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.
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