I'm not one to post sermons every week, but I thought this one turned out fairly well, and since we were very nearly snowed out, I thought I would share it here for those who would like another (or a first) look at it. It is, of course, a parody of the Dr. Seuss holiday classic, but the attitudes found here are a bit closer to home. Enjoy.
Sermon on Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 24:36-44
HOW THE GRINCH FOUND ADVENT
Every Who down in Whoville liked Advent a lot.
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.
The Grinch once loved Advent, the first Christian season,
But hated how Who’s kept forgetting the reason.
No Jesus! No Mary! No branches of Jesse!
Just shopping and eating and homes that are messy!
“They aren’t preparing! Their behavior is naughty!”
“Worse, their Bible interpretation is shoddy!”
“So many see ‘rapture’ in Matthew 24,
Yet don’t realize who the angels come for!
If Jesus says God’s Day is like Noah’s flood,
The ones swept away are the BAD, not the good!
Their liturgy’s lacking! Their banners aren’t blue!
Their carols are early, those terrible Who’s!
Why, for fifty three years I’ve put up with it now.
I must force them to do Advent rightly…but how?”
Then the Grinch got an idea. An awful idea.
The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea.
“I know just what I’ll do!” the grinch laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick John the Baptist belt and a coat.
And he chuckled and clucked, “what a great grinchy trick!”
“With me as their prophet, they’ll all repent quick!”
“I’ll sneak in, like Judgment Day, thief in the night.
“I’ll steal all their stuff until Advent’s done right!”
No Santas, no Frostys, no Rudolphs or Buddies,
Just footprints from Jordan’s banks, properly muddy.”
“‘Be good, or I’ll make you!’
I’ll break in and say,
‘Keep watch, or God’s wrath will come take you away!’”
Then the Grinch said, “Repent!” and his sleigh started down,
Toward the homes where the Who’s lay a-snooze in their town.
All their windows were dark,
Quiet snow filled the air,
All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care,
When he came to the first little house on the square.
Then he slithered and slunk with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took ev’ry present!
And while he was at it, the grinch took his chance,
To steal all their schedules for soccer, and dance,
And Who Christmas parties that happen on Sunday,
“Oh, the judgment for these Whos will not be a fun day!”
He took Advent calendars of candy and booze,
He replaced them with Bibles in bright Advent blues!
He stole all their rich foods, of which there were plenty,
And left bread and water: “that’s much more repenty!”
The grinch grabbed his bags and he started to shove,
When he heard a small sound, like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, when he saw a small Who!
It was Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two!
The Grinch was prepared, and about to start preaching,
But Cindy surprised him–her little hand reaching…
Up into the closet, to make such a racket,
And once more emerge, holding onto a jacket.
“I notice your fur coat looks a bit old.
Here’s my daddy’s jacket, so you don’t get cold.”
The Grinch was gobsmacked! What a kind thing to do!
Perhaps there was hope for this Cindy Lou Who!
The Grinch went house to house, to those heathens and gluttons,
Taking food, leaving Bibles and Bible verse buttons,
But strange things occurred: Just like Cindy Lou Who,
Each home, in its mess, had some holy things, too.
One house had a letter, all neatly arranged,
To relatives, from whom this Who was estranged.
He asked for forgiveness, for yelling and swears!
He promised to love them, and that he still cares.
As Isaiah predicted, this Who, unawares,
Was beating his swords into helpful plowshares!
Another Who lady, her diary left out,
Was writing to God all her questions and doubts,
And wondering, “is this what my faith is about?”
“To her mind,” thought the Grinch, “it’s a regular ponder,”
“But Isaiah said one day all nations from yonder,
With differences no longer splitting asunder,
Will ask God new questions, with awe and with wonder.”
“I wonder if this is just such a ponder?”
At quarter to dawn, the whole town of the Who’s,
Looked properly penitent, decked out in blue.
“They’re just waking up! I Know just what they’ll do!”
“They’ll think on their sins for a minute or two,
Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry Boo-hoo!”
“That’s a noise,” grinned the Grinch,
“That I simply must hear.”
So he paused, and the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low, then it started to grow.
But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so! But it was merry! Very!
He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
They sang, and they talked, and they whistled and hummed.
The lyrics weren’t perfect,
And some were quite dumb,
But the Grinch, who had once felt so angry and numb,
Could see the Lord’s presence in each single one!
He puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
“Maybe Advent is not just a cultural war.
Maybe Advent, perhaps, is a little bit more.”
“Even as I prepare for the Lord who is near,
I can still see his face
Among friends who are here.
Even as I cry out at injustice and wrongs,
And wait for the Savior, for whom my soul longs,
I still hear his voice in these silly Who songs.
Imperfect, yet holy. To God they belong.”
And what happened next? Well, in Whoville they say,
The Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.
And even ‘midst hopelessness, crisis and labor,
The Grinch kept awake,
To find Christ in his neighbor.
He came to their dances, their games and their feasts,
And he, he himself, the Grinch, carved the roast beast.
Welcome Advent, coming near.
Welcome Christ, amidst our tears.
In messy lives, come make your home.
We're keeping watch:
Your kingdom come.
