God is Coming Ready Or Not - Again
Gate Pa –
Advent 2 2017
Readings:
Psalm
Psalm
85:1-2, 8-13
First
Reading: Isaiah
40:1-11
Second
Reading: 2
Peter
3:8-15
Gospel:
Mark
1:1-8
What I want to say and what
I want to happen:
Use
Isaiah and Mark to suggest that God has come, continues to come and will come
ready or not. So what does that mean for us preparing and waiting through this
time of Advent?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Remember playing hid and go seek
count
up to 10, or 100 or some other number
when
got there yell out – coming ready of not
hunt was on
little ones usually easy find
–
squeal delight and anticipation of being found
older ones harder, sneakier
sometimes so busy finding best place
found
no place
hearing
words coming ready or not – all bad news
you are not ready
2. Isaiah
passage heard from Isaiah
beginning of second Isaiah
chapters
40- 55
written
towards end exile.
has been suggested that one of the ways we can
understand this passage
God
has counted
and
is coming for exiles – ready or not.
in fact God is more than coming
God is rushing headlong for the exiles
and nothing
but nothing is going to get in the way
not
valleys
not
hills or mountains
God is coming – ready or not.
which is a great image
unless you’re like the kid still trying to get
it together
is this good news?
or bad news?
because truth was the exiles were not ready
Exile understood God’s punishment for abject
failure Hebrew people to live as people of God
not
lived as people living in God’s presence
sent
into exile – punishment
chance
to mend their ways
not a lot changed from when first came to
Babylon
sure – some still devout – harder here without
temple
others played lip service demands
not
treat others well
not
treat poor well
still
in it for themselves
sadly many
others no longer worshipped one God
and
instead moved allegiance to gods Babylon
in
particular – Marduk the chief god
but people see what happening
Babylon
falling
Persia
rising
Persians known letting exiles return home
so how were exiles to make sense of this?
3. Making sense of it all
first thing did was reaffirm God’s sovereignty
God
is in control of everything
God
sent them into exile
God
will take them out
2nd Isaiah shouts his statement - God
is coming – ready or not
second – shift away from strict reward
punishment understanding of God
that’s how understood exile
behaved
badly
got
punished
got
sent into exile
when
behave well
get
rewarded
get
to go home
now that is changing
God isn’t waiting around
God is coming ready or not
It is God’s mercy
and grace that is at work here.
God forgives long before the people have even
worked out that something is wrong
God loved before there was a people
God continues to love even at the darkest hour
This sovereign God is a God of mercy, love and
grace
This God is coming ready or not
and this God will stop at nothing to find them.
4. Mark’s Good News
Unlike Matthew and Luke – start with genealogies
and birth stories
and John’s “in the beginning”
Mark – starts with
“The beginning of the good news
(or gospel) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
This is probably the title
while we might be tempted to read that John Baptiser
represents the beginning of the good news
-
in fact the whole
book is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God
-
this story Mark
is telling is just the beginning of the good news
o
really important
statement in how we are to read Mark
-
and it carries on
beyond this story
-
and we are part
of that good news
5. What is good news?
often say Mark invented a new genre of writing
– gospel or good news
which is true
also not true
good news was a common term
-
Official proclamations of Roman emperor,
whose titles include “son of god” were called “good news”
o
-> think about how subversive Mark
is being titling his story “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son
of God”.
-
news from battle fields – when won –
were good news
-
-> people were looking for good
news of God coming in victory over the Romans
o
if only they could be righteous enough
Marks good news starts with Isaiah
it is a restatement of that good news
God has come - ready or not
because God is a
God of generosity, forgiveness, love, shalom, aroha
God is not
waiting around for people to be ready
for people to be
good enough
to deserve God’s
blessing
God is continuing with plan A
the plan at work since the beginning
the plan implicit in Isaiah
God’s first thought
of self giving love
drawing all to God’s self
they are living in presence of God
living as people made in image God
treating others as also made in image God
deserving
of Gods mercy, love and grace.
6. Peace
This Sunday – second Sunday advent
lit peace candle
prayed for peace
wonder how God is subverting our hopes for
peace this Christmas
wonder where we see God coming ready or not
bringing peace
wonder how we experience that in our lives
how
we are being invited to respond
are we ready?
are we ready to be found by this God of peace
this Christmas?
because God is here, ready or not!
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