The snow fall prevented me from attending St Anne's this morning but I thought I would put up the transcript of my sermon anyway...
St Anne’s Brown Edge Advent
Two 2017
A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has
spoken.’
I came to live
in Stafford in January 2015 and it seems that there has not been a time without
some major roadwork's going on and causing disruption.
We are told that
it is all very important work.
Isaiah told of
another very important type of roadwork's, in a land that has plenty of
mountains and valleys.
All of these roadwork's,
filling in valleys and making clear paths, appears to be so busy and full of
activity.
On November 18th
our lovely daughter was married to Peter.
Tabitha spent
hours and hours ensuring that every last detail of the wedding was taken care
of, helped of course by her mum and Peter.
On the day of
the wedding the hairdresser turned up at 6am to make up and style hair for the
five bridesmaids, two young flower girls, the mother of the bride and the
bride.
(I went and
stayed the night in a local hotel where we had arranged for family and friends
to stay)
Tabitha had a
detailed list of who was to have their make-up and hair done with timings.
When we arrived
at church (just a tad late) one of our Priest friends Kay, took Tabitha by the
hands and told her to take several deep breaths and compose herself.
She said, “Tabitha
you are now to forget all the planning and all the details and concentrate on
what is about to happen. The most
important thing is that you and Peter are coming before God to become man and
wife.” Then she prayed for God’s peace to settle upon Tabitha.
Last Tuesday
night I was leading the Growth Group I belong to in my home church in Stafford.
We were reflecting on Advent and I asked for a top of the head answer as to
what came to mind when the word Advent is mentioned.
As I suspected
several people mentioned being busy.
Although Isaiah
and John give us a picture of hyperactivity and colossal roadwork's we need to
hold in mind what this is all leading us towards.
Just as Tabitha
was reminded by Kay, all the many preparations and long hours were leading
towards this one moment.
It is only too
easy in all the busyness of preparations, the endless rounds of carol services,
the Christmass cards to send, the Newsletter to write and the meals and cakes
to prepare – it is only too easy in all of this to lose sight of what it is all
leading to.
Immanuel – God
with us…
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’
It is delightful
to see Tabitha and Peter with their shiny new wedding rings and their deep love
for each other.
This will be my
41st Christmass as a Christian and I was reminded the other day of
the message to the Angel of the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. After a
commendation for their hard work and faithfulness comes this…
‘Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at
first.’
I hope, pray and
trust that Peter and Tabitha’s love will grow and develop over the ensuing
years – I also hope, pray and trust that they will not lose something of that
first love.
The love I have
for God has grown and developed over the last 41 years. However Advent offers as
good time to reflect back on not only how my love of God has developed and
grown but also on whether I have lost my first love.
Maybe Advent is
also a good time for you to lay aside some of your busyness to reflect on when
you first became a Christian, that first love.
(If you are not
yet a Christian I would delighted to pray alongside you today, that God might
remove obstacles and make the road straight so that you can invite Jesus into
your heart and life)
One of the
things that Peter and Tabitha enjoyed and continue to enjoy doing is to point
out the other to their friends and family. Things like pictures on Facebook,
introducing the one true love of their life to their family and friends.
Keeping with
this analogy we might say that John the Baptist is if you like the Best Man introducing
the Groom to the people of Israel.
He (John) proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his
sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
One of the
dangers of losing our first love is that we stop being exited and wanting to introduce
them to family and friends.
This season
provides us with so many opportunities to introduce people to Jesus – the real
Jesus, not the fake, blue eyed, blonde haired variety – so tender and mild, and
not crying.
Wonderful maybe,
but largely sentimental nonsense and utter mush.
Archbishop Justin Welby said
in his 2015 Lambeth Lecture on Evangelism…
‘The
best decision anyone can ever make, at any point in life, in any circumstances,
whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever they are, is to become a disciple
of Jesus Christ. There is no better decision for a human being in this life,
any human being.’
Do believe that
– do you know it for yourself – are you so in love with Jesus that you want to
tell everybody all about him.
Are you willing
to tear down mountains of misunderstandings and clear paths of problems so that
people can come to know more about the Child in the Crib who became the Christ
on the Cross?
As people come
along to sing their carols and perhaps get all misty eyed at little ones
portraying the nativity will you take the opportunity to ensure they don’t
simple myth out on the true meaning of Christmass.
It could be
something as simple as making sure that a web address is on all literature,
Carol Sheets and like, you produce – something like www.christianity.org.uk
It could be
getting hold of the wonderful books – ‘The Greatest Journey’ from the Bible
Society for all the younger folk.
Or maybe the
great Christmass special magazine from Hope Together featuring Miranda Hart.
And of course
letting people know of what you are doing here – and maybe highlighting
Connect2.
For many people
seeking faith that could be an easier way to begin to engage with God’s people
and make steps towards becoming a Christian.
So, Advent…
Busyness, maybe,
but to what end and for what purpose?
And in all the
busyness ensuring we take time to reflect on our first love of God. Hopefully
that will create within us a passion to make Jesus known not just as the Christ
Child but as God’s promised and long awaited Messiah, for the Crib and the
Cross are inextricably linked.
Let us pray…
Come, thou
long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Additional Collect
Almighty God,
purify our hearts and minds,
that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again
as judge and saviour
we may be ready to receive him,
who is our Lord and our God.
