Today’s Scripture passage underscores one of the Bible’s most consistent messages, namely that God yearns for a restored relationship with us, and so He goes to extreme lengths to achieve it. In the life, death and resurrection, it became possible, though in a somewhat limited way, and in the church, it became more fully evident. But it isn’t until we experience the new heaven and the new earth that it is fully realized. Then the dwelling place of God is fully with us, no ifs, ands or buts, with no barriers or hindrances. So, that is something that we can look forward to--and enjoy, even if only in a more limited scope, right here and now. Let us, then, do our utmost to enter into that. Amen.

Today’s passage and meditation touch on what is, for many people, quite a touchy subject, namely sin. Many people, my own dear father included, dislike the word because they feel that it implies that they are nasty, evil people who do no good in the world. Dad used to say, “I’m not perfect, but I’m no sinner either.” That’s because the word ‘sin’ and ‘sinner’ have taken on a very pejorative negative connotation, which is not at all true of its Biblical meaning. The main word for sin, hamartia, simply means to ‘miss the mark’, that is, to fall short of what God expects and demands of us. It’s another way of saying that we aren’t perfect, that we don’t bat 1,000. And so a person can be a ‘very good person’ by society’s standards and do all sorts of ‘good’ things, and still be a sinner, still have sin in his or her life. That is, because, sin, at its very root, is choosing to abide by our own counsels and thinking and agenda rather than by God's. In other words, not submitting to His will and guidance. And so, what we do may well be good and wholesome and beneficial, but not necessarily what God would want or what God directed. And, if we accidentally get it right, do what God wants without actually asking for His advice or intentionally being directed by Him, is that sin? I’m not quite sure. Anyway, I think that it is probably better to ask Him anyway, rather than to assume or presume so.

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation put us in mind, not only of what we would die for, but also what we actually live for. Stephen certainly died for his faith in Jesus Christ, but he also lived for what Jesus lived and taught, namely that God was doing a new thing, a new thing that wasn’t limited by the limited understandings of us mortal human beings, or even our past history and experiences, but, at the same time, was predicted and spoken of in the Scriptures and lived out in the life of Jesus. And, so it meant that Stephen, unlike us at times, was not bound by his or his people’s past, but was continually alive to Christ and His new way. As we approach this New Year, may we be of a like mind.

This Christmas Eve, at the suggestion of someone I heard while in Vancouver back in November, I tried something a bit different from my usual style of preaching. The person suggested that, when people hear a Scripture passage read in ‘one fowl swoop’, they often miss out on some of the meaning and nuances of it--which is too bad, seeing as the Scriptures, being divinely inspired, often have something to say to us verse by verse. What the person suggested was preaching an expository sermon first--before the reading of the passage--and then having the reading. By doing this, the reading gives a background and overview to what you have just preached. So, this is what I did with the Gospel reading, Luke 2:1-20, which you now have an attachment. I hope you enjoy it.

Today’s psalm touches on something that, at the onset at least, might leave us mere mortals a bit uncomfortable or uneasy, and even, yes, even a bit fearful. It is the revelation that God knows us inside and out, even to the point of knowing our thoughts and motives--and our words before they even come out of our mouths. if you are like I was at times as a youngster, when I was fearful of ‘being found out’ and punished as a consequence, that fear or uneasiness might be quite understandable. But God is not so limited as is our earthly parents. God does indeed hold us accountable, but He fully understands where we come from and what led up to our behaviour or decisions. He understands us better than we understands ourselves and thus is able to put all of this into a proper perspective. And--this is the incredible thing--in spite of all this knowing, He still loves us unconditionally, cares for us and forgives us, and wants us in be in a loving relationship with Himself. What incredible Good News that is.

Years ago, when I was first ordained, I had a bishop by the name of Morse Goodman. I found his middle name, Lamb, to be particularly revealing, not only about himself, but also about our Lord. Morse was a ‘lamb’ that became a shepherd, and Jesus was as well, ‘the lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world’, who was also our Good Shepherd. Today’s passage from the Book of Revelation further elaborates on that role of Christ as ‘the lamb of God’, namely in how, because of His life, death and resurrection, He became ’the perfect lamb’ and the only one qualified to take away our sins. It just goes to show how much more we should worship Him and obey Him in everything.

From what has to be a rather obscure and generally unread book of the Bible, Habakkuk, came that wonderful doctrine of ‘justification by faith’, which the apostle Paul picked up on, and which the great reformer Martin Luther discovered and promoted. It, as nothing else can, melds together our lives and responses with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That doctrine states, in essence, that we cannot, and could not, ‘do it’ on our own. We could not earn or merit our salvation, but could only be justified through faith in what Jesus had already done for us. It is His life, death and resurrection that does it all, a one ‘full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, obligation and satisfaction--as described for us by the Book of Common Prayer (1962), p. 82. It is here that Christianity is unique: unique in that we can’t do it, and unique in that God in Christ Jesus has already done it all for us. And so, all that we need to do is to receive it, as a gift, by faith in Him. And, what a gift that is. Thanks be to God.

To me, Psalm 119 presents quite a challenge, a challenge in two ways. Firstly, it lifts up God’s word, commandments, teachings and laws as being of paramount importance. And secondly, it suggests that knowing them and obeying them should take precedence over all else. So, who among us can say that we do either? Either we don’t study His word and learn it and meditate upon it, or, we forget it or dismiss it and act otherwise than how it commands. And so, in these waning days of this Advent season, it is probably a good exercise to see just ‘how we are doing’ in this regard, and commit ourselves to ‘pulling up our socks’ in this regard.

During this time of year leading up to Christmas, countless agencies and advertisers are plummeting us with suggestions as to what we ‘really’ need, and, of course, what we really need to buy--or, in some cases, what we need to contribute to. They suggest to us that we are ‘really not good enough’ (we need their product to somehow ‘be’ better) or that we don’t really have what we ‘need’. They want to contribute to a sense of ‘want’ or need or of dissatisfaction. But in reality we actually already have what we need, if we have Jesus Christ in our lives. He is our hope, our joy, our peace, our love and He provides all that we could ever need or want. And so, we can rest in Him, quite secure and at peace. Amen.

One of my favourite gospel songs is ‘Because He Lives’, in which the chorus says, ‘Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives.”

Jesus indeed live, and furthermore, as today’s gospel reading pointed out, He also knows the future, holds the future in His caring hands, and so we can rest secure and easy, knowing that He is taking care of everything--and taking care of us as well. So, let us hold on to that truth firmly, now and ever.

Pretty well all of us can say that we have sometime reached a ‘point of quiet--or not so quiet--desperation, a time when troubles or problems seemed overwhelming and solutions and help seemed either far off or non-existent. It is good to know that our Lord--or His help--or never far away, even with they seem so, and that we can always turn to Him. That was the experience of today’s psalmist, and can be our experience as well, if only we give Him a chance.

All of us, at some point in our lives, reach a breaking point, a place of ‘not so quiet desperation’, where nothing seems to go right and nothing seems to ‘work.’ Certainly the psalmist David felt this way at times, especially when King Saul was ‘hot on his trail’, wanting and planning his destruction--and all this in quite of his exemplary service to his king and country. Even so, David does not lose heart but instead goes to God who is his help and his strength. And so, when we are ‘in dire straits’ like David, we can learn from his example and follow it, and likewise go to God in prayer and in faith.

Someone once said, ‘When you point a finger at someone else, you have three fingers pointing back at you’, and certainly that is the case when we look at the mistakes and sins of our ancestors in the faith. We, like them, are flawed and imperfect human beings, and like them, prone to make mistakes and sin. So, hopefully, looking at them and their ‘performance’ can be a help to remedy similar things in our own lives--a very useful and helpful exercise for the season of Advent, if there ever was so.

In Psalm 119 the psalmist waxes eloquent about God’s laws, commandments, teachings and much else and commits himself to wholeheartedly trying to learn them, understand them and obey them. And, why is that? It is because He has experienced God in all His goodness and mercy, and know for certain that both God, and His word, can be trusted totally. So, what about us? Advent is typically a time to reflect on our own lives and how we stand with God, so what better time is there to think about what God and His word mean to us?

Today’s message of reproof and judgment found in the book of Amos is enough to give anyone pause, simply because not only did Amos predict it but that all of it came true, exactly as he had stated it.

For me, however, it is important as more than just some ‘historical artifact’, some happening from the past. To me, it puts me in mind of us and our world today. Scripture repeatedly points out that all nations and all of humankind will one day be held accountable. And, even more unsettling, it says that judgment will start with the household of God, with the people of God (see 1 Peter 4: 17). Indeed, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10). So, my question is, ‘are we ready for it?’ It is a good question for us to ponder, and especially during this season of Advent.

I’m sure that we can each think of people who were basically a ‘flash in the pan’, a temporary wonder, something akin to a shooting star that emerged in the heavens, blazed brightly for a moment, and then were seen no longer. Here I think of certain singers or performers who had but just hit song or performance, or sports figures who ‘showed so much promise’ but fizzled when they ‘got into action’, or elected leaders who wowed the crowds for a moment but then never really lived up to the hype.

I am sure that none of us want to be like that, and so today’s passage and meditation are most appropriate. They are all about how to have ‘staying power’, whether that relates to God or to our own selves, our own character, as moral beings that demonstrate integrity in the way we live.

Today, in our wider world, we hear many and diverse ‘calls to action’, many of them stressing just urgent they are. But what about God’s call to action, our spiritual call to action? As we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ, how many of us--and those around us--are sure about our relationship with Him? I ask this, because, for many years, I didn’t even know that it was even possible to have a relationship with Jesus. And, along with this, many others just take it for granted. My guess is that many well-meaning ‘Christians’ are in either one of these boats! Anyway, it is something too important--eternally important, in fact, not to make sure of.

And then, coupled with this: how many of us are prepared and ready for His coming again in glory? That is, firstly, are our lives such that He’d be pleased with them? And secondly, are we busy, redeeming the time, with the tasks that He has assigned for us to do--such things as looking after His ‘household’ (whether this be the church or the world, it doesn’t matter overly), making use of the gifts He has given us, or spreading the Good News of the Gospel. Putting these two questions in another way: Are we in such a state as to be ready for His fellowship? And, are we prepared to give an accounting of our stewardship?

To me, during this Advent season, these ‘calls to action’ are far more important than many of the secular ones that so often issue clarion calls for our attention and action.