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

The prophetic tradition is about truth-telling, radical criticism, lament, imagined alternative, energising communities, penetrating despair. The first task of the prophet is to be the voice in the wilderness or to give voice for those in the wilderness. In Rochdale in 2005 one group being left to starve in the wilderness are those who came seeking a welcome, asylum and are disbelieved and left destitute.

Yesterday, I heard the story of one such refugee from DR Congo. He came to UK 5 years ago, asylum was refused in December 2002 and then he finds himself in limbo - NASS benefits withdrawn, Sec 4 hardship unavailable unless voluntary return agreed to, not allowed to work - left destitute, homeless, rootless. This is one story among many and has led Church Action on Poverty to begin a campaign called Living Ghosts. (http://www.church-poverty.org.uk)

As part of this campaign the following letter (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-1901530_1,00.htmltimes) to The Times called on a change in Governmet Policy towards unsuccessful asylum seekers.

“The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” begins Mark. And in the pages that follow we see Jesus working with the poor, the marginalised, the broken hearted, the downtrodden, He feeds the hungry - physically and spiritually. We have just sung

The kingdom of God
is mercy and grace,
The lepers are cleansed
The sinners find place
The outcasts are welcomed
God’s banquet to share,
And hope is awakened
In place of despair.

Matthew 25 spells out our responsibility towards the hungry, the stranger. Hebrews 13:2 tells us “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have welcomed angels unawares. At St. Andrew’s we are playing a small part, collecting food for our friends from New Life Church to distribute - you may wish to support that project. Some of you may want to get involved in the Living Ghosts campaign.
John’s was a voice in the wilderness. He did not come to the people and places of power - he did not have access to the media, to the people who create and influence policy - he came to the wilderness and invited people into the wilderness to hear his voice. It is in the wilderness that we will hear the voice of God, it is in the wilderness that we will hear the cry of the poor, the destitute, the broken hearted, those who lament the past and the present and hope for the future.

The good news of Jesus Christ is that there is hope, that in amongst all the rubbish that is Christmas - there comes a child, the Saviour of the world -Son of Man and Son of God who invites us to follow him into the wilderness, into the broken heart of God, into the kingdom of God - where “They shall never again feel hunger or thirst, the sun shall not beat on them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of the water of life; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Isaiah 64:1-9
Mark 13:24-37

Mark is warning of end times, destruction of the old and looking forward to the Son of Man coming in glory. The world is standing on the brink - the old has passed - the new must come.

Isaiah speaks to a people in exile, mourning, revision, hint of promise - hope - It is the death of all their dreams, all their hopes, of any future.In the crisis in the darkness of life there is a hint of hope - God is the potter.

Listen/look at U2’s song Yahweh http://www.u2.com/music/lyrics.php?song=457&list=y
dead end lives struggling for meaning
cheap, throwaway, insecure, rootless
someone else bursting to get out
Advent - acknowledges pain - looks towards the Christchild - among us, one of us
hands - fist; mouth - kiss; encouraging caring, life-changing,
garden to City - harking back - need to be looking forward.

Waiting for the dawn -
dark times for the church - marginalised, irrelevant, scorned, dieing. Who are we? what are we about? do we have a future?
Dark times for many people in their personal lives - hopelessness, despair, fear, waiting for the dawn/

Hope is in God - the potter who mould us - the child who comes amongst us - the saviour who offers life-changing love. In broken hearts and faithful living.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come

Matthew 25:31-46

Our Gospel reading is about belonging to the kingdom of heaven - more than that it is about inheriting There is a link here to beatitudes where we are told that the meek/poor in spirit will inherit the earth. Here it is those quietly getting on with the work of the kingdom who will inherit - when I was hungry...

Day of Judgement is perhaps something we get uncomfortable with, the days of fire and brimstone - scaring people into the kingdom seem to be behind us, but here is reminder that it is part of the tradition. Perhaps one day we will stand before God and need to give an account of our life - our stated belief, our sound doctrine, our eloquent theological arguments, our faithful attendance at Church will count for nothing. How have you put faith into action? Will God say to us you fed me or you did not feed me; you gave me something to drink or you let me thirst.; you welcomed me or you ignored me; you clothed me or you left me naked; You cared for me or you did not care; you visited me or you left me to rot. If you were to stand before God today - what would be the judgement on your life?

How do you react when faced with need? No doubt many have given to Children in Need, to the various DEC appeals; you will support our Advent Charities, but is such remote giving the easy option? What about a real person, standing in front of you, in real need. What are we going to do for destitute refugees who have come to our town seeking a safe place, a welcome and find themselves with no money, no food, no shelter?

The motives of those who inherit the kingdom are pure - they respond naturally, compassionately without realising their behaviour is special. Perhaps some of us are more calculating - we don’t fancy that Day of Judgement. But when people are in real need our motives for helping don’t really matter - what matters is doing something, making sure that the hungry are fed, the thirst given something to drink, the stranger is welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick are cared; the prisoners visited. Give a present to someone who really needs it this Christmas.