What shall we do?

 Sunday 12th December 2021 - Third Sunday of Advent

G.K. Chesterton once said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. Rather it has been found difficult and not tried." It’s an interesting phrase. What does G K Chesterton mean?

I suppose there is much I could say about that. There are so many books written and many thousands of sermons preached. But Christianity boils down to the following this I feel.

Firstly, accepting what John says in his Gospel:

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Then secondly accepting that we are sinful and we must repent.

Thirdly, again quoting John’s Gospel accepting that John 3:17 “¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  In other words, accepting Jesus as our saviour

Fourthly, having repented and turned around and accepted Jesus as our saviour we must live a life that is worthy of Christ, and seeking to reflect something of him in our daily lives.

I say all of this as it serves to help us think about the passage from Luke’s gospel, we’re looking at today.

You might have heard last week the opening six verses of Luke 3 where John tells of how he is preparing the way for Jesus and calling on people to repent and be baptised. In today’s passage John turns up the heat.

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

John’s anger is directed at those who think that by getting baptised and saying they have repented, they get a Get out of Jail free card enabling  them to escape God’s wrath – as John puts is. It is not enough John says to be baptised we must  ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 

2000 years later the great Christian Martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer expressed this as cheap grace and costly grace. He said:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

What Bonhoeffer meant, just as John the Baptist meant is that Christ’s grace, Christ’s love, comes at a cost to us. Yes, forgiveness is freely given to us following repentance, but once we accept that forgiveness we have to respond. We cannot just sit back and think “Job done”.

As Bonhoeffer said:

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son

I’ve heard people who call themselves Christian but then don’t live out their faith in their actions referred to as CHINOs – Christians in Name Only. It is these that John would speak to today. Perhaps those that claim to go to church but would see refugees drown in the English Channel. Or claim to go to church but don't want to enforce the wearing of masks that prevent the spread of Covid, as this interferes with liberty

Turning back to our Gospel, Luke tells us that three distinct groups – “the crowds” “tax collectors” and “soldiers” then all asked the same question “What should we do?” Meaning having repented and been baptised what should they do?

John’s answers to these three groups gives concrete examples of ethical reforms they could make in their daily lives.

To the crowds John answers that if anyone has two tunics that person should give one to someone who has none. It is a reminder of the commandment to love one’s neighbour as oneself in Leviticus 18:18 – a commandment that Jesus later reiterates. And to do deeds of loving kindness. As the prophet Micah expressed it:

⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly^[a] with your God. Micah 6:8

John the Baptist isn’t calling for some dramatic revolution. He is just reminding “the crowds” that the solution begins with the individual. The first step to a redeemed world is for those who have to share with those who have not.

What of the tax collectors? At that time there were several types of tax. The Romans imposed direct taxes such a land tax and the Romans employed their own tax collectors to gather in that tax. But maybe the “tax collectors” John is addressing here are collectors of more local taxes such as tolls. Toll collectors paid the authorities in advance for the right to collect tolls. Therefore, the system was open to abuse, as the toll collectors would charge more than needed to ensure they got a return on their investment. John isn’t saying there shouldn’t be taxes just that such taxes and tax collection should be fair.

 Finally, the soldiers stepped up and said, “Preacher, what should we do?”

John looked at them, shook his head, and said, “No more of your power games.”

They clanked their swords, cleared their throats, and said, “What do you mean?”

John said, “No more manipulation to get your own way. No more threats for the weak. No more extortion, especially for money.”

There is no room in God’s coming kingdom for those who wish to throw around their power and take advantage of people who are already feeling worn down.

This is good advice for any follower of Jesus. You cannot act as if you are in charge of the world; the job is already taken. You cannot pretend that everybody needs to bow down before you; somebody else is already seated on the throne. In fact, you can’t even demand to get your own way, because God is the One who rules with justice and fierce mercy. The only people who are fit for the kingdom of God are the people who are satisfied with God as our ruler.

So having heard all of this, what should we do? What are our fruits of repentance?  If we are going to get ready for Christ to come and rule in our hearts, it will involve three things:

• Share with the needy.

• Sidestep every temptation of greed.

• Give up every form of abuse of power

This is what God wants from us today. For John the Baptist, as for Jesus who came after him, the words of a sermon must always be translated into deeds of mercy. The gospel frees us to give generously, to act responsibly, to love willingly. We therefore are to be bringers of good news, and in that moment, we know that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Photo credit - https://lwccyork.com/

Have a wash for advent!

Sunday 5th December 2021 Second Sunday of Advent

On the journey of Advent, we light the first candle, and we read biblical passages that propel us into the future to consider the end of time - the apocalypse. Today, our reading sends us in the opposite direction. On the second Sunday of Advent, we are pulled into the distant past to hear the words of the ancient prophet, Malachi.

I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send my messenger
    to prepare the way for me.
Then suddenly the Lord
you are looking for
    will appear in his temple.
The messenger you desire
is coming with my promise,
    and he is on his way. Malachi 3:1 CEV

A messenger who will purify people's hearts. A messenger who will “be like a furnace that purifies silver or like strong soap in a washbasin.” Malachi 3:2 CEV

In the midst of our pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, the church trots out some primitive prophet who promises us an Advent scrub-down. Is that really what we need right now? You would think that the lectionary could come up with a few encouraging words at this time, assuring us that we will make it through another Christmas, instead of cheekily suggesting that before God arrives, we need a bath!

 

What does this mean? How are we to be refined? How are we to be purified? How are we to be washed with strong soap? And when God’s promise, spoken through the prophet Malachi, is finally fulfilled, what will look different in our world, in our churches and in our own lives?

 

Now I should add a word of caution. It would be easy when thinking about the second coming of Christ, to be talking about judgment and repentance and how all the wrong things of the world will be put right. How the wicked will be punished and so on. Yes, we are told those things will happen at that time, whenever that time is. But it’s not for us to draw up a list of those we think deserve to be punished.

 

IN fact, the prophesy we’re thinking about this morning, and indeed John the Baptist’s message in Luke 3, is not about judgment for the world. It is more about the followers of Christ being ready, being prepared, for what will happen when Christ comes again.

 

We can see that Malachi’s prophesy was foretelling the coming of Christ into the world. And in a few weeks, we will of course celebrate the wonderful event. But Malachi was giving his prophesy to God’s people many years before Christ’s birth.

 

Malachi’s prophecy was given after the Jewish people has returned from their exile in Babylon. Around 400 years before Jesus’ birth. Although the Jews had returned from exile and had been allowed to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, they were still subject to Babylonian rule. The glorious future that had been announced by other prophets such as Haggai and Zechariah, had not yet been realised and as yet God had not yet returned to the Temple. (It was central to Jewish belief that God resided in the Temple.)

 

These things combined to make the Jewish people doubt God’s covenant of love with them and made them no longer trust his promise of justice. They were going through the motions of their faith.

 

I think this is where the prophet Malachi has something to say to the church today. We followers of Christ need to be refined, we need to be washed in strong soap, just as Malachi said needed to happen to the Jewish people in their apathy.

 

What will this refining look like? What will it be like? I don’t know. But a starting point for each one of us is to look inside ourselves, to look inside our churches. Are there things we know need putting right? Things we wish to repent of? Things we wish to change or do differently? All in anticipation that one day Christ will come again.

 

Revd Sharon Rhodes – Wickett is an American Methodist minister who has spent time working in Africa. She relates the following story:

 

“At the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, West Africa, meetings were held in a large church in the capital city, Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the church there was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged at the door. She looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotted, and she had on tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people brushed her aside upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her to go away. We were busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother. This went on for several days.

As I sat in the pew observing the Conference one day, my peripheral vision caught some motion outside. I looked out of the window, and there on the patio, outside the sanctuary was a woman, a lay member of the conference. She found a bucket and some soap. Although dressed in a beautiful traditional tie-dye gown, she pushed up her sleeves, and she was giving that 8-year-old girl a bath. She soaped up her hair and was tenderly making her all clean and new. She washed the clothes the child had been wearing, and they were spread out on the bushes in the sun drying. The woman went out and got another dress for her to wear, too.

Hundreds of pastors and devoted laypersons poured into the Methodist Church of Freetown to do the work of the church. But outside, on the edges, quietly and without notice, the work of redemption - the work of Jesus Christ was being done. It was not the work of committees and reports and programs. It was the work of soap and water and human touch and being able to see the face of Jesus in that of an abandoned 8-year-old girl.”

 

I relate this story as it serves as a good example I think of where the Church has sometimes got its priorities wrong. Certainly, in the Methodist Church I feel we are very good at talking about things and having lots of rules and regulations – and these can serve an important purpose. But all too often we are in danger of overlooking those 8-year-old girls sat outside the church door needing a wash while we focus on whether or not each church should have a first aider!

 

At Advent we are reminded that the promise of Christ’s coming again into the world is true. He will come again. It will happen under God’s control and in God’s time. There will be a refining and a cleansing. But it will be worth it. After all, if metal is refined it becomes purer and stronger. If something is washed it is better than something dirty.

 

God is sending his messenger Jesus. Why would he do that? The mes­senger comes from a heart of love. Love tempers judgment. The Old and New Testaments are filled with stories, illustrations, quotes, and messages of God’s eternal love. The one verse that typifies the essence of redemption is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV). The writer, John, goes further “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17 NIV). 

Those days are surely coming

 Sunday 29th November 2021 First Sunday of Advent

In these days before Christmas, we in the Church are in a different time and place to the world outside. Outside, many people are looking forward to “the big day” but equally they are wrapped up in the here and now thinking about what to buy, thinking about when to post cards, thinking of the food order, putting off thinking how they’ll pay for it all.

We followers of Jesus on the other hand are called to be in a different time. In fact, in Advent, we are thinking in many different times. We are looking back. We are in the here and now. But we are looking to the time to come. We are hopping around time like Dr Who!

In a few weeks’ time in  our carol services we’ll hear the words of Luke read out:

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.  Luke 2:1

Luke telling what happened in Nazareth and Bethlehem.

But on this first Sunday of Advent Jeremiah tells us that we must look to the future

¹⁴ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 

In those days and at that time ….

In these days before Christmas the future is not where our culture encourages us to go. Whether that encouragement takes us to the Outlet Village or to wallow in nostalgia of Christmas like we used to know.

Jeremiah speaks words to the captive Hebrews in Babylon. Captives who he’s previously told in chapter 29 that they are going to be in Babylon for some time. So, they’d better make the most of it. They’d better settle down, allow their children to marry local people, help Babylon prosper.

Jeremiah is saying that God’s promised future will come not through giving up on God’s promises during this period of waiting but by trusting God to deliver in God’s time

¹⁴ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

In God’s good time - In those days and at that time …. All will become well.

It can’t be easy being a prophet. Imagine being given the task by God to tell the Hebrew people, who have been conquered, who have seen their city flattened, who have been taken off as slaves to Babylon, imagine going to them and saying trust God. Yes, trust God, God who has allowed these things to happen to you his people. Yes, trust him because he is at work. He will deliver you from captivity. In those days and at that time God will make things right.

Heidi Neumark was a minister of a Lutheran church in a very deprived part of New York. In her book Breathing Space she wrote about how for her and her church, Advent captured their mood perfectly.

“I might not feel sorry during Lent when we’re told to beg repentance. I might not feel victorious on Easter morning. I might not feel full of the spirit on Pentecost. But in Advent I always feel in sync with the season.”

She goes on to explain that “Advent embraces and understands my reality” A reality which seems to be one of plodding on, of waiting for something better to come about. Being a good and faithful servant but feeling tired and fed up.

A feeling like the Hebrews in Babylon. Maybe a feeling we know too?

Heidi Neumark explains that what Advent means to her can be summed up by a Spanish word “anhelo” which roughly translates as “longing or desire.”

She says

“Advent is the time when the church can no longer wait, when the church can no longer contain it’s unfulfilled desire and it cries out with anhelo “Come Lord Jesus! Come o come Emmanuel!”

This is they cry of Christians trying to make sense of the crazy world we are living in. It is the cry of Christians who are fed up with seeing injustice and unrighteousness. Its is the cry of Christians who see the need for change in the world but who have lost hope in change coming through governments. Come Lord Jesus! Come o come Emmanuel

The Hebrews in Babylon longed to be released from captivity. They longed to return to their homeland. They longed for a time when God would

execute justice and righteousness in the land. Jeremiah 33:15

So many of us feel that longing now. We long for a day when God’s kingdom in heaven will be here on earth. Surely that day is coming? We long for the day when the poor are not having to live on the streets or made to rely on food banks. Surely the day is coming? We long for a day when all people care for the world that is the Lord’s. Surely the day is coming? Yes. Surely that day IS coming!

For over 2,000 years we followers of Jesus have expressed “anhelo”. For over 2,000 years we’ve longed for Christ to come again and bring in his reign of justice and righteousness. It might seem it will never happen. But we must believe it will.

Ruby Bridges was just six years old when, in 1960, she was chosen as the first Black child to integrate into the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. A school of white children. Photos show the incredible courage of this little girl who was escorted to school each morning by police officers to protect her from the angry white parents who screamed curses, insults, and threats at her each day.

Dr. Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist from Harvard, interviewed Ruby Bridges in an effort to determine how young children learn to cope with such frightening and dehumanizing abuse day after day. In the interview, Ruby told Dr. Coles that she prayed for the people who threatened her, insulted her, spat at her. Her mother and her minister had told her that God was watching over her each day, and it was her duty to pray for, and forgive, the people who opposed her.

When Dr. Coles asked Ruby if she thought this advice was correct, she said, “I’m sure God knows what is happening . . . He may not do anything right now, but there will come a day, like they say in church, there will come a day. You can count on it. That’s what they say in church.” (6)

“. . . there will come a day. You can count on it.” That was Jeremiah’s message almost 3000 years ago. The days are surely coming

That is what we hope for. That is what we long for. The day when Christ will come again. Those days and at that time when God will cause a righteous Branch to spring up and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Those days are surely coming. Come Lord Jesus!

Where are the prophets?

 

Reflection Sunday 13^th December 2020 Third Sunday of Advent

 

Two of the Bible readings suggested for today concern prophets. The prophet Isaiah and, John the Baptist who was also a prophet. Both passages of scripture have a familiarity to them.

The Isaiah passage (Isaiah 61: 1 – 4, 8 – 11) was drawn upon by Jesus in Luke 4: 14 – 30.

¹⁸ ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor. Luke 4:18

There Jesus sets out for the people of Nazareth (who were amazed at how well he spoke given he was Joseph’s son) what his ministry would be concerned with. (If you look at the passage in Luke, you’ll see that Jesus’ message was not well received.)

As in so much of his prophesy, Isaiah foretells not only Jesus’ coming but also what his ministry will be like and would be concerned with.

Then of course we have John the Baptist. He was identified as a prophet by the people who came to hear him preach and his message is very prophetic - “Prepare the way!” But when he was asked if he was Elijah or the Prophet (John 1:21) he denied it. (To the Jewish people “the Prophet” and Elijah were both thought to come before the arrival of the messiah. And in that sense John could be thought of as “the Prophet” – though most Jewish people thought of “the Prophet” as being Moses like.)

As we know, most Jewish people did not make the connection between Isaiah’s great prophesy, and what John the Baptist was proclaiming, and the coming of Christ as Messiah. At best, Jesus himself might have been regarded as a prophet by much of the Jewish community.

We move forward from Jesus’ ministry to the church in Thessalonica. And Paul’s letter to the young church there (written scholars think around 55 AD / CE, 20 years or so after Jesus’ death and resurrection.)

Paul is addressing an issue that has perplexed the Church ever since: how do we understand the fact that Jesus has not returned in glory as we had been led to expect? How do we hold on for that hope?

In 1 Thess 5: 1 – 11 Paul encourages the Christians to live “wakefully”, alert for the salvation that may come about at anytime. (A theme I’ve commented on over the last couple of weeks.)  But in 1 Thess 5: 11 – 24 Paul shows them how they are to live in the meantime – the time between Christ’s first and second advents – the time in which we live. Verses 12 – 13 suggest they can have peace with one another by respecting their leaders. Verse 14 seems to be instructions to church leaders. And in verse 15 we have instructions for congregations.

But it is verses 19 - 21 that caught my attention.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; 1 Thess 5: 16 – 24

We know from 1 Corinthians 14 that Paul was concerned with the use of prophecy within worship and the church. In the early church Prophets were Christian leaders who declared aloud in worship, words they claimed to have received from God. Paul’s warning to the church in Thessalonica is to respect the prophecy but also to test them.

In some branches of the Church today, perhaps Pentecostal type churches, prophesy and “bringing a word” from God is still very much a thing. In our tradition it is not something we encounter very often. Does that mean we do not have prophets in the Methodist church? In fact, we might say “where are the Prophets?” anywhere?

There is a danger in thinking of Prophets as those  being some who predict the future – just as Isaiah and John the Baptist foretold the coming of Christ.

But Biblically and historically, true prophets spoke out about injustice and exploitation. They spoke on God's behalf when his people went astray and forgot the poor. They spoke truth to power, not condemnation to the downtrodden and marginalized. (Have a look at prophets such as Amos and Micah for example.)

Some of you may know the song by Simon and Garfunkel from the 1960s “The Sound of silence”. It contains these words:

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sound of silence

To me these words in a secular song are a reminder that if we look for them, if we listen out for them, we will find prophets in the most unlikely of places. I’ve no idea whether the Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford is a Christian, but his high profile enabled him to give a voice to children in need of free school meals. His speaking out against injustice was prophetic. Yes, MPs, church leaders and so on had been doing the same. But somehow, Marcus Rashford’s voice broke through.

(Incidentally, going back to that song, “whispered in the sound of silence” is a reminder to us that God spoke to Elijah the prophet not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in the still small voice.)

Of course, as Paul reminds us, we need to be wary of prophets. We need to test what they say. It seems to me that if what a “prophet” says accords with Christ’s teachings, for example in Luke 4 (and Isaiah 61) then they could well be authentic, and we should take note of what they are saying.

Who are the prophets today? Are we listening to them?

Praise and honour to you living God for John the Baptist, and for all those voices crying in the wilderness who prepare the way. May we listen when a prophet speaks your word, and obey.

 

A New Zealand Prayer Book © Anglican Church of New Zealand Harper Collins 1989

 

Revd David P. Gray 7^th December 2020

Use the waiting time wisely

 

Reflection Sunday 6^th December 2020 Advent 2

 

Last Sunday, I wrote about how Advent is a time of waiting, and waiting in hopefulness. This Sunday I want to explore the idea of waiting a bit further. And my Reflection mainly focuses on the reading from 2 Peter 3: 8 - 15a

Lew Bowman in the Feasting of the Word commentary for this passage notes that a frequent question of believers is “What is God doing in the world?” and a supplementary question to this is “What are the roles of human beings in this work?” They are questions that test faith. And let’s be honest, how many of us from time to time have said something along the lines of “Why doesn’t God do something about this?” which suggests we may feel (even if only in that moment) that God isn’t doing anything.

We may think this way of thinking is modern, confined to what is sometimes referred to as “a post Christian era”. But we’d be wrong, for Christians have wrestled with this for hundreds of years. In fact, Christians have been thinking this way since a generation or so after Christ’s death and resurrection.

The early church of 2 Peter was wrestling with this as they endured the scoffers who taunted them with the failure of the second coming. (2 Peter 3: 3 – 4) It is worth noting that 2 Peter was probably written in Peter’s name a generation or two after this death. It was written by a theological follower of the great apostle, using the apostle’s name to give authority to the ideas in the letter. Bearing this in mind, the subject of the letter makes sense.

The earliest followers of Christ, those who either had known him or had been in contact with the apostles, had heard Jesus’ teachings that he would come again. From their (relative) first hand experience they believed the second coming would be imminent. But by the time of the church in 2 Peter, and even more so now, this urgency, and this belief that the return is imminent, has petered out!

The author of the letter explains that if we have this sense that Christ’s return won’t happen, then we are missing the point. We are counting time in human terms whereas God measures time differently.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 2 Peter 3:8

The writer explains that what matters is not the way God counts but rather the way God speaks. God’s word created the cosmos; God’s word speaking through the prophets pointed ahead to the present messy days when scoffers refuse to believe God’s promises. And God’s word preserves the earth until the earth is consumed in grace and judgment – grace and judgment that will also come by God’s Word (see John 1).

There is a reason why God has delayed his final judgment. And that reason is to allow time for repentance. Therefore, what to us looks like God’s tardiness in sending his Son into the world once again is actually an act of mercy on God’s part.

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 9

And let me emphasise part of that verse; God does not want anyone to perish in the wrath that will come when Christ comes again, but God wants everyone to come to repentance. In verse 10 the writer lays out his understanding of what will happen when the day of the Lord arrives. And it doesn’t sound good! Hence why God in his love for people, even his most wayward children, wants repentance.

Of course, talk of repentance in Advent brings us to John the Baptist. The voice calling in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1: 1 – 8)

For a certain type of minister this would be a call to go out on to the streets of their local town, calling people to repent and then baptising them in the local river. And certainly, we know we are living in a world where we are surrounded by those who should repent and seek forgiveness for their sins before it is too late to do so.

But I feel first and foremost that as a minister I need to focus on the needs of those I have “pastoral charge” of. To ensure all is well with my own people before heading off to the River Avon in the centre of Chippenham and baptising those stood in the queue outside Wilco’s!

In fact this is important for the writer of 2 Peter reminds those of us who have already become followers of Christ, that as we watch and wait for his coming again, as we watch and wait for the new heaven and the new earth, we are to

make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 2 Peter 3:14

In other words, we are to look at the planks in our own eyes before looking at the specks in others’ eyes. (see Matthew 7:5)

The great Christian writer Henri Nouwen once said,

 "If we do not wait patiently in expectation for God's coming in glory, we start wandering around, going from one little sensation to another. Our lives get stuffed with newspaper items, television stories, and gossip. Then our minds lose the discipline of discerning between what leads us closer to God and what doesn't, and our hearts lose their spiritual sensitivity." 

It's the hard work of acknowledging our own sin and repenting that leads us to God.

Use this time of Advent to look at your own life. Are there things that are keeping you from being closer to God? Are there things that interrupt your waiting?  If so offer them to God, seek his forgiveness and then know that in his great love for us he forgives us. Thanks be to God. Amen

Keep looking forward to the light

This is a talk written for an online Advent Service on Sunday 29th November 2020

A couple of weeks ago I was sent the Order of Service / script for this evening. And I noticed one song was called “Keep Hauling”. We heard it sung earlier. I wasn’t familiar with it so Googled it. And I found out it was written by Andrew Cadie and has been performed by the folk group Show of Hands, and by Fisherman’s Friends.

On the face of it, it seems an odd choice for an Advent service. But then there’s the verse I read out before the choir sang

When your guiding star's in cloudy skies
Keep hauling, keep hauling
You'll find your way to the bright sunrise
Keep hauling, boys

You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkNwhbyiA4Y

The song reminded me of a song I first heard in 2009. Just before Methodist ministers are ordained we go on retreat -  a week of preparation for entering ministry. In one session we were played a song sung by the American Gospel Singer Mahalia Jackson.  It’s a song that can trace its roots back to African American Spirituals and the song is variously called "Gospel Plow" , "Hold On" and "Keep Your Hand on the Plow".

The reason it was played to us was to remind us that when we are called to Jesus’ service, we are not to look back. We are to look forward. Just as someone ploughing a field needs to look forward.

Hold on Hold on
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on

Heard the voice of Jesus say
Come unto me, I am the way.
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.
When my way gets dark as night,
I know the lord will be my light,
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.

“Keep your hand on the plow” draws on a verse in Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus reminds us that if we are to follow him we need to keep our eyes on him looking forward not back:

⁶² ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’ Luke 9: 62

Keep hauling and Keep your hand to the plow have the same idea in my view. Keep going. Keep looking forward. It’s tough but all will be well.

This year has been hard for us all in so many ways. And I don’t know about you, these last few weeks have been the hardest. A combination of wet dull days and the nights drawing in have made it so hard. I get quite grumpy about people putting Christmas decorations up early. But this year I do understand why

But for me it is important to make sure Advent is marked. Because Advent tells us so much about our faith. Advent is the season for “keep hauling” and “keep your hand to the plow”. Advent is the time when things somehow can seem hard and hopeless. But it is the time when we look forward in anticipation to the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World.

When my way gets dark as night,
I know the lord will be my light,
Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.

Earlier we a reading from that great passage of scripture from Isaiah 9

“The people walking in darkness of seen a great light”.

The foretelling of Christ 700 year saw before his birth. The people of Israel, witnessing the decline of their kingdom, sensing the power of the Babylonians who would soon conquer the land and destroy Jerusalem, those people of Israel walked in darkness. But Isaiah gave them the prophesy of hope.

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

It would be 700 years or so before the child was born. Many generations of Jewish people waited and wondered if the event would happen. And it did.

For us, the child has been born. For us the son has been given. We have that hope already.

We may feel that we are living in a dark time, but we can see the light to guide us. To lead us. To give us hope. We have the hope that Jesus the light of the world brings. Yes, we still have darkness around us. Yes, things will remain hard for us for some time. But keep your eyes on the light.

When love just seems so far away
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
The tide will flood your heart someday
Keep haulin', boys

When your guidin' star's in cloudy skies
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
You'll find your way to the bright sunrise
Keep haulin', boys

Keep hauling! Keep your hand to the plough. Keep you eyes on the light of the world.