Advent 2 – 6 December 2015 – Year C

Advent 2 – 6 December 2015 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the third chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 1 – 6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler[b] of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler[c] 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 region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

    and the rough ways made smooth; 

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

December has to be, by far, the craziest month of the year – wouldn’t you agree? If someone from another planet were to come and watch our world during this month, that visitor would conclude that we have completely lost our minds. Why is this month so crazy? It’s because we are preparing, aren’t we. People balancing precariously on ladders, hanging the Christmas decorations in just the right spot  -preparing. Crowds of men and women hit the shopping malls with a high level of intensity and aggressiveness – they’re preparing. Throughout the suburbs, houses become filled with the smell of cooking, and radio stations play old nostalgic songs about chestnuts and a winter wonderland – (in the hot Australian summer??) – but people are preparing, because it’s December and soon, it will be Christmas time.

In the church year, Christians are also in a season of preparation; it’s called “Advent.” Advent is a Latin word which means “coming”, and is that time of the year when we, as Christians, prepare for the arrival of Christ. This preparation is twofold: Firstly, we prepare to celebrate his first arrival, his humble, quiet birth in Bethlehem; and secondly we’re also preparing for His second coming, when Christ will come in all of his majesty, with the loud, trumpet call of God on Judgment Day.

In this month of December, this season of Advent it seems to be so easy to get caught up in the commercial and secular madness of preparing for a festive Christmas holiday. Somehow we all get caught up in the preparation rituals of presents and food and all the trimmings, we just have to be ready!  For me, the real question is “how do we prepare for the coming of Christ?”  You know, this is a mystery for many people. I think it reflects how many people are at this time of the year. “I am ready for Christmas! – But, am I ready for Christ? and what does that really mean?

In our text we hear from someone who teaches us how to do this, we usually read about him each (December) Advent time. No it’s not Rudolph or Frosty or Santa – it’s “John the Baptist.”  John was a rugged man who held his “services” in the desert – no chairs, no air-con, no robe with decorations – his church was out in the desert, by the Jordan River. Verse 3 of our text tells us that “He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”  He was called the “Baptist” because he encouraged people to be baptised, and, he encouraged people to repent.

This wilderness ministry wasn’t an idea that John decided upon out of the blue. Friends, this was John’s destiny – this was God’s purpose for his life – John was talked about hundreds of years before he lived, as it says in verse 4: as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord”.

John had been called by God to prepare people for the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ who was coming to start his public ministry among His people, and John was preparing people, getting them ready and he did that by teaching the people to repent!

How often do we hear the word “repent”, how often are does the Holy Biblical Scriptures call us to repentance; what is the significance of this calling? The dictionary explains: “to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; to be penitent; to remember or regard with self-reproach or contrition; to repent one's injustice to another.  Therefore in calling all people to “repent”, John was telling them to make a U-turn in their lives, to change direction. John was telling the people to search their souls and replace sin and pride with remorse, to ask for forgiveness of wrongs committed. To be going any other way was to be unprepared for Christ. John told them and is telling us to turn from looking in at our own selfish motives and go the other way in service to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

This, my friends, is how we can prepare for Christ. Repent. Think of repentance this way – first we identify ourselves as the sinful beings that we are, as Adam and Eve became sinful, so are we; and then, through the power of our Holy Baptism, we pray for the strength to overcome temptation, to love, to forgive and to serve. This will take some quiet time; Turn off the TV, the radio in your car; the computer; the mobile ‘phone. Take a break from shopping and decorating. Be still just sit and maybe meditate on Psalm 46: Verse 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." – Then Join with Paul as written in 1 Timothy 1: Vs 15 “Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all.” John calls for us to openly admit before God who we really are; he calls for us to turn our intentions and goals towards a God pleasing life; he wants us to put on the ‘Armor of Salvation’ that we can face our sin head on. That is really what repentance is about, that is what John is calling us to do.

Friends in Christ, John is calling us to prepare for Christ’s coming; he is calling us to repentance; but the sad fact is that as hard as we may try, we will never be able to be fully pleasing to God without the salvation that comes through God’s abundant grace in and through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, without our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, true repentance is impossible, try as we may, we can never work enough to earn salvation, but with Christ, all things are possible. In repentance we lay our sins at the foot of the cross of salvation. If we confess our shortcomings to Christ we can rejoice, because He forgives us all of our sins. “I forgive you,” Christ says. “I died on the cross for all those faults you have. I was punished for your weaknesses. I forgive you.” “I have risen to the right hand of the Father that you may have life eternal with me.”

Friends, if we really want to make changes in our lives, Christ will give us the strength you need. As Philippians chapter four says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” That’s repentance. That’s what John the Baptist was talking about in the desert. John pointed the people to Christ; John continues to point us to Christ even today; in the Word; in the Holy Sacraments; in the embodiment of our brothers and sisters in Christ; that is where we see him; that is where our salvation lies.

Are we ready for Christmas this year? More importantly, are we ready for Christ? Are we ready to celebrate his first coming? Are we ready to receive him, when he comes again in all of his glory? If you listen closely, over the songs about Rudolph and Frosty and Santa you hear at the mall – if you listen closely, you will hear a voice, a voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord. That is the message of Advent – repent. Amen

The love and peace of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and forever. Amen