Called to rejoice: a sermon (Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2 -11)

On this Third Sunday of Advent, we are called to rejoice in God’s activity. 

The Latin name for this day, “Gaudete Sunday”, comes from the word for rejoicing.  In the opening words of our lesson from Isaiah, we hear a statement that even the very desert will rejoice in God’s activity.

Both in our lesson from Isaiah and in our Gospel lesson from Matthew, concrete reasons for rejoicing were listed, with some similarities in the lists.

In Isaiah, we hear these causes for rejoicing:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
      and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
      and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

In our Gospel lesson, we hear Jesus give a “progress report” to the messengers sent by John the Baptist, messengers who arrived with the critical question, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

Jesus responded by giving the messengers a list of accomplishments, a list that echoed Isaiah’s list, and telling them to share this with John: 

"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

But these lists of accomplishments were not merely special effects for their own sake.  They were for the sake of the wholeness of people, and the wholeness of the entire world.  As we heard in Isaiah:

Strengthen the weak hands,
      and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
      "Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God. ...
      He will come and save you."

And so, we are called to rejoice at God’s activity to promote the wholeness of humanity, and the wholeness of the entire world.  And as we approach the Christmas celebration more and more closely, our sense of rejoicing increases. 

And there is a real parallel between the joy of the worshipping church and the joy of the wider community at this time.  It’s a parallel that many people haven’t noticed.

For many people in our community, there is this notion that the celebrations of this time of year somehow bring out our better nature.  Being exposed to the celebrations of Christmas and all the related activities somehow make us better people:  more generous, more hospitable, more joyful. 

This is the theme of just about any good secular Christmas story:
·        Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,
·        Dr. Seuss’s children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
·        such films as It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34^th Street,
·        and so on.
There is this strong cultural message that the season itself brings out our better nature.

For us as worshipping Christians, we can affirm all this and take this all a step further.  It’s not merely the season.  We can say that the whole process of Jesus taking our human nature as one of us brings out humanity’s better nature, for us all and for the sake of the entire world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Nelson Mandela-like people in the midst of a Kim Jong-Un world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Malala Yousafzai-like people in the midst of a Miley Cyrus world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Mary MacKillop-like people in the midst of a Gina Rinehart world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Martin Luther King-like people in the midst of a Rupert Murdoch world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Mother Theresa-like people in the midst of an Ayn Rand world.
·        When Jesus embraced our human nature as one of us, he enabled us to become Pope Francis-like people in the midst of a Scott Morrison world.

By taking our humanity upon himself, Jesus brings out humanity’s better nature, for us all and for the sake of the entire world.  As we are told by many early Christian writers, in Christ, God became one of us to make us one with God.

So we are called to rejoice.

And one practical way we can share in God’s self-giving to the entire world is through the Christmas Bowl.  As we participate in the Christmas Bowl, congregations like this one, all over Australia, are enabled to share their life with communities around the world in terms of health, education, safe water, agricultural science, and many similar areas of concern.

Our focus project this year involves our work in enabling education for girls and young women in Afghanistan.  Only 13% of women in Afghanistan are literate.  Communities with low levels of female literacy are also communities with high levels of poverty.  By promoting the education of girls, the Christmas Bowl promotes the well-being of the whole community. 

Through this project, and through many others like it, you are enabled to be neighbours to communities around the world through the Christmas Bowl.

At this time of year, we are called to rejoice, and to recognise that Jesus taking on our human nature brings out the best in our shared humanity, for our sake, and for the sake of the entire world.

Strengthen the weak hands,
      and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
      "Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God. ...
      He will come and save you."