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It’s coming closer – only
18 days to go. What effect has it had on your life so far? Have you got
those cards written, the presents bought & wrapped, the turkey ordered
& the TV timetable organised? Or not…
I feel sometimes about Christmas like the rabbit crossing the road who
freezes in the glare of the headlights, paralysed by indecision &
not knowing which way to go, until my wife hoicks me safely across the
road at the last minute. In the worst case scenario I sometimes find out
what presents I’ve bought the family as they’re being unwrapped.
I’m not very good at taking the urgency of the festive season on
board, at heeding the signs of Christmas & its coming.
How do we know Christmas is nearly here? Signs are all around us –
carols in the shops, lights in the streets & all that. The signs that
point to Christmas, that time of celebration & potentially shape-changing
festivity. Whether it will be permanently life-changing is another question.
Today’s gospel reading kicks off the gospel of St Mark: “The
beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. Straight
away we’re into the ministry of John the Baptist, the prophet who
comes to recall his hearers to God in preparation for the person who comes
next. John is a sign, a reminder, a challenge, to change our lives in
response to what is going to happen next.
If you were a first-century Jew listening to John, you’d have to
make a decision: whether to ignore what he said, or respond to it in a
way that will change your life – will you get baptized as a sign
of turning back to God, or not? & even that sign & that decision
was only a beginning.
A further sign was coming with a further decision; when Jesus came &
proclaimed the Good News of God – how would people respond then?
Would they follow the sign of God in Jesus that we could know God &
God’s forgiveness? Or would they wobble round in indecision, like
the rabbit in the headlights, unsure which way to go?
God has continued to give us signs, throughout history, signs of his coming,
his presence & his love, & his urgent call to us to live in the
light of his presence. Great saints & peacemakers, from St Francis
to Nelson Mandela; people who call for justice & show others the love
of God in action, whether Christians like Mother Theresa or people like
Mahatma Gandhi, deeply influenced by the sign of God in Jesus. & God
also gives us signs in our own personal lives, the moments when we’re
touched by love & experience ne w possibilities: God’s call to
respond & have a life-changing moment. Do we heed the signs –
or sit in the middle of the road & look the other way?
Signs – & visions. One of the things we had to do a few years
ago was to develop a vision for this Cathedral. It’s all very modern
management I know: every firm has its vision & mission statement,
core values & strategic plans. But it’s Gospel-based at its heart.
Our vision statement says that God is calling the world & ourselves
to be different, & that we will have our lives changed in the light
of that. We are going to live our life, individually & together, in
order to bring to birth something that isn’t yet in existence, because
God would have it so. Vision means that the future is going to change
the present.
What are the events we can expect & plan for? Christmas & birthdays,
holidays & anniversaries, generally yes; births & weddings, yes,
though not always; & then of course there’s our own death to
look forward to. But how many of us live our life in the light of our
impending death?
I suppose that all depends: on how honest we are with ourselves &
others, how healthy we are, & what signs of mortality we have to live
with. Yet even when life is hard & fragile, we can struggle to take
on board that we will sooner or later be no more. & of course there
will come a time when this world itself ends. Not just the human world
which could end anytime with nuclear war, plague, super-volcanic eruption
or asteroid strike. One day the sun will expand & burn the earth into
lifelessness – though probably not just yet!
The writer of 2 Peter, read as our epistle, was writing to people who
thought that Jesus should have come back already to wind the world up,
& were disappointed that he hadn’t, & had lost heart. He
reminds them of two key things. The first is that God is loving &
patient & wants all to repent – & that thankfully includes
us, today. & the second is that we should live our lives as people
of vision, acting because we see honestly our own ending. Since all things
are to be wound up, says Peter, you should be living in holiness &
in relation to God, waiting for God’s coming to make the world anew,
“a new heaven & earth where righteousness dwells”. To know
what the future is will change the way we live in the present – unless
we’re like rabbits in the headlights.
In 1953 a vicar took the funeral of an 18 year old girl who killed herself,
because she had no one to talk to. That vicar responded by making himself
available to listen to people in his community – & then involved
other people to help him: & so the Samaritans began, which has helped
transform the lives of countless people – all because there was a
death which became a sign which led to a vision of God’s love in
action.
Signs & visions. When we see the signs of Christmas – let’s
remember that Christmas is one of God’s signs calling us to live
tomorrow’s life today, to let go of sin & darkness & embrace
forgiveness & light in God – yes, & that even our own life
& death can be a sign of the grace & love of God for ourselves
& others.
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