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Titus 3:3-8St Peters, Skinner St 25-12-09
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Christmas has become a giant carnival. Why all the fuss? Of course, big business wants to make big money. And for once during the year the people want to enjoy themselves, splash out money, go to the beach, get drunk, spoil themselves with good food, new gadgets and expensive toiletries.
But we Christians – why do we celebrate Christmas? A baby was born. Well,all people get born. And this particular baby was born a very long time ago, in a country very far away, in a culture completely different from our own. Since then millions of babies have been born all over the world.So why the fuss?
Christians count years from the date of the birth of Christ. If we say 2010, it means 2010 years after the birth of Christ. History is divided in two periods – the period before Christ and the period after Christ. With the birth of this man, Jesus Christ, something radically new has come into human history, something that was not there before, something of decisive importance.
It is a radically new way of being human. It is about liberation from spiritual enslavements and destructive desires. It is the joyof investing your life into something really worthwhile and lasting. It is the power to serve God by serving humanity. It is the awareness that the future is open for us because God is moving with us into the future. It is the call to join God in his great creative and redemptive project.
So when we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are celebrating our own birth into a new life. We have left something behind. There is a new future. There is a new freedom, a new joy, a new commitment, a new responsibility. Our text deals with this great change from an old life to a new life. I want to unpack this in three steps.
Titus 3:3
There are two things that are amazing in this text. The first is that the author does not scold or condemn others, but says: we have been foolish! He points at himself and his own group. The other amazing thing is that he says all that is a thing of the past. Let us unpack what he says to us this morning.
Early in the morning it is still fairly dark. But there are beautiful colours in the sky. They show that a new day is coming. In the deep night, you could not see the dangers – the rock over which you can stumble, the snake in the grass, the cliff from which you can fall. Now you can see. Life is so different during the day. The night is over. We can leave it behind.
It is good sometimes to look back to see whatexactly you have left behind. Paul says we were once foolish. Let us think of some examples. You get a Christmas bonus. You go and spend it all. In January, when the school fees are due, you are broke. You know that smoking can make you die a miserable death early in life. But you cannot stop. You go to a Christmas party and have a whisky too much, but you insist on driving home and end up in a crash. You know that you can pick up AIDS, spread it to others and die early, but you continue to sleep around. You realise that only one in twenty million players can win, but you still waste your money on the lottery.
Hallelujah, Paul says, we have left all this nonsense behind.
Paul says that we were led astray. Let us think of some examples. Your friends at school mock you– hey, you sissy, how many virgins have you seduced? You feel ashamed and spoil a girl. Your colleague gives you tips on how to take bribes and you follow his advice. You know that your company is in serious financial trouble, but you follow your union and strike for wages way above inflation. You are in government and serve the interests of your family, your friends or your party rather than the interests of the people entrusted to you.
Hallelujah, the text says, all this is a thing of the past. We can move into the future, into a new life.
Paul says that we were enslaved by passions and desires. Let us think of some examples. You have a beautiful and loving wife, but hey, that little girl over there is too cute to resist! Somebody offers you dagga or heroine and promises paradise if you take it –and you get hooked. That new cell phone – my credit card is already overdrawn, but I can get another one. You are already quite stout, but you cannot resist that extra piece of cake.
Hallelujah, the text says, all this is a thing of the past.
Paul says that we were envious and hateful. Again some examples. Your sister has a boy friend while you have none. So you take him aside and tell him what a bitch she is. You resent the fact your subordinate has a more expensive car than your own. Your colleague gets a promotion and you hate her for it. Your teacher has failed you and you just cannot forgive him even decades after the event. Your wife has qualifications and a job, while you are unskilled and unemployed. So you show her with a sjambok who the boss is in your house.
Paul says that we were nasty and mischievous. Mother wants you to wash the dishes but you just laugh at her:do your own work, Mother! You pretend working late at the office, while entertaining a new girl friend. Your colleague needs help but you tell her to go to hell. One party points out the weaknesses of another party and are called a bunch of racists. You know that the robot has gone red but you insist on pushing through.
Just think what could happen to our families, to our schools, to our workplaces, to our highways, to our politics, to our economy, to our hospitals, if we could all say with one voice: We were foolish but we have left all that behind. The night is over, we are moving into a new day.
Titus 3:4
Something appeared that has not been there before, something new. We were stumbling through the darkness of the night. But there are beautiful colours on the horizon. We did not see; we did not know what we were doing; we did the most foolish things. But now the sun comes up and engulfs us in its glorious light. Early morning is a wonderful time. It is as if the power of the new day flows into our bodies. We are full of energy; we get dressed; we have a good cup of coffee; we go to work.We don’t think of the nightmares, the bad dreams and the sleepiness of the night. There is a job to be done.
Paul speaks of a rebirth through water. In many cultures young people go through puberty rituals when they grow up. In some cultures the youths go to a big river. They take off their old clothes and burn them. Then they go through the river.On the other side they put on new clothes. This side of the river they were children. On the other side of the river they are considered adults. This side they behaved like children; that side they are expected to behave like grown-ups. Here they were allowed to play; there they were expected to work. A new status, a new freedom, a new responsibility, a new power, a new life altogether.
In the early Christian church converts were submerged under water to show that their old sinful lives had drowned. Coming up again, they had entered a new life, the life of Christ. You can also say that baptism is getting washed of your sin. You have worked in a filthy environment, you are sweaty and dirty. So you throw off your clothes, get under the shower and put on new clothes.
Becoming part of the new life of Christ, the son of God, we become sons and daughters of God. No longer children but mature adults. No longer slaves of evil, but free and responsible citizens of the kingdom of God. No longer dirty, but clean. No longer too weak to withstand the pressure of our peers, or their condemnation, but strong to become examples, role models and guides for others.
When this happens, Christmas has taken root in your life. Christ has been born in you – not 2000 years ago in a foreign country and a different culture, but now and here as a new way of being human. The new life of Christ has taken shape in you. It is a life in fellowship with God. You are now part of God’s creative and redemptive project in this world.
Now just imagine what our families, our schools, our streets, our TV programmes, our supermarkets, our financial institutions, our factories, our local, provincial and national governments, our sports fields, our cities and townships could look like, if we all shared the new life of Christ – a life where we do not serve our own interests at the expense of others, but build up God’s creation – the community, the society and the natural world.
It would make a hell of a difference, wouldn’t it? No, it would make a heaven of a difference! And we, who are seated in this church, who have come together in the name of Christ, who listen to his message, who have fellowship with Christ and with each other – we have the key! We are called to be the avant-garde of a new world, the role models, the light that shines into the darkness, the examples that others can follow. The new life of Christ begins with us and moves into our families, our schools, our work places, our government offices, our politics.
Titus 3:6
No, this is nothing we can achieve! We cannot chase the night away. Our torches and candles and street lights do not chase the night away. In early dawn the light is fighting the darkness. But it is not we who make the sun rise.The sun comes up on its own, overpowers the darkness and engulfs us in its glorious light. Plants, animals and people need water to live. But it is not the plants, animals and people that pull the rain from the sky. The drought can be severe, but we cannot make it rain. The rain comes on its own.
God pours out his Spirit – richly – like a soaking shower during the rainy season. Maybe it comes like a cloud burst; maybe it is a long, penetrating drizzle. Maybe it takes time to come. But it is the rain we need. Paul says the rain has come; Christ was born; the Spirit is poured out to renew us. We have become part of God’s creative and redemptive project in this world.
Sharing the new life of Christ, the Son of God, we have become sons and daughters of God. As sons and daughters of God we have inherited the greatest possession of our Father – his very own life, his own creative power, his own redeeming love. That is why millions and millions of Christians all over the world are celebrating Christmas today and we are part of them.
Let us pray!
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Save – two meanings:
rescue from danger
hold as your possession because of value
Giving in contrast to achieving – Christmas gifts.
but then it should not be an obligation, otherwise it is spoilt
Christmas – God’s loving kindness manifests itself in human reality
Contrast – emperor Augustus Caesar – king Herod – manger
„Der rote Teppich wird durch Stroh ersetzt,
das große Regierungsgebäude durch einen Stall.
Das Kind liegt in der Krippe
- schlichter geht es wirklich nicht mehr.
Die sonst üblichen Staatsminister
werden von Ochs und Esel vertreten.
Es fehlen die Galauniformen,
nur ein paar Hirten in armseliger Kleidung
traben in Richtung Bethlehem
The triviality and valuelessness of the gifts
not what expected
embarrassment – what must I give?
do not last
a lot of money wasted
The gift of a new life in contrast
the old rubbish discarded
something really worth while – part of God’s project
Philanthropia – said of emperors and kings
Spirit in Wisdom = philanthropia of God
the same as agape in Paul
the Spirit is ‘poured out richly’
– abundance, submerging us, filling us – like baptismal water
Joel 3:1f
Parallels: 1 Cor 6:9ff / Rom 5. ex ergon Hab 2:4
– nur im paulinischen Schrifttum, oder Jak
Inheritance – harks back not to Dt (land) but Ps 2 (universe)
The emphasis lies on God’s love that transforms and involves us,
not on our love.
Our gifts – unwanted, disappointing, useless – vs giving yourself like Christ
The futility of good intentions and New Year resolutions – and the Spirit.
In public service – punctuality, reliability, answering telephone, no bribery,
Becoming heirs – of his new life!
(I have to go otherwise the Spirit will not come)
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