Sermon
The Reverend Jackie Whitfield
Let us pray:
From the Song of Zechariah:
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way. In the name of the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Today the mail man delivered the most exciting catalogue. It was full of shiny objects, pictures of beautifully decorated rooms with family and friends gathered: beautiful clothes, dreamy surroundings and perfect smiles. The title on the cover read: Holidays Dreams are Made of These.
I flipped through the magazine, then I slowly walked to the table and lit the second Advent candle. I watched the bright flame flicker and reflect in the mirror in my quiet house. This day finds: threatening and cold weather, possibilities of power outages, a country grieving for a former president, a group of illegal immigrants sequestered in a detention center, a family friend without shelter, a child with no coat and my heart broken over the untimely death of a friend and the disappearance of a fifty year friendship.
I wondered: What kind of dream does God have for me? Where is the hope, the light, the promise of salvation? Will I find the answers in the scripture, my prayers? Will light and hope pierce the cracks in my broken heart? Will I be brave enough to discern the dream God has for me?
I pondered lots of questions as I read today’s Gospel from Luke 3:1-6 (see above).
Luke begins with the who’s who's of the powerful leaders in the ancient world. The men listed were the decision makers of ancient political, religious and economic systems. They were oppressors and power brokers, the ones with the power and little compassion about broken systems, people, their hopes and dreams. They struck fear into the citizen’s hearts, and made life difficult for all, with the exception of an inner circle. Men motivated by a dream of power, of wealth, their success made on the shoulders of the marginalized. Their behavior tried to destroy the dreams and hopes of God’s people.
Then John, the son of a lowly and faithful priest in a small town, and cousin to Jesus, rocked the world of these leaders. John was the hinge between the old and the new. John (named by the angel Gabriel, as having the spirit and power of Elijah and fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah) cried out from the wilderness. He proclaimed the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and to straighten the path, prepare the way of the Lord.
Prepare and open our heart, mind and soul to receive forgiveness and salvation. A heart open to receive the dream of love, hope and light, the gifts of grace and mercy from our God. Prepare and open our heart to the promise, the dream God has for us.
Advent is the quiet preparation of the heart, mind and soul. As a beloved child of God, we open our hearts to discern and receive the dream God has for us...
And yes, God has a dream for me. He accompanies me in my grief and holds me in love despite my human brokenness. God encourages me to open my heart, so I can receive. God fills me with courage to face what I can not face alone. God whispers in my heart of love, hope, light and that I am beloved and forgiven. I seek and receive the promise of salvation. God does all this for you, too.
God’s dream for us and our deepest dream for ourselves is hope; the dream of hope.
The season of Advent prepares us to embrace hope, not by encouraging us to dream about the prefect world pictured in a catalog. Instead God confronts us with the dream of the world we actually inhabit and how we, as His followers, will be Jesus to our community.
As John cleared the path in the face of a broken and troubled world of his time, a world full of poverty, hunger and marginalized people, he cried to all to repent.
Level the mountains. The high places where we celebrate our success, sometimes knowingly or unknowingly on the backs of others, a high place where we experience joy and jubilation, yet forget to give thanks to God for the blessings. A high place where we covet our control over life or a situation. high places designed to oppress others. Level the mountains-make them low. God is depending on us to level the mountains. Be the bearer of hope in our community.
Fill in the valleys: the valleys of sorrows, the shadows and losses, the despair, inequalities,and starving bodies and spirit. Fill in the valley, make the straight path, straight to God and straight to our heart.
We prepare the way by pruning the excess of our life: Toss the junk: resentment, grudges, greed, hurt, pain, hoarding of material things-anything which is a burden or prevents us from knowing the love of Christ. Open our mind, soul and heart in prayer. Prayers of thanksgiving, Prayers of confession and forgiveness, Prayers of lament, Prayers for ourselves and others. Prayers which seek and prayers which question. Meditate on the Scripture, the Word of God. Be still, Listen.....then our hearts will be ready, be open to see the salvation of God, the dream that God has in store for us....
In front of a small rental house in a struggling area of town, a string of lights decorates a dark porch and a lighted snowman illuminates the front yard. The meager decorations in a seemingly depressed area say, “I have hope, I have hope and I am loved even in my small, dismal house. I seek the dream, hope and love God has for me. I have prepared the way to see the salvation God.”
The men listed at the beginning of the reading of Luke 3:1-6, were powerful men. The leaders were threatened by the cries of repentance from John in the wilderness, as he prepared God’s people to seek the salvation of God.
The same men were threatened by Jesus as he brought hope and love to the marginalized and challenged the broken systems of the economic, political and religious organizations.
Yet in the face of society’s threats, Jesus came and will come again to fulfill God’s prophesy to His people. Jesus walks the world today in our heart. We carry the love of Jesus into the world. We reflect and lead others to know the hope of Jesus.
God’s dream for us is:
To love God.
To love our neighbor as ourselves.
To be a torchbearer of light in the world and to be that light for each other.
To allow God to touch our heart and mind.
To invite God to dwell in our hearts with such love, such burning hope, that we walk among our community being a beacon of hope and sharing the good news.
Each person is perfectly made and beloved of God.
Christ has come, Christ will come again and all flesh shall see the salvation. Amen
A few questions to ponder or reflect on during the quietness of Advent:
How are you preparing: heart, soul, and mind to receive God’s love for you?
What is keeping you from receiving God’s love?
Is there anything which needs to be pruned or decluttered, so you can receive God’s dream and love for you?
Have you given thanks and celebrated what you do well, and that you are perfectly made and beloved ?
