December 10, 2000
Sermon by Rev. Laurel Bobb
"How to Prepare a Tribos" --it sounds
like something you’d find in a cookbook doesn’t it? But just what is a tribos
anyhow & why would we want to prepare one? A tribos is the Greek word for path;
for us today it is to be the way to God. It is this path that John the Baptist
proclaimed and it is what we are to proclaim as well. I could very well personalize
our Gospel lesson for today and say:
In the 8th year of the presidency of Bill Clinton, when Elizabeth II was queen of England, Khofi Anon was secretary of the U.N., Bob Taft was the governor of Ohio and Lisa Schaefer was the mayor of Stow, the Word of the Lord came to you! And you went out in your neighborhood, to your workplace, and your school, proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
So how do we do this? How do we make a path for God first in our own lives
then in the lives of others? First we must be willing to quiet ourselves and
open ourselves to the Word of God so God can come with a message for us and
for others. If we are so busy and so noisy and never take time to listen, how
can we expect to hear God speaking? Especially at this time of year there are
so many demands on our time and our hearts we seldom take an opportunity to
sit and reflect on the reason for the season. We need to do this both for the
peace that God offers in this stressful time and to help develop our faith and
hear what it is God is trying to say to us.
Next we must be willing vessels. God wants people who are willing to listen
to the message he has for them and do what it is God is telling them to do.
If God wants us to share the message with others we ought to be willing to do
it. We should not be ashamed or afraid of the message God gives us to proclaim
no matter what that message may be.
The message may not be a "feel good"kind of communication. It may be a call
for us or others to repent of something we or they are doing or failing to do.
It may be difficult for us to hear that message ourselves or bring it to another
. It certainly wasn’t easy for John the Baptist. He lost his head over his call
to repentance. Still we are to tell it like it is regardless of personal consequence.
It may not be easy, but it is the loving thing to do if we do it in a spirit
of love. We may be helping people find their way back to God’s will for their
lives and that certainly is what we hope people find, because we know that is
what is best for their lives.
Bowen wrote of a congregation that placed an ad in a local newspaper. But as
it appeared in the paper, the announcement stated that the congregation was
"ethically diverse." Obviously, what they meant to say was that their church
was "ethnically diverse." But instead, the ad in the paper dropped the "n."
Yet maybe that is the truth about many churches. We accept ethical diversity.
After all, we figure that no one has the right to tell someone else what is
right and what is not. We hesitate to call people to account for their behavior
for fear of offending someone. But an ancient Greek philosopher once said: ‘He
who never offended anyone, never did anyone any good.’" [EMPHASIS Nov/Dec
2000]
Scripture tells us we will judge the world in I Cor. 6:2.
It is important to share both the law and the Gospel for without the law people
do not recognize their need for a Savior, but without the Gospel it leads people
to despair. We also want to encourage those who are saved to remain faithfully
on the path. To do this first, we remind people they need to guard their hearts
and their minds; folks should be careful what they look at. Often what we see
is what we want; it’s been true since the Garden of Eden. In James 1:14-15 it
says, "But one is tempted by what one’s own desire, being lured and enticed
by it; then when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that
sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." Maybe we shouldn’t let our
children watch certain commercials that lead them to covet many things advertized
and maybe we shouldn’t watch certain things that lead us to lust after other
things or people either. We need to be on our guards.
Second, we want to challenge people to give greater thought to the consequences
of their sin rather than focusing on the immediate pleasure it may provide.
Sometimes people just don’t stop and think about what effect our sin has on
others. If we would act on a feeling and begin that affair, what would happen
to our spouse or our kids? What effect would it have on our parents or our married
friends? Might we be to blame for another following suit? Or what about our
overspending on Christmas presents? How might that affect the quality of life
for our family in a few months when we’re struggling to pay all the bills? What
kind of habits are we helping to develop in our children? Are they becoming
selfish and expecting everything they want without having to work or wait for
it? Is that really our intent? Or what about our family relationships? If we
don’t take this opportunity to reconcile with a family member now, what will
be the chances of repairing that relationship later? Will it become more difficult?
What if we run out of time? Or what about how our sin affects others in our
day to day affairs--if we are undercharged at a store and don’t admit it, will
the clerk be in danger of losing his or her job because of the shortage? Or
what about our sins of omission rather commission? If we fail to share Christ
with someone and they die without him, what will that mean for that person or
for you?
But our actions can also have a positive influence on our world as well, so
now let’s look at that. If we let someone pull out of a driveway in front of
us as we are driving down the road we may be stopping an accident from happening;
in the least we are helping one other person have a better day and he or she
may do someone else a favor, and the good we did will be multiplied. When we
give food or clothes or toys to the various projects we have going on here at
church we are helping those who are less fortunate have a happier and easier
time--who knows we may be providing that one thing that keeps a person from
turning to drugs or a life of crime; in addition we are ministering to Christ
and that always brings blessings back to us. And I could go on, but you get
the picture. You may even want to play a game at the dinner table today--"What
would happen if..." and imagine all the good you could do. Take the story to
its most amazing consequence and challenge each other to begin that chain of
events that will bring blessings to our world.
So we see our sin, or our good deeds for that matter, never just affect us.
We live in community. It is because of this that it becomes all the more important
to prepare the way for God, both in our own lives and in our society. Leonard
Sweet reminds us:
"That’s why Advent is a season of preparation. Christmas is not just the celebration of the birth of a baby; it is the beginning of a chain of events that transforms human existence. Christmas is not just recognizing God’s gift of the incarnation--it is also our acknowledgment of what this Incarnation now means for every man, woman and child." The new word that will reach the world and preach to this old world is this: ‘Christ is born, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.’"
[Homiletics-Oct-Nov 1997, pp. 60-1]
The really Good News is that through this God has already prepared the way to himself. Through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection he made the way clear for us. He walks with us down the road. He invites us to walk with others as well. A Gen-Xer wrote this poem showing us just what our society needs from us as Christians in the way of preparing the path to God for them:
"Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know, do you understand that when you treat me with gentleness,
it raises the question in my mind that maybe he is gentle, too?
Maybe he isn’t someone who laughs when I am hurt.
Do you know, do you understand that when you listen to my questions and you don’t laugh,
I think, ‘What if Jesus is interested in me, too?’
Do you know, do you understand that when I hear you talk about arguments and conflicts and scars from your past that I think,
‘Maybe I am just a regular person instead of a bad, no-good, little girl who deserves abuse?’
If you care I think maybe he cares--and then there’s this flame of hope that burns inside of me,
and for a while,
I am afraid to breathe because it might go out.
Do you know, do you understand that your words are his words?
Your face his face to someone like me?
Please be who you say you are.
Please, God, don’t let this be another trick.
Please let this be real.
Please.
Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?"
[Celek and Ander, Inside the Soul of a New Generation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996. Pp.106-7]
Isn’t it important to allow God to prepare us for these encounters or for whatever it is that life brings to us? Let’s take this opportunity when the world is a little more aware of the presence of God--even if it is only sentimentality that brings them our way--let’s show them how wonderful life can be when we walk on God’s path--the path he prepared for us through Christ. And let’s invite others to walk along with us and help transform the world, because today the Word of the Lord has come to you to proclaim not only repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but also the joys of life in the Kingdom.
Copyright 2000 by Rev. Laurel Bobb