Reflections on "the Empty Manger" Isaiah 64: 1-9; Matthew 24: 36-44

Sermon went ok.  It was better in the Sanctuary service than the Chapel service.  I added the bit about the Christmas list in the Sanctuary service, although if I had thought of it before the Time with Young Disciples in the Chapel service, I probably could have developed it better.

The sermon felt like it never made it past the initial outline/brainstorming to the depth of a sermon.  I think there is still a sermon to be built around the image of the empty manger has no clutter, so who is God shaping us to be.  I probably should have just expanded that one point.

"The Empty Manger" Isaiah 64: 1-9; Matthew 24: 36-4;FPC, Troy, Dec. 1, 2013 Advent 1

Introduction: The manger sits empty.

The Christmas tree stands unadorned.

Advent has begun.

Bethlehem waits for us to arrive to greet the Christ-child.

Each week this year we will add to the manger scene. Some things you will expect; one or two might surprise you.

Eventually, we will arrive in the Sanctuary on Christmas Eve to find the Christ-child will resting in the manger.

As Advent begins, look upon the empty manger and imagine what Advent can mean to you this year. Imagine the possibilities for how God might fill your life.

The empty manger.
Move 1: The empty manger means we are not at Bethlehem yet.

a. Advent invites us to do something we do not do very well – that is, Advent invites us to wait.

1. Henri Nouwen once observed that we in the United States are not very good at waiting. We consider it a huge waste of time. Our culture says, "don't just sit there, do something."

2. the empty manger invites us into a time created by the early church to remind us that we live in God's time, not our time.

3. We may not be good at waiting, but like the Israelites to whom Isaiah spoke as they waited for God to act, like those early followers of Christ who desperately looked for signs for when Christ would come again, we wait for God.

b. Nouwen also notes that "waiting is an awful desert between where we are and where we want to be." (John Buchanan, "Awaiting God's Reign” Christian Century,11/28/12).

1. Who do you want to be when you arrive at Bethlehem and discover the Christ-child in the manger?

2. Advent gives us that time to discover the person God calls us to be.

Move 2: Notice that the empty manger has no clutter.

a. Imagine your life with no clutter.

1. no baggage.

2. No “I have to do this because I have always done it.”

3. No “I have to act that way because everyone expects me to act that way.”

4. This is the time of year for Christmas lists. The blank list that you put down your hopes and dreams.

5. that list is about what you want.

b. Consider the image of the prophet Isaiah uses.

1. The image of God as the potter shaping us the clay.

2. How will God shape you this Advent season?

3. Who is God calling you to be?

4. Who do you want to be when you arrive at Bethlehem?

5. The Advent time of waiting brings with it a time for transformation.

move 3: The manger may be empty now, but God will fill it.

a. the Christ-child will arrive.

1. God has taken on human flesh and joined with us.
2. We proclaim this truth to “an oblivious world.” We announce that “we detect God's presence in our midst” (Journal of Preaching,"Preaching Advent Hope," Joseph Phelps, p. 8).

3. and we invite the world to join us in what God is doing in our midst.

b. Our Advent time of waiting is a time of hope.

1. the manger sits empty, but our Lord's Table is filled.
2. We know what God has done; we know that God is still at work; we look to the future in hope for what God has yet to do.

Conclusion: The empty manger waits to be filled. May God use this Advent season to fill your life in ways beyond your wildest imagination.