A Sermon from Falmouth Congregational Church…

A Sermon offered by the Rev. Ian F. “Jack” Steeves in the public worship service of the Falmouth Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Falmouth, Maine on the Third Sunday in Advent, December 13, 2009. The scripture readings were Philippians 4:4-7 and Luke 3:7-18.

“What Then Should We Do?”

The third Sunday of Advent has long been known as “Gaudete Sunday.” “Gaudete” is word meaning “rejoice.” The title comes from the first word of today’s Epistle reading as it appears in the Vulgate translation of the Bible: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” The Apostle Paul was writing to the Philippians from prison in Rome. Imagine singing from prison.

The text is invitational and commanding: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

In the Christian faith there is a curious and marvelous sense of rejoicing and more a call to us to rejoice. Yet perhaps for some of us the word, “rejoice” and the idea of “rejoicing” seem out of step with our lives. Perhaps, if it was a different time and place, a different season, we might rejoice just a little bit. But here and now? How are we to respond with joy to the promise of salvation today, as we look toward another winter?

Little around us speaks of life and rejoicing. The days are still getting shorter. The nights are getting longer, darker, deeper. Christmas is coming but so are the bills, the broken promises, the impossible commitments. We are kicking ourselves for not starting earlier. We are wishing that we had not made so many plans. We are promising ourselves that it will be different this time next year.

We are experiencing our own smallness. We are feeling our limitations of body, mind and soul. We are not yet who and what we want to be. We still eat too much, drink too much, and work too hard. But then some of us are not working at all. Our lives seem to be busier than ever. Then we sit here today and hear “the guy in the black dress” echo to us, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!”

More than fifteen years ago, more like twenty years ago, the unusual voice and style of singer Bobby McFerrin popularized, for a time, the amusing and catchy song phrase and title, “Don’t Worry – Be Happy.” In a disturbing sense, that is precisely the message Paul wished to convey (albeit more eloquently) to the believers in Philippi.

Obviously, everyone has concerns which cause worry and anxiety and dread. The Philippians were no exception. Their small, newly founded Christian community (the first congregation in Europe) had, in addition to the daily struggle of just making a living, other issues to resolve and survive. Ultra-conservative Jewish Christians attacked Paul and his authority to preach the gospel. Believers were derided for living what some regarded as a watered down, uncircumcised, compromised Christianity which did not come to Christ through Moses and Torah (Philippians 3:2-11).

The Roman authorities in the city were taking notice and becoming increasingly suspicious of the Christian converts who appeared to be more concerned with religious commitment than Roman citizenship (Philippians 1:27-28). Rivalries had broken out in their small community of faith (Philippians 4:2-3). Aware of all of these concerns, Paul remained adamant in his call to the Philippians to rejoice.

As motivation, Paul offered the fact of the risen Christ’s nearness (verse 5). This nearness did not refer only to the early Christians’ expectation of Jesus’ imminent and speedy return in “the second coming.” By nearness, Paul also meant the pervading presence of God which never departs

a faithful people. “The Lord is near” was a proclamation of Jesus’ abiding presence in the Spirit, in the words of scripture, in the sacraments and in life lived with one another.

That is the truth we still celebrate today. In the midst of life, we find our God with us. God is here today, loves us, not because we are so lovable and so marvelous but because God is a loving deity. The Lord is in our midst, among us, right beside us. God is here now encouraging us, renewing us, giving us salvation.

“Again I will say, rejoice!” Be glad! Exult!

You may be thinking: “Bah, humbug!” Fine words, preacher, but they seem to have too little to do with real life in the real world.

Well, we do God a grave injustice when we think that salvation is what only happens when we die and get out of this world. Some of us grew up with the limited notion that one was saved if one did not end up in hell. That is a very limited, unbiblical view of salvation. Others will tell us that we are saved if we proclaim Jesus as Lord. True, but, again, this too is a limited view of salvation. We must broaden and deepen our view.

We experience God’s saving work in our lives, while we are still breathing, whenever we are touched by the strengthening love power of God. We experience God’s salvation whenever we are set free, liberated, and unchained. We experience God’s salvation through other people and events that help us to grow, make us whole, and set us free from the darkness of our lives.

More, God’s salvation is not only to be found in times of crisis. Our saving God is with us in the everyday events that make our lives more real.

The word of encouragement from a spouse or a coworker brings us the saving power of God. The caregiver who comes to us in our illness is the salvation of God. The friend who sits silently with us, for hours, in our struggles is God in our midst. The small miracle that enables the children to hang three ornaments in a row on the Christmas tree without breakage and without squabbling is a moment of God’s renewing love.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran martyr who died in a German prison camp in 1945, wrote to his family and friends, “Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things.” That is a powerful message for our consideration, our meditation, and our proclamation. If we do not recognize God’s gifts and saving power in daily life, day or night, will we truly be able to receive the bigger gifts of salvation – like life eternal?

During the coming week, the days of Advent that remain, take the time to “Sense the Season.” Take time to smell hope, to taste peace, to touch joy, and to hear love. Make the words of Advent a part of your life. God is offering you personally a word of love, comfort, salvation. Then remember the small and large moments of salvation that have been yours. Let the salvation and the God who gives it become real and incarnate for you and in you.

Then you will know the power of Paul’s timeless message to the Philippians. You will be full of gratitude because you will have been touched by the saving power of God. You will know deeply that all is a gift, all is grace, and all is salvation here and now. You will know that life can be lived in simplicity and generous love with others.

Our risen Lord comes to meet us in the ordinary routine and struggle of our daily lives. When we discover his nearness and live our lives in his abiding presence, we know his saving love. We shall also know the answer to the question, raised on the banks of the Jordan River, “What then should we do?” The question is as urgent in this Advent as it was at the time of the first advent. Tomorrow or the next day but one day, God is coming again. “What then must we do?” Paul and John, before him, would remind us that what we have learned and received we are to put into practice in thought, word and action.

There is goodness in who we are. There is goodness all around us. We need to open our eyes and see. We need to open our lives, naturally, freely, and become part of the miracle. We need to shout for joy.