Third Sunday in Advent
Sunday, 11, December 2005
Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Children's Sermon: Heidi said that "God wants us to be happy and feel joy." What she meant was that we should be joyful in what we have in Christ, regardless of the circumstances, not that God wants only to please us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Sermon: (Frank Eberhardt)
Galdate. The word means "rejoice." On this sunday of Advent, the rose colored candle of joy is lit. Galdate is a single imperative word, meaning "you rejoice." Between you and God, you rejoice. This is not crowd behavior. There are benefits to the cross and the resurrection of Christ. You can either choose to celebrate Christ or complain. There are two types of people: ducks and eagles. Ducks only go "wah wah wah." They complain all the time. But an eagle soars above it all. A lot of times, stuff gets in the way. You may be a nitpicker. You might find something wrong with everything. An attitude like that can deflate any joy, trounce any triumph. People with the duck attitude use "but" a lot. "Such and such is great, but..." Christ tells us galdate. He loves us the way we are.
When you get poison ivy, people say, "stop scratching or you will make it worse." When you get a cut, it doesn't heal if you keep checking it all the time to see if it bleeds. Vets put collars on dogs' necks so that they don't lick themselves and open up their stitches. There are many wound lickers out there. In life, we get wounded. But once the scar heals, the scar won't hurt.
Someone once said, "I would rather be a wounded lover than a wound licker." He saw scars as a badge of honor and worth every second. A wound licker keeps opening old wounds up.
Are you wearing a scar or a scab? Jesus is greater than our wounds. He heals with his love, grace and forgiveness.
H.G. Wells coined the term, "For Goodness Sakers." He uses this term to describe those people who say, "Why doesn't someone do something about (whatever) for goodness sake?" They judge everyone but themselves. They call for a crusade, but won't work to get it moving. They give plaititudes, show false piety. They have a phony religiousness down to an art. They are "blowing smoke." They want your life to change. H.G. Wells responded to them with what they understood, sarcasm. But Christ is greater than For Goodness Sakers.
(Cites Isaiah 61:1-3,10-11). Something good was coming. Isaiah was speaking to the people of Judah, who had nothing, had ash on their faces, and were weeping. He predicted a crown of beauty would replace that.
The source of galdate is praising God for being God. We may lose our families and friends and homes, but God will always be there. Galdate begins with stable expectations instead of nostalgia. Galdate is when you see that because Christ's tomb is empty, so too ours will be. The spirit calls us to love. Galdate.