Do you know anyone who is really smart? Not many people are all three... And WHERE did they LEARN - - what they know?

Transcription

1 1 Making a Way Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6 Sunday Dec 9, 2018 Rev. David Hutchinson Where do we learn what we really need to know? Do you know anyone who is really smart? How about really wise? How about street smart? Not many people are all three... And WHERE did they LEARN - - what they know? Do you think any really smart or wise person - - learned it in church? Or from the TV or the internet? My brother in law spent a day watching YouTube videos about how to carve a turkey. He did a pretty good job on Thanksgiving! And he learned all he needed to know on YouTube! AND - - he still asked Nancy for her advice!! Because - - there s something about talking to a person you trust. Remember that classic - - Peanuts Christmas special - - made for TV - - with Charlie Brown? / Lots of people try to watch it every year. / And I believe the BEST part is Linus reading from the Bible. / Anyone know what I m talking about? Charlie Brown brings back a scrawny little Christmas tree. / It only comes to life when the kids LOVE it. / Otherwise it seemed at first like a mistake But before all that - - Linus reads from the Bible - - Luke chapter as the lights dim. The REAL meaning of Christmas!

2 2 All we need to know about Christmas - - on an OLD - - TV special! A place we might NOT have thought of looking. John the Baptist tells us to straighten up - - at the beginning of the Gospel. It s just AFTER the story of the BIRTH of Jesus. / According to John the Baptist - - the WAY to PREPARE for the coming of Jesus - - is to straighten up. According to the Bible - - John thinks this is what we REALLY need to know. And John the son of Zechariah and Elisabeth - - might NOT seem like the most OBVIOUS place - - to learn what we really need to know about Christmas. After all - - Jesus has already BEEN born - - in chapter before this. But before Jesus ministry can really begin - - here is John telling us to straighten up. John tells us to PREPARE - - for Jesus. But WHAT really - - are we preparing for? Just - - Jesus birthday - - his birth into the world? / But he s already IN the world - - at this point in the gospel. So is it - - His second coming into the world? Something else? The timeline seems a bit off. So to get a handle on all this - - think about what Jesus did. Jesus was born into a stable - - surrounded by shepherds - - according to Luke. Jesus and his parents are the OPPOSITE of - - PREPARED! They are not tidy - - not stylish - - not rich. Maybe one way to prepare - - is to pay attention to the people who are similar? So how do we - - pay attention - - to the poor - - and the unprepared - - and the humble?

3 3 Well - - Zechariah - - the father of John gives us a clue. Zechariah points us to the prophet Malachi. Like John pointed us to the prophet Isaiah. John said that the rough places in the wilderness would be made straight. Quoting Isaiah. Zechariah said the faithful prepare by turning to God - - and the fathers prepare by turning their hearts to their children - - and the disobedient prepare by turning their attention to wisdom. / Quoting Malachi. The prophets - - are the place Luke s main characters point us. The prophets are the place we are urged to look. The prophets are the place to learn - - what we REALLY need to know. The prophets are the place to learn - - how to really prepare for Christmas. And SHEPHERDS - - are some of the FIRST people to be told this important news. Maybe it s because shepherds know a little something about - - wilderness. And maybe it s because they also know about - - straightening up. Think about it: shepherds LIVE in the wilderness - - alone with sheep. AND - - sheep - - are ORNERY and get LOST a lot. Real sheep - - don t just FOLLOW - - like the stereotype. Real sheep - - can be mean. Ask a shepherd. Or look at your bulletin cover! The bulletin cover is from a book called: Sheepherders, Men Alone. It describes their experience like this:

4 4 Sheepherders lived alone for six to nine months at a time. / Their only company was sheep dogs and horses. / The experienced nature and solitude. / Once or twice a year they would leave the range and go into town - - and find - - that they could NOT cope with all the people. / The lives and emotions of these men are of men who choose to live - - by themselves. Another book which describes the Sheepherders of the American West points to similar things. / According to that book, the high point of the story of the sheepherders in the West - - begins in about 1850 or 1860 and goes through the 1930s. During this time - - they lived in wilderness of Western North America. A poem by Mary Darby Robinson - - called The Shepherd s Dog captures some of this. A Shepherd s dog there was - - and he - - Was faithful to his master s will For well he loved his company Along the plain or up the hill. The poem describes the solitary existence of the shepherd - - except for his dog. The dog his faithful companion - - helping tend the ornery sheep: Now up the rugged path - - would he The steep hill s summit - - slowly gain And STILL be cheerful company - - though shivering in the pelting rain. AND - - when the pale moon-beams scarcely shed a ray The shepherd s faithful dog - - would mark - - the dangerous way. So - - shepherds KNEW - - about the wilderness - - and its dangers. Maybe a little like the rough places - - Luke s gospel describes.

5 5 The wilderness can be a dangerous place. Whether actual - - or metaphorical. The wilderness of our hearts and minds and souls - - and our ALONE-NESS. And YET - - finding a WAY to survive in the wilderness might be BETTER than trying to AVOID it. How do we make our way? Well - - at least in part - - according to the text for today - - we try to straighten up. There is a poem by the 13 th century sufi poet RUMI called I Come Before Dawn. It describes - - the RESISTANCE we have - - to being drawn closer to God. I come before dawn - to drag you off! Almost everyone has to be dragged. Only a few come on their own. Children have to be made to go to school at first. Then - - SOME of them - - begin to like it. They RUN to school. They expand with learning. And then - - RUMI S poem gets to the HEART of the matter: Remember the rewards you get for being - - obedient. There are two types - - ON THE PATH. Those who come against their will - - like the blindly religious. And THEN there are those - - who obey - - out of LOVE. The FORMER have MOTIVES. The OTHERS - - love the BEAUTY - - of the nurse.

6 6 And - - according to Rumi - - those who obey out of love They disappear - - into whatever draws them - - to God. What a wonderful way to describe - - the GOOD in the wilderness. I think this description is something like what shepherds experienced: They RAN to Jesus birth out of JOY - - JUST AFTER being afraid. Why did they run? I believe the obeyed the angel - - out of love. And MAYBE - - they sensed that Jesus - - understood them. Born as he was - - alone - - among the animals. An essay by a woman named Debie Thomas called When You See These Things invites us to YEARN - - during this advent season. It s one way to describe - - how to make our way - - spiritually. I ll read from it in a moment. But first, consider your own spiritual life What things are you struggling with right now? What is your biggest challenge? Is there some way you need to straighten up? Is there someone ELSE you WISH would straighten up? What is the wilderness for you? And what would it mean - - in your life - - to make a WAY? As you think about that - - here s an invitation from this essay by Ms. Thomas

7 7 The invitation to yearn. / That is - - to NAME our desires - - without shame or reservation. / Advent IS the season - - when LONGING makes sense. / When it s OK to say we are hungry, thirsty, lonely, empty, unfinished, or unhoused. In Advent - - we WANT. We want - - and we want fiercely We sit in darkness - - longing for the light We sit in exile - - longing for home. In Advent - OUR desire for GOD - STRAINS TOWARD - God s desire - - for US! So - - in response to her invitation - - ask yourself - - what do you really WANT? What do you want - - for Christmas - - is not an UNFAITHFUL question. Whatever it is - - remember - - God YEARNS for you! God LONGS for you. Like a shepherd. Making a way - - in the wilderness. Amen.