Sunday, December 16, 2012

sermon - "True Love" - by Pastor Ruth Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, December 9, 2012


December 9, 2012
Second Sunday of Advent
Worship Theme: I Believe in Love/Peace
Malachi 3:1-4 CEB
Philippians 1:3-11 CEV
Luke 3:1-6 ESV

“True Love”

        Who believes the saying “Love means never having to say “I’m sorry”? You mean that I really have to say I’m sorry when I’m wrong? OK. . . being in love really is one of those complex relational things. Relationships seem to be difficult at times. We come to the table with our own expectations of what the other person should be, all the while fearing rejection. We almost set ourselves up for failure at times. But what is “true love”? How do we find this all consuming type of love? When we find it what do we do with it, what is our part in the grand scheme of things? Just think about it.

We are in the Advent season. . . a season of the love that came down from heaven. We hear the stories of Christ’s birth. . . but what about Joseph? Here he is, betrothed to Mary. He finds out she is pregnant with a child. Instead of “divorcing her quietly”, he decides to stay with her. It was his love for Mary and his trust in God that caused him to adhere to what the angel told him about the whole “situation.” What an awesome type of love he had, what ultimate trust he had in God’s plan. Now that’s love; to trust the love of God, coming down from heaven, even though he did not see it. We too, as Christians, should have that same type of trust in God and God’s plan for humanity. This is where we find peace. . . knowing and trusting, even when we can’t see it. Perhaps we too can heed the angel’s word for letting go to God’s possibilities for all of our relationships.

SO. . . how do we prepare for the coming of such wondrous love? We find a hint for our preparation in the words of Luke. We need to heed the words of John the Baptists found in Luke 3:1-6. Just a little history about John before I read the passage. Now John was the son of Zachariah who was a temple priest. Now he sort of gave up his birthright and decided. . . followed Gods plan for his live wandering in the desert to prepare the way of Christ. He could have been a temple priest instead of a wandering prophet. How many of us would humble ourselves before God and take the low road instead of the high road for our lives? When we practice John’s way of life we get ourselves out of the way of God’s plan. . . When we use our gifts, given by God, we enter into God’s plan. Here now the words that he shares. . .  (Read the Gospel).
John is Advent and his actions are all about Advent, preparing the way for the Lord. But the preparation is different than what we see around us. During the “Christmas Season”, we are decking the halls around us. We are “hanging the stockings by the fireplace with care, in hopes of Saint Nicholas soon will be there.” We have “Christmas light wars” with our neighbors. We even green the church to make it festive for the season. There’s backing, Christmas cards, shopping and the like.

And then there is the John scripture that talks about a whole different type of preparation. He talks about. . . he proclaims. . . the preparation of the heart. Are our hearts prepared for that gift of love? Have we quieted ourselves enough to hear the word of God speaking to us from the corners of our being, wanted to come to the forefront of our lives? All three scriptures from this morning talk about love. Malachi talks about the love of God. . . from God. . . , Philippians’ talks about the love of others and the Luke piece talks about our love to God. . . what we do in response to our love with God for all God has done, is doing and what God will do in the future. It’s all about the love, true love.

Perhaps we, as Christ’s body, should take a look at our own Christmas preparations. May be, just maybe, we need to reassess how we will expectantly wait for the celebrations of our Saviors birth. May be, just maybe, as we wait expectantly for His return we should be preparing the way of the Lord instead of preparing the way of the world, with all its glimmer and lights. Maybe, just maybe, we will hear again the angel’s voice calling us into a true love, one found in our God and the babe in the manger over 2000 years ago, that babe that grew in wisdom and stature into our one and only Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Maybe, just maybe. . .

Amen.

Worship Theme: “I Believe in the Love/ Peace”
Luke 3:1-6 (English Standard Version Bible)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
Malachi 3:1-4 (Common English Bible)
Philippians 1:3-11 (Contemporary English Version Bible)
Call to Worship
Unison Prayer
Candle Lighting Liturgy (GBOD)
Prayer of Dedication (Luke 3:1-6)
December 9, 2012
Second Sunday of Advent

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