|
3 Advent C
Zephaniah 3:14-20 What Should We Do? One of more prolific hymn writers of his day was The Rev. Philip Doddridge, whose life spanned the first half of the eighteenth century. Our hymnal contains six of his compositions, one of which we use at communion: My God, thy table now is spread (321). The story goes that like John Newton who composed Amazing Grace, Mr. Doddridge wrote hymns for his church-goers. I have even heard that sometimes at the end of a sermon he would break into extemporaneous song, composing a hymn that wrapped up the finer points of his homily. I might not be so bold as to sing something as I was composing it, but every now and then a verse or two of song pops right out of the Gospel reading. This week three verses popped out. During this time of year I feel as if I am living in two time zones. On the inside of the Church it is Advent, and when I go shopping I hear Christmas music. I am thrilled that Christmas music has become so familiar to us that we don’t know where we heard it. That’s a good thing. When I realized that time is slipping away and I had not written a song for this congregation, that was not a good thing. So, with all due respect to the composer and to every recording artist who has ever covered this tune, here is my summary of today’s Gospel text: It’s beginning to look a lot like
Advent -- Some people
thought John could be Messiah -- It’s
beginning to look a lot like Advent -- As much fun as that song was to write and sing, our Gospel text brings up some very serious ethical issues. The question put to John the Baptizer by the tax collectors and the soldiers was “What should we do?” That’s a very deep question. They asked for practical advice and expected more than helpful hints for happy living. Essentially he told them to share. We have been doing some of that at St. Margaret’s lately. To his listeners, John appeared on the scene like a meteor out of the night sky. He was in a hurry to make an impact on his world. Like an Old Testament Prophet John gave some “thou shalt not” advice. To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” To the soldiers he advised that they should not bully anyone to extort money, and that they should be satisfied with their pay. That means no grousing or complaining or cheating. Part of the pay for Roman Soldiers was salt, which is how we get the term “salary.” John was advising a high work ethic so that the Soldiers would be worth their salt. That is still good advice in the twenty-first Century. St. Paul, on the other hand, takes a more positive approach to answering the question “What should we do?” Paul was a scholar, a convert to Christianity, and an Apostle who went about starting churches. Paul also lived on the other side of the Cross and Resurrection, and so do we. Paul could look back at the first coming of Jesus Christ and look forward to his second coming. Paul lived in a perpetual state of Advent. He advised us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” If we fall into step with Paul, we will live in anticipation of and sheer joy for what God is going to do next. St. Margaret’s Church has been living in anticipation of what God will do next. As we come to our Annual Meeting this morning, I believe we have a lot to look forward to in the coming year. I have been working with your elected leaders to make sure that everything is in place for a smooth transition into the future. Your Senior Warden has lined up priests for several months in advance, and the Bishop’s Annual Visitation is scheduled for June 3. My liturgical planning of festival Eucharists for the past year will carry over into the coming year, especially for Holy Week and Easter. Your supply priests will not have to come in and reinvent that wheel unless they so desire. I believe the value that will carry over the strongest for the coming year is your enthusiasm to live out your baptismal covenant. As you “seek and serve Christ in all persons” you will probably reach out to your community in new ways. I especially encourage you to continue to work with the Department of Family and Children’s Services to help provide for families in need. This year in August you generously gave school clothes and supplies to four children who had been put into the care of their grandmother. For Christmas you said you wanted to help that same family, and this time to help the grandmother as well. On Wednesday of last week we delivered four new bicycles, shoes, clothes, toys and groceries and gift cards that prompted an eye-popping response from the DFACS workers. I want to also encourage you to reach out to this community in aesthetic ways. The sheer beauty of an Episcopal worship service is reason enough to attract new people. I give for the prime example our Advent Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This year was our second annual such event, and again we attracted approximately 75 people. We also hosted the “Fifth Sunday Community Service” twice – in April and again in October. We saw more than eighty people here each time. Sometimes I meet people at the Post Office or grocery store who tell me how much they enjoy coming to St. Margaret’s for special events. I don’t know them, but they smile at me and say kind words and that brings me great joy. This year for the first time we offered Vacation Bible School. We set up a labyrinth and invited children from the neighborhood. We made the front page of the papers in full color. Some people came one evening to walk the labyrinth because we had introduced it to the City of Moultrie. Please keep reaching out and keeping your doors open to welcome the stranger and the pilgrim. So – what should we do? Say your prayers, love each other, don’t miss communion, and work together to be the Church God wants you to be. And remember, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Amen.
On the grounds of Honey Creek
The Rev. Linda McCloud, Pastor |
