"Agape Love" Fourth Sunday Of Advent

This is the fourth Sunday of Advent the advent of love.  Agape is an ancient Greek word used to describe the purest form of love, God’s Love.  This Love was poured into the seed that would eventually produce you before your conception took place.  First we have to establish that this Love does not come to you because it already exists in you.  Jeremiah 1: 5, and nothing can separated you from it. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, Roman 8:38-39. You nor your parents had anything to do with it, this precious gift is God given to all. And there is no other power on this earth or in the heavens that is greater than this LOVE.  So how does this Love work?  You just put it out there for others, no strings attached, and when you do, what goes around comes around.  When you hear the reading from Matthew this morning I want you to listen for love being poured out.

Dec 22 2013 Advent 4 readings:  Isaiah 35: 1-10,  Matt 1: 18-25

Would you agree that our consumer culture and advertisements present a Christmas with many false expectations about family harmony and Christmas joy?  These expectations allow stores, magazines, catalogues and greeting card companies to define for us what the “Perfect Christmas” should look like.  In the weeks leading up to Dec 25^th, many of us invest a great deal of time, money and energy trying to achieve what they have defined as the picture-perfect Christmas.  But as hard as we try, many of us have mixed emotions that include feelings of emptiness or sadness.   Often these sad or empty feelings arise because of the death of a close friend or family member at this time of year.   Or maybe our hidden conditions or our expectations are just too high.  Let us not forget the financial pressures placed upon us at Christmas, which often steals the joy of Christmas for many.  What’s wrong with this picture?    So then, let’s take a minute to review the actually biblical story.  For Mary and Joseph leading up to what we now call Christmas, there is no mention of a jolly old St. Nickolas, black Friday, nor is there any mention of a winter wonderland filled with stories and songs about silver bells, reindeer and candy canes.     Think about it?  Would you consider the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary a moment of celebration?   How did the Jewish folk of the day respond to her story of this holy pregnancy?  How could that be, a virgin child bearing a child through some unnatural means.  Many though, she must be lying!!! Including Joseph.   In Jesus’ time a pregnancy before marriage would not have been at time of celebration it could even bring about the girl’s death by stoning.   You mean to tell me that behind this pretty nativity scene that we are so familiar with, lies both wonder and scandal.  For Mary and Joseph this situation would bring both disgrace and shame to them and their families.  What Mary and Joseph did not know, was that regardless of this experience with its pain and suffering God would eventually develop within them, a love bond that would bless not only them, but the entire world.  The physical presence of Love itself was to appear in human form.  But we all know that agape love, the unconditional love of God, love that is poured out, no strings attached, comes at a cost even to us.  As believers we are compelled to trust in this love as did Mary and Joseph.  For them, it gave them the courage to put their trust in Gabriel’s message, for something marvelous was about to take place.   So I have a question for you to think about for the week coming:   How’s your love life going this year?   Do you have an expectation that something marvelous will take place in your life this year or in the coming year?

My personal prayer for each and every one is that the Advent experience this year has inspired you to seek a deeper, more personal relationship with the Jesus?  That you will have developed a thirst for study so as to improve your 20/20 vision, no pun intended!!!

 To Joseph the pregnancy was a violation of religious laws and social traditions.  Joseph’s reaction to the situation at first is one of disbelief and dismay.  How can this be?  Has she not violated their marriage commitments?  In the end being a man of charity and compassion, Joseph decides not to publically shame Mary but to quietly divorce her.  For him there seemed to be no other option.    Are you beginning to get the real picture?  How distorted this idea of a perfect Hallmark Christmas has become?   You know in light of their story it is helpful to remember that following your heart and being faithful to God’s love, sometimes is at odds with today’s social norms and seasonal traditions.    But just like Mary and Joseph, we must remain open, alert, looking and listening for God’s correction during Christmas no matter when or where it comes.   In fact not just at Christmas but throughout the year.  We must remain open, alert, looking and listing for God’s correction.   Did you notice that, I did not say direction, I said correction?  Spiritual growth happens and revelation comes most often during mistakes, uncertain times, while we are in troubled waters, but this lesson is a difficult truth for many of us to accept.  

With courage and God’s help Joseph’s love for Mary and God remained faithful and God, as God often does, intervenes in radical and unexpected ways.  That unexpected things outside the norm, the status quo, or tradition can often be where our wonderland and God’s handy work show up in our lives too.  Amidst our less than perfect Christmases are those whose lives are not so perfect, the lonely, the poor, the sick or the outcast within society.  It is there we are called to pour out God’s agape love.  God is at work doing something marvelous, something good, do you have the desire to be a part of this work.  Its Christmas folks, someone is hungry, someone is lonely, and someone needs your love and encouragement to carry on.   Somehow Mary and Joseph trusted, that in their strange and difficult circumstances, God would somehow make a way for them.  Folks we must learn to look listen and put our faith and words into actions.  God is still at work making wonder and miracles even today.  So let us begin to focus on this not so perfect Christmas story with new eyes and ears, so Jesus can show you and me a different way to “LOVE” this year.  Let us pray. 

  

"The Double Minded Person finds No Peace"

Dec 8, 2019   Readings:   Matthew 3: 1-12         James 1:8

Last week we established that Advent for us, is supposed to be a time of preparing for the second coming of Christ.  So now we need to be thinking, what are the steps I personally need to take in order to prepare myself for this new encounter with my Lord ?   The biblical answer appears to be quite clear; we need to be turning our lives towards something. So I have a question for you?  In your opinion what exactly are Christians called to turn towards?   -------------- Now you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that if I am turning towards something, I must be turning away from something. So again I have a question for you?  In today’s world, give me examples of what we Christians are called to turn away from?  

In the reading from Matthew 3: 1-12 this morning, did you hear any suggestions to the questions of how we are to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ return?  John gives us one word “repent”, which means:  to express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing.  Well that easy enough, I just say I’m sorry and everything fixed, right?    Not quite, May I suggest, Jesus would ask us to go a little deeper than that, by extending it's meaning to say:  “go and don’t do that anymore.”  Don’t just say the sorry part,  stop cussing, being obsessing, stop lying, stop being a disrupter, whatever. 

John offers us another revelation in his statement by saying:  the Kingdom of Heaven has come near” other translations uses the words “is at hand” either way, John is suggesting that the Kingdom of Heaven” is not out there, but is within Jesus himself, it is not a physical place outside the one who has come near.   Now this just might be a new revelations for some of us and its implications are life changing.  May I suggest that you enter the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God not after death, as some think, but when you take the one who comes near into your heart and mind?

Many of us are just to hardnosed about surrendering to this simple but profound way to prepare ourselves for Advent.  You don’t just admit to your sin, you must turn away from it.  Sin doesn’t hold you in bondage, you hold sin hostage with your excuses and justifications.  Let me give you a simple Example: I feel bad that I called him names.  I'm so sorry I did that.   Maybe I should ask for forgiveness, but the more I ponder this dilemma, the more reasons I find to hope for a less, obvious solution to my problem.  My hope here is Justification.   In fact if I were to accept Johns call to a redemptive life “and” become the example for others to see, I would experience the very gift that sets me free, what’s the gift?  “Forgiveness.” 

One of the interesting benefits of the repentant life is an obvious solution to our lack of inner peace. It is a peace which should be within us – a peace that should be obvious to others.  The Second Sunday in Advent is meant to be a reflection upon finding for yourself that inner peace. The bible tells us it is a peace that the world cannot give, a peace that passes all understanding.   Why is it then that so many Christians appear to lack their inner peace?   May I suggest to you that the inner peace Jesus offers cannot coexist with a person who is double minded? James 1:8. Meaning:  The bible says a double-minded person is unstable in all his or her ways.  It allows thoughts that are foreign to the teachings Jesus to creep in.  A good example would be: persons or groups where money takes priority over the welfare of the poor.  Jesus taught us to literally take Him into our heart and mind, then we become one in though with Him.  Jesus taught a oneness that supports diversity, not groups which support conformity that which makes a group exclusive to themselves.   

Thoughts that divide us rather than unite us, produce an attitude of us versus them.   Even  the best of groups themselves, ends up with divisions of race, color, tint of color or ethnic background.  Groups tends to promote the unspoken class, lower, middle and upper even then totally excluding the poor and the outsider.  The Religious do not escape this dilemma either, who are already divided by denominations.  Grouping puts up barriers that prevent Christ’s peace from entering in.   Along with groups that turn to exclusivity negative emotions begin to emerge, hording fighting and power struggles break out.
Can you name any of the devilish emotions that emerge?   Sabotage, Gossip, sadness, hatred, jealously, bigotry,etc.

You see demonic acts or thoughts not only condition a person’s mind, but also can harden a heart; “BUT” salvation is never very far away because you can begin to prepare your mind and heart for the peace of Christ:  it begins with study, studying and feeding on God’s word, then to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. And the more you do it, the more conditioned you become to think as one in Christ.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4: 7.   This is the Advent Sunday for the coming of Christs Peace, so my prayer for us is, that we will all begin to seek and find the Peace of Christ this year.   Amen

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