It happened for the first time this week…I was asked the question that I dread…Are you ready for Christmas? My standard response is to say that it is not Christmas Eve yet? I ask what the big hurry is….?
My point of view on Christmas shopping is not well received at my house. I am not considered much help when it comes to getting ready. I do acknowledge that it takes a lot to get ready.
We are quickly approaching the days when people will be getting ready for a house full or getting ready to travel. Some houses will be packed. The Roads and airports will be full of people willing to spend time, energy and money to be with loved ones. It all sounds great doesn’t it, relatives getting together?
In some families getting relatives together is often a bit stressful.
Many families have at least one member that acts a little strange. You know they have a little personality quirk. They may say what ever is on their mind wither it hurts feelings or not. Perhaps they are just loud or nothing is good enough. Maybe they are always doing better than you or their health or situation is worse than yours.
For some of my family, that person is me.
However, for me it was my aunt Gerry (Geraldine). A madden aunt that lived much of her life in California. She sent us the strangest gifts during the year and at Christmas. She talked about weird things in her letters.
When she was in her late 60’s she moved to Birmingham where we were living. She had this harsh laugh and strange clothes. She wanted us to help her go gold-panning on the weekends. She had strong opinions on every subject, even the ones that she had little or absolutely no personal experience with.
She was always invited to the family Christmas party…. because Family is family.
In today’s scripture we have a family member of Jesus showing up.
A man that lived in the wilderness, either in a community that isolated itself from the city folks or he may have lived alone.
From the basic description he sounds like he would look pretty scary. He probably had wild hair with a long beard.
He dresses funny. Camel hair clothes and I am not talking about a cardigan sweater with stylish lines. I am talking about, tanned hide, or camel hair woven into a fabric stitched together with home made thread. I would imagine that it was made less for comfort and decency and more for protection from thorns and insects. Style and fit probably gave way to durability. He has a wide leather belt also probably hand-made to hold his clothing close to the body. I doubt it was an accessory to match his sandals, which I suspect he had to protect his feet.
His eating habits were strange as well. Locust and wild honey, not exactly something I look for at the family Christmas meal. It is not claimed that that was his favorite meal so perhaps it is just one of those quirks we remember about family. Maybe he did it only once…but everyone has to retell the story or perhaps John was an early version of survivor man and it is a statement of how hard the wilderness life really was.
The Gospel of Mark starts up in a sort of strange way doesn’t it? Mark does not offer a lot of preliminary data or background. He just jumps into the Good News of Jesus starting just minutes before Jesus comes to the River Jordan to be baptized.
Ok, Where is the baby? Where is the story of the hard trip, and the angels. That is what it is all about, right?
Advent season is about preparation and meditation more than it is about the physical birth of Jesus.
For most of us preparation during Advent means dragging out the boxes of decorations, setting up the tree, making the house look festive and the annual making of the list ceremonies. The naughty and nice list, the who is invited list, the shopping list…. It probably goes farther, preparations of special foods and the purchase and wrapping of gifts.
-- There could easily be thousands of little things required to happen before Christmas actually gets here. --- We often wonder, where did the time go!
This passage seems like a strange choice for the Advent season. The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.”
It is said that Advent is a season is celebrated to remind Christians about the original waiting done by the Hebrews for the birth of the Messiah. But that is only half of it. It is also the time we acknowledge how Christians wait today for the second coming of Christ.
The second coming of Christ which Mark and Luke mention 4 times, Matthew speaks of 7 times and John once. We live lives that are in a constant state of expectation, anticipation and waiting for the return of our savior.
I hate waiting. As a kid I hated waiting for Christmas. I hated waiting to be old enough to do certain things. I hate waiting at the doctor’s office and the store and…… Oh, I guess it is clear what one of my vices…I don’t have a gift of patients. I have a little bit of trouble celebrating the waiting that the Hebrews went through watching for their messiah.
Gene pointed out to me this week that Advent is the same root word of adventure.
-- Personally that sounds better to me than waiting…. I have spent a little time considering that adventures of the Hebrews of ancient days and have let that influence my view of our daily adventures as w look forward to Jesus’ return.
So, Gene has helped me to change my focus from waiting to adventure.
The Advent season is a 4 week yearly reminder that we are in a constant state of preparation…..Not the just for the birth but for the return of Jesus.
Mark, the first Gospel writer, skips the part we celebrate completely. In fact, when we look through the NT we don’t find any place where there is a celebration of the actual birth of Christ. That seems to have become a tradition much later in history of the early church.
I am not here to chop down the tree of the Joy which we celebrate at Christmas.
But, I hope that we are all here to start our personal preparation for the season of advent which all too often gets laid aside with all that we have to do for the celebration of Christmas.
So Mark’s Gospel opens with, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
It seems that Mark is not segmental about the childhood memories. Perhaps he is unaware of the birth story. Maybe he is just practical…everyone was born and has experienced growing pains.
He uses the word “gospel” indicating “good news” which, for him, means the beginning of the actual work of Christ. To him it is the adult Jesus that starts his ministry as prophesied in the scriptures.
It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"— "a voice of one calling in the desert, ’Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ "
Mark reminds us that the prophet Isaiah had predicted this moment in time.
Let’s talk a little more about John.
John is a messenger that is just a little different. We already talked about his strange clothing and eating habits.
He is a 2nd cousin of Jesus, Mary’s cousin is Elisabeth is his mother. They are related. John is 6 months older than Jesus and will die about 6 months before Jesus. Zacharias a priest is John’s father. John is a Levite which means that he is in the Priestly tribe which are set aside to lead the people in Worship.
Mark refers to the book of Isaiah 40:3-5 to explain John’s message is the fulfillment of prophesy.
According to Mark, John the baptizer comes as the long expected messenger calling for the people to prepare for the coming of the Lord. He is not calling the people to build or repair a physical road. Isaiah was telling the Hebrews to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.
The people of the John’s day had not heard from a prophet for over 400 years. And the busyness of their lives allowed them to let their focus and expectation for a messiah drift.
To loose the anticipation that God himself would come into their world and change it forever.
- We love to prepare for the arrival of Christmas don’t we, because it is so like preparing for a baby to be born? Things to get ready. Cleaning up to do. The perfect gifts and making everything just right. Excitement keeps us buzzing…
- I hope that most of you have seen the movie called “A Christmas Story?” It is about a boy that wants a red rider bb gun with a compass in the stock. He tells every body he can what the desire of his heart is and they all say, “You will shoot your eye out.”
On Christmas morning he opens a present from his aunt. The box contains a Pink Bunny Pajamas. His mother makes him try it on thinking that the outfit is adorable.
--The narrator makes the comment hat this aunt perpetually thinks of Ralphy as being 4 years old.
We get so wrapped up in the manger scene that we forget that Jesus is not a baby any more.
We think that somehow he is satisfied to see us make our annual appearance at Christmas services and sing a few Christmas Carols. We seem to think that if we celebrate with the Christmas tree and gifts to others that we are honoring Jesus.
How does the celebration we are preparing for celebrate or give a valid tribute to the physical manifestation of the person of God?
Does it help us renew our faith or just wear us out and ultimately disappoint us when the new wears off?
Amazingly this eccentric man calls for repentance and the people respond. The news of a prophet flies around the city and region and people head to the river and see for themselves.
John’s message called for personal preparation, a mental evaluation and choice.
The call to repent is one of the most important things we will hear among the sounds of exchanges of Christmas greetings, the singing of carols, shouts of joy as presents are opened.
Folks, Christmas is a celebration of other people’s adventure. It is the acknowledgement of how God came into our world and lived among us.
Celebrating his birth is a yearly reminder that God came to share the good news….He is not mad at us. He is our king and He loves us in ways that are too big and deep to fully understand.
But here is the really good news, His prophecy is not finished. He is coming again. As Christians we are called to be that peculiar relative that shares the Good news in a world that is full of problems and pain and suffering.
Are you ready for Christmas? Are you preparing for the return of Jesus?
Something great has happened and will happen again.
The Lord is coming! Is your heart right? Is your Soul clean? Are you willing to share the Good news of a loving God?
All Glory be to God!
Denediction
As you leave here thins morning, remember that you have a lot of preparations to make and to encourage. The focus starts with Christmas but the process is continuous. Some people will thinks us a little eccentric, strange, peculiar because of our focus on a coming King and on things we don’t fully understand.
Go in peace.
