Good morning. Thank-you for inviting me to worship with you again.
Christmas is almost here. That means we can look forward to a new
Hobbit movie each December for the next few years. I started to reread the book before going to
see the first movie. When I opened J. R.
R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I saw the
title for chapter one:
“An Unexpected Party.”
In the first chapter of The Hobbit we meet Bilbo Baggins. Someone knocks on his door and then someone
else and then someone else. Before Bilbo
knows it, his entire kitchen is full of dwarves and a wizard. He is scrambling to feed everyone and find
somewhere to let them sleep. Bilbo was
not prepared for guests. He was hosting
an unexpected party.
Several decades after the events in The Hobbit is Bilbo’s 111th
birthday. We can read all about Bilbo’s
birthday in the first chapter of The Lord
of the Rings. All of Bilbo’s family
come to join the celebration. Bilbo’s
family was planning this day for quite some time. It is not every day that someone turns
eleventy-one. Tolkien named this chapter
“A Long Expected Party.”
Next week Christians will celebrate a
birthday. Every year people prepare for
Christmas. We anticipate a
celebration. Israel’s prophets also
anticipated this birth. Israel was a
people who were long expecting to celebrate the coming of the messiah. Christmas Day is a long expected party.
Advent is a season to remember
promises. Zephaniah wrote about the
promises of God hundreds of years before the messiah came to Israel. John the Baptist spoke a short time before
the messiah was public, but when he gave his Brood of Vipers speech, he didn’t
yet realize that his own cousin was the messiah. Even people who were looking to the promised
messiah’s arrival didn’t expect that he would look like Jesus. Christmas Day is an unexpected party.
We are certainly fortunate to anticipate
this birthday, but I think that we should also be humbled. On one hand are Zephaniah and John. They said, “Rejoice. Don’t lose heart. The expected guest has almost arrived,” but
they didn’t know when almost would be.
On the other hand is us. We know
that the person Zephaniah and John were waiting for has since come.
During advent, Christians anticipate the
coming messiah. We have to be a bit
imaginative. We weren’t around on
December 24, 0001. We do not know what
it was like to wonder when the messiah will finally arrive. Christians believe that the messiah came 2000
years ago and that his name is Jesus.
Even if you aren’t a Christian, it is safe to assume that if you are
here this morning, you have some idea about who Christians say Jesus is.
I think that we are fortunate because we
do not need to wonder when the messiah will arrive. We don’t have to deal with the
anticipation. Unlike Zephaniah and John,
we will never experience the world before the messiah. We can stand here and say, “Rejoice. Don’t lose heart. The expected guest is Jesus, the Son of
God. He is here right now and he is
working to set up his kingdom.”
We should make this statement with
humility. We are further along in the
history of God’s Kingdom. If the only
world we know is a world that exists after God gave us our messiah, we should
realize that this knowledge brings added responsibility.
We know about the Sermon on the
Mount. We know about the
resurrection. We know about the day of
Pentecost. We have more information and
I expect God wants this to have an impact.
If I am correct, you and I have responsibilities that John and Zephaniah
did not have.
It is advent. We are anticipating the coming of the
messiah. If we are going to anticipate
the messiah’s arrival properly, I think we need to ask a question: Does it
matter that the messiah is coming?
Let’s ask that same question in a
different way. Let’s ask it in a way
that reflects all of the knowledge that we have that Zephaniah and John didn’t
have. Let’s ask the question in a way
that reflects that we believe Jesus is indeed the expected messiah.
Does it really matter that Jesus was
here? Does it really matter that Jesus
lived amongst people basically like us?
Does it really matter that Jesus died at the hands of people basically
like us? Does it really matter that
Jesus, our dead messiah and God, came back to life after his execution?
Yes, it does matter that Jesus came, but
I don’t think it’s fair to just leave it at that. If we are going to say that it matters that
Jesus came, we better be able to say why it matters. I want to use the information that Zephaniah
and John gave us to suggest why it matters that Jesus came.
I grew up in the church. When I was a kid, a teenager, and a young
adult, I believed in God for no reason other than tradition. God was just sort of there. My grandparents believed in God, my parents
believed in God, so I believed in God.
In my mid-20s, I had the first decisive moment in my faith.
Tradition was no longer enough. I thought, “I believe in God and I believe
that Jesus is God, but what does this have to do with anything?” I needed to know why I should care about
Jesus.
I’m standing here so it is not
surprising that years after asking this question, I choose to continue
following Jesus.
When I read the prophecy of Zephaniah,
three words stand out. These three words
– rescue, renew, and restore – are significant to why I think it matters that
Jesus came. About 6 years ago, I
realized that injustice is constant and that it is here in Saint John. I’m tired of it. When I read a passage like the one from
Zephaniah, I realize that God is tired of it too.
I also realized that I think something
better than right now is possible. It
seems odd to me to think that right now is the best that God can offer. Reading a passage like the one from Zephaniah
makes me realize that God does have something better for people.
I also realized that I cannot make
everything better. Reading a passage like the one from Zephaniah makes me
realize fixing things isn’t my responsibility.
Fixing things is instead God’s promise to us. He’ll let me join in and even wants me to
participate, but he won’t let me take over.
Why does it matter that Jesus came? Zephaniah gives us a good reason. One reason that I follow Jesus is because he
doesn’t pretend that life is peachy. He
acknowledges that things are rough for most people. Instead of hiding from this reality, he came
alongside us to live in this roughness so he could offer rescue, renewal, and
restoration to his fellow humans.
The prophecy of John the Baptist also
gives us some insight about why it is important that Jesus came. When reading Luke’s gospel, a question from
the crowd stands out. “What then should
we do?” John’s answer was, “You should
repent.”
I’m afraid the word “repent” has become
a word that Christians hear so often that we don’t really think about what it
means anymore. Let’s use a synonym. John was telling people to change. Change is important in the Christian
faith. If an encounter with Jesus does
not change us, I am doubtful that an encounter actually happened. I cannot say that I believe that Jesus is
right and that Jesus changed my life if nothing about my life with Jesus is
different from what it would be like if Jesus weren’t involved.
There are a couple of interesting things
about how John told people to change.
First, his opening is shockingly bold.
It is not a good idea for a speaker to insult his audience. That’s why I started off with the words,
“Good morning. Thank-you.” John starts with, “Brood of snakes. What do you think you’re doing slithering
down here to the river?”
The people stuck around. Then asked how to stop being a brood of
snakes.
Second, John is very specific about how
to change. The change that he called everyone
to – whether soldiers, tax collectors, or everyday people – was connected to
what they own. John told everyone to
take stock of their wealth. The need for
repentance seems obvious for the cheating tax collectors and thieving soldiers,
but the call even went to people who gained their possessions
legitimately.
Even still, people stuck around.
So, why does it matter that Jesus
came? John the Baptist gives us a second
reason. Jesus does not stop at
acknowledging that things are bad out there. He also tells us that sometimes we are the
reason why things are bad out there.
That said, Jesus isn’t prepared to stand by as we sin. We are made to reflect God’s image. Jesus matters because he offers to help us to
change into better reflections of God.
In nine days, we will celebrate the most
significant birth in human history. As
Christians, we celebrate the birth of a baby and then we follow him. Following Jesus is hard. This morning I wanted to highlight a couple
of reasons why this birthday means you can rejoice at this hardness rather than
lose hope.
It is hard to look at Saint John when we
know that people are hurting.
Rejoice.
Don’t lose heart. In the face of
hurt Jesus offers rescue, renewal, and restoration.
It is hard to look at ourselves and
wonder if sin has corrupted us beyond a point that God will have anything to do
with us.
Rejoice.
Don’t lose heart. In the face of
our sin, Jesus will help change our lives.
It is December 16. The expected guest is almost here. Rejoice.
A long expected party is upon us.
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