"You Better Watch Out"

A sermon preached by Rev. Deana Frances Dudley

at Christos Metropolitan Community Church, Toronto, ON, and

Holy Fellowship Metropolitan Community Church, London, ON

November 30, 2003,  First Sunday in Advent

Scripture Passages:  Jeremiah 33:14-16,  Luke 21:25-36

Well, I had a great Thanksgiving down at my Mom’s in Illinois. I think that was my third turkey of the year, not counting some of my sermons. The thing about American Thanksgiving is that it really ushers in the Christmas season. On Thanksgiving day, in addition to the traditional feast, you have the traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and at the end of the parade, Santa Claus arrives on his sleigh.

And then the day after Thanksgiving is THE biggest shopping day of the whole year – they call it Black Friday, when all the retailers finally get their books out of the red and begin to make a profit – when a lot of folks start their Christmas shopping. And what I noticed in Benton was everyone putting out their Christmas decorations for the town contest, so Mom and I drove around town one night to look at the lights. So this weekend has been full of people getting ready, preparing for Christmas.

How do YOU get ready for Christmas? Some folks bake. I’m hoping to find time and energy for a little baking. Some folks decorate to a fare thee well. Some folks shop. I don’t care for that part. I hate malls. I especially hate parking lots in malls. Some folks begin singing Christmas carols and playing Christmas music. We’ve already begun a little of our Christmas preparation here at Christos MCC by singing a little Advent music. And that’s right, because Advent is about preparing for Christmas.

What are some Advent songs? "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus." "Hope is a Star." Those are ones a lot of folks know. And I read something last week by one of my favourite preachers, Richard Fairchild, that reminded me of one more popular Advent hymn. Actually, it’s a song that I suspect is familiar to all of us, a more secular song, that could be called an advent hymn - even though it doesn’t talk about God, or about the coming of Jesus, or about the Christian hope. It’s a song that’s loved by millions of people, especially children. And it speaks of the coming of a very important person, a person who knows us and our every action, a person who’s good and loving and who expects us to be the same.

I’m sure you know how it goes..... "You better watch out, You better not cry, You better not pout, I’m telling you why.... Santa Claus is coming to town."

And you know, if you just substitute the name of Jesus for the name of Santa, that song really kind of summarizes the essence of the Advent message – albeit in a somewhat more secular way. And what the song tells us is, get ready. Get your behaviour ready for Christmas. Watch out. No whining. No pouting. Be nice, not naughty. ‘Cause Santa’s coming! And he’s bringing good things for every girl and boy!

How many folks believed in Santa when they were little? How many still do? We need to talk after church. When I was little, I believed in Santa. In my family, one of our Christmas traditions was on Christmas eve, we’d drive into San Francisco, to the Marina, one of the ritzy neighbourhoods in SF, and look at all the incredibly fabulous Christmas decorations. One of the houses I remember to this day is the Chinese family that celebrated ALL of their traditions, with a big tree in their upstairs window, and in their big downstairs bay window, a big lighted nativity set in front of a six foot gold Buddha. I just loved that.

And anyhow, when we got home, Santa Claus had always been to our house! There were no presents under the tree when we left, but when we came back in, there was a big pile of them. After that happened a couple of times, you can bet I made sure I was the first one back in the house, and they were always there. My mother has STILL never confessed to orchestrating that. I still don’t know how my folks did it. She just says it must have been Santa.

And it was, of course, kind of to my parents’ advantage for me to keep on believing in Santa. Because when I was little, along about the middle of November, when the decorations started appearing in the stores – I guess along about Labour Day, any more – I’d begin to watch out. I’d begin to prepare for Christmas. And kids would do that. I guess they still do. It was a behaviour modification device. You know in the back of your mind - almost unconsciously - you knew even as a child, that what you did, or didn’t do, made a difference somehow; and in some way that difference counted with your mom and dad, and of course with Santa Claus.

But, you know, it didn’t really worry me ALL that much even when I heard the words of the song that go: "He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you have been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"

It didn't worry me because in the back of my mind, I knew that Santa Claus loved me, and that he’d be fair to me, and maybe overlook some of the little things I did that maybe I shouldn't have done. And I didn’t worry too much, even though my parents may have teased me a little about how if I didn't behave, Santa would leave a lump of coal in my stocking. Because I also knew that my parents loved me. And they knew I was TRYING to be especially good.... At least when I remembered, that is.

So all in all, December was a great time of year, a time in which we all prepared for a great event - the coming of Santa Claus, and the coming of wonderful gifts and beautiful things, and wonderful feasting and fun. I looked forward to it. And I followed the instructions in the song.

Now, I hate to tell you this, but I don’t believe in Santa Claus any more. But as adults, and as followers of Jesus Christ, we’re still called to follow that song too, and recover some of the hope and the joy and the blessedness of our childhood faith. Because we’re called to expect Christ’s coming with the same energy, and the same dedication, and indeed the same joy, as we awaited Santa Claus when we were children.

I say with the same hope and joy because joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit of God in us -- and because too many well meaning Christians want to take the joy out of Advent - the time of preparing for God coming to us, God with us, Emmanuel.

A couple of years ago, Anne and I went to church at my Mom’s church, East Benton Baptist, and the preacher was preaching on Revelation, and on the second coming of Christ. And he wanted to make sure we knew it was going to be one of the most terrifying events imaginable. He focused on all the negative and missed the positive in all that he was speaking about. I’m pleased to report that when Anne and I were at that same church last Sunday, they called a new minister, a young man with a much more positive message, who seems to understand some of the hope and joy that we have in Christ.

But this former pastor, in his hellfire and damnation sermon, never once mentioned the peace, the joy, the hope, and the love that we can experience when we prepare for Christ’s coming. Nowhere in his sermon was there a hint of blessing - rather we were told that if we played cards or danced or listened to the wrong kind of music or engaged in a list of behaviours that he didn’t like, we’d go straight to hell, to an everlasting pit of fire, when Jesus returned. For him preparing us for Christ's coming meant trying to scare us out of our wits.

Now, some folks might say this kind of preaching was OK. They might look at today's gospel which says: "be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will catch you unexpectedly -- close on you like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live upon the face of the earth, so be alert in all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Coming One."

"You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not shout, I'm telling you why - Santa Claus is coming to town."

OK, it’s true that Christ will come in judgement, but during this Advent season as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, for the humble birth in Bethlehem and in our hearts, and for his return in glory, we need to remember that like Santa, even MORE than Santa.... God loves us. God’s not going to put coal in our stockings because we forgot to pick up our socks or left our toys on the living room floor. That’s just not how God operates. Yes there is judgement - judgement for those who totally ignore what’s right and what’s good, but this is the promise of God for us, God’s people, for those who try to be good for goodness sake, from the prophet Jeremiah: "The days are surely coming, says our God, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; who will do what is right and what is just in the land. In those days all of Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "God is our righteousness."

That’s what the gospel of Advent, the gospel of the second coming is about. It’s about good news, not bad news. It's about the gifts of God for our world, and not just, or even primarily, about the anger God has for those who totally ignore the divine law of love. We’re called to prepare ourselves for the gift of God to us, of a ruler who will do what is right and just in the land, of One coming to redeem the world, not destroy it.

And the best way to prepare for that coming, and that’s what Advent is all about, preparing, is not by developing fear of what will happen if we’re not prepared, but rather by developing ways of sharing our hope, and peace, and love, and joy - the things that our candles are meant to remind us of.

We can best prepare for the coming of God into our lives by giving hope, by showing care for those who are in need, by giving peace, by turning the other cheek when we’re provoked, by opting out of the conflicts in our lives. By giving love, by sharing it with folks who are sad or tired, or just having a "blue Christmas." And by giving joy, by being encouraging and helping someone who feels at the end of their rope, by showing them that we care and that therefore God cares as well. When we do those kinds of things we receive hope, peace love, and joy in return, and THEN we’ll be ready for Christmas.