The Great Giving to God Show
Isaiah 64: 1-9
Ephesians 3: 5-12
DECEMBER 3, 2023 – THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
That first candle … the first candle of the season of Advent represents HOPE. I have to admit that I have never memorized and usually cannot recite off the top of my head the four aspirations for living that are connected to the four candles on the Advent wreath surrounding the Christ candle. I just never really learned them and in fact, I have even been known to light the candles out of order, but I promise to try to remember that the PINK candle is lit on the third week, but I also know that God understands my imperfection and I will not be struck down if I make another mistake. God loves me.
However, I never ever forget that in the center is the CHRIST candle! Or at least I try not to forget … but it is easy isn’t it church to move Christ out of the center of our focus even in church at times and definitely out there in the world … perhaps even to forget Christ’s reality or significance. Or that God is really God. So, Advent’s positioning on the calendar just before the start of a new year offers you and me a renewed opportunity to join with others in reconnecting with God. Showing the world that we are Christ-followers, believers, Christians who share our faith with love … giving to the world in a way that can change the world. Not condemning nor judging but welcoming and encouraging through love. HOPE for all … true HOPE in Jesus. A Christmas story.
Just in case you are like me and can’t remember the words that go with the candles that are lit in December here they are: Today’s candle …. HOPE, the hope of the prophets that Jesus the Messiah would come to rescue the world.
Next Sunday’s candle represents LOVE … a love for God demonstrated through FAITH as shown by those who rushed to the manger. And next Sunday, the men of this church will be singing LEAN ON ME because FAITH is the ultimate admission that we need to lean on God and that we love God. The candle also is to remind us of the faith of Mary and Joseph as they journeyed together to Bethlehem knowing Mary was close to giving birth. Both of them had heard from the angels about the significance of that birth and frankly it had nothing to do with a beautifully decorated member of the evergreen family or their plastic facsimiles nor boxes wrapped underneath.
The third candle, which will be lit on the day of our Children’s Pageant symbolizes JOY. It’s also referred to as the Shepherd’s Candle calling us to remember their joy when they first saw Jesus and perhaps bringing our minds back to the joy we had when we first knew Jesus was God’s Christmas gift to the world … reminding us that we should show that joy each day because we still know Jesus.
The fourth candle is the Angel’s Candle of PEACE. You remember their words … sort of a rewriting of the lessons Jesus would teach us to follow, “Peace on earth, Good Will Toward Men.” Sort of a love connection. And this middle candle … the CHRIST CANDLE to be lit on Christmas Eve night but always a light that we should always sense. Purity …. LOVE … PEACE … JOY …. FAITH … to the world, to us.
We are in a season of challenge friends because as Christians we should be challenged to make a decision as to who we are. Who or what we represent. The world is hearing the word CHRISTMAS in so many ways these days … CHRISTMAS … is approaching … CHRISTMAS sales … CHRISTMAS music … CHRISTMAS cards … CHRISTMAS options are as close as our internet-connected cell phones … but the challenge for Christians is whether we are compartmentalizing HOPE, LOVE, FAITH, PEACE, JOY and CHRIST … all those human feelings and even our Savior into a safe place reflective of what Paul wrote about earlier generations, “they didn’t know the plan … that the Gentiles would be copiers and parts of the same body and that they would share with the Jews in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”
In this season of ADVENT … DO YOU KNOW the PLAN? Have you taken it on? Are you ready to show your corner of the world … your small circle of life … that HOPE, LOVE, FAITH, PEACE, JOY, and CHRIST are alive in you? Are you sensing the urge to GIVE TO GOD through your life’s example?
Are you renewed … are you energized … Paul continued in that letter to the church in Ephesus, “God’s purpose is now to show the rulers and powers in the heavens the many different varieties of God’s wisdom THROUGH THE CHURCH.” Ahh, through the church. The means and opportunities to demonstrate God’s wisdom. Those who shine Christ’s light through their words and actions and love. Not through lightning bolts from God nor words written across the skies but the HOPE we find in Jesus is to begin right here … in the church. The answer to the prayers of so many and the teaching of the directives of God … begin right here with THE CHURCH. At St. Paul’s United Methodist Church of West Deptford … us, you, me. At least the opportunity exists … we know the plan. We are here in church. “God’s purpose is to show everyone … God’s wisdom through the church.”
As I sort of half sat and half lay on the couch last night watching and falling asleep to the botanical episode of the current season of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ I was wondering again why more people of faith aren’t living a life as part of the Great Giving to God Show. If you are familiar with the BAKE OFF you know that amateur bakers, come from throughout Great Britain to THE TENT where they will be challenged to bake a wide variety of delicious bake goods. They will be judged by Paul and Pru while being cared for with joy and laughter by Noel and in the new season Alison.
The bakers or contestants are not competing for a huge cash prize … not even a new oven or refrigerator. They are competing for a glass cake plate. They do not get paid to be on the show either. However perhaps an even greater prize is a handshake from Paul after baking something particularly spectacular. A handshake … a glass plate and they hug each other with affection, which was the first thing I noticed about the everyday humans selected to be on this show. They strive for a handshake … they hug each other with affection while celebrating each other’s success. They are not in it for the money … there is truly HOPE for the world if we humans start to hug each other again, celebrate each other’s success stories, and strive for a handshake rather than a personally focused gain at the expense of others. Rather than being about ME-ME-ME … I find the bakers focused on doing their best while celebrating the US in the TENT. Reminds me of church … doing our best, celebrating us, just wanting a handshake or a hug.
We started worship today with a slide … LIGHTING A CANDLE in the DARKNESS helps us find our way. PREPARE YE … the WAY of the LORD. This church can have such an impact and has through the years … a lit candle in the Gloucester County wilderness.
And, here we are hopefully anticipating God’s connection in Holy Communion while focusing in on how much God loves each of us. Intense and personal love. Striving to become part of the GIVING BACK TO GOD reality. WORSHIP … sensing God here and now.
Reverend George Morris shared a meme on Facebook this week that struck me as an Advent lesson to regain hope. It was about children but I found it to be a lesson for all. Perhaps it was because of the Scripture I read earlier that day from Romans, “Do not conform to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The meme was to me offers a Christmas gift to all of you … it reads in part, “If we teach our children lessons of the heart, this is how they will change our world for the better. Teach them to sit with those sitting alone; teach them to be a friend to the lonely; teach them to be kind; teach them to be encouraging; teach them to offer to help; teach them to build bridges not erect walls; teach them to be good; and teach them to be generous.”
Imagine …if we followed those teachings. Can’t you imagine for a moment on this first HOPEFUL SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2023 that if we allowed ourselves to join the GREAT GIVING to GOD SHOW by packing away our barriers and our excuses … to do all of those simple tasks that I am sure we all admit would create a better world … IF WE merely agreed with Paul and decidedly stopped conforming to the world and allowed Christ to renew our minds through our faith … what a better place this would be. And, then we might let down our guard so God could fulfill the promise of Isaiah, “WE ARE THE CLAY … YOU ARE THE POTTER … ALL of US are the work of YOUR HAND, GOD!”
Today, it is one candle … one little nibble of bread and a sip of the fruit of the vine. The candle of HOPE … the promise of God’s forgiveness out of love no matter how badly we may have slipped or how far away we have gone. It is a season of anticipation … it is a season of hope … it can be a season of the renewal of our faith if we are ready to accept God’s reality, Christ’s salvation and our need for both.
After today, there will only be three Sunday mornings left in Advent … LOVE, JOY, and PEACE all connected in FAITH. And, then on the fourth Sunday of Advent you have a choice to make … will you notice that the Christmas Eve service is on that Sunday so you can skip the 930 morning service celebrating God’s PEACE because one church service is all you really need on any given Sunday and you don’t want to miss the blowing out of the candles to Silent Night or will you bring friends to both services?
Rahul Mandal early in series 9 of the Great British Baking Show said in a moment that endeared him to fans worldwide, “I am not confident with anything happening around my life … so how can the baking temperature be different” before apologizing to Paul for his bake of the moment not being very good. Noel Fielding, the great British comic, wrapped his arms around Rahul’s shoulders to let him know everything was alright. Other bakers came to Rahul’s side as tears at a perceived failure struck home with him perhaps tied with his sense of not having a great life. Well, Rahul ended up winning that season’s glass cake plate as the winner of the Great British Baking Show. He persevered … those around him gave him support … it was a special moment of HOPE even in the depths of challenge. He walked away in victory.
It is ADVENT … hope is an easily available commodity to those willing to be wrapped in the arms of God. We together, as the church, have a responsibility to show the world God and Christ … through our words, our actions, our invitations and our priorities. Are you ready for this journey towards Christmas? Come to the Table today with HOPE and sense God’s great love once again! AMEN