3rd Week Of Advent

The Voice Invites Us
Luke 3:7-18

In a 1959 speech given in Indianapolis, President Kennedy said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” The tone of John the Baptizer’s words tonight/this morning is one of immediacy. The people of Israel are in crisis even if they aren’t fully aware of it. John’s words have all the signs of danger where judgment is possible. And yet, his words also take on this sense that opportunity has arrived and people are invited to respond to it. Within the urgency and integrity of John’s message was judgment, but in the judgment was opportunity, and opportunity was proclaimed to the people in the word “repent.”

Our gospel text says that John “went into all the country around the Jordan and, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Immediately for some, this was incredibly good news. In repenting, people no longer had to be defined by their past. People no longer had to be captive to their failures, their choices, or their inadequacies. The people could repent. They could move on. They could be given a new slate. They could start over.

“Wouldn’t you be untrusting of a world where repentance wasn’t possible? What if there was no chance to repent and start over? Some might even define hell as being that place. Hell is a place where there is no possibility of repentance. There’s no way out, no chance to get rid of the past, no chance to start again. Hell defines you by your past.” Repent is a word that is loaded with so much potential. “It pays us human beings a sublime compliment, because it says that you and I can do something about the course of life we are on. Animals don’t get that luxury…they live by the instincts demanded of them.” Human beings, you and I, have the ability to make course corrections. If we are on the wrong train of living, we can get off and get on another one that moves in the direction of our integrity and character. If we are headed down a path of self-destruction, we can make a 180 and choose a path that leads to life.

This doesn’t always mean that our past is wiped clean from us even if we do repent. Sometimes our past is needed to remind us where we’ve been. But that past does not have to determine where we are going. “Yes, we may not be able to change what we’ve already done, and we may not be able to fully escape the consequences of those past choices.” But we do not need to be on any sort of destructive path. The path that we are on determines the direction we are going, and when we repent, we change directions because we’ve changed our intention to go somewhere else. We can repent, make a 180, and start the journey over. John’s words call people into this gift of repentance, this very gift of God for those who really want it, for those who really see the potential to a new beginning, for those who see nothing but hope in front of them. “His words might have been sharp and penetrating but he led the people to a door, to an opportunity, to a way out from their sinful lives and accept the gift of God to start over.”

With his words, John attracted all kinds of people. There were those who were honestly seeking this gift of repentance; this opportunity for a new life. And then there were those who were seeking an easy way out. John warns them of superficial repentance saying, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘we have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

For John, the message is clear. Each generation has to decide for themselves if they are going to be the people of God or not. No generation can assume to ride the coattails of their ethnic heritage in order to receive salvation. God will not be dependent on the physical descent of Israelites in order to accomplish His redemptive work. If that was God’s choice, God could certainly act with sovereign freedom to produce other children to Abraham out of the very lifeless stones in the desert. And because there wasn’t a shortage of stones, God was unlimited to make the numbers He needed to accomplish His redemptive work with or without the people of Israel.

As if it couldn’t be any more disappointing for people seeking an easy superficial way out, John adds that those who believe their actions as individuals bear no consequence on them as an entire people, the ax is already at the foot of the tree. If the people of Israel fail by their actions to produce good fruits of repentance, the ax of God could easily swing, uprooting the entire nation, falling by the judgment of God. If these people are not interested in being the people of God, how is God able to bring redemption to them unless they repent for all the right reasons? How will the people respond?

For any generation who seeks to be the people of God, redemption takes place only when the people own up to their own failures, their own greed, or their own indifference to others. When people have repented of their choices, there is room enough for redemption to enter in. This is the voice of John, preparing a way for the Lord, making straight paths for him, telling people the time has come to repent of the past, to make different choices today, to live a new life, because the Lord is coming and bringing salvation with him.

In being a redeemed people, it is right John says, to practice ethical reform, to show that those fruits of repentance really matter. It is right to show the evidence of a changed repentant heart. It is right to give out of one’s abundance. As Jesus will remind the people, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be expected.” It is also right to refrain from exploiting people for personal gain either by overtaxing them or extorting money from them. To carelessly do either one was not living a repentant life.

This was John’s advice. “As incisive as his words were, this advice was practical as he spoke in terms the people could put into practice that very day.” People could decide for themselves that day to make a 180, turn around, and live as changed people, people willing to be the people of God. Or they could stay on the same course of life their on and assume they know better than John, trusting in their own understanding of salvation first.

John’s question set before the people is the same as our question today, will this generation be the people of God? Will this generation seek to go it alone when there is so much that is promised before us? Don’t the people know, that God is coming to be with His people? The prophet Zephaniah is quick to say, “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in His love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” For Zephaniah, the future is the same one John calls the people to prepare for: a future where the people of God will be eyewitnesses to God’s salvation.

These people will be redeemed. And when John asks the tough question, “will you people live that redemption,” people are left to decide for themselves if they will receive the one who is more powerful than John, “the one who will baptize all people with the Holy Spirit and fire?” Will they seize the opportunity to be the people of God, witnessing to God’s salvation among them?

Receiving John’s words is an opportunity to change ones outlook. It is to understand that God will restore His people, and the one who comes after John will be the very means for that restoration. As Professor Mark Kolden from Luther seminary says, “Jesus is both the one in whom God saves us and the model of the godly life for us; such salvation will thoroughly change us and it will be good for us and for others. Our lives are to be realigned toward God’s future salvation, right down to our daily work, our possessions, and our behavior. The Holy Spirit and the fire that come with Christ’s baptism are God’s way of changing us. If we hear this only in religious terms, we miss the biblical force of these words: “Spirit” is the same word as “wind,” and in this context perhaps it is more like God’s whirlwind, God’s tornado, which, along with the fire, turns everything upside down and gets rid of all the unessentials. The judgment must come; that is only good news in the sense that after the judgment comes the kingdom. After the threshing and burning of the chaff the wheat is gathered. After repentance comes forgiveness. After crucifixion comes resurrection. There is no other way, this gospel is telling us, than God’s way. And this is good news, for it is into this way that we and all flesh are invited.”

What an amazing opportunity you and I are invited into. “As we listen to the words of the Baptizer standing knee-deep in the cold waters of the Jordan,” there is no better time than now to prepare for the celebration of Jesus coming, to repent of our past and look forward to our future, to celebrate the arrival of God with arms raised high in expectation that the Lord is coming with mercy and grace enough for all of us. This is the time to be the people of God, to seize the opportunity witnessing to God’s salvation among us.

This is the time to be the people of God. This is the time to meet the advent of our Lord’s coming, where we the people of God stand in the waters of baptism rejoicing together and as one people, we say the words of Isaiah together, “Surely God is our salvation; we will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is our strength and our might; He has become our salvation.”

My friends, peace always be with you. Amen.


"Since using Blogger/Facebook is impossible to footnote and give credit due, I want make sure that those sermons and people are recognized for giving me inspiration for my own sermon. Even though my original sermon typed out has all the proper footnotes, unfortunately, here it just looks like random quotes. Please feel free to check these sermons/articles as they are well crafted and well worth the read." JMH

"The Divine Opportunity." J. Ellsworth Kallas
"The Birth of Jesus Never Saved Anyone: The Lucan Advent Texts." Professor Mark Kolden
"What Then Shall We Do?" Rev. Dr. William Willimon

Sometimes, We Can See The Stars (Luke 21:25-36)

Right now, I want to run to the manger. I want to kneel at it and see the face of the newborn baby Jesus. I want to feel the warmth of the moment, and be comforted once again this year that my savior has finally been born. While the mall and the big box stores keep reminding me that the commercialism of Christmas has arrived in their slick advertisements and greased up sales pitches meant to relieve my purchasing anxiety, it just makes me want to run that much faster to the manger to see that Jesus has finally come. But I would be disappointed to see how dark it is at that manger.

No one’s there yet. No one’s arrived. There’s no glow or warmth there yet. From here to there, I can’t see the manger. A billion miles of darkness separates me from it, and I want to be led, I want to be shown the way, and I want to be brought into the baby’s presence. But if all I see is darkness, how will I know where to go? How will I know how to get there? This is the first Sunday in Advent. It is a time from here to the manger where you and I are to prepare, reflect, and wait. It’s an important time for each one of us. It’s a time to stand in the darkness and look for light.

At best it’s difficult to see the light when your head is hung in exhaustion and you are desperate to be redeemed. Yet in the gospel reading, Jesus is speaking to people who know full well, in their history as a people, about redemption. These are Exodus people. These are Passover people. These people have a history of being squeezed out of Egypt, Babylon and Rome. To these people, redemption is the aching of their hearts. It’s their dream. It’s their collective cry with their hands stretched out saying, “O God, rescue me. Deliver me. Bend Your ear toward me, O God, and in your righteousness save me.”

Jesus is speaking to people who want to be set free. With his return to earth, merging heaven to it, Christ comes to finalize the kingdom where the righteousness of God will at last fill the earth. In that coming of God’s redemption, when the merging of heaven and earth take place Jesus says to his followers, “stand up, and raise your heads, because your redemption is coming.” When life is coming apart at the seams, your redemption is coming. When life is toppling over and falling down fast, your redemption is coming. When life appears to be without a future, your redemption is coming. The coming of God’s redemption is good news for people whose life is nothing but bad news. Right now, this is good news for we who are standing in the darkness looking for light.

It’s as if Jesus is saying to each one of us today, when things in your world are at their worst and they couldn’t seem like they could get any blacker or heavier, guess who’s coming to be with you? Guess who shows up? God arrives.I love the image in the parable that Jesus tells the disciples, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.”

Now, this image might be difficult to envision right now since we are at the beginning of winter and all the leaves have fallen to the ground, but next spring, trees all around us will begin to sprout new leaves, flowers will begin to break out from the ground, grass will begin to grow in all of its color and thickness. The fragrant smells of the trees, flowers, and grass all come alive. It is symbolic of spring that as the change of season comes, so too does new life. New life arrives in all of its color, beauty, and change. When Christ comes to merge heaven and earth, when he comes again, new life will begin in all of its color, beauty, and change. New life will arrive. Redemption is coming. This is the promise of God. The message of Advent is one of promise. God promises that in Jesus Christ, there is a future. There is a future where redemptive new life takes place. God will do this through Christ. For all who trust the promises of God, this news is reason enough to wait.

There’s an ancient Persian saying that reads, “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” There’s something transcendent and mystical about going outside this time of year at night, and looking up at the heavens, when we see the stars in their brightest and most magnificent light. Yet in order to see the stars most clearly, it has to be the darkest.

I remember driving on a crisp, winter night at the end of December to go see Karen for Christmas. So there I was driving west on this lonely rural highway 17 between Edmore and Adams literally in the middle of nowhere, and I just happened to look to my left. And what I saw made me hit the brakes, pull my car over, and get out to see. There in front of me, across the entire black winter sky were the brightest northern lights I had ever seen in my life. The purples, and blues, and greens were all jumping, and dancing. I stood there silently and took it all in. I must have been there for 20 minutes just staring at this amazing masterpiece of God. To this day, I’ve never seen the northern lights as bright and intense as they were that night.

Jesus reminds us that when our world is at its most blackest, when life is as dark as its going to get, “stand up, and raise your heads, because your redemption is coming.” As we wait, prepare, and reflect on the Advent of God’s coming, we have a lot of darkness to navigate before we reach the manger. It can seem tiring, stressful, or restless. And yet, I am reminded that even in the darkness of my life and yours, there’s only one light that leads us to the manger and it’s the star that hangs above it. It’s a star that leads us through the darkness of our waiting. It leads us through the blackest of days and nights that we face. It leads us by its brightest and most intense light. This light overcomes the darkness of the world, inviting it to raise its hopes, to raise its expectations, to raise its awareness, and to raise its vigilance.

This light leads us through this Advent darkness to see the one who carries out the promises of God on behalf of a world that cries out for liberation. In this Advent darkness, we cannot deny that nations remain torn and fragmented by bombs, tanks, and check mate politics. We cannot deny the devastation of disease, AIDS, and malnutrition on the babies of this world. We cannot deny the selfish disregard for future generations in hijacking natural resources for our own mass consumption here and now. We cannot deny the proliferation of global problems that remain unsolved by humanity’s faults. For the world and its problems, it cannot get any darker. But we also cannot deny that God is faithful to Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ has a future and that our redemption is entwined with his future; a future that leads us through this darkness by a star.

This light guides the world through its darkness to see whose plans he holds. And once we get to the manger, we’ll know everything will be alright. As sure as the promises of God remain, redemption is coming.

My friends, peace always be with you. Amen.