Sermon "What We Can Do"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday December 14, 1997
Luke 3:7-18
go toBible Study
What We Can Do
John the Baptist said: "You brood of vipers! Who warnedyou to flee from the wrath to come!.... even now the ax is lyingat the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not beargood fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,"
In Philippians, Paul injects: "Rejoice in the Lordalways: again I will say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known toeveryone. The Lord is near, don't worry about anything, but ineverything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let yourrequests be made known to God, which surpasses all understanding,will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus."EXCUSE ME!
What is this, a mixed message festival? In the gospel John theBaptist says: vipers, bear fruit, and repent or fry! And thesecond reading from Philippians tells us, and by the way: don'tworry, be happy, the lord is
EXCUSE ME!
Advent is a time of preparing for the Lord's coming. The tworeadings from Luke and Philippians seem to have contradictoryadvice as to how we are to prepare for the Lord's arrival. Oneseemingly tells to prepare for the Lord's coming by straighteningup, flying right and getting our acts together or else!, theother seems to say, throw some brats on the grill, go to atailgate party, kick back and relax. Well, which is it? What arewe supposed to do? We all want to ready ourselves for God, buthow?
One way to bridge these two seemingly contradictorypreparation plans is to remember that the gospel, if it is trulythe gospel, is always a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. Inother words, the gospel can simultaneously "comfort theafflicted" and "afflict the comfortable." Thereare times in our walk with God that we need be shaken out ofcomplacency. There are other times when the weight of life hasbeaten us down and we desperately need to put away our anxietyand worry and trust that the Lord is near. The texts for todayspeak to both of those realities in our lives.
In the gospel, John the Baptist is furious with the peoplebecause he saw through their religious charade. He looked overthe crowd that had come to be baptized and realized that many whocame had motives that were far from pure. Some in the baptismalcrowd were there, not out of sincerity, but to try and covertheir backs. They wanted baptism as a salvation insurance policythat called for no premiums, no righteousness, and no faith. Itwas a quasi-religious cultural rite of passage withoutcommitment.
To those looking for religious cover, the gospel, the goodnews came as a harsh word. They were told to stop beinghypocrites, and "bear fruits worthy of repentance."Just being children of Abraham could not cover them. The onlyauthentic way for them to prepare for the Lord's coming was forthem to have a changed heart. They were told not only to"talk the talk" of faith but to "walk thewalk" as well. Those with two coats were to share one withsome one else... those who had food were to divide it withothers...
Philippians speaks to those who were religious, but more oftenthan not their religion was more a burden to bear than a joy toshare. To those people, preparing for the Lord's coming was adaunting task. A matter of dotting all "i's" andcrossing all the "t's" , as if salvation were a matterof self justifying spiritual precision.
The author of Philippians knew that folk, no matter how goodand righteous, no matter how vigilant and faithful, were notcapable of working their way to heaven, but that salvation andthe joy in believing that goes with it, comes as a free gift ofgrace. To those who were worried about being perfect enough forthe Lord's coming the message was to rejoice, for the Lord isnear.
The readings for today also focus on the need to be joyful, tobe at peace and not be afraid. The prophet Zephaniah tells theIsraelites to "rejoice and exult with all your heart...donot fear" and that "the Lord will rejoice over you withgladness." Philippians tell us to "rejoice in the Lordalways; again I say, rejoice." If we look further throughoutthe New Testament, we would see that exhortations to"rejoice and not be afraid" abound. For example, in thefirst chapter of Luke's gospel, the angel Gabriel tells Mary to"Rejoice, O highly favored one, the Lord is with you...donot be afraid." And at the end of the gospel of Matthew, therisen Savior himself tells the women who came to the tomb onEaster morning, "Rejoice...do not be afraid. tell mybrothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me".
When we look at the historical settings of our readings, wesee they were anything but ideal. The age of Zephaniah was a timeof religious degradation, when the old idolatries had reappearedand people worshipped the sun, moon and stars. Rites completelyalien to the teachings of Moses flourished in Jerusalem. So tothe corrupt city, Zephaniah announced the impending judgment day,the day of the Lord. But in the end and despite theirinfidelities, the Lord in his mercy will spare a holy remnantwhich will finally enjoy peace. The words from today's readingcome from the hymn of joy at the end of the book from thatremnant.
And what about St. Paul? He not only advises the Philippiansto rejoice but even repeats himself just for emphasis."Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,rejoice." And then in our short reading, he goes on to tellthem: "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything byprayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests bemade known to God. And the peace of God, which passes allunderstanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in ChristJesus."
As Paul is writing these words, he is lying in prison withalmost certain death awaiting him. Meanwhile, the Philippianswere setting out on the Christian way, and dark days, dangers andpersecutions inevitably lay ahead. So, in essence, Paul istelling them, "I know what I'm saying. I've thought abouteverything that can possibly happen. And still I sayit--rejoice!"
We can grow daily in attaining these characteristics: love ofothers, freedom from fear, peace and joy. And if we are lackingin any of these, we can choose to rejoice and be glad, even iffor no other reason than because God has blessed us with the giftof life for another day, another day to "get it right",another day to draw closer to these ideals. That's what we cando. Amen.
