Dare to be Different
Luke 3:1 – 20
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Lou Nyiri
December 2, 2007

What is Christmas all about?
If you believe the commercial hype that invades the stores the day after Halloween is over, then your answer is it’s about getting as much as you can as quick as you can?
If you believe the carols and songs playing on the radio the day after Thanksgiving passed, then your answer is it’s about brightly burning green and red lights; new fallen snow and happy families gathered ‘round a living room piano and lovers meeting under the mistletoe…all the makings for a Norman Rockwell painting.
But, if you believe the words of our Scripture this morning, then you’ll realize Christmas is about much more than gifts bought in a store or making the perfect Christmas memory...

Christmas isn’t about any of these things – though they are nice fringe benefits – though I would offer to say that the happy family moment is something more to strive for this season than the perfect store bought gift – I would much rather give love to my family 365 days a year than wrap it all up into one specific day.
Instead Christmas is about thinking differently…it’s about living differently…it’s about being transformed.
Christmas is about looking at that very word in a new way AND in a familiar-yet-not-so-familiar language…Christmas is about taking the word and changing it to read “MAS-CHRIST” or More-Christ.

Christmas is about daring to be different by not becoming what the world tells or better yet tries to sell us to be…
Christmas is about daring to become the person God desires us to be and whom God knows we can be…
Christmas is about receiving more of Christ into our lives so that Christ might shape our lives and in turn we might help shape others lives with the good news of great joy we celebrate this Holy Season…
Christmas is about being different…by the world’s standards of different…by God’s standards it’s all about hearing messages that are tough to hear, and today that message comes from John the Baptizer – Jesus’ cousin – the epitome of today’s sermon title for John the Baptizer “Dared to Be Different” in every way…

Back in Matthew’s gospel we are told John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist – now lest you think this is marketing 101 we’re not going to spin it to sound like he had a camel’s hair coat – it was an itchy, wild looking garment.  And he ate locusts and wild honey.  He was definitely different.  And he never took that course about winning friends and influencing people – though his message did influence many.  Unfortunately his message also got him killed.  Sounds as though this connection between the message and messenger dying for their message runs in his family – as we already said, John is Jesus’ cousin.

Lucky for us God’s not calling us to be different like John the Baptizer was different.
No, I think, God is calling us to be different by embracing the message John proclaimed.
You see, like the great prophets before him, John stood in front of the people and told them how it could be when living in right relationship with God.
John as prophet anticipates and prepares for the Lord’s coming.
We too are called to anticipate and prepare for the Lord’s coming.  The question becomes are we being prophetic in our anticipation and preparation by inviting people to come along for the journey.

You see, John’s message is very simple AND at the same time very profound one.
He talks about baptism as a sign of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Now this could mean he’s talking about the Jewish inclusion of “converts” into the faith OR it could be he’s talking about the long standing relationship between washing and one’s ethical demeanor found in his tradition.  Scholarship doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about, the one thing they will agree on is that John’s baptism talk indicates the following about those who will follow this one for whom he prepares the way:
Baptism signals of the one who is baptized that:

As we walk out into the world and as the snow begins to fall on us in making the scenes outside a winter wonderland, may we not forget that snow is a crystallized form of rain AND may the reminder of that rain become crystal clear in our minds that we are baptized members into the body of Christ who are called to:

And may we also not forget that John cautioned the listeners to his message not to become so content in the title or lineage from which they came that they would become reticent in their faith OR in their lives.  And now comes the tough parts to hear:
Those words from Luke 3:7-17 about
“broods of vipers…”
“fleeing from the wrath to come…”
“bearing fruits worthy of repentance…”
“…every tree not bearing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire…”
Well, they’re basically reminding John’s listeners (and maybe even us today) that being God’s people is less about the name we bear and more about bearing that name out in this world through living lives of character and behavior and faith that are in line with the God who has shared grace with us.

Christmas is about remembering we are delivered people who sometimes need reminded from whom our ultimate grace comes.
Christmas is about remembering we are people who must express and live out new allegiances to God.
Christmas is about remembering we are people who must commit daily to living transformed lives.
Christmas is about being like John – voices crying out in the wilderness – that there is more to this season than bows and gifts and credit card debt.
For we who bear the name Christian – Christmas is about bearing the name Christ in all we say and do – which really isn’t much different than what we’re suppose to do every day of the year – but this time of year it’s a little easier to talk about Christ more.

And I want to give us three – simple and yet three potentially profound ways to do just that –

One – Dedicate time daily from today until the 25th and focus on your own personal relationship with God as it is lived out through your own personal relationship with Jesus the Christ. 

In order to illustrate this point I want to show you the following video clip:
            [Show God Pie – this was viewed at our Contemporary Worship Service – if you would like to view it go to worshiphousemedia.com and look for God Pie video.]

You see, what Phyllis talked about last week in the children’s message at 830 & 1100am worship is what we’re talking about here – don’t give God what’s leftover…give God the first of your days.
Spend time alone with God and spend time together as a family with God.
Gather around the meal table at least one day a week over the next four weeks and have conversation; have prayer; have a reading of the Biblical narrative surrounding Christ’s birth. 
Commit to sitting and spending time with God in prayer – in Scripture – in reflection – in Communion.
Get to know the One who came to know us by becoming one of us.
Get to know the God who Dared to be Different by walking and talking our lives and living our pain and redeeming our situation by sacrificing the ultimate sacrifice that we might be all God knows we can be.
There are many things I remember about my family growing up…one cherished memory is of how one Christmas we made it a priority to gather every Sunday afternoon at 4PM – before dinner – to light a home advent candle; to read the story and to pray for us as a family and our world.  I don’t remember so much what we said – I do know that as we communed with each other – we communed with the God Most High.

Two – Purchase Gifts at the Christmas Fair for loved ones on your list.
Counting today we have 23 shopping days left until Christmas.  Now, you can go over hill and dale trying to find the perfect gift for the people on your gift list OR you can take care of some of those gifts starting TODAY out in fellowship hall or come back TONIGHT 4:30-7:00PM for food, fun and faith sharing through the gifts that support missions and ministries featured in this year’s fair.

Too often I think our society gets caught trying to find the perfect gift to tell the people we love that we love them because we’ve shorted them of our love the other 364 days of the year.
It doesn’t work as well when we try to wrap all our love up in one big gift and hope it’ll make up for all the other days we fell short in the caring department.
First of all our loved ones can see right through it.
Second of all it’s a whole lot less expensive and frankly a whole lot more fun to live love daily with those around us.
Third, when you buy a gift at the Christmas Fair, you not only tell someone you honor who they are, you give a gift that not only brightens a life but also has the potential to save a life.

Think about – AND pray about the people you are getting gifts for this year – then purchase a gift in their honor from the fair.  And make it connect in some way so that as you share the gift with them you can relive a memorable moment with them – and your laughter over the moment can be gift enough to cherish.
Maybe you know a handy man you could honor with a gift of nails or windows or doors to South Dakota or South Carolina?
Maybe there’s a family physician you could purchase medications or vitamins in honor of for Honduras?
Maybe you have an Aunt you could honor by providing a ride for someone else in her age bracket to the doctors through a gift to Faith in Action?
There have got to be at least five people on your shopping list you could take care of today or some day between now and Christmas through the Fair. 

Three – Invite Someone to Worship – think about the people you know.  The people you work with.  The people you go to school with.  The people you see weekly in the store…at the gas station…in your morning commute…in your exercise routines.  Think about the people you know.  The people you see.  The people who may not have a church family to call home.

Now don’t just come up with a name so you can check this off your Christmas “To-Do” list.  Pray about it.  Ponder it.  Present it to God and let God lead you to the person. 
Today, Tonight, Tomorrow…pray for God to bring to your mind the person you could share God’s message of hope with this Christmas.
Let God open the door for you…and then pray for the courage to walk through.
And it’s really not that difficult. 
As you pray for the person, I believe, opportunities to encounter that person will arise.
And on one such occasion, maybe ask them how they or their family spend Christmas.
If they don’t mention a Christmas Eve celebration somewhere, then try something simple like, “you know that sounds very much like something our family does [then you could share what it is your family does that is similar].  Then explain how your family also finds it memorable to begin Christmas day by joining together on Christmas Eve in Celebration with your church family.  Then simply say, ‘you know, if you would be interested, I would love to have your family worship with us at our church this Christmas Eve or get you some more information about our other services.” 

And then pass along one of our gift cards you’ll be receiving in the upcoming newsletter which explains our December 24th services. 
You might even encourage them to check us out one of the next three Sundays of Advent as we prepare for Christ’s coming together as a church family.

Please don’t let me be causing you to get sweaty palms and stomach cramps over who you will invite to worship – it’s not something you need to force – if you feel like you’re forcing it…you probably are, so back off a little and wait for God’s Timing – that’s why I’ve asked us all to begin Advent in prayer/communion with God.   
If it’s right, God will lead you to it. 
Trust in God and the words will follow.
For I believe if and when it’s right, you will know and you will follow.

Dare to be different this Christmas – Dare to give God the first of what you have and not the leftover of what you have.
Dare to be different this Christmas – Dare to buy gifts that are not wrapped in a box but wrapped in the lives of those whom they will help…maybe even save…through the missions featured at this year’s Christmas fair.
Dare to be different this Christmas – Dare to reach out to someone you know with God’s love by inviting them to receive the gift of Christmas by getting to know in a new or renewed way Jesus the Christ.

Dare to be different this Christmas – Dare to live boldly the prophetic proclamation given by John the Baptizer – this time read from  Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” –

What about us? 
Are we going to allow Christmas to become shut up in the prison of materialism and culture? 
Will we dare to be different and become voices in the wilderness?
Will our lives count?
Will we allow God’s gift this Christmas to make a clean sweep of our lives AND put things in their true and proper place…will we be changed from the inside out?

Will we like John the Baptizer – become the ones this Christmas who profess the prophetic proclamation of God’s transforming love for those who will listen?
Again, we have 23 days to figure it out.
May we do so with God’s guidance?  Amen and Amen.

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