Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his
brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
Abilene—
during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word
of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
Here ends this reading of the Word of God
for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Let us pray: Take my lips, O Lord, and speak through them. Take our minds and think with them. Take our hearts and set them on fire; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
When I was little, my mother worked
at a daycare center. She brought home games and rhymes and songs she learned
there and taught them to me. I loved singing the rhyming round “Who Stole the
Cookies from the Cookie Jar.” Do you know it?
It is a sung round that goes in a
loop. Someone asks, “Who stole the
cookies from the Cookie Jar?” They then playfully accuse one of the children by
saying: “Laura stole the cookies from the cookie jar.” Laura would then ask, “Who
me?” and the rest of the kids would say, “Yes you.” Laura would then deny the theft
by saying, “Not me.” And the kids would ask, “Then who?” Laura would then
accuse another kid: “Bruce stole the cookies form the cookie jar.” And the rhyming
verse continues.
As I reflect back on the song, it
seems a little weird to accuse kids of stealing cookies. But, we know that even
very young children succumb to temptations…I suspect most young children have
secretly eaten a cookie or a piece of candy or snuck a piece of gum out of Mom’s
purse.
And, if Mom or Dad or Grandma
catches a 4 year old with crumbs all over their face and their clothing
streaked with cookie goo, most children know they are supposed to apologize for
taking a cookie. But, there is a difference between apologizing and saying you
are sorry for something and feeling truly repentant for doing something wrong. Repentance is more than an apology.
The Evangelical Catechism described True
Repentance as “conviction of sin, sorrow for sin, confession and renunciation
of sin, and longing for grace.” When John the Baptist appeared in area around the
Jordan, he invited people to a baptism of repentance. John invited
God-followers to admit to their mistakes and sins, be sorrowful, confess and renounce
their mistakes and sins, and ask God for grace. John’s baptism was a baptism to
show repentance – to show that the person coming forward was truly sorry and
hoped for God’s forgiveness and grace.
John was a prophet, the final prophet
who prepared people for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Like earlier
prophets, John was a religious extremist – he was so focused on spreading his message
that he lived apart from others and was remarkably devout. John had faithful
parents – his dad, Zechariah was a priest and his mother Elizabeth was a deeply
religious women. An angel visited Zechariah when Elizabeth became pregnant and the
angel told Zechariah John would bring back many people to the Lord their God.
John’s calling was to make ready a people prepared for the Messiah.
John invited people to become ready
for Jesus. They were called to recommit to their faith in God. They were called
to repent for their mistakes and be washed of their sins in the act of baptism.
In this season of Advent, we are
also invited to become ready for Jesus. In the midst of the hustle and bustle
of this season, we are called to stop…pause…to recommit to our faith in God…to
repent of our mistakes and sins…and to remember our baptism. Our baptisms were a visible sing of an
invisible event – we were reconciled to God.
This means that in baptism God works in us the power of forgiveness, the
renewal of the Spirit, and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people always.
God isn’t worried about the beauty
of our Christmas decorations or how delicious our Christmas cookies are. God is
not worried about whether we have the ugliest of the ugly Christmas sweaters or
if we found the perfect present for Great Aunt Maude. God isn’t worried if we
have written all of our Christmas cards or if the star on top of our tree is
crooked.
Instead, God cares about our hearts. God wants us to repent of
our mistakes and sins. God wants us to remember our baptisms and the grace that
is poured out into us by God’s Holy Spirit. God wants us to work to live out
our faith by the actions we take and the words we speak and the kindnesses we
extend to others. God wants us to work to be ready for Jesus.
Let us do so with love in our
hearts. Amen.
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