Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday of Advent - 12/20/15 Sermon - “He will surely become great throughout the earth" ("Hope is coming" series: Part 4 of 5)

Sunday 12/20/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “He will surely become great throughout the earth”

(“Hope is coming” series: Part 4 of 5)          

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Micah 5:2-5a

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:5-10

Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:39-45

          Welcome again, friends, sisters and brothers, on this the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This season that we await the coming and the return of Christ. This season of love, of joy, of peace, and of hope.

          While this season of Advent is many things, I have decided to focus my sermons in Advent and on Christmas Eve, on the concept of hope. We seem to live in a world today that is plagued with so much violence, injustice, and oppression, that some have lost hope. How do we then in this season of Advent, and in general, speak hope, and claim hope, when it seems like that there is so little hope? If Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, which I believe Jesus Christ is, how do we claim that hope in this season of Advent and soon the season of Christmas?

          In doing a five part sermon series called the “Hope is Coming” series, I have been connecting with our lectionary scriptures each week, as I have been expanding upon the idea of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. In a central way, many Christians believe that Jesus Christ will come to earth, as God in the flesh, to die for the sins of humanity. For many Christians, the coming of the Messiah into this world, and his return, is very much tied to the idea of eternal life. This is the reality that since Jesus is going to be born soon, and since Jesus will then die for our sins, and will be raised from the dead, that is the core source of Christian hope.

          I would say that this is indeed the core of the gospel of hope. In this season of Advent and soon the season Christmas though, I have also been exploring what else we can do with the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. I mean, we can simply believe in who he was, and is, and what he did on a cross. We can simply believe in the empty tomb, and eternal life. Yet, at the same time, we still have a world that is suffering so much. Given this, are we to only have hope in eternal life, and not be concerned about our lives here on earth?

          To me, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of hope, is a gospel that is designed to unite faith and action. This means that we should believe in Jesus, that we should believe in what he did, and who he is. Yet, it also means, that we should explore what we can do with this hope? Building the kingdom of God here on earth means that we might have to pick up a hammer, or dig a well. Faith then should inspire us to live differently, and to live into the hope that we have been given in Jesus Christ.

          As I have discussed in the previous three sermons, most people place great hope in their children and in their grandchildren. We consider with hope what these children will become one day, and how they will make the world better. The reality is, as individuals, and as a church, we can feed the world, provide clean water, end malaria deaths, and etc. If we are so excited about eternal life, then our excitement on this earth should be a reflection of who we know Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for us. The Christian Church can then become a mission to feed, clothe, and in some cases even house the poor. We can be agents of hope now, as we will all one day see the hereafter. The gospel of hope then must be more than something we just hope for when we die on earth. It should be what we are making into a reality here on earth. If Christ truly taught us how to radically love each other and change the world, then we must live that hope. It is who we are as Christ followers.

          Part of this process of living hope, is God raising up leaders. In the process of us preaching the gospel of hope, serving others, and creating a better world, God tugs on the heart strings of some people. God, through our faith, our works, and our love, can call people forward into his service. Since we have such a great love for Jesus Christ and his gospel, this hope that we share has created dynamic leaders. This church has played a part in the calling of Rev. Wesley Sanders, Rev. Roger Smith, scores of leaders within the laity of the church, and one day Rev. Theresa Eggleston.

          Hope then isn’t just changing the world as far as feeding, clothing, building, and offering clean water. For in the process of bringing this hope my brothers and sisters, God will inevitably use us to raise up great and dynamic leaders. This church has played a part in the call story of Alan McCormick, and I am sure many others. I can image 10-20 years from now, after all the “old guard” of pastors have retired, that people like Alan and me will be ushering in a new era of hope, peace, justice, and love. Since you have claimed the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have in effect given me and many others some of that hope.

          Part of hope then, is the production of leaders, who then in turn bring forth more hope. This is a church that has inspired so many, yet so many in the world say that the church is nothing more than a business. I say if we are a business, than what we make and market is hope. In the United Methodist Church all pastors, deacons, and etc. generally have received their calling from God in a local church. When you bring forth hope, you pass the torch to me, and others. This is part of the hope of gospel of Jesus Christ.

          This morning in our lectionary scriptures, we have the story from the gospel of Luke where Jesus’ mother Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary of course is pregnant with Jesus. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with hope and joy. The gospel says that Elizabeth said, “God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the child you carry” (Luke 1:42, CEB). This a place that is drawn from for the “Hail Mary” prayer, that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters say. This prayer begins by saying “Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women,” which is similar to what Elizabeth says to Mary in this scripture. Elizabeth had great hope, and she wanted to encourage Mary and instill this hope in her. In a similar way you all have given and have shown similar hope to so many.

          The gospel reading then also says that Elizabeth said to Mary, “As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy” (Luke 1:44, CEB). Hope my brothers and sisters, the hope that we are called to bring forth in the name of Jesus Christ. The hope that changes us, and raises up leaders.

          In the reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Hebrews, he talks about how we can have hope in who Jesus Christ is. Paul writes, “We have been made holy by God’s will through the offering of Jesus Christ’s body once and for all” (Heb. 10:10, CEB). Paul says that Christ will die for us, so that we may be set free. So that we can be children of new hope. What do we do with this hope?

          The scripture that I extracted for my sermon title from this morning, is from the Old Testament prophet Micah. In this scripture, Micah is prophetically speaking about the coming of the Messiah. Micah begins this scripture by telling Bethlehem of Ephrathah, that the Messiah will come forth from there (Mic. 5:1, CEB). Ephrathah, by the way, is an ancient name for Bethlehem, and also the name of the district that Bethlehem was in. Micah then writes of this coming Messiah that, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.” (Mic. 4a, CEB). Micah then concludes by saying, “They will dwell secure, because he will surely become great throughout the earth; he will become one of peace” (Mic. 5:4b-5a, CEB).

          When we bring the hope and the love of the gospel to others, God uses us to create people who become more like Jesus Christ. People that “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

          Part of our hope in this season of Advent and soon Christmas, is the reality of what our hope in gospel of Jesus Christ can do. How God can use us to raise up leaders? To raise up Godly men and women who “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

          The hope of the gospel then, is the hope of salvation, the hope of our children, the hope of the future, the hope of building a better and more just world, and the hope of God using us to raise up righteous and holy leaders that “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB).

I want to tell you a story about hope and about God using us to raise up leaders. This story is called “Why Desmond Tutu Became an Anglican Priest.” This story has been widely reported including by Tutu himself in a 2003 interview with the BBC and in Tutu’s Nobel Prize ceremony. Here is how it goes: “All of us have heard of Desmond Tutu, but few of us will know who Trevor Huddleston is. Yet without Trevor Huddleston there may have been no anti-apartheid leader named Tutu.”

“Asked by the BBC to identify the defining moment in his life Desmond Tutu spoke of the day he and his mother were walking down the street. Tutu was nine years old. A tall white man dressed in a black suit came towards them. In the days of apartheid, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. But this day, before a young Tutu and his mother could step off the sidewalk the white man stepped off the sidewalk and, as my mother and I passed, tipped his hat in a gesture of respect to her!”

“The white man was Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest who was bitterly opposed to apartheid. It changed Tutu’s life. When his mother told him that Trevor Huddleston had stepped off the sidewalk because he was a man of God Tutu found his calling. “When she told me that he was an Anglican priest I decided there and then that I wanted to be an Anglican priest too. And what is more, I wanted to be a man of God” said Tutu.”

“Huddleston later became a mentor to Desmond Tutu and his commitment to the equality of all human beings due to their creation in God’s image became a key driver in Tutu’s opposition to apartheid.”

            My sisters and brothers, “Hope is Coming,” and his name is Jesus Christ. May we claim that hope in this season of Advent, and always, as God just might use you to raise up a man or a woman who “will surely become great through the earth” (Mic. 5b, CEB). May we seek to offer of the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For God might just use you to change the world. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.