SERMON 106 - SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Whiteparish – BCP Evensong – Second Sunday in Advent  - Sunday 10 December 2017

Psalm 40; Romans 15:4-13

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be always acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen

In our second lesson this evening Paul writes “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. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Last Sunday was the first Sunday in Advent when we lit the Prophecy Candle or Candle of Hope and this morning we lit the second of the five candles which will be lit on Christmas Day – this second candle is known as the Bethlehem Candle of the Preparation to mark the fulfilment of the prophecy that the Messiah, the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem – reminding us to prepare (“get ready”) for his coming and as Christians, we are expected to prepare, get ready, for his Second Coming – when he shall return to save Humankind and bring Heaven to Earth.

Isaiah’s words are repeated in Luke’s Gospel concerning John the Baptist’s ministry – “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make the straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth; and all mankind will see God’s salvation”.

Until Christ returned, the Jews were waiting for the Messiah’s first coming – indeed they still do today but we know that he did come and will come together; but. As Paul tells us, we should not ignore the messages, the prophecies of the Old Testament for they provide for us signposts to the New Testament and the glory which is God’s incarnation.

For this reason I think it would be rather lovely to reflect upon the psalm which we said together this evening.  The 150 psalms which we find right in the middle of the bible are examples of some of the most beautiful sacred poetry we could ever find; many of which, but not all, were written by King David.  They encompass nearly every human emotion possible – joy, despair, anger, fatigue, bewilderment, and so on.  They were the basis for prayer in ancient times and Jesus quoted them often. This evening we said together Psalm 40 and I deliberately chose that we should say it together in full.

My study bible tells me that this was one of the psalms which was indeed written by David. It is a prayer for help when troubles abound but the causes of David’s distress are not specified but David acknowledges that they are caused by his own sins (which are more numerous than the hairs on his head).  David calls upon God because he has helped him in the past and therefore he knows that the prayers and praises are not in vain and that by God’s love in answering his pleas of supplication he has been singing a new song and that his songs of praise have turned others to faith.  He reminds us, as Jesus did with the Lord’s Prayer, that before we make supplications (ask him for favours) we should acknowledge him (“hallow his name”) and give praise for gifts already received and that we are expected to acknowledge our sins and ask forgiveness as part of that process.

David also recognises that it’s not God’s wish for his people to simply offer burnt sacrifices but it is important to do God’s will – to be obedient especially to God’s moral law. David is acknowledging, also, his obligation as the king of his people to ensure that his people likewise love and obey God.

David’s troubles do not go away during the psalm, indeed he is in a bit of a mess and his enemies seem to be getting the upper hand. Above all he ends by pleading that God will not delay in delivering him from his current troubles.

Today, we have a mediator in Jesus Christ who came down to Earth to be not only a teacher, a rabbi, but also to sacrifice his life for us and save us; to be a sacrifice for our sins provided we believe and acknowledge him, as God incarnate, to be our saviour – just as David does when he says “burnt offering you do not require; but for me to do your will.”

Advent then is a very important time for us Christians – not just a time of preparation by buying presents, sending cards, decking the halls with holly and so on but also for quiet reflection on the importance of Jesus’s coming over 2,000 years ago and waiting with wonderful expectation for his return. We sing his praises and remember that he died for us on the Cross so that we might have a means of having our sins washed clean – no matter if they are indeed as numerous as the hairs on our head – I guess in my case I must be quite righteous but in reality probably need another analogy.

God told Samuel, when David came before the prophet to be anointed as king having rejected the other sons of Jesse, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”.

The theme of Advent throughout the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day is “hope”.  The hope of a future without pain, suffering or tears.  The hope of eternal life through the Faith we have been given and which by the help of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift free to all who believe.  David believed, David was sinful but David continued to have the hope which he expresses in Psalm 40 and we can have hope by the knowledge of Jesus’s birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

Let us pray

Free us from our Sins, O God

and may our sacrifices be of praise

to the glory of your Son

Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Amen

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SERMON 105 - SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER 2017

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Whiteparish - Advent Sunday - Sunday 3 December 2017

Isaiah 64:1-9;  1 Corinthians 1: 3-9;  Mark 13:24-end

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be always acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen

At the beginning of our service this morning we lit the first of the five candles which make up our Advent Wreath – the Prophecy Candle or the Candle of Hope – and it is therefore unsurprising that each of our readings today, the Old Testament reading from Isaiah, the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and the extract I read from Mark’s Gospel should have in them prophecies about the coming of Christ in circumstances when for many, the situation seemed to be hopeless.  The first, from Isaiah, prophecies about the first coming of Jesus, which we will celebrate on Christmas Day, the second reading reminds us that we, as Christians, are not only waiting to celebrate his first coming but also we are waiting with anticipation for his second coming too and finally, Jesus in his explanation of the signs for his second coming reminds us to be patient in times of great adversity and keep awake.

As a child I waited impatiently for the visit of Santa Claus, Father Christmas as we preferred to call him back then, and I was repeatedly told that this wonderful mythical character would only visit our house if I went to bed early and was asleep by the time he made his visit.  So worried was I that I might still be awake when he arrived that on one occasion, when I had gone to bed early as requested, but full of Christmas Eve goodies, I was feeling decidedly queasy and was violently sick in my bed rather than reveal my wakefulness and sickness to my parents.  “Be asleep or he will not come” had been drummed into me; but the message which we heard from these passages of scripture this morning, when we look not at the mythical person of Father Christmas, but the true reason for our forthcoming festivities, Jesus Christ, is that we must keep awake whilst we wait for him to arrive – even when sometimes our patience and wakefulness is challenged by the worries and troubles of our busy lives and the events of the world which surround us.

Our passage from Isaiah this morning is also something of a lament – in the form of beautiful poetry akin to the psalms.  It was written at the time of the Exile, when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon pondering on why their Temple and city at Jerusalem had been destroyed and they were now in exile and captivity in a foreign land.  They had cried out to God for an explanation and concluded that through their sins God had forsaken them. The Book of Isaiah is believed, by biblical theologians to be the work of possibly three different people over a period of 70 years.  It is certainly one of the longest books in the bible consisting of 66 chapters – the same number as books as contained in the whole bible – and today our reading was from Chapter 64 – towards the end of the book.

As Christians we love to read Isaiah as being a clear prophecy for the coming of Jesus; but also contained in its pages you will find other prophecies relating to the fall of Babylon and the restoration of the city and temple at Jerusalem. During this Advent season you will hear the famous prophecy of Christ’s coming and life in Isaiah 53, the words of which are used in Handel’s great oratorio “The Messiah”; but above all Isaiah tells us to wait – God works for those who wait and allow themselves, like the clay of the potter, to be moulded by Him. Without the potter’s hand we are nothing more than a lump of unmoulded clay incapable of being the beautiful vessel which God wishes to create. Such lovely lyrical words remind us that God will never forsake us, never abandon us but work on us if we truly believe and repent. He will forgive us our sins through his advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ moulding us into the person he designed us to be.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians follows this theme but again we need to understand the context in which he wrote these letters to the Christians in Corinth. As a zealous legal Jew, Paul would have read and known the words of Isaiah well; he would also have known the circumstances in which the Jews had found themselves at the time of its writing. Corinth, like Babylon, was a corrupt city with its inhabitants practising many acts which would be regarded as extremely sinful – I’ll leave it at that. Like Babylon other gods were worshipped. Corinth was a “den of iniquity” to use good old fashioned language. The Christian community in that city provided, for Paul, an oasis of Godliness and uprightness and it is to this community that Paul addresses his words.  He first of all gives thanks for their obedience and faithfulness – their “cleanliness” amongst all the corruption of the city in which they live. 

As with Isaiah’s prophecy, Paul provides hope for Corinth and for the Christian community in particular by reminding them that Jesus Christ has already come and that by their faithfulness they have been enriched in speech and knowledge so that they have received the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit strengthening them and protecting them against the evils around them so that they will be clean when Christ returns.

Jesus himself, in our gospel reading foretells his return and it is very important for us, again, to read this piece of scripture in the context in which it is written.  Immediately before this passage, Jesus describes the circumstances which will surround his return in the context of what is described in my bible as the Signs of the End of the Age.  It makes gruesome reading – nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, brother against brother, sister against sister, earthquakes and natural disasters occurring, wars and rumours of wars and so on;  a very apocalyptic narrative indeed.  It all sounds pretty hopeless but Jesus is at pains to point out that this is only the beginning of the end times; that following this period, false prophets will arise who will promise salvation but we should be on our guard – be discerning, awake to the true message of salvation which we have already been given – the cornerstone of our Christian Faith.  Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” puts it well in contemporary language - “Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. So watch out, I’ve given you fair warning”.  Interesting that Peterson’s modern translation of this passage of Mark uses the word “fake” – a word which a certain prominent politician has claimed as his own!

Jesus then continues his warning and prophecy with the words we have heard in the gospel reading this morning saying that these are all simply signs that the Son of Man is returning but that the exact day and hour are yet to be revealed and “not even the angels or the Son of Man himself knows the precise hour“– so be awake, be ready and watch for those signs which he has indicated as to when it might be – the time only the Father himself knows.  Theologians have a specific word for the study of the end times – it’s called eschatology.

One part of this passage has always intrigued me though.  In Verse 31 Jesus states that this will all occur within “the present generation” yet we are still waiting nearly 2,000 years later. Perhaps it’s a bit of a paradox for Jesus to say that he does not know when this will occur but then in the same breath categorically states that it will happen within a generation.  One theory, and this to me seems the best interpretation, is that sufficient time must elapse for as many members of the human race as possible to embrace the teachings of Christ – after all, “God sent his only Son into the world to save it and not condemn it” as it says in John 3:17, and we must always remember that. I think it not unrelated as we look around our world today and see signs of the end which Jesus described (and I have heard many people of my generation especially use the term “it seems the world is going mad”), that Christianity is actually on the increase in the world – that there are great revivals going on as I speak in Africa and Asia.  Thousands and thousands of people are coming to Christ each week and I also see a great yearning for spiritual understanding, direction and growth here in our own country.  Never before have the teachings of Christ been more important on such a global scale.

Paul reminds us, as in his address to the Christians of Corinth, that those of us who take on board the Christian Faith are blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus left us on Ascension Day he promised to leave behind the Holy Spirit and her gifts until he would return.  We must discern what those gifts are that we have been given, individually, and use them to make the world a better place before he comes again – to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth at a time when it is needed most.

That means being alive and awake to what is happening around us and being ready, not sleeping. I believe that Jesus was taking directly to each and every generation. The words are current because a generation will be born which will observe the end times. It could be us or a future generation – we do not know the day or the hour – just as the exiles in Babylon did not know the hour of their release from captivity; but we do know that God does honour his promises and in his time.  We must wait and be patient but always with the greatest of hope in our hearts. 

Amen

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