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Sunday Sermon, Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2016
Peace Sunday
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bellingham, WA
Rev. Gary A. Shoemaker
Sunday Sermon, Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2016
Peace Sunday
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bellingham, WA
Rev. Gary A. Shoemaker
Sunday Sermon, Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2016
Peace Sunday
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bellingham, WA
Rev. Gary A. Shoemaker
12/4/16 Bellingham First Christian Church Rev. Gary Shoemaker
I find it interesting that in
both our gospel lesson and the lesson from Isaiah, there's a reference to trees. I've been thinking a lot about trees this past year or so. I've got 25 or so trees planted in our backyard that have really taken off in growth. They've grown so much that our view of the Canadian Cascades has been obliterated. So the pruning have begun, and I'm only a little over halfway done. I've already taken over 2,500 pounds of branches away (I know because they charge me by the pound.)
The difference in the two
scripture lessons couldn't be more pronounced. In one, there is hope for a righteous branch to spring up bringing hope and new life. The other one has a very foreboding feel to it... Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. One announces the coming of a promised one, and the other announces the coming of a promised one. Wait. That can't be right. And yet it is. Both are spoken in the hope of one to come who will change the future.
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The choice is ours. Is it a time
of new growth or cutting away dead wood. Our lives are filled with choices. From one perspective, you could say everything we do is a choice. Those everyday, mundane choices dont seem to faze us much. Its the Robert Frost, two-roads-in-a-wood kind of choices that can stump us (so to speak). We want to know where each road leads before we make such a momentous decision. Whether we like it or not, the message of Advent presents us with precisely that kind of choice: whether we will align our lives with what God is doing in our world, or whether we will simply go
along with the way things
are. Will there be new growth from an old stump, or will there be the destruction of what has already grown, but not produced. We normally talk about Advent as a time of looking forward. In Advent were looking forward to something better than the injustice and violence and suffering all around us. Were looking forward to someone better who will set things rightfor everybody. But even that involves choice. When we look forward to the kindness and generosity and compassion of our God being fulfilled for all the peoples of the world, we 2 of 7
have to take a look at
whether the kind of people we choose to be contributes to that coming new world. This week we are confronted with the fact that this something better that we are looking forward to also affects our everyday lives. Both of our scriptures describe the something better that Gods agent will bring into this world in very concrete terms. God is on the move and that movement involves peace, it involves justice, it involves taking care of the poor and displaced. Over and over again the Scriptures bear witness to the faith that what God is doing in our world is about mercy that is tangible, compassion
in action. It is about creating
justicethat way of life that makes it possible for everyone to thrive equally. It is about those who have more than enough sharing with those who dont have enough. It is about generosity and kindness, not just in spirit but also in practice. Whether we know or not and whether we like it or not, what God is doing in our world affects the choices we make about the way we live our lives everyday. To some, that may not be good news. There's going to be some cutting at the roots for some of us. Some of us would prefer to keep what God is doing in the world firmly in the realm of a nice 3 of 7
idea that makes you feel
warm and fuzzy inside. Wed rather not have to make the connection between our faith and our daily lives. I think this kind of disconnect is what John the Baptist had in mind with his rather harsh condemnation of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Jewish religious leaders. Now, in the first place, we should recognize that not all the Jewish leaders were antagonistic toward Jesus and the early Church. And we should also recognize that not all the Jewish people were hostile toward them. In fact, the crowds who were coming to John to be baptized in preparation for the advent of Gods
messenger of justice were
almost exclusively Jewish. But I wonder what these particular Jewish leaders were doing there. Were they like many religious professionals there to sneer at the unenlightened masses who were so easily led astray by a religious fanatic like John? Or were they there as spiesgathering information to use against John in order to lock him up at the right time? Or did some of them perhaps get caught up in the spirit of the seasonthe season of anticipating the coming Messiah? Did some of them actually present themselves to John for baptism perhaps in the expectation 4 of 7
that the more people showed
up, the sooner the Messiah would come? Its hard to say exactly what motivated them. But one thing seems to be clear from Johns response they really didnt have a clue what he was about. John was there to prepare the people for the coming of the Lord which would be a time when wrongs would be righted, and injustices would be corrected. It would be a time when oppression would come to an end and violence would be no more. And what perhaps many of those who showed up for Johns revival apparently failed to connect was that the coming of Gods messiah and Gods kingdom and justice meant
they would have to change
their waysto bear fruit worthy of repentance (Matt. 3:8). Because they were all part of an unjust system, they would either have to choose to change their ways, or they would have to choose to ignore what God is doing in the world. Whether we like it or not, the repentance that Gods justice confronts us with is about choosing sides; its about where our allegiance lies. That starts with the kind of people we choose to be, but it also extends to what we actually do. Whether we like it or not, the coming of Gods justice and peace into this world presents us with a road not taken kind of 5 of 7
choice. If our allegiance is
with the coming of Gods justice and peace in this world, then we need to face a hard reality: that choice entails choosing not to continue pursuing the selfish ways of this broken world, even when its running around pretending to be Christian by celebrating Christmas. Lets start this year by trying to find ways we can reduce the amount of money we spend on ourselvesand increasing what we give to those who are in need. That can start right after worship in the Alternative Christmas Fair. Giving a life changing gift in the name of a loved one to someone somewhere in
the world in desperate need.
Lets start by teaching our children and grandchildren that they can be just as happy with less as they can with excessin fact, they can be happier! Lets make the choices that are consistent with looking forward to the kindness and generosity and compassion of our God being fulfilled for all the peoples of the world. Let's choose the way of peace, which is not usually the popular choice. It's not always the most patriotic choice. But it is the ways of God. Being a follower of Jesus means that we have to live a different set of choices. Choosing peace, choosing justice, choosing compassionate action. Lets choose to be on the side of 6 of 7
that something better that
Isaiah prophesied and for which John the Baptist prepared the way. Keep your tree healthy and productive. Keep yourself walking in the ways of God. And may peace abound.