[This sermon also had bookmark handouts "P.A.V.E the Way" If you would like to have access to the bookmarks we created for this Advent season, please e-mail me at spencerhoman@msn.com]
Matthew 24:36-44
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
P.A.V.E. the Way
Can you believe it is that time of year again? It seams like only yesterday you and I were celebrating our first Advent season together. And here we are again! Snow, or in our case ICE - is on the ground, Christmas music is on the radio, Christmas lights are popping up everywhere, Christmas trees are going up, it’s official - the craziness has begun.
As Christians, we call this season of craziness Advent, a word from the Latin Adventus which means "the coming of the Savior." And the church is properly decked out to prepare the way for the coming king. Greenery is everywhere, representing the evergreen hope, love, joy, and peace of the coming of our Lord. The church is decked out in purple, signifying great royalty in the coming of our king. (Looking around) Yep... I’d say the church is ready... but are we ready?
Brothers and sisters, these next four weeks will go quickly. If we aren’t careful... the entire season of advent will whiz past us at Mach 1. So we need to make sure we take the appropriate steps to P.A.V.E. the way for the coming of our king. P, A, V, E, - We need to be (1) prepared, we need to wait (2) anxiously, we need to be (2) vigilant and (4) eager to make sure our hearts are in the right spot, or we will miss the point of what Christmas is really all about.
Prepare: To get ready for an event. Equip.
I believe one of the greatest pitfalls of Christmas is to get so caught up in the celebration is that we forget what we are celebrating in the first place. Christmas has gotten so commercialized that you don’t even need to be Christian anymore to celebrate it.
A survey put out by the University of Ohio found that nearly half of adult Americans personally know someone who doesn’t believe in God but still will celebrate the yuletide this year. The number of people who will put up a Christmas tree is twice as much as the number of people who will attend a worship service this Christmas. Christmas has become as much a celebration of community as it has a celebration of religion.
We need to properly prepare for the holidays so that we do not fall into this same pitfall. I would like to share with you a poem by an anonymous author that helps to illustrate this point.
READY FOR CHRISTMAS
I’m ready for Christmas, she said with a sigh
As she gave a last touch to the gifts piled high.
Then wearily sat for a moment and read
Till soon, very soon, she was nodding her head.
Then quietly spoke a voice in her dreams,
Getting ready for Christmas means more than it seams.
Your shopping is done and your house is all clean,
But you have forgotten the coming king.
Christ came to give you a life brand new,
and you should remember what he’s done for you!
So as you celebrate this tide full of Yule,
Stop being such a stubborn mule!
Remember the reason you celebrate so,
is that God gave his son very long ago.
(Author Anonymous, highly modified by Rev. Spencer S. Homan)
We need to properly prepare our hearts and our minds so that we do not forget the reason behind this great season.
Anxious: Earnestly desirous.
Most children have absolutely no trouble with this one! As a young child I remember being very anxious for Christmas... very desirous for Christmas to come soon so I could tear into that pile of presents. Their hope is almost palpable.
That is how we are supposed to be too... not so much about the presents of course... but about the coming of our king. This morning we lit the hope candle, and we had the shepherd light the candle. In our drama, the shepherd represented the very palpable hope of the people of God as they deeply desired the coming of their messiah.
The hope represented by that candle, is a very great hope. It represents the hope of an entire nation, it represents the hope of the entire world, and it represents something that you and I often take for granted.
The shepherd knew what it is like wait anxiously... filled with an earnest desire. When the angels came to him and told him about the messiah being born ... it was like an explosion of emotion. You can practically feel his excitement... his hope... his anticipation... his eagerness to run to Bethlehem to see the Lord. Our shepherd was overflowing with hope and joy. Because of what it meant for him, because of what it means for all of us.
Vigilant: Alert watchfulness.
Just as our shepherd friend was vigilant shepherd watching over his flocks... so are we supposed to be vigilant about preparing for Christmas. The level of care, the level of commitment, and the level of dedication that the shepherd examples is one we should try hard to exemplify.
And here is one thing that I will promise you, the more vigilant you are about preparing for Christmas, the vigilant you are about getting your heart into the right perspective, the more meaningful this Christmas is going to be to you.
Try to make it a point of coming to all 4 advent services... and as we take a step closer and closer and closer to Bethlehem each week... you take a step closer in your heart. Come to the Christmas Eve service, and wait anxiously for that moment of arrival. Read the lectionary texts on the back of your bookmark throughout the season. Be vigilant in these things, and you will find this Christmas season taking on new light and your heart and mind being put in the right perspective.
Finally Eager: To have enthusiastic interest or desire.
Once you have prepared, once you have nurtured that sense of being anxious, and once you have been vigilant about preparing yourself... your gonna find the Holy Spirit moving in your heart... stirring you... and it is here that we need to let our enthusiasm show.
Enthusiasm is part of the last step, eager, that helps bring it all together. As we journey towards Bethlehem... we should have a sense of enthusiasm, a sense of excitement in our hearts. Just like our shepherd today... sprinting to Bethlehem to see his savior. Let us look forward to the babe in the manger... through the eyes of a shepherd, gazing on his Lord for the first time, fully understanding what a huge fulfillment of hope the baby represented. All of the hope of the coming messiah hinges on the true purpose for the coming of the messiah, freedom from sin and death. Let us look forward to December 25th with that same excitement in our hearts, knowing the price that has been paid for our souls, and knowing what a joyous and hopefilled thing it is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Let us share in the excitement of the shepherd as we hear the angel’s words, "behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
It is our Christ, our Savior, and our Lord who awaits us in Bethlehem. It is to him that we will journey these coming weeks, getting closer and closer to Bethlehem as we get closer and closer to December 25th. Let us properly P.A.V.E. the way for his arrival. Let us be prepared, let us wait anxiously, let us be vigilant, and let us be eager... so that we might come to Bethlehem together, with hearts and minds ready to receive our great king.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
