Monday, November 30, 2015

Advent: Will it be Chaotic or Calm?



            Included in your weekly E-pistle was an article entitled “Seven Reasons to Ban the Lord’s Prayer.”  The title of the article is a little misleading as it was written by a bishop in England who is actually advocating for the public use of the Lord’s Prayer after it was announced that a 60 second commercial that recited the Lord’s Prayer would be banned from movie theater previews because it was thought that the prayer would be offensive to some. 
The article went on to name how counter-cultural the words of the Lord’s Prayer actually are.  Ultimately, the article talked about the seven ways in which our culture has already banned the Lord’s Prayer based on how we live our daily lives.  I’m not going to go in depth this morning but highly recommend the article.  This article was another reminder of just how counter-cultural the gospel of Christ actually is. 
I am especially mindful of the counter-cultural message of the gospel during this time of year as we gear up for Christmas.  The secular world is telling us that we need this and that and everything else to have a Merry Christmas while God is telling us that we already have everything we need and more in Christ.  The secular world is telling our kids that only the richest kids get the biggest and best gifts while God is telling us that he is making his love known most clearly to the poor and lonely and forgotten child.  
If we take seriously the counter-cultural message of the gospel, then we must take seriously the truth that at some point something has got to give.  At some point, the message of the gospel will shatter the false promises of the secular world.  At some point, the message of the gospel will force us to rethink how we have always operated in our daily living.  At some point, the message of the gospel will put us at odds with the ideas and values that our secular world has trained us to believe in.  At the end of the day, the truth of the gospel will collide with the false messages of our culture and create chaos.    
Our gospel lesson for this morning gives us that final and ultimate vision of what will happen when the gospel message and the message of the secular world collide.  Scripture says there will be distress among nations.  A modern day hearer of this scripture might do well to imagine 5 a.m. on Black Friday when the clerk at Belk unlocks the doors.  When this happens, there will be sheer pandemonium—no order, no direction—just complete and utter chaos.

(A fight in a Kentucky mall on Black Friday)

Scripture says this collision will cause people to faint from fear and foreboding.  All this chaos will happen when the Son of Man comes to establish his reign on earth.  Life as we know it will be completely turned upside down when God’s Son comes to rule the world. 
Jesus goes on to say that not only will chaos ensue but everything in this life will pass away—even heaven and earth will pass away.  Then he says, “but my words will never pass away.”  In the end, the only thing left standing is the promise of God’s Word—not our civilization, not our homes, not our communities, not even creation as we know it—only God’s Word will survive. 
Because of the cosmic nature of this lesson, it would be easy to distance ourselves from what is being said here.  Oh well, that isn’t going to happen on my watch!  It would be easy for some to get caught up in reading the signs in the sun and moon and stars.  There are plenty of Christians out there who have made it their life mission to predict the end times based on Jesus’ warnings in scripture. 
But I am not sure there are enough Christians out there who are taking seriously the last part of this passage, the part that says, be on guard, don’t let the anxieties of this life distract you from your true calling, be on guard, don’t let fear and foreboding rule your heart.   
So to help make this passage less cosmic and more personal I want to ask, “What would happen to your world if the Son of Man came to rule in your heart?”  What kind of chaos would ensue in your life if you let Christ direct all your doings?  What kind of things would fly out of your grip if you operated using only the love of Christ?  What kind of panic would ensue in your own world at the prospect of Christ ruling in your heart?
If this sermon was presented as an infomercial for a prescription drug, this would be the point when the fine print and the fast talking would take place.  Warning!  Following Jesus may not be for everyone especially those with serious heart problems. 
If you want to know more about following Jesus, talk to your spiritual director.  Tell your spiritual director about all the false idols you worship including sports, earthly leaders or values, drugs, alcohol, and even family members.    
Serious side effects may include but are not limited to being more interested in the needs of others than the needs of yourself, putting yourself in grave danger, being labeled as crazy by friends and family, and not getting everything you ever wanted in life.  Report any adverse side effects to God on a regular basis. 
Friends, letting the love of Christ rule your heart forces you to name seriously all the false promises and ideas that your heart has grown to follow over the years.  These false promises and ideas can be hard to detect because most of them are socially and culturally acceptable. 
But the good news is God in Christ has come to shatter the illusions we are often too blind to see.  The good news is God in Christ has come to show us a different way to live—a way that doesn’t depend on following false promises, a way that is everlasting, a way that can endure the destruction of life as we know it.   
At first, the shattering of these illusions might be a little startling.  Think about spring cleaning for a minute.  You look around the house and take inventory.  Everything looks decent enough but it could look a little better. 
You start by cleaning the couch.  You pick up on of the cushions and you see some peculiar items.  You pick one up and yell, “Hey, honey what’s this?”  You both take a hard look.  She says, “looks like a yellow crayon.”  You investigate further and discover it is a McDonald's French fry that has been preserved for over a year.      
You notice a dust bunny under your chest of drawers.  So you move it away from the wall.  Your daughter comes running in the room and points at the floor and says, “Mommy, Daddy, what’s thaaat?!”  You both sort of stare at the floor in disgust.  And your daughter blurts out, “It’s a gray blanket!  Let me put it on the bed!” 
The season of Advent is a little like spring cleaning in your spiritual life.  While the season of Advent is advertised as a quiet and peaceful season in the Church year, it starts out with a bang.  So as we begin this season, I want you to think about something St. Augustine said.  He said, our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. 
The season of Advent is first about discovering the restless nature of our heart.  Advent is about noticing the difference between our heart and the heart of Christ.  During the season of Advent, God is opening our eyes to see just how counter-cultural the message of the gospel is.  Advent is a time when we get to do a little spring cleaning. 

And the good news is that Advent prepares our hearts to receive the only gift that can make us truly satisfied in this life and the life to come.  I invite you, therefore, during the season of Advent to make known the counter-cultural message of the gospel so when Christ comes again the world may receive her King.  Amen.    

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