Sidney UMC - Third Sunday of Advent - 12/13/20 - Sermon - “Preparing The Way For The Messiah" ("The Path To Christmas" Series: Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 12/13/20 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “Preparing The Way For The Messiah”

                   (“The Path To Christmas” Series: Part 3 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11                                       

New Testament Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel Lesson: John 1:6-8, 19-28

          Friends, brothers, and sisters, welcome once again on this our Third Sunday of Advent. This our third Sunday in this holy season of waiting, anticipation, prayer, expectation, love, joy, peace, and hope, leading to Christmas.

          As many of us know, I started a sermon series on the First Sunday of Advent called “The Path To Christmas”. In this sermon series we have all been talking our journey’s through Advent to Christmas. In many years prior to this year, our biggest concerns were gaining weight, not having enough time in the day, being stressed out, a house full of people, being tired of listening to Christmas music, and feeling overwhelmed. So many of us have said for years that we want to get back to the basic of what Christmas is. We want to simply retell the story of the birth of Jesus, come together with family, lessen the clutter, lessen the excess, lessen the craziness, and lessen stress. We live in a culture where so many people are not excited for December 25^th, but rather are excited for December 26^th, when Christmas over.

          This year, 2020, is different though. While we await the memory of the birth of Jesus on Christmas, and his eventual return to earth, this year is vastly different. Amidst this Global Covid-19 Pandemic, political divisions, and social upheavals, we find ourselves in a hugely different season Advent, and soon to be Christmas. Things are lessened, things are simpler, and things are more basic this year. So many of us wanted this lessening, yet not the way we have it in 2020. Over 300,000 people dead from Covid-19, people laid off, some businesses closed, and many of us have not been able to see some of our loved ones.

          Last Sunday in my sermon, “What Will This Child Become?” I talked about how no one knew when Jesus Christ would be born. Even Joseph and Mary did not know the exact day or the hour that Jesus would be born. Life was hard in the time that Jesus lived in, and Mary and Joseph traveled dozens of miles to Bethlehem to register in the population census for the Roman Emperor. They likely had little money, were tired, dirty, and hungry. Then suddenly, Mary went into labor, and the Inn or the hotel was all filled up, so the shed out back became the place where Jesus, our savior was born. After Jesus was born, tons of people that Mary and Joseph have never met came to this shed, this structure, maybe this cave, to see and behold this Christ Child. I would think that most mothers would not like several strangers entering into the delivery shortly after giving birth.

          The first Christmas was so basic and so simple, and until this year we have made Christmas bigger and bigger every single year. Not this year though. Just like many of us hoped and awaited with wonder the birth of Christ, many of us this year not only await the memory of the birth of Christ and his return, but we also hope for the end of this pandemic. When will God deliver us? When will the pandemic be over? When can we get rid of these stupid masks?

          This Sunday, on this the Third Sunday of Advent, since we are all more than aware of our changed reality in 2020, the question is what are going to do about all of this? By this, I do not mean that we can change the reality of this pandemic just by a click of our fingers, but how can we respond to it? Are we going to stop living, stop having joy, stop having peace, and stop having love? I know that I am not going to do those things, because I have hope in Jesus and in this church.

          I really like our reading for this morning from the Old Testament Prophet of Isaiah. In Isaiah 61, he prophesizes of who this coming Jesus will be, and what he will do. Isaiah says in 61:1-2 once again:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; ² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;” (Isa. 61:1-2, NRSV).

          Powerful words indeed from the great Prophet Isaiah. So, with all these restrictions, with all that we cannot do, with all that we have lost, with all the people that we cannot see this Advent and soon to be Christmas, how can we do what Christ eventually did in this scripture? Or to put it another way, how can we love people in this season of Advent and soon to be Christmas, during the 2020 global Covid-19 Pandemic? Some might say, “Well Pastor Paul, we can’t see people, so what can we really do” How can we help the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and help to release people from spiritual prisons? How can we proclaim God’s goodness, and comfort all who mourn?

          I have seen more tears and sadness during this pandemic than ever before in my life. Some are sad, lonely, feel abandoned, feel uncertain, and want this all to be over. Yet even though this Advent 2020, the year of the plague, we are still here. We can still call, text, e-mail, send cards, and chat over the internet. We can still reach out, deliver food on the doorstep, and show great love and compassion to others. I will not allow a global pandemic to stop me from loving and serving others, from caring for them, or from declaring the hope and transformation that we have in Jesus Christ. Friends how are you loving and caring for each other in this Advent 2020, the year of the plague? How are you reaching out to those around you, those who likely would love to hear from you and receive your expressions of love? No pandemic can stop the love of Jesus Christ.

          In our New Testament reading from this morning from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul tells us:

“²⁰ Do not despise the words of prophets,  ²¹ but test everything; hold fast to what is good; ²² abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:20-22, NRSV).

          So, through this time pandemic, follow the wisdom of old, hold fast to hope, peace, love, and joy, and do not succumb to the misery and sorrow of this pandemic. Continue to love, care, and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

          In our gospel lesson for this morning, we hear about the way that is being prepared for Jesus. How are we allowing God to prepare us to serve and love in this Advent and soon to be Christmas? How are we preparing ourselves in this the year of 2020, the year of the plague?

          In this gospel reading, God sent a man name John the Baptist. The scripture says of John that:

“⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light”                               (Jn. 1:8, NRSV). 

We are not God, we are not Jesus, yet the light, life, and love of God shines through us. How will we share this, in Advent 2020, the year of the plague?

John the Baptist tells us as he is calling people to repent and turn from sin and darkness, and he is baptizing them in the Jordan River. John the Baptist is all telling everyone that the one who is coming after him is so much greater than he is (Jn. 1:24-28, NRSV). We are here today and here virtually; the Christian Church exists because of the great love of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist baptized others and then baptized Jesus, and for nearly 2,000 years billions of people have been baptized. This is the universal way to be forgiven of sins and be cleansed, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is the universal entry point into the Christian Church. Today, Dalton, has been brought into the universal Christian faith, of about 2.5 billion people on earth. We are called to love him, and spiritually prepare him, so that his faith will guide him, as it guides us.

In us “Preparing The Way For The Messiah,” it has amazed me through this time of pandemic what people have done for others. Thousands upon thousands of hand sewn face masks made, companies retooling to make personal protective equipment or PPE, companies switching from making liquor to making hand sanitizer, companies switching over to making ventilators.

Friends, this Advent 2020, and soon to be Christmas 2020, the year of the plague, has been a challenging and a trying year, but how we can prepare the way for the love of Jesus Christ? How we prepare the way for Christmas and the return of Christ? What can we do in this season of hope, joy, love, and peace for others?

There is a big broken world out there, just waiting for you, to bring the good news of Jesus Christ. A big broken world, that needs to know that Jesus died for them, that needs to know that they are loved, and that needs to know there is hope. We can be a part of that hope, we can do so much, even now. What can we do in this time to love and serve others, even during Advent 2020, the year of the plague? It is my hope and prayer then dear friends, brothers, and sisters, that we can change Sidney and the world, even during a global pandemic. Amen.