Transcription

I'm Alexei Laushkin, a member here in on the vestry. Please pray with me. Gracious Father, as we approach you this fourth Sunday of Advent and our hearts are in preparation for this Christmastide, be with us and illuminate our hearts through your Spirit. In the name of Jesus, Amen. We're at the fourth Sunday of Advent and for many of us, mentally, we are in the Christmas season in our minds. Gifts wrapped, hopefully, family here or at least travel anticipated, hopefully, and all the pieces that go along with this season

Our scripture today talks about, in this fourth Sunday of Advent itself, our candle focuses on love, God's love for us in Jesus. In our scripture passages from Micah, the Psalms, Hebrews, and Luke, focuses on the meaning of Christ and many themes related to the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel and the foreshadowing thereof in this famous passage we have with Mary in the Magnificat. And one of the things that kind of animated my week and perhaps part of yours as well, is this idea of what does it mean perhaps to be Anglican.

So I was at a holiday party this week and we're talking to believers of different backgrounds and I was asked, well what does it mean? Corpus Christi, that sounds very interesting. And if you've been attending here for some time, were people set apart for uncommon prayer, right? Common prayer, uncommon transformation. What does it mean to be Anglican? And the question was, well does it mean that you have very stuffy services? That was the question that was asked to me.

I said, well no, it's not necessarily in the service type. But to be Anglican is to look back at the church's tradition and to think about what are the elements of the Christian life. Confession of sin, the partaking of the Eucharist, the disciplines and habits that cleanse our hearts and prepare us to live the Christian life.

And so one of the reasons that our tradition can have a C.S. Lewis, who many of you probably know, but the school my children attend is Charlotte Mason, also an Anglican. And our catechesis is a Good Shepherd, a Montessori type focus. It focuses on the person.

I said one of the reasons you can have a Charlotte Mason or a C.S. Lewis come from the Anglican tradition is they're really focused on the things that are uncommon for the Christian life and a remembrance of those things. So what are some of those things? What can we be thinking about as it relates to the season of life that we're in? When we look at our Micah passage, we see this focus on the restoration of the kingdom of God. Micah 5.3, therefore he shall give to them until that time when she who's in labor has brought forth, then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord and the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall live secure. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth, and he shall be the one of peace. And so in this sense of God relating to his people, there is this anticipation in this hope that God will return and restore the temple.

And what does it mean for the temple? Have any of you here been to Jerusalem? Just a little bit of, a few of you have been to Jerusalem. The temple system in Jerusalem was focused on a place, it's not like our sense of when we hear the word temple. When we hear the word temple, we might think, well it's just a really nice church, a really big church.

This may be one way we think about temples. Maybe it was a beautiful church, maybe like the National Cathedral, or perhaps the National Basilica in town. But that's not necessarily the role of the temple, which is this glorified place of just a nicer way to worship God.

No, in the temple system, you had a whole system of worship and sacrifice really for the remission of sin. And so you would come, there'd be various feast days, you would come to a place which was the Holy of Holies where God would dwell, in the sense that God being present and close to his people wasn't something that was easily thought about or thought on. And the people, you know, in this temple system, and if you think about the temple system itself, if you're a student of the Old Testament, this was foreshadowed in the tabernacle, foreshadowed further in the commandments given by God, in the sense that there are certain things that are required to bridge the relationship between God and man.

The temple system was meant to be a place where the restoration of true worship would happen between God and God's people. If you look at the sense of what Israel was asked to do, be a people set apart for the nations, be a people who exemplified the truth and the love of God to the least of these, right worship, what you quickly find is, in the Old Testament, something that you may find today, which is that God's people were not living up to the promise, right? And so you may come here today in the season of Advent, and you may look at religious people and religious institutions, and you may feel very similarly that God's people don't quite live up to that promise. So there's hypocrisy within the people of God.

There's hypocrisy, by the way, that they treat the least of these. They say one thing and maybe do another. There may be hypocrisy as it relates to, are they really that loving as a people? What does God do with this problem of religious people not living up to the way he has asked them to live? Well, throughout the Old Testament, because in Micah in particular, a disregard for the poor, disregard for the least of these, a profiting out of wealth, certainly in the prophet Jeremiah, the sense of the rich and the righteous doing many things with the temple, but their lives not reflecting a holiness of life, you were faced with this real reality of exile, meaning the temple is destroyed and the people of God are then put into exile.

And so a good chunk of the Old Testament writings about restoration, restoration of Messiah, is the sense that when will God restore his relationship, the temple, but also restore his love for his people in the sense of what the temple might mean for the nation. So when we're in the season of Advent and we're thinking about what is this meaning of Jesus's love that we have, what we have is a restoration of the temple in Jesus himself. What does that mean, a restoration of the temple in Jesus himself? Well, it means that when you discover the right relationship between God and his people, that the real focal point of that right relationship being made available to you is in Jesus himself and not necessarily in a temple system.

In other words, that gap between how we desire to live and God's ability to meet us in that desire is now placed in Christ. And this is a great miracle. This is a great cataclysmic change in our ability to approach God.

On a personal level, it's exemplified in profession of faith. So I grew up in a Christian household, meaning Christmas this time of year was probably one of the most magical times for me growing up. So I would tell, I'm an only child, I would tell my parents in Los Angeles, you know what we need to do? We need to go to midnight service.

Maybe you have kids like this. We go to midnight service and I want to hear all the songs because the songs of Christmas are joyful songs. This season is filled with the sense of joy.

And you can see even the world around us kind of reflects that joy in a way that's a bit unusual, in a way that's a bit magical. You'll see stores, I mean just right next to the church, we have a whole gas station, right, that plays Christmas songs. And you can turn on the radio and the lights go with the songs and there's a sense of joy and peace that's reflected in our culture that really isn't quite there in other parts of the year.

You'll have people who aren't necessarily people of faith or particularly religious who celebrate Christmas. You may have relatives for whom this is true. Christmas is this joyous time.

And for me, prior to confession of faith, Christmas was one of my favorite times of years. The songs were wonderful. There are songs that we would start playing.

I mean you even see it in the reflection of the culture of when do we start playing Christmas songs, right? But as in the Anglican tradition, we have this hopeful tension point, so we're not quite at Christmas, but it's because of the gift of what Jesus is as it relates to faith itself. So for me, by the time I'm 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, I would say that I had some experiences of God, a deep love of Christmas, but no real sense of the anchoring that faith can provide. The anchoring that it can provide.

What do I mean by anchoring? Because I realize part of when you talk about faith, it can be hard to potentially relate to if it's outside of your experiences. So I want to take a little bit of time about this in this extended meditation on Jesus and his significance in illuminating some of the scriptures as it relates to the temple. Well, one of the things that I think is easier to relate to if you have not had an experience of God is that, and even if you have, how to deepen that experience of God is a sense that when we love something, we tend to put a lot of focus and attention on it, right? So whether that is a spouse, whether that's a dating relationship, whether it's something that interests us, could even be a hobby, we put a lot of attention to it, right? It could be, for some, I know that it can even be gaming.

It takes a lot of different forms where we put our attention and where we put our time. And why do we do that, right? We even have the phrase in the culture, mindless scrolling, or we're going to have the Netflix binge. Well, what is that about? We're looking for something to either engage our interests or to help fulfill a need.

And part of what it means to have Jesus as the center of those things is that we're putting time and attention in with Jesus within our life circumstances. Well, that sounds really lovely, Alexei, but what does that mean? What does that look like? Well, I can narrate the last day and a half for me. So my household, I'm a father of five children, and we're now in the break season, so most of the gifts are ready.

But with our household, when we're on break, a lot of stuff can just kind of happen, right? Well, what do I mean by that? Well, you wake up early and one spouse didn't get any sleep. Why didn't they get any sleep? Doesn't sleep come naturally to a father of five? Well, no, not if your kid wakes up and has a nightmare or needs Tylenol or any number of things. So in this particular instance, it's Casey who didn't get the sleep, so I'm up early.

So what am I doing? Well, breakfast making. Okay, and then I'm thinking about the sermon, and then I'm thinking about preparation for that. And then what happens? Are kids just magically happy because it's break and it's time off? No, they're not.

 They want to know what's going to happen today. And who's responsible for what's going to happen today? Well, in my household, it's the parent that has the energy, right? So that's me, right? So what am I going to do? Well, then you set aside plans. You're going to go outside, and hopefully it's going to be a nice little outing outside.

 Was it a nice outing outside yesterday? No, it was really cold. The kids could only last about 10-15 minutes. So what is dad supposed to do? He's got a sermon tomorrow.

 And then God's supposed to enter in. How's that all supposed to look, Alexi? These are nice words, but what does it look like? Well, for me, with my disciplines and love of Jesus, it was just a very short, Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Please help. We did some hot chocolate. We did dinner.

 We played a board game of candy canes, which was a lot of fun. A lot of discipline, though, to get through that board game. And then it's the bedtime routine, right? And what's the bedtime routine? Is it just joyful and easy and peaceful? And where's Jesus? And where are all these disciplines in the bedtime routine when the kids are screaming? Well, it's another small prayer, Lord, have mercy.

 Why is that prayer meaningful to me? Is it just to make me feel good? No, because in my teenage years, I had an experience with the living God, right? The living God. And maybe you've had these experiences in your life where the Lord comes to meet you and it's awe-inspiring. It's as wonderful as opening presents on Christmas morning, even more wonderful than that.

 It's something you want to devote your whole life to, your whole interviews to. But if you're like people, going back to hypocrisy, our desire to do good, to orient towards God, to experience the grace of God, does not match the reality. Does not match the reality.

 So we have to double, triple focus, be in a community where repentance and the communion, the Eucharist, which is not just a simple meal. It's the strengthening of our faith in encountering Jesus himself. It is a strengthening, if you're from this kind of background, it's a strengthening of the gift of the spirit in your heart so that you might be empowered.

 But then you need reminders. So this morning I wake up going back to, what does this look like, Alexi, really? I wake up and I think, I'm gonna have lots of time to think about exactly what I want to say. Does that happen? No.

 It's seven o'clock. After seven o'clock, people are sick. We're trying to figure out who's going to stay home.

 Breakfast has to be made. What does this look like, Alexei? What does this faith look like? Well, worship. So I put on worship music so my heart can connect.

 But honestly, you know, you end up feeling a lot of anxiety. You're running out of time. It's a car ride.

 What do you do with the car ride? We're going listen to N.T. Wright, right? You listen to a little bit about these questions about the temple, what the temple means. And, oh, okay, but what does this faith look like, Alexi? Well, just before the sermon starts, I turn to Father Morgan. I say, well, what about water out of the Old Testament? Because that's where my headspace was.

 And he encourages me to look it up. But there's no time, right? And so this sense of not having time is not a hindrance to the worship of God. It's not a hindrance to our orientation of what Jesus means in this love that we're asked for.

 As our lives grow deeper in faith and as our lives become more complex, perhaps you're dealing with, your story is different than mine. Perhaps you're dealing with an illness at home. Perhaps you're dealing with severe loss.

 Perhaps you're dealing with depression. Perhaps you're dealing with unmet expectations, financial concerns. All of these things can be difficult and weighty in a season that's supposed to be joyous.

However, seek ye first the kingdom of God is still the same. That God can come and meet us in our mess. That God can come and meet us in our dissatisfaction.

 And when we encounter the Holy Spirit and we encounter this faith, our hearts are captivated by it. Our hearts are captivated by it. And our hearts are worshipful towards it.

 And so what does this mean as it relates to the kingdom? Well, there's two songs that are lifted up before us. The one out of Luke for the Song of Mary and then another one that comes to mind is Exodus 15, the Song of Moses. What is the Song of Moses? Well, the Song of Moses is the song that happens when Israel escapes Egypt.

 And he bursts out into worship, into thanksgiving. And it's a spontaneous praise of the Lord. And it makes sense.

 I think if we were there and we had left Egypt and we had just escaped an army that was pursuing us, our hearts too would be prone to give thanks. And there are times in our lives where big things happen. Big, big things happen, even either collectively or money comes through when we didn't expect it or we were saved from something that seems just really difficult, an illness or I'm glad I wasn't there type moment for which our hearts give thanks.

 But the Song of Mary is a different song. The Song of Mary is a different song. It's a very ordinary song.

 It feels very much like it could come out of an Advent type season or a Christmas type season. What's happening? Mary is going to the hill country of Judea. And she is greeted by Elizabeth.

 It's a family setting. And Elizabeth gives her this encouraging news. You know, she speaks in a loud voice, which if you're in a family gathering would definitely get your attention, would it not? If someone spoke to you in a loud voice.

 And Elizabeth says, blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? And I think we have a tendency sometimes to read the scriptures in religious words and almost think that we're like watching a play, maybe a great play out of Hamlet or Shakespeare. And we say to ourselves, of course that's what Elizabeth should say to Mary.

 That just makes sense. It fits the beauty of the season. But that's not what's going on here, right? Elizabeth is saying something deeply personal to Mary.

 With Elizabeth's words, Mary is experiencing a God moment, the kind we've been talking about, the kind Moses sings about, the kind I've been talking about just in the daily habits. And Mary breaks out into song over a very ordinary family encounter. It's ordinary and extraordinary.

 It's ordinary in context. It's extraordinary in conviction. She is having a big God moment.

 And Mary says, my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble estate of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

 His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds of his arms. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but he has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry of good things, but he has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.

 What an extraordinary response. It's related to the family context and it's beyond the family context. It's words for all time.

 It is a profession of faith. Her faith that God had done great things for her, who was doing great things to the fulfillment, this fulfillment of longing. So what is happening in these verses? What does this have to do with temples and Advent and Christmas? Well, in these verses Mary is becoming a bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

 She is becoming a bridge as the mother of God, exemplifying what we will do in this age until the time of our passing, which is the true worship of God in our hearts. And these themes, I want you to notice, are not just themes about how wonderful it is that we have a connection with the living God. For me, one of the reasons I confess faith was the love of God was more real than the love I was experiencing on earth.

 And so it was very compelling to me. It's extraordinarily compelling. And it captured my heart.

 It made me want to read scripture right away. And if that's you today, meaning some version of that, go ahead and read the scripture. Talk to Father Morgan.

 Approach people who can help walk with you in this journey and we'll be praying for you. But within that context, it's not just about good news for her personal soul, though that's there. Notice the good news for creation, the good news for creation, the good news for restoration.

 He has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.

 This is a news of restoration that the right things would be, the wrong things would be made right. That those who are in destitute would experience freedom. That the worship of the Lord would be matched by the way the Lord's people lived.

 That they would be righteous and kind. What does that look like practically? Well, one of the things the scripture teaches us and one of our challenges is to give to all those who ask of us, right? Give to those who ask. That's hard, isn't it? Give to those who ask.

 Ooh, going to that grocery store, I've got a meal to prep. I don't know this person's background. Words of Jesus, judge not, least you be judged.

 I'm saying exercise prudence, of course, but prudence should not get in the way of kindness and love. This is love, Advent Sunday. The restoration, right worship, planned giving and spontaneous ability to love people who are in need right before you, right? We are not asked to be so busy as a society and a culture that we don't live the Christian life back to the beginning.

 The Anglican way of life and service walk us through all aspects of the life of the church so that we might remember we are in need of repentance. We are in need of community. We are in need of generosity.

 All flowing from the living head, Jesus himself, that transform our hearts. Not that we would be some righteous people removed from the world, living lives that cannot be emulated, but instead that Jesus would come and enter into our mess, our absolute mess. Mess made because the world is not well ordered.

 Our lives are not well ordered. But the love of God dispels fear and brings wholeness of life. That's what we celebrate on Christmas.

 We celebrate in this Advent season that we don't have to triple and quadruple our efforts to get close to God, but instead that God has come to us in our mess and has met us. And we pray that that love would be so available in us and to those who are in need of connection and hope from the living God, that they too would have a Christmas miracle. What is the biggest miracle? Faith.

Faith that animates and dispels all the difficulty. And it's not because religious people are good or righteous or do the right thing. They often don't.

But they follow the one who can and does meet us in the mess. Let's pray. Gracious Father, we thank you for this Advent season.

We ask that you would meet us in extraordinary love. We thank you that you're so gracious, so kind, that in following this Christian life, it's not about effort, but about our response to spontaneous love, just as it was with Mary, exuberant love, overflowing. May that be part of our lives during this Christmas season. Amen.

 Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Edited by the Vicar.