December 17, 2006, Advent 3

Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

Rejoice in the Lord, but watch out.

Our lessons this morning are a mixture of emotions. Our first lesson from Zephaniah says, “Sing aloud. Rejoice and exult with all your heart. The Lord is in your midst, he will renew you with his love.”

Our second lesson begins, “Rejoice in the Lord always. The Lord is near, do not worry. His peace will surpass all understanding.” This is most definitely the GOOD NEWS.

Then we get to John and he starts out, “You brood of vipers.” Not exactly what we want to hear 8 days before Christmas. John’s word is “repent” so we get the mixed message of “rejoice – but watch out.” We need to remember that what repent means is to turn around. It means that things are going to be different.

In this season of Advent we are expecting the birth of a baby. Now, those of you who have children will know exactly what that means. When you are expecting a child, we all rejoice at the prospect of new life among us. But the reality is that it is going to change your life forever – sometimes in ways you would never expected. Things will never be the same.

The same thing is true for this coming Messiah. If you accept Jesus into your heart, into your life – he will change you - forever. Rejoice for the Lord is within you. Turn your life around and accept him for who he is - as part of your being.

John thought he knew exactly what the Messiah was going to be like. He predicted it and told it to the people. But when Jesus came, he was not what John expected. And when John was arrested and put in prison, he had even more doubts. Maybe he expected Jesus to raise an army and come rescue him. So John sent his disciples to Jesus with a question. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?”

And Jesus told John’s disciples, “Look around you and go back and tell John what you see. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the good news is being preached.” This is not the Messiah that John was expecting.

John got it right in one respect – the kingdom of God had come near – and was present in Jesus Christ. And John was right that we need to pay attention to how we live our lives. That is an important part of living in right relationship with God. But John was disillusioned on the aspect of God among us. God had indeed come to be with us – but not in power with a sword to mete out punishment – but with the power of love, showing compassion and mercy. The Lord has come bring us unmerited grace in transformed lives.

Please feel free to email me with comments at nan@doerrworks.com