s birth. The joyous message is that “Christ came for lowly shepherds too.” Christ came for the forgotten people of the earth. Christ came for all of us.
O! Holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
Watch o'er the eve of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error,
Longing for His appearance, then the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was Born;
Long live God’s truth, and may it last forever,
For in God’s name all discordant noise shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise God’s holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
God’s power and glory evermore proclaim!
In the middle of the night, God's long-awaited redeemer was born into a darkened, weary, and exhausted world. History tells us that the time of our Lord's birth was indeed a time of weariness and widespread despair among people and among the nations of the earth. The civilizations of that day had played themselves out. The Romans ruled the Holy Land with violence, and common folk lived in poverty. Sounds something like today, doesn’t it? Only today, Christ has already come. We’re not waiting for the Messiah to save us. We’ve already received the promise of reconciliation. We’re already saved. This is a new age, in which we who accept Christ as our Lord and Savior are asked to continue to carry out his work of reconciliation, mercy and acceptance, alongside his work to challenge the potencies and power of evil and oppression.
Today we are asked respond to the world as God’s people, carrying God’s message. Once again I feel compelled to echo Kayla’s questions from last week -- are we prepared to receive Christ this Christmas season? What’s holding us back? What do we need to let go of?
One of the marvels I have experienced as part of the Church of the Savior is being witness to what happens when people respond wholeheartedly to God’s call for relationship. Lives are changed, people find jobs or get an education. The hungry are fed. The homeless and dying are given shelter. Hearts and eyes are opened to new ways of loving God’s children. Fears are relieved, pasts are healed. Reconciliation happens. Receiving God’s invitation to relationship with joy and thanksgiving is a call to live without fear amidst all the problems of life with a Faith that continues to see possibility when there is no present evidence of it, just because God is God and we are God’s people. That is another facet of the miracle of Advent.
It never ceases to amaze me that God often begins with small things and inadequate people. God chose an unwed teenager to give birth to the Messiah in a stable, and outcast shepherds to receive the news and go visit them. Of course God could have chosen "bigger" things and "better" people to do His work in the world. But, of course, if God chose a teenage girl and some outcast shepherds, then God can – and does – choose little old me too, with the hope and longing that I’ll say yes, and choose God back. What a humbling thought.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And let heaven and nature sing.
As we rejoice this Advent season in the miracle of Christ’s birth, let us remember with thanksgiving that Christ was born to show us how to live – and to die for us to give us the chance to be reconciled to God. Through Jesus’ birth we have received an invitation to experience an intimate relationship with God.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And as we prepare once again to celebrate Christ’s birth and prepare more room in our hearts to receive him, I leave you with the question – What do you need to let go of to prepare room in your heart, your life, your work and your play for Christ? Are you ready for Christmas?
Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Luke 2:8-11:
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.