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Sermon 12/3/00
Happy New Year - Luke 3:1-16, Psalm 25:1-10, Revelation 21:1-7
Happy New Year! What's that you say? You think I have got my calendar flipped forward a month? Actually, I know exactly what day today is. Today is the first Sunday in Advent. In terms of the Church calendar, today is the first day of a new Christian year. So, Happy New Year! Today is the beginning of a new time, a fresh start, another year to but our faith in perspective and pay attention to the hand of God in our lives.
Think, for a moment, about the traditional New Year's Day, January 1st. How many times have you started this day with a set of lengthy and challenging resolutions? This year, I will lose weight and exercise at least five times a week. Starting tomorrow, I will start writing that book I have always been thinking about. This year, I resolve to clean the house from top to bottom. This January 1st, I will start giving God a part of everyday, I will study the scriptures more, I will pray more often. How many of these resolutions were you still holding true to by February 1st? Too often, we make great promises, and have such good intentions, only to fall back into the same patterns, the same ruts, using the same old excuses. We start out with great ideas, excited about the chance to make up for lost time, but we end up more frustrated and discouraged than when we began, because we can not seem to follow through with our plans.
What happens when we turn our New Year's focus to the first day of Advent instead? Advent means the "before time". It is a time of preparation. For four weeks before the Christmas celebration, we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christ. Can you imagine what Christmas would be like if we didn't remember to get ready ahead of time? There would be no chance for gift giving and receiving. There would be no gatherings with friends, family, and loved ones. More importantly than that, there would be no expectation, no waiting, no hoping, no anticipation. On Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of a child. How can you be ready for a newborn if you have not prepared for the child ahead of time? What expecting parents do not try to ready their homes for a new addition? The nine months parents wait for a child to be born are months of preparation, excitement, worry, fear, and joy.
The expected coming of Christ, as we read in scripture, was also a time of anticipation and preparation. John the Baptist announced the time of preparation to crowds by the Jordan. He was "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth". John preached that before Jesus even began his ministry, repentance, literally a "changing of the mind" was needed. The coming of Christ into the world was so momentous that even the mountains and valleys would be compelled to change in expectation of his arrival.
Likewise, we, the Church, are given four weeks to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child. We have four weeks to plan to have a new being enter into our lives. How momentous do we deem Christmas to be? How much do we really prepare for the coming of this infant into our lives? Sure, we prepare with presents and parties and decorations, but do these preparations prepare our hearts? On the contrary, we too often find that our holiday preparations - the shopping, the baking, the hustling and bustling only serve to make more stressful and less receptive to the word of God. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has often been cited by psychologists and physicians as the greatest time of sickness, depression, and poor health. Why is this? Why in a time that is so central to our faith are we so run-down and discouraged? Perhaps it is because we forget the source of joy, the reason we are doing all this celebrating in the first place.
The season of Advent offers us a time to make some real changes in our life. We have a chance to spend four weeks waiting for Christ to be born into our lives all over again. What should we do to prepare for the coming? The Psalmist in today's reading is seeking a fresh start with also. He begins by asking for God's help in making a new beginning. "Make me to know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long." This psalmist knew that he had to ask God to help, he had to ask for God's presence in the difficult situation. He also understood that he had to wait for God. He had to be patient. He wasn't expecting a miracle overnight. One of our biggest problems when we are making resolutions and trying to change our path is that we expect results right away. "Lose 10 pounds in 7 days". "Get your degree at home in just 6 months". "Learn a new language in 6 weeks". These advertisements reflect a culture of impatient people. But we must remember, as Pedro shared with us a few weeks ago, that God's time does not work like our time. We have days and weeks, hours and seconds. God has God's time, the right and appointed time. So, we must be patient people. We must wait on God. When we wait on God, we can see the changes begin slowly, not on our exteriors, but from within. Our minds and hearts become attuned to God, and God's voice can be heard in the peace of our souls.
The time of Advent offers us four weeks to wait upon God. We have four weeks to intentionally listen for God's voice, to look for the face of Christ in the people we meet in the shopping malls, at the holiday parties, in the soup kitchens, on the receiving end of food baskets. How often can we see Christ in these four weeks, if we are really expecting to see visions? What if, for four weeks, we were expecting to see a miracle in a baby on Christmas Day? What are you expecting to see on December 25th? Are your visions of trees and lights and presents and food? Or do you have visions of new life, change, and hope? What will you do during this Advent, how will you change on this New Year's Day in order to see visions and expects miracles this Christmas?
This past January 1st, Abigail Van Buren included this article in her daily "Dear Abby" column - It is a variation of the original Al-Anon creed: Just for today, I will live through this day only, and not set far-reaching goals to try to overcome all my problems at once. I know I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I thought I had to keep it up for a lifetime. Just for today, I will be happy. Abraham Lincoln said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." He was right. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. I will chase them out of my mind and replace them with happy thoughts. Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct, and accept those which I cannot. Just for today, I will improve my mind. I will not be a mental loafer. I will force myself to read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. Just for today, I will do something positive to improve my health.
Just for today, I'll do something I've been putting off for a long time. I'll finally write that letter, make that phone call, clean that closet, or straighten out those dresser drawers. Just for today, before I speak I will ask myself, "Is it true? Is it kind?" and, if the answer to either of those questions is negative, I won't say it. Just for today, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will look as good as I can, dress becomingly, talk softly, act courteously, and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today, I'll not try to improve anybody except myself. Just for today, I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it, thereby saving myself from two pests: hurry and indecision. Just for today, I will gather the courage to do what is right and take the responsibility for my own actions.
Abby's creed is not religiously centered, but I think these resolutions get the idea across that we are looking for. Taking things one step at a time, everyday making an effort to do something different, to take one more step. Just for today, I will listen for God's voice. Just for today, I will not worry about how much money I am spending on Christmas presents, but I will focus on how much time I am spending with God. Just for today, I will be patient with myself and with God, and remember that it takes time to build relationships. Just for today, I will expect a miracle on Christmas day, and I will expect my life to be changed by it. Imagine what a New Year this can be for us, if, just for today, we expect to see God.
Our reading today from Revelation is an account from a man who had visions of great things, and expected huge changes to happen upon earth as a result of God's hand in the world. Listen again to the revelation: 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 heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God's people, and God will be with them. And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Today, envision, as the author of this Revelation envisioned, a new earth, changed by the work of God. Envision your fresh beginning, granted by the God who makes all things new. Envision a Christ child, God making a home among mortals. Just for today, prepare. Prepare for four weeks of hoping, praying, waiting, expecting, and receiving, receiving the Christmas Child into your life. Happy New Year!
Let us pray: God, we need a new beginning from you every day. Grant us another day to be a servant to you, another day to worship you, another day to dwell on earth with you. Make us new in your love, fresh from your grace. Help us patiently prepare as you come among us anew this December, so that we might be ready to receive the Christ Child among us. Amen.