Sermon: Happy Christmas Everybody

Preached 24 December 2019 23:15 at Christ Church, Billericay

Purpose: How to give everyone a happy Christmas

Readings Isaiah 52v7-10; John 1v1-14

It’s Christmas

It’s Christmas, well, that’s what we still hear Noddy Holder shouting when we turn on the radio. It’s God’s little joke that I have limited voice today, although I was never going to shout like Noddy.

The song paints a picture of everybody having fun, even gran joins in with the dancing and everyone being just a little over the top. There’s mention of the family being together, and no doubt he was singing to young adults and children. But Christmas is not always like that, at the other extreme is Den Watts, in East Enders, handing his wife Angie the divorce papers on Christmas day. I hope your Christmas will be better than that, better than either of those pictures in fact.

Babies in Stables etc.

We’re used to the Christmas story of the Virgin Mary giving birth to a baby and having to stay outside because there’s no space for her in the Inn. We’re used to the story of Angels and Shepherds and the tough conditions they worked in. Even the lowest of the low go to worship the messiah, having received a message of peace and good will from God and the joy that brings.

Our Old Testament reading also tells us of the joy that comes from the message of peace.

We’re used to the story of wise men visiting the child and leaving significant gifts. The highest of the high go to worship the messiah. We may remember that they had to avoid Herod on the way back. We may also remember his murderous threats and the flight to Egypt to keep the baby safe.

The bible manages to top the story lines of East Enders any day, and the Bible stories are truth.

John’s Approach

Those are good stories, but they are human stories told from a human point of view – that’s the sort of thing we engage easily with. John’s introduction that we have just heard takes a different approach. John already knows who the baby is, and he is not going to introduce Jesus like that. John starts from the very beginning and echoes the Book of Genesis.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ...” it says, but John tells us that before even that was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And that Jesus was the agent of creation. So straight away we are told that Jesus is divine and is the creator.

The mission

Then we get straight into the mission. Jesus is life and that life is the light of men. John the Baptist was sent to point people to the light, and he did, but even so the people did not recognise their creator.

To the few that did, He gave the right to become children of God.

v14

In the last verse we read, John sums up this part of his introduction:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Grace

Grace is not a behaviour that we talk about a great deal today. So here’s an example of what I’m talking about. I work in I.T. Many years ago I was trying to fix a problem and went about it completely the wrong way. As a result, the mainframe computer was down for about an hour in the middle of the day. I knew better, I just didn’t do it. I probably deserved to be disciplined, but all my manager said was “You know what you’ve done, right?” and that was it. I even got a pay rise at the end of the year. And that is grace. I was allowed to continue my work without penalty when one was deserved, I was given what I really didn’t deserve.

God’s grace

God’s grace is much greater than that. We fail to live up to His standards all the time, and yet He still gives us good things – look around you, not just here but in the world outside this church too. He also took the trouble to wipe out our failings once and for all. That is why Jesus came and took on flesh, initially as a baby, but later as a man who was fully obedient to God, and died on the cross for us.

That is the real good news of Christmas, the saviour – Jesus, the light of humanity – has come.

Glory

His glory is his act of redemption, his death for our sins and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. That is the hope we have at Christmas, the hope that more of the world will be redeemed and that the world will become a better, more peaceful, more loving place.

Our Happy Christmas

So, when I wish you a happy Christmas (I’m going to stick with happy in preference to merry, because I don’t want to imply that you should be consuming too much alcohol)

When I wish you a happy Christmas, that is what I am hoping and wishing for – for all of you and for everyone that I say it to. A Christmas where even if your gran doesn’t enjoy the latest music, she can be up and rock and rolling, perhaps on her own, but still having a good time.

Our Part

We can play our part in that. For me that is not becoming a DJ (I’d be terrible at it), my part is responding to every situation that occurs with grace and love – so imitating our saviour. I’m going to try that.

Happy Christmas Everybody

References:
http://ntwrightpage.com/2016/03/29/full-of-grace-and-truth/
https://www.gty.org/library/topical-series-library/245/the-best-of-christmas
http://www.stgeorgesunited.com/blog/2015/12/28/sermon-full-of-grace-and-truth-december-24th-2015
https://genius.com/Slade-merry-xmas-everybody-lyrics
https://www.family-times.net/illustration/Grace/
http://www.moreillustrations.com/Illustrations/grace%203.html

Sermon: John the Baptist

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay 15 Dec 2019 at 08:00

Title: John the Baptist

Reading Isaiah 35v1-10, Matthew 11v2-11

Greatest Ever OT Human?

Who is the greatest person in the Old Testament? Who would you pick: Abraham, because God made the original covenant with him;
Moses, because he lead the Israelites out of slavery;
Elijah, because he was the greatest prophet;

David, because he was the greatest King?

It’s JtB

The list goes on, there are any number of people to choose from. But Jesus chose John the Baptist, there it is in verse 11 “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist”. Why is that? What is it that is SO special about John?

JtB – the story so far

Let’s have a quick reminder of John’s life so far. John is Jesus’s cousin and he is a little older than Jesus. He was a prophet, calling Israel to repentance. He went out into the desert, he lived on locusts and honey, which he found locally, and he was a celebrity in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Many people went into the dessert to hear him preach and to be baptised, a symbol of their returning to God.

Expecting the Messiah

John expected a messiah. When questioned by the Pharisees in John chapter 1 he said “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

He was, of course, referring to Jesus. The apostle John goes on to say (verse 29-31)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Herod and John

King Herod was fascinated by John, and wanted to hear him preach, but the message Herod got was not one that he was prepared to hear. John criticized him for divorcing his wife and marrying Herodias, his cousin’s wife. So Herod put John in jail.

1 Year Later

Today’s reading is thought to be set about a year after that. John has been imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus, East of Dead Sea. He is hearing what is going on in the world outside from his disciples.

Not what is expected

What John was hearing, though, is not what John was expecting to hear. Look at the OT reading.

(v4) “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

That’s what John was expecting. Along with the miracles, there should be some vengeance, some divine retribution, but none of that was happening – nor was there any sign that it might. So, perhaps it is not surprising that Johns was beginning to wonder if he had identified the wrong person as the Messiah.

You, or someone else?

His disciples come to Jesus and ask the question. The answer they get is “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

John’s Status

You may think it is not much of an answer, and that it leaves more questions than it answers, but it should be good enough for John to know that he correctly identified the messiah.

Jesus realises though that the crowd around Him might not understand what has been said, and might not understand John’s status, so He starts the process of confirming that John is indeed the one calling in the desert – and more.

A reed

Many of crowd that followed Jesus, will also have been out into the desert to see John, so He asks them, “What did you go to see?” “A reed swayed in the wind?” “Someone who can’t make up their mind? Someone whose beliefs are changed by the circumstances around them? - That would not be John, he may have misunderstood, but he is not a doubter.

Fine Clothes

Not a reed then, so what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, fine clothes are for people in King's palaces. Jesus is having a dig at Herod for putting John in prison. You won’t find those people in the desert preaching repentance.

A prophet, a messenger

So, what did you go out to see? A prophet then, Yes, most definitely a prophet. There had not been a prophet in Israel for four hundred years before John and he was also prophesied.

Malachi 3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

John is that prophet, that messenger who makes the people ready for Jesus, but it is not that specifically that makes John Jesus’ choice for the greatest OT person.

What is a prophet?

To answer the question “Why is John, Jesus’ choice?” we have to understand the nature of a prophet. A prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth to others. Jesus is God’s truth, He said so himself. John 14:6, has Jesus saying one of the best known of His quotes: “I am the way the truth and the life”

OT Prophet

Prophets is the OT spoke about Jesus, but they did it vaguely, in our OT reading this morning Isaiah simply says “Your God will come”. Malachi says “the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple”. There is nothing really specific – a little where, but no when or who.

JtB

John the baptist, on the other hand was able to say “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”. He gave his hearers a very specific where, when and who. He also describes Jesus’ mission – and provided some of the what.

This is what makes John the Baptist the greatest Old Testament character, because he speaks about God’s truth (that’s Jesus) more clearly, more precisely than any of the others.

The least in the kingdom of heaven

The least in the kingdom of heaven (that’s us) are greater than John because we can speak God’s truth in a whole lot more detail. We know who Jesus was as a person on earth, we know who He is as we are all connected to Him by the Holy Spirit, and we know how He takes away the sin of the world. We know that He died so that we can be put right with God, and we know that he rose from the dead as proof of who he is. We have the where, when, who, what and how. So when we speak God’s truth, we can give a clear, if not quite a perfect picture to our hearers.

As His followers or disciples, that is our purpose – to speak the truth of God to other people. You might know that better as talking to people about Jesus.

What a privilege it is to be greater than the prophets!

Amen

Perseverance during the End Times

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay 17 November 2019 @ 8:00 Holy Communion

Planet is Burning

Fifty years ago, when I was at school, we were taught that the Earth was due another Ice Age any time in the next 100,000 years or so. How would humanity survive as the ice sheets once again covered Britain? Would we all have to migrate south and live in southern Europe or northern Africa? At least it wouldn’t affect my generation, even when the process started it would take thousands of years get this far south.

How different it is today. Over the last fifty years we have detected that the Earth has changed from getting very slowly colder, to getting very quickly hotter. Wild fires in various places, and other fires deliberately set to clear forest mean that the quote I heard on the radio “the planet is on fire” really sound like the truth.

Malachi

Then I read the Malachi reading. In the day of the Lord “All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire”

In a fire, stubble burns in seconds and is gone.

The arrogant and the evil doers I can easily see as those who have encouraged us to get where we are, who have put profit ahead of care for the environment. We all must take some responsibility though, because we have not been determined to do things the right way, but have gone along with the ease and convenience that the modern world provides.

Verse 2

Using that interpretation, though, meant that the first part of verse 2 that was read bothered me a little. “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings”

It sounds like we should be somehow exempt from the effects that we are suffering. That can’t be the case, if the planet burns we all suffer.

Luke

So let’s turn to Luke to see if the gospel reading can help us understand what is going on.

The Temple

The Temple was an incredible building intended to show off the glory of God. It was the centre of the Jewish world, not just an important building. The disciple remarking about its beauty was quite a natural thing to do. So when Jesus says that a time will come when the temple will just be rubble you can imagine their reaction.

St Pauls

To help us get a sense of the shock Jesus’ statement must have caused, think about St Paul’s in WWII. The cathedral suffered some damage, but became a symbol of our nation standing against all that the German air force could through at it. There were teams of people dedicated to removing incendiary devices from it’s roof, and put out any fires that occurred before serious damage could be caused. If it had been destroyed, there’s a chance that morale would have plummeted and the war lost.

Temple Destroyed

The temple was more, much more, important than that. We know that it was finally destroyed in 70AD, but for now the disciples want to know when it will happen.

Jesus doesn’t give them a date, or tell them that a cosmic event will mark its end, instead he gives them some indicators, and with them some instructions on the attitude they should have.

Many claim to be Jesus

There will be many who claim that they are Jesus returned. They will say that the final end is near, they are wrong. Jesus’ coming will be obvious to all, Jesus has already told the disciples this in Luke 17:30-31:

“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

Everyone will know.

Wars, Revolutions, Natural Disasters

Wars and revolutions will also occur. These don’t imply that the end is coming either, they are simply events that must happen before the end can come. Natural disasters, earthquakes, famines, epidemics, and cosmic events are also in the same category. They are things that must happen.

What happens next

Before any of this, though, a worse fate will befall you Jesus tells His disciples. “they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.”

Don’t worry, though, because this gives you a chance to tell your story, don’t lose any sleep preparing it, because I will give you words and wisdom at the right time.

Family & friends & everyone

Even family and friends cannot be counted upon in those times, and everyone will hate you because you follow me. Some of you will even be put to death.

But ..

But not a hair on your head will perish and by standing firm you will gain life. So, this life that Jesus is referring to is clearly eternal life, and that must be what Malachi is getting at when he says ““But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings”.

The future

While the teaching here seems to be specifically for the period between the resurrection and the destruction of the Temple, especially because the following verse talks about armies surrounding Jerusalem, we know that we are still living in the same times as the disciples were being warned about.

The Teaching

The teaching in this passages offers us 4 points as we try to remain faithful to God during difficult times:

v18 Watch out for false leaders, do not follow them.

Vv9-11 Do not be frightened by the events that you know have to happen in the end times.

Vv12-16 Do not worry about your defence when you are taken to court, Jesus will provide you with the words to say and the wisdom to deliver them. You will be a witness for Christ

vv17-19 When everyone turns against you, and hates you, stand firm in your beliefs, and by doing so you WILL gain Eternal Life

Our Experience

We don’t see much persecution in this country, but we are starting to see the beginnings of it, so far it is mainly inconvenience – people losing job, being de-selected as candidates in the general election. It is getting slowly more serious, but that is to be expected in the current times – the end times.

As we wait for His return, we must be prepared for this and worse, if we expect it, and persevere we too will gain Life.

Amen