“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. ” (John 1:1–18, ESV)

There was this time when humanity lived in harmony with God and one another. We get this picture in Genesis of God forming and filling a place where he can live with the people he creates. A world that displays God’s creative inclination, a universe filled with hundreds of thousands of galaxies, millions of different kinds of plants and animals.

Have you ever thought of the creative extravagance of God? The one thing I remember most about Alberta is all the bugs. If you laid out a blanket to have a picnic or simply to lay out in the grass it did not take long before there were hundreds of different kinds of insects crawling all over the blanket and you. It didn’t take long to get somewhat creeped out as they crawled up your arms, over your legs, down your shirt.

God is extravagant in his creation, and as a crowning achievement his places humankind in a garden of his making. He creates an image of himself in Adam and Eve, and image that reflects the relationship that exists within himself through the Trinity, a constant communion of giving, serving, and loving one another. He creates a space where he can enjoy fellowship with his own creatures, with the work of his hands.

And he calls it all very good.

There was this time when everything worked. There was this time when we knew God.

But then we decide that we would like to have it all to ourselves. We decide that we know better than God what is good for us, and we take something that God told us would not be good for us. Like a two year old child told not to touch the stove, we touch it anyway, and then blame God for the burns that come as a result.

We blame God for the broken relationship that leads to death when that is exactly what we were warned about in the first place.

But God does not leave Adam and Eve in their shame. He comes into the garden and voices one of the most painful sentences of scripture, “Where are you?”

A couple of weeks ago I was working in my office at home, Sherilyn was playing with Chancery (my one year old daughter) in the living room, and Asher (my three year old son) was outside on the deck. He had been out there for about ten minutes when Sherilyn went out to check on him.

He’s not there. He was supposed to stay on the deck, but he was not there. Sherilyn calls, but he does not answer. She moves to the front of the house and calls for him there.

Still no answer.

By now panic is starting to rise and she throws on her coat to go look for him. I put some clothes on Chancery and go looking for him too. We walk all around the neighbourhood calling to him. We go up the street, down the street, to the park through the trees, out toward the creek. Basically we walk around everywhere, but he is nowhere to be found.

We call, but he does not answer.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Jewish scholar and theologian, argues that the story of the Old Testament is a story of God in search of man. It is a story of God looking for the Adam that he had created. The narrative of the rest of the Old Testament is a response to that painful question, “Where are you?”

God in search of humanity.

The relationships that were so central to his very good creation were strained and broken. Humanity is faced with the consequences of its own actions and find that we are exiled from this space of wholeness, of peace, of shalom. Sent out to wander the earth and toil for our living, we feel the separation from God and long for the day that he would come to live with us again.

We long for the renewal of that original creation.

While Stephanie was in Zambia she came face to face with the extreme brokenness in this world.

It’s a hot, sunny morning. My once-whit skirt is flowing in the breeze. The video camera swings on my shoulder. With my broken tripod in hand, and a tummy full with hot oatmeal, I open the gate and step out into the compound. A little girl in pink t-shirt and shiny black shoes stares up at me.

Angela is ten years old. She’s our neighbour. She lives right next door with her mum, Alice, and her two brothers and a sister. And-the best part-she goes to GEMS…

After a short interview and a few shots of Angela’s grassless, dirt yard and the black garbage bags tied to sticks that section off what I can only guess is the outhouse; I follow Angela inside the dark house. I’m surprised when I find myself in a crowded room, about the size of a bathroom. Two older boys sit on a wearing couch. Alice isn’t home. I follow their gaze to a pot of water simmering on a hot charcoal brazier. A couple plastic bowls and a few tin pots are piled in a corner. I get the feeling that the family’s entire collection of worldly possessions is in view.

Angela pulls back a divider curtain to reveal a dark bedroom, also the size of a bathroom. A tiny bit of light seeps in through a few cracks in the roof. I look around and notice that the one-room house doesn’t have electricity. In the darkness, I can make out piles of laundry hanging from the ceiling. I can’t see any furniture, just piles of clothes and a small bedside table with a few old toothbrushes on it. …

Standing there in the consuming blackness, I can only make out the outlines of Angela’s head. The wiry little girl proudly announces, “this is where I sleep.” She’s pointing to a corner of the concrete room, about the size of a doormat. From what I can make out in the darkness, there’s a thin blanket folded on the floor. No bed, no pillow.”

It is hard for us in our luxurious North American existence to wrap our heads around this kind of reality, but this is what most of the world lives with. There are times when some of this pain breaks through our hardened hearts and we long for the renewal of this world.

A renewal, John tells us, started with Christ.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ” (John 1:1–3, ESV)

Listen to this from Genesis 1

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ” (Genesis 1:1–4, ESV)

Now back to John.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ” (John 1:4–5, ESV)

For John, The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ is that creation is happening, again. The beginning of the good news about Jesus is that he who was present at creation, who assisted in its formation, has come to once again shine in the darkness.

John admits that there is darkness in this world, but in Jesus we see the light of God. We see the good that started the work of creation.

“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ” (John 1:9–13, NIV)

The right to become children of God.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a, NIV)

In Christ that relationship between God and humankind was renewed. We wanted to be like God, and so became separated from him. So he became man so that we could be reconnected with him.

God in search of humanity.

“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. ” (John 1:14, NIV)

The Word made his dwelling among us. Or as Eugene Peterson puts it in his paraphrase, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.”

The Greek word that we translate “dwelling” is σκηνόω (skeynooh), which literally means to set up a tent, or to tabernacle. . A tent for people in Jesus’s day, or even for those who live in the middle east today, is not the little things that we take when we are camping. A tent for them is a place to live. It is a place to dwell when you are forced from a more settled existence.

When the Israelites were freed from captivity in Egypt they were brought to Sinai and given the incredible promise that God would be with them, that he would be their God and they would be his people, that he would come and live among them.

He gave very specific instructions on how to build a place of worship, a tent of meeting, a tabernacle. Most of the book of Exodus is taken up with the instructions for, and the actual building of the tabernacle, the tent, the מִשְׁכָּן (mishcan) in Hebrew, or the σκηνή (skeyney) in Greek.

The tabernacle that God instructed the Israelites to build, which provided a way for the people to again approach God, which provided a place for God to once again dwell with his people, was fulfilled in Christ. In the tabernacle God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies, a place that could not be approached whenever you felt like it. A place that contained the ark of the covenant whose lid formed the mercy seat.

But now in Jesus the tabernacle is no longer a physical place. It is no longer a set of specific instructions on furniture and decorations. In Jesus, the place of God’s dwelling becomes a person.

Jesus is Immanuel, God will us.

“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. … From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another [we have received grace upon grace]. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. ” (John 1:14, 16–18, NIV)

In Jesus, God has found humanity and we have met God.

When Sherilyn and I were wandering around looking for Asher, all sorts of emotions were floating around and competing for attention. There was blame of the other for letting him slip away. There was fear that something had happened to him. There was anxiety that every passing second could get us farther and farther away from him.

Finally Sherilyn went in and called the police and I went knocking on all the neighbours doors to see if anyone had seen him. I walked up to the third house and knocked on the door. As it was opened, there was Asher playing with their dog, Lexi.

Relief, frustration, and love flooded me as I stood there trying to control myself. I realised at that moment that I would have done anything to make sure that I got him back safe and sound. I would have gone to the lengths of the earth. At that moment I think I got a glimpse of God’s heart, God in search of humanity.

Christmas is about recreation, it is about renewal. It is about God seeking and saving those who are wandering away from him.

A songwriter, Gary Doles, puts it this way.

“Jesus is born and the tired world is stirring, feeling the chance to at last be renewed. Here the miraculous birth is occurring, son of a woman by heaven imbued.” Gary Doles, “The Night of Heaven and Earth”

The whole world, says Paul, is groaning like a woman in labour, waiting for the renewal of all things. Waiting for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in us. Waiting. But this day marks the beginning of something completely new. God has overcome the distance between us and come to dwell among us. God himself, in the second person of the Trinity, lays aside the spectacle of heaven to become a person.

“Jesus is born and the tired world is stirring, feeling the chance to at last be renewed. Here the miraculous birth is occurring, son of a woman by heaven imbued.” Gary Doles, The Night of Heaven and Earth

Here the miraculous birth is occurring, because here the life of Christ is being manifest. Right here we are moving away from a life of selfishness to a life of service. Right here we are changing the message from “What can I get?” to “What can I give?” Right here, through us, God is giving hope to the world.

You might rewrite Gary’s song like this.

Jesus is born and the tired world is stirring, feeling the chance to at last be renewed. Here the miraculous birth is occurring, born of the Spirit, we’re children of God.

In Christ, the God in search of humanity has found us, and is making us into his people, into his new creation.

May you open yourself to the God who is searching for you. May you trust the voice of the one who called you into existence. May you join the whole world, longing for the chance to at last be renewed.

“I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. I believed, even when I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted”; I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.” What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD! ” (Psalm 116, ESV)

Luke begins his story of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2 with a rather pithy statement;

“In those days.”

See in those days nothing seemed to be going right. In those days Rome controlled the land which had be promised to Israel making them subject to the whims of another ruler. One who proclaimed that peace came through victory. One who would be viewed as divine by future generations. One who caused major upheaval in the name of getting better population count for tax purposes.

In those days Herod controlled this area with an iron fist, willing to slaughter anyone who was a threat to his throne, including his own children. There is this story that before Herod died he rounded up all the most loved religious and political leaders of his day and had them locked in one place, leaving orders that when he died they should all be put to death. That way, he thought, he could ensure mourning on the day of his death.

In those days things were not the way they were supposed to be.

But in those days, God was doing something incredible. Through this rather poor and insignificant family God was making good on his promises, promises which run all the way back to the beginning of creation. When we decided that we knew better than God and we broke God’s good creation, even then he promised that there would be a saviour; a seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent; a seed of the woman who would destroy death and make it possible for God to once again dwell with his people.

And when God chooses people to tell this incredible message to, he chooses Shepherds. Shepherds were outcasts in the society. They were considered liars and thieves. They were unclean. Not only were they a little dirty, smelling like sweat, sheep, and rain, they were unable to perform all the different washing ceremonies needed before eating and sleeping. They were ceremonially unclean, and so the rest of the society had very little to do with them.

When God chooses to announce that he has come to make things right, he does it to the outcast, the down and out, the loners. God tells those who understand that things are not the way they are supposed to be that he has come to make all things new, and they go home rejoicing!

Christmas always fills me with this incredible mix of emotions because it is at this point in the year that I become most aware of the distance between what I hope for and what I witness in the world. The Christmas lights seem to outline most poignantly the real darkness of this world.

Barlow Girls have this song called “Never Alone” which expresses this ache for me.

I waited for You today
But You didn’t show
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You’d be there
And though I haven’t seen You
Are You still there?

[Chorus:]
I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel You by my side
So I’ll hold tight to what I know
You’re here and I”m never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can’t explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You’ve placed in my life

We cannot separate
You’re part of me
And though You’re invisible
I’ll trust the unseen

[Chorus]
I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel You by my side
So I’ll hold tight to what I know
You’re here and I”m never alone

We cannot separate
You’re part of me
And though You’re invisible
I’ll trust the unseen

Believing the announcement of Christmas takes an incredible act of faith. Christmas is about placing hope in the impossible. It is about embracing a story which seems too good to be true. Christmas provides us with an opportunity to experience liberation; to experience the assurance that God has heard our cries for mercy.

To experience what this psalmist experienced.

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. ” (Psalm 116:1–2, NIV)

Here the psalmist is giving testimony. He may very well be standing up in front of those gathered in the temple talking about something that had recently happened to him.

“The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, save me!” The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. ” (Psalm 116:3-5, NIV)

God, at the core, is not an overbearing Father interested in our moral perfection, nor is he a distant relative who only takes an interest in us every now and then but is really too busy to get truly involved in our lives. No, says the psalmist, our God, at his core, at the very centre of his being, is full of compassion.

The psalmist is pulling on an ancient Hebrew confession about who God is; about who Yahweh is. It comes from this great story about Moses on Mt Sinai with God after the Exodus from Egypt. Moses had been on the mountain for a while, and the people had made an idol, a golden calf, and began to worship it. God was furious, and vowed to punish them for what they did. Moses intervened, and God changed his mind.

God forgave them for what they did.

Then Moses asked to see his glory, and God complies, though only shows him his back.

“Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” ” (Exodus 34:5–7, NIV)

Right there on the mountain, God himself describes himself as, “Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” He goes on to talk about his relationship with those who follow him, how he shows love and forgives them, but he also says that the guilty do not go unpunished. He is not some doting Grandfather who says that anything goes.

Rebellion is not ignored.

When we take his good gifts and misuse them, we rebel against a God who only wants the best for us. We go down a dead end road. A road that takes us away from God. A road that leads to death because it leads away from the giver of life.

This psalm is most likely written after the return from Exile to Babylon, and the psalmist finds his personal life wrapped up in the life of the whole nation. He reaches back across history, across the exile, across the kings and the judges, across the wandering in the desert, all the way back to the Exodus. For the psalmist the defining characteristic of God is that he is the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Rebellion is not ignored, but it is not the end of the story.

“The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. ” (Psalm 116:5–7, NIV)

God promises that he will be with us, but he never says that road will be easy; in fact you might conclude the opposite. He tells us there will be persecution, there will be pain, there will be arguing, there will be division. But he always promises he will be with us.

It is in recognising our own emptiness that God is able to fill us. It is in recognising our dependence on God that we are freed from our pain, from our tears. Not that we will never shed tears again. Until heaven comes to earth in fullness there will still be tears, but we will be freed from them.

We will be able to walk around without worry. Without anxiety. Without this sense that we should be doing better. Without this sense that we should be better.

It is only then can be accept the shear, undeserved, incredible gift of new life in the form of a baby who is God incarnate; God in the flesh.

“How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfil my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfil my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD— in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12–19, NIV)

How do we respond to this kind of gift? What can we give back to God?

In a word, worship.

Worship that is real, that is authentic, that comes from our gut. Worship that extends far beyond coming into this building to sing a few songs. When we gather for worship we make a space that reminds us that we are not the centre of the universe. “Our gathering together is a regular disciplined reminder that there is more to this world, to this life, to this faith, than we experience on a daily basis.

An Old Testament scholar puts it this way.

“Worship is a bold refusal to let the trouble that surrounds us be bigger than the God who comes to meet us.” Walter Brueggemann

Worship is something we do in spite of the brokenness that surrounds us, or maybe because of it. Worship is a subversive act because it directs our attention away from ourselves and the mess that the world is in, toward the one person who can do anything about it, to the one who has done something about it.

Worship is not just about singing. It is not even just coming here to pray, to listen, and to praise. Worship is a way of thinking, it is a way of life.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ” (Romans 12:1, NIV)

Our worship, is to participate in the movement that God has started in Jesus Christ. It is to organise our lives around a rhythm of gathering together to be fed, and going out to feed. It is about living for God, even when things go tough.

And though I cannot see You
And I can’t explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You’ve placed in my life

We cannot separate
You’re part of me
And though You’re invisible
I’ll trust the unseen

[Chorus]
I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel You by my side
So I’ll hold tight to what I know
You’re here and I”m never alone

When you see that this world is not the way it was supposed to be, may you hear the announcement that a saviour has been born to you. When you feel as though everything is going away from God, may you feel the promise that God has walked among us. When you wonder if anyone cares, if anyone is listening, if God is even real, may you say with the psalmist, “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 116:1, NIV)

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. ” (1 John 4:7–12, ESV)

The theme of the readings for the next few days in the forty days of prayer journey that we have been on together.

“Jesus came to be with us, to save us, and to bring us home.”

I love that phrase, “Jesus came to bring us home.”

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:9, ESV)

“The Arrival” by Max Lucado in God Came Near

The noise and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village. As night gave way to dawn, people were already on the streets. Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of the most heavily travelled avenues. Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops. Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys pulling carts.

The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town. After all, the inn was full, all the beds taken. Every available mat or blanket had been put to use. Soon all the customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do.

One’s imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before? Did anyone ask about their welfare? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air? Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favour when he decreed that a census should be taken. Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?

No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple’s arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day’s bread had to be made. The morning’s chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurried across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist. …

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.”

He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favour of a dirty sheep pen. And worshipping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts of malice; no they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

There is a real hazard at Christmas that we spend ourselves silly and do not take the time to notice the coming of God in our midst.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:9, ESV)

You may have noticed that the title of this sermon is “Spend Less.” It would be rather easy to see that and assume that I am simply talking about spending less money. That I am one of those guys who hates Christmas; that I would be comfortable standing in front of the shopping mall and telling everyone to stop shopping.

This, however, would be to judge too quickly. See I absolutely love Christmas. I love the effect that is has on people. I love that cities change and become places of mutual respect and grace. I love that, at least for a while, we become less selfish and seek to bless others with gifts. I wonder, however, if we have begun to associate love with material things.

I will always remember this commercial that a jewellery store did a while back. It starts with a man and a woman walking down a snow covered path arm in arm at night. The woman lays her head on the guys shoulder as they walk and the look at each other with love in their eyes. They come into a clearing and the guy bends over to plug in a cord lying on the ground. As he does so, a tree in the middle of the clearing bursts into light as thousands of clear light bulbs come to life. They walk over to the tree and he hands her a small box. She opens it and squeals with delight at the sight of a diamond necklace.

The commercial fades to black as the jewellers logo comes up with some statement like, “This Christmas, tell her you really love her.” As if the more money you spend on a person, the more you must love them.

Why is it that we measure the extent of our love for one another by the cost of the presents we purchase for one another? Since when is the amount of our love directly proportional to the cost of the present we purchase?

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:9, ESV)

A couple of days ago I watched a film called “What would Jesus buy?” It is a film about a performance activist Billy Talen, who goes by the name Reverend Billy. The film documents a trip that he and a group of street performers who star as his gospel choir make across the US just before Christmas to protest the hyper-consumerism of the US. Bill Talen is a bit over the top in his performances, but during the film they interview some people about their preparations for Christmas.

When talking about our propensity to over shop, one lady suggests it is the result of social conditioning.

“From the very beginning all of us as babies are conditioned in society to see Christmas a certain way and so to associate the material goods with the symbol of love.”

So many of the Christmas traditions that I remember as a child all revolved around the exchange of presents. Christmas Eve we would sit down as a family and eat a meal together, and then we would go through a ritual of exchanging presents. Since I was the youngest, I would get to pick the first present to give to someone else (we were never allowed to pick one for ourselves). This would take a quite a while as each present had to be opened, admired, and then the next present could be chosen. Then on Christmas Day we would go to my Aunts house where we would again enjoy a meal together and then have a small present exchange. We would do the same thing on Boxing Day at my Grandma’s house.

So many of these gift exchanges became times of intense rivalry and hard feelings. I had an uncle who would do his best to make one of us kids cry at some point during the exchange. I am not sure I can remember any time that I went home with something I could really use.

One year I got one of those anti-glare lights that you attach to a semi cab to shine on the mirror which cuts back on the glare from vehicles behind you.

I was twelve.

What was I going to do with this thing?

There were at least twenty of us that participated in that exchange, and I wonder what we could have done if we had taken that money, pooled it together and gave it away to someone who was needy. There was at least $300 spent on things that none of us wanted (some of which returned to the exchange the next year).

Now, my most memorable Christmas gathering was when Sherilyn and I had been away studying for a few years. We gathered together with my whole extended family at my parent’s house, over 40 adults and 20 some kids, to have a meal together and simply spend time. We passed on the gift exchange and we were able to spend a lot more time talking to one another, playing with each others kids, being together.

Just loving one another.

One of Reverend Billy’s favourite lines in the film “What Would Jesus Buy” is “You don’t have to buy a gift to give a gift.”

There is this story that our world is telling us that is eroding our lives, eroding the very real connections that we make with one another. Everyday we are bombarded with advertisements that tell us that we need more stuff in order to feel happy. One person on the film put it this way:

“Buying is equated with love, and happiness is just the next purchase away.”

If this is love, then we will ultimately be disappointed.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:7–9, NIV)

True gifts do not have to cost a lot of money, then can, but they do not have to. The gifts I most cherish are those that are not very expensive at all. It is easy to go down to the store, whip out your credit card and purchase the latest gadget, or a pretty necklace, or the next game console, or the latest rock-star designed clothing. What it is hard to do is to really create a memorable gift. To take some time to get to know the person you want to give a gift for. The gifts we remember most are the ones that make it obvious the other person has been listening to us. The gifts that mean a lot are those that truly show the other person cares.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ” (1 John 4:10, NIV)

When God wanted to give us a gift he gave us himself. He gave us life. He gave us an invitation to be freed from the trap of our own making into something completely new. That he sent his son as an atoning sacrifice, as a sacrifice that takes away our sins and provides a road back to the father. The thing we celebrate in Christmas is that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.

God asks this amazing question in Isaiah 55:2.

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2a, NIV)

Why do we break our backs to spend some extravagant amount of money on others at Christmas trying to show them how much we love them, only to be extremely disappointed when the present does not have the desired effect?

See, if we equate our love with the amount of money we spend, at some point we are going to be unable to do it. At some point the money is going to run out. At some point whatever present we purchase is not going to be fulfilling. At some point we are going to end up apologising for the quality of the gift we give.

If buying is equated with love, at some point even the purchasing of gifts is going to be disappointing.

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.” ” (Isaiah 55:2–5, NIV)

If we love one another we show God to each other, and to the world.

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ” (1 John 4:12, NIV)

Some people worry that participating in something like this will take away the magic of Christmas. Sometimes I I wonder what we can do to make this season special without giving in to the lie that I need to show my love by spending a lot of money.

I wonder if I will be disappointed with a Christmas season where I do not get the gifts I want?

When break through the consumerism of the season, when we are able to strip away the advertising gloss over this season, we are left with a baby in a manger. A baby, born of an unwed teenage mother. A baby who will grow up to be the saviour of the world. A baby who is none other than Immanuel, God with us.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:9, NIV)

And God invites us to receive this gift. He invites us to take our sense of worth not from the things we can buy for others, but in the fact that God has given everything for us.

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ” (Isaiah 55:1, NIV)

Come, all of you, accept this amazing gift from God. Come, give up the attempt to prove your love to others through expensive presents and simply love them with your presence.

May you be freed from the lie that the cost of the present we purchase is an expression of the love we have. May you be able to give true gifts this year, gifts full of thought, full of care, full of love. In all this gift giving, may you receive the gift that God longs to give to you.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ” (1 John 4:9, NIV)

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.’ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.’” (John 4:34-42, ESV)

We have a lot to get to this morning, but since this is the third Sunday of Advent, when we think about the joy we get from this season of Christmas. Joy that we are able to spread to others, I wanted to highlight what God did through us last year. Last year we joined the Advent Conspiracy and responded to the challenge to purchase one less gift and give that money to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. As a community we were able to give just over $50 000 to the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee to provide water for those who do not have access to clean drinking water. Over the past year, CRWRC has been involved in many different water projects, including this project in Haiti.

This is the call of the Christian community, to love all. To give of our time, talents, and resources to spread the kingdom of God around this world. To join God in his mission of giving.

When God decided to give us a gift, he didn’t give us more money, or fame, or freedom from illness and disease. When God gave us a gift, he gave himself. Rather than snapping his fingers and making everything okay, he chose to enter into the brokenness of the world so that he could redeem it.

He came to give himself for us as an expression of his love. As Paul says to the Romans:

“God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV)

God shows love by sending his Son to be incarnate with the full understanding that he is going to be rejected, scorned, and finally killed. God’s gift is when the second person of the trinity lays down the spectacle of heaven to enter the manure of the cowshed. The splendour of the incarnation bears the shadow of the cross. Christ’s purpose was to renew the relationship between God and his people.

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Jesus came to show love to all people.

Jesus has been travelling with his disciples from Judea up to Galilee through Samaria, a journey that takes about three days. They have been walking all morning and at about noon they come to a well; Jacob’s well.

Tradition has it this well was given to Joseph a long with a some land along the road. It was located at the mouth of a valley between two mountains. Sitting at this well, you could look down the valley, and to your right was Mt Gerizim, and to your left was Mt Ebal. These two mountains played a key role in the initial settlement of the promised land under Joshua. It was here in this valley that the covenant between God and the people was renewed.

In Deuteronomy Moses gives instructions to do something special on these mountains. After they had crossed over in the promised land, they were to build an altar on Mt Ebal, cover it with plaster, and write the words of the Law on it. Then they were supposed to line up in the valley, with some on the bottom slopes of Mt Ebal, and others on the bottom slopes of Mt Gerizim. Those on Mt Ebal were to pronounce the curses of not following God’s instruction, and those on the slopes of Mt Gerizim were to pronounce the blessings of following God’s instructions.

If they did not follow God’s instructions, then their lives would not be good. If they did follow God’s instructions, they would be blessed.

So Jesus sits at this well looking down this valley when a Samaritan woman from the town of Sychar walks up. He is a bit thirsty, so he asks for some water. She is shocked that he is talking to her. She really has three strikes against her; 1)Jewish men did not talk to women in public (there was even a debate over whether a man should talk to his wife in public) 2)Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans in general, and 3) this woman seems to have a bit of a sketchy past.

Jesus, however, ignores the social protocol which would keep him separated from this woman and draws her into a conversation, a conversation that reveals her own need for Jesus. Jesus does not outright condemn and ignore this woman, nor does he simply gloss over what she has done. In essence he holds a mirror up to her so that she can take a good look at herself.

Jesus simply exposes our poverty. He simply shows us how all of our attempts to find fulfilment, to find pleasure, to find happiness has actually taken us farther away from a sense of contentment. We often live our lives between these two mountains, between the curses we bear for continually making choices we know are not good for us and the burden of trying to do all the right things so that we can be blessed.

This woman has been seeking the blessings that are represented by that Mountain to the right, Mt. Gerizim.

28 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (Deuteronomy 28:1–6, NIV)

At the time Jesus was sitting in this valley, the Samaritans had set up a place of worship there on Mt Gerizim. They were seeking to obtain the blessings promised here in Deuteronomy. They were seeking God’s kingdom. They were seeking wholeness, shalom.

So when Jesus shows the woman that he knows her past, she turns to Mt Gerizim and asks whether they were supposed to worship there or in Jerusalem. Now, it may be that she was trying to steer the conversation away from the personal turn, but I think she was moving deeper. She had been living her whole life under the shadow of both of these mountains. She had climbed Mt Gerizim countless times to worship. She had ruined her life seeking to find the love and acceptance, the sense of peace and purpose that had been promised on this mountain.

Somewhat wistfully she says, “When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus responds, “I am the one you are waiting for.”

At this point the disciples come back from their food finding excursion and the woman goes running back into town, not even picking up her jar to take back. She runs into town breathless with the reality that is crashing in upon her.

The disciples urge Jesus to eat, but he refuses.

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. (John 4:32–35, ESV)

So, Jesus sits down and sends his disciples into Sychar to get some food. While the disciples are going into the town, a Samaritan woman comes out of the city on the way to the well.

Then she comes to Jesus, and he talks to her. He tells her that there is more to life than what she has been doing. Then when the disciples come back out of the town and see Jesus talking with the woman, she leaves her water jar at the well and runs back into town to tell the others there about Jesus.

Did you notice how the disciples had to walk right past the woman on the path? They completely missed her. They missed that whole village. They were busy thinking about food, but Jesus was focussed on people.

The disciples then urge Jesus to have some of the food that they have brought back with them, but Jesus refuses and says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Jesus came to do what he just did for that woman. He came to show grace, compassion, and acceptance to those who are lost, hurting, and hopeless.

He came to set us free from the burden of trying to earn our blessings. He came to release us from the prison of our curses. Sitting there between Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim, sitting between the blessings and curses of the old covenant Jesus offers a different way.

He offers himself.

And asks us to do the same.

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.” (John 4:35–38, ESV)

This Christmas season as we wait for the fullness of what is promised in Christ, as we remember his first coming and long for his second, may we see that his work is completed on the cross. His work, and the work of God the Father is brought to fulfilment in sacrifice.

You do not need to earn your blessings.

You do not need to carry your curses.

In Christ there is another way. A way of freedom. A way of love.

What if we were able to enter into this story again this year. What if we purchased one less gift this year, same as last year, in order to resist the hyper-consumerism of this season. Then we can take the money we saved and bring it here for a single offering on Christmas Day to purchase bricks for the Esther school in Zambia.

Each brick costs a little under $10, but this school represents hope for this community.

The call to live like Jesus, the call to love all is not a burden, it is freedom. In Christ we are set free to be the people we long to be. Set free from our past prejudices. Set free from our misunderstandings and hasty conclusions. Set free from our own judgements. Free to see people as Christ sees them; as image bearers of God.

Free to love those around us and those far away.

May you experience true joy this Christmas as you wait in hopeful expectation for the coming of God’s kingdom.

May you accept the offer of Jesus’s love and give up the burden of trying to earn your blessings or carry your curses.

May you open your hearts to love all, as Christ has loved us all.

“And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”” (Luke 15:11-32, ESV)

This parable is usually known as the parable of the prodigal son, but a better title might be the parable of the messed up family. The relationships are all skewed with false attachments, rebellion, and pride.

“And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.” (Luke 15:11-12, ESV)

Here the younger son is not only showing disrespect for the father, something that could result in death under Mosaic Law, but he is essentially telling the father he wants him dead. See, inheritance was only distributed after a father’s death. Even if for some reason, the father assigns what each person will be getting when he passes on, he still has full control of the estate until he dies.

“Father,” the younger son is saying, “give me now what will be coming to me when you are dead. I am sick of hanging around here and waiting to enjoy life. Give it to me know.”

And the father complies. He willingly splits up the inheritance and assigns it to his children. The younger son continues his bad behaviour.

“Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.” (Luke 15:13, ESV)

The younger son takes the inheritance, sells the land, gathers the cash together and splits. The land that he inherited is land that has been assigned to his family and tribe. This is land that has been a part of this tribe since the settlement with Joshua. If it had even been sold or exchanged, it would have been returned during the year of Jubilee. This son is showing absolute disregard for his identity in this community. Not only does he ignore his father, but he is essentially denying that he has any part in this community.

He is running away, hoping to set up a completely different life for himself. He wants all the benefits of being a part of this family and community without any of the responsibilities. At some point, the younger son finds that all the benefits of the family do him no good without the father. He squanders it all in reckless living. He was looking to make a life for himself, but all he succeeded in doing was losing the life that he had.

When a famine does come in the land, he runs out of money. All his friends desert him. He goes about the land begging for a bite to eat. Finally he finds a citizen of the country who is willing to use him as a slave. He is sent into the fields to look after the pigs. Entering the pig sty he has to hold his nose to stop from gagging. The stench is almost unbearable, and he feels dizzy. Every morning he takes the slop and fills the pig troughs, and has to fight to keep down his meagre breakfast. Before long he gets used to the stink and is unable to smell it any more. He even begins to crave the slop he feeds the pigs and is intoxicated by its scent. He can hardly keep himself from getting down on all fours and burying his face in the food. How can he get any lower than this.

Here is an Israelite who will not eat pork because it is unclean, tending pigs as a slave and yearning to eat what the pigs are eating. He has hit rock bottom, and decides that it is better to take his chances with his father’s wrath than to starve to death, so he returns home.

As the younger son heads home he hatches a plan to try to get himself back into the good graces of his father and the community. “I will ask my father to hire me back as a tradesman. That way I can live in the village, work on the farm, and earn enough money to pay back my father for the things that I have squandered.”

As the son approached the village, some of the elders and others recognise who he is. “Isn’t that the younger son who left with all his father’s goods? Isn’t that the one who put us through so much pain? What has he done with his inheritance? Why is he now dressed in rags and covered with manure? He should not have returned. He will have to pay for what he has done.” Some begin to pick up stones in expectation of the punishment that this son deserves.

Under Mosaic Law, this son should be stoned.

But while he is still a long way off, the father runs out to him. The elderly patriarch hikes up his cloak and runs. His skinny chicken legs flash brightly as he ignores any sense of decorum and importance in the joy of his returning son. When he reaches him he smothers him in an embrace. The father covers him, to protect him from the accusations of those who surround him. The father identifies with the son, accepting the scorn of the community, effectively taking the son’s punishment upon himself.

“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:21-24, ESV)

They began to celebrate. Killing the fattened calf would have started a feast for the whole village. There is no refrigeration, so the meat will not keep for very long. It has to be eaten within the next few days, and this means that a lot of people will have to eat from it. This son is welcomed back into the community which he had scorned so completely. This son was dead, but is now alive again. He was lost, but is now found.

The father does not hold tightly to his love. He is extravagant. He is lavish. He is prodigal with his love, with his life, with his goods.

The problem is, these goods come from the inheritance allotted to the elder son. When the father welcomes the younger son back into the family, he is reinstating him as an heir of the now smaller estate. When the younger son left with his share of the inheritance, all that was left belonged to the elder son. But now that inheritance is again split between the elder and the younger.

So when the elder son comes in from the fields, he is ticked.

“And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’” (Luke 15:26-30, ESV)

The elder son treats the father with the same kind of contempt the younger son did. “How dare you do this to me! After all that I have done for you, how dare you take my benefits and give them to others!” He is mad because, just like the younger son, all he wants are the benefits of the family, not the father himself. He has slaved and obeyed, not so that he could be close to his dad, but so that he would be able to inherit the estate when he died.

We can be far from God by being good (like the Elder son), just as we can be far from God by being bad (like the younger son). When our religious practices and moral code become something so important that we refuse to offer grace to one another, we become like the elder son. When we begin to resent those who have lived in open rebellion and are then welcomed by the Father, we expose our own internal rebellion.

What are you following Jesus for? Are you following him so that you can get closer to the Father, or are you following him so that you can get to heaven? Are you after a renewed relationship with God, or are you after all the benefits that you think you have coming to you?

Peter Rollins tells this parable in his book The Orthodox Heretic.

“You sit in silence contemplating what has just taken place. Only moments ago you were alive and well, relaxing at home with friends. Then there was a deep, crushing pain in your chest that brought you crashing to the floor. The pain has now done, but you are no longer in you home. Instead, you find yourself standing on the other side of death waiting to stand before the judgement seat and discover where you will spend eternity. As you reflect upon your life your name is called, and you are led down a long corridor into a majestic sanctuary with a throne located in its centre. Sitting on this throne is a huge, breathtaking being who looks up at you and begins to speak.

“My name is Lucifer, and I am the angel of light.”

You are immediately filled with fear and trembling as you realise that you are face to face with the enemy of all that is true and good. Then the angel continues: “I have cast God down from his throne and banished Christ to the realm of eternal death. It is I who hold the keys to the kingdom. It is I who am the gatekeeper of paradise, and it is for me alone to decide who shall enter eternal joy and who shall be forsaken.”

After saying these words, he sits up and stretches out his vast arms. “In my right hand I hold eternal life and in my left hand eternal death. Those who would bow down and acknowledge me as their god shall pass through the gates of paradise and experience an eternity of bliss, but all those who refuse will be vanquished to the second death with their Christ.”

After a long pause he bends toward you and speaks, “Which will you choose?”

If eternal paradise were a place without Jesus, would you still want to go?

This is just a thought experiment, because the paradise that we are promised in Jesus is not simply a place, it is a relationship. Heaven is paradise because Jesus is there. Heaven is eternal bliss because it promises an eternal relationship with the Father. Heaven is amazing because it is there that we are able to once again walk with the Father in the cool of the day.

We can be distant from God by being bad like the younger son, AND by being good like the elder son.

The key to being close to the father is accepting the love of the Father, for us AND others. The key to being close to the Father is to have the father’s heart.

“It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”” (Luke 15:32, ESV)

Without Jesus we are all lost. Without Jesus we are all separated from the father. Without Jesus we think we earn the benefits of the feast, or scorn any association with God. But in Jesus we are wrapped in the loving embrace of the father. In Jesus we are given robes of righteousness, the best robe in the house. In Jesus we are given the sandals of freedom and the ring of son-ship. In Jesus we are invited to the feast, this extravagant gift that none of us deserve or earn.

We can be far from God by being God and by being bad, but we can be close to God by being like Christ, by celebrating the redemption of others, by seeking the lost, by pouring out love and grace on those who are broken by their own decisions, by welcoming others to the feast.

So may you, all of you, experience the grace of God this week as you pray to God thanking him for his forgiveness. May you be transformed as you are embraced by the father. May you be able to enter the feast with rejoicing, rejoicing that all who are dead can get new life through Jesus.

A couple of weeks ago we asked the question, “Why pray?” Why do we, as Christians, pray? The answer we found was that we pray because we can. We pray because we have an amazing God who is also our Father. We pray because Jesus has made a way for us to be reunited with him. We pray because we believe that this Almighty God gives us what we need when we ask him for it.

Jesus said that we need not approach God with a whole bunch of rules and attitudes. Prayer is, quite simply, a conversation with our Father. In the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6 Jesus says this:

““And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” (Matthew 6:5-13, NIV)

Don’t display your prayer as a symbol of your piety, nor think that prayer has to be a long drawn out difficult process. Prayer is simple. Prayer is easy. But at the same time prayer is incredibly deep and mysterious.

The form of the prayer that we use during our services does not quite match up with what is written here. This is because different translations use different phrases. I use the phrase, “Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us” instead of “forgive us our debts” because the term translated debts has a moral quality to it. It is not primarily about financial transactions, as Jesus exposes after the prayer.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15, NIV)

There is also this little doxology that we add to the end of the prayer.

“For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”

At some point a scribe was copying over this passage and commented on the prayer with an outburst of praise. This outburst was copied into other manuscripts which were handed down through the ages. We now know that this doxology was probably not in the original book of Matthew, but the church in general has found this doxology to be such a fitting ending to the prayer that it has continued to pray with it.

Tonight we are going to look at the first three requests of the prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Father, your kingdom come.

As Jesus sits there on the mountainside, surrounded by people from all over the place, people from Galilee, Syria, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan, he tells them to pray that God’s kingdom would come.

“A kingdom,” he says, “that is for the poor in spirit.” (Mt. 5.3) A kingdom that is for those who really can’t quite get it together. A kingdom that is for those who are struggling under the realisation of their own sinfulness. A kingdom that is for those who know they deserve nothing but punishment.

Surrounded by this mixed group of people, wealthy and poor, Jew and Gentile, righteous and unrighteous, tax-collector and Pharisee, Jesus says that we are to pray that God’s kingdom come.

But that begs a question, doesn’t it? What is this kingdom?

Jesus spent more time talking about this than anything else, but many of his teachings make it really hard to understand what he is getting at. There is nothing which is more central to the teaching of Jesus than the kingdom, nor is there anything more illusive.

These people were used to the idea of kingdom as power. A kingdom is a place where one person has absolute authority over others. A kingdom is a place where one person ensures that things go according to his will. A kingdom is a place where there are severe punishments for doing wrong. A kingdom is a place with rules, with walls, with borders, with an army, with jails, with judgement.

But the kingdom of God is not that kind of kingdom.

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”” (Matthew 13:31-32, NIV)

The kingdom of heaven is small, it grows, it develops. The kingdom of heaven is a place where something that seems small and insignificant can be used by God to bless others. The kingdom of heaven is a place for the outcasts, the scavengers, those who cannot provide for themselves.

“He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”” (Matthew 13:33, NIV)

The kingdom of heaven is organic, it is insidious, it is something that spreads and almost infects its surroundings creating something amazing.

The kingdom of heaven is nothing like the kingdoms of this world.

“Father, your kingdom come.”

The kingdom of heaven is a place where everyone gets what they need.

” “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” ” (Matthew 20:1-16, ESV)

The kingdom of heaven is a place where we do not get what we deserve, but we get what we need. A place where all the hierarchies of this world get turned out their head.

The kingdom of heaven is a messy place, a mixture of good and evil, a chaos of growth and decay.

“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” ” (Matthew 13:24-30, ESV)

How sad are those words, “An enemy did this.”

This place which was meant to produce growth, maturity, fruit, becomes a place full of competition, spite, deformity, and strife.

“Should we weed it out? No! No, leave it until its ready. You may not be able to tell which is which.”

The kingdom of heaven, a mixed bag.

“Father, YOUR kingdom come.”

Can we pray that? Can we pray that God’s kingdom would come? A kingdom that is not big and flashy. A kingdom which may not bring us any recognition or honour. A kingdom that sometimes feels abandoned.

“Father, your kingdom come.”

Will we pray for a kingdom that is right now breaking through in ways that we would never expect. A kingdom that provides education for the poor forgotten people out in the wilds of Zambia. A kingdom that shows care to little girls down town who are not used to being loved. A kingdom that gives more than it receives. A kingdom that serves rather than rules.

A kingdom we can see if we open our eyes.

“Father, your kingdom come.”

I wonder, sometimes, if the coming of the Father’s kingdom isn’t more about awareness than reality. I wonder sometimes if we would see the kingdom coming more if we knew what we were looking for. Acts of love and kindness, in Christ’s name. Forgiveness. Patience. Joy. Faithfulness.

Perhaps if we come to understand the king more, we will be better able to spot his kingdom.

The catechism says that when we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, to be made holy, we are asking to know God more.

“Hallowed be your name means, help us to really know you, to bless worship, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them, your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy, and truth.”

Help us to honour you. Help us to praise you. Help us to recognise all that is evident in your creation. Help us to know you.

“Father, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Help us to really know you.

Help us to see you at work.

Help us to join you.

Or as the Catechism puts it, “Help us to direct all our living–what we think, say, and do–so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honoured and praised.” And, “Help us and all people to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any back talk. Your will alone is good. Help us one and all to carry out the work we are called to, as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven.”

“Father, your kingdom come.”

God’s kingdom is wholeness, it is shalom, it is grace, it is peace. God’s kingdom is present anywhere that kind of wholeness can be felt. So, when we pray for God’s kingdom to come we pray that we would be able to see God at work in the world just as much as we pray that God would be at work in the world.

The church, as the body of Christ, is called to embody this kingdom on earth. We are called to give a glimpse of the wholeness of the future.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

“Teacher,” says the guy in the crowd, “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

At the beginning of Chapter 12, Luke tells us that a huge crowd had gathered, a crowd of thousands, a crowd that was so big they were beginning to trample on one another, and Jesus began to teach his disciples privately. Jesus was not talking to the crowd, he was talking to his disciples. He was telling them about how much God cared about them. How God would be with them and teach them what to say when they are brought before rulers and authorities. And then this guy in the crowd steps up and shouts at Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Lk 12:13)

How rude!?! This guy is so focussed on getting his money, he does not care about the thousands around him who are being trampled. He does not care that there are probably sick, and blind, and lame people in the crowd wanting to be healed. He does not care that there are people here who have no hope. He does not care. All he cares about is getting the money that was owed him by his brother.

When we hear this cry for division of the inheritance, we hear a cry for justice. Shouldn’t he get what is coming to him? Shouldn’t the estate be divided between the siblings?

The traditional rules governing the division of an estate at the time of Jesus was to give the eldest son a double portion of the inheritance, and split the rest with the other sons.

However, it became common practice for a father to give his whole inheritance to BOTH sons, hoping that they would be able to get along and keep the farm together. Jewish law required that the inheritance be split if one of the brothers requested it however, Roman law required that both parties agree to the split.

So this man, most likely a younger brother, wanted to break off his relationship with his family. He is not crying out for justice, but for bloodshed. He wants to take what he thinks is his, and exclude his brother from his life.

Jesus tells a parable about a rich man. A rich man, who becomes richer. Now if you are anything like me, at this point you began to tune out. You continue listening to the story, but you thought it did not apply to you. We’re not rich, are we? I didn’t see any Bentleys when I drove into the parking lot. There are plenty of people around us who have more money, who drive fancier cars, who have bigger houses.

Fact is, we are rich and not just when you compare us to what most of the rest of the world has. Canadian Food Banks report that about 720 000 individuals come in for help every month. There are people around us who have to chose between whether they are going to heat their homes or purchase food for their families.

Stanza one: goods given

We are already rich, and God gives us more, more, just like that farmer in the parable. He is already rich, and then he gets this huge, bumper crop, this amazing gift from God. “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.” (Lk 12:16) The ground did it all by itself. The man had nothing to do with it.

But now he has a problem. He has this huge crop coming in, but he does not have enough storage. He has to figure out what to do. “He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’” (Lk 12:17)

Now, normally, a middle eastern man would go down to the town gate and discuss this problem with the elders there, or at least he would go and talk it over with his friends. This guy thinks to himself, really he dialogues with himself. He spends hours, and days, agonising over the decision, but he remains in a vacuum. It seems his wealth has left him without people he can talk to. It seems as though he has alienated all those who were close to him. It seems as though there is no one he can trust, … no one, that is, except himself.

The rich farmer, isolated from all others, continues to hoard his goods. There is no thought to thanking God for this gift. He doesn’t even think about sharing the excess. “‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.” (Lk 12:17-18).

The rich man has finally made it. He is sitting in the midst of his barns, packed to the rafters with grain and goods, and he wants to celebrate. He wants to have a glass of champagne and toast his success. But there is no one there to celebrate with him. No neighbours come over to share the joy. There is no family surrounding him with laughter and celebration.

He is left, with only himself.

“And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’” (Lk 12:19)

This guy has a neat little equation for his life.

many things = much happiness

Closets packed with clothes, houses stuffed with furniture, basements clogged with the leftovers, when you look at many of our own lives it seems we live by the same neat little equation.

Especially when it comes to Christmas. For so many of us a good Christmas is defined by the number of presents under the tree. Our family never really had any Christmas traditions like carolling, or serving at the soup kitchen, or even reading the Christmas story together as a family. The only real Christmas tradition we had was the way that we handed out the gifts.

Christmas was all about the presents.

But what if Christmas became something else? What if we could reclaim the greatest story on earth, the story of God himself coming down into the mess of this world in order to make things right? What if Christmas became about giving?

Not just giving presents. Not just running to the mall and purchasing something which we hope they might use a couple times before throwing them out. What if we could give more of ourselves? What if we could give more love?

Give.

See, the story of Christmas is not about exchanging a whole bunch of presents very few of us really need. Christmas is about entering into the story of God’s love for a lost world.

Entering into our story.

Can we take the gifts we have been given and pass them on to others? Take the excess which lines our closets and give it to those whose closets are bare.

This Christmas, let’s enter into this story that changes the world.

This year I want to issue the same challenge as last year. I want to challenge you to be less consumed by the consumerism of Christmas and more active in giving. I want you to take the time to give relationally. Give gifts which show you really care. Take your kids for a walk. Join your Grandparents for a cup of tea and ask about their lives. Make dinner for your parents. Spend some time with others.

The main problem that this rich man had was not his riches, but the fact that he pulled himself away from community. He made all his decisions by himself, for himself. Maybe, as a part of the 40 days of prayer we would spend some time in prayer with others in the community. Over the next week I encourage you to find someone outside of your household to discuss one of the readings or prayers that we have been doing as a part of this Advent preparation. Give some of yourself to those around you. Invest in the health of this community so that we can deepen, grow, and overflow with praise to God.

The best question in life is not, “What can I get?” To take the way of Jesus seriously is to realise that the best question is, “What can I give?” Because all of us can give something—here, now, today, and then tomorrow, and then the next day. What can you do to be more generous? What is the next step for you? You have been blessed, what can you give? Who are you going to bless?

May you come to see that you are rich. And your possessions, they’re luxuries that most people in the world don’t have. And may you do as Jesus says, may you step into your divine responsibility to give, and when you do, may you take hold of the life that is truly life.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:14-21, ESV)

Today we start our forty days of prayer. We begin a journey of preparation of our hearts for the coming of Jesus. This is a step toward advent, which officially begins in a couple of weeks.

Interestingly enough the Celtic church has always held a forty day advent, just like a forty day lent. They recognised that Jesus incarnation is at least as important as his death and resurrection; some would argue more so. It is important because in Jesus’s incarnation, everything else was decided. The purpose of the incarnation was to bring reconciliation, which included but is not limited to Jesus’s death and resurrection. The life that Jesus lead is intricately linked with the death that Jesus died.

So we prepare for the incarnation, not just a celebration of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem so long ago, but also his incarnation in each of us. After all, Paul tells us that the life we now have is none other than the life of Christ.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-7, ESV)

We were dead, but God has made us alive in Christ. Alive through his death and resurrection. So when Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow him, he is calling us to give up our own lives and live the life he lived.

Now, Paul writes this letter to the church in Ephesus, with which he was very familiar. Paul spent over two years there on his second missionary journey, teaching the people, proclaiming the gospel, and leading people into closer fellowship with God and one another.

In fact, Paul had such an impact in that community that those who sold statues of the Greek goddess Artemis began to lose money.

In Ephesus there was this temple to Artemis, who was the goddess of fertility and abundance. When you wanted success in your business, you gave an offering to Artemis. When you wanted an abundant harvest, you prayed before her statue in your home every morning and evening. When you wanted life to go well, you visited her temple and engaged with the prostitutes who served there.

The temple that existed in Ephesus was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, and people from all over came to visit it. While they were there, they would purchase a little statue to take home with them, something like we would purchase as a souvenir. Well, Paul’s preaching had converted so many people that they were no longer buying these little statues. Demetrius got everyone riled up against Paul and the believers and led a riot into the theatre. They were there for over two hours crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

This theatre holds over 24,000 people.

Now Paul is in prison in Rome, and he is writing back to these people. He is hoping that they will be able to hold fast to the message that he gave them. He encourages them to continue to grow in their devotion to God and Jesus. And he prays for them.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,” (Ephesians 3:14, ESV)

Paul is praying for them because of what God has done for them in Jesus.

“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:18-22, ESV)

Paul prays for these people because God is at work in them. Paul is praying for them because of what God has done for him in Jesus.

“This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. ” (Ephesians 3:11-13, ESV)

Why does Paul pray?

Because he can.

He prays because in Jesus he now has boldness to approach the Father, and confidence that he will be heard. He prays because Jesus has made a way to the Father through his life, death, and resurrection. Paul prays because of Jesus.

The Heidelberg Catechism, in Lord’s Day 45 asks the question, “Why do Christians need to pray?”

This may seem like a strange question, one which we do not think about too much, but how we answer this question determines our prayer life.

“Q: Why do Christians need to pray?”

“A: Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us.”

Thankfulness is something God requires of us. How can you be required to give thanks? If someone forces you to say, “Thank-you” are you really grateful? Shouldn’t our thanks be open and not coerced?

For the past few weeks we have been trying to teach our one year old daughter, to say thank-you after she eats. Normally we all say a prayer of thanks after the meal, “Lord thank-you for this food and drink. Amen.” This, however, is a bit too difficult for her so we simply ask that she say “thank-you.”

This has got to be the hardest thing to do. For some reason she just refuses. She knows how to say it, because she does it sometimes, and she knows exactly what we want her to say, because she gets this goofy little grin on her face, but she simply refuses.

Teaching thanksgiving has got to be one of the most difficult things to do. It just does not seem to come naturally. It seems like the last thing we want to do when we get something from someone, is to say, “Thank-you.” However, in order to truly understand the nature of the gift, we have to say it. If we don’t then we do not acknowledge that it is a gift, and we can pretend that we earned it, or that we deserved it, or that it was our right to expect it.

But our salvation through Jesus is sheer gift, pure grace, and to refuse to say “thanks” is refusing to acknowledge that gift.

“Q: Why do Christians need to pray?

“A: Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness that God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them.”

We pray, not only to thank God for what he has already done, but to beg him to continue his work in us.

Look at Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17a, NIV)

So that Christ may dwell in their hearts?

Who is Paul writing this letter to again?

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 1:1, NIV)

Paul is writing to believers. So doesn’t Christ already dwell in their hearts? How could Paul pray that they may be strengthened so that Christ could dwell in their hearts?

The Greek word translated “dwell” here is κατοικέω. This is a combination of the word οικέω, which means to live, build, or inhabit, and the preposition κατά, which gives the sense of motion down against, toward, or into. Paul is saying there is more to being a Christian than simply praying the “sinner’s prayer” and being saved. Being a Christian is about the life of Christ being more and more obvious in your life. Being a Christian is about Jesus coming to live down in our hearts.

This is about God building a place to live within us.

Our next door neighbour recently sold her house and moved, and we will have new neighbours moving in shortly. When they move in, they will begin to do things to the house to make it theirs. They may do some small things, like move the flowers around in the beds, trim the trees, and hang some pictures. They may do some bigger things like paint the rooms and rebuild the back deck. They may even do some major renovations, like tear down a few walls or build an addition on the back of the house. Whatever they do, they will be changing the house to make it a place to live in.

They will be changing the house to a home.

Naturally, when Jesus moves into our hearts he does not find the house in good repair. If we are truly honest with ourselves we have to realise that without God we are pretty hopeless. When we pray we have to be willing to be open and honest about our situation. No point in trying to put on a good show and pretend like everything is good.

The Catechism puts it this way.

“Q: How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us?”

“A: First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, who has revealed himself in his Word, asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for.”

Basically, we need to be sincere. No spouting off meaningless phrases. If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.

“Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence.”

It is only in a true acknowledgement of who we are apart from Christ can we even begin to understand who we are with Christ. This is why Paul prays that the Ephesians would be able to not only have Christ dwell more fully within them, but also that they would realise just how awesome it is that Christ lives in them.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17b-19, NIV)

Being rooted and established in love, I pray that you would be able to grasp just how wide, and long, and high, and deep, is the love of Christ. A love that surpasses knowledge. Paul prays that they would not only be rooted and established in the love of Christ, but also filled with it. Filled with the measure of all the fullness of God.

With that, Paul bursts into praise.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)

After Paul writes this letter, he sends it off with someone to bring it to Ephesus and read it to the believers as they gather together. There they sit in someone’s home, or some other place, listening to this prayer that Paul prays over them. Sitting in a city overshadowed with a temple to Artemis, who people claim is the source of all goodness, who people claim gives fertility, success, enjoyment to life.

They hear these words of Paul saying, “No, success and goodness, and life, do not come from Artemis. This all comes from God. A God who has reconciled you to himself and one another. A God who can do so much more than we could ever ask or imagine. A God whose power is at work within us. A God who gives us comfort in the assurance that we belong to Christ. A God who has done incredible things for us, and will do so much more.

Why do we pray?

Because we can.

As the Catechism puts it.

“Third, we must rest on this unshakeable foundation: even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what he promised us in his Word.”

The question is not really “Why pray?” but rather “Why not?”

If we have an all powerful Father, who desperately wants to have a relationship with us. If we have the assurance that through Christ we have been reconciled to the Father. If God can, and will, respond to our prayers; then why not?

Not only can God do all that we ask, but he can do more. Not only can God do more than we ask, he can do immeasurably more. Not only can God do immeasurably more than we can ask, he can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine.

May you, over the next forty days, give yourselves in prayer to God.

May you experience the closeness that comes from developing a relationship with him.

May you experience the grace of God as he pours out his Spirit on you.

The Corinthian Church was one of the most infamous churches in history. It was located in Corinth, which seemed to be the centre for all wickedness in the world. Corinth was located on a little land bridge that connects the Peloponnese peninsula and the Greek mainland. It controlled all the land trade north and south. It was also the main connection between the Adriatic Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Since this town controlled so much trade, it seemed to collect all the riff-raff from the rest of the world. It was also the administrative centre for the Roman province of Achaia. As a result it became the fashionable place for the elites to live. The culture within Corinth contained a wide range of religious cults. Part of the practices of these cults was to serve the meat which had been sacrificed to the idols in dining rooms directly below the inner sanctuary of the temple. This was the Corinthian equivalent to our going to a restaurant. It was common for the people to join together and celebrate a feast after a major sacrifice, and it was considered an honour to be invited to one of them. Many of the Corinthian converts were used to participating in these feasts. Some of this meat was also sold in the marketplace as common meat.

Do everything to the good of your neighbour.

These feasts did not happen everyday, yet sacrifices were performed everyday. This meat was sold in the marketplace as common meat. It was hard to distinguish between what was sacrificed to idols, and what was not. In the first bit of ch 10, Paul addresses the issue of the idol feasts. He tells the people that they are not to participate in them because then they are participating in idolatry. This left the question of the meat sold in the marketplace. Could they eat it or not?

Not only were these people eating meat sacrificed to idols in their own homes, but they attended gatherings at others homes, and ate the meat there. All the important people of the city went to these gatherings. Corinth was a rather young city. The old city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. The new city was founded as a Roman colony in 44 BC.

Since there was no aristocracy, money was power.

It was these rich and powerful people who many times hosted these events. The Corinthians felt like big shots when they were invited to these gatherings. More often than not, the people who hosted the event were not Christian. They did not care if the meat they served was dedicated to idols. They were simply content to show off their wealth and finery to the guests. They would be sitting at a long table at one end of the room decked out in their finest apparel. Sometimes some of the Christians who did not think it was right to eat that meat where at the party. They would approach the other Christians and say, “Did you know this meat was dedicated to an idol? You guys are sinning by eating that meat. You should stop.” Those who thought they were free said, “I do not care what you think. I am free to do it, and if you were stronger in the faith, you would do it to.”

“I don’t care what you think, I am going to do it anyway.”

Some people I knew in college were like that. They used to go out to a party and have a little something to drink. They would usually not get drunk, but just enjoy some beers with friends. This was not bad, in and of itself, but there were some at the college who did not think that it was right to drink any kind of alcohol. There was this end of the year bash put on by a person who did not know the tensions between the groups. Well, the people who thought it was OK to drink took a keg along to the party. Those who thought it was wrong had arrived early and were hanging out, enjoying each other’s company. They all turned to look at the door as it swung open and a couple guys walked in with the keg. They stood there shocked. They went up to the Christians who thought it was all right to drink and said, “You should not drink, its not right. Please take the keg away.” But the others did not care, one of them took a long swig from his beer and went, “Ahh, now that’s tasty.” Those who thought drinking was wrong were deeply offended, and they ended up leaving the party.

Both groups were Christians, but they did not act in a Christian manner. Those who thought it was alright to drink had the wrong attitude. This is not the attitude which God tells us to have. God, through Paul, says, “Do everything to the good of your neighbour.”

There is nothing wrong with having a beer every now and then, but if there is someone who says to you, “It is wrong to do that.” or if it is something you cannot control, then you need to abstain from it. You are supposed to stop yourself from doing it for their sake, and for the sake of their conscience. If you do it, and you urge the other person to do it, then you are causing them to sin. If they think it is wrong, and they do it, then they sin.

If you cause them to do something they think is wrong, then you are causing them to sin.

When you do this, you place a stumbling block in front of them. It would be like taking one of those concrete dividers from the highway and placing it directly across their path. You make it that much more difficult for them to continue in their walk of faith. You hurt them, and cause them to stumble and perhaps even fall.

This passage deals with more than meat sacrificed to idols, or having a beer every now and then. It addresses more serious issues of separation in the church. It addresses people who do not take the concerns of others into proper consideration. If you have hurt your brother or sister in the faith, for whatever reason. If you have made it difficult for them to come here and worship with you. If you have caused them to stumble.

You are in the wrong.

There may not be a justified reason for them to be hurt, or to have difficultly worshipping with you, but if they do, then it is on your head. If you cause them to hate you because you refuse to address whatever issue is at hand, then you are the one responsible.

Jesus puts it this way.

” “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:21-24, ESV)

We all have a duty to the other person’s conscience. We do not necessarily have to alter our conception of what is right and wrong. My friends did not have to begin to think that drinking was wrong, but they did have to change their behaviour. They should not have drunk in front of those who thought it was wrong. We are supposed to make sure that we do not do things which are against the conscience of those around us. We are to do everything for the good of our neighbour.

In this passage Paul seems to anticipate an objection when he says, “For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?” Paul tells them, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” The Corinthians were not glorifying God by causing divisions in the church. They were not glorifying God by causing their brother to sin. They were not glorifying God, because they are being a bad example to those outside the church.

By eating the meat sacrificed to idols in front of their brother or sister, they are not exhibiting a Christian attitude and they are being a stumbling block to their brother or sister, but they are also being a stumbling block to others who might wish to come to Christ. The Corinthians were not to be a stumbling block to either Jew or Greek, those outside the church, nor to the church. They were to follow Paul in this.

Now, when people began to add things to the gospel message, Paul stood up and took his stance. He would not circumcise Titus, because some people were saying he had to be circumcised to be saved (Gal 2:3). But at another time, Paul had Timothy circumcised before his second missionary journey, just to avoid dissension with the Jews he would be visiting (Ac 16:1-3). Paul stressed over and over and over again that the Gentiles should not be required to follow Jewish customs. But he never once said that it was wrong for Jews to practice their old customs, so long as they did not begin to trust in them and their customs did not cause division and dissension in the church.

Paul told the Corinthians that they were allowed to eat of the meat in the marketplace, without asking any questions because “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” They were allowed to eat food which was dedicated to idols, because the idols were nothing and Satan could not hurt them through the food. As long as they ate the food with thanksgiving in their hearts to the gift God had given them, then they had nothing to worry about. If they were doing it to the glory of God, then it was allowed. The problem was, causing your brother or sister to stumble was not to the glory of God.

Giving your brother or sister a boost in faith, is to the glory of God. Saving someone for Christ is to the glory of God. Paul wants the church to be a good witness of God’s love and of Christ’s sacrifice. He wants us to be a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. Instead of placing a big concrete barrier in the path of a fellow believer or someone seeking Christ, he wants us to place a stone over the creek of difficulty that person may be facing. If they have come to a rough spot in their walk of faith. If they had come to a wide and deep stream which they were scared to cross, Paul is telling us to help them across the stream, not make them fall in.

If my friends from college had not brought a keg along to the party, or if they had brought some non-alcoholic beverage along, then they would have been imitating this type of service. They would have respected the other person’s conscience and their actions would have been to the glory of God. They could have shown God’s love and encouraged their brothers and sisters in Christ and any non-Christians at the party.

They could have been a blessing to the others there.

God gives us the ability to be shining lights to others, be they Christian or not. As Paul says, “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2 Cor 4:15). When we lead people to Christ, we add to the glory of God. When we live in harmony with each other, we add to the glory of God. When we love each other, and bear one another’s burdens, we add to the glory of God. When we serve one another, we add to the glory of God.

When we live our lives, making sure that we are not causing others to stumble and fall, then we live lives which bring honour and glory to God’s name.

“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.” (Luke 11:37-54, ESV)

Jesus is on his way up to Jerusalem. Here he has been teaching and rebuking the crowd that has been following him. Just before the passage we read we see Jesus calling those who follow him evil because they seek for a sign, they seek for something supernatural, they seek for something that will shock, awe, and amaze them.

But Jesus says that no such sign is coming, but that the people will be held to account for not responding to the one who is in their midst.

“When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ” (Luke 11:29-32, ESV)

While he is speaking a Pharisee invites him to dine with him. As they walk into his home, Jesus passes right by the stone jars waiting at the entrance to the home and does not wash. These jars held water which was ceremonially clean, and was meant to be used to ceremonially wash your hands before and during the meal. The person would go up to the jar, hold his hands out with his palms up, and a servant would pour water over them with it coming down at least to the person’s wrists. Then you would take your other fist and rub your palm to cleanse it. Then turing your hands over and down the servant would again pour water over them, flushing the water from your wrists down over your fingertips. This made your hands ceremonially clean. For some reason Jesus refuses to participate in this ritual. Luke does not tell us why Jesus refuses, but it caused the Pharisee to be amazed.

Notice it is Jesus’s refusal to participate in the rituals that amazed the Pharisee, not the other things Jesus did.

Jesus gets frustrated and he unloads on this poor Pharisee.

“And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.” (Luke 11:39-41, ESV)

The rigorous following of external rituals does not bring you closer to God. When the rituals themselves become the goal then you have missed something important. Jesus gets mad at the Pharisee here because the Pharisee is focussed on the wrong thing, he is focussed on behaviour when he should be focussing on his character.

What is inside is more important than what is outside, because if our hearts are changed they our behaviour will be as well.

We need to live inside out.

Doing the right thing is not enough.

““But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.” (Luke 11:42-43, ESV)

Sometimes when we read this passage we think that Jesus is cursing the Pharisees and teachers of the law. In his statements he is enacting some kind of judgement on them. This is not really the case. This is more of a recognition of something that already exists.

This is an announcement, not really a pronouncement.

Jesus is basically saying, “How horrible it is for you, Pharisees, because you trust in your own religiosity and not in God.”

“Woe to you! [How horrible it is for you!] For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”” (Luke 11:44, ESV)

You think you are clean, you give the outward appearance of life, but really you are like an unmarked grave. The thriving green grass on the surface hides the death and rottenness within.

“One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! [How horrible it is for you lawyers also!] For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” (Luke 11:45-46, ESV)

And you guys, you heap up all these traditions on people which makes it virtually impossible to see God through the rules but you find ways to get around them yourselves.

“Woe to you! [How horrible it is for you!] For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.” (Luke 11:47-48, ESV)

You pretend to honour the prophets and those sent by God by building momuments and memorials, but really you are building their tombs. You lock them away so that their message does not get out.

“Woe to you lawyers! [How horrible it is for you lawyers!] For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”” (Luke 11:52, ESV)

In condemning the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus joins the prophets who often rail against a false sense of security which develops because of a ritualistic religiosity.

God doesn’t want the ritual alone, the ritual was supposed to point them to something else.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-8, ESV)

Following God is not about the ritual, its about living in the presence and power of God. It is not primarily about coming to church twice on Sunday. It is not primarily about refraining from work on Sunday. It is not primarily about giving money to the church or other charity. Following God is about developing a closer relationship with him. It is about having the Holy Spirit come and live within our hearts to make us into new people. It is about coming to love the things God loves.

Following God is about learning to let go of our own efforts and allowing God to move us. It is about receiving the new life that God offers us in Jesus.

When we let God work through us. When his desires become our desires, when his loves become our loves, when we begin to break away from the attempt at our own holiness and allow God to change us then God’s glory shines through us.

“Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:8-10, ESV)

When we realise that the kingdom of God is not for those who think they have earned it, but realise that it is a gift for those who know there is no reason for them to be blessed.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, ESV)

In Luke 14 Jesus told a parable about the kingdom as a man who made a great feast.

“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” (Luke 14:16-24, ESV)

Jesus is angry with the Pharisees and teachers of the law because they are obscuring who God is with their rules and rituals. If the favour of God rests on those who have made the right kind of confession, who do all the right things. If God blesses those who work hard and keep their noses clean, then God gives us what we earn.

But this is not the God revealed to us in the scriptures. The gospel announcement is that God is love and that he loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us. The gospel is that the people that God takes into his feast, are those who are not worthy, those who understand that there is no reason for them to be present.

The people God calls to this table are those who understand

Before this table it does not matter how much money we have in our bank accounts. Before this table it does not matter how many children we have had or not had. It does not matter how good we think we have things together, or how bad things are starting to fall apart.

Here we all express our need for someone else.

Here we kneel before God’s grace.

Here we accept God’s love.

This table is the preview of the feast that awaits us in the Kingdom of God. A kingdom which Jesus says is for the poor in spirit.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, ESV)

How horrible it is for those who think they have everything in order, because they are really missing out.

How good it is for those who understand they have nothing without God, because then God gives them what they need.