Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

I only have two presents left to buy,

though I am still waiting for a few to arrive

that I ordered online …

About half of the presents are wrapped …

Almost all the Christmas cards are mailed …

The nativities are out, here at the church …

I’ve been listening to CDs of Christmas music

for at least two weeks now …

The house isn’t decorated,

but I haven’t done that for several years.

The bulletin for the Christmas Eve service

is close to being finished.

And toward the end of this week,

I’ll call my parents,

and we’ll firm up our plans for getting together,

and how to schedule the Christmas dinner

taking into account three little boys

who are going to want to open presents IMMEDIATELY.

And then I’ll probably think I’m ready.

Except that, along comes John the Baptist again,

in his usual abrasive and upsetting style,

raining on our parade, as it were.

John doesn’t care about the pretty lights,

or the carefully-wrapped packages,

or even the glorious music.

"Bear fruits worthy of repentance!" John shouts.

"Don’t assume you’re ready

just because you’re a nice Christian person

and you’ve gone through all the motions.

Repent!"

For a brief moment there,

it sounds like the Santa Claus story,

"gonna find out who’s naughty or nice."

Except that John the Baptist,

brutally honest as he is,

knows that we, being human,

have a natural tendency toward "naughty."

So instead of a bearded man in a red suit

asking us how we’ve been,

we have a wild-eyed man in the wilderness,

telling us how we’ve been,

and what we need to do about it.

Repent, says John.

Now at first hearing,

that might seem like a crazy thing to do

around this time of year …

After all, we have so much else on our minds.

It’s hard to find time to be reflective

when you’re running around

trying to find a gift for that

difficult person on your list,

or when you’re up to your elbows in cookie dough

and the phone rings,

or when it’s December 23

and you’re still addressing Christmas cards.

Somehow, repentance is not uppermost in your mind!

And yet, this is probably

one of the most appropriate times of year

to consider repentance …

and it’s not just because of John the Baptist

making his annual appearance,

or because Santa Claus is coming to town,

and "he knows if you’ve been bad or good."

For one thing,

Christmas is usually a time

that we see family and spend time with them,

and in every family, no matter how healthy,

there are items requiring repentance and forgiveness.

Most of the time,

we’re able to get along

without dwelling too much on those things,

particularly if our parents and/or siblings and/or children

don’t live too nearby!

But somehow, when we’re all together again …

Have you noticed how easily

families just slip into old behavior patterns?

Grown children forget that

they know how to clean up after themselves …

Parents forget that their adult children

don’t have to be supervised in the kitchen

when they use knives, and ovens, and things.

And, no matter how good your marriage may be,

when your spouse and his or her mother get to talking,

somehow you always feel left out,

and are sure they’re talking about you …

or, no matter how domestic your spouse or partner usually is,

when he’s around his father and brothers,

he forgets how to wash dishes

and even how to carry his plate into the kitchen …

or, if you’re single,

no matter how successful you are in your career,

how long you’ve lived in a particular place,

or how happy you are,

someone is always going to ask

"well, dear, when are you going to settle down?"

And some of those things can be

terribly funny in retrospect,

but they are not amusing at all when they happen.

Families need repentance and forgiveness.

And of course,

there are sometimes larger and more difficult

issues in families also.

People who were abused as children

may wonder whether they can stand

even to see that other person,

no matter how short the time

or how festive the occasion.

Children of alcoholic parents

will debate whether it’s worth the heartache

of seeing Mom or Dad in that state again.

Parents of wayward children

will ask themselves

if they dare welcome that child home again

and run the risk of getting hurt all over again.

Even in hurting families like these …

maybe even especially in hurting families like these …

repentance and forgiveness

must be part of our Christmas preparations.

But John the Baptist’s words go beyond just this …

In this morning’s passage,

he doesn’t just say "repent";

he says "Bear fruits worthy of repentance."

In other words,

don’t just repent and say that you’ve done so;

but demonstrate somehow in the way you live your life

that your repentance is real.

Apparently his comments confused

the multitude who had come out to see him,

because in the next paragraph we hear them asking,

"What then shall we do?"

It’s as if they’re saying,

"well, John, that’s a neat idea in theory,

but how do we put it into practice?"

And when John tells them,

it’s a little bit of a surprising answer, I think.

When I think of demonstrating repentance,

I think of things like

saying "I’m sorry,"

making an effort not to do it again,

doing something nice for the person I hurt …

whether I meant to hurt them, or not …

But John talks about bigger things than that …

his suggestions demonstrate a more –

global understanding of the nature of repentance.

John’s prescription is,

"Whoever has two coats,

let them share with someone who has none;

and whoever has food,

let them do likewise."

I believe this is another important part of our Christmas preparations

that is too often overlooked.

It isn’t enough simply to exchange gifts

with one another …

We prepare the way for Christ

by giving when there is no expectation

of receiving in return.

Just as God gave Christ that first time,

knowing that there was no way

we could return such a gift back to God.

And in a sense, too,

we repent of having the kind of Christmas

that we are able to afford

in a world where many

can’t even afford to eat.

I don’t mean we need to be glum and gloomy

and self-condemning about our lifestyles …

but we do need to be honest about them,

and receptive to a shifting of priorities.

I’ll give you an example from me:

I’m sure that John the Baptist is talking to me,

because I have two coats;

in fact, I have more than two coats.

Over the course of my life, I’ve had dozens of coats,

and never only one at a time.

There was the blue coat that I wore all through high school and college …

the puffy, water-resistant, reversible, incredibly warm coat

that I bought when I knew I was going to New Jersey for three years …

the wool poncho that a friend made for me,

which I almost never wore,

because it had to be pulled on over your head,

and so it messed up your hair …

The black wool coat I have now,

which I love because it makes me look as skinny as I used to be …

The wool cape and the blue fleece cape

and the fuzzy white jacket,

all hanging in my hallway closet …

But I can’t wear more than one at a time;

it won’t make me warmer, just fatter.

And I think of people that I know need a coat,

and I ought to get rid of at least one,

but when it actually gets down to it …

Every one of those coats has memories attached to it,

and it’s hard to part with them.

I need to repent,

and to make room for Christ’s coming in my heart

by quite literally making space in my house.

We are going to have a chance to do that,

for those of you who will be here on Sunday the 31^st.

Or if you won’t be here then,

you’re welcome to do it during the week.

As you prepare to give and receive presents

with your family and friends,

I invite you to find something or things

that you can bring to church

as a Christmas gift for someone in need.

It could be a coat,

or food, which John also mentions,

or a blanket, or a toy you’ve outgrown,

or a piece of furniture that

"just doesn’t go" in your family room any more.

Bring it the last Sunday of the year,

and we’ll have some fun with it.

You can share the memories associated with it,

that make it difficult to part with,

and then it will be given to someone

who needs it more now than you do.

Please include this

among your last-minute preparations.

It’s important,

for people in need,

and for you, too.

Christ is coming;

in fact, he’s almost here!

I’m almost ready …

how about you?

Amen.

© 2006 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)