Advent 2- Love

Introduction

This morning we continue in our Advent series. Advent simply means “coming” in Latin. (Slide)

It is a season of preparation and expectation. In Advent we proclaim, “God has come!” and “Come, Lord Jesus!”. The first grounds our confidence that the second will be answered. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus shape our hope in the return, reign, and renewal to come.

It is where the church universal takes the four weeks leading up to Christmas and we focus on God coming in the flesh, Immanuel: God with us.

Christmas comes every year. As we encounter this time of year it is easy to think, “Oh, what are they going to talk about at church this year?” We can look at the narrative of Christ being born and easily lose the awe and wonder.

Lately, I have been enthralled with artist and storyteller, Scott Erickson. We will be using his artwork this advent season to help us take an honest look at advent. Scott says this in his book, Honest Advent, (Slide)

“Sacred liturgies and services are just the visible mechanics that help us to get to the invisible essence of the love of God. Often we can become too obsessed with the mechanics, substituting them for the essence, which is completely understandable. It’s comforting to be able to hold onto something tangible versus the unseen wild goose of holy mystery. This is how some faith communities become so obsessed with the style of music, certain ceremonial practices, or just anything that has a lot of nostalgia in it.

(Slide) Nostalgia is the familiar feeling rooted in patterned experience that gives comfort in the face of present mystery. It’s probably the largest influencer of the church services today. It’s easy to trade nostalgia for essence… there is nothing wrong with familiarity found in nostalgia. Familiarity is a helpful tool. But familiarity kills wonder.”

Wonder is most accessible when we are in new situations because we don’t have a pattern or know what is happening.

Our desire this year is to look at honest advent, looking for the incarnational Christ; reflecting on those things that did take place, when they took place, the feelings and thoughts occuring to those involved, and marvel at wonder and mystery that is God.

(Slide) Last week we looked at Hope, this week we are looking at Love, then the following weeks are Joy, Peace, Expectation

Our texts this morning will be from three separate passages: Isaiah 53:2; John 4:14; Philippians 2:1-11

If you are able and willing would you stand with me as I read our texts.

(Slide for each)

Isaiah 53:2 “He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.”

John 4:14 “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.””

Philippians 2:1-11 “If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Amen. You may be seated.

(Slide) Our message is titled “Love” this morning. This is traditionally held for the fourth Sunday in Advent, but for our Advent series we are looking at Love today.

Scott Erickson has an art piece titled “Seen”. It is the hands of God with a tree that is growing out of one. This is a beautiful representation of what love is and what it means for us. We’ll look at this in a moment.

But before we do, it is worth remember what love is and how we know what love is.

What is love?

Love is a deep feeling of affection (Two Slides below)

The Lexham Bible Dictionary General Terms

The most frequent verb for “love” (אָהֵב, ahev) in the Old Testament occurs over 200 times in both its noun and verb forms. It refers to the relationship between two people, either a parent and a child (Gen 22:2; 25:28; 37:3) or a husband and a wife (Gen 24:67; 29:18). The Pentateuch also uses the word to describe the relationship between God and the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 6:5 commands the people to “love (אָהֵב, ahev) the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut 6:5, compare Deut 10:12; 30:6). The nation manifests their love for God by following the law (Deut 11:1, 13, 22; 19:9; 30:16, 20).

Loyal Love (חֶסֶד, chesed)

The most frequent noun for “love” in the Old Testament, חֶסֶד (chesed), occurs over 250 times in the Hebrew Bible. The term does not have a clear equivalent translation. The KJV translates it as “lovingkindness,” while newer translations use “steadfast love” (ESV) or “loyal love” (LEB). Some translators use “mercy,” following the Septuagint translation (ἔλεος, eleos). In context, “loyal love” (חֶסֶד, chesed) refers to two people or groups of people who have previously formed a relationship. It describes an attitude of loyalty between the two, but it also requires some sort of action (Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible, 16–21).

When “loyal love” (חֶסֶד, chesed) is used in reference to people, it represents a type of fidelity or loyalty that leads to action. Promises between two people display this relational dynamic most clearly.

This is the same love that God uses to describe Himself in Ex 34:6-7 (Slide)“The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”

God is love (1 Jhn 4:8)

And here in is the gospel… God created us as His image bearers. For love, for fellowship, as blessable covenant partners who were co-creating with Him in creation. Unlike any other of God’s creation, humans are given a soul and have been breathed upon by God the gift and breath of life. (Slide)

As we saw last week… man and woman sinned against God, making themselves out to know better than God, and put themselves in the place of God to determine what was right, good, true, and beautiful. In that they might eat of the tree of life and forever live in that state, they were ushered out of the garden. God since that time was looking to bring them back into the garden where they could partake from the tree of life.

God pre-existing before creation saw what took place and sought to intervene

God the Father sent God the Son

That God the Son would take on flesh in fulfillment of God’s promises (to David and scripture)

Jesus would be born of a virgin, live, suffer under Pontious Pilate, die and be buried

He would rise again on the third day as the scriptures said he would

Jesus would show himself to over 500 people

He would ascend into heaven and sit at the right hand of God, with authority and power.

He has sent God the Spirit to move, work, and seal those that are His

In that He will return again.

This is how we know love.

(Slide) John 3:16-17 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

(Slide) 1 John 3:16 “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

(Slide) 1 John 5:11 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

This is the faithful love, the steadfast love, the loyal love that the Bible talks about. The one that enters into the mess, into the fray, and says I have a deep affection for you. There is nothing like it.

This is the best news on the planet. No matter where we find ourselves, no matter what we have done, no matter what has been done to us, no matter what we have been a part of… God loves you. God loves me. We can’t change that.

That is what the Bible tells us. Crazy enough, not everyone will believe this and not everyone will be recipients of His love.

(Slide) Psalm 139:14 “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.”

As one of our texts this morning says, as Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well, so he offers to you and I, (Slide) John 4:14 “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.””

Jesus hangs on the tree of life that we can partake of, that tree in which our sin is paid for, the tree that imparts grace and mercy, the tree that says it is finished, enter into the joy of your Lord… just as you are!

This is how good God is. Church, may we know this deep in our bones. This is the good news that we carry.

What does this mean?

Let me bring up Scott’s art one more time. (Slide)

In his book, Honest Advent, Scott takes this piece and begins to talk about being known… and to be known is to be loved. But its risky… so much so we don’t want to be known.

If we allow God to love us for who we are, the scary part is that then we get to see who we really are. We don’t often times want to see who we really are. We want to keep up the facade for others to see who we want them to see… this is the well documented danger of social media. It is what we curate to make people see what we want them to see so they will think of us a certain way.

Scott writes (Slide), “There is a spirituality that operates out of the belief that one flourishes by earning love. That if I do this- but mostly focus on don’t doing that!- then I’ll be loved. Then I’m in the heavenly club, and my club membership is safe and secure- well, until I do that think I’m not supposed to do. Then I feel guilty, and I need to admit my wrongdoings before the club president and ask for his forgiveness, and then I’m back in the club… This happens pretty much every day… so my membership is constantly in question. It’s a very anxious spirituality to have.”

This other form of faith is one that is based on the understanding that we can’t earn it, it is just in receiving it that one flourishes.

That as we read earlier in John 4, that in just receiving it, believing it, that there is a well spring of love that has its root in an eternal source. It is something that no one can take away from you. No one.

Scott says this about the tree (Slide), “In the image we see a tree emerging from the hands of the Giver of Life. The tree symbolizes the incarnation of the Christ, Jesus, from the Source of life into this reality we all find ourselves in. But the tree also symbolizes the journey of growth that every living thing moves through, including us.”

The other sneaky thing about the glory of a tree’s incarnation is that it is a tree. It doesn’t try to be a hamster or seaweed or a humpback whale. Its glory is seen by all by being its fantastic barky and limby self… which is significant.

Which actually makes being humans significant… we out of all of creation, more so than any other living species, have a capacity to reject being ourselves. To hide our identity. To pretend to be something we are not.

I understand why, you probably do too… because if we are our authentic selves, we open up ourselves to be rejected, ignored, and scarred by others. But the inverse is true… if we are our authentic selves we are also opening ourselves up to be embraced, loved, celebrated, and comforted. We have to ask ourselves every day… is it worth it?

What we see in Jesus’ life is that being, him just being, was difficult and complicated for him too. His life was not void of hardship and heartbreak. Misunderstood by his family and community, His peers thought He was the spawn of Satan, His mom and siblings didn’t understand what his job was, He even had a friend that sold him out because he stopped believing.

But heres the thing, what we see in Jesus is a spirituality that is grounded in the never-ending spring of love that was the source of everything He did. It was the source that allowed him to forgive the haters. The source that emboldened to meet others in their pain. It was the source to that ignited Him to speak hope to a culture that was desperate for a new way… it was the source that empowered Him to lay down His own life for those He loved… you, me, every man, woman, and child.

(Slide) Know that God took the risk that we all have to take daily to be seen and known as the person we are. The risk of the incarnation is love. Love risks heartbreak, rejection, and being sold out by your friends, because love is also the animating source that brings about all the wonderful things in an incarnation, like companionship, joy, healing, wholeness, and being seen and known in the world.

May we understand that it is not about doing… but our doing should flow out of our being. I look to Philippians 2 as an exhortation from Paul. If you look at Acts 16 you can see how the Philippian church came about. It was with a possessed slave girl who Paul exercised, a rich woman who sold purple dyed textiles, and blue-collar city corrections officer. This was the beginning of the church. People who would not ordinarily cross paths, but God brought them together as the church… the church is then admonished to have the mind of Christ, and in developing, cultivating, giving themselves to know Christ and Him crucified, they become like Him.

Closing

May we see the incarnation as a demonstration as God’s greatest gift and an invitation to be known by Him intimately.