Sermons Online ...
Sermon - The Lord is Near - 17th December 2006
Saint Aidan's West Epping 8:30am
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7. Luke 3:7-18
“The Lord is near.” Those words from our reading from Philippians this morning sum up the message of Advent.
But in what sense can we say that the Lord is near? We can say that God is near because he is at work in our world - in the beauty and wonder of creation, in the lives of people and their acts of love and goodness, in the worship and witness and service of the church, and in our own lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit. That is a wonderful reality, but it is not the particular focus of Advent.
Advent emphasizes that the Lord is near because he is coming soon. It reminds us of the importance of being prepared for the coming of the Lord. We are to be ready to celebrate with meaning and joy the coming of the Lord Jesus, who was born at Bethlehem in the humblest of circumstances: the Lord who came to guide and teach, to heal and to serve, to reveal God in person, and ultimately to die and rise again for us. Christmas is indeed near, and we must not allow the distractions and the busy-ness of Christmas to distract us from its truth and wonder and significance.
But we are also called to be ready for the coming of the Lord at the climax of history. The scriptures consistently tell us that this event is coming soon, that the Lord is indeed near, though of course we do not know the date. It has been nearly 2000 years in coming: perhaps it will be within our lifetime, perhaps there are still many generations before that great day. We do not know. It will mean the reality of judgement, for wrong must be dealt with, and justice must be established. It will mean the fullness of salvation for all God’s people, in his kingdom of life and light and love. It will mean a new creation, where all that is wrong and incomplete in the creation we know will be put right and brought to perfection, where all our questions shall find their real answers, and where we shall see God face to face in all his welcoming love. We are not to try to work out the date, but simply to live as those who are ready for it, as we trust and follow our Saviour Jesus Christ.
So Advent has this twofold significance. We prepare to celebrate the first coming of Jesus, and we live in readiness for the second coming of Jesus.
Our readings this morning reinforce the double focus of Advent. The prophet Zephaniah, more than 600 years before Jesus, warned of God’s judgement on the disobedient nation of Israel, and the evil nations round about.
But judgement is not the end of the story. And in these closing verses of the book, there is the promise of something new and wonderful. The Lord God will again be in his people’s midst, and salvation will truly be experienced. In a very special way the coming of Jesus fulfilled that prophecy, and the salvation that was promised is now offered not just to one nation but to people of all nations.
John the Baptist in our Gospel reading from Luke also spoke of judgement and the coming of the Lord. This eccentric but powerful preacher called people to be baptized as an expression of their repentance. He made it clear that baptism was not an end in itself: if it was not expressed in a new life - a life of justice, godliness and compassion - it was a sham. Judgement was a powerful reality for John, and that judgement was linked with the coming of the promised Messiah. “Be ready!” was his message. The Messiah will see through hypocrisy and pretence: if you want God’s forgiveness, your repentance must be real.
It was a strong message, indeed a daunting one. And we know that Jesus expressed that judgement in many ways: in his preaching and healing, in his strong words against those who rejected the call of the kingdom, in his powerful acts, but above all in his death and resurrection for us all.
As we look to Jesus, we must take seriously the reality of judgement, but we do not need to be terrified of it, for God’s grace and forgiveness are extended to us through him.
But it is from the well-known words of Paul in Philippians 4 that those words, “The Lord is near”, actually come. Paul wrote these words from prison, not knowing whether he would live or die. But the nearness of the Lord was something which strengthened and encouraged him throughout his ministry. He knew that the Lord was always with him through the presence of the Holy Spirit. But he also knew that the Lord was coming soon, to bring his people home to his glorious kingdom, to bring all things to their fulfilment, and to put right all that is wrong. That gave him strength to hang in there, even when he did not know what the immediate future held. It would be easy to be discouraged, but Paul’s perspective overcame that temptation.
In these words Paul gave three challenges which are still relevant to us today, as we live our lives with their ups and downs, their problems and pains, and their uncertainties. He also shared a wonderful promise. If you like easy ways of remembering things, I’m going to give you four words beginning with P, which may help you to remember Paul’s message.
Firstly, PRAISE. Paul says to rejoice in every situation. But he doesn’t say to rejoice because you’ve just had bad news, or to rejoice because things have gone wrong. What he does say is to rejoice in the Lord. Paul says we can rejoice because we know that the Lord loves us, because the Lord saves us, because the Lord is committed to us, because the Lord is with us. It’s natural to rejoice because of nice things that are happening. But when they are not - and life is sometimes like that - we remember what the Lord has done for us, and what the Lord means to us and what we mean to the Lord, and what the Lord promises. We think of the Lord and praise him for all that he is and all that he does for us. We get a bigger perspective. We don’t pretend about our problems, but we remember that there is a bigger picture. As we praise the Lord, we can learn to rejoice in him, in difficult times as well as the good times. Praise strengthens us and brings joy in the Lord. In praise we can learn to rejoice in the Lord.
Our second word is PATIENCE. Paul says that our gentleness should be obvious to everyone. What he is talking about is the way we treat people.
Do we treat people unfairly? Probably we do sometimes. That’s not the way of Christ. Do we treat people fairly? That’s good, but even that is not the way of Christ. We ourselves know that because of our failings, we need something more generous than mere justice. And that is where Paul’s principle comes in.
What happens when people do the wrong thing by us, or when they let us down? Do we try to get back at them, or hold on to anger against them? What Paul is telling us here is that we need to be generous and gracious, treating people better than they deserve, forgiving and showing understanding towards people’s failings. That is what Christ did for those who crucified him. And grace is what he has shown us too.
Paul calls us to be patient - to be understanding and forgiving and accepting - just as Christ has done for us. The way of Christ is the way of love, and in a world which has not yet been put right, we must demonstrate the way of love and patience in our lives and our relationships.
The third word is PRAYER. Paul tells us not to get worried about anything. We might think that’s easy for him to say, but he had plenty of things to worry about - and plenty of time to do it! But this is not the emptiness of “Don’t worry - be happy!” What Paul says is that we should take our worries to the Lord in prayer. We leave our worries with him.
If our faith was fully developed, that would settle things. But of course we have a long way to go before our faith is the way we would want it to be. We may well still worry. But we have shared our worries with the almighty and loving Lord, who knows best what to do, and is able to answer in the best way.
And even if his answer is not exactly what we asked for, he hears us and he is with us in our difficulties. “Bring your worries to the Lord in prayer”, says Paul.
And remember to pray with thanksgiving, he also says. Thanksgiving will help us remember how the Lord has helped us in the past, and how he has answered our prayers. That in itself will encourage us in our faith and in our prayer. It is always spiritually healthy to pray with thanksgiving.
Praise, patience and prayer - important aspects of our lives as Christians as we wait for the Lord’s return. And as we put these things into practice, we will more and more experience the Lord’s peace - the peace of God, which is so great that we cannot begin to understand its dimensions. It will keep us safe - not necessarily safe from difficulties and problems, but safe in our relationship with him, safe in his care, safe in his kingdom.
Life in this world is not always easy: the kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. But as we praise the Lord for his goodness, as we show patience and understanding and generosity to others, as we pray with thanksgiving for our own needs as well as the needs of others, we shall discover more and more of the peace and the strength of God, the peace which will keep us in his care, both now and until that great day when we shall see the Saviour face to face. Amen.