A sermon for Sunday 24th December (morning) - Expectations

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, our Lord, our God and redeemer. Amen.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be wondering when it’s going to be Christmas, after all, we’ve heard almost nothing about it this year and I really don’t want to miss it…

However, despite all the carols we’ve heard and mince pies we’ve consumed, it’s not quite Christmas yet, it is still just about Advent, the very last day, of waiting, of preparing, of reflecting, of fasting perhaps, Advent is a little like Lent, when we take time out, although perhaps that part doesn’t work quite as well as it does before Easter…

The sense of expectation is at its highest pinnacle on Christmas Eve.

But what are you expecting?

What do our children expect and hope for? 

This sense of expectation is greatest for children, for them it’s a time of excitement and joy and when we imagine the pleasure we’ve had in the past and the joy we see in them, for presents, seeing Santa, for seeing families brought together, it helps to make all the other noise around this season worthwhile.

My boss at work likes to tell a lot of stories, and I mean, a lot, but recently, Richard, told me what happened when he was about 7 or 8, sometime in the sixties. He had been expressly told not to get up before 8 o’clock on Christmas Day and his father, a police officer, was a strict man.

Well, by three in the morning, Richard was wide awake. He crept downstairs and could see presents which proved that Father Christmas had been. It was at this point, he hatched a plan. He went around the house, and forwarded the time on every clock, to 8 o’clock. His sense of expectation couldn’t be contained any longer.

He then woke everyone up, updating a few watches he’d missed earlier. And they had a great time, presents were opened, the bird went in the oven, the sherry and mince pies were started while Richard and his siblings played with their toys. The plan had worked perfectly.

At about half past nine, by the clock, Richard’s father was looking through the window. He was confused because it was still dark. It was pitch black, but every time-piece told him it was nine-thirty.

In the end, Richard’s father said, I’ve had enough, I’m going to call the speaking clock.

He did. And the time, at the third stroke, was half past four, in the morning.

Needless to say, after some mild interrogation, Richard admitted what he had done and some feedback was given, but it was Christmas and everyone else thought it was hilarious. Nonetheless, a punishment was still needed, so, later, Richard was sent to bed early, which, given he had been up since 3 o’clock, didn’t bother him at all.

I love the innocence of the child, that their need to escape the expectation, the waiting, means they’ll break the rules. This story also speaks to us not only of childlike impatience and expectation, but of forgiveness. That when we long to meet our wonderful God, some impatience can be forgiven.

Perhaps today we can win back some of that childlike joy when we seek God, with joy and wonder.

And if anyone here is under the age of 10 and decides to try this, here’s a handy tip: many digital clocks update themselves, but if you can work around this, you didn’t get the idea from me…

Then, what did Mary expect?

This sense of expectation would have been immense for Mary as well. Our Gospel today is set nine months before the birth, where she learns about what is going to happen from the angel Gabriel.

On Christmas Eve however, we look back to the expectation of an imminent birth, even if Mary didn’t know exactly when the baby would be born, this was a moment of high expectation, she was very pregnant and whatever the circumstances, she would have been quite keen to, as the phrase goes, so I’m told, to, ‘get it out!’

It seems like we don’t talk about Mary very much. In fact, she says little herself in the Bible, while of course her place in the story is pivotal.

Mary is many things to many people, which I think, is why we are sometimes unsure about how to talk about her, so then we don’t even mention her at all, except in nativity plays. 

But there is much she can teach us, especially when it feels like we don’t know, or don’t understand God’s plan for us.

The angel told her God’s plan, that she had been chosen, was favoured by God, was full of grace and the lord was with her.

With this plan, Mary was confronted by a completely unexpected situation, she was already betrothed to Joseph but not yet married, so as an unmarried mother, she would be risking everything, including her life, a betrothed women could be sentenced to death for having an affair. 

Her responses to the Angel Gabriel were perplexity, confusion and questions, despite the situation, she was strong. I don’t think she was meek and mild, she wasn’t just going to obey without clarifying details. 

None of this made sense to her, however the words of the angel, about being favoured by God and what her son will do, seemed to be reassuring because she eventually says, ‘let it be with me according to your word.’ 

As well as her expectations of what life might have been completely changing, this speaks of obedience, to a calling she didn’t ask for. It speaks of a deep, quiet heroism, Mary knew her place in society at that time, the risks she would be taking by saying yes, and the risks of saying no. 

It was the saving grace of the Holy Spirit, a divine, unique and holy way to fatherhood, which saved Mary, which reassured Joseph and enabled God to be born as the Christ Child among us.

It helped that she was loved by Joseph, that she knew she was part of God’s great plan for the world. We owe a great deal to Mary, for her heroic obedience, for the unique place she held as a mother to such a special child. 

So, what were God’s expectations?

Well, I cannot hope to know the mind of God, but when we recall God being born as a helpless baby. It’s easy to forget what an amazing thing this is. That God Almighty, God Eternal, God Infinite and unending, who created everything, absolutely everything, from every particle of dust to every galaxy in the universe, every sun, every flower, to angels in the architecture, spinning in infinity, he says, “Amen!” and “Hallelujah!”. 

God did all this and chose to be born as a baby, the Christ child, to a young teenage mother in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.

Why did God do this? Well, there are more answers than I can talk about today, but one of the key’s we can use to unlock the mystery is in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, “For God, so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God sent Jesus as a baby so that we could know him as a person and so, believe, and it’s those words, “God, so loved the world,” that explain it all. 

And when we say, God loved the world, we remember that while God’s love is as vast as he is, it’s also unconditional, and more than anything, it’s abundant. 

In fact it’s more than abundant, it’s extravagant. On an individual level, God loves you, all of you, and me, extravagantly and completely, with no exceptions. So much so, that God came to earth so we could begin to know him and be saved by him.

So now, as we wait expectantly, the universe remembers taking a deep breath, as it paused, waiting for the Christ child to come to earth, born to a scared young mum, far from home.

Everything was about to change. All our expectations were about to fulfilled, in ways we can still only begin to imagine, in this amazing gift about to born into the world.

So, let us pray, and hope, that remembering the birth of a baby, will remind us all just how much we are loved by the Christ child and then through that love, we may bring light into darkness, love our neighbours and be ready to shine with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Amen

Preached at St George, Cam on Christmas Eve morning.

Readings: Luke 1.26-38       2 Samuel 7.1-11,16          Romans 16.25-end

The other thing you may have spotted is a Paul Simon lyric in this sermon, this was deliberate although I didn't draw attention to it in the end.