The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

[And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”]

          Luke 1:39-45.)

                            ——————————

I came across this little story, some time ago: Ole and Olga lived on a farm. Olga was starved of affection. Ole never gave her any signs of love and Olga’s need to be appreciated went unfulfilled.

One day, at her wit’s end, Olga blurted out, “Ole. Why don’t you ever tell me that you love me?” 

Ole said, “Olga, when we were married I told you that I loved you, and if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”

That is not good enough, is it?  We need to express our love for one another daily, just the way God expresses his love for us daily, in His Son Jesus.

Mary showed her love of God by accepting without question,  the momentous role was being called to play: that of the mother of the Messiah!!.

Not that she would love Jesus more because of  the place in this world that  he would have; she would love him because a mother loves her child.

And she would love him as a young boy growing up, as a young man finding his way in the world, as a rebel against the establishment, and as her dying son, hanging on that horrible cross.

When I was told by a family member  that a new baby had come into the world, I would  rush off to the hospital as soon as I could to bless the baby. You have to get there fast. They don’t keep a new mother in hospital for too long, nowadays.

And as I hold that baby I give thanks for its life, and for the mother’s health, and I pray that the child will love its parents and make them proud, and that baby will grow up to know and love God.

And it’s a great moment. Here is new life, Here is new promise. And here is joy.

But, as with the child that Mary will bear, we know there may be heartache. There may be tears in the life of that child, and its parents.

We pray though, that there will always be love.

And we pray that unlike Ole, we will always be able to express our love, and to graciously receive love that is proffered in return.

That’s the element of this Advent that we have now come to with the lighting of the last of those four candles around that wreath.

Love.

We have talked about the hope that God gives us, and which is rekindled each year anew at this time. We talked about the peace that comes from knowing, relying on, believing in Jesus. We talked about joy. Joy at receiving such a gift, and the joy that comes from surrendering our earthly desires to His will.

And now we acknowledge the love of God shown perfectly in Jesus Christ our Lord.

We should know about love, shouldn’t we?  Just about every song written these days, talks about love – love gained, love wanted, and love lost.

We should know about love.

Romantic love, that is. We hear so much about it.

But what about the reality of love, like how long does it last?

I came across this description of how things change over time- over seven years, in fact –  in how a husband cares for his wife, when she is suffering from a cold.

First year:  “Sugar dumpling, I’m really worried about my baby girl. You’ve got a bad sniffle and there’s no telling about these things, what with all the strep going around. I’m putting you in the hospital this afternoon for a  check up and a good rest. I know the food is lousy, but I’ll be  bringing meals in. I’ve already got it arranged with the nurse on the floor. “

Second year: “Listen, darling, I don’t like the sound of that cough and I’ve called Doc Miller to rush over here. Now go to bed like a good girl, just for poppa. “

Third year: “ Maybe you had better lie down honey. Nothing like a little rest when you feel lousy. I’ll bring you something. Have we any canned soup?”

Fourth year: “Now look dear. Be sensible. After you have fed the kids and got the dishes done, and the floor finished, you better lie down.”

Fifth year: “Why don’t you just take a couple of aspirin?:

Sixth year: “ I wish you’d just gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking like a seal all evening.”

Seventh year: “For Pete’s sake, stop sneezing. Are you trying to give me pneumonia?”

Rings a bell anyone? 

The passionate, fiery, romantic, love  that we see being idealized in our culture,  is essentially a love which comes from what one gets from the other – and is consequently bound to turn sour over time.

Real love, that is founded on giving, on putting the other first, on wanting to make the other happy, is more likely to last.

Yet even then, we are at a disadvantage, because research has shown that everyone, even the most giving person, unconsciously keeps an accounting, in their head,  of what they have given and what they have received in return. 

The stronger a love is, the more that one can tolerate a  seeming  imbalance between what is given and what is received, but eventually, a love that is all give and no get, will turn sour, the researchers tell us.

Except, that is for a mother’s love.

Mary would have that sort of love for her child, but more than that, she had a love of God that moved her to accept what would eventually be a painful, heartbreaking task.

She would see her son ridiculed – at one time even by his brothers. She would see him loved by the crowds, and then those same crowds turn upon him.

She would see him idolized, and then demonized, and finally executed.

But even if she could she have seen the hard road ahead of her, I don’t think she would have refused the role. Do you?

And can you see the momentousness of that?

Her love of God, and her acceptance of the role placed upon her, was a part of God’s plan. That plan would be revealed in Jesus’ ministry and in the path his life took. And it was a plan that would influence the world  for ever.. 

Mary gladly accepted a role that although rooted in the present, would affect countless lives far into the future.

Did she see it that clearly? I don’t know, except that we are told that she did know her son would be the Messiah.

You see where I am going with this don’t you?

It’s calling for an acceptance of God’s love for us, and an acceptance of what He calls us to do,  even if it involves pain,  because our accepting  His will, means that  our life may well  influence the future in some way.

Just think about all the children who have been nurtured in our church over the years – some decades ago, some of whom still attend and the lovely children that are being nurtured today by dedicated teachers.

Just think about the prayers that have gone up from our church for those who were sick, or absent, or grieving.

Just think about those who were hungry and  found food here, and elsewhere as food was sent to assist other charities.

 Thousand of lives, that have been affected. 

Just by people doing what God calls us to do.

Over the years, there have been many, maybe thousands of examples of  people accepting God’s call, and traveling to inhospitable, even dangerous places to tell the story of Jesus.

There were people who as  part of God’s plan influenced the world in wonderful ways.

The rule of law, based upon the ten Commandments, came into being in many countries because people were part of the plan that God had for this world.

Other examples are the abolition of  slavery,  the adoption of child labour and  morality laws.

Much of the peace and order that we enjoy, came about because of the influence of God in people who worked to change the future of this world.

As Mary did.     As we can, and do.

Alexander Mackay, of Scotland, was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. You probably know someone like that.  He was called in 1876 to go to Africa as a missionary.     He was to go with seven other missionaries. At a farewell committee meeting, he and others each said a few words.

Mackay said, “There is one thing my brothers have not said.

I want to remind the committee that within six months they will probably hear that one of us is dead.”

All eyes were fastened on him as he went on,”  Is it at all likely that eight British men should start for Central Africa, and all be alive six months from now? One of us at least – it may be I – will surely fall before that. But when the news comes, do not be cast down, but send someone immediately, to take the vacant place.”

His words were still ringing in the missionary society directors’ ears when the news came that one of the eight had died.   Five of them succumbed to the African graveyard, as it was called, in the first year, and by the end of the second year, Mackay was the only one left.

They knew the risk, and yet, following God’s plan for them, they still went ahead.

There is nothing that love cannot face, there is  no limit to its faith, to its hope, to its endurance.  Love never ends.

 
True love never gives up. 

 
And if you doubt that, check your history and see how powers that-be  have endeavored to eliminate the love of God in this world;  from the numberless wars of conquest, to pogroms and massacres, repression of speech and ideas, to fearsome weapons of mass destruction. 

And still God loves us!

Can you believe it?  

Still, God loves us!

The coming of Jesus, two thousand years ago; celebrated soon on Christmas Eve and the following day, and sometime in the future when he comes to claim His own, tells us that.

It rings across the centuries, from the mists of time past, to the glittering lights of a modern Christmas, and on to – what – we don’t know –  the promise of His love rings true.

Enthralled by the love of God, as was Mary, we too could  be the means of  influence that rings through the ages. 

“Me?” you might say, doubting, but each year at this time, we are reminded of that possibility.

Yes you!.

Amen and Praise His Wonderful Name

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 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.”

And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. (Luke 3:7-18)

                   ______________________________________

A reminiscence circa 2003: –

This has been one of those weeks for me, one that has not gone to plan.

This month has been like that, come to think.

And I, who have been preaching to you about what to do this Advent, as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, I have been wondering what I should do.

And last Tuesday, I found out.

The occasion was our Clericus meeting, For those who don’t know, Clericus is the group of Anglican clergy from this area. We have clergy from Grimsby, and all the churches as far as St. Catharine’s, and including Welland and Thorold, I think. It’s hard to know because not all of them are there at the same time. Some of them are not all there any of the time.

Anyway, the Clericus meeting usually begins with Eucharist, followed by a business meeting, then lunch. Sometimes, a speaker has been invited, and that is a nice  break from the usual gossip and stuff that goes on.

This week Elaine Hooker had been asked to bring her Labyrinth.

A labyrinth is not a maze. I can find my way out of a labyrinth. I can’t find my way out of a maze, even if a block of cheese were placed at the exit.

The idea of a labyrinth is to allow one to take a journey, in a small place. A journey of discovery – maybe. A journey of tranquility, of meditation, of relaxation – maybe.

The labyrinth that Elaine has, and I imagine anyone else who uses one, is modeled on the one outside Notre Dame cathedral at Chartres in France.

The original is set into marble tile, I think, whereas Elaine’s has to be portable and so is made of canvas.

I have known of Elaine’s interest in the labyrinth for some time, and have teased her about it immensely. You know the sort of thing, “How can a labyrinth bring someone to know God better?” 

What if  Peter asked Jesus how to bring people to come to know him?    And Jesus saying in reply,  “ When the Son of Man is  lifted up I will draw people to me.”

And Peter asking, “Should I get a labyrinth?”

And Jesus saying, “Peter read my lips – Son of Man – lifted up, etc”

Yes I have teased Elaine about her labyrinth.

Anyway this last Tuesday we went into St. Andrew’s Parish Hall and there was this humungous canvas circle on the floor, with a pathway in purple on it, weaving this way and that, with an entry point that also was the exit point.

You went in there and after weaving your way around all of the pathway, you came back to the same point.

There was a man kneeling at the far side. He had candles burning around him, and played some sort of eastern  flute-like instrument.

Elaine had a Tibetan bell that she would ring when it was time for us to begin and when it was time for any laggards still in the labyrinth to hurry up and come out.

She also had, on a table at the side, some shells and some stones, and again, candles burning. Oh, and there were candles burning all around the circumference of the circle.

She said that we might want to take a stone, or a shell, and carry it with us to the centre of the  labyrinth, using it to assist in meditating, and if we wished we could leave it at the centre where there was a basket. 

When it was time for me to embark on my journey, I took a stone in my hand, and stocking-footed, stepped into the labyrinth.

I thought it a bit strange, you know?  And I could feel the cold of the floor through the canvas and my socks, but I ventured forth, a reluctant pilgrim.

I tried to keep in the lines at first, then I realised that to pass someone, or to allow someone to pass you, or when two pathways were close and parallel to each other, someone would have to step off the path to allow the other to pass.

But soon I was drawn into it.

It was very restful. I found myself praying. I relaxed and walked slowly, passing others, and being passed by others – not because anyone was speeding – but because as the pathway weaved back and forth, it would come into closer proximity to another part of the path. When we passed, no-one spoke, or acknowledged the other. 

And I prayed.

And as I progressed on my journey, praying, I handled my stone, turning it around in my hand, feeling its surfaces, the roughness and jaggedness of bits that stuck out. It wasn’t a smooth shiny pebble.

Then I felt a jagged part, rougher and more pronounced than the main part of the stone, and my mind took a hold of that and memories and ideas bubbled up to the surface.

The rock reminded me, of me.

It would be nice to think that I was smooth, with no sharp edges. But I am not.

Oh, when I am in church I am on my best behaviour – like you – but there are times when my sharp edges poke through that smooth, calm exterior, and someone is hurt.

Then again, a rock is hard. And if it is hard, it is unyielding. It can be unfeeling.

And I thought, as I walked around that labyrinth, that maybe that is something I should be working on. I should be working on getting rid of the sharp edges, the hardness, the unyielding-ness, and then maybe the Spirit of Christmas, would find it easier to get into my heart,

“Teacher, what should we do? “

When the people asked John that question, he replied to them as befitted their particular sins.

To those without compassion for those worse off, he said, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”

To tax collectors, notorious for taking more than they should, he replied, “ Don’t make people pay more than they really  owe.”

To soldiers, he said, ‘Don’t extort money from people.”

And so on.

He was being specific, because that’s what would influence people more than generalities, but he might have said, “ Ask God to take away your heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh.”

Because it is from a hard heart, a heart of stone,  that hurtfulness, and sins against others, come.

Hundreds of years before, the children of Israel  had hardened their heart against God, and they found themselves in exile, living in a foreign land, far from home.

God wanted to bring them back, and have them know him again. He says, in Ezekiel, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And I will take away their stony heart,  and give them a heart of flesh. “That they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and obey them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

I don’t think anyone wants to have a heart that rejects God, and which has ceased to feel compassion, and kindness for others.

I don’t think anyone would want to have a hard stony heart. But it happens, sometimes, without us even realising it.

Husband and wife can get into a nasty way of talking to each other.

Someone hurts us just one time too many, and we find our heart hardened toward them.

We read about the horrible things that go on in the world, and can’t take it, and we harden our heart, because we don’t want to know about the hurt.

We get asked too many times for help, and we get what’s called ‘charity-fatigue,’ which is to say, hardness of heart. And we quit helping.

People we thought would be there for us, aren’t, and we are angry with them.

Christmas gets to be too much of a hassle. Who to buy for, and what to get, and how much to spend, and how to wrap it, and time’s running out and I haven’t got the tree up yet, and the presents aren’t wrapped, and someone’s coming for dinner, and I don’t have a thing to wear, and I forgot to pick up the turkey and so on and so on.

Slow down.

Take it easy.

That’s not Christmas.

I am so sorry you have to do all that stuff. It’s the price we pay for living in a consumer society.

But  don’t let your heart be hardened toward the child; toward the Christ; toward God Himself.

He simply dropped into the world to talk about love.

And he knows about the hassles, and the busyness,  and the problems, and the heartbreaks.

And he says, “Come, let me put a heart of flesh within you. Let this soft, feeling heart make you one with me. Come and walk with me, and let us know each other. And you will be my people and I will be your God. And not too much else matters.

“For I will write my laws on your heart, and you will know how to love, and how to be.

“Teacher, what should we do?”

Cast away the heart of stone, and accept the heart of flesh, and live in joy and peace.

Amen.

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“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. (Luke 3:1-6)

                             _________________________

Some years ago, there was a news story in the media, about a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Nigeria. Mr Chretien was our Prime Minister at the time.

Now the Queen as head of the Commonwealth, was there, probably to open the proceedings, and do some public relations work. She was scheduled to attend a traditional Nigerian marketplace.

Well, the security situation being what it was, the government of Nigeria couldn’t guarantee her safety in a marketplace, what with all the alleyways, and hidden recesses, and all, so it was decided to have a make-believe marketplace, with stalls set up in a sort of a movie set, with access strictly regulated, and actors – actors – playing the part of the usual stall-holders, and customers.

I don’t know if the Queen was aware of the charade, but I am sure you will agree that is was quite ludicrous, wasn’t it?

The phrase, from our reading today,  “ In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,  make straight in the desert, a highway for our God,” has its roots in a similar practice, in the countries of the east, centuries ago.

When the king decided to  make an inspection of a particular area, the people who would normally just throw their garbage out onto the dusty potholed road, would have to go out and clear up the mess, and fill in the holes, and make the way worthy of the king. He wouldn’t see the place as it really was.

Just as the Queen wouldn’t see the market place as it really was.

Today we hear the message of John the Baptist calling upon people to make themselves ready. Not for the coming of a king or a queen, but for the arrival of Jesus the Christ.

And not by clearing up garbage, and fixing roads, but by cleaning up their lives.  He wants them to change.  To repent. To make a big  U turn in their lives.

And they did.

They came in their hundreds and John baptised them in the River Jordan.

What drew them to John?

He must have been a strange-looking  man. His clothing made of camel hair, long unkempt hair and beard.  And his diet???    We are told he ate roots, berries, and locusts.

Locusts!

A radio station somewhere in the States a few years ago put out a recipe for bread made from locusts and crickets.  It was supposed to be very nutritious.  I wonder how many people would come forward if our communion bread were made that way.  

Now why did  people come to John? 

Maybe they were at a point in their lives when they recognised the need for change.

Maybe they had been conscientious Jews, attending the Temple and taking their sacrifice each Sabbath,  but found the process and the interminable rules too hard to follow .

.Maybe they had gone the other route, trying to find comfort in possessions, in living for themselves, and found that way of life to be empty.

It was a time in history when people were feeling alienated.  Jews chafed under the rule of the Romans. 

They felt lost, had no sense of belonging. And the religion of the day didn’t offer any comfort or guidance. 

There was no peace to be had.

So when they heard John’s message: “ Someone is coming who is greater than I. I am not fit to even untie the thong of his sandal.  He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit. Get ready, turn your life around. Repent. ” And they responded.

We are probably living in the best time in history.  We in the industrialized world have comforts that our ancestors couldn’t even  dream of.  And yet the signs are, that people are no more content than their grandparents or great grand parents were.

There are more people in this world than there have ever been,  yet many of us suffer from loneliness.

We have had the benefit of pediatricians, guidance counselors,  child psychologists, and more, and yet kids leave home for uncertain life in the city.

What will it take to get today’s lost sheep to respond? 

And if you don’t see today’s people as lost sheep, look around, the next time you are in the mall. People surge by, glassy-eyed, this way and that, searching for that great bargain.

Or something!

They are in thrall to the colour, and the lights, and the music, and the noise, and the urgency of it all.

And we do it every year, don’t we? 

We only have to hear a few verses of ‘Rudolph’ and we automatically reach for our wallets.

But, just as people in John’s day were ready to change their lives, I believe that people of today are ready too.

They just need to hear the call of Jesus.

The parents of a little girl sent her to church regularly every Sunday, but never came in with her. They would pull up in front of the church,  drop her off, and go out for Sunday breakfast. The father was an executive for a big chemical company, very ambitious, and upwardly mobile .

They were well-known for their Saturday night parties, given not so much for entertainment or out of friendship, but as a part of the husband’s career advancement program. How someone might  help towards his goals, determined who was invited. The whole town knew about the things that went on at those parties.

But every Sunday morning, there was that little girl.

One Sunday the pastor looked out at his congregation and, as usual,  there she was.  He looked again, and realized that her mom and dad were sitting with her this Sunday.  They came forward after the service, and asked to join the church.  The pastor asked them what had prompted  this.

“Do you know about our parties?,” they asked.

 “Yeah, I’ve heard of your parties.”

“Well, we had one last night. It got a bit loud, kind of rough, lots of drinking. And it woke up our daughter, who was asleep upstairs. She came down the stairs and was on about the third step.

” And she saw the eating and drinking and said, ‘Oh, can I do the blessing?   God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food.  Goodnight everybody,’  and she went back up the stairs.”

“Funny. Things quieted down real fast.   People began to say, ‘It’s getting late, we really must be going, thanks for a great evening,’ and within two minutes the whole place was empty.”

“We  started to pick up the crumpled napkins and half-eaten sandwiches and spilled peanuts, and then we looked at each other.  And  said, “ What have we been thinking?   Where do we think we’re going?”

The words of that little girl opened the eyes of that couple to the changes they needed to make in their lives – to meet Jesus.

Preparing for God’s ways to take hold in our hearts is what Advent is about.  For that to happen, we may need to make some changes in direction.

It may have to do with giving less attention to being comfortable and  more attention to bringing comfort to others.

It might involve remembering someone who is lonely.  It might mean being sensitive to those who have suffered pain and loss and for whom Christmas will not be the same this year. 

It might involve spending time in scripture and in prayer so that God’s word can work in our hearts and lives.

It might mean giving attention to relationships that need healing:  making  a tough decision or taking a difficult action that you know you need to make. 

It might mean getting involved in righting a wrong in our world. 

As we do these things, we may find that God will begin to lead us out of the wilderness, and we may  begin to discover the comfort and peace and joy of knowing Jesus.

A man went to his doctor for  his annual physical.  After the exam, he waited a few minutes for the doctor’s report.  The doctor came in with his charts in his hand, and said, “ Well, there’s no reason why you can’t live a completely  normal life – as long as you don’t try to enjoy it.”

We’ve got him beat, because  life with Jesus is life to enjoy. 

And if you aren’t enjoying it, then maybe you aren’t doing it right!

Let’s examine our hearts and prepare the way of the Lord, in our lives.

Let’s be ready to receive him.   And begin living with joy, and peace.

Amen.

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.

Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:25-36)

“When you see the leaves of a fig tree sprouting, then you know that summer is here. Likewise with these signs (strange things happening in the sky, and here on earth) you will know that God’s kingdom will soon be here.”

Well, I have seen the signs that Jesus will soon be here.

The Santas in the malls, the Christmas songs being played on the muzak, the Christmas decorations, the lights going up on rooftops, and the beginnings of the shopping frenzy that heralds the coming of Jesus at Christmastime – the signs are all around us. 

I doubt though that a lot of those caught up in preparations for Christmas know or even care about the baby that began it all.

In fact, there is a move afoot to take Christ out of Christmas all together.  I guess they will then call it ‘Thingmas.’

Unfortunately, for some, Christ has never been in Christmas.  

The choir director of a church was looking for sheet music for that great hymn, “How Great Thou Art .‘  She went into a record store and asked the clerk, ”Do you carry any religious sheet music?” The clerk, who looked like a high school student, thought for a moment, and then said, “Look over there, some of the Christmas music might be religious.”

I’m beginning to think that Christmas is not so much to remind us of the coming of Jesus as to remind us that we have forgotten the Christmas message of the coming of Jesus.

In the reading from Luke’s Gospel above, Jesus is heard  telling his friends about the time when he will come to rule the world – the time when the natural order of things will be abolished and a new world will come about.

He tells them that there will be strange portents in the skies. There will be a roaring of the sea and tides so loud that nations will not know what to do.

He says that people will be so frightened that they will faint from fear of what is happening.  Every power, he says, will be shaken.

That doesn’t sound like Christmas, does it?

You might feel bad because you didn’t get the new ear buds you wanted, or the new computer. It might  be very hurtful that you got a small kitchen appliance rather than that ring you have been waiting for, for  years. That’s nothing to what we will feel like when that day comes.

It kind of makes you sober up for a minute, doesn’t it?

It kind of makes you pause a moment, there in the toy department of the Bay, or Toys R Us, and take stock for a minute.

When I was serving in the Air Force in Germany, I was on a base that supplied materiel to other bases.

There was at that time, a fear that the Soviet Union would attack the West, using nuclear weapons. There was a strategic defence that we weren’t  party to, but we, on our base,  knew our part in that defence. When the ‘alert’ went out, we were to head down to our storage areas, load up the trucks with all the supplies and head west – away from the trouble.

We would never know the day or time of a Soviet attack. So we were to be ready for the sound of the ‘alert’  at any time of the day or night.

The top people must have known something, though. They must have known we would never get attacked on a week-end, because half of the people weren’t there on a week-end.  

The week-end would have been the ideal time for an attack, wouldn’t it?  It would be the last thing on anyone’s mind – what with traveling, and being out celebrating, and just goofing off.

For similar reasons, I think the Christmas season, ironically, could be the time when God might just decide to send Jesus back and shake everybody up, real good.

 The last thing your mind has on it,  leading up to Christmas is Jesus, isn’t it?

What am I going to buy Aunt Betty?  What is my spouse going to get me? I hope he/she keeps the receipt, so I can take it back. And what about the kids?  They have so many toys, not to mention computers, and other electronics. They have so much it is hard to give them more. But we will.

And the parties. It is difficult to fit them all in. Celebrating. Celebrating. Celebrating.  

Celebrating what? I am not so sure.

Boy, if God decides to come back during Christmas he would catch most of us on the hop, as it were.

Or the hip-hop if – I can get the Karaoke machine working right.

It will be just like Jesus said. “ Don’t spend all your time thinking about eating and drinking, or worrying about life. If you do the final day will suddenly catch you like a trap. That day will surprise everyone on earth.”

I think we have to keep things in perspective. Keep our minds on what is important in this world and recognise what is merely a passing fancy, or fad.

Last year’s VCR is being thrown out for this year’s DVD player. Last year’s Pentium 4 computer is bring thrown out for this year’s Centrino. Last year’s 27 inch TV is being thrown out for this year’s 30 inch flat plasma TV.

So keep perspective. Keep in mind what’s really important.

Well, you might ask, after all that, “What is important? “

Relationship is important.

That is our relationship with others – spouse, kids, our neighbors, whether local, or further north or in countries overseas, and most important, our relationship with God.

Without a relationship with God, those other relationships can be like this year’s fad. Here today and gone tomorrow.

Deeper, longer-lasting, mutually-loving human relationships flow out of a better relationship with God.

You can’t say you love your neighbour unless you love God, first.

A man went to his priest and asked forgiveness for having been  unfaithful to his wife.

The priest rightly told him that forgiveness didn’t come so easily. If he were forgiven, just like that, he would just go out and do it again.

“No,” the priest said, “Your relationship with God is all wrong. And that leads to you having a bad relationship with your wife, and that leads to your adultery.”

“Fix up your relationship with God. Then you may stop doing those things that hurt him.  Fix up your relationship with your wife, and then you may stop doing the things that hurt her. 

“And when you have done that, you will be sure to be forgiven.

“You won’t hurt God if you love him and put him first, and likewise for your wife.”

How many times have we heard it said that Jesus told the experts in the law that the two laws that outshone all others were, one, to love God, and the other, to love your neighbour?

Put relationships right.

And it doesn’t cost money.

Buying bigger and more expensive gifts doesn’t make for bigger and better relationships.   Sometimes the big gifts are given out of guilt.

Honesty, integrity, transparency, putting the other first and yourself last  makes for better relationships, with both God and family.

Now, I know that putting yourself last is hard to do. Some people don’t even want to be second.

Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the hardest instrument to play. He replied, without hesitation, “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm, or second French horn, or second flute, now that’s a problem. And yet if no-one plays second, we have no harmony.”

You see, everyone wants to be a star. The children of President Roosevelt ,who was known to like being up front at everything, said,  ”Father always wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.”

But you know, Jesus came from heaven to join a poor family, and to grow up and live as a poor man.   He forsook everything to be one of the marginalised:  to relate to those who needed love and acceptance. 

He put himself last. He came to serve, as he said, not to be served.

He came to tell us about the great love that God has for us His children. And he showed that love supremely in his life and death.

We do need to keep that front and foremost in our hearts. We do need to keep that perspective on life, and not get lost in the season’s excesses.

When you are pushing your way through the Wal- Mart crowds, or Holt Renfrew’s more sedate crush, or when you are standing in the return line on Boxing Day, keep that in mind. 

Don’t let go of it.

It’s your ticket to Paradise: the road to which is littered with discarded gifts, and yesterday’s fads,  cast off regrets and forgiven sins.

If that day does happen to come, suddenly, whether cosmically – for us all, or is a personal ending – take Jesus at his word, stand up straight and be brave, for you will soon be set free.

And there is a longer guarantee on that, than you can get at any store this Christmas.

“The sky and earth won’t last forever, but my words will,” Jesus said.