Comfort for the Unprepared

WELCOME

Pastor Chris Paavola:

Good morning. My name is Chris Paavola. I am the senior pastor here at St. Mark. It’s great to be with you guys. We are in the middle of a series called Comfort Joy, this December, comfort and Joy, so you can experience just that As we draw closer and closer to Christmas, because it’s coming, it’s actually getting, as of right now, it’s 17 days and 14 hours until 11:59 on Christmas Eve. So, as we say in my house, 16 sleeps to get everything done before Christmas and there’s a lot to get done when I just think about Christmas is coming immediately, that just brings this flood of everything that we haven’t done yet. And so, let’s kind get a temperature of the room and see how prepared we are. We got a simple question here.  With Christmas coming soon, what do you still need to do? Turn to the person next to you and answer that question real quick. With Christmas coming soon, what do you still need to do? Go.

Oh, okay. Now that’s easy. All right, now give the other person a chance to talk. Give the other person a chance to talk. Okay? How many of you guys, I was just talking to some folks this morning so you’re not alone. How many of you guys don’t even have a tree up yet? Okay. Okay, so you’re not alone. Look around you. There’re other people. You can have a support group afterwards. We really should get it up though. Let’s see how many of you guys wrapping presents doesn’t count. By the way. We do that on Christmas Eve. That doesn’t even count to the mother. Talk to the mothers, Ashley at 2:00 AM on Christmas Eve. Do the thing. How many of you guys have mailed cards yet at all? You people are animals. I don’t even know how that gets done before the 15th of December. The fact that you’ve mailed cards already makes me feel really, really behind.

That does something to us though, right? That question, it’s immediate. I actually think this is the adage that work takes up how much ever-time you give it, right? How much ever-time you give a job to get done, that’s going to take up that much time, right? And I think that’s kind of true for Christmas. I think if Christmas was on December 8th every year, we wouldn’t fill our calendars with pageants and parties and programs. But because it’s on the 25th, we got three and a half weeks and we just pack in thing after thing after thing that kind of adds to it. So, in our defense, but there’s this feeling that we’re not quite there yet, that Christmas, there’s just so much to do, and if we don’t get it done, if we don’t get it done, Christmas is not going to be as special this year and I’m going to ruin it and it’s going to be inferior to Christmases in the past.

UNPREPARED

And if that’s you this morning, first of all, this is honestly good news, but the feeling of not being ready and the feeling of unpreparedness is actually part of the Christmas story and it actually enhances your Christmas celebration. Really. If you don’t feel ready just yet, unpreparedness is part of the Christmas story. And actually, not being ready can bring you comfort and joy if you think about it a little bit differently. And that’s what we’re going to do this morning. So, we actually saw it in that reading that we heard a little bit earlier while the kids were coming in, you guys were distracted. It was a test of the will to try to focus on the words. But in this account, we’re not going to go through the whole reading again because you just heard it. But Mary is this teenage virgin girl living in a forgotten corner of Israel in the forgotten village, in the forgotten corner of the map.

30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son and your are to call him Jesus.”

Luke 1

And we would have no recollection of who this girl is at all unless this remarkable account happens and her life is transformed when heaven visits her. And when the angel Gabriel comes to her, actually the word angel means messenger. That’s what Gabriel is. He’s a messenger. And when the messenger comes with this message, and Luke one, we hear that the angel said to her, “do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God and you will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus.” And the reason I highlight that word will is because we kind of miss it in the reading. But in this exchange that Mary has with Gabriel, the word will, depending on the translation you used, he’s used about 12 times as in this is going to happen. You will give birth to a son, the Holy Spirit will overshadow you and he will rule with justice and rule the nation.

And this will happen, Mary. And there’s this idea that this is like it’s going to happen. It’s a promise not God is here and you’ve missed him, not God came and you missed him. No, God is coming. There’s still time. Get ready. That’s the message. God is coming. There is still time. Get ready. And honestly, that brings her hope. So, she’s sitting there and he’s saying, you’ve got things you need to do, Mary, before the baby bump shows up, you can get the house ready, buy the curtains for the baby room. You can talk to Joseph about. You can have a couple conversations with Joseph about how this is going to happen. He needs to sit down for this one. There’s some time you’ve still got time. You can make arrangements to go live with your cousin Elizabeth so that you weren’t stoned in the village for adultery. There’s still time. Get ready now. Prepare now. God is coming. There’s still time. Get ready. And that brings her comfort. So, the comfort in the season is simple, the comfort for the unprepared. There’s still time. There’s still time.

PREPARE

And this is how we can take this and translate it to our feeling of unpreparedness. This is part of the Christmas story and this is why the church, church historically for thousands of years has used this season of advent, this arrival season, the month of December has used this month to prepare themselves not only to celebrate the birth of Christ, but to celebrate the return of Christ. Not just to remember his first coming, but to prepare themselves for his second coming. And this is a central, central idea to the early church. Honestly, the first followers of Jesus we’re so consumed with this thought that he’s coming at any moment and we’ve kind of pushed it to the edges and margins of our faith life, but it is central. This belief. Jesus taught extensively about his return, four of his parables, detail his return and describe it in detail.

23 of the 27 books of the New Testament have sections that speak in depth about the return of Jesus. And we just talked about it in the series that we did for the election where in that series we talked about the focus of Christ’s return and how that changes, it changes the way we think about things. And this is why, I mean in the last letter of the New Testament, Jesus says, behold, I’m coming soon. I am coming. Soon I bring with me reward. I will repay for everyone what they have done. It is just the central tenant. But this is why the church focuses on texts that talk about preparation, not just for celebrating the birth, but for celebrating his return. And this is why we do readings during the season of Advent and epiphany. Why we do readings from people like John the Baptist.

 “ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

             make straight paths for him.’”

 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Matthew 3

We just think what the verses that we read are the ones that we get on the Christmas cards or the ones that Linus says on the stage in the Christmas play. But there’s more Christmas readings that have historically been done like this reading from Matthew. He’s describing John the Baptist and look what he says. While they were living in Nazareth, John the Baptist began preaching out in the Judean wilderness. His constant theme was turn from your sins and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is coming soon it’s coming. Attraction. Isaiah the prophet had told about John’s ministry centuries before he had written, I hear a shout from the wilderness, prepare a road for the Lord, straighten out the path where he will walk. And John’s clothing was woven from camel’s hair and he wore leather belts. His food was locusts and wild honey and people from Jerusalem and from all over the Jordan Valley. And in fact, every section of Judea went out to the wilderness to hear him preach. And when they confess their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

And it’s the same message you guys, the same message that Gabriel gave to Mary is the same message that John is giving to the crowds and the Judean wilderness. God is coming. There’s still time. Get ready. God is coming. There’s still time. Get ready. And I stand in a long line of messengers. I’m not an angel wearing a halo. I’m not a baptizer wearing a camel loincloth, thank goodness. But I am a pastor, another messenger. I don’t make the news. I just report it. God is coming. There is still time. So get ready, amen. On Wednesday we had the storm was coming and we have a driveway that is like this. And so actually a year ago we parked on it one time during a storm or in snow and ice and stuff. And at midnight I got a knock on the door and it was the police thing.

Our cars had slid into the street. And I was like, oh, okay. And so assault is non-negotiable. And then now we put logs behind the wheels and stuff like that, right? It is non-negotiable. So Wednesday I was like, oh no, we don’t have any salt. And I’m driving up and I had a narrow window. I had a lot of stuff to do on Wednesday or no on Tuesday. And I was like, oh, crap. So, I drove to the gas station here and they were out of salt, right? They were picked clean and then went to the other gas station, whatever. This one right over here in capital is, they were picked clean. I’m like, oh, I should have gone to Lowe’s. And I just went home. And then I realized I was also at the gas station to get gas for the generator in case we lost power.

And I’m like, oh my goodness. And it was just this feeling of not being prepared. And this storm is coming and every time the wind blew, I’m looking out the window like, oh, please don’t lose because we had no gas for the generation. And it is just this feeling of not being prepared, not being ready. And that’s what we don’t want to feel like with Christ’s return. We asked this question during the election series. I said, if Jesus was coming tomorrow, what would you do today? And nobody said anything about their 401k. Nobody said anything about fixing the cupboards that they hate in their kitchen. It was all about making ourselves right with others, right with God. That was what our answers. And so, we started today’s service by saying, with Christmas coming soon, what do you still need to do? Well, let’s flip the question then. With Christ coming soon, what do you still need to do?

FLIPPING THE QUESTION

Maybe there’s an estranged loved one that there is a grudge that you don’t want to hold onto when the judge appears and you need to call him up and reconcile or at least apologize. Maybe there’s some sin that’s got your way down or some habit or addiction that you can’t break and it’s just time. You want to be ready for him. Maybe it’s inviting others. There’s this thought, if he’s coming tomorrow, I want as many as people as possible to be a part of this. I’m going to go and we’ve got a card in your bulletin to invite others. It’s not. I mean, you know where we are on Christmas Eve, you’re here. Hopefully we’ll see you again on Christmas Eve, but that’s for the people in your life who aren’t here yet. We’d love for you to invite them, not for us, but for them. This is what we want for them to experience the hope of Jesus. And maybe, okay, you’re like, well, I don’t have any non-Christian friends. I can invite or all my friends go to a church if that’s true, which I highly suspect.

Your waiter, your barber, your mechanic, your plumber. Give him a card. Don’t let another Christmas shame on us if another Christmas passes and we don’t say to somebody, come let us adore him. What do you need to do? Or maybe, maybe today is the day you need to ask us about baptism, right? How were the people with John the Baptist? How did they get ready for the coming of the Lord? They went and got baptized for baptism, repentance in the desert. Maybe it’s your turn like the Horton. By the way, how awesome. Can we just congratulate Sage and Tate and Shannon for their baptism today again, that is awesome you guys. We’ve had seven baptisms in the month of December. What is God doing that is so awesome? God is on the move at St. Mark. We thank God, but maybe it’s your turn to just come and receive all of his promises in these waters. You can go to our website, scroll to the bottom, click the button, it says baptism request, and we’ll schedule it. It’s that easy. It couldn’t be easier, but it’s another way that you can be ready for his return.

So, with Christ coming soon, what do you still need to do? It’s a penetrating question. And actually one of the things that I think is really interesting when you start thinking about his return and Christmas, Christmas serves as the backdrop for his second coming. It’s almost like Christmas is the antithesis of what it’s going to be like. It stands in contrast. It’s like a black curtain. And everything that is about to happen is just this brilliant blinding light, amazing return. Because think about it. When Christ first came, it was a silent night away in a manger in a little town of Bethlehem.

But when Christ returns, trumpets will sound and every eye will see him. That’s what scripture says. When Christ first came, there was one star that heralded his birth. But when he returns, the heavens will be rolled back. Like a scroll is what scripture says. I, when Christ first came, he welcomed all who would adore him and worship at his cradle. But when Christ returns, he sends away all who rejected him. When Christ first came him, only the poorest of the poor went to see him. But when Christ returns, scripture says, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess and the kings of the earth will throw down their crowns before him.

It’s remarkable. And that day can bring such great comfort and joy for us because today we understand God is coming soon, but there’s still time. Get ready. And that’s how you can have comfort and joy, even with all the feeling of unpreparedness that we have this morning. That’s how you can have comfort right now. I mean because after all, the comfort for the unprepared, is there still time I lemme pray for us. Heavenly Father, we acknowledge and confess that we are so distracted that in this, that we just don’t think about your return. We don’t. And it’s not a regular thought for us. And we thank you for the Christmas season that brings it to mind yet again. And help us to live like a people who are getting ready for your arrival. And when you come, God help us to be ready.

PRAYER

So, I pray for each person in this room, what does that mean with Christ coming soon? What does it mean for each of us to get ready? Would you impress it upon our hearts right now? Like joy to the world says that every heart prepare and we pray now the prayer your son taught us to pray, saying together, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. And in just a moment, we’re going to collect our offering. This is a chance for you guys to turn in your prayer request cards and your new hear cards and all that stuff as well as your regular offering.

Every time we take an offering or collect an offering, we don’t want to just be rote about it. We want to kind of put it in perspective. And today, actually it’s really interesting and we should probably give full just a full reflection on John the Baptist because it’s not just like he said, prepare the way. In Luke’s biography of Jesus, he goes into a deeper account of some of the conversations that people have with John the Baptist. And I think it’s so fitting for our offering. Take a look at this. What should we do then? So, the crowd asks, this is them saying, how do we get ready? How can we prepare? The king is coming, okay, we got it. What should we do then? And John answered, anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none. Anyone with food should do the same.

Even tax collectors came to be baptized teacher. They asked, what should we do? Don’t collect more than you’re required, he said. And then some soldiers asked him, what are we going to do? And he replied, don’t exhort money and don’t accuse people falsely. Be content with your wages. I think it’s so interesting that in all three responses with the crowd, the tax collectors and the soldiers, all three responses have to do with generosity. Isn’t that interesting? All of it has to do with sharing and giving our money and being generous. And when we collect our offering, few things, we will pry the fingers of greed off of your heart like giving. And today, just as we talk about preparing ourselves because the king is coming, just let that heart be in you as you give today that you are giving and your act of giving is preparing you for the king’s coming just like John the Baptist Exhorted. So, volunteers, will we please come forward as we collect our offering.