2 Peter 3:8-15a

21 more days 'till Christmas! It's hard to believe. I mean the stores have only been having Christmas sales for a month now! It seems like Christmas comes faster and faster every year. Maybe it's because I am getting old.

I remember when I was young it seemed that Christmas took forever. I have heard my children express the same feeling. They say, "I can't wait for Christmas." And I remember feeling the same way. I can remember, as a child, thinking that Christmas would never come and being told by my parents to be patient.

I remember I used to ask my parents how much longer to Christmas. Even before I had a concept of weeks or months. And to me to be told two weeks or even 5 days was beyond my comprehension. It would seem that Christmas was never coming.

That is the kind of thing that Peter was addressing in our reading today. The early Christians couldn't wait for Christ to come again. They knew that when he came there would be an end to the evil in this world. They knew that he would come and bring an end to the suffering and the persecution that they were going through. They knew that when Jesus comes again he will bring true and eternal peace on earth. But it seemed to be taking forever. So Peter told them "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8)

You know we Christians have been waiting for Jesus' return for 2,000 years. It sometimes seems like it never will happen. But the promise to us from God is that he will come to bring an end to this awful world. "The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The only reason Jesus has not come already is to give more people a chance to believe and be saved.

Christmas is a sign and a proof that the promise of Jesus' return will be fulfilled. He came once and just as he came once he will come again! God promised to send the world a Savior and God sent us His only begotten Son. God had not given up on the human race then, and has not given up on us yet. If God kept his promise then, He will keep His promise now!

Peter goes on to say, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10) Christmas is not just a reminder that God keeps God's promises, it is also an object lesson in why Jesus needs to come again. The materialism of the way our society celebrates this holiday show us that people have their priorities all wrong. Gold and silver trinkets and electronic gadgets will not last. The things that are eternal and matter are things like faith, hope, love, joy, peace, and the like.

When Jesus comes again the things of this world will melt away. "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! (2 Peter 3:11-12) The material things that many in our world value are ultimately not what is important. So as people who are patiently waiting for that day we should value the things that are eternal. We should live our lives as those who know this earth and things in it will dissolve while faith hop love peace and so on will continue.

We should celebrate Christmas in that same way. I am not saying you shouldn't buy gifts to give to your friends and loved ones. But we need to realize that those gifts are not what is important. The things we give, even diamonds, are not forever, but the love behind them is. We should search our souls with every swipe of the credit card and remember it is all about love.

It is like this. One morning the children woke up and the parents were taking the Christmas decorations out of storage. They clamored, "Mommy, Daddy, when is Christmas coming?" The parents said "Oh, soon my dears." But hours and days passed and it didn't come. One of the children decided that the parents were lying and so he gave up on Christmas all together. Another of the children decided to spend the time waiting in making lists of the things that she would get. She woke every morning looking for the gifts under the tree and for treats in the stocking. She was disappointed day after day.

But the youngest decided if Christmas didn't come he would act like it had anyway. And while his sister made lists and his brother sneered at every decoration and refused to sing Christmas songs, the little brother tried to give little gifts to his family. They were not grand gifts like the ones you find under the tree on Christmas day but they were gifts none the less. He gave his mother and his father a bear hug each morning. He gave his brother a construction paper plane He played dress up with his sister which he didn't enjoy but she did, and he gave the lady next door a handmade Christmas card. The end result was that the brother's cynicism was melted and the sister stopped making lists of the things she wanted and started listing the things she could give. By the time Christmas came, the children had forgotten all about having to wait for it because they made each day like a little Christmas.

Jesus is coming again my children. He came one time as a baby in Bethlehem. And he promised that he would come back - this time in clouds of Glory. When he does return, he will finish the job started in our hearts. He will set all creation right and bring outward as well as inward peace to all. And we wait patiently for Christ. But in the mean time let us seek to give little signs of the greater things that God will send. Let us give others gifts that are a foretaste of the great gift of the Kingdom that is coming!

Mark 1:1-8

Are you ready for Christmas? I am going to take a quick survey. If you have finished your Christmas shopping raise your hands. If you're only half finished. If you haven't even begun? The stores are a mad house aren't they? People running here and there. Buying this and that. Traffic everywhere. Those huge parking lots that are always half empty are suddenly full. Everybody and their uncle are out shopping.

How about the decorating? Everyone who has their tree raise your hands. Is it decorated? Who isn't even going to bother with one? How many people have mailed their Christmas card? How many people have already wrapped their presents?

There is so much to do to get ready for Christmas. It is such a huge task. Where do you start? The tree, the gifts, the parties, the cards....

Mark the Gospel writer, faced a similar dilemma. He had a huge task before him. God had inspired him to write the story of Jesus' life. Where does one begin to tell of the wonderful things Jesus did? There were the miracles, the teachings, the sayings, and the selfless acts of love. Matthew and Luke started with Jesus' lineage and birth. John went all the way back before creation. But Mark began with John the Baptist.

John was a voice in the wilderness crying, "Get ready for the King is coming." It was his job to get people ready for Jesus. He told the people to straighten out their lives so Christ could enter their hearts. And people listened. They came from all over to hear him, and they responded to his message. Prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors and many others confessed their sins. They repented and vowed to turn form their wicked ways.

And John told them. I have baptized you with water. But the one who comes after me is so much greater. He will baptize you with the fire of God's Holy Spirit.

Earlier I asked the questions "Where do we begin getting ready for Christmas?" We should begin where Mark begins his Gospel. By hearing a voice in the wilderness of Christmas lights and mall traffic and scurrying shoppers. A voice that cries, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." Whose birthday are we celebrating anyway? It's Jesus'! And we should concentrate on him first.

And how do we do that? The same way John's congregation prepared for Jesus. We should prepare our hearts for his arrival. We should confess our sins and repent by turning from our sinful habits. We should straighten out our lives and get right with God.

If you have never repented of your sin, now is the time. If you have never asked Jesus into your heart, do it today. Just say, "Jesus I am a sinner, come into my heart and be my Lord." Then you will be ready to celebrate Jesus' birth, and you will also be ready to celebrate when he comes again.

You may have asked Jesus in your heart years ago. But God always has a new depth of mercy and grace for us to experience in Christ. Ask Jesus to open up new spiritual depths in your life. Dedicate yourself to serve Christ in new ways. Then get ready to experience God's love in new and profound ways.

At this time of the year we all have a golden opportunity to feel closer to God. Do you want to feel closer to God? Do you want to know the real Joy of Christmas? The Joy of Christmas is not found in the hustle and bustle of material preparations. It is the Joy of knowing that God has sent a Savior. That your Savior has come and is coming again.

Get your hearts in order. Admit your need for forgiveness and your need for a Savior. Confess and repent.

Then you will be ready to celebrate. Your hearts will be ready. And he will cover you and fill you with his holy presence. Christ's spirit will live in you.

In a moment I will give an invitation to the altar. I encourage you to use this time to prepare for Christmas. Come to this altar to repent and confess and to ask God to show you a new depth of his mercy and love. The malls and stores are full of people preparing for Christmas. Likewise the churches and altars should be crowded with people preparing to celebrate Christ's birth. If you have never given your life to Christ, come and do that now, today before Christmas catches you unprepared and you miss its real Joy! If you are already a Christian, then seek to know Christ in a deeper and closer way in this Christmas season.

When John had baptized the people, he said something astonishing to them. He said, "I have baptized you with water but the one who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."(Mark 1:8) I am sure that most of the people whom John baptized were visibly moved. Many had just been freed from lives of adultery and treachery and they felt at peace with themselves for the first time. But John said, "This is nothing compared to what the Messiah will do."

If you come to this altar today or simply pray where you are seated you will be moved. But that is just the beginning. If you make Jesus a priority in your Christmas preparations he will do more. He will fill your soul with his love and peace. And you will know the Joy of Christmas in a way you have never known it before.

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."(Mark 1:3) Get ready for Jesus the long awaited Deliverer. He will come and fill you hearts with his love and joy.

At Duke Divinity School the professors tape cartoons and newspaper clippings on their office doors. It made for interesting reading when we students walked down the halls. These clippings were cartoons usually ones with a religious theme. There is one I remember distinctly. It is a cartoon of a preacher right before the worship service. The preacher is standing in the hall behind the sanctuary wearing a black robe, and he has a sneer on his face. Through the door to the sanctuary you can see the congregation seated waiting for the service to begin. In his hand the preacher has a file that says "Sermons On Hell." And as he stands there before the service he is turning the thermostat up to 100 degrees.

This cartoon depicts more than a humorous way to communicate the torment of hell. It depicts a common approach that many in the Church have to the human condition. This approach begins with a correct observations. It recognizes that people hurt themselves and others through their sinfulness. And people who take this approach sincerely want to minister to that hurt. So to get people to change their sinful and hurtful ways, these Christians turn up the heat.

In College I remember a campus group who would go out in public places on campus and preach. While there is a place for street preaching, their brand of it was troublesome. They would point their fingers at people and tell them they were going to Hell. And when people tried to talk to them they would yell at them. In once sense they were right. There were a lot of people on that campus whose lives were a living Hell because of their sin. So this religious group tried to scare people into changing their way of life by telling them they were going to Hell. They were turning up the heat under them to try to get them to change. But, in doing that, they ignored the core of the Gospel message which is that God loves and forgives.

Before we go on, I want to get something straight: God does punish. Many times sin is its own punishment. Our Heavenly Father doesn't tell us not to do certain things just to make life hard on us. God forbids or commands certain things because they are in our best interest. So when we sin we injure ourselves. Through sin, we separate ourselves from God Almighty the only true source of life. And we separate ourselves from one another through our disregard of our brothers and sisters.

The evidence of God's punishment is before us in the Bible. God had given the children of Israel everything they needed. God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey. God had protected them from those who would have killed them. It was even God who brought their nation into existence and who rescued them from slavery. And yet they repaid God with disobedience and rebelliousness. First it was the golden calf. Then they complained that manna from heaven was not good enough for them. Then they refused to accept the land God was giving them. Then, once they possessed it, they began worshipping other gods. When God had made them wealthy, they did not care for the poor and the sojourner, and they did not care for the justice of their Lord. They didn't trust God to save them but they tried to save themselves.

And God punished them. It is clear from the Bible that God allowed them to be destroyed as a nation because of their disobedience and rebelliousness. They were carried off into captivity and separated from the land they loved because of their sin.

God had punished Israel all right. And when God was finished, there was not much left of that great nation. Its temple was destroyed and its people were scattered to the four winds. It would have been easy for God to finish them off. They would have been no more. And God would not have needed to bother with them any more.

But - God sent a the prophet Isaiah to speak to the people. God instructed Isaiah, "Comfort, comfort my people." God could have given them a final oracle of doom. But instead God tells the prophet to comfort, not condemn. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem." "And announce to them that their warfare is ended." "Because, you see, I have pardoned their sins." But that's not all, tell them that I am coming to them to minister to them. Tell them to make a path in the wilderness for my arrival. Tell them to even out the crooked places and make them straight and even so that I can lead my people back to the Promised Land.

God had every right to destroy and to condemn, but instead of condemnation God gave comfort. That is the kind of God we serve and worship: a just God who is merciful, a God who sends comfort and salvation.

This after all is the message of Christmas. God had every right to destroy the world. At the time of Jesus' birth, the human race was wallowing in its own sin. As in any age, the people in Joseph and Mary's day had a flagrant disregard for their fellow human beings and God's love. The Roman's persecuted the Jews and everyone else they could conquer, and the Jews ignored the laws of God. Conditions were ripe for a real life sermon on Hell that no one would forget. God could have ended it all right there. And put us all out of our sinful misery. And God would have been well justified in doing that. The Almighty had every right to rain down fire and brimstone. The human race had already been given every opportunity to repent and change from its sinful ways.

But instead of fire and brimstone God rained down grace and love. Instead of sending a destroyer to do away with the evil right then and there, God sent a Savior. But God didn't just have a prophet announce that their sins were forgiven this time. This time God came down and earned that forgiveness for us. Instead of coming in a fire blaze that would consume all in its path, God came as a tiny baby, a new life in the world; a new life that would bring new life to all who would accept it.

This is what Christmas is all about: Comfort, don't condemn, comfort my people, let them know that through Jesus they can be forgiven. Speak tenderly to them of God's grace and forgiveness, and tell them to make a way in the wilderness for their God.

But Isaiah's announcement doesn't end there. It goes on. After it proclaims the good news of comfort to the people of God, it says, Get up to a mountain O Zion the herald of good tiding, Lift up your voice, O Jerusalem, and say to all the cities of Israel, "Look upon your God! God comes with might." And God will feed the flock like a gentle shepherd.

We live in a sinful world, and it deserves condemnation, but we Christians have a special message. At Christmas time we behold our God, dressed in swaddling clothes. Who has come to save us. Like John and Isaiah, we can be voices in a wilderness of sin yelling, "Make in this wilderness a path for God almighty. We servants may baptize with water, but he will baptize those who repent with the Holy Spirit and with fire." The world deserves condemnation, but the Most Gracious One in heaven tells us to proclaim a message of forgiveness and comfort.

After all in a sinful world there is enough condemnation to go around, maybe people with broken spirits need some comfort.