INTRODUCTION:

My favorite movie is Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life." It's the story of every person. It's about friendship, faith and the difference a single life can make. In the opening scene, snow is falling, the camera shows a series of shots from various places in the town of Bedford Falls. It's Christmas Eve. Over those camera shots we hear the voices of people praying for George Bailey.

The scene shifts to an ethereal scene of the heavens filled with stars. We hear the voices of two angels, Franklin and Joseph discussing the events of the night. Franklin says: "Hello, Joseph, trouble?"

Joseph replies: "Looks like we'll have to send someone down - a lot of people are asking for help for a man named George Bailey."

And Franklin says: "George Bailey. Yes, tonight's his crucial night. You're right, we'll have to send someone down immediately." (1)

And of course we all know "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey says. We know how Clarence comes and shows George what a difference his life has made in that community and what life would have been like without him. The plaintive cries and prayers of George's friends and loved ones was heard and God responded. God sent someone.

Let's look at the passage of Scripture and listen to the same sort of plaintive cry from God's people. Isaiah 64:1-9.

[1] O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence--

[2] as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil--
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!

[3] When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

[4] From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.

[5] You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.

[6] We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

[7] There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

[8] Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

[9] Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
[NRSV]

In today's Scripture from Isaiah, we hear Isaiah asking God to intervene on behalf of God's people. Isaiah not only asks God to help but Isaiah asks God to "tear open the heavens and come down,"

It's an invitation to enter the lives of God's people. And the Good News that we celebrate during Advent, is that God has "come down." God heard our cries and though God didn't tear open the heavens, God did come down. The Son of God stepped out of heaven and put on the defenseless rags of our flesh and blood. The Son of God, the Almighty and Invincible submitted himself and became human and vulnerable.

During Advent, as we peak over the edge of the manger cradle, we see the very Glory and Grace of God wrapped in swaddling clothes. AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO THIS CHRISTMAS IS RECEIVE IT, CONCEIVE IT AND ACHIEVE IT.

I. FIRST WE HAVE TO RECEIVE IT:

We have to receive the Gift of this season. There will be lots of presents under the trees in our homes. But often times we leave the greatest gift of all, the gift of God's Grace and Forgiveness wrapped up and unopened. We leave the Christ child wrapped in his swaddling clothes in the manger. We don't let the seeds of Grace and Faith grow. Instead we put them up with all the other Christmas decorations.

Nancy Cornish remembers as a child hearing the tip-tap of a cane on the sidewalk. It was an old man who was bent from the years. He purposefully clutched a cane as he walked. But this old man had a peculiar custom as he roamed the streets of this small town. When he saw a child he would stop, reach into his pocket and give the child a picture of Christ. Ms. Cornish said: "He would thrust it into the child's hand and continue on his way, never speaking a word."

What he did, doesn't seem like a big deal. However, that small act of kindness made a world of difference to Nancy. It was a seed that grew to maturity. Over 40 years have passed but she still has the picture that was given to her. The picture is of Jesus surrounded by a flock of sheep, with a river running through the middle of the picture. On the back of the card in a shaky hand was written, "Psalm 23."

It wasn't until Nancy was an adult that she realized what this man had been doing. In his own way he was planting tiny seeds of faith in the children on his street. It worked for Nancy. That tiny seed of Grace helped fashion her faith. (2)

Nancy Cornish, like so many others, could have thrown that picture away or put it up with all the other things of life that we set aside only to be forgotten. But she didn't. She received that gift and it grew to maturity in her heart.

And that's what we're called to do with this great gift of Grace we receive at Christmas. THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS RECEIVE IT.

II. SECOND, WE HAVE TO CONCEIVE IT:

A. What I mean by that is we have to conceive of a way to let that gift grow. And the best way I know how to let that gift grow, is to give it away. Because every time you give away the Gift of God's Grace and the gift of God's Love, it more than doubles in you own life.

Maybe you saw or heard the story of the two kids who, in 1996, started their own non-profit organization Turkey's R Us. The purpose is to collect turkey to feed the poor at Thanksgiving. They got the inspiration in part from their father, who always taught them to think of others, and from the fact that their local food bank was short on turkeys that year.

This year, they collected over 6,100 turkeys. Not only that but their non-profit organization now has branches in California and Chicago as other young people have taken up the challenge as well.

They've learned that the best gift of all is passing on the gift of God's Grace and Love to others.

My hope for the future is that one day, we can host not only host and serve a Thanksgiving Dinner for the those in need in our area, but that we will be able to do the same thing at Christmas and other times throughout the year. I know it's a tall order, and it's only a dream right now. But the reality of a mission program and a ministry always starts as a dream.

B. Those dinners may be off in the future but there is something we can do this year. I want to invite you to be a part of God's Grace. Advent is when we discover what God Grace is all about, a gift of love, the anticipation and joy of giving. You can be a part of that. You can experience just a touch of what God must feel every time God does one of those small innocuous things that touches our lives and brings deep meaning to us.

Let me tell you how. I want us to all to be Advent Friends. Process is very simple and voluntary. All you have to do is Three simple things and one hard thing.

First, sign up. We'll have a short form that we'll ask everyone to fill out.

Second, draw a name.

Third, this is the fun part, should you choose to accept this mission. Do something extra-special for the person whose name you have drawn without letting them know who it was from.

And Fourth, this is the hard one. Don't expect to find out. Don't expect to tell anyone. Don't take credit. Do it all in secret. Consider the person whose name you have drawn and then experience the joy of unselfish, unrecognized giving.

Become someone's Advent Friend this year and CONCEIVE of a way to let the Gift of God's Grace and Love grow in your life.

III. AND FINALLY, WE HAVE TO ACHIEVE IT:

Live this Gift of Grace, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in your life. Live it in your everyday, going and coming, family and friends, work and play life. Let it make a difference.

I read about an experience a certain man had while visiting the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. He was leading a group of clergy and spouses on a tour and was listening to a minister from the group who had been on one of the ships on December 7th, 1945 when the Japanese attacked.

As the minister described in vivid detail the horrors of being aboard a flaming and sinking vessel (not the Arizona) as bullets flew and bombs roared, the man happened to see a Japanese tourist stoically entering the Memorial. The man appeared to be in his 60's. In his left hand he carried an ornate multi-flowered wreath about 18 inches across. He was accompanied by his wife and daughter. No one else seemed to notice him or his family.

As he watched, the Japanese tourist stopped, straightened his tie, tugged at the hem of his jacket, squared his shoulders, breathed deeply, exhaled as if in preparation, and then soberly stepped forward alone toward the railing at the water's edge above the USS Arizona. He stepped to the rail, bowed deeply, stood erect, and spoke some words which this man couldn't understand.

However, from the tone and the look on the Japanese man's face, their meaning was clear. They were words of confession, sorrow, hurt, honor, dignity, repentance and prayer. When he finished his quiet prayer, the Japanese man dropped his wreath into the sea and watched it float away with the tide.

This Japanese man struggled to keep his formality, but his tears betrayed him as a soldier, a warrior of the air, whose own plane, whose bombs, whose bullets, had probably torn through our ships, taking the lives of many of our young men. It was obvious that he came on a pilgrimage of repentance, not to our government, but to the graves of the young men whose lives he had taken in the name of war. Stepping backward one pace, he bowed, very deeply, very slowly from the waist, with eyes closed, and then, standing tall once again, he turned, rejoined his family and proceeded to leave.

The writer says that he thought the act had gone unnoticed but he was wrong. As the Japanese family began to leave, an American, obviously a World War II vet, someone who'd probably served in the Pacific, stepped out into the path of the Japanese family as they started to walk. He blocked their way.

At first it looked like there would be a confrontation. But then, this American slowly came to attention and saluted his former enemy.

The startled Japanese vet, who was deep in his own thoughts, stopped short, his face filled with surprise and sorrow. His family stopped abruptly and crowded closer. The American remained in salute until the Japanese pilot realized what was happening and returned it.

There they stood, amidst all the other tourists passing by, alone in their shared pain, their shared glories and honors and memories. And alone in their reconciliation.

Finally, the American slowly lowered his arm and formally stepped backward one pace while remaining at attention. The Japanese man, bowed formally and graciously. The American returned the honor. Neither said a word. Neither had to. Their faces, wet with tears, expressed what neither could have ever said to the other in words.

After a few seconds, wife of the American called his name. He turned and these two veterans, their reconciliation complete, went their separate ways. (3)

Over fifty years has passed since that fateful day in 1941. This Japanese pilot finally realized that he could no longer live with his past and went seeking a private reconciliation. The American had also gone to make peace with his own memories and wound up extending the olive branch of peace and forgiveness. And in so doing, his own experience of Grace was more than doubled.

CONCLUSION:

As you begin the process of preparing for Christmas. As you prepare your heart and your homes, let God tear open the heavens and step into your life. Let the Son of God be born and take flesh in your life as you live this Gift of Grace, Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Live it in your everyday, going and coming, family and friends, work and play life. Let it make a difference.

Come on down, Lord. Come on down. Experience God's Grace and let it double as you pass it on.

RECEIVE IT, CONCEIVE IT AND ACHIEVE IT.

1. It's A Wonderful Life: Frank Capra.

2. Nancy M. Cornish, UPPER ROOM, March-April, 1991, p. 39. From, THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF ALL, a sermon by Timothy Smith in Dynamic Preaching, July 1993.

3. A true life experience of Peter Baldwin Panagore, edited by Sil Galvan. Comments may be sent to Peter at pb.panagore@aya.yale.edu .

4.

www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

www.SermonMall.com

www.deaconsil.com

www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermon.html (Richard Fairchild Lectionary Resources)

Homiletics, (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

Lectionary Homiletics, (Lectionary Homiletics, Inc. Midlothian, VA)

Dynamic Preaching, (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

The Clergy Journal, (Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN)

Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

The Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1953)

The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

Preaching the Miracles, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1998) SermonPrep Version.

Preaching the Parables, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1997) SermonPrep Version.