It’s interesting on a day like today how you can look back on the past 3 years and think it seems like no time at all. But then as you think about it some more, so much has happened in those 3 years that it feels like Camille has always been here. I mean it’s hard to believe that Camille and Rob were only married last January. It feels like we’ve been talking about it for years.
But not only do we look back on three years and think how fast they’ve gone, we also look forward and wonder what the next three years might bring - or the next thirteen, or thirty, depending on how old you are. What do you think about when you look forward in your life to the next stage?
Some people might be thinking about a change of job. I’m sure that’s on the mind of Rob and Camille. What will the new place be like? What support will you get for ministry? How will your ministry be received?
Then if you’re as old as I am (and that’s pretty old!), you might be starting to think about the possibility of retirement. On the other hand if you’re one of the youth group you might be thinking about a VCE year coming up or leaving school and going to University, thinking about what subjects you’ll choose, what courses to take. Others might be thinking about the possibility of marriage, or having babies, or moving house.
But whatever stage you’re at one of the questions that arise at every stage is whether you’re ready for what you’re moving into. Rob’s just finished four years at Ridley College so I’m sure he’s well prepared for ministry. Camille has had three years of training here by our great youth group so I’m sure she’s well prepared for whatever Diamond Creek can throw at her. But what about the rest of us? Are you ready for whatever might be waiting for you in the months and years to come?
I was reminded, two weeks ago when we read the gospel reading for Advent Sunday, from Luke 21, just how carefully we need to prepare for what’s to come. Let me remind you of what Luke 21 says: "10Then Jesus said to them, ’Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ...’ 29Then he told them a parable: ’Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’"
As you think about what might be coming in your life, do you ever stop to give a thought to the bigger picture of God’s plans for the world? Do you ever think that Jesus is due to return sometime soon; that you need to make sure you’re ready for him?
The people in today’s gospel reading weren’t that much different from us. They didn’t have TV and radio of course nor mobile phones and Internet connections or any of the modern technological marvels we take for granted. But they were basically doing what we do; getting on with life, working at their jobs, earning a living, thinking how they could afford that room extension, wondering which school to enroll in, which tradesman to take up an apprenticeship with; dreaming about owning the latest donkey, or maybe even a horse if they were really rich. But not many were giving any thought to God’s plans for their nation.
That is, until John the Baptist arrived on the scene with his message of warning: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Shivers would have run down people’s backs as they heard those words. Weren’t they the words of Isaiah 40? Didn’t Isaiah say that? "5The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." God was about to reveal his glory. But how would he do it? John knew: Look at what he said, in v16: "16I 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." Jesus was coming to reveal the Father’s glory to his people Israel. So they needed to prepare. And how were they to prepare? They needed to repent. They needed to show by their behaviour that they were ready to receive their king. So he says: "8Bear fruits worthy of repentance. ... 9Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Jesus’ coming was a serious matter. God was about to appear in their midst so they needed to be ready for him.
Now it was over 700 years, at that stage, since Isaiah had written that prophecy. Everyone would have heard it read many times. Isaiah was seen as a very important book for the Jews. The Dead Sea Scrolls included 19 copies of Isaiah. The only books with more copies were Psalms and Deuteronomy. So this prophecy would have been well known. But it had been so long since it was written that few people actually expected it to be fulfilled any time soon. Even when Jesus began to preach and teach and do various miracles there were only a few who took seriously the possibility that he might be the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Now it seems to me that we fall into the same danger today. We read passages like Luke 21 and we toss them off as irrelevant because it’s been so long since it was written. Life goes on. We’ve been seeing the sorts of thing that Jesus mentions for hundreds of years so we tend to ignore the possibility of Jesus returning. The things we’re planning for over the next few years are far more important than the remote possibility that the world will end. Or so we think.
But let me suggest that we need to be doing both. Yes, we need to be planning for next year or the next few years. That’s why there’s a new Parish planner out this week. If you’re sitting your VCE exams next year or the year after, it’s a good thing to concentrate on your studies and work hard now. If you’re applying for a job, it’d be a good thing to do your preparation well, to be sure you want the job you’re applying for.
But at the same time we also need to be preparing ourselves for the day when Jesus will return. If you look at the signs of his return in Luke 21, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven," you’ll see that all those have been happening with some regularity, some would say with an increasing regularity, over the last couple of hundred years. So it’d be a good thing to be ready wouldn’t it?
So how will we be ready? John the Baptist’s suggestion still has a ring of truth about it, doesn’t it? "Bear fruits worthy of repentance." John puts it this way: "2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." (1 John 3:2-3 NRSV). The best way to be prepared for Christ’s return is to purify ourselves, to clean up our act, so we’re ready.
Similarly, Paul tells Timothy to train himself in godliness. Or as one of our children’s songs says, practice being godly. But at the same time it’s important to remember that it’s God who’s able to change us to be like him. We were thinking about this at our Tuesday lunchtime Bible study last week and I realised that the metaphor of training yourself breaks down at one point. That is that in our fallen bodies we’re not always able to develop to the point we’d like to. I have no illusions about my ability to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The truth is I can’t even lift my right arm above my shoulder at the moment without it hurting. So what do I do? I just don’t bother. And as for anything that involves bending my knees past 90 degrees there’s no way. So I limit my physical training to the parts of my body that I can work on. I find some other muscle to exercise. But when it comes to spiritual training, there’s no part of my life that I can justify ignoring. Even those parts that are severely damaged God can bring healing and health to.
Now it’s interesting that our first reading was meant to be read last week, but for some reason I put it down for this week, because it’s actually fits quite well. Let’s look at it for a moment.
Paul is writing to the church at Philippi and tells them how he’s been praying for them. Look at how he prays for them.
First he gives thanks for their partnership in the gospel. But then he shares with them his confidence that God, who began a good work among them will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ (v6). Here’s the first step in our preparation for whatever is to come in our life: a firm confidence in the God who saved us and called us to follow him. The first step in preparing for the rest of your life is to pray that God would keep doing good works in you, keep changing you to be more like him.
In fact, look at the prayer that Paul prays for the Philippians: "9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God." This would be an appropriate prayer for us to pray for Camille and Rob today wouldn’t it? It’d be an appropriate prayer to pray for Garrett when he starts with us next year. In fact it’s a prayer that we could be praying every day for each one of us.
It’s a prayer that we’ll be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ the second time. That when he comes we’d be found to be pure and blameless. But it’s also a prayer for the time in between: See it there in v 11? "11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God." It’s a prayer that we might produce a harvest of righteousness. How? Well, it’s the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ isn’t it? So how can we produce such a harvest? There’s only one way: that’s to tell people about Jesus Christ. To share the gospel with them. To call them to turn back to God in repentance, just like John the Baptist did; to encourage them to ask God for forgiveness, for a renewed relationship with him. The righteousness bit’s been done already. Jesus has provided that. Our job is to show others how they can come to know Jesus. Again, look at v9: "That your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best." As our love for God and for others grows it overflows into the lives of those we come into contact with. So our preaching of the gospel isn’t some cold calculating thing. Rather it springs from the love of God flowing out of our hearts as we relate to other people.
Time is a tricky thing. It disappears without us realising it. Opportunities come and go like a butterfly hovering around the flowers in the garden. What better time to be reminded of that than this week when the shopping centres will be impossible to move through because of all those people who’ve just realised that Christmas has caught up with them.
Well, if we’re to take hold of the opportunities God provides for us, and if we’re to avoid being caught out by the moment when time will end, then we need to be prepared and we need to prepare those around us for the coming of the Lord. How do we do that? If you’re not already a follower of Jesus Christ then the first step is to ask him to make you one of his people. Ask him to restore your relationship with God so you can enjoy his presence with you forever.
If you’re already a follower of Christ, then the next step is to pray that God would complete the good work he’s begun in us. Then to work on producing a harvest of righteousness, both in your own life and in the lives of those you meet and minister to. And it’s to allow the love of God to grow in your heart so it overflows to those around you.
Can I just finish by saying that one of the most exciting things we’ve seen here over the last 3 years has been the great harvest of the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ in the lives of our youth group. It’s been so exciting, and I use the word advisedly, to see young people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that Camille and Rob will continue to see that happening in their ministry at St John’s and I pray that we might continue to see it happening here under the leadership of Garrett and Dean and the other leaders. And may we also see that harvest in our ministry to the adults we come into contact with so they too might be prepared when Christ returns.
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