<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div><br><br>Sent from my iPad</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "Fr HC Smith" <<a href="mailto:howard.smith@anglican.org.au">howard.smith@anglican.org.au</a>><br><b>Date:</b> December 8, 2010 4:18:39 AM EST<br><b>To:</b> <<a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic@ecunet.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[propertalk.topic] Advent 3</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> <a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org"><a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic@ecunet.org</a></a><br><br></div></blockquote><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Friends,</span><br><span>Here some Australian thoughts towards a sermon for Advent 3 based</span><br><span>on James 5.7-10. I'm trying to come up with an Australian version of</span><br><span>"Kingdom of God" - one that takes account of our particular situation, and</span><br><span>loses the overtones of monarchy. Currently I'm trying out a phrase I came</span><br><span>across in the German equivalent of the "Good News Bible": God's New World.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* Today is the 3rd week of Advent - that special time in which we</span><br><span>prepare to celebrate the Coming of Jesus:</span><br><span>+ we think about his coming as a baby born in Bethlehem, we think</span><br><span>about his coming to us in reading the Bible and celebrating the</span><br><span>sacraments, and we think about his coming at the end of the time</span><br><span>when he will establish God's New World.</span><br><span>+ And today the Church realises that this business of waiting is not</span><br><span>necessarily pleasant, especially when we have to put up with nasty</span><br><span>stuff like sickness, abuse, violence, wars, accidents and other</span><br><span>disasters.</span><br><span>+ So the reading we listened to from James invites us to be patient</span><br><span>like a farmer is patient.</span><br><span>+ A farmer goes to all the trouble of getting the paddocks ready for</span><br><span>the seed, works hard to plant it, but then has to wait for the rain</span><br><span>and the sun to make the seeds sprout and grow.</span><br><span>+ And he waits till it's time to harvest.</span><br><span>+ But while he is being patient he doesn't just sit down and do</span><br><span>nothing, getting bored, or getting frustrated.</span><br><span>+ No, he has a lot of work to do around the farm to make sure that</span><br><span>everything will be ready at harvest time.</span><br><span>+ He checks all the equipment, he keeps going around the crop to</span><br><span>make sure that it is growing properly, he has to feed the animals</span><br><span>on the farm, he has to make sure that there is enough water in the</span><br><span>dams and the tanks, he has to spray to get rid of various bugs out</span><br><span>of the crop.</span><br><span>+ So he's quite busy.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* In the same way, the Scripture tells us that we have to be patient</span><br><span>whilst we wait for the Lord to return.</span><br><span>+ But that doesn't mean we sit down and do nothing; it means we</span><br><span>ought to be like a farmer and get on with living.</span><br><span>+ There are two examples given as to what that might mean:</span><br><span>- (1) Don't grumble about each other, and</span><br><span>- (2) keep going even if things are a bit tough, and you suffer problems</span><br><span>and difficulties.</span><br><span>+ So that suggests we could use our time much better caring for and</span><br><span>looking after one another, being kind and forgiving, or as Jesus</span><br><span>says: loving one another</span><br><span>- of course what other people do will sometimes get on our nerves,</span><br><span>but the antidote for that is to start thinking about God's love and</span><br><span>God's goodness towards us, and look ahead to that time when all</span><br><span>the bad stuff will be done away, when God's Kingdom, God's New</span><br><span>World, will come.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *</span><br><span>The Rev'd Dr H.C. Smith</span><br><span>Retired Anglican Priest</span><br><span>Orange NSW</span><br><span>Phone (+612) 6362 3375</span><br><span>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *</span><br><span></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>