We’re hosting the family Christmas at our house this year.
This will be our first Christmas back in Australia, back with the family. So
this Christmas is kind of a big deal for us. Also, this will be our first
Christmas that will include our nephew Zach, who was born while we were stuck
in the UK last year.
Of course, hosting Christmas means doing a lot of
preparation. You have to get things ready: we have to make sure the place is
clean and tidy for visitors – we can’t have dirty laundry taking up all the
space on the couch! We need to make sure we have enough places for people to
sit; we need to have sufficient food and drink for the day, and make sure that
it meets the allergy and dietary needs of our guests, and make sure we have
somewhere to put it (we don’t have a dining table); we need to have presents
ready, and somewhere to put them (we don’t have a Christmas tree); and we need
to make the house look at least a little bit Christmassy (we don’t have
decorations).
Now I’m sure anyone who has organised a family Christmas
will agree with me that you cannot do all this preparation on the day. It’s an
important occasion, and it’s just not something you can throw together at the
last minute. Not with a satisfying result, anyway.
As Christians, at Christmas we are celebrating the arrival
of the most important person ever to walk the earth. We celebrate the birth of
Jesus: the son of God, who comes to earth in fully human form, to be God with
us – “Jesus, our Immanuel” as Charles Wesley so beautifully puts it in Hark The
Herald Angels Sing. He comes into the world the same way we all do, born as a
little child, but for so great a purpose it is hard to fathom – “born that man
no more may die”, as Wesley again writes.
And so it should come as no surprise to us that with such an
important person’s arrival – literally the most important person in history –
coming for such an important purpose – no less than the salvation of all
humanity – God must make preparations for the arrival of Jesus into the world. In
fact, these preparations span for over a thousand years before Christ’s birth!
I understand that you have been hearing sermons on some of the Old Testament
prophecies which foretell the coming of Jesus and what his life and death would
be like, and what they mean. And when we look back to the covenants that God
made with humanity, be it David, Moses, Abraham, or even Adam and Eve, we can
see how they all point towards a time when Jesus would come to do away with sin
and death, be a blessing to all nations, and draw to God a kingdom of sons and
daughters that has no end.
But as anyone who has prepared a Christmas function knows, no
matter how much good planning you do in the weeks leading up to Christmas, there
are always some things that are done in the days and perhaps hours before the
guests arrive. If you order fresh seafood, you don’t get it weeks in advance –
you wait until the last possible moment to collect it! And in the same way, in
the Christmas story we learn God’s preparations take place right up to the
moment of Jesus’ birth. And one thing that I find absolutely fascinating is the
role that children play in the Christmas story of preparing for the arrival of
Jesus. This is represented in part by the birth of another child in the months
leading up to Jesus’ birth – a part of the Christmas story that doesn’t often
make it onto Christmas cards or into Christmas carols. I am talking, of course,
about the birth of John the Baptist.
Like Jesus, John’s birth is also miraculous – born to a
husband and wife too old to have children. His birth is also announced by an
angelic visitation, and his name is also given by the angel. Although John is
not born at the same time as Jesus, being an older cousin by a few months, his
birth is still very much part of the whole Christmas story as told in the
gospel of Luke. And it’s this story I want us to remember today, because it has
something to say about the kind of role we as Christians should be playing in
preparing for the arrival of Jesus, and it also says something about the kind
of work we do at Horizons Family Law Centre.
Let’s start by reading Luke’s account of John’s birth in
Luke chapter 1, starting at verse 5: “5 In the time of Herod king of Judea
there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of
Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were
righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees
blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to
conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was
serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom
of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And
when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers
were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at
the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was
startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be
afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to
you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the
sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he
will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring
back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on
before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the
parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
God had spent thousands of years – a whole nation’s history
in fact – preparing the way for the arrival of Jesus. Even this was a
fulfilment of a prophecy in Malachi chapter 4:5-6, 400 years before the birth
of Christ, which reads, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that
great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the
parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or
else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” But God also knew
that when Jesus actually arrived, people would not be ready for him. As it says
in John 1:10, “10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through
him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but
his own did not receive him.” God knows that people need to be primed, that the
way needs to be prepared. A special arrival needs a special preparation. In
this case, Jesus is so special that he needs someone born before him whose
whole life’s work is to prepare the world for him. This is John the Baptist’s
mission.
But what really intrigues me is how God says John the
Baptist will prepare the way. I’ve talked about Christmas preparations – preparing
the house, preparing the food, and so on. But John the Baptist’s ministry of
preparation isn’t about preparing a path or an event – it’s about preparing
people. “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord” says
verse 16, “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” says verse 17. That is
the focus of John the Baptist’s ministry, because that is God’s focus in the
coming of Jesus: to draw all people to himself.
And the first person that needs to be prepared is John.
Because that’s what all these prophecies about his birth are really showing:
that God is preparing this child for this ministry. Look at verse 15, “he will
be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented
drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.” Let
me ask you: How many Australians do you think prepare for Christmas by not
drinking alcohol? But seriously, we can see here that there is a mixture of
God’s work in this child – he will be filled with the Holy Spirit – and also the influence of his parents,
ensuring that he has a holy upbringing – abstaining from alcohol was a
religious vow from way back in the Old Testament.
Ultimately, while I am sure God will gladly bless our
Christmas plans, our feasts, our church services and family activities if we
bring them before him, I think what God cares about most is people. And if we
care about preparing people for the coming of Christ, that must include
preparing ourselves. How much of our Christmas preparations this year have
centred around preparing ourselves for celebrating the coming of Christ? I’ll
admit that before I wrote this sermon, it wasn’t high in my mind. My focus was
about the event, the meals, the celebrations, even my sermons – all outward
things. But it wasn’t until I sat down and started writing this sermon that I
really reflected, “What am I doing to prepare myself?” Don’t let the Christmas
season pass you by without having sat down just once and reflected on the
amazing and miraculous truth about the arrival of God into our world as a child,
and how that truth might be reflected by you into the lives of those around you.
Because remember this isn’t simply an inward focus: just
like John’s life was being prepared to allow him to prepare other people for
the arrival of Jesus into the world, our self-preparation is so that we might
also be helping others to prepare for the arrival of Jesus into their lives.
How might we go about preparing others for the arrival of
Jesus? Let’s look at what the angel Gabriel says to John’s father about that,
in verse 17: “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
As people who are familiar with the ministry of John the
Baptist, this description of his ministry as given by the angel may seem a bit
strange. We think of John preaching a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness
of sins, as he is described in Luke chapter 3. We might think of him baptising
Jesus. These describe well John’s ministry of going before the Lord and
preparing the way. We might even recall some of his words recorded in Luke 3,
where he tells the crowd, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one
who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same”; he tells the tax
collectors, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to”; and he tells the
soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with
your pay.” We can see here someone seeking to turn the hearts of the
disobedient to righteous wisdom.
But how does turning the hearts of parents to their children
fit into the ministry of preparing people for the coming of Jesus? In John’s
story we see it happen immediately – even before he is born. Later in Luke 1
we’re told that when Mary, now pregnant with Jesus, goes to visit Elizabeth,
“41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Before
John had even been born, Elizabeth’s heart was turned to listen to her child,
and prepared for the arrival of Jesus into her home. And that’s an amazing
story. But what does it tell us? What might turning the hearts of parents to
their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, look for us
as Christians today?
To illustrate just one example of how this might work, I
want to tell you what it’s like for a client coming to Horizons Family Law
Centre for help. The story I’m going to tell you is made up – it’s not the
story of a single client, instead it is a mish-mash of the stories of many
clients. This is partly to help keep their confidentiality, but also partly
because there is so much commonality in the stories of so many of the people we
help who are in real family crisis.
A parent calls our legal advice hotline. This person can be
of either gender – we help both mums and dads with family law issues. They are
distressed, anxious, and confused. Their relationship with their partner has
broken down. They have moved out – now the kids are with one parent and not the
other. They tell us that their ex-partner is a terrible person who has treated
them badly. They don’t know what to do next; what they do know is that they
hate their ex-partner, and they don’t want anything to do with them ever again.
Their situation is complicated: often there are money troubles (if they had
enough money to hire a regular lawyer, they probably wouldn’t have been
referred to us); perhaps there has been some kind of family violence; there may
be health issues with the parents and/or the children; they don’t have
grandparents nearby to help with the kids; one parent might want to move
interstate or even overseas for work or family support; the parents have
different religious beliefs, different thoughts on where the kids should go to
school or what sports they should play or how they should be raised.
When they come to us, they are in the middle of a very
painful situation: they have been hurt, and often they want to lash out. In
their hearts, they want revenge for the hurt they are feeling, for the years
they have lost, for the difficult situation they now find themselves in. And so
they will ask questions like, “How can I stop my ex‑partner from seeing the
kids ever again? How can I stop them from getting any money? How can I force
them to do things my way?”
Then they speak with one of our lawyers, and we explain to
them the way the family law system works, the sorts of options they might have,
and the things they may face in the months and years to come. For more
complicated family situations, we offer face-to-face advice clinics in three churches
around Sydney (and we’re looking at starting a fourth next year). Last year we
took about 1000 calls from people asking for legal advice about their family
situation. For many of those, we speak with them two or three times, or perhaps
have a conference with them, and give them a listening ear, some high quality
advice specific to their situation, and they are able to move forward in a
healthier way. For about 10% of them, so about 100 a year, we might offer more
specialised assistance, like helping them with legal documents or a mediation
with their ex‑partner. And about 10% of those – fewer than ten – are so
complicated, so high conflict, and so in need, that we might agree to assist
them through the court process. Some of
those clients we have walked alongside for four years or more.
But whether we speak to a client on the phone only once, or
whether we journey with them for years through a complex legal situation, we
are in a unique position to turn the hearts of the parents to their children.
We are very fortunate that in Australia one of the fundamental principles of
family law is that all outcomes must be in the best interests of the children.
Right from the start, this is advice that we can give to our clients: we know
you are feeling hurt and you feel like you deserve something, but think about your
kids; what is best for them? Do they miss their dad? Are they really better off
growing up without a mum in their life? Is it good for them to see the two of
you fighting all the time? You are their parent: are you really thinking about
what is best for them, or about what will make you feel better?
And we are in a unique position to turn the hearts of the
disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous. We counsel our clients to show
grace and mercy in their dealings with their ex-partner. Yes, this person may
have hurt you in the midst of your messy relationship breakdown. You absolutely
do not need to stay with them any longer. But they are still the other parent
of your kids. You may need to give them a chance. You may need to recognise
that they have made mistakes, like we all do. You may need to consider
forgiveness, in order to allow these mediations to continue, in order to keep
this matter out of court, in order to help you move on with your own life, in order
for your kids to get the best result possible. You may need to consider what
benefits the other partner will bring to your kids. You are both still parents,
and both of you will need to keep making sacrifices for the good of the kids.
Not once in any of those explanations did I mention the name
of Jesus. But can you see how someone’s heart might have the way prepared for
him? Their hearts have been turned to their children; their hearts have been
turned towards righteous wisdom. They have received good legal advice about
their situation, which is a real and tangible help with a problem they see
right in front of them; but they have received that help in a way that gives
them a taste of God’s plan: God, the heavenly Father who has turned his heart
towards us as his children at a great cost to himself; God, who makes known the
ultimate righteous wisdom to the disobedient, by showing us his grace and his
mercy through forgiveness.
Our clinics are run through churches, so our clients are
also able to connect with a church that offers them help them with meals, or a
children’s play group, or a domestic violence counselling support service. Every
single client at Horizons sees the power of gospel wisdom in their own family
situation, and is drawn that much closer to Christ through their contact with
us. And when they ask us why we’re doing these things, why we offer this
service without getting any government funding, or even just comment on how
nice and helpful we are, like John the Baptist we can say, “Oh, but I only do
this because there is one greater than me, the straps of whose sandals I am not
worthy to untie.”
Maybe you think, “Oh, but I can’t be like John the Baptist.
I don’t have a law degree. My job doesn’t give me these opportunities. I wasn’t
born with the introduction of angels.” In which case, I would like to introduce
you to John the Baptist’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. We’re told in verse
6, “Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s
commands and decrees blamelessly.” Who do you think is responsible for keeping
young John the Baptist away from alcohol, keeping him on his religious vow? Who
raised him, fed him, supported him in his ministry of being a voice of one
calling in the wilderness? Who brought him up in a household where the Lord’s
commands were observed blamelessly? Where do you think he learned the wisdom of
the righteous? It’s really easy for us to spiritualise John the Baptist – after
all, he was introduced to the world by an angel, just like Jesus, and so it’s
easy to think everything about his life was simply provided by God. But the
truth is John the Baptist was miraculously conceived, but into the family of ordinary
parents whose hearts were already turned to their child, who already lived by
the wisdom of the righteous.
When Zechariah is first told about the coming of his son
John, the angel says to him, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will
rejoice because of his birth.” Of course Zechariah and Elizabeth were proud of
John. But their role in raising him and supporting him led to many rejoicing
because of his ministry. In a very real way, they shared in John’s ministry.
And it’s the same for you here at Waitara Gospel Chapel, supporting us in the
work of Horizons Family Law Centre. Those of us in the office are seeking to
turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom
of the righteous; we are seeking to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
But you who support us, who encourage us, who pray for us, you are right to
take joy and delight in this ministry too, because there are many who rejoice
because of it – a thousand calls last year alone!
Christmas is a very difficult time of year for most of our
clients. It’s hard to prepare for Christmas when the relationship of two
parents has broken down, when they struggle to communicate effectively, when
there is extra financial stress, extra holiday preparation, two families now
wanting to have the kids. We often get calls over Christmas from clients about
a breakdown in the plans for their children to be with them, or because a
situation has otherwise escalated and they don’t know what to do. Earlier I
said that we shouldn’t let Christmas go past without having a moment to sit
down and reflect on the amazing and miraculous truth about the arrival of God
into our world as a child. How hard must it be for those people to prepare for
remembering the coming of Christ into the world in the midst of their family
crisis? Our hope at Horizons is that through turning the hearts of the parents
to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, we might
make ready these people, so that when Christmas comes, they are a little more
prepared for the coming of our Lord.
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