Luke 3:15-16
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit and fire.
Whenever we go home to Kansas my wife and I stay at my parents house and usually my older sister and her family come and join us. She is married and has three children. The oldest, Grace, is 5 years old. When we are in Kansas Grace serves as the activity planner. She is like the event coordinator on a cruise ship. She always has an idea about the next thing we should do.
Last time we were home Grace decided we were going to play a game called, “So You Think You Can Dance.” This game is modeled after the tv show with the same name. If you haven’t seen the show it is similar to other talent shows like American Idol, only with dancing. The contestants come out, there is a host and judges. The judges give critique about the performances and then the audience votes via text messages until a winner is finally decided.
There is one judge that Grace especially loves. This judge has an interesting approach to her job and comes with a ton of energy. When she sees a dancer perform well she responds with her now famous catch phrase, “Your on the HOT TAMALE TRAIN!” Quite frankly, I think she is nuts. I don’t know what the hot tamale train is, what station it leaves from, or what they serve in the dining car; but Grace LOVES the hot tamale train and can think of nothing better than to be on it.
Grace assigned everyone parts in the game and would come out and dance her heart out. And every time she finished she would look to her mother, who was her favorite judge, and be filled with expectation. Because Grace knew that her mother would say, “Grace, you are on the hot tamale train!”
Don’t get me wrong this was really cute, but after about the 20th round of the game the rest of us grew pretty bored with it. A five year old really only has one arm flaying dance. But no matter how bored everyone else was, Grace was still filled with expectation. Every dance she turned to her mother and expected to hear that she was on the hot tamale train. Because of her mother’s love and UNDYING patience Grace was filled with great expectation
This expectation is what the advent season is all about, however, it isn’t the commercialized baby Jesus that we often see. Instead it is Christ’s second coming that we are called to expect at advent. It is the coming Kingdom of God where God comes in final victory and reigns with peace and reconciliation. This far off, glorious kingdom, is what we are to be filled with expectation about.
Advent is about placing us in the story. First, there was a prophecy of a messiah, then Jesus came, died, rose again, and ascended in to heaven, and now the Church enters the picture. The Church, you and me, must carry the hope of the coming kingdom until Christ comes again. We must prepare the current world for the world as it will be when Christ comes again. We live in a way that builds expectation. This is the message of the Advent season.
When Advent is lived in this way it pulls people outside their current reality and points them, directs them, to a new possible reality. The ministry of John the Baptist as found in the scripture text does just this. I love John the Baptist, but I have to be honest he also makes me nervous. The thing is, John the Baptist was one of the first Preachers Kids or PK’s and he set the stereotype. Dude was out there. He had a radical ministry and drew in some crazy crowds. And in his devotion and dedication to prophesy of a messiah he raised up expectation in the people around him. But John knew his place in the story. He knew that it was his job not to be the messiah but to prepare the way for the messiah. He filled the people with expectation for one who was coming that he wasn’t worthy to untie his sandals, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
We see people like John the Baptist in our own lives; people who fill us with expectation because of the faithful content of their lives. The difference is that people now are not directing us the messiah’s first appearance but his second. The lives of faithful people give us glimpses into the coming Kingdom of God. In the compassion of Mother Teresa we see an image of Christ’s return, in the reconciliation of Martin Luther King Jr. we see a piece of the Kingdom that will come. The God given characteristics of these faithful people give us an image of what the kingdom will be. Not only are these heroes of the faith windows to Christ’s return the personal relationships we have with our friends, family, and acquaintances all can show us what the world will be like. I see it in the passion of my wife and the way she always works for justice and relationship. These people embody the season of Advent because their faithfulness causes us to expect how the Kingdom will be when Christ comes again.
So it begs the question. If the Church is the embodied hope of Christ return, what should people expect? Should they expect unfailing love, generosity, and compassion? Should they expect justice, peace, and righteousness? Should they expect love as God loves us, love for neighbor and self? My niece looked to her mother with great expectation because in her mother’s patience and devotion she saw characteristics of God’s kingdom. The people looked at JTB with great expectation because in his dedication to reconciliation and courageous proclamation they saw a peek of the Kingdom of God. When the people in your lives see you, when your loved ones, your friends, your acquaintances and your enemies look at you are they filled with expectation? God has placed in each of us glimpses of the kingdom to come, may we live into them, may we claim them, and may we become them for the world.
This is a sermon I prepared for this Sunday, the third week of Advent. If you are a church member at MGCC I must warn you reading this will ruin the surprise on Sunday morning!
Luke 3:15-16
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…. [Read more →]
Will your pageant be AWESOME or AWFUL?
Angels and Shepherds and Kings, Oh My! Ah yes, Pageant season is “all up ons”.
As I sit down to write the script for our church’s annual Christmas pageant, I am reminded that a lot of work goes into re-creating the Christmas story. Every year I wonder why the children, youth, parents and Christian Educator spend so much time on this one event, indeed the whole of Advent culminates with our Pageant. Why?
Sometimes I wonder if it is all worth it, but deep down I think the Christmas Pageant, in all its glory, is one of the best events, indeed ministries, of the Holiday season. The pageant tells the story of the birth of Christ, it allows the children to lead and to shine, and allows the congregation to connect in ways they don’t on a normal Sunday morning. The pageant is a great ministry, but it doesn’t always seem that way.
Should the Advent season be the “Pageant Season?”…….
[Read more →]
