Old Mystic, December 13, 2009
Third Sunday in Advent
Luke 3:7-18
Summary
The harsh words of John the Baptist continue to be a challenge to change what is wrong in our lives, in society, and in the world. Yet, they do not eclipse—on the contrary, they enhance it—the joy of the expectation of a glorious future in Jesus Christ which requires a commitment but fills us with hope.
Sermon
Preaching fire and brimstone has never been popular though it has been used through the ages with—depending on the view—good results: people have often repented and changed their ways, at least in a manner expected for their age, considering what was wrong in that particular age. On the other hand, such preaching has often prompted rejection. Needless to say, in our own age, where complacency and accommodation to the ways of society and culture continue to be on the rise, most of us are not very fond of messages with harsh words; we want the soothing and healing power of the good news.
John the Baptist—or the Baptizer—was a preacher who came down very hard on his audience. Who would stand today the indictment raised in his message when he said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Our passage today begins with such a condemnation and ends with strong words of warning, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Yet, people were coming to John because he was preaching a message of opportunity; he was calling people to change, to repent and to start afresh. And at the heart of his message was the proclamation of the hope of the One who was greater than he, the Messiah, who was coming to the world and had fueled in his contemporaries the expectation of a new era.
We, the people of the 21st century and, for the case, many throughout the ages, reject messages wrapped in harsh words. We don’t want to hear words of judgment; we much prefer the sound of messages of grace, forgiveness, and love. Our God is a loving God, a God of redemption; a God of opportunities and I don’t believe that is absent from the Baptizer’s preaching. John’s message, however, was an attention caller. He was addressing a generation of people suffering under a domination system that had become subdued and complacent, and had conformed to such a system. He accused many of those coming to him of claiming their roots as children of Abraham as their source of righteousness; he called everyone to change and go back to some very basic moral principles that would allow them to live in community. In this sense, many of us cannot see the kind of radical change that is necessary. Our broken world needs a little more than someone having “two coats” giving one to that one who has none. The ethics of God’s kingdom require more drastic changes to make life in peace and justice possible for all of God’s Children. Yet, the power of John’s message, in its simplicity, advanced the promise of revolutionary change in Jesus Christ.
If John has captured our attention, if he has even scared some of us, or if anyone has felt threatened by those words, please relax because the heart of John’s message is a message of hope. Let’s not overlook, of course, the fact that repentance, which means change, is necessary. Let us be summoned by the prophetic power of the words of John the Baptizer that remind us that complacency and entitlement are traps that prevent us from living a life of peace, righteousness, and joy in Jesus Christ. Let us dwell on the hope that John brought to his contemporaries as he was “preparing the way;” the message of the Messiah coming to redeem humankind.
The passage does not explicitly speak of joy, yet, we can sense the joy of the people who were being baptized. They “were filled with expectation.” Hope was in the air because even with his harsh exhortations, John was bringing good news to the people and good news always brings joy. Today, I want to highlight two major themes related to the joy that I find implicit in this message. First, those who could found joy in John’s message had made a commitment. Not doing so, for them, would have meant to be on the way to doom. They clearly heard the message that was calling them to repent—to change, that is. And they came to be baptized and to participate of a ritual that has become a Christian ordinance and symbolizes precisely that: change; change that implies a new relationship with God in Jesus Christ and new relationships with neighbors, the community, and the rest of the world.
In our 21st century we don’t feel enticed by statements of impending judgment. We have—perhaps victims of our own complacency—brushed aside those threats and come to rely more on the good news that Jesus brings without considering its demands. We sometimes believe that many have left the church because they were not ready to bear that load. Or is it perhaps that many don’t find the church today relevant because its failure to inspire people to make a commitment to live in a relationship with the living God?
John’s work of preparation of the way was a call to commitment because he was anticipating the coming of the One who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.” God has come in Christ to live so close to us as indwelling in our lives through the Holy Spirit! We are not sure how much John’s audience understood about God coming to live in them and with them. Yet, they were ready to make a commitment.
In second place, Joy was in the air because when they made a commitment to change and understood the promise of God brought by the Baptizer, the people were filled with expectation. To look around at what was going on in those days of a system of domination under the rule of the Roman Empire was not very encouraging. Yet they had hope and they believed that change was possible because they were willing to change. In expectation, they were looking forward to the future. They had been doing so since ancient times, hearing from the prophets that a king would rise. It was the expectation of new life, or right relationships, of peace, and joy. And now God’s supreme revelation was near and that was—and is—our Lord Jesus Christ.
The season of Advent renews our expectations—and our joy. Change is still necessary and the pressing needs of people around us, and ourselves, are so demanding. But the message is like old wine—the older, the better it tastes. In spite of all that is wrong, we can maintain our expectations high because God is with us. Jesus came to show us the way of compassion, of wisdom, and of a life in the Spirit. If we are committed to change, we will learn the ways of compassion and wisdom, and we will enjoy God’s ineffable presence in the Spirit.
John was a great preacher for his time and for that reason he had many followers and became very popular. In fact, many New Testament scholars believe that even Jesus himself was one of John’s followers. His appeal, notwithstanding his words of fire and brimstone, is a powerful appeal to walking a life with God and entering into God’s joy. He called for a life commitment and expectation in God, with God, and for God in Jesus Christ.
The Way of Peace
Old Mystic, December 6, 2009
Second Sunday in Advent
Luke 1:68-79
Summary
The hope of Advent has been illuminated through the ages by John the Baptist’s message of repentance—which means change—and the call to follow a new path. It is the way of Jesus the Christ, the way of peace.
Sermon
Our story today describes the joyous moment of the birth of a child. It was a long expected child, a boy who was named John. He was a miracle son. His mother had been barren and her conception came as a pleasant surprise, and the annunciation came along with a powerful revelation from God. This child was going to be a prophet that will call people to return to God and that would show them the way. He was the voice in the desert who came to prepare the way; the path that is Jesus Christ.
According to text in Luke, Gabriel, the angel that revealed God’s purposes to Zechariah, John’s father, who was a priest at the temple, punished him to become mute until the child was born. Was it really a punishment, or was it perhaps a forced silence to stand in awe, in contemplation, and in reflection on the amazing experience of the holy he had just had? What we know, as we look into the text, is that when John was born Zechariah’s tongue was freed and spoke this beautiful prophetic song in exultation. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us.” Of course, he was not speaking of his son John. He was anticipating the way that John was going to illuminate for the people, the way of one who was greater than he—Jesus, the long awaited Messiah.
Zechariah’s song delivers a message that was new and old. It spoke about deliverance, salvation, and protection. It reminded his contemporaries about God’s promises and the covenant that God had made with his people. At the same time, it made the promise universal. He said, “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Zechariah’s son John was going to be the messenger of the way, a new way, the way of God, the way of Jesus; the way of peace.
There are two aspects of the way in Zechariah’s message that I would like to highlight. First, it is the way of repentance. Unfortunately, the common translation of the original word for repentance is mostly understood just as turning away from our sins; confessing our wrongdoing and receiving forgiveness from God. Not that I am going to take anything away from that understanding—after all, that is what the passage says. Yet, John preached about repentance and repentance means change.
Change is a loaded word that elicits many kinds of responses. In a sense, most of us, as human beings, may find ourselves resisting change because we love to be in the comfort zone of our daily routines without altering what is familiar to us. Very often, we relate change to the shifting of structures and patterns as to how our complex 21st lives are organized. We may even go with the current flow and say the common phrase that change happens. And indeed, change does happen and is in fact a constant. And we can barely adjust to that reality!
But change can go deeper. The way of change that John pointed to—the way of the Messiah—had political, economic, social, and spiritual dimensions. It is a change of heart in the individual which transcends and permeates the fullness of life for peoples, nations, and the whole world. Sin has to do with broken relationships, beginning with our estrangement from God, and from there it can grow to heights that very often amount to incredible evil things. In the biblical language of John and Jesus, as well as in the language of the prophets who were eagerly expecting the age of the Messiah, the change that repentance promotes is encompassing and systemic.
John was preparing the way. He was warning his contemporaries that the imminent coming of the Messiah meant that change—overwhelming change—was going to happen and, I should add, is still in the making. For that reason Advent comes again and again to remind us about it. Are people suffering in the world and even in our midst? Aren’t we still dealing with injustice, and hunger, and abject poverty, and oppression, and infirmity, and alienation, and despair? Change is being with us and will be around for a long time because a lot still needs to happen.
But there is a crucial question about change—the type of change that the Messiah brings. Can we change ourselves or is it Jesus the only one who can change us? Well, let us put the ball on Jesus’ court! Yet, the change that John was preaching about is in part change that we can effect because it is change in a relationship. We can choose to be in a close, beautiful, and experiential relationship with the Living God. It is that relation that we can seek and that is powerfully transformational.
The way of change, secondly, is also a way of peace. Peace is the transformation that is also the end of God’s promise, of God’s covenant, and the hope of Advent and Christmas. Our human understanding of peace is quite limited and yet, whatever we can grasp seems to be unachievable. The way of violence continues to be predominant in the world; we solve our conflicts with weapons—either to destroy our opponents or to deter each other to avoid the possible annihilation of the whole world. Peace, however, in the profound sense of shalom, God’s shalom, points to a sublime and ineffable status of existence. Words cannot describe it. It is a state of perfect and harmonious relationships; of tranquility, of joy, and of happiness. It is the triumph of love and life in its fullness as it has always been God’s intention since creation.
Peace it is not here yet in its fullness but there are signs among us. I like the comparison of our hope of a life of wholeness with the joy of a newborn child. Every child that I have seen born to our family has brought to us so much joy. It is in those great moments in life when we have a sense of God’s wholeness. And so it happened with Zechariah. He experienced that sense of hope, the hope of wholeness and God’s peace (shalom) in the birth of his son John. It had to do with the miracle of life and yet it also meant that the Prophet of the Most High was being born barely preceding the birth of the Son of God and with the task of showing us the way of peace.
Advent reminds once again that change is in the making and it is change for peace. The birth of Christ continues to be the good news of the season. And the challenge is the same: we are always invited to embrace the Savior who wants to embrace us. We are always called to a relationship; a relationship that is illuminating, empowering, and transforming.
Second Sunday in Advent
Luke 1:68-79
Summary
The hope of Advent has been illuminated through the ages by John the Baptist’s message of repentance—which means change—and the call to follow a new path. It is the way of Jesus the Christ, the way of peace.
Sermon
Our story today describes the joyous moment of the birth of a child. It was a long expected child, a boy who was named John. He was a miracle son. His mother had been barren and her conception came as a pleasant surprise, and the annunciation came along with a powerful revelation from God. This child was going to be a prophet that will call people to return to God and that would show them the way. He was the voice in the desert who came to prepare the way; the path that is Jesus Christ.
According to text in Luke, Gabriel, the angel that revealed God’s purposes to Zechariah, John’s father, who was a priest at the temple, punished him to become mute until the child was born. Was it really a punishment, or was it perhaps a forced silence to stand in awe, in contemplation, and in reflection on the amazing experience of the holy he had just had? What we know, as we look into the text, is that when John was born Zechariah’s tongue was freed and spoke this beautiful prophetic song in exultation. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us.” Of course, he was not speaking of his son John. He was anticipating the way that John was going to illuminate for the people, the way of one who was greater than he—Jesus, the long awaited Messiah.
Zechariah’s song delivers a message that was new and old. It spoke about deliverance, salvation, and protection. It reminded his contemporaries about God’s promises and the covenant that God had made with his people. At the same time, it made the promise universal. He said, “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Zechariah’s son John was going to be the messenger of the way, a new way, the way of God, the way of Jesus; the way of peace.
There are two aspects of the way in Zechariah’s message that I would like to highlight. First, it is the way of repentance. Unfortunately, the common translation of the original word for repentance is mostly understood just as turning away from our sins; confessing our wrongdoing and receiving forgiveness from God. Not that I am going to take anything away from that understanding—after all, that is what the passage says. Yet, John preached about repentance and repentance means change.
Change is a loaded word that elicits many kinds of responses. In a sense, most of us, as human beings, may find ourselves resisting change because we love to be in the comfort zone of our daily routines without altering what is familiar to us. Very often, we relate change to the shifting of structures and patterns as to how our complex 21st lives are organized. We may even go with the current flow and say the common phrase that change happens. And indeed, change does happen and is in fact a constant. And we can barely adjust to that reality!
But change can go deeper. The way of change that John pointed to—the way of the Messiah—had political, economic, social, and spiritual dimensions. It is a change of heart in the individual which transcends and permeates the fullness of life for peoples, nations, and the whole world. Sin has to do with broken relationships, beginning with our estrangement from God, and from there it can grow to heights that very often amount to incredible evil things. In the biblical language of John and Jesus, as well as in the language of the prophets who were eagerly expecting the age of the Messiah, the change that repentance promotes is encompassing and systemic.
John was preparing the way. He was warning his contemporaries that the imminent coming of the Messiah meant that change—overwhelming change—was going to happen and, I should add, is still in the making. For that reason Advent comes again and again to remind us about it. Are people suffering in the world and even in our midst? Aren’t we still dealing with injustice, and hunger, and abject poverty, and oppression, and infirmity, and alienation, and despair? Change is being with us and will be around for a long time because a lot still needs to happen.
But there is a crucial question about change—the type of change that the Messiah brings. Can we change ourselves or is it Jesus the only one who can change us? Well, let us put the ball on Jesus’ court! Yet, the change that John was preaching about is in part change that we can effect because it is change in a relationship. We can choose to be in a close, beautiful, and experiential relationship with the Living God. It is that relation that we can seek and that is powerfully transformational.
The way of change, secondly, is also a way of peace. Peace is the transformation that is also the end of God’s promise, of God’s covenant, and the hope of Advent and Christmas. Our human understanding of peace is quite limited and yet, whatever we can grasp seems to be unachievable. The way of violence continues to be predominant in the world; we solve our conflicts with weapons—either to destroy our opponents or to deter each other to avoid the possible annihilation of the whole world. Peace, however, in the profound sense of shalom, God’s shalom, points to a sublime and ineffable status of existence. Words cannot describe it. It is a state of perfect and harmonious relationships; of tranquility, of joy, and of happiness. It is the triumph of love and life in its fullness as it has always been God’s intention since creation.
Peace it is not here yet in its fullness but there are signs among us. I like the comparison of our hope of a life of wholeness with the joy of a newborn child. Every child that I have seen born to our family has brought to us so much joy. It is in those great moments in life when we have a sense of God’s wholeness. And so it happened with Zechariah. He experienced that sense of hope, the hope of wholeness and God’s peace (shalom) in the birth of his son John. It had to do with the miracle of life and yet it also meant that the Prophet of the Most High was being born barely preceding the birth of the Son of God and with the task of showing us the way of peace.
Advent reminds once again that change is in the making and it is change for peace. The birth of Christ continues to be the good news of the season. And the challenge is the same: we are always invited to embrace the Savior who wants to embrace us. We are always called to a relationship; a relationship that is illuminating, empowering, and transforming.
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