Message from the Pastor

Expecting Better Days

Text:  Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36

Introduction: In an old Calvin and Hobbes comic strip the following conversation takes place. In the first frame Calvin speaks to Hobbes and says:   "Live for the moment is my motto.  You never know how long you got".

In the second frame he explains, "You could step into the road tomorrow and WHAM, you get hit by a cement truck!  Then you'd be sorry you put off your pleasures. That's what I say - live for the moment." And then he asks Hobbes: “What’s your motto?"

  Hobbes replies: “My motto is - Look down the road."

Today's scripture readings are about what is coming down the road towards us, they are about the promise God has made to us, the promise made when he said, “The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.  In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. (Jeremiah 33:14-15, NIV). Stop for a minute with me and think about this promise of God made to the people of God through the prophet Jeremiah some 2600 years ago.  Jeremiah was looking forward and expecting the coming of the Messiah at a time when their arch enemies, the Babylonians, were laying siege to their city and he spreads the message about hope for better days.  And in Luke we find the Messiah looking forward and expecting the end times.  Both passages are the kind that look forward, and look to the future with a deep sense of anticipation and expectation. What does it mean to us now, this promise of God?

I. The Promise involves looking for God where you expect to find Him.

a) That is what sets Advent apart from all the other seasons of the Church.  It is a season of anticipation and expectation.  You can feel it all around you.  The closer we get to Christmas Day, the more electric the world gets.  And I don’t just mean all the lights going up on everyone’s homes and trees.  Although I must admit all that does help set the mood.  But there is something electric in the air; something in the way people treat one another, people supporting worthy causes and charities, exchanging cards and gifts, and the food it is such a big part of the season as people come together to fellowship. The Christmas story, and all that goes with it, continues to draw us as we welcome the Messiah’s birth. Just before the birth of Jesus, the world was filled with that same sort of expectation and anticipation.

b) This Advent season, as we prepare for the birth of the Savior, we await the event Jeremiah and the people of Judah waited and hoped for. God has spoken of a time when God will cause a new shoot, a new king, to spring from the cut-off stump of the lineage of Jesse. Advent is the time of year when many of our trees have lost their leaves. Jeremiah must have felt at times that the people of Judah were like the last remaining leaves on a tree, desperately hanging onto the branch. They were dried up and without nutrition or hope.

  illust. In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy looks up to see one solitary leaf clinging to a tree branch. "Stay up there, you fool!" she orders. A gentle breeze lifts the lone leaf from its branch and Lucy watches as it spirals downward toward the ground. "Oh, good grief!" she exclaims. "You wouldn't listen, would you? Now it's the rake and the bonfire. You just can't tell those leaves anything!"

c) And, like Lucy and the falling leaf, Jeremiah could not seem to get through to the people of Israel. He spoke about covenants, about faith in God and worship. And still the hope of Judah seemed to be crashing down like a mighty tree. But the stump of the cut-off tree in our O.T. passage from Jeremiah is a great symbol or metaphor of budding life.  With God, we know to look past the falling leaves and bleak branches of winter. Within each tree, there is new life just waiting to be born. Beyond winter, the rebirth of spring awaits. Life within that old stump is ready to spring forth and sprout anew.  Winter has not officially arrived, and already Jeremiah is looking toward spring, when leaves begin to sprout and buds burst into bloom. The days which Jeremiah prophesied about are here. Through the birth of the Christ Child and all the events of Christ's life we already know the final outcome.  We know who wins and we can live in the power of that victory, today. Nobody expected God the Creator, Provider and Redeemer to enter our lives and bring salvation, redemption and new life to this sin-torn world through the birth of a baby through a poor working-class Jewish family. And yet, that's the invitation, that's the Good News, that's the Word of God, that's what this season is all about. To the Shepherds living out in the fields nearby the angel of the Lord said, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11).The Promise involves looking for God where we expect to find Him.

II. In the promise we notice that God comes in unexpected places and speaks to us through unexpected people.

a) Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and homes for the surprises of God.  It’s an invitation to relive the excitement and joy of the victory.  For God’s love, mercy and grace have come into our world in an unexpected manner through an infant, a cross and an empty tomb.  The signs of the season point us to and remind us of an almost unbelievable and exciting event.  The lights going up around town, the crinkle of wrapping paper, the smell of fruitcakes baking, laughter, carols, fruit baskets, picking out the tree, setting up the manger scene, getting your first card; all of these and a thousand other things are signs of the season.  They are not the purpose of the season, they just point excitedly to the events of the first Christmas. They call us to watch and take heed. “So as we prepare our hearts and homes for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, let us prepare by expecting God to intervene and make a difference in our lives, today.  Those who have Jesus in their hearts need not fear the outcome of tomorrow, the signs of destruction become for the Christian signs of hope simply because in those signs we see the redemption of our Lord drawing near.

b) It is like getting a forecast of tomorrow’s news before it happens.  I remember watching the T.V. Series that aired in 1996 to 2000, entitled “Early Edition”. The star of the show is Gary Hobson. He gets tomorrow's newspaper today. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know why. All he knows is when the early edition hits his doorstep, he has twenty-four hours to set things right. The star in the Christmas story of course is Jesus who knows tomorrow’s news before it is going to take place and this chapter in Luke 21 offers us a glimpse into the future about what is going to happen before it comes to pass. Having this information about the future doesn’t mean we stand by idle, waiting for it all to come to pass. On the contrary we are told by our Lord in Luke 21 to be careful, lest our hearts be weighed down by it all, to be always on the watch, and to pray and of course to be busy sending out the invitations so others won’t be caught unawares when God our Heavenly Father announces Jesus’ second coming.  He will come to the earth as Jeremiah prophesized to judge with righteousness and justice. Advent is about getting ready for the main visitor and attraction at Christmastime, namely the birth of Jesus Christ in a manager at Bethlehem but also in our hearts today.

c) When it comes to God, we’re called to be ready at all times.  And we’re called to expect the unexpected.  Our Lord accomplished the fulfillment of God’s promise by his death upon the cross and his resurrection from the dead.  He accomplished justice and righteousness in a world filled with injustice, war, and unrighteousness.  In Him God justifies and gives us the gift of eternal salvation.  The Bible says, “By faith we are saved, and Jeremiah’s prophetic word proclaims we are now given that name by which we are called “The Lord is our righteousness.”  Advent is the time for us to hope and to realize that we live in the days of rich promise which God has fulfilled for us in the sending of Jesus, the Infant of Bethlehem.  We do that in a season in which the world will make the frantic effort to beat last year’s or the best year’s Christmas sales and at the same time the world wonders if there is anything it can do to solve problems of global warming, keep the peace in the Middle East and Europe, and solve our social problems.  For us, though, Advent is that time when we can think seriously about a future that holds great promise for us, because we know how God has fulfilled all of His promises He made in the past.  Yes, these are days of promise for us because God is with us.

  illust. Though I’ve told a version of this story before, I can’t resist using it again. It’s the story of the small church that each year put on the traditional nativity pageant. In that church was a lively ten-year-old boy who had managed to create a disaster in every Christmas play he had been in. The boy’s name was Barry. One year his angel wings caught on fire which nearly burned the church down. The next year as Herod the Great, he jumped up from his throne and – in his usual clumsy way – jerked the carpet out from under three Wise men and dumped them on their heads.

  The other children begged not to let Barry ruin another play: “Please, teacher, can’t you leave Barry out this year?”

  But the teacher could not reject a boy who tried his best and loved Jesus with all his heart – even if he was a little clumsy. She was able to convince the children that Barry could not do any real damage by playing the innkeeper of Bethlehem. He just opened and closed the door and spoke one short line.

  Barry made it perfectly through all rehearsals and the dress rehearsal. Then, on the night when mothers, fathers, friends, strangers and the whole community sat in hushed silence, reliving the Christmas story, Barry had his chance to “redeem” himself with a flawless performance. He opened the door of the inn and looked straight into the face of Mary and Joseph. Mary sat very sad and pale on a little donkey, which they never used in practice. You could almost hear the cold wind whistling around the cold stone walls of the inn and blowing the thin coat of gentle Mary. But Barry came through! He said his line with professional emphasis and timing: “Begone, I have no room for the likes of you!”

  Mary and Joseph turned sadly away into the cold night, but Barry was into the real spirit and meaning of the play. Those who were on the front row saw tears well up in his eyes and his lips begin to tremble: “Wait!” It came like a thunderclap. Every heart in the room stopped! What on earth? That word was not in the script of the familiar Christmas story.

  Then Barry finished it: “Wait! You can have my room!”

  The church broke loose. Children cried. Some parents were outraged. Chaos reigned. Barry had “ruined “another Christmas play. But the discerning teacher quieted the crowd, dried Barry’s tears as well as her own and said, “Maybe Barry was the real messenger after all. Only to those who have room in their hearts, can the dear Christ Child enter in.” Won’t you agree that God comes to us in unexpected places and speaks through unexpected people? Sometimes we can become so busy celebrating Christmas that we fail to hear the voice of the Word made Flesh who spoke the first Christmas into existence.

Conclusion:  This truly is the season of great expectation.  My hope and prayer is that we might be filled with the excitement of expectation.  And that we would prepare our homes and families and hearts, especially our hearts to meet God in unexpected places. Today, as we begin Advent and also share the meal of Holy Communion, let us remember the promise of the Bible: God is with us; and the warning of the Bible: Watch out: God is doing something new... “In those days” has a claim on our lives today. When things are dark or overwhelming, Jesus tells us to lift up our heads, to look up, for God is at work to bring about our redemption! May each of us recognize God at work in our lives this season, so that we too may receive and share the Light and hope of God's presence!

Here is today's lyrical video with the hymns for today's worship for Sunday Dec. 1, 2024 provided by Autumn Gambles. Just click on the link below, once there tap anywhere on the video image and it will take you to the full screen from start to finish.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kmwmNpm8rUEzzChtl-tKOMPp1fJ3TeCV/view?usp=sharing