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"INSIDE THESE DOORS"
Advent 2B
December 7, 2008
Mark
1: 1-8
In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Preparation. It is a regular part of our lives.
Certainly Mother Theresa was one of the greatest, and most humble, spiritual leaders of our time. A number of years ago, Mother Theresa was to open a mission in New York City. A building was chosen and the diocese had it renovated. They had it spruced up with a fresh coat of paint. They put in new carpeting. They put in a large hot water heater for the nuns. On the day the bishop drove up to visit Mother Theresa and the newly arrived nuns, he was greeted by an amazing pile on the curb. They had torn out the new carpet and the hot water heaters, and asked that it be given to someone else. Mother Theresa thanked the bishop, but said if they were to serve the poor in the richest city in the richest country in the world, then they must live simply. They prepared for their work among the poor by simplifying their own lives. Their spiritual grounding depended upon their own simplicity of life. Isaiah’s message, John the Baptist’s message, the Advent message is: “Prepare.” But it’s not helpful just to be told to prepare. It’s hard to know what proper preparation for the Lord looks like until we see the lives of believers such as John the Baptist and Mother Theresa. They prepared themselves with simplicity. Any place and any time that you and I simplify our lives, get rid of the clutter – both materially and spiritually -- we clear away room for God to move in our lives, and in us. We create a quieter place for God to speak to us. Outside the church doors, it’s Christmas. Inside these doors, it’s Advent. Our culture doesn’t observe Advent. Neither does it observe Lent. The Christian church is the only place that observes these seasons of preparation, reflection, and renewal. The Christian church is the only place that takes John the Baptist’s words, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” to heart. Just as the bright lights of a city make it almost impossible to see the stars in the sky; just as all the unrestrained glitz and commercialism of our culture obscures the humble, hushed birth of the Christ child, we inside these doors practice the uncommon virtue of restraint and simplicity. We use a simple Advent wreath to help us mark the passing of time while we wait, to symbolize the coming of the light of Christ into the dark world, as each week we light one more candle. We decorate with natural trees and greens and simple white lights, and how beautiful it is in its simplicity! It is interesting to me that we often criticize the younger generations for their expectations of what we have come to call “instant gratification.” We give them little parental sermons on the virtues of waiting, the added fun of eagerly anticipating something wonderful. We have special gift tags which order: Do not open ‘til Christmas! Why not? Because it isn’t Christmas until Christmas! Waiting isn’t hard just for children. It’s hard for adults, too. Watch grown-up, otherwise mature people waiting in a long checkout line at the grocery store, or at the post office, or driving around looking for a parking space and making a mad dash for one if they see one, or weaving erratically in and out of slow-moving traffic. Read about Israel’s impatient waiting for the promised Messiah, how often they became distracted by the values and “gods” of their world, and drifted away from God…which was precisely the point of John the Baptist’s preaching. We could paraphrase this morning’s text: The promised Messiah is
coming! You think I’m something? The One who is coming after me is more
powerful than I. I ‘m not even worthy to stoop down and untie his
sandals! But we aren’t ready! We’re so distracted and preoccupied with
other things, so caught up in ourselves – repent! Turn around toward
the Lord who longs to forgive you. Your repentance and God’s
forgiveness will make the path straight between God and you. And the
Messiah will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, the very breath of God.
Two simple exhortations: * Repent - clear the decks, get rid of the mental and physical clutter, reorder their lives so that nothing would get in the way of the Lord's coming. It may be Christmas outside these doors, but only the church inside these doors, observing Advent, keeps calling us back to God, to selflessness and love, through God’s Word and Sacraments. Like Israel, countless times we forsake Christ’s way; countless times we disappoint, deceive, deny Him. The first step is simply honesty: we sin, we fall short of the glory of God, we wander, we lie, we don’t know how to save ourselves by ourselves. This is repentance, the simple admission that in our sin, we need to be forgiven. * Forgiveness. Neither a holly, jolly Christmas, nor a cost-cutter-slashed-prices- Christmas-is-affordable-at-(name your favorite box store) can assure you of what is eagerly proclaimed inside these doors: the forgiveness of your sins, and the promise of eternal life with Jesus. Only the Christian church proclaims God’s absolute delight in forgiving you. As one parishioner once told me, “I love both the traditional and the new liturgies. Whatever ones we use, don’t ever leave out the words where I am told, “Your sins are forgiven.” No matter how many other gifts we receive, no matter how sentimental the story of the baby Jesus asleep on the hay, without this gift, none of it would even matter; we would have no reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus; we would still be left with doubt and fear (which are the larger, prevailing messages outside these doors). Finally, inside these doors there are people who, when I am around them, make me a better person. Some people lift you up and inspire you. Others appeal to your darker, negative side and encourage you to be less. How many times have I walked into a room full of people and someone says, “Hey! Guys! Clean up your language! The pastor is here!” One of those truthful nuggets cloaked in humor: we often need a sacred reminder, that John the Baptist-like voice from someone to call us to step out of the mainstream, to live above the norm of mediocrity, to make a straight path for the Lord. For people of faith, this holy season of Advent is that sacred reminder. The church, inside these walls in Advent, is the one place we can come which will slow us down, calm us down. While outside these doors we are busy decorating the stores with our credit cards, the airwaves with “Ho, ho, ho!,” and our waistlines with those delicious Christmas sweets and goodies -- inside these doors you will find sanctuary, rest for your weary souls, silence for forming your heart-felt prayers, and peace for hearing Jesus tell you it was for you he came, for you he died, for you he rose again. Advent helps people of faith focus on preparing the way for Jesus to come into the world today – through you. These doors are open to you every day, and many evenings. Listen. Do you hear what I hear? Do you hear the silence of holy anticipation? Can you feel the peace of faithful hearts, preparing for the coming of the Savior? Amen. Rev. Joan Gunderman, Senior Pastor
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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