"Happy New Year Folks"

Did you know that Advent is the first week in the New Year for Christians?  Well Happy News Year folks.   

So I challenge you to take the next four weeks before Christmas and make at least one New Year’s resolution per week.  The first resolution will come from the word Hope, because the first Sunday in Advent asks us to ponder our Hope for this season.  

We often struggled with this word hope because we cannot hope for something we already know or already have experienced.  May I suggest that for many, the Christmas season is very venerable to repeated traditions we already know or have experienced, making it very hard for the first word of Advent “Hope” to take root in us?

So!! What is it that you HOPE for this Christmas?    

 Nov 30 2014

Advent One:  Readings: Isaiah 64:1-9  Psalm # 80, 1 Corth.1: 3-9 Mark 13:24-37

It may sound strange but many people I speak with these days have expressed an uneasiness about the holiday season?  That the secular buying and celebrations have taken over president from its original meaning.  How many of us here today really look upon the season as a time of rest and reflection as central to the season?   A time of hope with great anticipation that something new and exciting is going to be birthed in your life.  It is about a birth you know, no pun intended!  

How many of us have said or have heard others say they actually are not looking forward to Christmas at all?  What is wrong with this picture folks!!!?

Surprisingly I hear these statements coming from regular church going folks.  So then, why has this season become for so many, a season of burnout, sickness, and depression, not a season of hope, of well being with the enthusiasm and   excitement of new beginnings?   As I mentioned earlier for us it is the beginning of a new year in the church.  It should be for us at least, a time of resolutions for our New Year.

I don’t know about you, but for me, I often find it difficult to understand God's perceptions of our world, but we certainly know we are out of sync with God’s precepts.   Let me give you a cute example of mans perception verses God’s perception.   One day, little Jimmy was laying on a hill in the middle of a meadow on a warm spring day.  Puffy white clouds rolled by and he pondered their shape.  Are you with me Church, have you ever been there?  Soon, he began to think about God.   "God?  Are you really there?" Jimmy shouted out loud.  To his astonishment a voice came from the clouds. "Yes, Jimmy? What can I do for you?"   Seizing the opportunity, Jimmy asked, "God? What is a million years like to you?"   Knowing that Jimmy could not understand the concept of infinity, God responded in a manner to which Jimmy could relate. "A million years to me, Jimmy, is like a minute."  "Oh," said Jimmy. "Well, then, what's a million dollars like to you?" "A million dollars to me, Jimmy, is like a penny."   "Wow!" remarked Jimmy with excitement, "I’ve heard that you are a generous God, could you please give me one or your pennies?"   God replied, "Sure thing, Jimmy! Just wait a minute.   Little Jimmy wasn't ready for how God sees things was he?   What about you, are you ready for a new way of thinking when it comes to Christmas and the season of Advent?   Are you waiting with hope and anticipation that God will revile a new perspective for you this year?  Don’t you want things to change so something exciting can happen to you this Christmas?    Often we repeat the same old traditions every year expecting it to be different, but hope cannot be found there.   The great Mathematician Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result."

Our text this morning from Mark seems an unlikely scripture for Advent but for the modern day church it is the place to start:  With hope and a promise for Jesus’ return, for that is what our modern day Christmas is supposed to be about folks.  

Our hope is not that the baby Jesus will come again, no! That event has already happened, our hope cannot be found there.   Our hope should be that the prophesy of his returning spirit will manifest itself in our hearts and we will begin to see the truth about our material Christmas and its celebrations that have gotten way, way out of hand folks.

As we approach the First Sunday of Advent this year, let us remember it was quite different for the Jewish people of Israel, why, because the events of our Christmas had not yet happened.  Their story of waiting with hope and anticipation certainly had nothing to do with Mary and Joseph, shepherds watching their flock or 3 Wise man from the east.   They were not waiting for a modern day Christmas, as our traditions have developed over the years:   they were waiting with hope for the fulfillment of a promise from the old testament or Hebrew scriptures and they waited believing in a generous God who would give them a Deliver.    Literally, there hope was for a Savior who would free them from their bondage and slavery to the Roman Empire that dictated their lives.   Is it not the same for us today folks, don’t we want to be saved from the shopping malls and the credit debt of Christmas, freed from traditional expectations and obligations that weigh us down and tire us out.   May I suggest we are to controlled by the world’s economy as empire.   How many of us here today can relate to our Jewish roots.   Many of us feel enslaved by expectations that are tied to the secular holiday and are not really connected to the spirit of the season.     The Jewish people were hoping for a Messiah and the promise of new world kingdom.    Is that not our hope too,  that a Savior might come once again and save us from this materialistic and violent world, in essence someone who can save us from ourselves and show us how precious we and life really are!!   

So I ask the question once again:  you wait with hope and anticipation for what?  Remembering that you cannot hope for something you already know or have.  Hope doesn’t exist there.  Where do I start you might ask?  Well!!   

There should be much more in our Advent than the retelling of the old, old story.   Advent is also about a new story in the making.  It is about your story, your life, your hope, your future.  It is about your personal relationship with God.   Jesus tells us to be awake and alert, for the day is coming when He will return to rule this new heaven and a new earth and he wants to find you as one of the builders of this new kingdom.   He also tells us that we will never know the mind of God nor will we ever fully comprehend God’s timing for His return, but prophecy tells us He will, come again, embrace the mystery folks.    Let us then begin our new year with the hope that the resurrected Spirit of Christ will invade you personally this season:  That you will surrender to Him and become one of the builders in the new kingdom, and that you will find yourself safe in the fold when He comes again.   You hold the power of Hope within you.  

                             "Hope Always Births Something New"