Des Moines, Iowa

Sermon: Suzanne Stout

December 27, 2009

Colossians 3:12-17

Now What?

We have spent the last four weeks, the weeks of Advent, as Christians around the world do each year – preparing for the birth of our Savior. Celebrating God’s coming in the birth of a child in a manger. Preparing, in hopeful anticipation, for the fulfillment of God’s promise to God’s children.

Imagine what it must have been like the moment when the Christ child was born. Picture yourself there in that place with him, God’s most precious gift to us. What emotions are in the air?… perhaps it’s breathtaking wonder at the child of God come to earth?… overwhelming love, God’s love for us?… Can you feel it? You have come to worship at the manger. The promise has been fulfilled, our hopes have been realized, our anticipation was not in vain – the Messiah, God’s son has come and is there before you…

Our journey has moved us from Advent to Christmas – we have moved beyond the promise, to hopes fulfilled. …

Have you ever had something that you longed for? Something that you prayed would someday happen – like graduating from school, or getting a new job – and finally the day arrived, the thing is accomplished… Likely you lived in the joy of it for a few days – and then you began to wonder… Now what? What comes next?

It’s that way with Christmas – Now what? Where do we go from here? Do we simply return to our lives content believing that God fulfilled his promise – believing that God will change the world while we watch? Is that what the birth of this child means?

No, the birth of the Christ child calls us to action. We are called to clothe ourselves with the difference that Jesus has made in his coming. That is what comes next. We are to clothe ourselves not with the busyness of our culture, but with the simplicity and compassion that come from witnessing the birth of a child in a stable. We are to come to know the way of God instead of the ways of the world. God, who sent us a King, not in a palace or in a grand mansion but in a stable in a crowded city. A God who seeks gentleness and humility, patience, and kindness. The kindness and patience found in the small acts that we choose to commit or to ignore each day. … A word of thanks, perhaps, or a nod of approval; a smile to a weary worker or a hug for a friend. Little acts, like the willingness to wait for a friend to form a thought or to share a story without rushing in to fill in the ending for them. Perhaps allowing another to set the pace, or not needing to be first. It isn’t initiatives or strategies that make a difference. It is allowing the presence of God to become enfleshed in us, in the little acts that show as we relate to others.

In the scriptures the word “compassion” is used when describing God’s love – it is an active, moving, giving experience. When God’s love is lived out in us, compassion is seen in the way that we relate to others. As we take on the way of Christ, as we clothe ourselves in the way of life which he shared, we will find ourselves transformed – not just by our own actions, but by the power of God’s love at work.

Here at First Christian we understand ourselves as being a place of ‘welcome’, we see ourselves joining as one in ‘community’. A community that has little to do with mutual compatibility, but instead is grounded in God who calls us together. We understand that the babe in the manger came not just for me and not just so that God’s love might become enfleshed in my life or enfleshed in your life – the Christ child came for God’s people, God’s community. And community is formed and deepened by allowing the peace of Christ to dwell within and among us. If we allow the peace of Christ to shape our life together, we will find that unity in the Spirit flows naturally among us. In Colossians 3:13-14 we read: “Hang in there with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Hang in there with one another, and forgive one another – above all, choose the loving response, always.

Kindness, gentleness, patience, humility…

Choose one action to take, one response to grow and deepen – and you will find the others grow and deepen as well for they are like many facets of a single jewel. Each day, when we dress, we tend to put on one garment at a time – perhaps you put on your shirt first, then your trousers, then your socks (or as I have learned since coming to Iowa – you put on the many layers of undergarments, then your shirt and your trousers!). In the same way that we dress, we put on the love which comes from God – one piece at a time. We deepen our patience, or our kindness – and we find that our humility or our compassion increases; and we find that our ability to forgive one another expands. Perhaps in the heat of conflict we choose the loving response, and we find that we have been clothed in a love which can only come from God himself. Perhaps we choose to do the ‘right’ thing rather than standing on the principle of being ‘right’ – like apologizing even when you may not have intended to do harm, when you may not have been ‘at fault’ – and through reconciling, your compassion deepens. It’s not an overnight change, but a transformation that continues throughout our lives. … …

Henri Nouwen describes community as a large mosaic: “each little piece may seem fairly insignificant. One piece is bright red, another deep blue, or perhaps dark green; even purple, bright yellow or even shining gold. Some look precious, other seemly ordinary. One looks valuable, while others appear worthless. Some look gaudy, others delicate. As individual stones, we can do little with them, except compare them and judge their value. However, when all these little stones are brought together into one mosaic that portrays the face of Christ – who would ever question the importance of any one of them? And if one of them, even the seemingly most insignificant one is missing, the face is incomplete.” …

The person to your left and the person to your right are a part of this community. The oldest and the youngest among us are part of this community. The one off visiting friends, the homebound member, and the guest in our midst are all part of this community of faith. But community doesn’t come easily to most of us. In fact, our culture teaches us the ultimate goal is to do it ourselves, to make something of ourselves alone. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t get into someone else’s business! … How contrary to the teachings of Jesus that is! The scriptures teach us that we were formed for relationship – we were made for community. …

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” the Apostle Paul says. Or as we say in the South – let the Word of Christ dwell in ya’ll, in your community. “Don’t keep good advice to yourself. Share what you have learned and guide one another in the ways of wisdom. Then you will all have plenty to be grateful about. Let your gratitude overflow in the songs you sing together”…

Being a community, God’s community is about more than just teaching and learning. Community fellowship is more than simply learning to grow in the wisdom of God. You see, it is also about joy and gratitude and thankfulness. It’s about living with gratitude in our hearts. And fellowship is also about doing each task that we take, each word that we share with thankfulness to God. It’s about learning to bring our awareness of God present into each of our moments – trying to live, as often as possible, conscious of God’s love for us; conscious of God’s presence with us; and our relationship with one another. … That’s one of the reasons I’m excited about the Care Groups we are forming here – I pray they will become for us a powerful way to live out God’s love and to grow in all ways as a community of faith. … …

The promise and the hope of advent are fulfilled in the birth of a child in a stable. But the accomplishment is not complete. The coming of the messiah is not the end, but the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise. God’s promise is not complete until it is completed through us.

So now what? What comes next? What comes after the manger? Will you choose to clothe yourselves in the garments that Jesus chose? Compassion and kindness, humility and gentleness, patience and forgiveness – bound together with the love which comes from God? Will you open yourself to allow the process of transformation to continue throughout your life? And will you fellowship with one another with joy and thankfulness for God’s presence among us, encouraging the word of Christ to dwell within our community of faith?

Prayer: Loving God, our hearts are filled with wonder and joy at the birth of Jesus. You are a God of faithfulness; you keep your promises to your children. And yet we know that we each have a part to play to see your promise fulfilled. Fill us with your Spirit, we pray, help us respond to your call. Amen.