Sermon
16th December 2018 – Advent 3
Text: Luke
3:7-18 – Preparing by repenting
Nine
days to Christmas.
No
doubt like everyone else you are madly getting ready for your Christmas
celebrations.
It’s
such a magic time of the year.
The
choir of angels, Christmas trees, tinsel, carols, and all the things associated
with Christmas as we wait for Jesus to arrive.
But
the scene set by John as the people are waiting for Jesus to arrive is much
different to the shine and glitter we see in our churches and shopping centres.
Today
we welcome John the Baptist, dirty from the dusty desert, with his camel hair
coat, eating locusts and wild honey.
He
doesn’t come with a message of joy and celebration but greets the people with -
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
We
don’t have the joy and goodwill as the people wait for their long awaited
saviour.
We
have John the Baptist’s preaching condemnation of sin, calling for repentance
in preparing for the coming of the Messiah that God had promised.
He
tells the people to bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Is
that really what we see as the Christmas Spirit?
John
was called by God to prepare the way for Jesus and that is exactly what he is
doing as he fulfils what Jesus came for.
Both
John the Baptist and Jesus were born for a purpose.
John,
to prepare the way for Jesus.
In
regards to Jesus, the angel said to Joseph that Mary will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from
their sins.
So
many believe talking about sin at Christmas time in inappropriate.
Sometimes
we can forget that Christmas has a purpose and that purpose was to reconcile
our broken relationship with God.
I love
the Christmas celebrations and all the trimmings as much as anyone but I never
want to forget that Jesus’ birth means that my life has been set right with
God.
In
order to understand that we need to remember what it is that caused that
breakdown in our relationship with God which was our sin.
This
is not the message that we tend to hear at Christmas.
How
many Christmas cards have you received that have John the Baptist as the
central figure?
He is
the total opposite of the imagery of Father Christmas.- jolly, joyful, nicely
dressed in his red suit calling out “Ho Ho Ho” – all the while the true message
of Christmas being “Hope Hope Hope”
We see
decorations around the shopping centres that have messages like Paul spoke
today – Rejoice.
The
difference is that Paul told us what to rejoice in – Rejoice in the Lord.
And
how many decorations share John’s call to ‘repent’?
Even
our Advent Candles miss that with Hope Peace Joy and Love’
When
was the last time you greeted someone with the Christmas greeting of “you brood
of vipers”.
I'm
sure you would be quite shocked with a greeting like that.
We
can’t even say – Merry Christmas for fear of offending someone.
John
the Baptist seems so out of place as we get caught up singing carols about the
baby in the manger, the joy of the shepherds, the visit of the Wisemen, the
excitement of giving and receiving gifts, having relatives and friends over for
Christmas,
And
yet John the Baptist appears in all 4 gospels to introduce Jesus and that
suggests that there is no Christmas joy without John’s harsh message of repentance
coming first.
And
that’s because John the Baptist tells us that we so desperately need God.
"Repent!"
says John the Baptist.
It’s
not a cheery message that we might expect at this time of celebration.
No one
likes to be reminded that they are sinners and yet that is the message of
Christmas as John calls us to repent.
It
might sound like doom and gloom that makes John seem more like the Grinch that
stole Christmas than a person preparing us for Jesus’ birth.
But
there is so much joy that Christmas brings that John wants us to truly
understand and prepare for what that joy is all about.
Otherwise
Christmas will be something that lasts for a few days and then we pack
everything away and get back to the daily grind and Christmas if forgotten.
Advent
is a time of preparation to welcome Jesus Christ.
And
having John the Baptist as the central figure of Advent reminds us that our own
Baptism is how we are to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ into our lives.
What we
wait for during Advent is the forgiving grace of God in Jesus Christ.
But
how can we receive forgiving grace without sin – and how can sin prepare for
grace without repentance.
That’s
the good news – despite the harsh message that John preaches.
That the
baby born in Bethlehem is our Lord and Saviour who died for our forgiveness.
There
is no greater Christmas gift.
And
the good news for us is that even though our sin caused our separation from
God, our baptism by God has made us right in the sight of God.
There
is nothing we have to do – there is nothing we can do – God has done it all by
preparing our lives through our Baptism..
That’s
why John says to the people - Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have
Abraham as our ancestor'
Because
that’s not going to do anything.
But
that’s how the people tried to fix their relationship with God –
I’m
not a bad person;
There
are worse people than me.
Nobody’s
perfect;
I
haven’t murdered anyone.
But
John is saying that’s not how it goes.
God
has prepared the way through our baptism to welcome Jesus Christ into our
lives.
God
wants us to celebrate the birth of Jesus – just as he sent the choir of angels
to sing to the shepherds at his birth.
But
what are we celebrating if we are not celebrating Jesus Christ saving us from
our sins.
Just
as John confronted the people of Israel with their sinfulness on the banks of
the Jordan, God confronts us today.
As we
take a close look at our lives we can see that we have failed to bear the good
fruit that God demands – the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We
have failed to keep the Great Commandment – Love God with all your heart – love
your neighbour as yourself.
We
need to hear again the call to repentance each day as Luther said when
explaining Baptism – each day we are to drown the Old Adam in the waters of our
baptism through repentance so a new self arises.
There
is no greater time of joy, peace and love than celebrating the birth of baby
Jesus in the manger.
Mary
will call him Jesus because he will save us from our sins.
But to
see who that child is and the value he has for us, we must hear what John the
Baptist has to say.
Let us
listen carefully to John the Baptist and his call to repent.
Let us
look at our lives and confess to the way we have treated others unjustly and
unfairly, the times we have gone away from God,
When
we’ve found worship and prayer too hard to fit into our busy lives,
The
pride that puts us above others,
Our
insensitivity to the hurts around us,
It’s
not easy to face up to our failings.
But
repentance means exactly that.
It
means confessing our sins and handing them over to God to heal, restore,
forgive, and make a fresh start.
Repentance
is an act of faith, an act of surrender to God who wants all people to be saved
which is why he sent Jesus because he would save us from our sins.
At
this time of the year when the world is working so hard to be happy and merry,
let us find true joy as we rejoice in the Lord always.
Christmas
is not rejoicing just one day – it’s rejoicing in the Lord always.
Repentance
is letting go of our sin and letting God fill us with his peace.
Let us
see Christmas as the gift God has given us in the manger in Bethlehem and on
the cross of Calvary.
It is
the gift that keeps on giving not just on December 25th.
Let us
rejoice in the Lord always because the Lord is near.
Let us
not worry about anything, and let the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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