Sermon – Prepare the Way of the Lord! Rev. Sandy Lacey December 08, 2024
Many of us are involved in some kind of preparation for the arrival of guests during this time of the year. There are Christmas decorations to get out of storage and evaluations to be made about whether they still pass muster for use this year. Do we put up lights outside this year or not? How much is too much? And it is always interesting when you have a new pet or a toddler in the family. I remember the year we got Maggie as a kitten, we had to put the tree in a corner and secure it with lines so she couldn’t pull the whole thing over as she and the dog rambunctiously played hide and seek together. But there are other parts of preparation that are not as much fun – a thorough cleaning because all the best decorations in the world won’t hide the dust and dirt! Commentator Kathy Beach-Verhey talks about her mother getting on her hands and knees to painstakingly untangle and pull the fringe out on their oriental carpets![1] No task is too small or too big when preparing for guests. Leaky faucets, door casings that do not work, cluttered countertops, outdated and poorly working appliances – all get a critical eye with the impetus to do something about the problem before the guests arrive. In addition, food must be prepared ahead of time because you do not want to spend all your time in the kitchen while your guests are with you. The Church is making some preparations too. There was a flurry of activity going on around here last weekend – lots of elves! During the season of Advent, we are adding things as we watch and wait for Jesus. Last week, the Advent Wreath was brought out of storage and the candle of hope was lit. This week, additional light was added with the candle of peace. Trees, wreaths, decorations have all been added and the Chrismon tree was placed in the sanctuary. Poinsettias are still to come. We’re mostly singing Advent hymns, but I suspect that soon we might sneak in a Christmas hymn! The Scripture passages are all about watching for signs, waiting for the Messiah to come and making straight the crooked places in our lives and in the world around us. The Church has been helping to prepare for the valleys to be lifted and the mountains to be made low for quite some time now. In fact, we have been doing so ever since Jesus was resurrected; we have been watching, waiting, and preparing for God’s Kingdom to finally be made complete. At times we wonder, like this week in the wake of all the violence in the Middle East and the unrest in South Korea if God has abandoned us to our own devices. Our work of making the crooked places of our world straighter is still not done as we prepare for Christ’s coming. Today’s Scripture passage in Luke’s Gospel is our introduction to John the Baptist, the official preparer of the way. He probably wouldn’t be your definition of an ideal guest to have over for the holidays. For one thing, his idea of fine cuisine is to eat locusts and wild honey. In addition, he had really long hair (on his face too) and he hung out in the wilderness. I suspect he would not have been considered the life of the party; he had all the mannerisms and vocabulary of a common street preacher. He told people the truth, even if it hurt. He has not started to insult his audience in this passage, but he will shortly after this passage. He told people to repent – to turn around – to reorient themselves – so that their sins may be forgiven and so that they may lead a new life. He said salvation was coming and they needed to be prepared. They needed to be ready to welcome Jesus. Change was coming. What kind of people came to see John in the wilderness, just outside of town? We do not really know who was there; we just know he attracted quite a crowd. We do know there were some religious leaders in the crowd, probably curious about his message. But other than those identified few, we can only imagine who the others were. I imagine that the crowd included the desperate wo were searching for hope. Maybe an illness had been diagnosed and the prognosis looked bleak, or their income was low and food was in short supply. We can imagine that there were plenty of people desperate for a good word, desperate for hope in John’s day. I also imagine the crowd included the war weary looking for peace, looking for someone who could lead them away from the constant threat of war and violence. It is unbelievably stressful and hard to live with the constant worry and anxiety that today might be the last day of your life. I cannot help but wonder if the crowd also included those who have simply been going through the motions in their lives. Maybe they were looking for the opportunity to experience joy in the midst of what felt like a hum-drum existence. Maybe these people were numb and lifeless, not really expecting anything to be different and yet found their feet following the crowds into the wilderness – you know, just in case. I imagine the crowd also likely included those who considered themselves morally upright, who did their best to follow every letter of the Law and who prided themselves on not being like “all those other people.” They were there, perhaps, out of curiosity or looking for confirmation of their righteousness. John preached to all of them equally. It is time to be prepared, he tells them. Your salvation is coming, he claims. Change is coming, he said. Make it easier for Jesus when he comes by clearing a path, removing the underbrush, straightening out the crooked places, leveling the hills, and filling in the valleys – and do this so that all may see God’s salvation. We have the same people listening to John today. There are those of us who are desperately in need and looking for hope. Some of us are having difficulty paying our regular bills, much less buying extra for Christmas. Some of us may be one major repair away from losing our homes. Some of us are in relationships that are abusive and are wondering if life can be any different. Some of us are dealing with threatening diagnoses. We who are desperate are in need of the valleys to be lifted and hope given, and we are looking to the church to help. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. We also have the war-weary among us today. Not only our veterans and current armed forces, but our police officers, our firefighters, our social workers, our domestic violence victims, even our kids in schools, our violent crime victims, and more – are all searching for peace and wholeness, and they are looking to the church to bring those mountains of power down. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. And what about those of us who are simply going through the motions in our lives? Many of us seem to be in some sort of automatic pilot mode, not really thinking through things anymore, just putting one foot in front of the other. We wouldn’t know joy if it bit us, and we certainly no longer expect it. We are searching for joy, purpose, and gratitude whether we are consciously aware of it or not, and we are looking to the church to straighten out those crooked places that steal our joy. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. And then there are those of us, just like in John’s day, who feel pretty proud of ourselves – of what we have been able to accomplish. We show up every now and then and we give some of our resources. We’re likely to be associated with the church as long as there is no real risk to our well-ordered lives and no effort is being asked of us. Our compassion only goes so far – people have to learn to fend for themselves just like us, we think. We may not know it, but we are searching for God’s kind of love and compassion during this Advent season, and we need the church to show us the way. John says to repent – to reorient ourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. All of us are being asked to examine our lives, our values, our priorities during this Advent season. Each Sunday as we light a new candle on the Advent wreath, we are reminded of the priorities of hope, peace, joy, and love. The street preacher John breaks into our comfort zones and interrupts our holiday by telling us to pay attention and do something with our lives . . . why, because Jesus is coming and even now God is working to make all things new! Are we preparing the way? John tells us to re-orient our lives so that we may watch and wait, so that we may experience the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas every day of our lives. This is true for us individually and as a community of faith. Corporately, what are we doing to bring down the mountains of power and filling in the valleys where people are hurting? As the church, we are to clear the path and lead the way. To help us, let us imagine that Jesus is the guest we are inviting into our homes and church this Christmas. In addition to the usual preparation, let us together straighten out some crooked places in our lives and in the world around us as we watch and wait for the guest to appear. AMEN.
[1] Kathy Beach-Verhey, “Homiletical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 45.
Many of us are involved in some kind of preparation for the arrival of guests during this time of the year. There are Christmas decorations to get out of storage and evaluations to be made about whether they still pass muster for use this year. Do we put up lights outside this year or not? How much is too much? And it is always interesting when you have a new pet or a toddler in the family. I remember the year we got Maggie as a kitten, we had to put the tree in a corner and secure it with lines so she couldn’t pull the whole thing over as she and the dog rambunctiously played hide and seek together. But there are other parts of preparation that are not as much fun – a thorough cleaning because all the best decorations in the world won’t hide the dust and dirt! Commentator Kathy Beach-Verhey talks about her mother getting on her hands and knees to painstakingly untangle and pull the fringe out on their oriental carpets![1] No task is too small or too big when preparing for guests. Leaky faucets, door casings that do not work, cluttered countertops, outdated and poorly working appliances – all get a critical eye with the impetus to do something about the problem before the guests arrive. In addition, food must be prepared ahead of time because you do not want to spend all your time in the kitchen while your guests are with you. The Church is making some preparations too. There was a flurry of activity going on around here last weekend – lots of elves! During the season of Advent, we are adding things as we watch and wait for Jesus. Last week, the Advent Wreath was brought out of storage and the candle of hope was lit. This week, additional light was added with the candle of peace. Trees, wreaths, decorations have all been added and the Chrismon tree was placed in the sanctuary. Poinsettias are still to come. We’re mostly singing Advent hymns, but I suspect that soon we might sneak in a Christmas hymn! The Scripture passages are all about watching for signs, waiting for the Messiah to come and making straight the crooked places in our lives and in the world around us. The Church has been helping to prepare for the valleys to be lifted and the mountains to be made low for quite some time now. In fact, we have been doing so ever since Jesus was resurrected; we have been watching, waiting, and preparing for God’s Kingdom to finally be made complete. At times we wonder, like this week in the wake of all the violence in the Middle East and the unrest in South Korea if God has abandoned us to our own devices. Our work of making the crooked places of our world straighter is still not done as we prepare for Christ’s coming. Today’s Scripture passage in Luke’s Gospel is our introduction to John the Baptist, the official preparer of the way. He probably wouldn’t be your definition of an ideal guest to have over for the holidays. For one thing, his idea of fine cuisine is to eat locusts and wild honey. In addition, he had really long hair (on his face too) and he hung out in the wilderness. I suspect he would not have been considered the life of the party; he had all the mannerisms and vocabulary of a common street preacher. He told people the truth, even if it hurt. He has not started to insult his audience in this passage, but he will shortly after this passage. He told people to repent – to turn around – to reorient themselves – so that their sins may be forgiven and so that they may lead a new life. He said salvation was coming and they needed to be prepared. They needed to be ready to welcome Jesus. Change was coming. What kind of people came to see John in the wilderness, just outside of town? We do not really know who was there; we just know he attracted quite a crowd. We do know there were some religious leaders in the crowd, probably curious about his message. But other than those identified few, we can only imagine who the others were. I imagine that the crowd included the desperate wo were searching for hope. Maybe an illness had been diagnosed and the prognosis looked bleak, or their income was low and food was in short supply. We can imagine that there were plenty of people desperate for a good word, desperate for hope in John’s day. I also imagine the crowd included the war weary looking for peace, looking for someone who could lead them away from the constant threat of war and violence. It is unbelievably stressful and hard to live with the constant worry and anxiety that today might be the last day of your life. I cannot help but wonder if the crowd also included those who have simply been going through the motions in their lives. Maybe they were looking for the opportunity to experience joy in the midst of what felt like a hum-drum existence. Maybe these people were numb and lifeless, not really expecting anything to be different and yet found their feet following the crowds into the wilderness – you know, just in case. I imagine the crowd also likely included those who considered themselves morally upright, who did their best to follow every letter of the Law and who prided themselves on not being like “all those other people.” They were there, perhaps, out of curiosity or looking for confirmation of their righteousness. John preached to all of them equally. It is time to be prepared, he tells them. Your salvation is coming, he claims. Change is coming, he said. Make it easier for Jesus when he comes by clearing a path, removing the underbrush, straightening out the crooked places, leveling the hills, and filling in the valleys – and do this so that all may see God’s salvation. We have the same people listening to John today. There are those of us who are desperately in need and looking for hope. Some of us are having difficulty paying our regular bills, much less buying extra for Christmas. Some of us may be one major repair away from losing our homes. Some of us are in relationships that are abusive and are wondering if life can be any different. Some of us are dealing with threatening diagnoses. We who are desperate are in need of the valleys to be lifted and hope given, and we are looking to the church to help. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. We also have the war-weary among us today. Not only our veterans and current armed forces, but our police officers, our firefighters, our social workers, our domestic violence victims, even our kids in schools, our violent crime victims, and more – are all searching for peace and wholeness, and they are looking to the church to bring those mountains of power down. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. And what about those of us who are simply going through the motions in our lives? Many of us seem to be in some sort of automatic pilot mode, not really thinking through things anymore, just putting one foot in front of the other. We wouldn’t know joy if it bit us, and we certainly no longer expect it. We are searching for joy, purpose, and gratitude whether we are consciously aware of it or not, and we are looking to the church to straighten out those crooked places that steal our joy. John says, repent – reorient yourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. And then there are those of us, just like in John’s day, who feel pretty proud of ourselves – of what we have been able to accomplish. We show up every now and then and we give some of our resources. We’re likely to be associated with the church as long as there is no real risk to our well-ordered lives and no effort is being asked of us. Our compassion only goes so far – people have to learn to fend for themselves just like us, we think. We may not know it, but we are searching for God’s kind of love and compassion during this Advent season, and we need the church to show us the way. John says to repent – to reorient ourselves – to who God is and what God can do. Your salvation is near. All of us are being asked to examine our lives, our values, our priorities during this Advent season. Each Sunday as we light a new candle on the Advent wreath, we are reminded of the priorities of hope, peace, joy, and love. The street preacher John breaks into our comfort zones and interrupts our holiday by telling us to pay attention and do something with our lives . . . why, because Jesus is coming and even now God is working to make all things new! Are we preparing the way? John tells us to re-orient our lives so that we may watch and wait, so that we may experience the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas every day of our lives. This is true for us individually and as a community of faith. Corporately, what are we doing to bring down the mountains of power and filling in the valleys where people are hurting? As the church, we are to clear the path and lead the way. To help us, let us imagine that Jesus is the guest we are inviting into our homes and church this Christmas. In addition to the usual preparation, let us together straighten out some crooked places in our lives and in the world around us as we watch and wait for the guest to appear. AMEN.
[1] Kathy Beach-Verhey, “Homiletical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 45.
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[1] Kathy Beach-Verhey, “Homiletical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 4. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.) p. 45.