[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Advent 3

[Joseph Parrish]

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> From: "Fr HC Smith" <howard.smith at anglican.org.au>
> Date: December 8, 2010 4:18:39 AM EST
> To: <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Advent 3
> Reply-To: propertalk.topic at ecunet.org
> 

> Friends,
> Here some Australian thoughts towards a sermon for Advent 3 based
> on James 5.7-10.  I'm trying to come up with an Australian version of
> "Kingdom of God" - one that takes account of our particular situation, and
> loses the overtones of monarchy.  Currently I'm trying out a phrase I came
> across in the German equivalent of the "Good News Bible": God's New World.
> 
> * Today is the 3rd week of Advent - that special time in which we
> prepare to celebrate the Coming of Jesus:
> + we think about his coming as a baby born in Bethlehem, we think
> about his coming to us in reading the Bible and celebrating the
> sacraments, and we think about his coming at the end of the time
> when he will establish God's New World.
> + And today the Church realises that this business of waiting is not
> necessarily pleasant, especially when we have to put up with nasty
> stuff like sickness, abuse, violence, wars, accidents and other
> disasters.
> + So the reading we listened to from James invites us to be patient
> like a farmer is patient.
> + A farmer goes to all the trouble of getting the paddocks ready for
> the seed, works hard to plant it, but then has to wait for the rain
> and the sun to make the seeds sprout and grow.
> + And he waits till it's time to harvest.
> + But while he is being patient he doesn't just sit down and do
> nothing, getting bored, or getting frustrated.
> + No, he has a lot of work to do around the farm to make sure that
> everything will be ready at harvest time.
> + He checks all the equipment, he keeps going around the crop to
> make sure that it is growing properly, he has to feed the animals
> on the farm, he has to make sure that there is enough water in the
> dams and the tanks, he has to spray to get rid of various bugs out
> of the crop.
> + So he's quite busy.
> 
> * In the same way, the Scripture tells us that we have to be patient
> whilst we wait for the Lord to return.
> + But that doesn't mean we sit down and do nothing; it means we
> ought to be like a farmer and get on with living.
> + There are two examples given as to what that might mean:
> - (1) Don't grumble about each other, and
> - (2) keep going even if things are a bit tough, and you suffer problems
> and difficulties.
> + So that suggests we could use our time much better caring for and
> looking after one another, being kind and forgiving, or as Jesus
> says: loving one another
> - of course what other people do will sometimes get on our nerves,
> but the antidote for that is to start thinking about God's love and
> God's goodness towards us, and look ahead to that time when all
> the bad stuff will be done away, when God's Kingdom, God's New
> World, will come.
> 
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> The Rev'd Dr H.C. Smith
> Retired Anglican Priest
> Orange NSW
> Phone (+612) 6362 3375
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> 
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