Christian Heritage

People sometimes introduce themselves to me as a third-or fourth-generation Nazarene. This happens because there is pride in such a heritage of faith.

Wow Good News…How Did we get from brood of vipers to

People sometimes introduce themselves to me as a third-or fourth-generation Nazarene. This happens because there is pride in such a heritage of faith.

That pride transcends denomination, though, because I have heard the same said about deep Catholic roots, or the heritage of being Dutch Reformed, or Methodist. The faith we inherit from our families runs deep. There is beauty in it, but it is not this heritage that saves us.

It seems that the Jews during the days of John the Baptist did the same. They were proud of their Jewish heritage, but they also treated their heritage as the reason they were of God. They boasted about being “children of Abraham” and assumed that being part of this family tree gave them a pathway straight to the heart of God.

John makes clear, in not so subtle terms, that their assumption is inaccurate. Heritage and family trees do not qualify the Jews (or anyone, for that matter) for automatic entrance into the kingdom of God.

Heritage is not our salvation either, and something new is about to happen. Just like a fruit tree that doesn’t bear fruit will be cut down, our family trees are also meaningless without fruit. Faith is not merely an identity; it is a way of living, and this way of living must bear fruit.

They then ask a question of John the Baptist that we might ask as well: “What should we do then?”

If the things we have depended on for so long are not what will bring us into the kingdom of God, what will?

The answer is a simple one: John tells them to share.

We asked Caleb once if he wanted a little brother of sister…His answer was no because he did not want to share.

It is a natural reaction. Selfishness holding on to what you have and trying to agin more. Yet…John tells us if we want to truly be in the will of God. We must share.

Body

1. Economic inequality has always been and will probably always be.

Wealthy Romans lived comfortably, whereas those who weren’t wealthy, or weren’t citizens of the Roman Empire, struggled.

i. There are stories of people abandoning their infants on the sides of city roads in the hope that someone would take them in to serve as a slave (later on there are stories of the early church rescuing these children); these types of choices show that, while some lived in seeming luxury, others lived in difficult poverty.

ii. Slaves and servants were part of what it meant to build the empire at the time. Ultimately, in order to have the wealth that existed, others had to go without.

ii. Slaves and servants were part of what it meant to build the empire at the time. Ultimately, in order to have the wealth that existed, others had to go without.

John the Baptist is redefining “kingdom” for them.

The kingdom of Rome said do what it takes to live a wealthy life—even if that means owning slaves, disregarding your neighbor, etc. The kingdom of God is saying, “Look out for your neighbor. If you have more than you need, share with those who are going without.” It isn’t a stretch to see how difficult these thoughts of generosity can be because we also live in a world of economic disparity.

i. There are numerous examples of places and of people who go without while others live luxuriously.

One example is the sweatshop industry. It is uncomfortable to talk about, but it is easy to disregard the poverty and mistreatment of someone else in order to get a good price on a product that makes your life easier.

Another example is looking at places with high levels of tourism. Many of these places have become havens for luxury vacations, but the natives who live and work in these re- sorts often struggle to get by. The hotels and resorts raise the cost of living while depend- ing on cheap labor, creating the need for families to move in together and live far below the poverty line.

Another example is human trafficking epidemic. Many people are not only kidnaped but they are sold into slavery to pay a debt or simply survive. The economically oppressed or poor are the main victims of this type of crime.

The results of economic suffering does affect even those who work for a living.

I understand this because I lived it. I understand what it is to watch people work their fingers to the bone and still not be able to make ends meet.

I fear that we live in a time where people who struggle financially may not lose their citizenship to our Country…but they are labeled the enemy.

They are the enemy because they are a danger to wealth. This is a secular philosophy. It certainly is not Jesus philosophy.

Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, shelter the homeless and give dignity to the prisoner.

Yet society tells us that if anyone is in need of any of these things it is probably their own fault and they need to show us they deserve or can be trusted with our wealth.

2. This is why Sharing might not be as easy as we thought.

a. In the Roman Empire, it would have been easy to covet luxury—which might be why the examples John uses are so specific to those asking the questions.

He says to share a coat if you have two. He’s not asking anyone to go without but to give out of their excess to those in need. This principle might seem obvious to us today, but it wouldn’t have been either obvious or easy in a culture that proclaimed that excess was good and right.

He tells the tax collectors not to cheat people. 1. It was no secret that tax collectors often overcharged citizens so that they could skim a bit off the top.

2. When there is a desire to get ahead, it is tempting to do whatever it takes to get more—especially if everyone else is doing it too.

He tells the soldiers to do their job. Extorting people for money is easy for those in positions of power and authority, especially when there’s no accountability. There is a power dynamic at play here, and it can be difficult not to give in to the pressure to use that power for profit—especially for those who might have been on the wrong side of that power dynamic for most of their lives.

b. For us today, it is easy to want more, to hoard, to find shortcuts to wealth, and to use power to get ahead.

We’ve all heard of people who lie on their tax forms in order to get a little more money. While we personally might not cheat or use power to get ahead, we probably have many coats in our closets (or other items we have more of than we need), and we often think of our personal wealth as what we “deserve” for the work we’ve done. We also live in a culture of social media envy, which has gotten even worse than keeping up with the Joneses. We often neglect the needs of our other neighbors in order to keep up with looking like we have it all together on social media.

Yes all of this makes it hard to do what Jesus is calling us to do. That is what this time of year is so full of good will.

Advent is a time where we focus of those things of greatest importance…The Birth of Jesus, Family, and faith.

But Advent can also expose those areas in our life where we fall a bit short.

3. Advent can expose our need for a kingdom that pushes us into the hope of generosity.

a. The people around John the Baptist need to hope in something besides material comforts.

They need to be free from the external desire to hoard, in order to love their neighbors well.

Justice is not about getting ahead but about making things right. Making things right never comes at the expense of others, though it might come at the expense of excess for ourselves. The kingdom of God rewrites the rules and gives hope of a future where we can be united in love for God and neighbor.

b. We are reminded during Advent that we also need more than material comforts.

When we learn to live with open-handed generosity toward others, we learn to be more dependent on God. We also learn that everything we have is God’s and that living in God’s kingdom redefines what generosity looks like.

Conclusion

The obsession to get ahead, to have more, to keep up with the Joneses, is not a new one. While sharing might be a lesson we learn as children, it is much more difficult to live out as we grow. The kingdom of God is one of level ground, where we love and care for one another. It isn’t enough to say we belong to a family of faith; we must be people of faith, which means living lives of generosity toward those around us, illustrating our love for God and others and demonstrating our faith that God loves and cares for all of us.

Out of our generosity, the world might see and know a generous God who left the riches of heaven so that we might be free of sin.

God loves and cares for all of us. Out of our generosity, the world might see and know a generous God who left the riches of heaven so that we might be free of sin.

What if we took the generosity we feel during the Christmas Season and applied it all year long?

Lord, Bless these Elements as the Body and Blood of Christ. As we take these elements as a reminder of the Generosity of Jesus. Let it also be a reminder that We are to take this same Generosity to the World Whether they deserve it or not.

Let us remember that we did not deserve the Generosity that Jesus showed us. Let us dispense That Generosity to the World.

Instructions and Invitation to come to the Table,

Bless the Elements

Invite the servers

Close the Service with the Benediction