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Advent On Its Own Terms III

  • I love seeing the kids up here, and wait until. you see the video!
    • There is a sense of pure joy coming out of each frame. And the chaos of that night would lead you to believe it was a real party.
    • And it's a hope of mine (as I imagine for many of you) to see that joy and playfulness grow into a long faith journey.
  • But how?
    • Right now, if we look at the evidence, the church isn't doing so well at the task:
      • Quantitative - The younger you are, the less likely you are to attend church
      • Qualitative - The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast, Liberty University and its scandals
    • In truth, I wonder if what we've offered our younger adults in the church in the last few to wrap their lives around.
      • At times, we place the blame of decline on their shoulders
      • Other times, we blame them for bad theology (Arizona Christian study in May)
      • So many stories of hurt, of trauma, of abuse are rife in the church.
    • For better or for worse, many churches have worked to provide a comfortable product to consume - low-risk community that will not raise the hackles on the backs of those who will give the most.
    • If there's too much deviation from the plan, there are consequences... and so instead of clamoring back and conforming, they leave.
  • John forces our hand to have to wrestle with this issue, because he starts today right into "brood of vipers"...
    • Brood of vipers. Let's not forget, John is talking to the people that were following him the first place. The folks who he was literally going around the region preaching to.
      • Brood of vipers is often a term used to describe Gentiles
        • But let's not presume it's just Gentiles here. Indeed, there are also "ancestor or Abraham"
        • People who had the benefit of entitlement - literally being the people of God - could not just stand on that alone.
      • We cannot just think because we have the right pedigree, prayed the right prayers, created the system, enforce the rules - don't think you can wander in here and be baptized and not escape what's to come. Power and control will never be enough.
      • Instead, there need to be fruits worthy of "repentance"
        • Remember: repentance - a complete change of the self that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.
        • John's exhortation is that we need to deny the entitlements based on who we are and change our ways.
    • "What then should we do?"
      • John's response - Do good and love others. This is the greatest commandment in action.
        • If you have enough - give some to others!
          • Notice two coats - not just one and then you have none.
          • Things that provide for basic needs.
        • Don't take advantage of people economically.
          • Even tax collectors - sorry for the tax people in the room. But maybe we think more broadly - the related Hebrew word was one that also meant "to force to work."
          • How many of us are in positions of authority over someone? Bosses, managers, teachers, pastors?
          • We all know the stories of the supervisors who took advantage of us.
          • "Collect no more than the amount prescribed to you"
            • The word prescribed can also mean instructed.
            • No only might it offer economic relief, but also that we not require more of people than what they can muster.
        • The soldier
          • Jewish soldiers - the governmental representatives
          • Extort - to shake fiercely. A specific use here. Don't use violence.
          • Extort - to lie about. Blackmailing others.
          • Be happy with what you have - when you have power, it's so easy to push around the weakest.
      • One thing that's not here - be concerned about what the other guy has.
        • Only give that coat to the person who has none only if you think they really deserve it.
        • Only feed that person if they're working in order that we can see that they deserve it.
        • To give with strings doesn't seem to be repentance - it's just entitlement by another name, which may be the worse giving of them all.
          • And there will always be fine lines between care and enablement, but that's not what we are talking about here.
          • Sometimes we need to not give one thing, but we need to give something.
          • But there seems to be something far too snake-like when we say "well, we'll give to you so long as you meet our requirements" - it reflections our own entitlement, our own judgement to determine who is worthy and who isn't.
        • This is why, for instance, that it does not matter if a single person this year takes a blanket. It's fruit worthy of repentance.
        • But it isn't just for the poor - it's also not "well, if you look the way I do, or have the same politics I do, or marry the same person I would"... should we do that, we ought to be reminded that the ax is right at the foot of the tree... and perhaps it might be alright for those churches to come toppling down. There's always good reason for pruning.
    • Connecting action with gospel is at the core of justice, which is not just a buzz word, but everything that Jesus came into this world for.
      • Interestingly enough, this seems to be what younger adults are craving from their churches.
        • Springtide research: many younger adults are spiritually active, but feel like the social issues they're hoping the church would care about don't... and the disparity between their concern and their churches perceived concern was in double digits.
        • Our own community with everyone - the top four things: Warm and friendly encounters, quality sermons, opportunities to develop personal relationships, opportunities for volunteering in the community.
      • These two facts together might invite us to become a church that stands for something concrete. To bear those fruits worthy of repentance.
      • It may mean upsetting some folks - John's words put him in jail.
      • But here's the fundamental question before us - what is it we want? What do we want to do? This is not a passive question, but one that demands a response from us... be awake! Make a choice!
      • My guess is (backed up by the data), that given the choice, we'd choose a church bearing fruits of repentance, not hanging on its birthright, and sharing regardless of need.
      • That is a church worthy of welcoming the Christ child into its midst, I think. Now, thanks be to God that Jesus comes to us regardless - the gift of grace and forgivness in our brokenness - but I wonder what it's like to accept him with Paul still in our heads?