December 9, 2007 Sermon
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Advent 2 - A
December 9, 2007 Allan Conkling
Henry Longfellow once said,
"All things must change to something new, to something strange; Nothing that is can pause or stay...tomorrow [will be] today."
Change is difficult for me the older I get. Yet even though I have to confess to being a slave to routine one of the things I love about our church is the fact that seasons are always changing as time moves on. The great calendar of the church which we describe as a wheel beginning in Advent and ending at Christ the King shows me that in fact time is not a treadmill going round and round; instead it moves steadily ahead like an ever rolling stream: "Dat old man River just keeps rollin' long". Life is forever changing even its sameness.
Nowhere is this paradox better seen than at the second Sunday of Advent. The Prophet Isaiah grabs us by the collar shakes us out of our lethargy as he says:
"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots...with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked...for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
Hundreds of years later John the Baptist threatened to rock the foundation of comfortable faith and challenged what it meant to be a believer: "Repent! For the Kingdom of heaven has come near."
The image here is of a divine road crew surveying. Every "valley" shall be "leveled," and the rough places made straight on the day of the Lord's coming. But neither John nor Isaiah was talking about geography, they speaking of the rough places of our souls.
I don't generally like being reminded of my shortcomings, yet I sometimes need to hear the truth from those who love me. Only by receiving honest feedback can I ever grow.
You might remember several years ago a movie called Chariots of Fire. It was about a Scottish athlete, Eric Liddell and his devotion to God, and his refusal to violate his spiritual convictions--even at the expense of Olympic glory. I read once about the actor who starred in the movie and won an academy award. In making the film the actor, Ian Charleston, had to learn to run in a way that would imitate the style of Liddell with his head tilted back and chest out in an unconventional way. Many takes and retakes had to be made, and Charleston had to have months of practice to get it right. Ian Charleston concluded that Eric's unconventional running style was inspired by trust. "He trusted God to get there," said Charleston. "He ran with faith. He didn’t even look where he was going."
In
"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."
These readings point us to a future hope a joyous day of the Lord. But the journey requires we be open to change.
These days when it seems that "anything goes" and that faith has become less and less a part of the Christmas season, we are instead called to be think differently, to be open to new ways of seeing the time--not just as holidays, but as holy-days. There is a difference between the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of Christ.
A couple of years ago USA Today reported the results of three polls signaling the change in this country in the meaning of Christmas. In a survey of Americans, only one-third said the birth of Jesus is what makes the holiday important. What is important then? Giving presents of course.
God speaks to us today no less then he did in ages past. Christ meets to us in our worship, in the bread and wine; we sense God all around if we but open our eyes, ears and heart. As we wait in this time of the already but not yet pray God to hallow this time and place and create in us a new heart
"On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry announces that the Lord is nigh; / Awake and hearken for he brings glad tidings of the King of kings."
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Revised: 12/17/07