December 6, 2020 ~ Second Sunday of Advent ~ Sermon & Sermon Video Link

https://youtu.be/xLeTh__dy-A

2^nd Advent                                                                    12/06/20—Highland—Meute

“From Loneliness to Community: Pathways to Peace”

Isaiah 40: 1-11; Mark 1: 1-8

Originally written by Melissa Lopez, Pastor, First Presbyterian, Bel Air, MD

Susquehanna Ministry Group Advent Collaboration

Pearl: Finding the way to peace and reconciliation.

Function: To motivate listeners to do the hard work of reconciliation for the sake of peace.

The mark of a good movie is that you can watch it time and time again, and still laugh at it. So “Home Alone” is, indeed, a good movie. And while it is filled with iconic, slapstick comedy (which I love), it also has some meaningful messages about what it means to forgive, to seek peace, and to be reconciled.

1. For those who haven’t seen the movie, here is a synopsis: Kevin McAlister is a precocious 8 year old living in the suburbs of Chicago with his Mom, Dad, and siblings. It’s Christmastime, and Kevin’s uncle, who lives in Paris, has paid for the whole family to come to France to celebrate the holiday together. As Kevin tries to pack his things and prepare for the trip, he finds that none of his family will help him. Mom is busy packing, Dad is making last minute preparations, his brothers and sisters push him away and make fun of him.
2. To make matters worse, Kevin’s extended family from Ohio has driven in, and no one pays any attention to him. That evening, the whole family gathers for a quick dinner of pizza, before turning in early so that they can get to the airport first thing the next morning.
   1. After having a rough day, Kevin comes into the kitchen, and upon realizing that his older brother, Buzz, has eaten the last slice of cheese pizza, Kevin loses it. Milk spills all over the airplane tickets, Pepsi gushes off the table onto the floor, and chaos ensues. In trouble for his behavior, Kevin’s mom sends him to the attic to spend the night alone as his punishment.
3. Angry and defiant, he heads up the stairs to go to bed, but turns around one last time to tell his mom that he wishes he didn’t have a family, and hopes that he never has to see them again. Overnight a storm passes through, knocking out the power. Panicked after missing their alarm, the family rushes to finish packing and get to the airport. In their haste, they leave for the airport without Kevin. And it’s not until they are midway to France that Kevin’s mom realizes he is missing. She spends the rest of the movie doing everything she can to get back home to Chicago to be with Kevin.
4. Meanwhile, Kevin awakens to an empty house, and while at first he is a bit worried, he eventually realizes that his wish has come true, and he has made his family disappear.
   1. He lives it up. He eats ice cream for breakfast, and watches movies he’s not allowed to. But soon his fears get the best of him, first—the furnace in the basement, then the next-door neighbor who is said to have murdered his family, and then some burglars who he overhears as they plot to menace the neighborhood. Kevin soon realizes he has to face his fears, and so he undertakes grocery shopping, cutting down a Christmas tree and decorating the house for Christmas, and ultimately, preparing to defend his house from the burglars who are planning to visit his home that evening.
   1. A powerful scene in the movie happens as he is undergoing this process of growing up and becoming more responsible. Before the burglars strike, Kevin makes his way to church. He takes a seat in one of the pews and listens to the children’s choir rehearsing at the front of the Sanctuary. A few moments in, his neighbor, Mr. Marley, the one he’s terrified of, after hearing legends about him murdering his family, comes in and sits next to him. Kevin is alarmed, at first, but is convinced that it’s ok to talk to his neighbor.
      1. As “O Holy Night” is being sung in the background, Mr. Marley asks if Kevin has been good this year. …I’ve been kind of a pain lately.” he says, “I’ve said some things I shouldn’t have. I really haven’t been too good this year. I’m kind of upset about it because I really like my family. Even though sometimes I say I don’t. Sometimes I even think I don’t. Do you get that?”
      1. “I think so,” Mr. Marely replies. “How you feel about your family is a complicated thing… Deep down you’ll always love them. But you can forget that you love them. And you can hurt them and they can hurt you. And that’s not just because you’re young. You want to know the real reason I’m here right now? I came to hear my granddaughter sing. And I can’t come to hear her tonight.”
      1. “Do you have plans?” Kevin asks.
      1. “No, I’m not welcome.” Mr. Marley responds.
      1. “At church?” Kevin asks incredulously.
      1. “You’re always welcome at church”, Mr. Marley responds. “I’m not welcome with my son. Years back, before you and your family moved onto the block, I had an argument with my son…We lost our tempers and I said I didn’t care to see him anymore. He said the same. And we haven’t spoken to each other since.”
      1. “If you miss him, why don’t you call him”, Kevin asks.
      1. “I’m afraid if I call him, he won’t talk to me.”
      1. “How do you know?” Kevin inquires.
      1. “I don’t know. I’m just afraid he won’t.”
      1.  “No offense, but aren’t you a little old to be afraid?” Kevin asks.
      1. “You can be a little old for a lot of things. You’re never too old to be afraid.”
      1.  “That’s true,” Kevin says, “I’ve always been afraid of our basement. It’s dark, there’s weird stuff down there and it smells funny, that sort of thing. It’s bothered me for years…Then I made myself go down there to do some laundry, and I found out, it’s not so bad. All this time I’ve been worrying about it, but if you turn on the lights, it’s no big deal.”
      1. “What’s your point?” Mr. Marley asks. “My point is you should call your son.”
      1. “What if he won’t talk to me?”
      1. “At least you’ll know”, Kevin responds, “And then you could stop worrying about it. And you won’t have to be afraid anymore. I don’t care how mad I was, I’d talk to my dad. Especially around the holidays.”
      1. “You better run along home where you belong.” Mr. Marley says.
      1. “You think about what I said, alright? It’s nice talking to you.” It’s nice talking to you. What about you and your son? “We’ll see what happens.” he responds. They both wish each other a Merry Christmas, and with that, Kevin makes his way home to defend his house.

I love that this scene takes place in a church—a place where peace and reconciliation are preached about and made known. A place that showcases the love of God for all people. And their conversation speaks to a common experience.

1. Sometimes families are difficult. And we cause one another pain, and we say things we later regret, and we are afraid to take the first step toward healing and peace.
   1. And even if our own families have not experienced this, we certainly have in other ways—with friends, neighbors, or co-workers. We all know what it feels like to be in a broken relationship. We all know what it feels like to feel betrayed. We all know how deep the pain can be.
2. These Advent texts speak to this dynamic. And they call us to take the necessary steps toward reconciliation and peace, so that we can make a way for the Lord.
   1. That’s what it means when the prophet Isaiah implores the Israelites to make a way for the Lord, to straighten the crooked paths and make the hills come to a plain. And changing a path, a road, that’s already been laid is hard work. It is back breaking work, but it is worth it in the end, because it makes things smoother, and provides a better way forward.
   1. And as you know, mending these relationships in our lives is difficult. It’s much easier to air our grievances behind someone’s back, than it is to go and talk to them.
   1. And it’s easier to place all of the blame for a broken relationship on the other person, without taking any responsibility for our own actions or admitting our own faults.
   1. It’s easier to remain silent and pretend like things are okay, than addressing the issues head on.

But when we live like this, we do not live at peace. Like Kevin reminds us, we live in fear and in pain. We live with anxiety and anger. We walk a crooked and hilly path.

1. But when we seek reconciliation, we find peace.
   1. Even if we don’t mend the relationship in the way we would hope, we can seek a peace within, when we know we’ve done everything we can to heal.
   1. As the movie comes to a close, Kevin’s mom arrives home on Christmas morning, followed by the rest of the family.
      1. They all rejoice that Kevin is safe, as they realize how important family really is.
      1. And after the McAllister family celebrates the reunion, Kevin looks out the window to see his neighbor, Mr. Marley, greeting his estranged son, with a hug in the driveway, as the family makes their way in to celebrate Christmas.
      1. It is a happy ending, and one that warms your Spirit in this time leading up to Christmas.

And while both of these stories end well, we know that life went on for both families. We don’t know if they still struggled to be at peace with one another.

1. Surely they still fought, as all families do. But the hope is that they learned something. That they grew, that they figured out how to seek reconciliation before things got to a breaking point.
2. This is the hope of Advent: that we can, indeed, make straight paths, and seek peace and reconciliation, even when it is difficult. Even when it is downright painful.
3. So as we wait, we do so actively. We’re not stuck passively waiting for peace to arrive.
   1. We are called to be the “peace-makers”—those who work to create peace by fixing the broken pieces of our world.
      1. Peace does not just come on its own. Peace takes work. Fixing crooked and broken paths takes time.
   1. As the song says, “let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
      1. So stop holding out for the other person to apologize first.
      1. And stop doing everything you can to prove that you were right.
      1. Relinquish your need to hold grudges and make excuses.
      1. Receive grace for yourselves, as you give it to those who have hurt you.
      1. And offer yourselves up to God, so that you can be used to do the work of reconciliation everywhere you go.

Through Christ, we have received reconciliation, and we have experienced the peace that surpasses all understanding. As we await our Lord’s return, we are bearers of this good news.

Be bold. Be honest. Seek forgiveness and grant grace.

Smooth out the rough places, and create better paths forward.

Prepare the way of the Lord.

Get back on and stay on the track of Jesus. Amen.