Vineyard Church of Knox County
The Day Is Coming
Sermon Audio from Sunday, November 27, 2005 — "I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?" It's been quite a journey for Frodo and Sam when the little gardener wonders this. Ever since they left home they've encountered more wonders and more dangers than they could have possibly imagined. The battle on Weathertop. The flight to the ford. The beauty of Rivendell. The dark mines of Moria, where they lost their beloved Gandalf. Their fellowship has fallen apart; their friends are now far away on another part of the journey. Into the shadow of Mordor they've come, two little hobbits and their cooking gear on a journey to save the world.
It's at this point Sam says, "I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?" Sam could not have asked a better question. He assumes that there is a story; there is something larger going on. He also assumes that they have somehow tumbled into it, been swept up into it. What sort of tale have I fallen into? is the question that would help us all a great deal if we wondered it for ourselves. It may just be the most important question we ever ask. "There's something bigger going on." Don't we forget that at Christmas because of all the details and materialism, because of the mechanics of following traditions that sometimes cloud out the larger story of God in history? Well for the next four weeks of the Advent season, we want to be sure to appreciate the larger story of God that we've fallen into, a story that began before time, a story that has a beginning and an end, a story that we would do well to know if we are to find meaning in this Christmas season, and indeed, if we are to find meaning in life. "What sort of tale have I fallen into" may just be the most important question we ever ask. It is this question, I believe, that was on the mind of Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, when he encountered the Angel Gabriel during his priestly duties in the Temple 2000 years ago. Let's look at Zechariah's story this first Sunday of Advent in order for us to appreciate the larger story of God and find meaning in the birth story of Jesus this Christmas season.
