Sermon - 2014-12-07

Advent Season is the season of preparation.  We prepare for the arrival of Jesus, not only remembering the first time that Jesus Christ lived and dwelled among us.  We also remember the time in which Jesus promised that he will come again.  A time in which we remember that Jesus has not abandoned us in this world to fend for ourselves, but that we are with Jesus Christ.  

So today, we remember the time, the way, and the person who God called to do this work, John the Baptist.  For he was the one who God used as an instrument to prepare the people and to declare to them that the Messiah was indeed coming to the world among them.  John the Baptist prepared the way for each and everyone of us to stop from our individual lives, and to think and hear that Jesus Christ was coming to us.  So that we would take notice and that we would pay attention to the gift that is Jesus Christ.

Within our own modern days, we have paths that others have prepared for us to get from one place to the next.  These roads, highways, and interstates were developed and created so that we could navigate them and get to where we are going.  These roads allow us to get from one city to the next.  They allow us to get to a person, a store, and to get there as quickly and safely as we can.  Many of these roads were made by individuals so that they could get to their home and be connected with the people and the community that was near to them.  It took many days of hard work, many frustrating setbacks that slowed down the progress, or even made them realize any mistakes that they were doing.  

However, today, as we go driving down these roads, we often see signs of work still being done on them.  People who are working on the path so that we can travel on them more safely, more easily, and more clearly.  Along these areas and along these roads, there are signs to help us along the way.  These signs are there to help us navigate the ways that we are travelling more easily.  However, so often we see these signs and we begin to be frustrated.  “Slow Down Construction Zone” , “Left Lane Closed” , “Right Lane Closed” .  These signs are there, but they often slow us down, or even stop us in our tracks.  We don’t like it.  We become frustrated that we are not getting to where we are going.  That we are not traveling as fast as we would like, or that we have been stopped, and are not moving at all.  

If you look down the center aisle, you will see a dashed line much like one you see on the road.  (provided it is not covered up by snow)  Yet, smack dab in the middle of the road, we run into the church.  At the very start of the journey, we have the Baptismal Font.  It is a reminder of our birth, our calling into the Family of God, and the place in which we are bound into the same life, love, and inheritance of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  It is in this one moment that our life is changed forever.  However, much like our very birth, we did not have much say in who we are and what God was calling us to do in this world.  

After your Baptism, you are in the construction zone.  God is still working and preparing the Kingdom of God in this world.  We still find potholes and off ramps that distract us from the life we are being called to live.  Along the way, we encounter signs, people who share with us, God’s word, God’s promise of love, and forgiveness. We gather together to be reminded of this promise

When John the Baptist came, he did not come to build actual roads or highways, but rather he brought a message of repentance.  A calling for each of us to examine our own life, our heart, our minds, and our relationship with God.  We still do this in our worship service.  In worship, we do a Confession and Forgiveness.  We stop and use words of Scripture to help us look and examine different parts of our life.  We look at what we have done, and what we have left undone.  But also we remember that encounter with Jesus Christ in our own life.  

As we continue to gather together for worship, we examine not only our own life, heart, and mind. We work together to help and support one another in our worship experience together.  To encounter God and to help everyone understand their path that God is calling us to live within the world.  We enter into conversations, listening to where they are at, but also sharing some experiences that we have encountered.  For the journey of faith goes from the very beginning of our lives until the end, and we stand in the presence of God.