December 7, 2003
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There
was an article in last Thursday’s edition of The Other Paper titled,
“Churching Up The Twentysomethings”. The article described the casual dress
of the parishioners and the pastor, the five member band, and the narthex coffee
shop that helps draw young people to the evening service at Joshua House, the
young adult ministry of the Vineyard.
We may envy the way that church and other congregations have been able to
reach the population many of us desire in our congregations. And we so we ask
what have they got that we haven’t? All that the article describes helps in
their appeal. But the primary reason that particular congregation and others
have been able to reach a generation of worshipers that others have not is not
in the wear whatever you please dress code or in the absence of hymnbooks and an
organ. It is that those congregations have found a way to speak to the needs of
their worshipers.
The pastor of the congregation says: “When you talk real life and real
issues, when you deal with things that people have questions about or struggles
with, that creates an authenticity” (Dr.
Jim Zippay, Senior Pastor of the Vineyard in the December 4-9 issue of The
Other Paper).
My purpose in talking about what another congregation is doing is not
intended to make us feel bad about what we do not have in great numbers, but to
show what can happen when expectations are high. The young people who show up in
large numbers at Joshua House come anticipating something good will happen. It
has always been that way. People seeking a relationship with God come with high
expectations and great hope. We have expectations of God, and God has
expectations of us.
A worship service that lifts us beyond the ordinary, that is relevant and
timely to our lives, that speaks to our hopes and hurts and helps us to reach
beyond what we can already grasp is what people are looking for. A church that
can do all of that and help us to see and receive the promises of God will
attract people. II
Corinthians 1.19-20 makes this bold declaration: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we
proclaim among you…was not ‘Yes and No’, but in him it is always
‘Yes’. For in him everyone of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’. For this
reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen’ to the glory of God.”
Advent is about waiting in the promises of God with the expectations that the
promises of God will be fulfilled.
In
Advent “God is breaking in upon human life in awesomely new ways – a Babe in
a manger, a crucified, risen Lord, a triumphant return” (Texts
for Preaching – Year C. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994,
p.10).
As we look we wait. We
wait with expectation – we feel in our bones that God is about to do a new
thing. We wait with expectation and hope that the thing God is about to do will
change us forever. Both
of today’s readings speak to us about promises that raise expectations and
bring us hope. We receive the promises when we know our shortcomings and acquire
God’s grace. Malachi is addressed to a people for whom expectation has come
and gone. Somehow they have forgotten to trust and thank God for what they have.
They need God’s messenger to come because
they have lost all sense of themselves as a people of faith. It is one thing not
to have known something, it is quite another to know and act as if we don’t
know. What
is the problem? The people believe that God is no longer relevant to their
lives. Their attitude reminds me of studies that show that among those who say
they are Christians, there are people who do not believe God or Christ has any
direct influence on their lives. We believe, but we are not convinced there is
any real purpose to it. And
to make matters worse, the people were led in their faithlessness by their
priests. The indictment against them is strong.
“For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge,
and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for [the priest] is the
messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way; you have
caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of
Levi, says the LORD of hosts” (2.7-8). As the leaders go, so go the
people. But
one is on the way, a messenger who will get us ready to renew our covenant, our
sacred agreement with God. The covenant is that if we will give ourselves to
God, fully, God will be fully present and involved with us. Their hope is that a
living reminder of the covenant will come to them. The way is prepared even now
for the God of the covenant to arrive. There is more than a hint of judgment in
these verses. But
will we be able to have the stuff that keeps us from God, our self-absorption,
our fears, our unwillingness to trust God cleared away? Here
is where our hope and restored high expectations come back to us. “We come
before the refiner’s fire, that all falseness and impurities may be burned
away. Beneath all the pretense and brokeness of our lives, God helps us to
discover pure silver and gold. We are highly valued by our Maker” (Gathered
by Love. Lavon Bayler. Cleveland: United Church Press, 1994, p. 7). Our hope lies in the refining, the cleaning away of what distracts us so that our best qualities can shine. When that day comes, our expectations are raised. The priests and the people will act justly, and live faithfully. Then God will save the people and our expectations about what God can do in our lives will be high again. Listen, look, expect to God to come, and when God shows up, rejoice and be glad. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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