Walking in Footsteps from Behind: Advent II

Advent II: Following in Footsteps from behind

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6

            Everything in life seems to go in seasons. 

Not so long ago, we were at the beginning.  The beginning of a school year, sometimes the beginning of a college career.  It really wasn’t that long ago.  But when you started, it sure felt a whole lot different than it does right now.  It probably felt a lot more fun than it is about to be, or perhaps how it already is.  Yes, the beginning was much better than it is right now.

            Now we’re near the end of a semester, one where all your work bears fruit through final papers and grades.  The end of the semester though will give way to a new beginning. For some, it’s the beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new start, the beginning of a new semester. 

            The Church just started it’s new year, we’re in Advent, the season of new beginnings, which is also a season of preparation in the Church.  In order for us to get ready for the coming of Christ, we have to have preparation.  We can’t just show up to the party, but we’ve got to get our presents ready, our lives in order, maybe even light a few candles and remember the places we have been.  We have to get ourselves prepared.  And that’s what the beginning is all about.

            When you started the semester, you began the preparation for the coming of finals.  All that stress you have put on yourself, well, consider that you’ve been preparing all semester for the final.  From the moment you started back in September, you’ve been preparing for finals.  And you know what, most of you already know most of what you are about to test on.  Now that doesn’t mean stop reviewing, stop considering, stop writing, but just remember, you’ve been here the whole time.  Don’t tell me you are surprised about these finals.  You have known they were coming.  And you’re more ready than you think.

            When it comes to embracing the message of the coming of Christ, we have to prepare.  We have to remember, find hope, prepare, love, and find peace with one another. And when Christ comes, when we celebrate the Emmanuel (which means God with us) on Christmas morning, we will know we’ve been preparing for it not just through advent, but through our whole lives.

            Someday, each of us will look back at our lives and ask whether we were prepared. We will ask if the degree got me the write place, did the right things, took the right classes, made the right decisions.  And the answer will be yes, because we prepare for everything because God is preparing us along the entire way.  They mystery is how often we find that we were preparing ourselves for whatever came our way.

            The scriptures today remind us of the preparation that God put forth for the Church.  John the Baptist came before Jesus, the scriptures speak of the way being prepared for us to see and witness and come into the fullness of being.  It took God walking in the path before God’s children were ready. But in the end, we became ready. 

            Now I know what you are saying.  This a ok sermon Cody, but I am honestly sitting here stressed about this organic chem. final that only I can take and whatever you think, it’s not going to change anything.  Sure, I get it, but I also get that every piece of knowledge from the entire semester has already been given you.  The this season of the semester has been well prepared for.  You won’t be surprised by what’s on those finals, in those papers.  What you’ll be surprised by is how much you really do know, how far you have come. 

             Is it every a wonder how far this Church has come in 2,000 years.  Even though it is sometimes full of challenges and unnecessary baggage, the Church has in many places and times become a remarkable seedbed for Change.  The world now relies on faith traditions, specifically the Christian church, for much of its global mission.  It continues to be a significant agent of moral and ethical framing of persons across the world.  And it’s because we did the hard task of spending time preparing for this day, for this moment when the Church might be relevant once again (or at least we are still preparing the way for that to happen).

            And when we prepare like that, when we step back and have an objective view of our lives, we realize something: We’ve already been here, we’re already prepared, we’re going to make it forward on this journey.  The Christmas season will come, the Christ will come again, and for many of you, the redemption of a long semester will end.

            See the beginning of our journey, the one where prepare, it’s what you’ve been doing for three months.  Starting on Thursday, or for some of you already, you will take those finals that are not really built up into a single week.  They are the culmination of all that you have been learning all semester, maybe all your life. The culmination of a college degree, it’s not happening all at once, it’s happening because you have prepared for it for a long time.

            And how did you get ready.  You were taught how to get ready, were shown how to get ready.  You were guided. That’s what is amazing. The Church, Ourselves, we have all been prepared not only because of our work, but because people came before us that have guided and led us.  God leads the people into the Church in the future, your preparation and the support of your parents, your friends, everyone, has led you to this point.

            This week, when you go into finals, you should remember that all things have already been prepared.  You prepared, others guided you in preparation.  You will make it through, just as so many others have, and you will soon finish the semester, then will be ready for Christmas.  Preparation is key, and you’re already there.  So go take those finals, and in the process get yourself ready once again for the coming of Christ.