Sunday, December 4, 2011

Prepare the Lord's Way

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8

• season of political positioning & campaigning... season of making wish lists... look at me! glad to live in democracy where we can vote, but get sick of a year of campaigns.

Can you imagine if Jesus had a campaign to be savior? What platform would he run on?

Some of his talking points come from one of his campaign managers, the prophet Isaiah...

Here is the Lord God, coming with strength, with a triumphant arm, bringing his reward with him and his payment before him. (sounds good!)
Like a shepherd he will tend the flock, he will gather lambs in his arms and lift them onto his lap. He will gently guide the nursing ewes. (tough and tender! Nice touch)

• But his head campaign manager was John the Baptist, who, frankly, dressed funny and ate funny and I don’t know about you, makes me think of the street preacher that you cross the street to avoid.

And yet...

The people flocked into the wilderness to see John the Baptist. There was something attractive about him that compelled people to leave their comfort zones and enter the wilderness, leave their comfort zones and confess their sins, leave their comfort zones and receive baptism, turn their lives around.

John the Baptist was announcing a parade in which God was coming (Isaiah 40:3-5) and saying if you wanted to be part of this parade, you had to let go of certain things so your hands would be free to carry a flag or a banner in God’s parade.

Gotta let go of pride, let go of LookAtMe.

Gotta let go of the illusion that you can somehow earn God’s favor

And not only gotta let go of past failures but the notion that past failures are greater than God’s ability to redeem. (my sin is too great)

• John preached repentance of sins accompanied by baptism by water – a symbolic shedding of the old way of life, cleansing of the associated guilt, and emergence of re-ordered life.

And people wanted what John had to offer. They wanted to get right.

And John the Baptist was quick to tell people you’ve only just begun – there’s a One coming after me, HE’S the one to live for, HE’S the one will change your life.

And John the Baptist’s desire in life was to become more and more like HIM, to the diminishment of himself, which happens through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

• From the onset of the journey of faith the Holy Spirit is present in our lives. The Spirit comes to convict us of our need, to make us aware of our sin, to reveal to us the beauty of the Savior, to give us new birth, to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit, to empower us for service in the kingdom and in the church, and the like.

The Spirit ever moves us one step further in God’s parade.

• So, as you prepare for Christmas, be humble and repentant, and open yourself to the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in you, and ever point to God.

• Hymn 163 As With Gladness Men of Old

No comments:

Post a Comment