ADVENT SECOND – SERMON OUTLINE – DECEMBER 5, 2010
Romans 15:4-13; St. Luke 21:25-33
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
I. Introduction: Telling the Story of Our Past to have Hope for Our Future
a. As human beings, how do we tell ‘the story of us?’ Where do we begin and where does it go? If we think about it, so much of our story as people is about trying to realize the expectations of the people and places that existed before us. We try to learn from the past (the good and the bad) so we can find hope for our own future. Whole civilizations do this, but only because it starts with individuals like us: looking back on our families and preserving their memory to teach us and guide us.
b. So many of our greatest works of literature reflect this truth. In the end, the main characters always seem to meet their destiny, but not without witness of long-ago.
i. Could Dante have ever reached Paradise to be with Beatrice without having first heard the stories of the damned and the chastised as he journeyed through the inferno and purgatory?
ii. Could Professor Lidenbrock have ever made it to the center of the earth had he not cracked the code of Arne Saknussemm and learned from his discoveries and mistakes along the way?
iii. Could Frodo have ever had hope of destroying the one ring in Mt. Doom had the ring never passed from Gollum to Bilbo, and then into the company of the Fellowship?
c. As Christians, St. Paul writes to the Romans that we do the same thing. As the Church in the 21st century, we’re also telling a story. We don’t just do our Sunday duty; we don’t just believe dogma. We are the next chapter in salvation history. This is important to remember during the Advent Season:
i. We have hope: that we will all rise again and that God will make a new heavens and earth…
ii. …But all that wishing for what lies ahead doesn’t mean as much without a glance behind. Our faith needs the record of the past. Why? Because the best way we can confidently look forward, is by reflecting on what from ancient times has already comes to pass.
1. The Second Coming? The Resurrection and the Judgment? The Kingdom of God? Critics are quick to opine ‘That won’t happen; it’s just fantasy, man-made dreams!’
2. But then we can say: ‘Look at all this that has already happened! Why shouldn’t we believe in the future of these other things? We have good reason to hope!’
3. Where do we find this hope? Appropriately, on this Bible Sunday, in the Bible!
II. The Book of Hope
a. It has always been this way! When the Israelites were tempted to doubt, the prophets always reminded them of what God did for the Patriarchs. The same is true for us today. The Bible is here to inform and nurture our faith. It’s only been in recent times that both believers and unbelievers have tried to treat the Bible like a set of “values” or a collection of anecdotal stories. The Bible is not a moral magic book to flip open for an answer; it’s not a man-made piece of religious fiction to be academically deconstructed. The Bible is the inspired proof that God has spoken to us—and still does!
i. St. Paul wrote: “that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
ii. When Jesus returned to heaven, He promised that we would always have hope: He sent us the Holy Spirit to finish the Bible so we could keep telling our story until He came back.
iii. The Bible is God’s written way of telling us, ‘I’ve been fulfilling promises since the Garden of Eden. You can trust what’s going to happen, because this is the true story.’
iv. God wants to reassure our hope. And if He’s been doing it for His People over the last four millennia, then He isn’t going to stop now. What St. Paul is telling us is that God wouldn’t author this epic and sustain countless generations without bringing it to a conclusion.
b. For us today, what kind of hope do we find when we read the Bible?
i. Not just that God keep His promises, but that because He does, our hope should increase because our communion with Him keeps getting better and better
1. St. Paul writes: “Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.”
2. In other words, what Jesus confirmed He gives to us in better things than what the ancient Israelites had:
Our covenant in His Blood (reaffirmed in every Holy Communion) is better because it actually washes away sin and gives us immortality, not the blood of animals which only ceremonially forgave sin.
Our liturgy is better because it actually transports us into heaven (“lift up your hearts!), not just symbolically presents it.
Our conversation with Him is better because all of our prayer and devotion that happens is through the Holy Spirit that lives within us and transforms us by it.
Our fellowship with God and with each other is better because it comes from hearts that want to love, not wills that feel compelled to bend to the Law.
ii. The other hope we have is that we will be together forever. God has opened the Kingdom of heaven to all believers to be under one King—Jesus Christ.
1. St. Paul reminds us of Isaiah’s words: “Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.”
2. We often take this point for granted. ‘Of course Christianity is wide enough to include anybody.’ But that wasn’t always the case. Before Jesus, true religion was only for the Jews. Our ancient ancestors were outside of God’s promises and without hope.
3. But now access is available for all. We can be confident that God accepts us—and not just us—but anyone that we invite. No one can be too much of something or too little to be a Christian. No one is unlovable, no one is unforgivable. All nations are supposed to be united together as subjects under the same Lord Jesus.
4. Again, as Isaiah wrote: “There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.”
iii. And this is why Scripture gives us so much to be hopeful about during this Advent season.
1. All of blessings and benefits of that First Advent (Christmas, Easter, etc.) that are good now will be even better when Jesus returns (eternal life, Jesus face-to-face, fellowship with God without backsliding and fellowship with each other without tension)
2. God’s reign over the world will be perfect; there will be no more turmoil in either the physical or the spiritual realm.
III. Conclusion: Hope for Us During Trial
a. The Bible contains our story of hope! And this is why it is so important to read and really learn the Bible. St. Paul isn’t commending it to us to be “Bible-smart” (as if that proved us genuine!). But we can best tell our story of hope (to our children and to the world) if know the promises and stories in both the Old and New Testaments that offer that message of hope.
i. It’s not enough to just come to church occasionally and hear the Scriptures and the sermon. They’re too easy to forget!
ii. This is why in our Prayer Book, there are no less than four Scripture reading for any given day, plus Psalms. This way you can go through the majority of the Bible every year!
iii. The Church even studies the Bible together so we can properly read, understand, and apply it
b. Why not consider becoming a story-teller? Along with coming to the Eucharist, this is the key to entering eternity. This is why we prayed in our Collect this morning: “Grant that we may in such wise hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience, and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life….”
c. Last Sunday (Advent I) was our Christian “New Year” so why not make a New Year’s resolution to read the Bible every day as our Prayer Book directs?
d. If we do this, St. Paul promises us that: “the God of hope [will] fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” AMEN.
