Hope is probably one of the few things that can keep us sane and able to move on with life, for there are many things that we face, both individually and corporately, that can cause us to shake our heads in wonder and puzzlement.  However, the hope that God gives us is far more than just a vain ‘whistling in the door’, hoping against hope that things will be better.  No, the hope that we have in God is in a creator who made the world--including us--and who holds all things in His hands, who is, by the way, loving and capable and who is working out everything for good.  And so our hope is well-grounded.  Thanks be to God.

I guess that these are only ‘natural’ impulses for us human beings, but competition and comparison can be rather destructive, debilitating and dastardly habits, especially among us as Christians.  Among siblings and classmates I guess that these are only natural, but as Christians we need to realize that it is God who has given us our abilities and inclinations--and our callings as well.  In other words, He has given us these gifts as an act of loving care, and has given us these gifts for a purpose--a purpose which no other person on earth can carry out exactly the way that God intends us to do.  And so, all ‘looking to see’ what someone else has, or is doing, is entirely out of the question.  We should entirely focus on what
we have and what God wants us to do with it.  Thanks be to God that it is entirely individual--and unique.

John the Baptist’s entire life and mission were wrapped around one thing, and one thing only, namely, to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ.  Our season of Advent has had that same purpose, but this time, not to physically prepare His way but rather to spiritually do so--to make sure that there is a place in our lives for Him to dwell and work His purposes.  And yes, maybe even to be our own John the Baptists, albeit in our own ways--to announce or portray Jesus in our words and actions and prepare the way for others to come and know Him.

Anglicans like especially to joke about ‘C and E’ Christians, that is, Christmas and Easter Christians, referring to those who only show up at church on those occasions.  However, this ‘joke’, perhaps quite unintentionally, belies a deeper malady, namely of people who ‘say’ they believe, who acknowledge the faith, but never make an intentioned effort to put it into practice--who just on with their ‘same old, same old’, day to day routines.  In some ways they are like the folks that Jesus castigates in today’s passage, people who ‘said’ they believed in the tenets of the faith but never put it into practice by actually putting their faith in Jesus.  And, dare I say it, isn’t this sometimes like us?  I mean, simply going about our daily activities, the busyness that so often seems to be the hallmark of our lives, without actually thinking about where Jesus fits into this, or what Jesus might want us to do.  I think that this slip up is probably something that is true of most of us, least of all, at this busy season.  So, maybe it is best to pause and think about Jesus and about what He might want us to do.

The Virgin Mary never ceases to amaze me.  Here is a young girl, very possibly only in her early teens, with all of her life ahead of her but almost certainly with some hopes and plans vis a vis her marriage with Joseph and her life thereafter, willing and able to say ‘yes’ to God, to say ‘yes’ seemingly without hesitation--and scarcely with any realization of what it would entail.  I’m afraid that probably very few of us are like that--to simply put our plans and ambitions on hold and say ‘yes’ to whatever God wants, rather than what we might want.  And so Mary is a great inspiration to me.

I have often thought that doubt and faith were the two sides of the same coin.  Without even the shadow of doubt, one has only certainty, which rules out entirely the need to have faith.  Faith is when you step beyond the doubt, beyond the certainty, and take that risk to see what happens.  And, of course, that is the only way that one can ever enter into a project of any sort, and certainly a relationship, for one can never know for sure.  All that one can do is to look at the evidence, see where it points, and then go from there--take that leap that is called faith.

Today’s topic of listening reminds me of an incident from my past.  In my second year of university, I boarded with an aunt and uncle, who had three rather lively youngsters.  Much to those parents’ annoyance, I talk those kids an old song, “I can’t hear what you say, I got beans in my ears.”  And, as you might expect, those youngsters, whenever their parents were about to launch into something those kids didn’t want to hear, would stick their fingers in their ears and go around the house chanting, you guessed it, “I can’t hear what you say, I got beans in my ears.”

Well, it never worked for those kids, just as it never worked for my brother and I when we tried it.  (I think that our attempts were very short lived!). And it doesn’t work with our Lord and us either.  He has a way of getting through, no matter what.  And, if we don’t listen, then it is only to our loss.

John the Baptist cautions his original audience--and us--about two errors that we might fall prey to.  One is a response to God’s summons based out of fear, or shame or any such negative things.  The response, he says, is most appropriate, but it needs to be backed up by behaviour, by a change in our lifestyle and actions.

The other error is complacency, thinking that ‘we’ve got it made’, which means that there is nothing that we need to do.  But then, as John points out, if it’s not backed up by behaviour, it means nothing.

Neither response is appropriate at any time of year, the least of all at this Advent season.  As we ready ourselves for the yearly celebration of God’s coming into our world, it is appropriate to realize that we ‘haven’t gotten it made’, that we have indeed sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, fallen short of what He expects of us.  But then, not to wallow in fear, shame, or self-pity, but to get up, take up Christ’s offer of forgiveness and a new start, and try again.  We won’t ‘make it’ on every count, that’s guaranteed, but, at least, we’ll be heading in the right direction.

Here in Lloydminster it is snowing, and snowing with a vengeance.  Indeed, it is a good day to stay in, given that it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.  The snow seems pretty consistent just now.

Consistency is something we rarely get in terms of the weather--and to be honest, something God rarely gets in us humans.  Here, then, It is a pleasure, and a welcome relief, to see that today’s psalmist wants to be consistent in his devotion and adherence to God’s word.  Now, we can be reasonably sure that he wasn’t always able to keep up with that resolve--none of us can--but even so, I think that it is worth noting--and imitating.  I pray that all of us could be more like that.

It almost goes without saying, given our all too human propensity to fail or slip up, that we will deny or let down Jesus from time to time.  And so it is good to know that He will never deny us, or let us down, regardless of how well or not so well we behave.  With Jesus there is always forgiveness for the asking--and a new start.  Thanks be to God.

It is almost a ‘given’ in terms of human life and existence that we will face rough times at least occasionally, if not more often.  Here it is helpful and reassuring to know that God knows all about them, that He is there with us in them, and that He understands fully well when we flub it from time to time and forgives us and provides us with a fresh start and a new chance.

Today’s Scripture passage from the Gospel of John and the Forward Movement meditation by Deon Johnson both set up something of a dilemma for us.  The woman in John’s passage never expressed anything by way of regret, and never did she ask for forgiveness.  And so, the question of how she would respond to Jesus’ lack of condemnation is left entirely up in the air.  Did she use her newfound freedom for good--or for ill?  Did she return to her once questionable ways, or did she reform her life under the influence of Jesus’ love and acceptance?

The same kind of question holds true of the miscreant in Johnson’s meditation.  Did the perpetrator, under the influence of his or her fellow villagers reaffirmation, repent of his or her former ways, and reform his or her life?  Of course, we will never know.

But it is true that God, in Christ Jesus, offers forgiveness and a new start to each and every one of us.  Whether we will accept this, make use of it, turn over our lives to Christ, and live in this new way, is entirely up to us.  It is a choice we must make.