Sermon 12/6/2009

Here is my sermon from this morning.
In particular, I'd be curious about what ethical tasks you are committed to trying to be prepared for-those things you try to envision yourself handling well, or those things you have a hard time imagining yourself doing.

Enjoy! Grace and peace,
Samuel

Good morning! I hope that you have found yourself touched by the energy and the spirit of Christmas this time of year.

Rachel and I put up Christmas decorations this weekend, in preparation for the holiday. We haven’t been settled enough in our married lives to know exactly what our Christmas routine consists of, but so far we’ve usually had a tree, some lights outside, and either a star or an angel on top of the tree-a point that has yet to be resolved. But one thing that is always clear-the preparation for the holiday season is part of the fun-going out to Eckerts, picking out the scraggliest tree we can find, putting on Christmas music to decorate it, it’s all a magical experience. When this is what preparation is like, its very hard to describe the process as work. So as we thinking about preparing the way for the Lord, I hope that its more like the good conversation that happens while cooking meals, the music playing during house cleaning, or the sense of satisfaction from yard work or gardening, rather than a burden, a chore, done out of a sense of guilt.

Kind of like how John the Baptist experienced preparing the way of the Lord. Sure, we might not envy his lifestyle, out in the desert, eating locusts and prophesying impending doom, but there is no doubt he worked with gusto, and in his passion, people came. Think about what that would have been like-leaving the small town where you lived nearly all of your life, going to the wilderness to see the holy man. It would have been completely out of the ordinary, exciting and full of interest, a great break to the routine, but it would also have been a preparatory event, a chance to hear the invitation to repent, to be reenergized for the work of God.

So as we think about preparing the way of the Lord this season, I hope we keep in mind that part of the salvation for which we prepare is wrapped up in the joy we find in preparation.



As I move in to a bit of a reflection on how we prepare for the Lord, I hope we keep that in mind.

Because I do think part of our calling is to listen to Isaiah’s call, to prepare the way of the Lord. Now, obviously, these scripture texts are not talking to us as individuals exactly-Zechariah is talking about his son, Malachi is talking about himself, and Luke is talking about John the Baptist. But I can’t help but think that this challenge is one that we ought to take up-

that we too are invited to prepare the way of the Lord, to be ready for the refiner’s fire, to proclaim a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. There is just as much need to guide our feet in the way of peace as there was in the first century, there are just as many mountains and valleys that need to be smoothed for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

So I’ve been thinking about preparing to change the world. Obviously, this is a pretty intimidating and overwhelming sort of quest. We have enough trouble shaping our own lives, our own families, let alone this neighborhood, or the city of Saint Louis, let alone the whole planet.

But I also notice that the world changes-sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly, but it does change. And people are at the heart of this change. I think of Mother Teresa, redefining how the Western world thought of and responded to the poorest of the poor. I think of Jane Addams, transforming social service in this country, starting the movement towards a basic safety net. I think of Ralph Nader, working tirelessly to make cars safer to drive, saving the lives of thousands of people.

These are the John the Baptists of our world-people who push everyone to move and change, who unsettle routines and expect society to bend based on the force of their will, and they are a really important part of our social structure. But there are lots of other valuable roles-the countless people who support the work of those who end up being the face of movements-the staff who work behind the scenes, the volunteers who continue the labor, the legislators who pass laws, the people who open their homes and wallets for change, those who have open hearts and minds, and hear good ideas, and advocate for them. These are all ways that everyone can participate in the work of changing the world. It takes a whole social system for change to really occur.

And what I think is useful is to think about where we fit in these systems, and how we choose to prepare ourselves to act in the world when the opportunity arises to be part of God’s living work in the world. When the Christ child comes, are we ready to be wise, watching and waiting to travel, no matter how far to visit the new king? Are we shepherds, ready to respond when surprised on a hillside? Or like king Herod, are we threatened by the possibility of a new authority in our lives?

Consider one example-according to my analysis, the major change in our society over the last two hundred years is the gradual change in status of African Amercians in this country, from the brutal oppression of slavery, through the second class status of segregation, to the current situation where institutional racism remains a significant problem in our society, but a black man can be elected president.

Through this long and varied history, Christians have been instrumental both in perpetuating this evil system, and in condemning it. Quakers were some of the first Christians to argue against slavery, from before the revolutionary war, because they believed all human beings have the divine spark. Other Christians claimed that slavery was biblically sanctioned, and some continue to claim that interracial marriage is sinful, that God created whites and blacks to be separated, and perpetuate myths that entrench racism, suggesting things like white males face discrimination in our society.

During the civil rights movement, many Mennonites did voluntary service in the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, because they saw the world changing, and were prepared to engage in God’s work of breaking down racial barriers. While as you may have noticed, Mennonites have historically been pretty inbred, bonding along both religious and family lines, these young men and women had been prepared by the stories they had heard to embody the work of breaking down segregation. Often, their parents were flabbergasted that they would join the civil rights movement in the south, but it was the stories about God proclaiming that all people were equal, that all men and women are our neighbors that inspired them to act when the opportunity arose.

If these are the kind of stories that we do want to get behind, if part of the Advent journey is to be aware of where God is working in the world right now, and to join in with what God is doing when we are able, then the question is what stories should we be telling, and what opportunities should we be watching?

Here is a partial list of ways I thought of that we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord, ways of thinking that fit in the advent mentality, that prepare us for Christmas-this is my list, but I’d be curious what else you might come up with. When I think of people who have prepared the way of the Lord, I think of those who are ready to be generous, to sacrifice wealth for relationship, because they know that people are more important than money. I think of those who fight against discrimination, racism, sexism, and provincialism because they know that God loves everyone, no exceptions. I think of those who are willing are willing to sacrifice economic efficiency for justice, because playing well is more important than playing to win. I think of those who commit to simple living, considering and practice not having everything that they want, even if they can afford it. I think of those who practice being unsettled, who prepare for exile, who at least consider what it might be like to leave their homes because of persecution or unethical demands, who remember that change is not something to fear-it is what God is doing all the time, and it is good. I think of those who pay attention-who learn about the world around them, and listening to competing views, even going out of their way to engage with people who disagree, so that they might be ready to make an account of their views, and be able to agree and disagree in love. I think of those who live lives of prayer, who listen to the still small voice, who quiet their hearts and minds so that other voices might get in.

Anneliese told me a story the other day that I love, and I’d like to share it with you. At her school the army sponsors a job skills test, and at the end of the test they give you a form where you give the army all of your contact information, so they can recruit you more effectively. I confess, it’s a very clever system. So what happened was Anneliese was not interested in taking this test. So she spent some time beforehand trying to convince the school to let her get out of it, but they would not take no for an answer. Finally, when the day of the test came, the people administering the test came around and asked everyone to sign a release, allowing the information on the test to be given to the military. She politely declined. They insisted. She said no. So they sent her back to her classroom to finish out the morning. This is no easy thing-to walk out of a test in front of your classmates, to stand up to authority. But Anneliese had prepared herself-she knew what was coming, and was read to engage the authorities around her with the message about the path of peace.

I honor her, for her courage, and invite you to consider again, how you are leading yourself, your family, your world in the paths of peace. May you find life in your Advent preparation. May you listen, so that you notice when there are opportunities to work for justice. May you be prepared, so that when the voice cries in the wilderness, you come with joy.