By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, December 5, 2010 · Second Sunday of Advent
Sermon Series: Are We Prepared? The Old Testament in the Gospel of Mark
Sermon Text: Isaiah 29:13-14
Sermon Theme
Jesus is criticized by the Pharisees and scribes for not observing “the traditions of the elders.” He upholds the word of God as the sole authority for the community of faith. Yet tradition has always played a role in the life of faith and indeed in the histories of Israel and the church. The observances of Advent and Christmas are full of tradition. Jesus is not against such observances per se. He does however warn about the danger of substituting tradition for the word of God (this was a major issue in the Reformation). Hundreds of years earlier Isaiah had confronted the people of Israel with a situation in which their human commandments were taking the place of God’s word. Tradition can be a matter of doing things by rote (Isaiah 29:13). God continues to stir us up with things that are “shocking and amazing.” We need to rediscover continually the power of the word of God.
Sermon Outline
- Pattern. From the very beginning when God called a people unto himself they were to be distinctive. They were not to be as the other nations were. God said, “Be holy as I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45). God’s law given in his word to Moses was the definition of how Israel was to live. The church also had distinctive marks but not in the same way that Israel did. The church’s formal rituals in baptism and the Lord’s Supper were not in themselves unique. Other religions practiced forms of baptism and a sacred dinner. What was distinctive about the church was that it is called to be the Body of Christ (Romans 12:5). It is to show off his reality. Human beings need patterns which gives definition and purpose to life. Israel had that in the law. However they began to add on to it. The result, both in Isaiah’s time and in the time of Jesus, was that human traditions began to take the place of God’s word (Mark 7:1-8). This happens all too easily.
- Purpose. Tradition has a definite purpose. Tradition gives a group identity. It reminds them of who they are and enables them to keep in touch with their history and destiny. America has many traditions and rituals that we regularly observe as a way of preserving the memory of our past and the goals that have formed us as a nation. These include Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving among others. The danger however in any tradition is that it can become divorced from the original purpose that it once served. If Thanksgiving is only about eating, parades, football and getting ready for Black Friday, its meaning has been lost. This is no less true in the community of faith. As human traditions emerged more and more the purpose of living a life centered on God became reduced to a series of actions and duties which could somehow be defined as a life of “holiness.” The danger is that human words can muffle the word of God (Mark 7:13).
- Priority. Most of the traditions that we follow in the Christian life are not specified in the word of God. Scripture tells us to pray (I Thessalonians 5:25), follow God’s word (Colossians 3:16), assemble together (Heb. 10:25) and even sing hymns (Eph. 5:19). Yet the Bible never gives us an order of worship. It never specifies Sunday as the day of worship. Jesus gets up on one occasion early in the morning and goes out to pray (Mark 1:35). Some people have followed that example but it is nowhere required as such. The fact is the word of God is dynamic (Hebrews 4:12). Most of our traditions are human inventions not found in Scripture. An obvious example this time of year is Advent and Christmas. Our Christmas is a mixture of the ancient celebration of the winter solstice (the original date of Dec. 25), Norse mythology (the Norse god Odin was the precursor of Santa Claus) and Christianity. There is only one reason for us to celebrate Christmas. It is to enable us to learn anew and afresh the meaning of making Jesus Christ the priority in our lives. There is no simple formula for this. Frosty the snowman and Rudolph, like the ancient food practices of the Roman Empire, are neither inherently good nor bad. As Paul says, “We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (I Corinthians 8:8). The problem arises if all the activities of the season become a distraction that keeps us from focusing on the meaning of Christ coming into the world to be our Savior and Lord (John 1:14, 29). It is too easy to turn the Christmas story itself into a myth which produces a sentimental feeling but no real faith. Anything that distracts us from the Lord Jesus is an idol (I John 5:21).
Questions for Us
- Why do you think the New Testament doesn’t give us a prescribed law to follow regarding worship and spiritual life (as the Old Testament did)?
- What traditions in the Christian faith have you found helpful in assisting you to grow in Christ?
