Sunday
12/06/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Sermon Title: “to give light to those who are sitting
in darkness”
(“Hope is coming” series: Part 2 of 5)
Old Testament
Lesson: Malachi 3:1-4
New Testament
Scripture: Philippians 1:3-11
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 1:68-79
Welcome once again on this the Second Sunday of Advent. The
season of Advent is the season that we eagerly await both the birth of Jesus
Christ, and that we anticipate Jesus Christ’s return or second coming. This is
a season in which many people who are living in hardship or oppression have
great hope. That in and through this child named Jesus Christ, who will come
down to us on Christmas, we can have redemption, salvation, new life, and hope.
That we can be born anew.
Of the many things that Jesus Christ represents then, one
major thing is hope. The hope of the Messiah. The hope of what the Messiah can
and will do. The hope of what the Messiah can use us to do for each other. For
our faith, is not only what we believe, but it is also what we do.
In my opinion, we live in a world that needs hope now more
than ever, and that needs men and women of God to work for a better world, now
more than ever. A world that Jesus Christ called us to build so long ago. Yet,
I find that when people have no hope, it’s hard to accomplish anything. When we
have great hope though, when we have great love and great joy though, together
we can do so much.
For these reasons, I started a preaching series last week
called the “Hope is coming series”. This is a five part preaching series that
will culminate on Christmas Eve. This series points us to the hope that is the
Messiah. The hope that is forgiveness and salvation. The hope of building a
better and a more just world. The hope that is Jesus Christ. The hope of Jesus Christ
is powerful not only in Advent then, but all year long. Imagine if the hope of
God amongst us, dwelt in our hearts and in our souls, not just in Advent, but always.
Last week, in the first part of this preaching series, I
talked about how the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said of the Messiah’s
coming, “The time is coming, declares the LORD” (Jer. 33:14a, CEB). I talked
about the power of what hope can do. That hope can be a powerful thing that brings
us together.
This week, I am preaching on my second installment of this
series, from the gospel of Luke. Specifically, I am going to be talking about
how the coming of the Messiah was “to give light to those who are sitting in
darkness” (Lk. 1:79a, CEB). In the gospel of John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will
never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12b, NRSV). In
this season of Advent, do we have hope, do we have “the light of life” (Jn.
8:12c, NRSV)?
Before getting into the gospel reading for this morning
though, I want to first talk a little bit about our other two scriptures that
we have been given. First, in the reading from the Old Testament prophet
Malachi, Malachi said, “Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path
before me” (Mal. 3:1a, CEB). The idea that the Messiah is coming. That hope
itself is coming. I wonder how people felt when Malachi first spoke these words
of hope?
In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Philippians from
this morning, he says, “You are all my partners in God’s grace, both during my
time in prison and in the defense and support of the gospel” (Phil. 1:7b, CEB).
The Apostle Paul then says, “God is my witness that I feel affection for all of
you with the compassion of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:8, CEB). When I hear these two
verses of scripture from the Apostle Paul, I hear joy, love, unity, compassion,
and hope. That the Apostle Paul and many people have come together in the hope
that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul then ends this reading from his letter to
the Philippians by saying, “I pray that you will then be filled with the fruit
of righteousness, which comes from Jesus Christ, in order to give glory and praise
to God” (Phil. 1:11, CEB). What if we embraced hope like this, not only in this
Advent Season, but all year round?
In looking then at our gospel lesson from this morning,
from Luke 1:68-79, this scripture is actually a hymn or a song. This is a hymn attributed
to John the Baptist’s father Zechariah. This hymn is specifically said to have been
sung by Zechariah on the day of John the Baptist’s circumcision. John the
Baptist’s father Zechariah sang this song in anticipation of what his son John
the Baptist would do. On how his son John the Baptist would prepare the way for
our hope, Jesus Christ.
In this hymn of Zechariah, or “Song of Zechariah,” or “Benedictus” in the Latin, it begins by saying
“Bless the Lord God of Israel because he has come to help and has delivered his
people” (Lk. 1:68, CEB). I don’t know about you, but to me there is so much
hope in that verse. That God “has come to help and has delivered his people”
(Lk. 1:68b, CEB). Zechariah is singing hopefully and joyfully about his son
John the Baptist, on the day of his circumcision. He is singing joyfully about how
his son will prepare the way for the hope of the world, Jesus Christ.
This
scripture or song then continues by saying, “He has raised up a mighty savior
for us in his servant David’s house, just as he said through the mouths of his
holy prophets long ago” (Lk. 1:69-70, CEB). Brothers and sisters, “Hope is
coming.” Zechariah’s son John the Baptist, will prepare the way of the Lord.
This scripture or song, then goes on to say “He has brought
salvation from our enemies and from the power of all those who hate us. He has
shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham” (Lk. 1:71-73a, CEB). Hope
for the oppressed. Release of the captives. Love for the downtrodden, and
justice. This scripture or hymn Zechariah then says, “He granted that we would
be rescued from the power of our enemies so that we could serve him without
fear, in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes, for as long as we live” (Lk.
1:73b-75, CEB). Once again, powerful and hopeful words, sung by John the
Baptist’s father Zechariah.
Next, the scripture or song then continues by saying, “You,
child, will be called a prophet to the Most High, for you will go before the
Lord to prepare his way. You will tell his people how to be saved through the
forgiveness of their sins” (Lk. 1:76-77, CEB). Zechariah looks upon his little
boy, John the Baptist, and says of him, that he will prepare the way of the
Lord.
The scripture or song then says, “Because of our God’s deep
compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us” (Lk. 1:78, CEB). The final
verse of this scripture or hymn that I chose for my sermon title for this
morning says, “to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace” (Lk. 1:79, CEB). Jesus, the
light of the world, the hope of the world, is coming “to give light to those
who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path
of peace” (Lk. 1:79, CEB).
How do we respond to this hope, to this light? If we see a
world that is broken and is in so much pain, what do we do about it? We
certainly pray, as I pray every day. Can hope also lead us though, to change to
the world through our actions as well? Can we be so transformed by the power of
God, of Jesus Christ, to then go out into the world and change it? Hope then
cannot just be in our prayer closets only, it must be in our churches, in our
homes, in our places of work, and on the streets. Hope must be more than a
word, it must be a way of life. For Zechariah sang this morning, “to give light
to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on
the path of peace” (Lk. 1:79, CEB).
The living God has called us to greatness, to holiness, and
to righteousness. If we can embrace this hope, we can then live this hope. When
we live this hope, the world is then transformed. This is why the mission of
the United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation
of the world.” If Jesus Christ is hope itself, then by putting our faith and
trust in him, we become disciples. Once we have become disciples, then we have
the hope, the grace, and the power, given to us by God, to change and transform
the world.
If hope can move in us and through us, we can do so much.
Some people have told me though, “Pastor Paul, churches can’t grow in 2015.” “Pastor
Paul, the church can’t doing anything to help the world”. Well I say it can,
and I say it can! When we have faith, when we have hope, we can move mountains.
We can “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
For the power of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is this transformative.
Hope is real and abundant. Hope is more than just a word.
Well brothers and sisters, I want to tell you a story about
hope. This story is called “Pay it Forward,” written by Michelle Cox. It was
taken from guideposts, dated November 20, 2015. So this story is only a couple
of weeks old. Here is how it goes:
“I saw a video on Facebook this week
that brought tears to my eyes. A boy had been bullied over his old shoes. But a
young man bought him a pair of new, expensive shoes. (Wow, huge props to the
man with the compassionate heart!) The reaction from the recipient was
precious. My first thought after viewing the footage was that I hoped the
bullied young man would pay that act of kindness forward to someone else
someday.”
“Can you imagine how different our
world would be if more of us did that? The video reminded me of a special gift
I received. Back track with me to a moment many years ago...”
“Six weeks is a long time to vacation
at the hospital. I learned that first-hand following a car accident where I
broke my hip, my pelvic bone, fractured an ankle, had a concussion and picked
shards of glass out of my face for days after the wreck.”
“To a mom with a four-year-old and
four-month-old at home, the days seemed like they lasted forever, but I was
blessed to have more than 100 friends who took time to visit me during those
long weeks. Sweet Mrs. Templeton brought me homemade pizza—which tasted
heavenly after all that hospital food. My friends, Debbie, Teresa and Paula,
came every Sunday night after church. They brought bags of fast food and
much-needed laughter.”
“It’s been 34 years since the wreck
happened, and I’ve never forgotten how much all those visits meant to
me—especially the one from my Mama Hollifield. I’d adopted Ed and Doris
Hollifield years before when I was a teen spending time at their house with
their daughter, Peggy.”
“My mother had some serious problems
and home was often not a good place to be. Dad and Mama Hollifield’s house was
a refuge, and I soaked in the warmth and love they so freely gave. Their house
was full of teens, noise and laughter, and they treated me as one of their
own.”
“So you can imagine how touched I was
when Mama Hollifield walked into my hospital room. I knew the trip would take
several hours out of her busy day. But it was what she did as she was
leaving that still makes me tear up. Mama Hollifield grabbed my hand and tucked
a folded $100 bill into it. She said, “I know there are extra expenses with you
being here for so long.” I knew she and Dad Hollifield worked hard for their
money and that this was a sacrifice. I protested, but she insisted I keep it.”
“I determined that day that as God
blessed me, I would pay Mama Hollifield’s gift forward whenever He nudged my
heart. I’m grateful that God’s given me that opportunity many times over the
years. And whenever the recipient has protested, I say, “It isn’t from me. It’s
from Mama Hollifield.” And then I share the story about her gift.”
Michelle
Cox write, “Sweet
friends, what could you pay forward today to someone who needs encouragement,
support or love? I can promise you that you’ll be the one who gets the
most out of the experience. And if you don’t have your own story, just tell them it’s
from Mama Hollifield.”
Brothers and sisters, the gospel
from this morning says that Jesus Christ, will come “to
give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide us on the path of peace” (Lk. 1:79, CEB). What do we do with that hope?
What if we claimed everything that God has given us and has promised us” What
if we trusted him so much, so much, that we go out determined to make the world
better? For this why Lord Jesus came, that we might be saved, and that we might
serve each other. That we would build his kingdom, and a better world. May we
have hope in this season of Advent, and always. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.
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