Sermon 8th December 2019 –
Advent 2
Text: Matthew 3:1-12 – Wilderness spirituality
John the Baptist is always an
interesting character.
It’s easy to focus just on the
message that he came to proclaim – Repent.
But there’s more to John the Baptist
other than his sharp tongue that will soon get him arrested and put to death.
There is more to John the Baptist
than his clothing and diet - clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John’s message is an important
message for the church today not just because of what he says but from where he
speaks it:
The voice of one crying out in the
wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
The wilderness is an uninviting
location.
After Jesus is baptised he is thrown
into the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days and he was
there with the wild animals.
But the wilderness is also a place
where Jesus grew in his spirit and was ministered to by the angels.
The wilderness is a place where God
sometimes allows us to go – sometimes as individuals – sometimes as the church.
As individuals a wilderness
experience can be caused by a time of suffering where we feel even a sense of
abandonment by God.
It can be a time of life change
wondering what the future holds – a relationship breakdown – a job loss –
retirement.
Jesus himself experienced that sense
of abandonment by God when on the cross when he cried out – my God, my God, why
have you forsaken me.
Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, a Psalm
of David, who also felt abandoned by God and spent a long time in the
wilderness being chased by King Saul even though God had anointed him as the
new King of Israel:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
Many of the Psalms were written from
a deep spiritual experience that came from times in the wilderness – such as
Psalm 130: Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
And so it seems that it is not unusual
for God’s children to spend time in the wilderness – a time of deep anguish – a
time of soul searching - but also a time of renewal.
And because we are so afraid of the
anguish, we often do whatever we can to avoid going into the wilderness.
But in avoiding that experiencing
what are we missing out from God?
Wilderness experiences can also be
experienced by the Church – the body of Christ.
Both our congregations have had our
Annual General Meetings and there is a feeling of wilderness ahead of us.
Can we financially remain viable?
Can our church remain united over the
division caused by the questions surrounding Ordination?
Can we continue to run Sunday School
with less teachers and children.
How much more is maintenance on our
church going to cost?
These can make us panic as we don’t
know what to expect and a wilderness ahead makes us worry.
We much prefer it when we know what’s
going to happen.
When we are in control.
When we know that we can continue to
keep doing the things we’re doing.
But in the wilderness experience
there can be a spiritual awakening that God brings and a time of renewal.
As much as it is an uncomfortable
experience it may in fact be where God is leading us into new and deeper
experiences.
And when you listen to Isaiah in our
Old Testament reading he uses a quite familiar term but maybe we haven’t given
a lot of thought when we hear it-
From Isaiah - A shoot shall come out
from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
A stump is the remnant of a tree that
has been cut down.
Maybe the stump has been left for
dead because it’s too hard to dig out.
It becomes a nuisance especially when
you’re mowing the lawn.
It becomes an eyesore – a reminder of
the once flourishing tree.
Sometimes things in the church can
become “stumps”.
Things we still do that are
struggling but we dare not let them go because we’ve always done them.
But we look at them and they remind
us of what used to be.
We look at our Sunday school and feel
depressed rather than celebrate who is here.
We look at our ageing congregation
and feel saddened instead of thanking God for the ones that faithfully attend.
We treat these as stumps – relics of
what used to be – nuisances - rather than a gift that God is keeping alive.
And then a small sprig appears out of
the stump and new life is born.
And the stump that was dead now has a
new growth.
And maybe that is where God is
leading us – into the wilderness so he can renew us with a new vision.
If we think about the great heroes of
the faith – Abraham who was called out of his homeland – his family and
security to a place that God would show him – not a place that God revealed to
him immediately.
Jacob, whom God called out of his
homeland where he toiled for 14 years before he was united with the woman that
he loved.
Or Noah who spent 100 days or more in
an ark not knowing where God was going to lead him.
Or Jonah in the wilderness of the
belly of a fish who learnt about God’s grace during that time.
Moses in the wilderness where he
experiences God in the burning bush.
Peter and the disciples whom Jesus
called from their livelihood where they dropped their nets and followed Jesus.
They dropped their nets so there was
nothing from the past to cling to.
Paul, whom Jesus called from his life
of prestige as a leading Pharisee into places where he was persecuted,
shipwrecked, in chains in prison.
Paul says he counts what he has lost
as nothing compared to knowing Jesus as his saviour.
And so many more of the Old and New
Testament heroes of faith who learnt about God through times of struggle and
wilderness experiences.
And each time God renewed his people
from a remnant to fulfil his mission.
Maybe this is how God is leading us
also into a place where we wrestle with God in the wilderness.
And like Jacob who wrestled with God
in the wilderness of the Jabbok – he too came away blessed but he came away
with a limp.
A reminder of his wrestle with God in
the wilderness.
I know it’s daunting to look into a
future that is quite frightening and unclear but that’s how God brings about
his blessings so often in the Bible.
It reminds me of Moses encounter with
God face to face:
Exodus 20 says: When the people saw
the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke,
they trembled with fear. The people remained at a distance, while Moses
approached the thick darkness where God was.
Notice God’s presence was in the
midst of the thick darkness – inside the wilderness.
It is easy to look at what’s ahead
and worry.
But that’s how God has always brought
about his blessings.
From Mary who trusted God even though
she was about to give birth to a child that was not her husbands.
As they had to wrestle with there
being no room in the inn and finding a place in the wilderness among the animals
to give birth.
God is a gracious God and he has
promised that he will never leave us or forsake us.
He promised in our Baptisms – I am
with you always to the end of the age.
God promised that Jesus would be
called Immanuel – God with us.
And he will be with us in the
wilderness as we explore the next phase for our church whatever that might be.
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