SERMON NOTES Advent I, St. Francis Church (November
30, 2003)
Fr.
John Spencer
Preparing our hearts
"And then they will see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin
to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near." Luke 21:31
Let’s talk about “the last day.” When I say, “the last day,” what comes into your
mind? For us on the First
Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2003 at St. Francis Church in Chillicothe,
the answer is easy. This is “the
Last Day at St. Francis, Chillicothe.” Are you ready?
We sit here worshipping in a particular place, at a
particular time. Some of you
have been here from the very beginning. Others of us have been here fewer years, some more, some
less. This place is sacred to
us, hallowed by our common worship over the years. In fact, this building has been
consecrated – set apart and made sacred.
However, we must remember that the church is a “who” and not
a “what.” We, the congregation
of St. Francis, are the church.
The building is not the church. Although this is the “last day” at our present location,
it is not the last day for St. Francis Church.
When we come to the end of something, we experience a natural
fear. If you were to walk in
to work tomorrow morning and the boss would say, “Hi. This is your last day at work here,”
how would you feel? There
would be a natural human fear and resistance to the idea.
In the same way, we have a natural fear and reluctance as we
face our move to a new location.
There are things that we, both together and individually, must give
up as we move. Are we willing
to surrender these things, if that will draw us closer to Christ and draw
others to Him?
God calls us to be witnesses to Christ. November 30 is the Feast of St.
Andrew in the church calendar.
When Andrew met Jesus, the first thing he did was find his brother
Peter and say, “Come and see.
I have found the Lord.”
The reason for the church is to say to others, “Come and see. We have found the Lord.”
Evangelism is sharing our life story in such a way that
others see Christ in us. As we
are open and vulnerable in our sharing, others will also come to see that
Christ is the answer to their needs.
There are many who are resisting the grace of God – many who
are in spiritual darkness.
Often, all it takes to draw someone out of the spiritual darkness is
to extend him the hand of Christian fellowship.
The season of Advent is the beginning of the church
year. This is New Year’s Day
in the church calendar. We
begin again to re-enact our salvation history through the succession of
seasons in the church year. Advent
is a preparation for our celebration of the coming of Christ at Christmas;
it is also a looking forward to His coming again and the ”Last Day of this
Age.” Are you ready?
We can never approach the coming of the Messiah the way our
Jewish ancestors did – we know the end of the story! The Jews looked forward to a
Messiah Who would restore the nation, restore the kingdom, restore creation
and restore men and women. The
disciples had this expectation, even after the resurrection.
“So when
they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know
times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said this, as they
were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by
them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking
into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come
in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:6-11
We have “read the last chapter of the book.” As we prepare our hearts for the
Feast of the Incarnation, we also prepare our hearts for another
event. Just as we anticipate
the birth of the Christ child, we also know the death He would die. We know that the baby in the manger
is the first-born of all creation
Prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s birth from God’s
perspective. Christ’s first
coming was incognito; he was hidden and unknown as the baby in
Bethlehem. He grew up in
relative obscurity. He was
born with a purpose, and that purpose required a shameful death on the
cross. The “last day” of His
life on earth was not the end, but the beginning of something new. His death made possible His
resurrection and the resurrection life He gives us. We who believe and are baptized are
baptized into Christ’s death and raised to new life in Him.
- We can
never think of the baby without knowing the man he became.
- We can
never look on the manger without knowing how he died.
- We can
never look on his first birth without recalling his resurrection.
There is one other “last day” to consider. That is the last day of your
life. Do you know when and how
you will die? You WILL die,
you know. We all will. When I think of my own death I feel
fear and reluctance. It isn’t
that I don’t know where I will spend eternity. The thought of death brings most of us a feeling of
sadness and some anxiety.
Christ has proclaimed that “the last day” will not be the
last day at all, but the beginning of a new and unending life in Him.
How do we prepare?
Scripture tells us that Christ will return. ALL will see Him. ALL will know Who He is. In contrast to His first coming,
incognito, humble, in a manger and a stable, His second coming will be in
power and great glory.
Are we ready to receive the Christ child? Are we ready to receive the
returning King? Christ will be
coming at the last day. He
will come “with all the saints.”
That “last day” we will be gathered together with ALL the people of
God.
How can we be ready?
"But take heed to yourselves lest your
hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this
life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come
upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all
times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that
will take place, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34-36
How do we prepare our hearts for such things?
“Now may our God and Father himself, and our
Lord Jesus, direct our way to you; and may the Lord make you increase and
abound in love to one another and to ail men, as we do to you, so that he
may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father,
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”
I Thessalonians 3:11-13
What is
required:
o
Knowledge
o
Understanding
o
Anticipation
o
Hope
o
Trust
o
Faithfulness
Because
we were created for ETERNITY, in Christ THE LAST DAY is never the last
thing, but ALWAYS THE FIRST DAY of a new life.
That’s
the last day I’m looking forward to!
(The notes, interpretation
and suggestions are by Ruth Holmes, who is solely responsible for
them. Don’t blame Fr.
Spencer!)
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