This week's sermon, based on Matthew 3:1-12, is the second in an Advent sermon series titled "Living As God's Hope-Filled People." The second week of this series explores how God prepares us to be kingdom people and how we, in turn, prepare the way of the Lord with our lives. May God be with you as we continue our journey to the manger.
Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.'"
Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume 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. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
This morning we continue our Advent journey. We continue to explore what it means to live as God’s hope-filled people. Last week we heard the call from Matthew, and Pastor Casey, to remain awake. We learned what it looks like to remain awake and in-tune to what God is doing in our world. To remain awake to the reality that we live in a broken world, but that God is very much a part of our world, and that God continues to do work among us. We are called to wake up and reimagine the world as God reimagines the world, through love and forgiveness.
Today we light another candle against the cold and growing darkness of the world. We take a journey out into the wilderness as we hear the words of John the Baptist to “Prepare the Way.” As we remain awake to God’s presence in our midst, we add add another petition to our prayer; prepare. Prepare us, O Lord, to receive your kingdom. Empower us, O Lord, to prepare your way in this world. This morning we encounter the story of how to prepare the way for God’s coming into our midst. This story spans generations. Our faith journey is filled with many witnesses that teach us how to prepare God’s way in this world.
I. John the Baptist
John the baptist appears rather suddenly on the scene, in the wilderness of Judea. It’s as if he rises out of the harsh landscape with his scathing critiques and message of the kingdom of heaven drawing near. In no time at all he is surrounded by people. The historian Josephus tells us that up to 50,000 people came to hear John speak. John is a spectacle. He is cut from the same rock as the prophets of old. Those versed in the legends recognize the image of Elijah in John’s camel’s hair suit and leather belt. He is a commanding figure then and now. And he is not afraid to speak his mind.
John speaks words of change. He points back to the words of Isaiah. “Prepare the way of the LORD, make his paths straight.” Isaiah spoke in the dark time of exile in Babylon. He spoke words of hope to a people who lived in fear. Isaiah knew God’s time would come again. He gave the people something to hold on to during long years of being scattered from their homes. God was preparing a way out of exile, so the way of the LORD must be made straight. In the wilderness, God’s time is coming. It is this torch that John picks up through his preaching. John knows what’s to come.
He calls for people to repent. He proclaims that the kingdom of heaven is drawing near. He does not beat around the bush as they say. John is direct and focused. “Repent!” It’s not a question or a polite request, it’s a command. Repent! It’s urgent. The kingdom of God is drawing near. Repent! That’s how the way of the LORD is prepared. John offers the people an opportunity to confess. He brings them to the waters of cleansing and healing. John proclaims God’s time.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The call from John in the wilderness reaches out to us today. And this word may come to us worn out and tired. The word repent has been co-opted by side walk preachers and T.V. pastors to instill the fear of God into people. Repent! Jesus is coming back and boy is he mad. Repent! Or experience the flames of hell. Repent! Before it’s too late. So we may come to this word tired this morning, because all this talk of hell and damnation wears us out. For us, there may be no hope, no love, no chance of God in this word. And yet we hear it from John. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Repent. This word that now bears the baggage of being used as the only way to get to heaven, actually meant something quite different for John. For John, repent has nothing to with the afterlife. With his call to repent, John is pointing to a change that is breaking into the world. His call to repent is filled with hope. The world is broken, God knows it, and God does something about it. With his call to repent, John is pointing to Jesus. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” John stands in the wilderness of the world, preparing the way for the one who will change everything. John proclaims a word of hope in the wilderness of the world.
II. Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra
As we move through the generations we encounter another who is a voice of hope in the wilderness. One who prepares the way of the Lord. On Friday, we commemorated Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. Nicholas was a 4th century bishop of the church in the country we now know as Turkey. One of the legends that accompanies Saint Nicholas is his gracious offering to a family in need. It seems that a man in 4th century Patara had fallen on hard times and, in the midst of great troubles, was at his wit’s end. He had lost all of his money and had no means of supporting his three daughters. He was on the verge of selling them into prostitution. He was lost in the wilderness of poverty. Stranded among the sand and thorns of saving his family and surviving. It seemed he had no way in the wilderness. Until Nicholas came along.
It started with a bag of gold through an open window, perhaps, as legend holds, finding its way into an empty stocking, hanging by the chimney with care. The first daughter was set free from her grim fate of being sold into slavery. In turn, the other two daughters were also set free. Nicholas became a beckon of hope, a symbol of God’s redeeming love and new life for all through Jesus Christ. In the wilderness of poverty, Saint Nicholas prepared the way of the Lord by providing resources for a family in dire straits.
III. Nelson Mandela
As we move further down the generations we encounter another who is a voice of hope in the wilderness. One who prepares the way of the Lord. On Thursday, the world mourned the death of Nelson Mandela. Mandela was a catalyst in helping to put an end to apartheid in South Africa. He was known the world over for being a voice for peace and beacon of hope in one of the most segregated and violent periods of time the world has known. He was a liberator and a champion for a people that had been kept in the wilderness for far too long.
Mandela spend over 10,000 days in prison for his early work against the apartheid government. He was labeled as traitor and put away for his acts of treason. In the darkness of prison, Mandela took the time to learn Afrikaans, the language of those in power, and in an early speech after his release, he delivered the speech in Afrikaans, attempting to reach out in peace, not violence. Mandela, while not perfect, helped to prepare the way for peace for a country so torn by violence and hatred. Through the wilderness of prison and segregation, Mandela was a beacon of hope, preparing the way of the Lord through the call for peace and harmony.
IV. Us
As we move even further down the generations, we arrive at ourselves. We are the ones who have received these stories. Today we hear the call to repent. And for us who follow Jesus, repentance is the act of preparing the way for God’s kingdom in the world. As we wander through the wilderness that creeps up during our lives, we are called to repent, to turn away from all that keeps us from following the way of Jesus.
The call to repent is more than a change of mind, it is a change of heart. To repent is to change the way we engage the world. No longer through the selfishness of sin, but through the grace of Gods love. The call to repent has a continual aspect to it. John’s call is to continue to repent. Or “keep on repenting.” Keep on turning away for all that holds you back from God. To repent is to hope in what God has promised. To repent is to act upon the trust that we have in God’s presence in our world. We turn away from the old ways of sin and selfishness, from all that keeps us from being fully alive. Repentance sets us free to live for God and for one another. In the wilderness of this world, God prepares a way through us as we reach out to others. This repentance comes through ordinary acts of love and mercy. Our Angel Trees prepare God’s way in the world as we share our resources with those in need. Our gifts are a beacon of hope against the dark wilderness of this world. The Christmas Journey prepares God’s way in the world by sharing the counter-cultural message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we share the story of Jesus Christ, we spark a flame that burns bright in the wilderness of this world.
Prepare us, that is our prayer this morning. Prepare us, O Lord, to receive your kingdom. Empower us, O Lord, to prepare your way in this world. We are God’s hope-filled people. As we continue our Advent your, may you be filled with God’s Spirit, the warm flame that shines bright as a beacon of God’s love in this world.
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