[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Advent 2C: “Peace- Starting with Yourself” or “Second Chances”

Sun Dec 9 05:22:38 EST 2018

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 08/12/2018  9:30 pm  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Advent 2C:  “Peace- Starting with Yourself” or “Second Chances” 

Dear
Friends,

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Peace- Starting with Yourself” or “Second Chances”
and deals with the gospel (Luke 3: 1-6). 
Here it is:  

Here it is- the second Sunday in Advent already, and we’re doing our
best to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus on ChristMass Eve when he comes to
us in a very real and wonderfully special way in our service.  Today’s gospel speaks to that, because we
hear Jesus’ cousin- John the Baptist, preaching and baptizing and doing
everything he could to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus.  John baptized in the middle of the Jordan River.  You
remember the Jordan River from your Sunday
school days?  Remember how the Israelites
were freed from Egypt,
crossed the Red Sea, wandered in the desert,
and then crossed the Jordan River into the
Promised Land.  In spite of their
promises, they were extremely disloyal to God and finally divided into two countries,
much like the United States
almost did during the Civil War.  In
spite of repeated warnings from the prophets, they continued their most serious
sins- idolatry and misusing the poor. 
Finally, the northern kingdom (Israel) was destroyed by an extremely
cruel country- Assyria; and (some time later)
the southern kingdom (Judah)
was taken into exile by the country of Babylon.  Israel never was restored, but the Judah was; they
were allowed to return from Babylon
to their homeland about 450 years before Jesus was born.

Why am I telling you all this? 
I’m telling you so you can see what a mess God’s chosen people had made
of their lives.  The focus of this second
Sunday of Advent is “peace,” and this is where our gospel about John the
Baptist comes in.  Do you know how many
people never have peace in their own world because they are not at peace with
themselves and God?  That’s where true
peace starts.  It’s hard to have peace on
the outside if you don’t have peace on the inside.  It’s hard to obey Jesus and be a peacemaker
if the center of your own being is not at peace with God and yourself.  John stood in the middle of the Jordan River inviting people to make a fresh start; to
walk across the Jordan
as if they were crossing from the desert to the Promised Land for the first
time.  It wasn’t the first time, however,
but a second chance.  This time they
would be baptized for cleansing, so they could do it right when they got to the
other shore, the Promised Land shore. 
Here was a beautiful second chance to begin again the right way in the
Promised Land.  They could make peace
with themselves because this time they were doing it right- entering the
Promised Land with the attitude that had been commanded.

It’s not just those ancient Jews who were given a second chance by
God.  Every evening when we say our
bedtime prayers and confess our sins, every morning when we open our eyes, God
gives us a chance to start again- a second or third or tenth or millionth
chance.  The Bible reminds us that Jesus
Christ came into this world to forgive sinners. 
All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and then minute by minute, hour
by hour, day by day- follow him, and when we mess up, pick ourselves up and
start again.  How do we do it?  We heard John the Baptist quoting the Old
Testament prophet Isaiah as he told just how to get ready for the coming of the
Lord.  He told everyone to “fill up every
valley and level every mountain and hill. 
Straighten the crooked paths and smooth out the rough roads” (Luke
3:4-5).  Symbolically speaking, we heard
three things we’re supposed to fix so our hearts are ready to welcome Jesus on
ChristMass Eve in a new and wonderful way. 

1)      Valleys- John told us to fill them up.  Those valleys of sadness, left-over grief,
depression- all those emotions that have us feeling flat and worthless,
especially around ChristMass.  As you
prepare for Jesus’ birth this year, ask yourself, “What’s making me unhappy,
frustrated, tired?”  Fill up those
valleys; find ways to deal with useless negatives.  Often our valleys are caused by other people-
family, friends, co-workers.  What can we
do with difficult people?  Love them and
pray for them, but don’t let them upset you. 
Give difficult people to God (they’re his kids anyway). Don’t let
negatives get you down; fill your life with positives.  If depression gets too bad, talk to your
doctor.

1)      Mountains and hills- they block our vision so we can’t
see what’s behind them- where we’re going. 
In our daily lives, it’s like trying to drive behind a huge truck on the
freeway.  As you prepare for ChristMass
this year, ask yourself: “What’s blocking my vision?  What keeps me so busy or frustrated or upset
that I can’t keep my focus on Jesus?” 
Remember what happened to Peter when Jesus invited him to walk on the
water?  Peter was doing fine until he
lost his focus on Jesus.  What happened
next?  He began to sink.  That’s exactly what will happen to us if we lose
our focus on Jesus- we’ll lose it!  Life
will get overwhelming.  Whatever is
blocking your vision- knock it down to size so you can see Jesus, then keep
your focus.  Keep your prayer life
strong; never be too busy to pray; worship God every Sunday in church; read
your Bible and other spiritual books; listen to good Christian music.  Keep the mountains down and your focus on
Jesus.

2)      Crooked paths and rough roads- I hate them, especially
when I have to detour all over the place to get where I’m going. Sin is like
that.  As you prepare for ChristMass this
year, ask the Lord to show you those sins that block your spiritual growth,
those sins that cause us  to detour
further and further away from God with one roadblock after another.  Get rid of those nagging sins- those
addictions, those self-defeating attitudes, those health-robbing or
time-wasting behaviors, those judgmental attitudes, those negative
friends.  Confess them, give them to God,
and put positives in their place.

So far we’ve looked at those normal, every-day things that block us
from God, but what about the big ones that often seem to hit right around
ChristMass time- things like cancer, heart disease, accidents, family problems,
the death of a loved one?  What about
those?  Let me close with an image for
the rest of your Advent, and maybe if this story touches you as it did me- the
rest of your life.  You’ve heard this
story before, but it fits exactly what the Old Testament lesson is talking
about.  In our Old Testament lesson
today, the prophet Malachi (3:1) describes God as a silversmith.  These seemed to be strange words to describe
God, until one of my internet friends asked a silversmith how her work
paralleled God’s work in redemption. 
“That’s easy,” answered the artist. 
“When I refine metal, I must hold the silver in the middle of the fire
where the flames are hottest so all the impurities can be burned away.  The heat gets intense; sweat pours off my
face; my hand and arm frequently suffer burns. 
What’s worse, when the area around the fire gets unbearably hot, I must
stay.  I can’t leave the silver in the
fire untended one single second, or it may be destroyed.  No matter how uncomfortable I get, I must
keep my eyes, my focus, on the silver the entire time so I remove it at exactly
the right moment.”  “And how do you know
when that moment is?” asked my friend. 
“Simply by watching,” answered the silversmith.  “I know the silver is refined when I can see
my own face in it.”  There it is- God,
the silversmith, with us through the fire, through the heat, through the pain,
the struggle, the joy of the journey. 
Why?  So GOD, the creator of the
entire universe, can see his face in us. 
Stick with it, because God is delighted to give us as many chances as we
need until we are refined and formed into the likeness of his Son.  Blessed Advent!

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan

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