CHRISTISNOWHERE: How Can Jesus Be King Of Your Christmas? - Fourth Sermon of Advent

Lectionary Reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: 

2Samuel 7v1-11 & 16 // Luke 1v47-55 // Romans 16v25-27 // Luke 1v26-38

Advent is that season of the church which precedes Christmas. 

It's when we remember a time when Christ was nowhere. We are the Christmas people, believing and giving witness to the world that Christ is now here. But there was a time in the world when Christ was not. And that is how it still feels for too many people. It can feel that way in the church too. 

Often it feels like Christ is nowhere, but we choose to believe that Christ is now here. 

There is a word that describes this Advent experience. Prolepsis. 

Prolepsis is not a word used much around my house. Never, actually. 

For those in speech or debate class, you may be familiar with prolepsis. It's the anticipation and answering of a possible objection to a point you are making in your presentation. 

For those that are story-tellers, we use phrases that are tap int prolepsis. When we use a phrase like: "he was a dead man walking" - he's not really a dead man yet, but he will be, and he is seen as a dead man now, though he is not yet. 

I was in jail the other day, thinking about prolepsis. Following my sermon study, I made a visit to the county jail. While waiting for the inmate to be brought out for our visit, I was standing against the cement wall pondering how to explain prolepsis. 

I got to thinking of all the inmates I have visited in jail. There are some inmates who are truly imprisoned. For them, the past, present, and future are wrapped up in being imprisoned now. They feel trapped, they don't know how to avoid being jailed, and though they don't want to stay in prison, they don't know what to do different to stay out of prison once they get out. 

But there are the prisoners I visit with who are free. They may be on the other side of the glass, but they are with me in spirit. When we talk, we talk about what will be different, and what is already different. They are ready to do the work that will both lead to freedom and keep them free. 

They are not just living in the future, they are doing now what they will need to do in the future to be and stay free. Though they are not as free as they want to be, they are as free as they can be. They are so certain of becoming an staying future, that they live and act now as if they are free. 

That is prolepsis. The future present now, but not yet. The present that is yet to be. The future unfolding in the now. 

Prolepsis in Scripture is scripted by promises. 

Prolepsis helps us see the Christmas story anew, because Christmas is about promises made and promises kept. Christmas is about the present that is yet to be, about a future that is unfolding in the now. Christmas is about Jesus as king now, but not yet. 

You can see this so clearly in Mary the mother of Jesus, as written down in the Gospel according to Luke. The messenger of God proclaims good news to Mary: you shall bear a son who will save his people from their sins. You will name him Jesus, and he will lead his people out of exile. Jesus will become king of Israel, he will sit upon the throne of his ancestor King David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom shall come and it will never end. 

What does Mary do? A few things. First she wonders why the angel is even there. Then she wonders how all this will happen. But then, in wonder and delight, she responds with faith and faithfulness: "May it be to me as you have promised."

Then she hurries off to hang out with her cousin Elizabeth, who had a similar encounter with a messenger of God. While there, Mary bursts into song, and it's full of prolepsis. 

Mary's song envisions a world where what God has promised has already come to pass. All the angel did was announce the birth of a king, and Mary is singing about the downfall of the proud. Mary believes a savior will be born, and now she is lauding the Lord for having lifted up the poor and humiliated. She's not even pregnant yet, and Mary acts as if the promises to Abraham and David have already been fulfilled. That is prolepsis. Believing a promise so strongly you behave as if it is fully true now.

King David had a promise-making moment with the Lord, one that is very relevant to Mary's song and our proleptic examples.

He finally had rest from warring against his enemies. David sat firm and secure on his throne. But as he looked out from his palace, he realized that God dwelled in a tent. Whereas David sat in royal splendor, God's house was a stitched together of animal skins. Maybe David felt guilty? Maybe David felt bad for God? Whatever the reason, God wasn't impressed. He didn't need a new house, didn't want a new house, and didn't ask David to build anything for him. 

Actually God put David in his place: who are you to decide what kind of house is good enough for God? But then God followed up with a string of promises to David: God will build a house for David that lasts forever. The God of Israel who established David's kingdom will cause it to never end. It's an extraordinary promise to David, who is completely humbled by this turn of events. David breaks into song and prayer, praising the Lord for making this promise to his house, to Israel. But David sings as if the promise is already fulfilled, he prays as if the kingdom is an eternal one already. 

It's like when a bride and groom pledge to uphold their vows to one another, promising fidelity forever. In that moment, they are caught up in savoring an eternal promise. Right there and then they experience the feeling of a promise of forever fidelity. 

For sports fans out there, everyone knows that elite athletes practice prolepsis. The basketball shooter at the free throw line can see himself putting the ball through the hoop before he actually does it. The future point is already present in the now, but not yet. The quarterback can already see his wide receiver making the catch in the end zone before the throw has been made. The sprinter has already crossed the finish line in first place before he is out of the starting blocks. In their minds they are victors before the contest has begun. They practice in prolepsis, seeing themselves holding the trophy while they prepare for it as if it had already come to pass, but not yet. 

This is what the church does when we share in Eucharist together. The bread and the cup of communion is a present experience of a future reality, the Great Banquet with the King. We eat and drink now as if the Great Banquet has already started. We believe we are having a communion with the Lord now as if he had already set the table. 

Or take baptism: we go under the water and are brought up from it as if we were dying and being resurrected from the dead. Baptism is death and resurrection now, but not yet. It is believing the promise so strongly, we live now as if we have already died and been raised bodily from the grave. 

Prolepsis is powerful and transformative. Prolepsis is the name we give to the experience of believing the promises made to us, and living in the light of them. 

Advent is a proleptic event. It reminds the church that we are a proleptic people. If you have been baptized, you are living in prolepsis. If you partake of Eucharist, you are doing prolepsis. If you believe the promises God made to Israel were fulfilled in Jesus and are given now to you, you are doing prolepsis.

Christmas is prolepsis. The First Christmas being prolepsis of the Last Christmas. Jesus coming to Israel as their king was a now - not yet reality. He was God reigning over the world in Jesus of Nazareth, who was king of Israel and lord of all nations, but not yet. The crucified, resurrected, ascended Lord Jesus Christ was, is, and shall rule in truth and grace forever; he does so now through the church, but not yet. 

He has promised to rescue us from sin and death, we experience it now, but not yet. He are so confident in Jesus keeping his promise to save us, that we act as if it has already happened; the future present now. Our trust in the Lord is so strong that we live now as if our forgiveness on Judgment Day has already occurred; the present that is yet to be. The faith we have in God is so vibrant, we believe that his reign has already begun on the earth;  

Christmas is about promises made and promises kept. Christmas is about prolepsis. Do you believe?

For those with searching eyes and yearning hearts, it too often feels like Christ is nowhere. That's what it felt like to the inmate I visited in jail, as she poured her heart out to me. How does God feel so far away? Why doesn't he feel close?

But to those who have heard the promise and believe it, Christ is now here. 

That is prolepsis. 

And that is what Christmas is all about.

CHRISTISNOWHERE: How Can Jesus Be King Of Your Christmas? - Third Sermon of Advent

Lectionary Reading for the Third Sunday of Advent: 

Isaiah 61v1-4, 8-11 / Psalm 126 / 1Thessalonians 5v16-24 / John 1v6-8, 19-28

"For as the earth brings forth it's bud,

As the garden causes the things

that are sown in it to spring forth,

So the LORD God will cause 

righteousness and praise to spring forth

before all the nations."

What a beautiful and compelling vision of the future. For Israel, righteous justice and joyful praise was most definitely not sprouting among the empires of the world. It seemed as if God was no where - not in the temple, not on the throne, and not amongst the people.

Though Israel knew they had sinned against the LORD and broken their covenant, they wondered when the punishment would end. It seemed that returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding their life in the Promised Land was the beginning of a new era with God. 

But now a new empire was directing the affairs of the nations, and injustice and sorrow marred the gardens and cities. Which is why Isaiah's sermon resonated so deeply with Israel. When would righteous justice flourish - not only in Israel, but also in the surrounding nations?

How long, O Lord, until all the peoples of the earth praised you instead of their idols? 

Isaiah reminds Israel who it is they worship, of how great and good is their LORD. He announces to them that the Spirit of the LORD God will descend upon an anointed servant who will come to Israel. This anointed servant will preach good news to the poor and heal the brokenhearted.

The LORD God will send his servant to proclaim liberty to the captives and the Jubilee year of the Lord. The LORD God will have his day of vengeance, and God will comfort all who mourn, giving them beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. 

If Israel is a garden, the LORD will plant righteousness that the people may be called oaks of justice. And through this rebuilding and replanting, Israel shall rejoice and God will be glorified. Through the LORD's faithfulness, he will make an everlasting covenant with a people who are continually unfaithful to him; BUT, the Lord God will direct their work in truth.

Through what the faithful LORD God does with unfaithful Israel will result in all the world acknowledge that surely Israel is blessed of God. 

Isaiah is so sure of this planting, of these oaks of righteousness, of a world rejoicing at the justice and faithfulness of God in how he rebuilds Israel, that he declares himself already clothed in salvation, already putting on a robe of righteous justice, like a bride and groom all decked out in their finest beauty. Isaiah is so confident in the LORD God, he believes with every bone in his body that justice and joy will spring forth before all the nations.

It will happen as sure as when the garden causes the things that are sown in it so spring forth.

Isaiah wrote to the people of God during the Advent of the First Christmas. As the people of God, we are now reading Isaiah during the Advent of the Last Christmas. We read of Isaiah's confidence in the LORD God almost twenty five centuries later. Sometimes it seems, on this side of that first Christmas that the robes of righteousness are wearing thin and the coats of salvation are getting threadbare. 

We need Isaiah's sermon now just as much as when Israel needed it then. They were ready and waiting for the anointed King, their Messiah, their Christ to come and cause justice and joy to spring up from the parched earth. But Israel crucified their king, cutting down the gardener with all the injustice and hate that we are all to familiar with still today. God brought comfort to all the people of God who recognized Jesus to be the Son of God and the Son of David. 

Through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God signaled his faithfulness to Israel while vindicating Jesus as the LORD and King of Israel and all the nations of the world. But through the crucifixion and resurrection we also begin to see how the LORD is going to sow the seeds of righteous justice and joyful praise throughout the world.

He's going to do it through the church scattered throughout the whole world. In every city of every nation there will be a gathering of men and women who are faithful to the LORD Jesus Christ. 

Because of their confidence in the coming of the Lord to establish the kingdom of God, they live now in light of a future that may not come in their lifetime. They rejoice always, praying constantly, giving thanks to God in all things, for they believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is both with them and coming again to reign upon the earth. And when he does, the justice and joy that the church has been striving to sow in their community will become true of the whole world.

The justice and joy of the church will become seeds for that nation, and God will cause justice and joy to spring up from what was sown in that place. 

Maybe you are having a hard time imagining what it will look like for justice and joy to spring up from the earth. I want to show you a small three minute movie where you will see men springing up from the earth in justice and joy at Christmas time. You may have already seen this chocolate commercial. 

It's a story known as the Christmas Truce and it took place exactly one hundred years ago this Christmas, during the first five months of the Great War, of what became known as World War One. It helps to know a bit of history to appreciate the beauty of this compelling event.

The first five months of the Great War was the worst warfare the world had ever seen. The world had seen many horrific wars over the thousands of years of recorded history. But none like this. Prior to World War 1, great battles lasted one day, maybe three days. No battle had ever raged on everyday for a month. 

When the battles started in August between Germany and the Allies, France expected the war to be over by the end of September. So when December came and there was no end in sight of the war, the nations became gravely worried about the new world of chaos they were descending into.

Though the truce only lasted for a day, and though the war raged on to consume over twenty million lives in the next four years, there was a moment where justice and joy sprung up from the earth. It's a picture of what could have happened had the rulers and authorities turned away from their fear, pride, and greed. 

That Christmas Truce was a brief picture of what the Last Christmas will be like, when the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up, conquering the dark powers and evil forces that enslave the nations in a kingdom of war and darkness. 

You can see the video here:

We are not living in World War I, but we are still living in the aftershocks of it, one hundred years later. You may not be living in the trenches, but you are living in a time where it seems like Christ is no where. There is so much injustice in our nation. There is so much loneliness and despair. There is so much violence and death. 

There is the every day grind of having to work with people who suck the joy out of the air; of living every day in pain or hardship or the constant struggle to survive with no end in sight. Maybe it's the nagging feeling that for all you have accomplished, there is still an emptiness that cannot be filled. Maybe you need your own Christmas Truce: to rise up out of your trench and choose to rejoice in the LORD and believe that Christ is now here. 

It's important to note how Isaiah ends his poem: "As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." 

In your hardship, in your grief, in your sadness, in your difficulties, in your uncertainty, in your anxiety, in your sufferings: what are you sowing? When the evil one seeks to sow bitterness and despair in your heart, do you join him in it? When the devil speaks lies to you, do you add to them? When evil strikes you, your family or friends, when death unfairly strikes down those you care about - do you let the shadows of death creep in and drain your life away in despair and anger? 

Isaiah writes to Israel, reminding them that it is the Lord who causes righteousness and praise to spring up, but we must sow things into the garden in order for anything to spring up. There will always be death in this world, but are you sowing life? There will always be injustice and wickedness, but are you sowing righteous justice and goodness? There will always be sorrow and despair in our world, but are you sowing kindness and faithfulness anyway? We plant and water, but it's the LORD who makes it grow. 

There is an old Israelite myth that if you wept over the seeds that you sowed in the spring, you would thus be able to rejoice as you reaped a bountiful harvest. 

Sometimes it's in pain that we continue our faithfulness, sometimes it's with tears that we do the next right thing. But we look to the coming of the LORD, whether in our lifetime or in the generations to come, and we believe that he will come and cause justice and joy to spring forth before all the nations from all the seeds that we sowed with our tears. 

"In that year of the LORD, he will comfort all who mourn, giving them beauty for ashes;

the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; 

That they may be called oaks of righteousness, that He may be glorified."

CHRISTISNOWHERE: How Jesus Can Be King Of Your Christmas - Second Sermon of Advent

Lectionary Reading for the Second Sunday of Advent:
Isaiah 40-1-11, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, 2Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8

Why do we need to prepare for Christmas with Advent?

Advent means "to come"; it implies waiting for the arrival of someone or something. It can also be an impetus for preparation; much like the work we do around the house to decorate and clean for Christmas Day festivities.

But Christians know that Christmas means much more then family and food, it is also about the bedrock of our faith. But what, exactly, does Christmas and Advent have to reveal to us about our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

It helps to retell the story of Christmas - not just the one that starts in the Gospel according to Matthew or Luke, but the one that we discover in the sermons of the prophet Isaiah, or the stories of King David in books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. And even further back to Joshua and Moses, Abraham and even Adam.

Matthew and Luke give all sorts of obvious cues that we need to know the OT stories to make sense of the Christmas story - the genealogies kind of give it away! But each gospel-writer also makes it clear that Jesus is to rule over Israel as a descendant of King David, that he will sit on the throne of the twelve tribes of Jacob and his reign will never end. If this identity of Jesus as King is central to our understanding the Christmas story, then how did Jesus become King at Christmas?

Delving into the story of Jesus will help us discern how Jesus can be the king of our Christmas.

There is a very interesting story in 1 Samuel 8, where the elders of Israel reject God as their king and demand for the Lord to provide for them a human king, like all the other nations, to lead their people into battle when attacked by their enemies. God's kingship hadn't been overt over Israel, like having a human king would be. God was the king they couldn't see, but he was the most powerful king in all the universe. And they would rather have a limited human king they could see then an almighty king they can't see.

How long had God been the king of Israel? When did it happen? Why did they rejected him?

For a few hundred years God had been appointing judges to rule over the tribes of Israel. These judges were his representatives, servants of the king, so to speak, to dispense justice and deliver the tribes from the surrounding enemy nations. Over the centuries the judges became more corrupt and the people often did what was right in their own eyes.

At the end of the story comes Samson, the worst of the judges, and then Samuel, the best. But Samuel's sons were completely unfit for judging, they took bribes and abused their priestly duties in the tabernacle. It was Samuel's sons that the elders were rejecting, but they were also rejecting God's judges, and thus rejecting God as their king.

God was the one that had delivered the twelve tribes from slavery in Egypt. There God had a showdown with the king of Pharaoh, who considered himself a god. God won the duel with Pharaoh, establishing himself as a more powerful god and king. His people were released to go worship God in the wilderness, and there God made a covenant with his people, much like a king covenants with the subjects of his kingdom.

Prior to God's people becoming enslaved in Egypt, they had been the descendants of the powerfully wealthy and blessed patriarch Abraham. God had appeared to the Abraham, calling him out of Ur and promising to bless him with land and descendants, a nation and kingdom through whom God would bless the world.

Abraham believed God, and he followed the call and did become a blessing. Though Abraham reigned as a king in his portion of the promised land, it was clearly God who was the one with the authority and power, making him the ultimate king over Abraham.

But Abraham wasn't the first man whom God called to serve as a king on the earth on his behalf. We read in the book of beginnings, Genesis, of God calling Adam and Eve to serve together as his kings and priests in the world, ruling with goodness and blessing in God's name, for the flourishing of all creation. From the beginning, God's relation to humanity was like that of a king and citizens of his kingdom.

But we know how the story still goes, the citizens rebel and reject their God and king, again, and again, and again. Sometimes because of envy or jealousy, other times because of pride and ambition. But it also happens because we are incited to sin, we become deceived with half-truths and are led to doubt and mistrust God as king. That's what happened with Adam. And it's what happened with the people of Israel towards God and Moses. It's what happened with the twelve tribes and the God-appointed judges.

When the elders of Israel rejected Samuel's sons as judges and God as their king, the Lord was used to this pattern of rejection. But, because of God's covenant with Israel, he was going to stay faithful to them no matter how unfaithful they became. But the covenant relationship bound Israel to their God, thus faithfulness resulted in blessings and unfaithfulness resulted in curses. God warned the elders of Israel that if they rejected God as king and followed a human king, they would still come to the same fate: their covenant unfaithfulness will destroy them.

The elders went with a human king, and God worked with the kings to ensure that they still kept the covenant. The first king was a flop, but the second king, David, and his son Solomon, were two of the best kings Israel ever had. During their reign, Israel seemed to be fulfilling the promise to Abraham: the nations were being blessed by the justice and wisdom of the kings.

But then David and Solomon were enticed to sin, to commit adultery, to murder, to enslave, and for Solomon to fall into idolatry. Injustice descended upon the royal families, and the human kings of Israel were no better then the judges who had ruled earlier. Go sent prophets to the royal and priestly families, warning them to turn away from their idols and return to serving and worshipping only God.

God warned them that their injustice, immorality and idolatry would result in them becoming defenseless against the Assyrians and Babylonian empires. The kings and priests of Israel were sent into exile for 70 years for their sins. Eventually some of the ruling and priestly families were able to return and rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem. Thought they came home, they had no king, there was no one on the throne, and they were not able to rule their own land as they saw fit.

And so the laments and groans continued, the cries increased in intensity: O Lord, turn your face to us, come and save us! Send us a king, like you promised, that our land and people may flourish! Restore us and the land!

The lectionary readings of last week focused on these cries for deliverance while they waited in continued exile. The legionary readings for this week, though, point to God's call to his people to prepare for his coming! Good news! Behold, your God shall come to you! Prepare the way with righteous justice!

You can hear the hopefulness in the words of Isaiah 40:1-11.

Notice the power of the words of the poem: "Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand!"

This is the gospel announcement of Christmas! The prophet proclaims: you who bring good tidings!

This is what the shepherds heard from the angels. Good tidings, good news, the Gospel of the coming king to reign upon his throne, to end the exile and establish righteous justice and peace. Believe the good news that the king is coming, that God himself will take up the throne of Israel again and rule in a new way!

This is what Jesus himself announces as he begins his ministry! What had been announced to exile Israel at his birth was now being fulfilled, following his baptism by John the Baptist! Today's Gospel reading complements today's first Scripture reading - Mark refers to this whole passage when he quotes it in the beginning of his gospel of Jesus the King of Israel.

What is Christmas? It is the good news of the arrival of the king of the kingdom of Israel who are the people of God, set apart to be royal priests to bless the world through their righteous justice.

Isaiah was calling Israel to prepare for the coming of their God and king. The angels did the same thing on the night of our dear Saviors birth, John announced it on the dusty hills of the flowing Jordan. Jesus did it as he crossed over the hills of Galilee and the mountain of Jerusalem. And it was the early Christians believed in as they looked for the ascended king of kings to return from the heavens and establish his kingdom on earth.

So how can we let Jesus be the king of our Christmas?
When we let the first Christmas prepare us for the last Christmas. We are part of the same people of God, just as Israel was preparing for the Lord and King to come in power (which Jesus did, but not in the way they expected...), so we also as the people of God prepare for King Jesus to return and fully establish his kingdom on earth.

Like Israel, the Church looks for a day when righteousness will rain from the sky and truth shall spring up from the earth; when righteousness and peace kiss. That is what the first and last Christmas are all about.

Don't let this Christmas be only about nostalgia, or religious piety about that first Christmas. Let the first Christmas, which was for Israel, reveal to you what the last Christmas will be about, which is for Israel.

The church is the people of God in-between the rejection of their Lord in the past, and their embrace of their Lord in the future. The Lord is the God of Israel, and we Gentiles are adopted into the family of God through their rejection of their king and our allegiance to him. Jesus is the crucified king of Israel who was resurrected by the God of Israel, and he know reigns over the people of God at the right hand of the Lord Almighty. That is the season in which we are celebrating Christmas.

So how can you prepare for the last Christmas through letting Jesus be king of this Christmas?

Pay attention. It's not hard to notice the injustice that swirls around us. The temptation is to notice but not pay it attention. It's over there, it's not my problem, I already have enough on my plate, I don't want to get involved, etc.

But it's paying attention to the wickedness in our world that makes us groan for deliverance, it's what prompts our prayers for Hosanna and Maranatha. But paying attention isn't about fueling despair. It's about fueling faith: we believe that this wickedness will one day end, justice shall triumph over injustice some day - and we will prepare for that day by participating this day.

We believe that the good news which Isaiah preached and Jesus fulfilled is still at work today in our generation: the gospel of the kingdom of God is continually breaking into the world through the people of God, the church, the body of Christ, the students of King Jesus who imitate his ways and obey his commands.

The Psalm that will be read for Communion ends with these words: Righteousness will go before him, And shall make his footsteps our pathway. Our righteousness prepares us for the return of the Lord.

The epistle that Karen will read by 2Peter builds on this theme: the apostle writes that our holiness and godliness can actually speed the day of the return of the Lord. Why would't we want a kingdom of righteous justice to flourish in our world? The wickedness is so prevalent and blatant, whether oversees or in our own cities, injustice and immorality reveal that there is massive idolatry.

Peter goes on to write that the Lord is putting off his return so that more people have time to repent, to turn way from their sins and turn towards his salvation. It's ironic: the more unrighteous the church is, the longer the Lord tarries; the more righteous and just and holy the church becomes, the sooner he will return.

It might sound a bit odd to put it that way, but think about it: if you don't really want justice to prevail on our earth, you don't really want God to return, for when he does he will judge everyone according to their deeds. If you really do want justice to prevail on our earth, then you are preparing yourself and our world for his return, and you are eager for his return.

How would you know that you are ready for God to return and establish justice upon the earth? By doing your part to establish righteous justice in your world, in your church, in your workplace, in your home, in your heart.

You want Jesus to be king of your Christmas? Then pay attention to the wickedness in our world. Let the overwhelming evil that infects everything and everyone prompt you to get on your knees and thank God that he is rescuing you from it.

Hear the gospel and believe it: Jesus is King and he has come to establish the kingdom of God through the church, through all those who will be loyal to him and do as he instructs for the flourishing of humanity, blessing the world with righteous justice and enduring peace.

The wickedness of the world now can cause despair, but it can also prompt us to cry out for salvation. Just like Israel in exile, so we, the church, today, hear the word of the Lord: Behold the Lord your God shall come with strength to rule! Turn away from your folly and turn towards the Lord! Commit to holiness and godliness, mercy and truth, faithfulness and justice.

Idolatry is when you turn away from God and turn towards anything else besides God to give you guidance or protection, strength or help, blessing or deliverance.

Immorality is when you turn against God and do with yourself whatever you want, doing right in your own eyes; unrighteousness always leads to valuing self above others, which leads to using and abusing others for your own gain and preservation. Your immorality is connected to your idolatry; whatever you worship you become, whatever you serve becomes your master, whatever you desire will demand your life.

Injustice is when you turn against your neighbor, it is the outcome of our immorality and idolatry.

Injustice takes on systemic forms, becoming embedded in our governments and institutions of education, health, law, public works, science, art, and all else political and cultural. It becomes a kingdom of darkness with a power all it's own that transcends and yet it immanent throughout humanity.

But God has been at work to destroy the works of darkness through this kingdom of priests. Though it may seem that the darkness of sin and death are prevailing, we believe the gospel of the kingdom of God, that the light of the son is shining through, that his goodness is overcoming evil, and that he is preparing the church, his people, for his return to the world, where he will restore all things.

We prepare for what only he can finish.

CHRISTISNOWHERE: How Jesus Can Be King Of Your Christmas - First Sermon of Advent

Lectionary Reading for the First Sunday of Advent: 
Isaiah 64, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, 1Cor 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37


What is Christmas?
What is Christmas really all about. Sometimes we can become so familiar with a story that we forget or forgo the details of the story, which is what originally made it so compelling and transformative.

And that's what the Advent season is for in the church calendar. There is wisdom in the church taking a few weeks to prepare for our Christmas celebration. And if you think that odd or overkill, then that may be a sign that you've become unfamiliar with some of the key elements that make the Christmas story so enduring.

What is Christmas? It's the story of Jesus coming to fulfill the story of Israel in the most radical and unexpected way possible: their God will become their king to personally deliver them from exile and place his Word in their heart that they might become the nation they were called and created to be: a blessing and light to the world. And so God emerges into the world through the infant Jesus, born into scandal and poverty, into a diminished, oppressed, and powerless family of royal descent. 

But what is the historical situation behind this Christmas story? Why does Israel need a savior? Where is their king? Why are they in exile? Where has God been? Why has he been absent? 

In the days of Caesar Augustus, the people of Israel were enduring their fourth empire, and it seemed to them that God was no where. So when the angels announce that in the birth of Jesus that God is now here, it was good news indeed! And yet the arrival of God was not like they had expected, nor did it initiate the rescue they had prayed for. 

In our day, the church is the new Israel, we are the people of God, those who pledge allegiance to Jesus as King, our Lord, Savior and Christ. We are into our 21st century since the ascension of Jesus to his throne at the right hand of God the Father. And though God the Father and Jesus the Son sent the Holy Spirit to be in us, it still feels at times like Christ is no where. Christ came unexpectedly and saved his people in an unexpected way. And now we who yearn for Christ to return can begin to empathize with the waiting of Israel as they waited for God to rescue them. They had no idea how much longer it would be until God came to save them. We have no idea how much longer it will be until Christ returns and set the world right. 

Do you ever get tired of waiting for God? Do you ever lose hope about all that is wrong in our world? In your life? Do you ever grow weary of waiting for Christ to show up and save you from your troubles? You do and Israel did. The season of Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. What is preparation? Active waiting. You work while you wait, you prepare as you anticipate. And our four weeks of preparation and anticipation are to be a picture of what our larger life is to be like as we wait and work for Christ to return. 

When it seems like Christ is no where, that's when faith becomes crucial and you choose to believe that Christ is now here. We can all be like Thomas, and refuse to trust that Christ is here; and yet like Thomas, we need to hear the words of Jesus to him: you believed because you could see, blessed are those who do not see and yet believe. 

I don't know what you're waiting on this Christmas. I don't know what you are waiting on God to do for you this Christmas. I don't know what what you are praying and pleading Christ to fix for you. Maybe it's health, or your job, or family, friends, your habits, your heart? Maybe you want Christ to do something about the loneliness of Christmas, the grief and sadness of Christmas, the hassle and hustle of Christmas, the unfulfilled hopes and expectations of Christmas, the stress and busyness of Christmas, the commercialism and shopping of Christmas, the pain and suffering of Christmas. 

To prepare properly for Christmas is to be honestly aware of what you want rescued from in your life.  For Christmas to be a proper preparation for our anticipation of Christ's return, we must be clear on why we yearn for Christ to come back now and not later. 

The people of Israel had word that was both a cry of suffering and a cry of hope: Hosanna! Lord save us! It's a word you pray, it can be a word you shout, it was a word on Israel's lips and hearts as they labored and lived under the oppressive cruelty of the empires - Rome, Greece, Persia, Babylon, Assyria. 

The early Christians had a word for that pain and yearning: Maranatha. Come Lord! It's the perfect word for Christians at Christmas. Depending on how you see and say the word, you can say it Marana tha: Come Lord Jesus! Or you can say it Mara natha: Our Lord has come! The first Christians looked back to Christmas and declared: Mara anther: Our Lord has come! And then they would look ahead and declare: Marana tha: Come Lord Jesus. 

For you, when you begin to feel like Christ is no where, you can cry out like Israel, Hosanna, Lord save me! You can cry out like the early Christians, Marana tha: Come Lord Jesus! And when you have been reminded that Christ is now here, you can declare with faith, hope and love: Mara anatha: Our Lord has come! 

And this begins to get at the heart of what it means for Jesus to be king of your Christmas. It means understanding his story and the story of Israel so that you can grasp the first story of Christmas. By delving into this original story of Christmas, you begin to remember what Christmas is all about, and thus you can prepare and anticipate properly. Christmas is not about celebrating a day, but an event.

But more then that, it's celebrating and remembering the one who caused the event, and the one about whom the event is about: the God of Israel who becomes King through Jesus. Christmas is the beginning of the reign of God through Jesus in the world. That's what we are celebrating: the genesis of the kingdom of God where Jesus becomes Lord and Christ and establishes the church through whom he will be present in the world. 

No wonder we need words like Hosanna and Maranatha at Christmas. 

If God became present in the world through Jesus, and now God and Jesus are present in the world through the Spirit, and if God, Jesus and the Spirit are present in the world through the Church, which is the body of Christ, no wonder we despair and feel like Christ is no where. It's easy to see how the church has failed God and humanity and us in so many ways. But we must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against dark powers and evil forces throughout the heavens and the earth.

The church is the one people on earth where God chooses to dwell by the Spirit of Christ to demonstrate his redeeming love. God's design for the church is that they be a people on earth through whom he can bless all the peoples of the earth.

The church is to be a light to the world of what the kingdom of God can look like - a community where righteous justice prevails alongside humble mercy.

The church is the one people on earth that calls on Christ as their Lord, learning to be led by him, learning to serve him, and be his servants of blessing and rescue from evil.

When the church fails, we cry out Hosanna,  and when the the church gets it right, we can cry out Maranatha!

When we lose our way, we can look back to Christmas and remember where our story begins, but then we can also look ahead and remember where our story goes: just as God come once through Jesus to renew the kingdom of God through the church, so God will come again with Jesus to fully establish the kingdom of God on earth, and finally justice and peace will kiss. 

Give More Than We Can Spare: Fourth Friday of Advent

Charity - giving to the poor - is an essential part of Christian morality.... I do not believe on can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p86

It's interesting to note that in American culture, the more money you earn, the smaller percentage you give to charity. Basically, the working middle class is more generous with their money then the rich. The rich might give more money to charity, but it's a fraction of a percentage of their wealth.

The average American gives about 2% of their wealth away to charity. If you are a regular church-goer, the average goes up to almost 3%, and if you are not a church goer, it drops to under 2%. Then there are those Christians who tithe, who give ten percent of their income (before taxes) to their church and charity. Some Christians increase their tithe by one percent a year.

This means that a struggling working class family of four or five that makes about thirty-thousand a year might give away about a thousand dollars during the year to their church or charity. An ambitious middle class couple making a combined ninety-thousand a year might give a little over a thousand in a year, maybe closer to two. This trend results in the poor being generous to one another, and the well-off being generous to themselves.

Christmastime has traditionally been a time when the wealthy are extra-generous to the poor in their communities. With the festivities and feasts, it was an important time for the rich to give away food and money and gifts to those that earned little for their labor. Christmastime brought the rich and poor together in a special way, especially for Christians.

For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

At Christmas time we remember how the great God of the Universe, out of tremendously generous love, became one of us, gave himself to us. God's sacrificial giving to us is a model for how we ought to give sacrificially to those in need around us. Closing our eyes to those in need will not be acceptable to God. Clucking our tongue at our perceived laziness of the poor will not be acceptable to our Lord. We give, not in judgment, but in joy; out of obedience, not observing who is worthy.

It's been said that about two to five percent of Christians tithe. It's been observed that if every Christian in America tithed, we'd have enough money to end global poverty in a year. Every child could have clean water and a good education. Every family in the world could have a roof over their head and enough food in their belly. Charity from Christians could change the world. 


Charity is an important part of Christian morality. 

Bring Religion Into Everything: Fourth Thursday of Advent

Just a hurried line...to tell a story which puts the contrast between our feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly "Xmas" racket at its lowest. My brother heard a woman on a bus say, as the bus passed a church with a Crib outside it, "Oh Lor'! They bring religion into everything. Look - they're dragging it even into Christmas now!"
~ C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, Dec. 29, 1958, p80

It's hard to imagine how this British woman could have gone her whole adult life without seeing a Crib in front of a church. What kind of world did she grow up in that had sheltered her from the religious heart of Christmas? Her response is very illuminating: it assumes that Christmas is an obviously secular event, and that the church's involvement in it is a disturbing development.

What is the problem with bringing religion into everything? What's behind this woman's comment? Maybe it's because the church enters into an issue with too much authoritarianism and not enough servanthood? Maybe the church has developed an attitude of superiority instead of an attitude of helpfulness? Maybe the church has developed a reputation for being irrelevant instead of a reputation of healing?

By bringing religion into everything, we're not talking about lots of traditional rules and legalistic proclamations. What we're really talking about is bringing God into everything. But even then, it's with an attitude of joy and hopefulness, not judgment and condemnation.

When we bring God into everything, we raise both our expectations for what is possible, as well as bring expectations of how our lives can be ordered and expressed. God gives good gifts generously, but he is also at work to form our character and shape our ethics towards goodness and love and truth. True religion focuses on caring for widows and orphans, as well as living unpolluted in the world.

This Christmas, bring as much of God into it as you can. Not in a preachy, protesting kind of way. Rather, let everything you do be done to the glory of God. Everything you say, everything you think, everything you decide, everything you buy, everything you watch, everything you serve, everything you participate in can be done to the glory of God.

God's already present. God's already giving good gifts. God's already loving you with a tremendously generous big heart. God's always at work in your world. God knows you. God loves you. God wants the best for you. And God does everything His way.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1Corinthians 10v31 (NIV)

If Christians are going to insist on keeping Christ in Christmas, on making the holiday a true "holy day", on bringing religion into the celebrations, it ought to be done in joy, not judgment. By remembering Saint Nicholas, we are bringing religion into the character of Santa Claus. By remembering the Magi, we are bringing religion into the tradition of gift giving. By remembering the Nativity story, we are bringing religion into the family event of putting a star on top of the Christmas tree.

Bring true religion into everything. Bring a generous God into everything. Bring love into everything. Bring truth into everything. Bring thankfulness into everything. Bring joy into everything. Bring holiness into the holidays. Bring Christ into Christmas.

Campaign of Sabotage: Fourth Wednesday of Advent

Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed...and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p46

Christmas is an attempt at sabotage? We get so up in arms over keeping Christ in Christmas that we miss the real intent of the event. The distraction disables us from engaging the real objective of Christmas: a king entered the realm and initiated a campaign of recovery.

The story of Christmas is the tale of the coming of a king. As outlandish or mythic as it may seem, that is the origins. Advent means coming: we believe that in Christmas the rightful king of the land re-entered his realm to take it back from those that were wreaking havoc. The sabotage campaign resulted in a recruitment operation: setting up a subversive organization that would undermine the work of those that exploit and enslave.

The Church is a rebel organization! Makes you laugh - a pretty incredulous statement, isn't it? But the head of the church, who happens to be the king of the world, initiated a campaign of sabotage. The Gospel is a subversive message rooted in switching of allegiances, freedom from oppression, power to love, and relentless insistence on the truth. God is in the work of destroying the works of the evil ones who spread darkness and death. We are to rebel against the devil and his minions in the finance industry, the prison-industrial complex, the military-industrial complex, the agribusiness monopolies, and so on.

The messages you hear on a Sunday ought to be potentially explosive pieces of truth. When the Gospel is proclaimed, when the teachings of Jesus are unpacked, when the truth of Scripture is unveiled, it ought to provoke in you a spirit of rebellion. It ought to spark a movement to take up arms against our oppressors. The revolution that was sparked at Christmas ought to result in a movement against the prevailing powers of our day.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Ephesians 6v10-11 (NIV)

There is no room for violence in the campaign of sabotage. Our weapons are truth and grace, spoken and lived with conviction and clarity. We subvert the powers that be through our obstinate refusal to deny Jesus as our King, through our work to answer the prayers of the poor, through our enduring effort to forgive those that sin against us.

We undermine the power of sin in others when we help them figure out how to receive forgiveness of their sins through the work of Jesus; and in this we help them figure out how to forgive those that sin against them.

Be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty sabotaging power.
Merry Christmas!

Very Many Thanks: Fourth Tuesday of Advent

Once more, very many thanks to all your great goodness to me and mine: and with all best wishes for a happy Christmas.
~ C.S. Lewis, from Letter to Dr. Warfield Firor, Nov. 6, 1948, Lewis' Collected Letters, II, p889

When was the last time you wrote a note to someone thanking them for their life? Who are some of the people over the years who have made a difference in you? Even though you've thanked them in the past, maybe it'd be worth it to write another letter during this Advent season expressing your gratitude. Everyone benefits from remembering good deeds in the past, from hearing you say "Thanks!" one more time.

As you recollect the great goodness that has been part of your past - whether in abundance or scarcity - what role do you think God had in those gifts? Christians over the generations have believed that everything good comes from God. We remember those times when good came our way unexpected, undeserved, unannounced, at just the right time, in just the right way. Sometimes we start taking for granted the good gifts God give us. They start adding up, all these little gifts that make a big difference, and we forget to direct our gratitude to God and the givers he gives through.

This Christmas - whether it's full of stress and hardship, or whether it is chock full of health and wholeness - make a point to remember and write out your thankfulness. Get specific on the great goodness that has come your way from God through others. You probably need the reminders. They probably need the reminders. God would enjoy the reminders. Your church would benefit from you and them and God getting the reminders. Your friends would benefit from a more thankful you! :)

You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
Psalm 118v28 (NIV)

Peace on Earth: Fourth Monday of Advent

There! They're at it again. "'Ark, the errol hygel sings".... Boxing Day [December 26] is only two and a half weeks [away]; then perhaps we shall have a little quiet in which to remember the birth of Christ.
~ C.S. Lewis, "Delinquints in the Snow," God in the Dock, p310

It seems that Lewis was annoyed by a caroler with a thick Cockney accent. Even the best of intention can grate on someone's nerves during the holidays. With a couple more weeks of carolers, it seems that Lewis will have to put with the Welsh singers, at least until after Boxing Day. Here's a great description of what Boxing Day is all about - this comes from the devotional that we have been basing this series on:

The day in which the English give their gifts is Boxing Day, a public holiday that falls on the first weekday after Christmas. In the past, the English exchanged gifts among equals on Christmas Day, and gave gifts to those "socially inferior" on the day after, probably wrapped in boxes; hence, the name "Boxing Day." It is also known in England as St. Stephen's Day, named after the first Christian martyr. (pg25)

For us, many of the celebrations that have been tagged onto the Christmas season have the good intention of making the holidays more merry and festive. But they can also make the schedule more busy, the noise more annoying, and the peace and quiet more elusive. It may be a bit ironic, but the key to a more celebrative Christmas may include less noise and events, not more. I suppose it depends on your schedule and attitude - if you can only observe Christmas with noise and events, then you may be missing the peace that is at the heart of the "holy day."

If you want peace on earth, it won't come to you because all noise and busyness and conflict has been muffled. You must find a way to choose peace in the midst of turmoil and disruption. You must choose a place and a time where you will experience peace. And you must learn to discipline your mind so that you can keep at bay all the frothing emotions that get ramped up with expectations and disappointments. Peace on earth is a gift because it is so rare; but it's a gift that is received through choices we make with the trouble we have.

Jesus was born into turmoil, he grew up in a land rampant with revolutionary ideals and violent suppressions. He walked the land as a rabbi, fostering accusations of blasphemy, sedition, and whoremongering. Amidst all the hubbub, the crowds, the expectations, and the family disappointments, Jesus made a point to make peace on earth. He didn't have peace in his heart because he had no problems to contend with, but rather because he focused his energies on his Father. We have the same Father in Heaven who is present with us and always ready to help us experience peace amidst conflict.

This Christmas may be conflict-free for you. No problems for you. But you have friends and family who have their share of burdens, and they need you to help carry them. With your situation, your strengths, you have the opportunity to help them find peace on earth. And if you are the one in the midst of hardships, in the midst of craving peace on earth, pray that God would send you friends to help. And if he has sent those friends, let them help. And if they are helping, continue to be thankful for the answered prayers of peace.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given....
And he will be called...Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9v6 (NIV)

Peace is a difficult choice, but it is the better one. The Same Spirit of Christ that brought peace on earth all those years ago, it's the Same Spirit open to you today. May the peace of Christ be confidently chosen by you.

Christ above you,
Christ below you,
Christ before you,
Christ behind you,
Christ around you,
Christ within you.

Jesus Saves: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Most of my books are evangelistic, addressed to [those outside the faith].
~ C.S. Lewis, from "Rejoinder to Dr. Pittenger," God in the Dock, p181

The world is grateful for the writings of C.S. Lewis. His novels, his writings on the Christian faith, his memoirs of falling in love, of marriage, and of grief over the death of his beloved wife - these all are a true gift to humanity. For Lewis, he intended for his words to point to the Good News of Jesus.

He believed that through Jesus we could receive forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness from God was a crucial gift - it both inspired us and enabled us to forgive those who sin against us. Lewis wrote that we might better grasp the good news of the life and teachings of Jesus for our modern life. We are a better world for it.

Lewis wrote about much more than the role of forgiveness in our world and with God. But his focus on Jesus as Savior of the world is a pertinent one for our Advent series. Jesus' name means: God saves. God saves us from our own sins, from the sins of others, from the sins of the world.

God saves us to Himself, to a new kind of relationship with Himself, a restored relationship with others, a renewed relationship with the world. That's what we believe when we remember that Jesus saves - it's from sin and all that it entails, and it's to God and all that it entails.

Most people don't believe in Jesus. This is why Lewis felt compelled to make so many of his writings evangelistic. The word evangelistic means: Good News - the good news about the work of God in the world through Jesus to save us from our sins and to a new relationship with God and each other and the world. Most people don't actively reject believing in Jesus, its more of a passive rejection. And it usually stems from to many of the Christians that they know who don't ever really ever say or do anything that flows out of this Good News.

This Christmas, as you consider the year you're wrapping up, and as you consider the year ahead, consider the ways Jesus could be a gift to you. Do you need help in forgiving those who have sinned against you? Do you hang on to the bitterness, the wounds, the fear that comes from being abused, neglected, and sinned against? May this Christmas present you with a new opportunity: to have your sins forgiven in a new way. Not only have your own sins forgiven, but to give you the courage and strength to forgive those who have sinned against you.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...
And he will be called Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

The Good News includes the gift of freedom: freedom to let go of the past, freedom to embrace a new future with a God who cares deeply about you and wants to use you to bless the world, in the name of Jesus.

Any Point In Going On?: Third Saturday of Advent

[The Queen of Narnia] "isn't a real queen at all," answered Lucy. "She is a horrible White Witch.... She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas."
"I wonder if there's any point in going on," said Susan.... "What about just going home?"
~ C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, p56

With some scenarios in your life, it can be too easy to succumb to the temptation of giving up. Why go on when the odds seem stacked against you? Is there any point in going on when the trouble ahead seems so terribly overwhelming? Sometimes you may feel like Susan when observing the plight of others - their problems leave you feeling like there is no hope for them.

Narnia they had been accursed for a hundred years by the White Witch. Everyone new that when Aslan returned, the country would be free from her oppression. But when would Aslan return? His decades of absence resulted in a land where it was always winter and never Christmas. All that the Fauns and Foxes, Beavers and Birds had to go on was that someday Aslan would set things right. And when Lucy showed up, that was the clue that Aslan was on the move.

Do you ever think of yourself as a Lucy? She was a daughter of Eve, and according to the prophecy, when someone like her showed up, the promise was about to be fulfilled. Lucy and her siblings were an answer to prayer. How would you like to be an answer to prayer? Are you a son of Adam? Are you a daughter of Eve? Do you know anyone with whom their soul is "always winter here and never Christmas?"

People believe that God is love, that God is everywhere, that God can do anything, that God knows what is going on within everybody's life, everybody's home, everybody's heart. But if that is the case, why does it seem like it is "always winter here and never Christmas" for so many people? Why does God not seem to answer prayers? Why does God seem far away, absent, not listening, indifferent? Maybe one reason is because the Lucy and Susan's, the Peter and Edmund's don't fully understand what is possible when they show up?

God is always on the move, his Spirit is always at work in the world. The Same Spirit that was on Jesus is the Same Spirit unleashed into the world through the Church. When members of the Church, when Christians, when followers of Jesus love their neighbor, prayers get answered. When the Church listens, when Christians care, when followers of Jesus get involved, God seems near. And when the Church gets self-absorbed, afraid, and mean - well the curse gets stronger on everyone. The grip of Winter only feels tighter.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise.... He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2Peter 3v9 (NIV)

Why hasn't God returned yet? Why does Jesus delay? When will we hear rumors that "Aslan is on the move!" We don't know. But what will we do in the meantime? We know that one of the best definitions of love is: patience. The second is: kindness. While we wait, we love. While we wait with others, we serve. When we hear prayers, we act. When we come across those in whom their hearts and homes it is "always winter here and never Christmas" we get involved in the story.

We may be tempted to walk away, to ask if there is any point in going on. But then we remember, Christmas has come once, and we walk on and into the story. If Christmas has come once, it will come again. Christ came once as an infant King to provide forgiveness of sins for anyone in the world who was convicted of their wickedness and willing to come to repentance. This kind of involvement set in motion a new kind of story, a new kind of opportunity for families and communities.

Someday Christ will come again, this time as a powerful King who will judge the wicked and restore the broken, to set everything right. Someday our winters will end. Someday we will never wonder whether there is any point in going on.

And so we wait. And love.