Still Needing An Advent

A Sermon for Advent 3 B – December 14. 2008

Yesterday somebody gave me a button that read “It’s OK to say, Merry Christmas.” I’ve been thinking about that button. I suppose that its main purpose is to let a fellow Christian at the cash register know that they can say Merry Christmas instead of “Happy Holidays” or some other such sentiment.

I put it on and wore it and will do it again when I go shopping – but, I won’t be wearing it here until Christmas Eve and then I’ll be wearing it for the 12 days of Christmas You see, I still am needing an Advent…and the church is still in Advent. We are in the place of getting ready to welcome a guest, of preparing our hearts for not only the remembrance of the birth of the Christ Child but also getting ready for the day and hour that we will meet him face to face….whether it is when he returns on the Day of the Lord or when we die.

It’s so easy to get swept up into some kinds of getting ready for Christmas: getting a tree, decorating the house, baking, getting gifts, sending out cards, visiting with folks we love, or maybe getting ready for travel. All of these are perfectly good things to do, but we risk missing some real opportunity if we don’t take the time to think about the spiritual significance of Christmas. We miss the opportunity to get in touch with our deepest longings and notice the signs that the prophets hold up for us. It’s a little bit like getting to work or showing up for school and realizing that you had forgotten that a major project was due that day – Just forgot…Head was too full of all kinds of other stuff or other things and people in our environment were clamoring for (and getting our attention), while the quiet but most important thing slipped by.

John the Baptist tells us something important today…Jesus called him the greatest man who ever lived…does he loom that large for you? Let’s think about some possible sources of John’s greatness. I want to look at just three

1. He knew who he was --- “I am not the messiah” …He was the forerunner – the one sent ahead . With all of Jerusalem coming out to be baptized, with all of the sensation and public attention he was attracting, it would have been easy to want to hold on to that limelight as along as he could….but he knew who he was and he acted on it…he was faithful to the call of God in his life….I like this little quote from Goethe…. “Never by reflection, but only by doing is self-knowledge possible to one.” [1] Contrary to what our culture teaches ("Look within , Grasshopper"), we learn who we are and what we are to be about by doing – not by sitting around and peeling back the layers of our inner onion.

So, let me ask you an Advent question --- what is God’s call on your life? What work has he given you to do? How are you doing?

2. John the Baptist had the eyes of faith to be able to recognize Jesus…how is your spiritual vision these days – do you see the signs of God at work around you?

3. Instead of envy, joy --- instead of living out of a place of limited good (there’s only so much limelight to go around) he was filled with joy at the prospect of simply being the friend of the bridegroom – (Remember wedding customs about friend announcing)…are we willing to step aside from the me first , ego driven individualism of the culture surrounds us?

So – here are some Advent questions we can ponder to get ready…

What calling has God placed in my life and am I living it out faithfully…and if we discover we are not, not, then confess it and ask for God’s help and guidance…

Am I in enough of a relationship with Jesus Christ that I am able to see with the eyes of faith? If we are not, then pray for a new start at Christmas…

Am I willing to give way and let Jesus Christ be the Lord of my life instead of my self? Are we willing to let him be the bridegroom? If not then confess, and say with John – Lord, grant that we might decrease and he increase.

If we can reflect about these questions – then, we will be truly getting ready for Christmas…not for commercial Christmas but for God’s Christmas. May God bless you in your Advent discernment. Amen.
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JTCO – Advent III-2008
[1] Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) – Poet, novelist and dramatist.

A Good Thought for November 23rd....

....which is the feast day of St. Clement AD 100.

Faith appears to be the first inclination towards salvation: then follow fear and hope and repentance, which growing up togther with temperance and patience, lead us on to love and knowledge.
St. Clement: Stromata.

Here is a link to more information about St. Clement http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/CLEMENT.HTM

Notes from the Congregational Meeting - Nov. 9th, 2008

In Response to the Question …What Would You Like to See Happening at St. James Santee Episcopal Church in 2009?


The Marriage Course offered again

Monthly Fellowship Gatherings – Wednesday nights

More Hands-On Community Outreach

Use praise music in combination with traditional music in worship – Guitar/Piano

Familiar music*

Food Drive or some other type of food ministry – perhaps in concert with others in community.

People who are willing to drive others to town

Dialog Sermons (Dick did this once a month)

Outings at Brick Church – Oyster Roast, for example

Occasional Services at Jamestown and other sites associated with SJS

Healing Prayer Service

Vestry Building improved ( Quiet HVAC and improve bathroom) so we can get more use out of it - AA, etc.

* Suggestion was made to write the names of several of your favorites on the Time and Talent survey.


May the Lord who has given us the will to do these things give us the grace and power to perform them. Amen.

All Saints

On the occasion of All Saints Day, here is an image from Wells Cathedral* with a representation of saints galore and a great poem by Matthew R. Brown.

For all the Secret Tzaddiks and Undercover Saints:

SAINTS

It is the glory of the Church

that it cannot name all the saints.

It is the glory of the Church

that it cannot remember all the saints.

It is the glory of Christ

that we cannot count all the saints.

Saints are found

behind all the rocks of the mountain.

Saints are found

among the trees of the wood.

Saints hide

in blossoms,

ride birds,

top clouds;

follow passages under the earth.

They sweep the floors of the universe.

They take out the garbage of the cosmos.

The seeds they scatter

soften and green the hillsides;

leaves open their hands;

joyful beasts wander

among trees,

cling to grassy slopes.

The faithful cling

to the roots

of the saints,

growing up from the ground.

*Click on the photo for an enlarged image. I especially like that there are empty spaces on the bottom rows for saints yet to come.

Seven Years Later

Hard to believe it has been seven years. Here is something worth checking out. It's a big file and will take a while to download. Hat tip KSH http://www.gunstuff.com/america-attacked.html

The New Ocean

Here is the quote of the week from Ask Oxford - the Oxford English Dictionary website http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk

Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself.
Walter Ralegh (c.1552–1618), English explorer and courtier

Here is my question of the day: Does this still hold? I suspect there is a new ocean. Could it be space? How about the internet?

A Prayer for Labor Day

On this day, when we rest from our usual labors, loving Father, we pray for all who shoulder the tasks of human labor—in the marketplace, in factories and offices, in the professions, and in family living. We thank you, Lord, for the gift and opportunity of work; may our efforts always be pure of heart, for the good of others and the glory of your name. We lift up to you all who long for just employment and those who work to defend the rights and needs of workers everywhere. May those of us who are now retired always remember that we still make a valuable contribution to our Church and our world by our prayers and deeds of charity. May our working and our resting all give praise to you until the day we share together in eternal rest with all our departed in your Kingdom as you live and reign Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Archdiocese of Detroit