Dr. Ron Sumners
November 27, 2005
A thirteen-year-old girl said to her mother, "I feel so nervous." Her mother replied, "What do you mean, nervous?" "Well," said the teen, "I feel in a hurt all over. It's like I'm not quite sure where I'm going, but I can't wait to get started."
We begin Advent season today. It is the beginning of the Christmas Season. I know that Christmas decorations have been up in the department stores since right after Halloween; but today is the real beginning of the Advent Season. This time is tailor-made for "we're-not-quite-sure-where-we-are-going-but-can't-wait-toget-there" people. The word "Advent" and the word "Adventure" have a common root. Advent is a season of adventure. Amid the lost hopes and fading dreams of 2005, we celebrate the coming of Christmas with renewed hope and an attitude of renewed expectation. Our fading dreams are transformed into bright new visions of things to come.
When John the Baptist went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming the coming of Christ, Luke tells us that all the people asked him for direction for their lives, "What must we do then?" (Luke 3:10) That question has no time constraint. It is just as relevant today as in the long ago. It is age-old and ever new. It is a key question in every life. There comes a time for all of us when we want to know about who we are, where we are going with our lives, and what we ought to be doing with our lives. We are like the thirteen-year-old; we are not quite sure where we are going, but we can't wait to get started. Christmas is coming; what must we do?
John the Baptist's surprising answer was simple and direct: "If anyone has two tunics, he must share with the man who has none." He added, "And the one who has something to eat must do the same." (Luke 3: 11) Then, to those who were using their positions of power to exploit and cheat and intimidate other people, John said, "No more!"
A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people to whom John was proclaiming the imminent coming of the Messiah. Some were thinking that John was the Messiah. Indeed, there was a Jewish sect that existed into the third century that believed that John the Baptist was the Messiah. John said to the people, "Someone is coming; someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the straps of his sandals" (Luke 3:16).
John made it clear that the Messiah would soon be walking in their midst, inviting them to follow him in his ministry to the world. John said, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." The Holy Spirit of God and the fire of God's love would be present in the person of the Messiah.
In the Book of James, we read: "Take the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters needs clothing and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, 'I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty,' without giving them the bare necessities of life, then what good is that; if good works do not go with it, it is dead." (James 2:14-17)
Then comes the telling line, "You believe in God. You do well, but even the demons have the same belief - and shutter!"
The point is that if we tell people, we have faith, we can't expect then to believe us unless we demonstrate our faith through the kind of life that we live. We must be about the work of sharing, healing, and reconciling or our professions of faith are hollow and echo our emptiness!
In Paul's letters, we find him traveling, organizing churches, and calling people into the community of Christ. He talked about the "Koinonia." In the first Epistle of John, which is a love letter to the church, the word "Koinonia" is used four times. John is saying that he wants to share the love of God he has experienced through Jesus Christ with others. This life-sharing Koinonia or community of unselfish love is a golden truth that runs through the New Testament. What does the word Koinonia mean? The literal translation is "fellowship." And it is interesting that the Greek word for fellowship is "generosity."
Paul has written that being part of a koinonia is like being a member of a body. When one part of the body hurts, the whole body feels it. When the hurt part is feeling better, the whole body feels better. That is the way the fellowship of the church should be.
Koinonia is a fellowship of Christ-like love motivated by a desire for the good of the beloved. To demonstrate ourselves as worthy members of the Christian fellowship, we must be sharers. It is sheer hypocrisy to say to a brother, "Be warmed and filled," and then not help that person!
Dr. Karl Menninger once asked a very wealthy patient, "What are you going to do with all your money?" The patient replied, "Just worry about it, I guess." "In that case," the doctor replied, "do you experience pleasure from worrying about your money?" With a deep sigh, the patient said, "No, but I feel such terror when I think of giving any of it away." Commenting on what he called his patient's money sickness, Dr. Menninger said, "Generous people are rarely mentally ill." A truly generous person rarely lacks for anything.
One such person said, "My hobby is giving something away every day - something tangible - so that I will be reminded to give away the vastly more important intangible things: a smile, a word of encouragement, a healing touch, an earnest prayer. I may not be a person of great wisdom, but I know this: the more I give to others, the more I have. I have an inner peace that comes from the assurance that it is truly better to give than to receive."
The Gospel truth is that you cannot give without receiving in abundance - to overflowing!
John the Baptist was in prison. He had heard all the things that Jesus was doing, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, "Are you really the Messiah?" Jesus tells John's disciples, "Go back and tell John what you hear and see. The lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life. The good news is proclaimed to the poor, and happy is the man who does not lose his faith in me." He was saying to his cousin and friend, "Don't lose heart John, I am who you believe me to bel I am the Messiah of God."
With Christmas just a few weeks away, hopefully your greatest desire is to be numbered among the happy people who do not lose faith in Christ. With Christmas just a few weeks away, hopefully you will prepare, in some special way, for the coming of Christ into your life.
Hopefully, you are planning now for some special act of love and generosity. If you need some suggestions, I don't think you could find a better suggestion than that offered by John the Baptist when he announced the coming of the Messiah to the crowds on the banks of the Jordan River: "If you have two coats, why not give one to a man who doesn't have a coat? If you know a man who is hungry and you have food in abundance, give him something to eat."
Do your children really need more toys or clothes or gadgets this Christmas? Will you give anything to anyone this Christmas that they really need? What prompts the giving you do at Christmas? Could it be guilt for the time and affection and your presence that they did not receive through the year?
There are people in the world and in this city who do need a coat. There are people around the world and in this city who do need food. There are people in this city who need someone who will stand with them in their pain and care enough to give the gift of their presence.
It is Advent Season. The greatest adventure in all of history was the risky venture of God sending His Son into the world to secure our salvation. It was His divine, eternal love that prompted that action. God is the supreme giver and to have Koinonia with Him we must become givers too.
Giving a plasma television to your teen-ager who thinks they are entitled to it is not real giving; giving your time and love is. Giving Aunt Maude a Christmas present, when you haven't given her one hour of your time through the entire year smacks of sheer hypocrisy. Giving to those who are in need is Christianity as Christ intended.
John the Baptist announced the Advent with the advice to give your coat and your food to those who are in need. That is still the most fitting way to welcome the Messiah in 2005!
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