Lay Speaking Sermon delivered Dec 6, 2015
Luke 3:1-6 NRSV
1 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 of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 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,
make his paths straight.
5 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;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "
Are you ready for Christmas? I am sure most of you by this point have either been asked that question by someone or you have asked someone that question yourself. The answer given will usually vary from an emphatic, satisfied “Yes” on one end of the scale to a panicked “No” on the other side. There will also be a few who will fall somewhere in the middle and give the answer of “Some what”. Either way, the response will be based on such criteria as whether the gift-buying list is complete, the decorations and the tree are up, and whether all the baked goodies have been fixed. In other words, to answer the question, “Are you ready for Christmas” there is a mental calculation that goes on in one’s head – comparing the list of preparations that need to be made to the list of preparations completed.
Preparation. Such a key word this time of year. Christmas is a season of preparation. You have to prepare the list of people to buy for. When the shopping is done, you have to prepare the supplies to wrap the presents. You have to prepare the Christmas card list. You have to prepare room in the house for a tree. You have to prepare your schedule to make time for the work party and the family parties. I’m getting tired just naming all the things that need to be done.
John the Baptist knew a thing or two about preparation. John’s work was a ministry of Preparation. Eight days after he was born, on the day of his circumcision, John’s father Zechariah spoke this prophecy concerning his son: “And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” (Luke 1:76-77). John the Baptist’s sole purpose was to prepare the way for the coming Savior. And that meant preparing the people. John’s question to the people of his time was, “Are you ready for Christ?” He proclaimed, and performed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He made clear he wasn’t the one with the power to forgive, that he was only making way for the one who could.
Often, people today will hear or even read this passage and they note the words Baptism, Repentance, and Forgiveness. And the thought goes through their head, “Okay, I’m good. I’ve repented. I’ve been baptized. I’ve been forgiven.” And they just settle back down to their comfortable lives thinking there is no need for a call to action for them. But, let’s read on in this passage of Luke, still chapter 3, verses 7-9. John admonishes the people in the crowds to “bear fruits worthy of your repentance.” Repentance is not just simply a mental exercise in that one regrets what one has done. It requires movement, a change of direction, a new way of living. There must be visible proof in one’s actions that shows a change has occurred.
At the beginning of the Scripture you may have noticed the initial verses were filled with a list of names and their positions. Luke, ever the historian, includes these for one purpose of anchoring the events to a specific and noted period of time and history. But, we can draw a deeper meaning from that inclusion as well. Note the titles, Emperor, governor, ruler, High Priest. All positions of prestige and power. Yet, who do we see chosen by God to be the prophet and the one preparing the way for the Lord? John the Baptist. Once again God chooses the unexpected one in the eyes of the world to do his work and speak for him. John, the one who we are told in Mark’s Gospel is “clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist” and eats locust and wild honey. We are not specifically told the attire of the powerful, nor what their foods of choice were. Yet, we are safe to assume that they were robed in the finest clothes and material and dined on the richest of meals. It is still a wise lesson for us today to be aware that God’s choice of those to speak often comes not from the ranks of those whom the rest of the world looks up to, those in power and authority. It is those to whom God assigns his power and authority to that we should follow.
I mentioned that John’s father, Zechariah, spoke a prophecy about who John was and what he would do. This was not the first prophecy spoken about John. Many years before, the prophet Isaiah had written about one who would at a time in the future be “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord.'” John is the fulfillment of that prophecy.
Now, let’s look at what John, this voice crying out in the wilderness was saying needed to be done to prepare the way.
- Make his paths straight
- Fill in the valleys
- Make low the mountains and hills
- Smooth out the rough ways
One author of an article, of which the name and title are lost to me, made the statement that it all sounded like a list of work for the Department of Transportation. Which is true; John’s message does allude to things that needed changed in a physical landscape. The purpose of which was to remove obstacles and distractions that would make travel and movement difficult. Yet, this metaphor easily transfers to the idea of the spiritual landscape that we must work on to prepare the way of the Lord, not just for others, but ourselves as well. What distractions, what roadblocks, what obstacles must we move to prepare hearts to receive the coming of the Savior?
A quote from William Barclay states, “The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.”
As we continue on through this time of Advent, my charge to you is this:
The next time someone asks you, “Are you ready for Christmas?”, do not let the mental calculations of all the things you need to do run through your mind before you answer. Instead, be ready to immediately and confidently reply, “Yes. I am ready for Christmas. I am ready for the coming of Christ, my Savior!”
Then turn the question back to them. Ask them if they are ready for not just Christmas, but Christ himself.
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