New Hope
Luke 21:25-36
December 2, 3, 2006

Although January 1 is several weeks away, the beginning of Advent marks the beginning of the New Year on the Church calendar. So I would like to wish you and yours a "Happy New Year!" Today we begin another significant cycle of liturgical seasons in the church. This particular Advent and Christmas season will be especially meaningful for our community of faith. As we prepare to move into our beautiful new facilities and sanctuary, we will have a bountiful feast of wonderful worship services, meaningful opportunities for mission, and festive fellowship with our church family.

I would like to take a few moments to "set the table" for all of us as we prepare for the weeks ahead. The theme for worship services during the season of Advent will be "All Things New." Today and in the weeks to come we will be reflecting on several scripture lessons from Luke. The messages will focus on significant themes within these texts: new hope, new peace, new joy, new love, new light, and new birth.

On Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve 2006, we plan to have one morning worship service at 11:00 a.m. We will gather in the current sanctuary and give thanks to God for the many sacred memories and experiences we have shared in that holy place. Then we will process to the new sanctuary and enter the new gates with thanksgiving and praise and majestic music that will make our spirits soar!

Sunday night, we will gather again for our Christmas Eve candlelight and communion services at 5, 8, and 11 p.m. I hope you will plan to be present and invite your family members and friends to worship God with us during this inspiring season of the year.

I also want you to let you know about the next sermon series. I have been thinking about this for some time now. I believe that during the next several months we will see lots of new faces at Beargrass. Many of them will be wondering what sets us apart as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Many of them will have questions about Beargrass Christian Church. In fact, some of the folks who have been here for years may have the same questions!

Anyway, my decision to proceed with this series was strangely affirmed when I received the latest edition of Disciples World, our denominational magazine. If you don't subscribe to this publication, I encourage you to do so. In the December edition, you will find a beautiful poem that was written by Rev. Julie Richardson Brown, our minister to youth and young adults. But on the opposite page from her poem, you will find an article by Dr. Michael Kinnamon, who I consider to be one of the powerful and prophetic voices of our church. His article is titled Ten Reasons Why I Am a Disciple. So, your four ministers will be addressing the same topic-why we are Disciples, what makes us different, what we particularly appreciate about Beargrass Christian Church. Some churches would describe these messages as "testimonials," and I guess in a way they are. But I am looking forward to hearing what my colleagues have to say-and I hope these messages are helpful for everyone.

I also encourage YOU to begin thinking about what you would say if you had to deliver a sermon on this topic!
Because you will-new people will be entering our doors and they'll want to know…
"What makes this church different?"
"Why do you attend here?"
"What's so special about Beargrass?"
I hope you will prepare yourself and be ready to respond!

Speaking of being ready, you may have heard the story Billy Strayhorn tells about the little boy who decided to prepare for the Christmas season by writing a letter to God. He and his family were active members of the local Catholic Church. The youngster wrote: "Dear God, I've been a really good boy this year." Unfortunately, he remembered that God was all knowing and all seeing and he decided that he couldn't lie to God. So, he crumpled up that letter and started over. This time he wrote: "Dear God, I know I haven't done everything I should have, but I really tried to be good." He stopped and crumpled up that letter, too. It was obvious that he was struggling with what to write to God. As he sat there thinking he looked up and saw his mother's favorite piece of sculpture on the mantel. It was a beautiful rendition of the Madonna, the mother of Christ. The boy suddenly got this brilliant idea! He ran out of the room and came back with a towel and a shoebox. He walked over, carefully picked up the Madonna, gently wrapped it in the towel, carefully put it in the shoebox and then hid it in the closet. He immediately went back to the table and wrote: "Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again…."

Perhaps it is time for the Church to take back Christmas once again? The world tries to hold it for ransom each year, with its gizmos and gadgets and multiplicity of must-have Wiis and PS3s and "Tickle-me Elmos." The world tries to snuff out the light of Christ with a barrage of messages of doubt and despair. The world tries to make demands and hold Christmas for ransom, but it never works. And so, every Advent season the Church takes back the meaning and message of Christmas. The birth of the Christ child is just too moving, too momentous. The Story of this child born so long ago makes the glitz and the glitter pale in comparison. The Story brings light to the darkest corners of our lives.As someone shared in this eloquent line: "God whispers to us in every candle and carol, every card and creche: 'I love you.'"

And so we gather again in worship, to prepare our hearts to receive this gift of love, to repent, to get ready, and to respond in faith. THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN MESSAGES FROM OUR LESSON FROM LUKE. At first, the passage seems to be packed with several independent ideas. First, Jesus talks about being aware of the signs of the new age to come. The sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, and the sea will begin a cataclysmic symphony as the day approaches. Verses 27-28 describe the reign of God in a way that seems to span the ages-it is present in part but only partly present-kingdom come and kingdom coming. Even so, he encourages us: "Raise your heads! Your redemption is drawing near!" In the midst of all of that shaking, rattling, and rolling, there is Good News! There is hope.

In the second section of the passage, Jesus goes out on a limb and brings us a figgy parable. These words function as an illustration of what he has been talking about. "Look at the plants and trees around you!" "You know how to read the signs in nature-you don't need any rocket scientist or theologian to tell you when the seasons are changing." "When the leaves turn color and fall off, guess what? It's fall!" "When the temperature drops from a record high of 75 to the point where it's snowing, winter creeping up around the corner." "When you see buds on the trees, guess what?" "You'll figure it out."

Then he echoes his call to remain alert in the third section of the text. Jesus exhorts his disciples to "guard their hearts" against such distractions as "dissipation, debauchery, drunkenness, overindulgences, or worries." "Don't let these crazy things going on around you shape your lives." "Don't let them lead you to despair." "If all of this happens quickly, don't waste your time trying to predict it." "And if it all takes a while, don't waste your time becoming complacent." "Stay faithful, be on guard, and live with expectation and hope!"

Is that the common thread that weaves these stories together? Is Jesus telling us that we should be "observing"-not necessarily "watching"-but personally participating in the preparations for the age to come. We generally think of Advent as a period for preparing to celebrate Christ's birth-and it is! But one of the lectionary lessons for the beginning of every Advent also invites us to consider and contemplate the BIG picture.

Ellen and I went to hear Dr. Fred Craddock recently. He was preaching a revival, of all things, at First Christian Church in Shelbyville. One of the things he talked about during one of his sessions was what he and other scholars describe as a "meta-narrative"-an overlying Story. As people of faith, we trust that this is all going somewhere. And we continue to live with the hope that the future is in God's hands. Dr. Craddock affirms that the purpose of this passage and others like it is "not to satisfy curiosity about the time or manner of the end, but to proclaim God the Creator as Lord of History." There will come a time when God's plans for the world will finally be fulfilled. But in the meantime, remember your call to repent, turn back to God, offer your life in meaningful service… And-no matter how much of a mess you're in or the world is in-live with hope!

The great church leader Martin Luther was once asked what he would do if he knew that the world was coming to an end tomorrow. He said: "I would plant an apple tree." In other words, Luther, trusting in God's gracious, unmerited mercy would live life just as he had been living it." John Wesley responded to the same kind of question. He said, "I would arise at 4:00 a.m., preach at 5:00 a.m., visit the sick at 7:00 a.m., go to communion at 8:00 a.m., etc. The person who asked the question soon realized Wesley was describing his normal daily schedule.

And what about us? How would we answer the question? Is it possible that because we believe in God, because we believe that God has best been revealed to us in Jesus, that we will continue to live in faith and love? Could it be that we will greet every sunrise with new hope, trusting God for whatever the future holds? And can we respond by sharing that hope with others?

A schoolteacher shared this story. She worked in a large school district and was one of the instructors who were given special assignments for students who were confined to their homes or in hospitals. She received a routine call to visit a child who had been admitted for a lengthy stay in the hospital. She wrote down the boy's name, jotted down the room number-409-and was told by the boy's regular teacher, "We're studying nouns and adverbs now. This boy needs help so he will not fall behind." When the visiting teacher reached the fourth floor of the hospital, she realized the boy was in the hospital's burn unit. No one had prepared her to for his horrible condition-he had extensive burns and was in a great deal of pain. Her first instinct was to turn around and walk out. But she stammered, "I'm the hospital teacher, and your regular teacher asked me to help you with nouns and adverbs." Because of his condition, the boy could barely respond. The teacher stumbled through the grammar lesson, but felt guilty for asking the boy questions or trying to correct him. The next morning, however, the teacher was confronted by a nurse on the burn unit. The nurse asked, "What did you do to that boy in 409 yesterday?" "Can you tell me what happened yesterday?" The teacher started to apologize, but the nurse interrupted: "You don't understand-we've been concerned about him." "But ever since you were with him yesterday, his whole attitude has changed." "He's fighting back, responding to treatment, like he wants to live."

Later, the boy shared his feelings with the nurse. With tears rimming his eyes he said, "I had given up. At my lowest moment, the teacher came into my room. I suddenly realized that they wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they? She gave me hope. I decided I wanted to get well, if they thought I could. So I prayed, asking God to help me. And here I am."

Friends, even in our lowest moments… God wants us to keep working on our nouns and adverbs. There's a lot of life yet to live. There is work to be done. Even during our darkest days… In Jesus, God speaks the Word… So we can dare to live…with new hope.