Sermon for December 8

Okay, I know some of you are disappointed and others relieved.  No theme music as we begin this week.  Nothing flashy or attention-grabbing as we get underway.  But even though the deliver may change, the emphasis and the message is still the same.  We’re in Advent, the time of Impossible Missions.  Last week, we heard that the Son of Man was to draw all people to God’s holy mountain.  And today, we continue with another element of God’s mission, one that may seem to be even more impossible.

Today’s emphasis for God’s mission is found embodied in the person of John the Baptist.  And that mission can be summed up in one pretty direct word, one that John himself used in his message.  The mission of God as we are introduced to it this Advent season again is that of repentance.  God prepares the way for repentance to take place in the hearts of people, so that they can then be drawn to God’s holy mountain.

And so, this rather strange guy, whom we tend to know as John the Baptist, shows up on the scene.  A guy in his early thirties, likely raised outside of mainstream Jerusalem.  A likeable guy, if you happen to like guys who are a little bit on the strange side.  Not dressed in your typical attire, but wearing the old pelt of a camel.  He’s one of the first to try those new diet ideas that pop up from time to time, only his seems to focus purely on insects and unrefined honey.  But there’s just something about him that draws people out to him.  

We heard that a moment ago.  Jerusalem and ALL Judea and ALL the region were coming out to hear him, and he seemed to keep falling back on one important word.  Repent.  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  And so, once again, if you happen to be drawn to strange men who dress differently, who promote cutting edge diets, and who are anti-establishment, you probably find yourself drawn to this guy John.

In John the Baptist, we have proof that God employs all different kinds of people to bring about the carrying on of His mission.  God’s mission, through this season of Advent, and through John the Baptist, is to prepare the way for the Son of Man by calling all people to repentance.  John was sent on his mission as part of God’s overall mission, to prepare the way for the Messiah to arrive on the scene.  And so, God’s opening act for the Messiah involved John the Baptist, out in the Jordan, baptizing people and calling all people to repentance.

So if you and I are going to understand God’s mission, we’re going to have to understand what God means when He engages in His mission of repentance.  It’s a common word that gets thrown around Christian circles a bit, and not always with the best use.  From a very basic standpoint, it simply means to turn away from one thing, and to turn to another thing.  Let’s say that I’m intent on getting some K-cups for my Keurig in my office.  I start off looking at some Starbucks brand on the shelves of the grocery store.  But then, I notice a sign.  Some generic brand of cups are on sale!  For a few seconds, I’m drawn to them.  They’re less expensive, and they still have caffeine in them.  But then, I remember that they also don’t have a whole lot of the taste that I prefer.  So I repent.  I turn away from that which caught my eye to turn back to that which I know, that which has proven itself to me in the past.

That’s the essence of this word repent.  We turn away from one thing, turning to something else.  But even in this kind of meaning, there is a richness to this word that we would be wise to consider as we think about God’s mission of calling all to repentance.  This is a word rich in meaning because it speaks to so much.

One element of repentance involves the big picture sense.  There is one true God in this earthly realm.  However, there are many things that we as humans come up with which we call gods.  From that aspect, the big picture sense is that God’s mission is to call people to repent from these false gods and turn to Him, the one true God.  We are to recognize those things in life that we look to for our hope, our trust, our security, our well-being, and recognize that none of them are lasting or faithful like the one true God.  And then, we are to turn from putting our hope and trust in those false gods, and return to the one true God.

So as God engaged in His mission of preparing the way for the Messiah, one thing that had to take place was turning the hearts of God’s people away from the things in which they were placing their hope and security.  They had to be turned away from things like how well they were doing when it came to God’s words to them.  Some had to be turned away from thinking that their enforcement of God’s words on others was gaining them something in God’s eyes.  They had to be turned away from these false sources of hope and comfort, and to return to the one true God.

And so John the Baptist came with the message of repentance.  Turn from your observance of the Law, and return to the God who has made you His very own people.  Turn away from a focus on how well you’re doing what God says, and put your hope and trust in that God, not in your works.  And that, very naturally, leads us to see the richness and depth of this word repentance.

Repentance in the big picture sense is turning from false sources of hope and returning to the one true source of comfort and hope.  And as that takes place, much in what God’s people do in life should naturally follow that change.  So we find that God’s mission of leading people to repentance involves turning them back to Himself as the one true God, and then leading them to see that their actions, their thoughts, and their words all are led and directed by that change.

So we have John the Baptist being part of God’s mission.  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Turn back to the one true God as the source of your hope and comfort, and then bear fruit in keeping with that repentance.  Don’t just let your minds convince you that you believe in the right God.  Do the things that He says, not with a focus so much on how correctly or rightly you are doing them, but that you are doing them because He is your God, and you are His people, and therefore, you do that which He desires.

That is the richness of this aspect of the Mission of God.  God will turn people’s hearts from their false sources of hope and comfort, returning them to Himself as the one true God who carries the banner of justice and mercy.  God will turn people’s hearts to Himself, and in doing so, He will also bring about the corresponding change in how they live their lives, in how they think about themselves, and in how they address each other with their words.  They will have a big picture change that will lead to many small picture changes along the way.

And yes, that has a great deal of meaning for us, just as it did for the people who heard the message of God through John the Baptist.  There is one true God that we are to turn to when it comes to our hope and comfort and security in this world.  And that God tells us that there are right things that we do in life, and there are wrong things that we can find ourselves doing in life.  We are to continue to follow the right things, those things which He tells us are good and right for us to be doing, and we are to repent and turn away from those things that He tells us not to do.  It’s not just once or twice in our lifetime, but a daily renewal that God is working within you.

And just like we heard last week, God isn’t content to go about this mission all by Himself.  Even as we have heard today, God chooses to work through His created people.  God Himself could have called people to repentance with a booming voice out there in the wilderness, but God chose to employ the life and voice of the man we have affectionately come to know as John the Baptist.  God chose to employ a man who dressed kind of strange, ate even stranger, and who made people travel to where he was to hear what he had to say.  

As God engages on His mission of drawing all people to His holy mountain, one of the things that needs to take place is God’s mission of repentance in the hearts of those that He would draw.  And once again, God could choose to work in a different way.  He could make it so that His voice sounded out over the whole metro area, calling people to turn back to Him, and to change the way that they live.  I don’t know about you, but I’d find that awfully cool, but also a little frightening.

But in His great wisdom, God chooses to engage in His mission of repentance in another way.  He chooses to connect community and Christ together.  He sends those people that He has already drawn to Himself, in whom the work of repentance is already underway, and He sends them back out into those communities with that message in their lives and on their lips.  God employs people like John the Baptist, kind of strange and unusual, but who has the ability to connect with people.  And God employs people like you and I, kind of strange and unusual people, but people who are already connected with so many in the context of our community.

And as God connects us to others in the community, as we go forth on God’s mission of repentance, I think there are a few things that we would be wise to consider.  First off, as we take that message of repentance, it’s probably a good idea to start off telling people who this God is that is sending us to them.  He’s the God who not only created them and provides for them, but the God who has sacrificed for them, and who has given them the promise of new life and hope through Jesus.  We would probably be wise to start off telling them about what God has done for them, and why they should turn away from the false sources of hope and comfort in life, and return to the one true God.

And after they have been drawn to the one true God, then we can start working on the depth of this repentance.  To put it in a slightly different way, if we insist on changing their words, thoughts, and actions first, and then to draw them to the God who has done all this for them, they probably will be rather resistant to the message.  However, if we engage in God’s mission by telling them about the God who has done great things to make them His people, and who wants nothing more than to draw them to Himself and His holy mountain, then we’ll probably have adequate time to address what that daily repentance looks like as they become part of the people of God.

So, people of God, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go forth with in the mission of God with the message of repentance in your lives and on your lips.  You are to call people back to the one true God, who has sacrificed for them on the cross and in the resurrection.  As they are drawn to that God who draws them to Himself, you also have the joy and privilege of working with them on their daily repentance.  And as we need to be frequently reminded, this message is one that will not self destruct.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

Thinking for a Change

Okay, today I have to admit that I totally stole the title for this blog from a book written by John Maxwell.  In fact, that book is currently sitting on my shelf, and is one of the few that I haven't had the opportunity to read yet.

Over this week's blog entries, I've been talking about how our thinking affects who we truly are as people.  Again, we can only do this in a limited way.  We can't start thinking of ourselves as sinless and suddenly start becoming sinless.  In other words, we cannot change our nature by the way we think.  But we can change some of the actions and behaviors that define us simply by changing the way we think about ourselves.

And the point of today's post is simply that thinking for a change is not an easy thing to do.  Just like we get caught up in our routines, we also get caught in our routines of how we think.  I'll use myself as an example.  I typically am not someone who enjoys talking on the phone a lot.  I especially have a difficult time initiating the phone calls.  However, given my employment and role in life, there are many times where I have to be the one to pick up the phone and initiate contact with other people.  So, in order to bring about that change, I remind myself of the importance of connecting with people like that.  I remind myself that I actually seem to have pretty decent conversations on the phone.  But even though I've seen the improvement in myself, the pattern of thinking is still there, and is battled against.  Thinking for a change is not the easiest of things in the world!

And yet, if we don't change the way that we think, how can we expect any kind of change to really take hold?  If it's enforced upon us by another, we'll rebel against it, and then, once the outside pressure is removed, we'll likely start to revert back to what we were before.  But if we start to become more internally motivated, if we change the way we think about ourselves, our words, and our actions, we can start to see that change, even if it's a battle, and even if it doesn't completely happen right away.

Agree?  Disagree?  I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Labels and Who We Are

I have a tendency to be a fairly driven and motivated person.  At least on occasion.  However, there are times when I also want to just sit there and do nothing.  Maybe I'll read a book or play a game on my tablet, or watch a TV show.  I like to be lazy every once in a while.  I've also noticed that other people have noticed these tendencies in me from time to time.  Sure, mostly I try to have the driven,  motivated person put in an appearance far more often than the lazy one, but it's funny how often people will start to see those aspects of me, and then start referring to me with them.

In other words, that's how we start to get labels for ourselves.  Other people notice some traits about us, and then refer to those often when talking to us or about us with others.  And after a while, we can actually start to try to emphasize those in our lives.  When others see something good in us, a lot of times, we'll start trying to do more of that good, and in doing so, we start to become what others think about us.

This can also go in the opposite direction.  When we start to think something negative about someone, that can also start to become what they do, and who they are.  If you tell someone that they are worthless, after a while, that could very well be how they start to see themselves, and then they start changing their behavior to fit such a label.  Simply by giving them a label, simply by naming how we think about them, we can actually start to see them becoming that which we label.

Now, this is not a scientific study or anything that I'm referring to, but it is something that I have seen over the years.  A child who gets diagnosed with something like ADHD actually starts to act more like an ADHD child.  That which was intended to name a problem became a label to live up to.  While cases where there is a real chemical problem have to be taken into account, there are also many that I have known who simply seemed to use the diagnosis as an excuse for their behavior.

We can think ourselves into certain things.  Again, this is somewhat limited in its application.  For example, we can never become holy simply or perfect simply by thinking we are.  We may become better people, but some elements of our nature simply cannot be changed.  But in some form or fashion, we can affect ourselves and others simply by the way we think about them.

You Are What You Think

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Philippians 4:8

It's likely you've heard the expression before, "You are what you eat."  It's a reminder to us that the food that ingest is of great importance in how our body is.  We may not truly become celery, broccoli, or a cheeseburger, but we understand that the things we eat affect our body in very great and direct ways.

St. Paul seemed to have the same thought in mind when he penned these words by the Spirit so many years ago.  Only, instead of food determining matters for our bodies, he went the direction of saying that our thoughts affect who we actually are.  And in a lot of ways, this truth is one that continually reveals itself.  You are what you think.  But even as I say that, I recognize that it bears a little bit more explaining than just the simple phrase.  In fact, I think this whole week, we'll be focusing on this thought in the blog entries.

Paul tells the Philippians that they should think about the true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent things of the world.  And if you think about it, when you think about such things in life, you likely start to notice them a lot more.  You see them in the world around you.  You see them in other people around you.  You may even start to see that you take actions and think thoughts and speak words that bring those same things to bear in your life.  As you focus on them, you start to see them present in your life in ways that you had never expected before.

There is a thought out there that you can change much about yourself by how you look at yourself, and likewise, that you can change how you see the world and others around you simply by looking for different things in them.  While I believe that we can take that too far (for example, even if you look for good in something evil, you won't find it because its nature is contrary to what you are looking for), it does show us that we will see and find what we look for in the world, in others, and even in ourselves.

We'll keep examining this thought throughout the week.  But as you prepare for that, give a little thought to how you tend to look at the world around you, at others, and even at yourself.  Maybe you'll even be a little surprised in what you see, or maybe you'll try to start looking at things a little differently.