Advent
2012 Jeremiah
33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36
Have you
done any work on their ancestry? Did you find any skeletons in the
cupboard?
My mother
is a ‘silver surfer’ and produced a great big file, on both sides
of the family, that goes back several generations. So I now know
that: In Leicester, my great, great Grandfather on my mother’s
side (William Jennings) is buried among the great 100 in the Welford
Rd cemetery. On the day we visited we could hear the crowd roar at
Leicester City Football club, just down the road, fitting as William
Jennings was the founder and first director of Leicester City
Football Club.
Currins
have a history of being Irish including , a canal navvy and a
disputed descendant of King Edward III.
Ancestry
is important – it says who we are. It can make things difficult if
you don’t know, especially at Christmas.
Read Luke
1, to see the ancestry of Jesus
Where does
it connect with the reading from Jeremiah?
Jeremiah
was called aged 20. he was a prophet for 40 years. Not sure if he was
paid, probably didn’t make any profit as a prophet! If you wanted
to be rich as a prophet you made sure that you prophesied positive
things for the wealthy and powerful. Oh, Jeremiah! You wouldn't have
lasted long on “The Apprentice”.
According
to worldly values of achievement and wealth Jeremiah is a failure.
40
years God’s spokesman in Judah, but when he spoke no-one listened.
Imprisoned in ch 37; down a cistern ch 38; taken off to Egypt ch 43.
Rejected by neighbours 11:19; and by family 12:6; opposed by false
prophets 20:1,2 and ch 28; abandoned by friends 20:10, and his
audience 26:8; and finally by the kings 36:23.
If we ask
about how accurate his prophecy was he was a success.
His
words about an ‘army invading from the north’ is attested by
history. Read the account of the fall of Jerusalem in ch 52. His
prophesy about the Branch of David as the ‘Lord our righteousness’
came true with the coming of Christ.
And by
God’s values of faith and obedience Jeremiah was also success!
He
was given an unpopular message and he didn’t understand what he was
talking about! God did, but he didn’t, just had to be obedient.
Jeremiah didn't ask “Will the be popular?”, “Will this be
heard?” “Will this be effective?”. He just spoke out.
What does
he speak out? He talks about:
a) David’s
line – still important for the people of God in Israel. All are
‘sons of Abraham’, but you are special if you can trace your
ancestry to David’s line – Read what the angel says in Mt 1:20 re
Joseph.
b) The
‘Righteous branch’ of David, and compares the worldly King with a
Godly King. Worldy King David had his failures – to get Bathsheba
he murdered her husband Uriah and mounted a cover up, lying and using
war as a smokescreen. If they had had phones in those days he would
have hacked them.
c) The Godly King
(Jesus.) The passage in Jeremiah, almost same as Jeremiah 23: 5 –
refers to perfect King of David's line who will reign wisely – and
what was engraved on the cross of Jesus?– King of the Jews.
Advent is
all about the coming kingdom of God in Christ, the righteous branch
of David. Spiritual king. Spiritual kingdom. God’s kingdom. We are
called to help to re-establish God’s rule where we are today. We
pray, ‘Your kingdom come’ asking for that to be real, ‘on
earth’ as in Heaven.
It is
Advent: the King is Coming! It is a season for reflection, prayer
,reading and fasting. But its not just about a personal inner
spiritual cleanliness.
For Christians, peace in the Middle East isn’t
just about people getting on together, it is also about a right
interpretation of the words of the law and the prophets – and God’s
rule where all repent and acknowledge him. We should engage with this
situation now.
Loving
your neighbour isn’t just about being nice to people like Jesus
said, it is also about the most important value of the kingdom, and
first fruit of the spirit ‘love joy peace’. We should engage with
these situations now.
Respecting
people of other creeds, colour and nationality, isn’t just about
trying to get on together and appreciating each others gifts, it’s
also about the kingdom value where there is neither male not female,
Jew or greek, slave for free. We should engage with these situations
now.
Creating
community in the village of Allesley isn’t just about making it a
nice place so we keep our house prices high, and school reputation
good, it is also about God, Father son and Holy Spirit being three in
one – community is at the heart of God. We should engage with these
situations now.
Work, rest
and play are not just what we need to pay the mortgage, put our feet
up, and enjoy ourselves, it is the pattern established by God at the
beginning of creation – if you like the start of his kingdom. Some
of us need to work harder and others rest more. We should engage with
these situations now.
Coming to
church isn’t just about enjoying the worship or keeping a heritage,
it is about trying to live out the kingdom of God together, here ,
meeting to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We should
engage with these situations now.
Reading
the Bible isn’t just about beautiful poetry and an amazing account
of the history of the world, it is also an description of God’s
kingdom rule, illustrating who did and who didn’t put God first –
and the consequences as Jeremiah prophesied. And this is to help us to engage with the coming of the Kingdom of God for which we pray.
So, you see, the Kingdom
of God isn’t just about church and religion its about
everything. Concern for the Ice cap and rain forest, isn’t
just about climate change and earth resources, it is also about God’s
world and our stewardship of his creation as a place for all God’s
creatures to live.
The Leveson enquiry isn’t just about
catching up with criminal activity, it is about the seeking God’s
kingdom values of truth and justice
The Foodbank isn’t just way
of helping the poor and the dispossessed, it is also about sharing
our wealth and valuing the other person who can also be part of God’s
kingdom.
That is
our ancestry, our DNA. It is a great challenge – but a great
encouragement. When you wonder if we are really up to this, remember:
It's in our blood.
Capt Jim Currin C.A.
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