Advent 2 - It's The Cracks That Let The Light In

I don’t know about you but I’m not going to be too sad to see the back of 2016…..

We’ve had the most bizzare year in politics that many of us can remember, on both sides of the pond; we’ve lost many good friends within our congregation here in Belhelvie; and meanwhile, somewhere off centre stage, a procession of beloved actors, musicians and writers have also taken their leave of us -  

David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Victoria Wood and Prince all passed on this year.

And though the death of Leonard Cohen was less unexpected, it still hit many people hard because he was such an influential poet and songwriter.

Cohen’s ‘Halleluia’ has been covered many times, and is probably his best known song, but ‘Anthem’ isn’t far behind in terms of popularity, and it’s a couple of lines from Anthem that got me thinking this week.

In his impossibly deep bass voice, Cohen sings ‘there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in’.

Now our culture doesn’t encourage us to be honest about the cracks in everything, least of all ourselves. We like to present ourselves as whole, complete and happy. And if you doubt that, stop and think about which photos and which stories from your life make it onto your Facebook page; or which elements of your life you’re prepared to open up about to others.

There’s a lot that goes unseen and unsaid, isn’t there? We know that the cracks are there because life can be bruising for all of us. But what if the answer isn’t to try and cover the cracks up, but to own them and allow God to bring his light into our lives through them? I think that’s at least part of what we discover in the Christmas story.

There’s Mary – just a young girl with her whole life ahead of her. Excited to be getting married, starting a home, having kids. It’s all good.

And then the angel comes to her with this strange request. And it cracks her world open. If she says yes to carrying this divine child, she can be pretty sure that no-one will understand. Her parents, her friends, the man she loves.

In saying yes, she’s opening the door to all kinds of accusation and misunderstanding. She knows that. But she also knows that if she gives her consent, light and life won’t just enter her womb, they’ll enter the world through her. And so she gives God her yes.

Think of Joseph, a decent man – looking forward to settling down with his young bride, starting a family, building a life.

And then she drops the bombshell. And it cracks his world open. He could have shamed her and berated her in public, but being a good man, he decides to take the least bad option and arranges to divorce her quietly.

But then, in a restless dream, light filters in through the cracks in his world – he gets his own word from God, confirming Mary’s story. From that point onwards he knows that she hasn’t betrayed his trust, and that both of them will have to trust God for the future.

Think of the shepherds, down in the valley below Bethlehem minding their sheep until their world’s cracked open by a heavenly voice and an angel choir, bringing them news of God’s birth - which is wonderful – but what do they do? If they leave the sheep, they’ll be in serious trouble with the owners.  But some kinds of trouble are worth getting into! So they set their responsibilities to the side for a while, they allow themselves not to be indispensable, and head up into the village in search of the child.

Or think of the wise men – who had it all cut and dried. Educated, respected, probably wealthy. And yet there were cracks in their world too. Why go on such a long journey, why risk your professorial chair at the university, your reputation and maybe even your marriage for the sake of a new star glimmering in the eastern sky?

Well, maybe they hadn’t everything cut and dried. Maybe, for all they had and all they knew, there were still yearnings in their hearts and souls that had never yet found an answer. And maybe that’s why they made the seemingly foolish choice to pin their hopes on a wandering star.

‘There is a crack in everything.’ says Leonard. ‘That’s how the light gets in’.

And the thing is this morning, people - you’re all cracked!

And so am I!

And we can try and pretend that away. Keep spinning the Facebook fantasy. Or we can face up to it and realise that even our brokenness can be an opportunity for God to bring us more of his light.

I don’t know what all the cracks in your world look like, though I know some of them and can guess at more

Maybe you’ve been let down in a relationship; someone’s betrayed your trust, or isn’t living up to promises they made.

Maybe your family’s cracking you up. You’re carrying worries and pressures that few people know about and the strain’s beginning to tell.

Maybe you’re the kind who’s always been self-sufficient and capable. But something’s come along – some situation at work, or some illness, or set of life circumstances that have left you unsure of your footing like never before.

Or maybe you can’t put your finger on it – you just know that sadness and resignation have settled down into your soul and show no sign of leaving. You try and kid others you’re fine, but they don’t have to look too hard to see the cracks.

And what’s Christmas got to do with all this?

Well, there’s a reason that all those Christmas cards show a glow from the stable, even if it’s doubtful that it happened that way.

“Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.”

There’s light to be seen, through the cracks in our lives. The transforming, healing light of Christ.

But you have to be open to it.

You see light is a remarkably gracious force.

Sunlight  travels 92 million miles to visit us, but if you turn your back or put up a parasol you can easily block it out.

Starlight travels billions of miles to see us, but a hint of wispy cloud’s all it takes to make it disappear.

John tells us that “the true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.”  But that light has to be received before it can do its work in us and through us.

Mary had to give God her yes. Joseph had to believe her. The shepherds had to be irresponsible for a while! The wise men had to admit that they were still lacking and didn’t have it all cut and dried.

We’re all cracked you see. We need help, we need healing. We need the light to get in. We need a saviour.

And we have one, if only we’re ready to receive him.

“How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin

Where cracked souls will receive him,

still the Christ-light enters in”.

Advent 1 - Matthew 24: 36-44

No matter how many times we’ve heard these verses, there’s still something shocking in hearing Jesus. God incarnate, saying the words ‘I don’t know’.

We just don’t expect to find those words on his lips, and to be honest, they leave us a little uneasy, here at the start of Advent.

By nature, when it comes to what’s important, we want to be sure about things.

If your doctor studies your x-rays and your bloods and then shrugs her shoulders and says ‘To be honest, I don’t really have a clue what’s going on here,’ it doesn’t inspire confidence.

If you’ve had the electrician in and as he’s leaving he says ‘I think that should be all right- but just keep your fingers crossed’ it’s not exactly what you want to hear.

We like our people in the know to be in the know! And we judge their competence by it.

And maybe that’s why in a lifetime of listening to politicians I don’t think I’ve ever heard one of them say the simple words ‘I don’t know’ in response to a straight question. Experience suggests it’s wise to be wary of people who always have an answer for everything.

Well let me set you a better example this morning by freely admitting to just one small corner of my ignorance.

The first Sunday in Advent always takes us into the passages in the gospels which focus on the end times, or the second coming, or whatever you want to call it. And I have to confess that even after years of familiarity with those passages, I’m still not entirely sure what they mean.

Are they literal or metaphorical?  Is all that they talk about in the future, or is it pointing to the cataclysmic destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in AD70?  Chances are, it’s probably both – that’s certainly what the commentaries suggest. But separating out all the different strands and arguments is a bit like untangling several different sets of Christmas tree lights. In the dark. With thick gloves on. It’s not long before you’re asking yourself if it’s worth all the hassle!

Now if you go and Google, or visit churches of a different flavour, you will quickly find people who seem to be in the know and are only too eager to spell it all out for you with wide eyed enthusiasm. They’ll bombard you with obscure Old Testament references and wave chronologies and timetables under your nose as though it were all crystal clear.

But you know what – for all their certainty, I’m pretty sure they’re guessing too. They’re just not prepared to admit it.

So in a way, I actually find it quite refreshing that when Jesus is asked the Advent question – ‘When is God coming? When will all of this happen” - and his honest response is ‘I don’t know’.

That admission of unknowing was a considerable embarrassment to the early church, to the degree that some early manuscripts of Matthew’s gospel actually leave out the bit about the Son of Man not knowing the day or the hour.

But most leave it in, which is – I think – a good thing for us. It’s good to know we’re not alone in our unknowing. Because if there’s one question the church has been asking for generations, it’s this one – When is God coming? when is everything going to be straightened out?

And that’s not an abstract theological question. It’s a cry of the heart.

When we deal with crises and disappointments in life and look for God’s help and deliverance. Or when we look at the broader canvas of life, and despair of a world that seems incapable of living in peace or bringing justice, we find ourselves asking ‘When is God coming? When is everything going to be straightened out?” It’s the perennial question of humankind, and especially the faithful.

You’ll remember Mary and Martha – friends of Jesus – and their brother Lazarus who had died. Do you remember what both sisters said to Jesus when he came to the village and made his way through the mourners to see them? “Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died”. In other words ‘where were you?” Where were you, when we needed you?”

And that’s our question - Where are you God? When are you coming?

We want an answer. And Jesus says ‘I don’t know’.

But I do know this. When God comes, it will happen suddenly and unexpectedly.

People will be going about their everyday lives. Two men will be working in the fields. One will be taken, the other one left. Two women will be grinding flour, one will be taken and the other one left.

When God comes, as the Son of Man, it will be like a thief in the night.  You won’t get an email confirming a burglary appointment.  There won’t be a knock on the door and a five minute warning. It’ll just happen.

All Jesus can say about ‘when’ is that it’s going to be sudden and unexpected. And some people are going to be ready for it, and others will be caught unawares.

And how will he come? Well again, there’s no easy answer to that. We can’t place those kind of limits on God. It’s up to God how he makes himself known.

To Abraham and Sarah God came in the form of three visitors they shared a meal with. It was only afterwards they realised who they’d been entertaining.

To Moses God flared up in a bush that burned but wasn’t consumed , kindling hope in the heart of a man who thought his life was already over in early middle age.

To Samuel, just a young boy, he came as a voice that seemed familiar and unfamiliar at one and the same time. Three times he mistook it for the voice of Eli, the old priest he worked with. But on the fourth occasion, he understood and made his response.

To the disciples in the boat, thrown around on a stormy sea, he came on the waves in the dead of night, looking for all the world like a ghost. It was only when he spoke that their terror died down and they knew who was with them.

Or think of Mary in the garden, beside herself at the thought that someone had stolen Jesus’ body away.  She lay there sobbing her heart out til a shadow fell over her in the morning sun, and she heard her name spoken on lips she thought had been stilled forever.

When will God come? How will he come?

We don’t know. We can’t say.

But of this we can be sure. He will come.

He will come, as he’s promised, at the end of days – to bring justice, to set things right once and for all. To finish God’s work of creation. And every eye will see him, the Scriptures say; and every knee will bow before him. The child born in such ignominy will be seen again as a King in glory.

But in the meantime, he also comes to us now, in ways that are more subtle and that need discernment.

Only Saul saw the divine light on the road to Damascus. His travelling companions didn’t see a thing. Only Christ heard his Father’s voice as he rose from the waters of baptism. The others thought it thundered. Looked to the skies for rain.

In the present, God often comes to us in the hidden, in the small, in the mundane and that’s why the perennial cry of Advent is ‘Wake up! Pay attention! Be ready – for you do not know how and when God will visit you.”

But what does it mean to be ready?

Well the next few chapters of Matthew, Jesus spells that out for us, and it’s not about looking for signs and portents, working on chronologies, or selling all your stuff and going to live on a mountainside awaiting the end of the world.

Being ready, simply means being about the work God has already given us to do!

He tells a parable about ten young women going to a wedding banquet – five of them plan ahead because they’re thoughtful, and bring oil for their lamps; the other five tag along thoughtlessly without making any preparations and then realise too late they’ve no oil and they can’t get into the party. They’re not ready.

Don’t live your life thoughtlessly, Jesus is saying. Think about your priorities. Think about where your time’s going. Think about what you really value in life. Make room for God.

He tells a parable about a man who entrusts some money to his servants before going away on a trip. Two of them invest it wisely and make more money, one just buries it in the ground because he’s scared to lose it. And he’s the one who gets an earful when his master returns.

Don’t be cowardly, Jesus is saying. You’ve been given gifts to use in God’s service – gifts to benefit others. Make sure you use them!

And he tells a parable about the end of days, when there will be a reckoning for how we’ve lived. It’s known as the parable of the sheep and the goats. Those who saw and responded to need – who shared their resources and their time and their presence are blessed, while those who didn’t see the need, or didn’t care about it, are condemned.

Don’t think only of yourself, Jesus is saying. When you look after the poor, the hungry, the sick, the stranger, the prisoners, you’re looking after me, even If you don’t realise it.

Through these stories, Jesus is teaching us that getting ready for the coming of God isn’t about doing new and extraordinary things.

It’s being aware of God as you go about your ordinary life. As you prioritise, as you use your gifts, as you share the things you’ve been blessed with. If you do that, you will be ready for his Advent.

How does that sit with you this Christmas, I wonder?

We’re all so busy at this time of year. There’s a list of things to do as long as your arm and  most of us are run ragged by the time we get to Mid December!  Are we so busy getting reading for Christmas we forget to get ready for Christ? Do we somehow contrive to miss him, in the very season that bears his name?

As we go about the things we have to do, are we taking everything at surface value, or are we willing to look a little deeper and embrace the possibility that God might be asking us to minister his grace as we deal with that tired looking sales assistant, or that difficult set of circumstances, or that chance encounter with an old friend.

Or is life a challenge just now? Are things so dark and difficult that God, at best, is an afterthought? Dwarfed beside the reality or the complexity of the things you’re trying to deal with? Can you allow yourself enough breathing space to pause and remember that there’s no place on this earth, no situation in life, where God cannot and does not come to sit with his people – bringing his light and his life?

When will God come? How will he come?

Even Jesus couldn’t answer those questions.

But of this he was sure; and we can be too.

In his own way, and in his own time, God will come.

May we be ready to meet him when he does.

Inspired by a sermon by Fred Craddock

Hebrews 8:7-13 - Covenant

1.     Drone images (3 SLIDES)

2.     Overview of ‘covenant’.

3.     Definition (IMAGE)

a.     an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.

4.     Covenant – Hebrew and Greek - over 260 times.

5.     First occurrence – Genesis 6:8-11  – Noah. (by chance!). Noahic covenant (IMAGE)

a.     Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

b.     Two parties, but Unilateral.

                                                  i.      Responsibility to fulfil lies entirely on one party, namely God.

c.      Unusual – will come back to that.

6.     Abrahamic Covenant – Genesis 17:4-8 (IMAGE)

a.     “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”  BUT a response was required.

b.     (IMAGE) “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” Genesis 17:9-10

c.      Bilateral covenant. Responsibilities on both parties. This was the pattern from then on.

7.     Mosaic Covenant

a.     Nothing to do with this (IMAGE)

b.     Everything to do with this! (IMAGE)

c.      (IMAGE) “Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Exodus 19:3-6

                                                  i.      NB – particular role. Whole earth still his

                                                ii.      BILATERAL covenant – responsibilities on both parties. IF you obey, THEN you will be my treasured possession. You’ll be blessed.

                                              iii.      Gave the law that they were to live by.

1.     Ethical commands; sacrificial system.

8.     And you know how the story goes. Don’t need to rehearse it all – they kept breaking the terms of the covenant. Proved hopeless at keeping their end of the bargain. (IMAGE)

a.     Made idols, worshipped other gods, kept going astray.

b.     Huge swathes of the OT are God saying ‘What’s going on with you, Israel? You’re breaking the covenant we made. Turn back before it’s too late.”

c.      They’d been promised God’s protection, but only as long as they stayed faithful to the covenant. So when Babylon and Assyria came calling, they were swallowed up – taken off into captivity again.

d.     And in that hard place, they had to learn all over again that being God’s covenant people came with obligations.

e.     They re-applied themselves; they came back to him, and back to the land. They re-built Jerusalem and the temple. They had yet another new start.

f.       But within a few hundred years, Imperial Rome marched in and took over. Took over the very city where God himself was thought to dwell. How could that be, if God were still on their side, they wondered?

g.     And the Pharisees argued that greater holiness was the answer. And the Herodians said ‘no’ – we need to compromise with Rome. And the Essenes said ‘there’s no hope here – we need to go to the desert and start again.’ And the Revolutionaries said all that stuff was a waste of time, and sharpened their daggers and lurked in the shadows.

h.     God’s treasured possession, God’s holy nation, confused, turned in on itself and going nowhere.

i.        Why? Because they couldn’t keep their end of the bargain. No matter how hard they tried, they always kept falling back into ways of living that saddened or angered God.

9.     The old covenant, wasn’t working. And maybe, like me, you’re wondering – if God knows everything why did he bother with a covenant that doesn’t work? Why didn’t he go straight to the new covenant in Christ?

10.             Maybe part of the answer is it’s only when we keep failing that we realise how much we need help. And it’s only when our pride is finally broken that we’re ready to accept help.

11.             And I know this is skating on the thin ice of gender stereotypes, but bear with me. Let’s say, ladies, you’re out in the car for a drive with your man. And you’re lost. And you both know that you’re lost but he’s not prepared to admit it.

12.             What are your choices in that situation, assuming there’s no sat-nav to fall back on. You can intervene, offer to dig the map out of the glove box and have a look. You can suggest stopping to ask a passer by. But you know fine well he’d say ‘no’ to both of those because of his stubborn pride. So in your wisdom, what do you do? You sit back and let him make a mess of it. Because it’s only when he admits his need of help that he’s going to be ready to accept it.

13.             Maybe Israel’s story is God’s way of teaching us that we can’t do this by ourselves. That we really do need his help. And that’s exactly what we get in this new covenant in Christ.

14.             I’d asked you to listen out for the differences between the old and the new covenants when you were listening to the reading earlier on. I wonder if you managed to pick them out?

15.             Firstly, the old covenant was external and legal. It was about laws and commandments. Do this, don’t do that.  Why? Because it’s written here on this piece of stone, or this roll of papyrus.

16.             But the new covenant is internal and relational.(IMAGE)

a.     “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.”

b.     Under the new covenant we’re moved to serve God because his spirit lives within us as our friend and counsellor – teaching us right from wrong; convicting and encouraging us. Helping us navigate our way through life.

c.      Archbishop William Temple once said “For the religious man to do wrong is to defy his King; for the Christian, it is to wound his Friend.” It’s easy to defy an authority figure with whom you’ve no real connection. But hurting a friend? That’s a whole different ballgame.

d.     In the new covenant, the law is no longer outside us. It’s internalised and made relational through the presence of God’s spirit.

17.             Secondly, the new covenant is a great leveller (IMAGE)

a.     “None of them will have to teach their fellow-citizens or say to their fellow citizens, ‘know the Lord’ which begs the question ‘so what on earth are you doing every Sunday morning at 11 o’clock, Paul, if not teaching!

b.     But the point is, this new covenant will not be about head learning, or about education, important though those things are. It’s about heart knowledge; experience of God. And those things are open to everyone.

c.      Jesus had no formal theological education. The other rabbis scarcely recognised him as a rabbi because of that. But the people recognised him. They knew when they heard someone speaking with the authority that comes from knowing God.

d.     Thank God it isn’t just smart people or educated people who can teach us about God. What counts is knowing him, not knowing about him. And that is open to anyone.

e.     I thank God for the things I’ve learned from men, women and children who have far less theological education than me, but have been walking with God far more closely. They are my teachers.

18.             And lastly, listen to what God says about sin. Israel had centuries of sin-management through the sacrificial system. You mess up, you sacrifice. You mess up you sacrifice. Like the sketch we had a couple of Sundays ago. You keep dropping pebbles into the bucket. But nothing really changes.

19.             But in the new covenant, he says “I will forgive their sins and will no longer remember their wrongs.”

20.             And here, we’re getting very close to the heart of the gospel.

21.             Under the old covenant, the sinner had to keep coming back each time to make amends, offering a sacrifice so they could feel in harmony with God again.

22.             But look what happens in the new covenant. Uniquely, it’s not we, but God who makes the sacrifice. It’s God who offers himself, in the form of his Son, as the Passover lamb. A perfect sacrifice, for all sin, for all time. That’s what was going on on the cross. (SLIDE)

23.             Behold, says John the Baptist, as he sees the Christ walking on the shores of the Jordan. “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of …  of whom? The good people, the elect, the religiously minded, the Christians only?”. No – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

24.             I believe that on the cross, Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice, for all sin, for all time. That’s what was going on there. The good news we proclaim is that it has all been dealt with by this new covenant, sealed in Christ’s blood and as a consequence anyone who wants to can have friendship with God again.

25.            And the wonderful thing is that God just chooses to do this. Do you remember earlier on I said that the Noahic covenant was unusual because it was unilateral? It didn’t depend on our response. Well here’s the thing. This new covenant, in Christ, is also unilateral. God chooses to forgive, unilaterally, without our deserving it or earning it or working for it. He does it because he is God and he is good. And the theological word for that kind of kindness is grace.

26.             We can take it, or we can leave it. I believe he gives us that choice. But make no mistake, his grace has gone out to all the world in Christ.

27.             As I was researching for this morning, I found this wonderful passage in the prophet Isaiah, speaking to Israel as they languished in exile and had almost given up hope.

 ⁹    “To me this is like the days of Noah,

    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.

    So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,

    never to rebuke you again.

¹⁰    Though the mountains be shaken

    and the hills be removed,

    yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”

    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

28.             This is our last reflection on Hebrews for a while. And I know it’s been tough going, for you and for me at times. It’s not an easy book to get your head around. But it’s important to try, because there’s no shortage of people trying to live the gospel backwards. Thinking they have to try hard to earn God’s acceptance and forgiveness, when Hebrews is telling us that in Christ, they already have it.

29.             You’ve heard me say it many times before, but if I keep saying it enough, one day it’ll stick! The gospel isn’t “‘sort your life out and God will love you. It’s ‘God loves you – so sort your life out’.”

30.             Take a trip to Golgotha with me, as we close. Look up, if you can, to the man hanging there on the cross.

31.            All your sin, for all your life, is resting on his shoulders so it doesn’t have to rest on yours.

32.             God has decreed that his self-offering pardons the world. And unless you live somewhere other than the world, that includes you!

33.             You have God’s favour, not because you deserve it, but because he’s chosen to give it. That’s the kind of God he is.

34.             And that’s why, in that first Advent season, the herald angel said to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL the people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ – the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men – ON WHOM HIS FAVOUR RESTS”.

35.             Joy for ALL the people. Peace to men, and women, on whom his favour rests.

36.            This is the good news of the new covenant. God, in Christ, has reached out to the whole world in forgiveness.

37.             How will you respond?