[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Advent 1A

Sun Nov 30 16:24:12 EST 2014

Forwarded:

-----Original Message-----
From: Judith Boli <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: propertalk.topic <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sun, Nov 30, 2014 12:16 am
Subject: Re: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Advent 1A

Sorry friends- it's Advent 1B!!!

On Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 12:13 AM, Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> wrote:

Dear Friends,

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot likeChristMass!” or “First Things- First” and deals with Advent.  Here it is: 

Happy New Year!  Today is the first Sunday in the four weekseason of Advent; and with it we begin a new church year.  You notice, the color is purple (blue is alsoused) for contemplation.  Advent(“adventus” in Latin) means “coming,” and our focus for these four weeks isgetting ready for the coming of Jesus. The focus of the first week is “peace,” the second week is “hope,” thethird week is “joy,” and the fourth week is “love.”  You will notice that some churchesinterchange “peace” and “hope.” 

Speaking of comings-actually, there are two comings associated with our Lord- his first (in Bethlehem many years agoand in our own lives when we accept him as our Lord and Savior) and his second(which we heard about in today’s gospel and also in our own lives when we dieand he comes for us personally).  We heara lot of TV sermons about the second coming, but Jesus himself said that thedetails, especially the “when,” are none of our business.  In fact, as you recall from the sermon twoweeks ago, it’s as if God says to us: “MYOB. Jesus is the way, truth, and life- so live your life to the fullest,remembering that you may die at any time. Your next minute may be on this planet or in eternity.”  With that in mind, let’s focus on the firstcoming and how to get ready.  The prophetJeremiah (33:14-16) promised in God’s name that the Messiah was coming- a Kingwho would establish justice.  Thatpromise was fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. As you know, it’s his birthday we’re getting ready to celebrate onDecember 25th, but if you wander through the mall or watch the TV commercials-you’d never guess!  Did you see the TVnews clips on the day after Thanksgiving? I saw people grabbing, pushing, andstampeding to get the exact sale item they wanted as a gift- all in honor ofthe Prince of Peace!  Shoppers pepper-sprayother shoppers to get what they want, and then call it “competitive shopping!”There are numerous parking lot robberies and people shot!  I can’t believe it!  Did you hear about the little boy who wentshopping with his mother, ate, and was put to bed so his mother could wrap thepresents.  She heard noises in hisbedroom and thought she’d better check. When she put her ear to the door, she heard him asking God in his prayers,“Hey, God- is this what you had in mind when you invented ChristMass?”  Good question!  Along the same line- a little girl was barelysurviving the Christmas jitters.  Sheknew Santa wrote down who was naughty and who was nice, and she was afraid shewas on the wrong list.  You see- she andher mother had had a hard day!  Hermother made the mistake of taking her into a toy story to purchase a presentfor her little sister, but everything she saw was a “gimme.”  The little girl ended screaming and kickingon the floor of the store in a full-blown temper tantrum.  Her mother picked her up, strapped her in hercar seat, drove her home, fed her as quickly as possible, and put her to bed.  Out from the room came a sorry little voice-“Mother, are you too mad at me to listen to my bedtime prayers tonight?”  Back came the mother to hear her daughterpray, “Forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas againstus.”  Been there- done that!  I remember Christmases past in which I was sofrantic to get ready that I forgot who I was getting ready for.  What about you?  Money worries, shop-til-you-drop, run up thecredit card (or cards), cook, clean, yell at the kids (or grand-kids), cards,parties, pig-outs, toys to assemble, decorate, put up the tree- the list seemsendless until you’re an exhausted nervous wreck on ChristMass Eve.  You force yourself to church (or skip it entirely-telling yourself you’ll make it next year) and Jesus’ birthday is the lastthing on your mind.

Let’s do it differentlythis year.  Let’s use these four weeks ofAdvent to center ourselves and really get ready for the one who is coming atChristMass- the one with the birthday. But how?  Put God in charge!

Remember, this is the birthday of the Prince of     Peace, therefore- put God in charge of your choices and attitudes.  Let’s     honor him- not just with our lips and ChristMass carols, but in our lives     by our behavior.  There’s no greater     gift we could give Jesus than to be his peacemaker in our little part of     the planet.  Speaking of gifts- what     a terrible sacrilege it would be for us to buy violent videos or games or     music as gifts celebrating his birthday.

Put God in charge of your money.  God     doesn’t want you afraid to answer the telephone because creditors are     calling at all hours of the day and night.      Live within your means.      Don’t buy anything you can’t afford.  Don’t buy anything on a credit card that     you won’t be able to pay for on the next billing.

Put God in charge of the gifts you buy or make.  Gifts     don’t have to be expensive or numerous.      Did you notice the thought for the week- “I’ve never seen a hearse     with a U-Haul behind it!” (Anonymous). A gift from the heart means much     more than an expensive gift bought at the last minute because you “had to     get something.”  The best present I     ever got was a hand-made card from one of my children telling me how much they     loved and appreciated me.  Don’t buy     cheap stuff from the street.  Your     purchase encourages others to sin- remember “Thou shalt not steal.”  (Yes- all the way back from the book of     Genesis- we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers.)

Finally, put God in charge of your time.  Do you recall     the episode when Jesus went to the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha?  Remember how Mary sat at Jesus’ feet     learning from him while Martha worked away in the kitchen.  Finally Martha couldn’t stand it any     longer and came storming out to Jesus.      “Master,” she said, “make my sister help me in the kitchen!”  Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha- just     one dish was needed.  Mary has     chosen the best thing and it won’t be taken from her.”  Choose Jesus, not busyness.  How?      Maintain your focus- whose birthday is it anyway?  Don’t miss church one Sunday this     Advent.  Don’t neglect your prayer     life.  The busier you are, the more you     need to start your day with the Lord.      If you love to read and got one of our Advent devotional books,     read it daily.  If you get too busy-     that’s a symptom your priorities need to be realigned.  Get your ChristMass preparations focused     on Jesus before things get out of hand.      Start ChristMass preparations early and pace.  If you’re running short of time-     prioritize and eliminate what isn’t absolutely needed.  There’s a good chance no one will even     notice.  In terms of cooking,     cleaning, and decorating- keep it simple.      Most of all- don’t miss the Christ Mass on ChristMass Eve, December     24th, at 8 PM- that’s     what it’s all about.

I’m going to close with a truestory from one of my internet friends who is a Roman Catholic priest.  I’ve told it every Advent since I read it.  He heard it on the radio and shared it withhis friends.  There was a woman who wasout Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking atrow after row of toys and everything else imaginable and hearing both herchildren asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she and the kidsfinally made it to the elevator.  She wasfeeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season- overwhelmingpressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday foodand treats, buy that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list,making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, etc.  Finally the elevator doors opened and therewas already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kidsin with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't takeit anymore and stated, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should befound, strung up, and shot.”  From theback of the car, everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, “Don't worry lady,we already crucified him.”  For the restof the trip down the elevator, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

So- what is Christmas foryou really- the gimmee, party, pig-out, decorating time or is it Jesus’birthday?  The truth is not shown by whatyou say, but what you do- your priorities.  “First Things- First.”  I hope the Crucified Christ-child is really firstfor you!  My prayer for us is that we notcrucify Jesus again with our choices this ChristMass.  May we not argue or complain.  May we not fight or say cruel things tosomeone acting as if they’re our enemy. May we not spend more than we can afford or encourage our children to begreedy.  May we not get so franticallyworried or rushed that we don’t take time for Jesus.  My prayer for us is that we make ourpreparations joyful and remember ChristMass is Jesus’ birthday and Jesus is thereason for the season.  Amen.  

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updatedAfrican-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s NEW WEB SITEunder “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan

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