Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

December 7, 2008

Advent 2

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

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We are now well into our preparation for the day of Christmas.

You have probably finished decorating your house – much like the Church is decorated. A tree with ornaments – although you may not have Chrismons as are here – maybe you have a Poinsettia or two – maybe some bows and candles.

I hope you have begun your shopping – buying gifts for loved ones and friends. Some of you may be finished – but I doubt it!

Maybe you have already been to several parties and other event. You may even have several more you are planning on attending.

Maybe you have attended some special worship services that have focused on the seasons of Advent and Christmas. You may even have several more you are planning to attend — or if not may I suggest you consult the bulletin announcements of the newsletter and get inspired to attend several more!

It is indeed a busy time!

By now you may be wanting to slow down somewhat – but the month of December keeps rushing on – and maybe you feel like you are being drug around with too much to do!

In the Church we wait during Advent — and prepare for the coming of Christ — the coming of God — into our lives — touching us and changing us with God’s mysterious love –

a love so great that God breaks into our lives in surprising ways –

like a baby in a manger who becomes an adult on a cross — and invites us into deeper and more meaningful relationships with God and others.

In the Church year the season of Advent is a season of expectant hope — but in what we call “the real world” the weeks before Christmas are filled with hectic, frenzied activity — trying to get too many things done too quickly.

If we are not careful, it can be a depressing season — not a joyous season.

Did you ever notice that some people seem to have the Christmas spirit, but others just can’t seem to get in the mood?

Which one are you?

Are you the person that goes around singing Christmas carols, always feeling warm and fuzzy? Or, are you just aggravated that the Christmas season is just too overwhelming? Or are are you somewhere in between?

Why is it that some folks have the Christmas spirit and others don’t?

Maybe some don’t really understand what the true spirit of Christmas is really all about.

I believe that there is someone who can help us understand what the spirit of Christmas is all about – the Christmas spirit – indeed the Christian spirit that we need not only this time of year – but all the time.

This fellow in our passage for today – this man named John – may help us understand the Christmas spirit – and the Christian spirit. Yea — John the Baptist can help us discover what the true spirit of Christmas is – and get into the true Christmas spirit – and the true Christian spirit.

So – what is the Christmas spirit?

Well — John announced that the Christ would be coming soon.

“The one who is more powerful than I, is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals” he said.

John announced that Jesus was coming — but he also acknowledged that he was but a servant of God.

That’s part of the true Christmas spirit.

To understand – and get into – the true spirit of Christmas, we must be willing to humble ourselves. We must be willing to accept the fact that Jesus is greater than us – and that we are servants of God.

John was preaching to a people who were powerless because of an oppressive Roman government. They had no hope — no reason to believe that their lives had any meaning. When John announced that the Lord would be coming, he also said that his listeners would be baptized by the Holy Spirit. In other words, their lives would become filled with the spirit of God and they would be transformed from people without hope to people with hope – from people who were ordinary folk to people who were filled with God’s spirit – and excited about doing God’s will. But – first of all – they needed to be people who understood that God wanted to use them – and they needed to be humble before God and understand that they were servants of God. .

So do we.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – filled with God’s Spirit – and used by God.

Humility is not always an easy attribute to grasp. It requires emptying oneself, coming to grips with our humanness and our finitude.

I don’t know if you have ever watched the TV show “An Eye For An Eye” – I never have – but apparently it is one of those “People’s Court” shows that stars a Judge — called Extreme Judge Akim. In one case the defendant was a woman hockey coach who coached teenagers. One of the player’s father was giving her a hard time, harassing her during games and yelling at her from the stands. He was an obvious male chauvinist and didn’t believe women belonged in the game of hockey. He took the coach to The Extreme Judge Akim – his argument was that the coach didn’t play his son enough. If they did the team would have won more games. The judge, however ruled against him and said he had no case against the woman coach. Witnesses stated she was both experienced and committed to youth. For his punishment the man had to be a goalie and a player would take shots at him. After 31 scores and many hits to his body, the judge ruled the punishment was over. He then revealed that the hockey player taking the shots was none other than the woman coach. Now that he had eaten some “humble pie” the man had a different outlook on the woman coach.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – filled with God’s Spirit – and used by God.

The spirit of God cannot enter our souls until we are willing to humble ourselves and learn that we are mere mortals, in need of a powerful and eternal God. Hopefully we won’t have to go to the extreme of someone hitting us with hockey pucks before we understand that God wants to use us – wants us to be His servants – but we have to be humble before Him and willing to be used by Him.

Humility is the first step to understanding – and getting into – the Christmas spirit.

The second step is being ready.

John tells his listeners to get ready. Their lives could change; they become more faithful — more loving and more hopeful. The opportunity for change was close at hand. To take advantage of that opportunity they had to trust in John’s word. He was God’s messenger, “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” In addition to humbling themselves they needed to listen to John – and be ready for God’s work in their lives and their world.

So do we.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – filled with God’s Spirit — used by God – and we need to be ready for God’s work in our lives and willing to listen to God.

Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office. The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up — wondering what was going on. They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be disqualified. Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.” The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!” The employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”

We can assume that all of the applicants knew Morse Code – or else they would not have bothered applying for the job – but only one of them was alert enough to perceive the message being sent.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – filled with God’s Spirit — used by God – and we need to be ready for God’s work in our lives and willing to listen to God.

Friends — all of us know Christ – but we sometimes tune out God’s message to us — and completely miss it. We don’t see that God is at work – and calling us – here and now – be a part of His work in the Church – the community – and the world.

Being willing to be humble servants of God.

Listening to God – to God’s message to be filled with His Spirit and be about His work in the world.

2 steps to getting into the Christmas sprit.

There’s a third step that John explains.

Third — our lives need to be open to the spirit of God – and we have to be willing to change.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – people filled with God’s Spirit and used by God – ready for God’s work in our lives and willing to listen to God –and open to God’s Spirit and willing to change.

You see – John’s message was about repentance. Repentance means there is a change of direction.

Take, for example, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. He was a stingy, grumpy, mean spirited man whose life was changed after being confronted by the ghosts of the past, present and future. When he saw how hopeless his life had turned out he was transformed — changed — and became generous and filled with a spirit of love.

A more contemporary story would probably be the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. The Grinch was totally transformed — his heart growing 3 sizes bigger! He became, kind, warm and generous and returned Christmas to the Whos in Whoville.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – people filled with God’s Spirit and used by God – ready for God’s work in our lives and willing to listen to God – and open to God’s Spirit and willing to change.

Here’ the thing — I really believe that everyone wants to change – but that we are stuck.

Some of us may feel trapped by our sins of the past. Others may feel distant from God. Others may be too busy pursuing our own personal agenda to give time to worrying about God and the Church.

As a result we are never fulfilled or satisfied – never transformed or changed by God – never filled with the Christmas spirit – never filled with the Christian spirit. We allow our lives to become nothing more than a treadmill with no way of getting off.

The key that can unlock the door to a new life – a new relationship with God – and lead us not living in the Christmas spirit – or for that matter the Christian sprit – is forgiveness. John proclaimed a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Forgiveness enables us to move away from the past and embrace the present.

If we are going to truly understand the spirit of Christmas – if we are going to get into the Christmas spirit – if we are going to be able to truly understand and get into the Christian spirit and the Christian life – we are going to have learn to be humble before God – servants of God – people filled with God’s Spirit and used by God – ready for God’s work in our lives and willing to listen to God – and open to God’s Spirit and willing to change.

Do you want more of the Christmas sprit?

Do you want more of the Christian spirit?

Learn to be humble before God.

Learn to be a servant of God.

Let God fill you with His spirit and let yourself be sued by God.

Be ready for God’s work in your life and be willing to listen to God.

Be open to God’s Spirit in your life.

Be willing to let God change you.

Doing these things – and letting God do these things in your life – will not only help you get into the Christmas spirit – but it will also help you get into the Christian spirit!

Amen.