Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2003 : December 14, 2003
Let Your Advent Faith Shine
3rd Sunday of Advent
The early church was plagued by persecutions. Christians were killed for their faith. So the early Christians began using the symbol of the fish as a secret password to show other Christians that they were Christians also. You might wonder how a fish has anything to do with Christianity. The Greek name for fish is ichthys (looking similar to IXOYE in English and pronounced: ick'-thus), and each of those five letters in the word ichthys (IXOYE) are the first letters in the Greek words for Jesus, Christ, God's Son, Savior. There are stories of Christians fleeing persecution. As they came to a strange town, they could sit at the well and draw that symbol of the fish in the sand. If a fellow Christian met you and saw the fish, he would know that he could trust you as a Christian and he would take you into his home. Any non-Christian who saw a person drawing a fish in the sand might think they just liked to draw fish, but they wouldn't know what the fish symbol meant.
This morning as we look at God's word in Philippians, we will also look at another symbol that we use in our church at Christmas time -- the advent wreath. Each candle is a symbol for something that has to do with our faith. Each candle has a story to tell. As you listen to each story, then you are encouraged to Let Your Advent Faith Shine, just as each candle blazes brightly to tell us its story.
Before we look at the candles themselves, it might be good for us to know the history of the advent wreath itself, just as you now know the history behind the symbol of the fish. The custom of placing advent wreaths and trees in churches came from Europe. In the gloom of Northern Europe's long winter, about the only thing that showed signs of life was the evergreen. Northern European Christians took what used to be pagan symbols and used them in a Christian sense reminding us of the everlasting life that Jesus has gained for us. The advent wreath especially so because it is in the shape of a circle -- with no beginning and no end, reminding us of the eternal life that Jesus has won for us.
The first candle on the wreath is the Prophecy Candle. It is based on the prophecies found in the Old Testament that foretell the coming of our Savior. One such prophecy is found in Jeremiah: " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just a right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.' " What this meant for the Old Testament believers was that they could look forward to a time when they could have a perfect King to rule on David's throne. That Righteous King would come with healing and comfort and righteousness for sinners. He would keep them safe from all their enemies.
How important were those prophecies to believers in the Old Testament, and how important are they to us today? Suppose you're getting ready for work or school in the morning. Everything might be going perfectly -- it's a beautiful spring day, the birds are singing; everything is right with the world. Then disaster strikes. You drop one of your contact lenses as you're putting them in. Hopefully it dropped into the sink or onto your hand. But we've all had those days where if anything can go wrong it will go wrong. After searching everywhere, you finally find it in the dirtiest place in the bathroom -- behind the toilet. It's all caked with dust when you pick it up. What would you do? Throw it away. Get a new one -- it's not that big of a deal. Picture this. God had just created the world. Everything wasn't just good; it was perfect. He was going to work one morning, preserving his world, when he knows that something catastrophic happened. His foremost creature, mankind, the one he had created in his own image and on whom he had showered countless blessings, had thrown them all away. Adam and Eve rebelled, disobeyed God. They crawled out of God's hand and jumped behind the toilet. What did God do? Did he throw them away and make another world? As God, he certainly could have, as easily as reaching into a drawer and getting a new contact lens. Instead, he chose to save us. Would you put a dirty, filthy contact lens in your eye that would only cause you pain? Never! God did. He promised to take our sin and its punishment, hell itself, on himself. He promised his own Son. As each of those prophecies were made, God's people had joy that he had not forsaken them, but that he would save them.
Our Old Testament lesson this morning and the first verse of our text tell us our reaction. "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Paul can't just say it once; he must say it twice, three times, countless times. His joy throughout life knows no bounds because of what the Prophecy Candle tells us. We have joy in this life and through eternity because God promised to send our Savior. As a result, your advent faith shines just like the Candle of Prophecy -- it shines with joy.
The second candle is the Bethlehem Candle. It symbolizes the gentle and lowly birth of our Savior of a virgin in a stable in the town of Bethlehem. Finally the prophecy was fulfilled. Galatians 4:4-5 tells the story of the Bethlehem Candle: "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." Even though we are sinners, through faith in Jesus God declares us righteous, as if we had fulfilled the law perfectly. Jesus did it for us. Even though he was born as a gentle baby at Bethlehem, he went and fought the most difficult battle ever waged for you. He defeated your greatest enemies of sin and death and Satan and gave you the victory. Therefore, as a result of what Christ has done for us, we live our lives in love for what he did for us. One of those ways is found in our text: "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Jesus will come back in glory soon. Judgment Day is almost here. Are you living your life of gentleness? That word "gentle" as Paul uses it brings with it the idea of someone in a higher position giving that up for someone in a lower position. Jesus didn't make use of his full glory and honor when he came to Bethlehem. Now you and I can also live that way for others, always putting their needs above our own. It's not the way the world usually works in our self-centered society, but it's the way Christians will let their advent faith shine.
The third candle is the Shepherd Candle. The shepherds heard the beautiful proclamation of the angels that the Savior was born. The shepherds saw with their own eyes that God kept his promise. Just as the Shepherds heard the message, saw Jesus as their Savior through faith, and then spread the message, we also have been blessed to hear the message through his word and sacraments. As Paul said, "Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message heard through the world of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
The birth of a man named Jesus 2000 years ago would have meant nothing to us if the Holy Spirit had not brought us to faith in Jesus because we recognize that he is not just a man, but also God himself and our Savior. God used his word and sacraments to bring us to faith and he continues to use them to keep us in faith. No gift that you receive at Christmas can compare to the gift of faith the Spirit gives. It enables us to see what is most important in our lives and to trust completely in our God to give us what we need. Paul encourages that in verse 6: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." When we take our anxieties to God in prayer, we know that he will take all our problems on himself and take care of them for us. His word tells us that. The Shepherds had no worries at all after they saw their Savior in the manger. Let your advent faith shine as well as you use God's word and sacraments for the strengthening of your faith and take all your cares to God in prayer.
The last candle on the wreath is the Angel Candle. The angels were the first to announce Jesus' birth. They will also be the ones with Jesus when he comes again in all his glory at the end of the world. We have peace as we await that day because we are forgiven. It doesn't mean that all our days will go just as we want them to. It doesn't mean that we will never face hardship in this life. But it does mean that we have an inner peace that the troubles of this world can't touch because Christ is awaiting us in heaven. There is a painting entitled "Peace." It depicts a huge waterfall as it crashes into unknown depths below. Just by looking at the painting, you can almost hear the roaring of the falls and the feel the tumultuous spray as thousands of gallons of water go crashing over the precipice. The painting doesn't seem to have anything to do with peace -- until you look closely into one of the corners of the painting. There you see a little bird sitting on her nest on a branch that is stretched out precariously over the falls. The bird is oblivious to the danger. That is peace. Paul tells us in the final verse, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." That is real peace. It is the peace of knowing that one day the angels will carry us to our Savior's side.
Three of the candles on the advent wreath are purple, symbolizing the repentance that we have in our hearts as we await Jesus' coming at Christmas and his final coming at the end of time. But one of them is pink, showing that even in the midst of repentance, we have a joy that focuses on the candle in the middle of the wreath -- the Christ Candle. We will light it on Christmas as we celebrate once again the beautiful message that our Savior has been born for us.
Let your advent faith shine with joy, gentleness, prayer and peace as you await your Savior and King. Amen.
