|
||
|
12-6-09
Text:
Luke 3:1-18
● Our
readings for this week all seem to highlight the struggle to believe; the
inner-tension that one experiences as they attempt to reconcile the
restorative promises of God with their present and often painful reality.
It seems to address the obstacles which must be surmounted in order
to ‘clear the path’ for God in our lives. But, it also underscores the
tenacity of God’s love which ‘moves mountains’ and ‘fills in valleys’; which
makes productive and fruitful that which, for so long, had been considered
lifeless and barren.
●
Advent makes us aware of (2)
concepts which prevent us from being totally overwhelmed with our
present reality: 1) a Messianic
vision--- which suggests that God’s resolve to restore the world far
exceeds man’s determination to do it without him,
2) humanity’s capacity for
repentance.
●
Malachi was
For several centuries, there had been no prophets, no word from God and the
silence was deafening. Many longed for a new word from God; a message that
would address their present situation as well as offer hope for the ‘new
age’.
The prophets had long spoken about a time of restoration, when God would
return to them, but no one was certain as to what that time would look like.
When John came declaring that people should make preparations for their God
to return, there was a sense of urgency in his delivery. This was it. Rescue
was at hand.
● As
the prophets spoke about God’s return, they used expressions like being
“washed with lye soap”, or
“purified like silver” (white-hot
blaze that brings the impurities to the surface). They speak of this action
of God being like the process of “separating
the wheat from the chaff. Not exactly the images that we often associate
with Jesus’ first advent.
It’s always difficult to find an appropriate way to deliver a message that
both resonates with grace and sounds a warning
(“I’ve got some good news and some bad news”).
For things to be set right, it means that God must deal with all that is
wrong and all that stands in the way of peace. God can’t come and say ‘yes’
to justice without addressing sin and the disorder that it has deposited on
all of creation.
But, the people were not yet convinced that the picture was quite as dire as
the prophets were painting it to be, and the prophets themselves had
determined that the people had become so ‘numb’, so unresponsive, that they
could not appreciate grace until they were first able to honestly confront
their unfaithfulness.
Then, and only then, would repentance become a possibility; then, and
only then, would they be able to envision a more hopeful future.
●
Luke re-interprets an Isaiah passage (40:3-5) to apply to John.
Of
course, locating John in the desert (wilderness), hearing him say that God
was forgiving their sins and watching him plunge people into the waters of
the
It was
undeniably a reference to the return of
● I’m
sure that we are aware that this has nothing to do with actual
“infra-structure”, but the unprecedented work of God which will remove any
obstacle that seeks to prohibit his coming. Eliminating the obstacles is
God’s work; repentance is the preparation work of the people.
● The
prophets had been declaring that for the people to realize this “new
exodus”, they would need a change of heart. They would need to ‘return to
God’, meaning, they would need to abandon all of the ways that they were
trusting for life and embrace a new way; a way of being God’s renewed people
in the world.
“Making
the way for God”
meant committing yourselves to being his people in the world. Notice, people
weren’t asking, “What should I feel
now?”, or, “What should I be
sensing?”, but “What should I do?
How should I respond in light of the fact that God is moving toward me? What
would it look like in my life?”
●
John was convinced that repentance was not just
about some internal spiritual encounter. He urged his listeners to
demonstrate their new intentions by concrete deeds rather than by hollow
spiritual professions--- “produce fruit”.
It would
mean that if you have two cloaks, you don’t need them both… give one to
someone who does. Have a cellar full of surplus food? Share it with those
who don’t know where there next meal is coming from. Learn to be content;
don’t get sucked in by consumerism which eventually causes you to misuse
people so that you can maintain your lifestyle.
By addressing even these seemingly small-scale injustices in our
lives, we demonstrate that we are living in another Kingdom, under a new
rule… the rule of love.
I have been intrigued as I have read, once again, this account of John and
his message.
● Far
from being repulsive and polarizing, John’s message attracted people; people
came from all over the region to receive this message. It seems to
contradict the notion that people are averse to the truth or that true
change isn’t really possible.
The people were ready for a change. People were ready to listen.
● John’s
message of forgiveness and repentance and cleansing were seriously
compelling. They realized that such profound movement of God toward them
warranted some type of response.
● John’s
message was being delivered at the height of human arrogance and confidence
and it did resonate with those whose anticipation levels and frustration
levels had reached their peak: those who had run out of energy and ideas.
People desired change.
It couldn’t be the same ‘anemic’ and ‘hollow’ religious practices
that the religious leaders were purporting; it couldn’t be the same tired
old message about confidence in “human progress”… it just was not working!
● Luke
suggests that it’s our capacity to honestly and humbly confront all of the
ways that our current approach to life has contributed to the disorder and
failed to produce hope which allows us to envision something better; which
actually offers us something “worthy of repentance’---a larger vision of
God; a larger vision of life.
Repentance is one of the hardest undertakings known to humanity.
We are not easily convinced that our way is counter-productive. We assume
that we just need more time to ‘work the plan’. As if it’s not hard enough
just to admit we are wrong about a certain fact or decision, to confront the
notion that our very approach to life is faulty will be painful and
unsettling, at best.
●
In order to produce such a profound response as repentance, God must act
unpredictably. He must do something that both “gets our attention” and
“captures our hearts”. He must prepare the way for us. That type of response
always appeals to something deeper in us.
The hope associated with Advent can only truly be understood within the
context of hopelessness.
This is the point at which God not only comes to us, but we are finally
available to God.
●
“Exodus”, a word that derives
from two Greek words meaning “out”
(ex) and “way” (odos)… a “way
out”.
In Luke
9:31, he refers to Jesus’ death as an “exodus”. When Jesus claims that he is
the “way’ (odos) and his death is referred to as an “ex-odos”, the
significance is hard to miss: Jesus
is a new way out!
● Most
people I encounter in spiritual conversation are not fretting over how to
alleviate the guilt they feel as a result of their sin. It’s not that they
are unaware that their lives are less than perfect, but for many, sin,
personal wrong-doing is not the issue… being enslaved is.
What they need is not simply to have someone announce that their
‘sins have been forgiven’, but to be presented with a genuine alternative to
the enslaving lifestyle to which they have become accustomed (i.e. Moses
didn’t just waltz into Egypt and tell everyone that their sins were forgiven
so they need not feel so guilty anymore… he announced a way out!).
Advent is also a reminder that we are ‘still waiting’ for something to
arrive to address the disorder of our world.
Although most of us gathered here today would attach our hopes for
such a world, such a life, to Jesus, this desire for things to be put back
in order is characteristic of us all.
●
If you think you already have what you want,
you’ll find no value in hope… nothing you feel is worth waiting for. But, if
your heart is still longing- even though you couldn’t really articulate what
it is you are longing for, your options are either ‘finding hope’ or ‘living
with despair’.
● In
Often,
young men and women from the villages would meet each other, but their
relationship would be stunted due to lack of access. Eventually, a road was
built. They named that road the
“Via dell’ Amore”--- the
“Way of Love”.
|
