Saturday 10 December 2011

Sermon for Sunday 11 December 2011 – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 and John 1:6-8, 19-28 -Positive or Negative?

Every time we open the newspaper, turn on the radio or TV, we are faced with negativity. War, famine, economies collapsing, fights, unrest, redundancies, illness, death, etc. All negatives about our world, our country, our town and there may well be some of us who are or who know of someone who is struggling at the moment, despondent, depressed, feeling down.

I think that most people would prefer to hear or see, or be positive. After all, we are Christians who believe what we read in the creeds: We believe in One God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God… We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life….. we make positive assertions of what we do believe. So when I read today Gospel reading and feeling a little down, it was the words, no, not, neither, nor that jumped out at me. Negative words – not something that jumped out of me in the past when I’ve read this passage before - an unusual text because of the negative statements.

For the people who had come across John the Baptist for the first time, these negative words would have been important as they tried to figure out who John was. After all, the people whom John baptised had not heard of the Baptism of Jesus. So one can understand that there was some question about who was superior, John or Jesus.

Mark Gospel account gives a brief statement that John baptised Jesus. In Matthew we read of the hesitancy of John to baptised Jesus, John wanting Jesus to baptise him. Now as we read the John’s version of the event, we find a number of negatives to emphasise that John was inferior to Jesus. Interesting isn’t it. The question ‘Who are you?’ is asked twice. ‘What do you say about yourself?’ So ‘Who was John the Baptist?’

Through all of these negatives, we do get a picture of who John is. He is not the light. The Gospel makes it clear that Jesus was the light of the world. John confesses he is not the Messiah. He is asked if he is Elijah and John says ‘I am not’. Are you a prophet? ‘No.’ He replies. It is fascinating to read this negative portrayal of who John the Baptist was. John defines himself with negative statements rather than positive ones. It was a challenge for John to affirm who he was, just as it is for us, by stating the negative, what we are not. When looking as to whether I should be ordained, I could think of 109 reasons (negative ones about myself) as to why I shouldn’t but only two (positives) as to why I should. I’m guessing that we all have or do say more negative things about ourselves than we do positive.

So what statements can we say that Jesus is not? Well Jesus was not a great teacher. Many people will argue that Jesus was not the Son of God, but will admit that he was a great teacher. C. S. Lewis, pointed out the folly of such logic. Jesus said ‘I and the Father are one’ and ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.’ If he said that and it wasn’t true, then C. S. Lewis says that Jesus would have to be insane, there are a few people who say they are God, but only Jesus said it, and it was true. Either he was who he said he was or he was an insane person. He couldn’t have been a great teacher and not be the Son of God. For He was not just a great teacher.

He was not just a human being. He was an extraordinary person, but not just a human being. The people who lived with him day by day came to the conclusion that Jesus was not just a human being. Peter blurted out, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ They knew he was not just human.

He was not the expected Messiah.’ Perhaps a shocking statement, but what I mean is that he was not the messiah the people expected. They expected a military Messiah who would overthrow the Roman government, but Jesus was not that Messiah. They expected a Messiah who would re-establish Israel in the greatness of David, but Jesus was not that Messiah. He was not the expected Messiah. He was a suffering servant.

‘Who are you?’ is asked three times in this passage about John. There’s a challenge. Who do we define who we are as Christians by using negative statements? We usually define ourselves with positives statements like, ‘My name is…’ or my job is…’ but if anyone asks us to describe ourselves or do something invariably we would say something negative like ‘I’m not as young as I used to be so I wouldn’t be asked to do that’, or ‘I couldn’t make tea because I’m so clumsy, I’d break all the cups.’ Implying a negative about ourselves. You are never too old and so what is you break a few cups. BUT

Christians are not afraid. When the angels came, they said, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be for all people.’ When we have Christ in our hearts, we no longer have to be afraid. Christians are not alone. We may have no family left on the earth, but we are not alone. Christians are not without faith. We have faith in God. We may not be able to explain what it is, but we know we are not without faith. We are not without hope. We might feel hopeless. Christians are not without love. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Christians are not lost. We may be like sheep who wander off, but we have a Good Shepherd. That Shepherd will leave the ninety nine and come to find us! And that Shepherd knows the way home. Christians are not condemned. The world might condemn us,

So if we are not all those things listed above. We are able to share our faith, share our love, share the joy of the true meaning of Christmas, able to forgive anyone, able to be patient or wait for the unfolding of God’s plan for ourselves, the renewing of ourselves, for we are a work in progress. We are able to have faith in God that He will enable us to complete the Renewal Project that He started in 2007.

There will always be times in our lives when the chips are down and we are despondence, or we take three steps forward and nine back. When the project won’t go the way we think. BUT as we are not alone, nor condemned, nor without love or hope, forgiven we can begin the work God has given us to do. For we have a great High Priest who is there waiting for us to reach out to him. As Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, ‘always be happy. Never stop praying. Give thanks whatever happens. This is what God wants for all of us in Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Grant, O Lord, that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Questions:

  1. Who are you? And why are you here today?
  2. Why is Christmas so important to you?

3. Advent is a time to stop and prepare for the incarnation of Christ. Are you stopping to prepare and if you are can you share what you are doing with your group? It may help others.

4. We all have a calling to be and do. Do you know what yours is and are you doing it?

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