On the Way to Wonder

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

 ¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
  shout, O Israel!
 Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
  O daughter Jerusalem!
 ¹⁵The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,
  he has turned away your enemies.
 The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
  you shall fear disaster no more.
 ¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
 Do not fear, O Zion;
  do not let your hands grow weak.
 ¹⁷The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
  a warrior who gives victory;
 he will rejoice over you with gladness,
  he will renew you in his love;
 he will exult over you with loud singing
  ¹⁸as on a day of festival.
 I will remove disaster from you,
  so that you will not bear reproach for it.
 ¹⁹I will deal with all your oppressors
  at that time.
 And I will save the lame
  and gather the outcast,
 and I will change their shame into praise
  and renown in all the earth.
 ²⁰At that time I will bring you home,
  at the time when I gather you;
 for I will make you renowned and praised
  among all the peoples of the earth,
 when I restore your fortunes
  before your eyes, says the Lord.

Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-6 ²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid,
  for the Lord God is my strength and my might, and has become my salvation.
 ³With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 
 ⁴And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on God’s name; make known the deeds of the Lord among the nations;      proclaim that this name is exalted.
 ⁵Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
  let this be known in all the earth.
 ⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
  for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
  ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
  ¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
  ¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  Let us join our voices and sing a Christmas song I’m sure we are all familiar with:  Santa Clause is Coming to Town:

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town.

Let’s pray:  May the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Thank you for hope, for peace, and now we look to you for joy.

SERMON

 “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” was first recorded in 1934 and became famous when sung by Eddie Cantor at the height of the Great Depression.  Originally there were more verses encouraging listeners to be charitable and help the less fortunate at Christmas.  The version we know was an instant hit.  Orders for 500,000 copies of the sheet music and more than 30,000 records sold within 24 hours – according to Wipedia. Over 200 artists have recorded this song!  I think that would be considered a success and popular even by today’s standards. Today we hear this song played at Christmas time.

“You better watch out!”

         Our text today tells of another instant success story almost identical to this song.  The Prophet John the Baptist stands in the River Jordan and proclaims, “You better watch out!”  He was a little bit more crass in his speech.  He was not wearing a jolly red suit but equally unique in his camel skin clothes, and eating locust.  Our text says that he addressed his crowd as a “brood of vipers.”  He is not crooning the arrival of Santa Claus but announcing the arrival of the long anticipated Messiah.

         Our song goes on to share warnings of unacceptable behavior.  “You better not cry, you better not pout.”  John the Baptist equally warns, ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”  As we prepare for the return of the Messiah, what might be some unacceptable behaviors John is eluding to that might block our relationship with God today?

“You better not cry, you better not pout.”

         John first starts by warning the Jews of a false dependence on their Jewish heritage. “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’.”    Even we Lutherans have strong “patriarchal families” and roots going back to Norway, Sweden, Germany or perhaps Ethiopia and Tanzania today.  We do not flaunt our testimonials of conversion experiences with high emotions and dramatic changes and God interventions in our sinful lifestyles.  No, we are a confessional church reciting creeds that go back to the Middle Ages.  We say the Nicene Creed on High Church Sundays.  We baptize our babies and send our youth to confirmation.  These are strong family traditions.  For many, Bethany is the place where they married, raised their children, saw their children married and are now escorting and supporting each other on that final leg of the journey. I am not saying that is wrong.  John is saying that church attendance is not our passport to heaven or to relationship with the coming Messiah.  Our social history is not our spiritual identity!  At worst it makes it hard for new people to feel welcome and at best it is false security.  Claiming the rewards of Abraham without the faith of Abraham, claiming the rewards of Martin Luther without the faith of Martin Luther… we better watch out!

         Next John reminds us that God can change stones, hearts cold as rocks, into believers.  Like the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes the day he encountered the Who’s in Whoville, God can change hearts.  We look at how Christianity is struggling in the Western world but in many other places in the world Christianity is growing under severe persecution.  Our comfortable lifestyle may be deceiving us about the condition of our souls. To use a colloquial saying, “Are we on fire for the Lord?” or are we a bit luke-warm today in our devotion?  Perhaps faith has become a habit more than an active force in our life.  The song and John the Baptist encourage us to check the condition of our hearts today.

“What then should we do?”

Americans loved this song and recognized a truth in it.  We do not want a lump of coal on Christmas Day but we want a stocking full of goodies.  We want to live “happy ever after.”  Deep inside we believe we must “be good,” “not cry,” “not pout” or be beautiful or talented or young.  In spiritual terms  we believe somehow that living a good Christian life earns God’s favor.  And so we strive to be faithful and like the crowds ask John, “What then should we do?”   

         John focuses on our behavior also – beyond crying and pouting.  Advent, preparing for the coming Messiah, is not about getting but about giving.  John tells the crowds to share.  The song was written during the Great Depression.  Remember, John is standing in the Wilderness, faith lived in the hard places of life, in the middle of the pandemic, in the middle of refugee flights, wars and environmental challenges.  We are not to be pondering what we get but what we can give.  I note he does not say we are to give away all but we are to be generous.  We are to be generous not just to our family and friends but also to those in need.  John is warning us of greed, collecting “more than prescribed” for tax collectors.  There is a difference between “wants” and “needs!”  John warns of tit-for-tat thinking, for the soldier not to use their job to threaten or bully.  We are to “be satisfied” to be at peace with what we receive.  We are called to live out faith in the midst of our life, not flee to a “more holy” place.

         The song continues to describe Santa Claus’ character.  “He sees us when we’re sleeping.  He knows when we’re awake.  He knows if we’ve been bad or good…. So be good for goodness sake.”   Sounds a bit like God doesn’t it!  God knows and sees. 

         Here though we must insert the Gospel that brings joy at Christmas.  God knows that we are broken people living in a broken world and need a savior, the gift of the Messiah.  We can never by our own power live good enough lives to deserve a stocking brimming with gifts on Christmas morning.  Being good is never going to be good enough.

         This week in our Facebook devotions we looked at Mary singing the Magnificat as she arrives at her cousin Elizabeth’s home.  Both women are miraculously pregnant though Elizabeth is a good six months ahead of Mary.  The Holy Spirit fills Mary and she bursts into song, “My soul glorifies the Lord..” because

• God sees and cares about the humble and poor,
• God’s mercy ripples to the next generation,
• God scatters and defeats the proud, including proud rulers,
• God feeds the hungry,
•  And God keeps his promises through the ages.

All three readings this morning Zephaniah, Psalms, and Philippians overflow with joy and praise, not because we have controlled our crying and pouting in the face of pandemics and threats of war, poverty and financial crisis but because we depend not on ourselves but on a God who sees, has mercy, power, and brings justice, keeping his promises through generations.

 …the people were filled with expectation…

         The crowds when called a brood of vipers and told that they must reform before the Messiah arrived, The text says that the crowds were filled with expectation.  American children when crooned to that they better watch out cause Santa Claus is coming are delighted.  We know there is something wrong with our world and we need to reform.  We, or at least the other guy, needs to change.  John baptized crowds of people with water as they responded to his message but he pointed to “one who is more powerful than I” who was coming.  The Messiah will make things right.  Perhaps even as people at Jesus’ time thought that meant the overthrow of the Roman Empire, we today have visions of full stockings and sugar plum farriers in our dreams.  If we just believe and have faith then the Messiah will bless us with health, wealth and prosperity. And so we return to the chorus of the song, “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.” 

         We know the hollowness of stockings filled with candy that makes us sick to our stomach, shirts that wear out, technical toys that will be outdated in six months.  If we are honest with ourselves we know the materialism of Christmas only points to a God who blesses us, not because we are good but because he is good and he is love.  In Advent we are able to praise in the midst of life’s trials and challenges.  We find hope as prophecy is fulfilled.  We are at peace knowing God walks with us.  And we are filled with joy like Mary in “The Magnificat” because we know that God cares for the humble and poor, God is merciful, he is the source of blessings down through generations, he feeds the hungry heart and God is faithful to his promises.  That is true joy.  Santa Claus will visit at Christmas and then disappear till next year but the Messiah came, comes and will come.  He is active all year, and will return to take us to our eternal rewards. 

The people of God said, “AMEN!”

  

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

¹See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
  For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Psalm: Luke 1:68-79

 ⁶⁸Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel,
  you have come to your people and set them free.
 ⁶⁹You have raised up for us a mighty Savior,
  born of the house of your servant David. 
 ⁷⁰Through your holy prophets, you promised of old to save us ^|from our enemies, ⁷¹from the hands of all who hate us,
 ⁷²to show mercy to our forebears,
  and to remember your holy covenant.
 ⁷³This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham:
  ⁷⁴to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
 free to worship you without fear,
  ⁷⁵holy and righteous before you, all the days of our life. 
 ⁷⁶And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
  for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
 ⁷⁷to give God’s people knowledge of salvation
  by the forgiveness of their sins.
 ⁷⁸In the tender compassion  of our God
  the dawn from on high shall  break upon us,
 ⁷⁹to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of   death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. 

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
 “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
  make his paths straight.
 ⁵Every valley shall be filled,
  and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
 and the crooked shall be made straight,
  and the rough ways made smooth;
 ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

Turn to your neighbor and describe one of your favorite Christmas traditions.

PRAYER: Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock, my Redeemer, my Hope and my Peace.

SERMON

Today’s text opens Week 2 of Advent.  In Advent we celebrate that Christ will come, that he does come every day and that he did come at Christmas.  Last week was the global overview, sitting above time as we experience it.  Prophecy of Christ’s return gives us a glimpse about the future but future promises are so hard to tie down, just exactly when what is predicted will happen.  We know Christ will return and so we open Advent singing “O Come, O Come Immanuel.” Immanuel means God with us! That welcomes HOPE.  We hung the banner HOPE.

         Today we hang the banner PEACE and our text goes from the global perspective to the glocal (that is a combination of global and local therefore glocal in modern day lingo). Our text grounds us in historical reality.

“…the word of the Lord came…”

Advent is not a “once upon a time” story.  It is not an Aesop’s Fable to teach us a moral about life. It is not about the journey of some unknown fourth wise man.  The journey we are walking in Advent is reported through the eyes of doctor Luke and is grounded in reality and is researchable.  What Luke tells us today has not only global significance but has local, historical facts.  He names Roman leaders, Emperor Tiberius, Jewish leaders, Herod, and includes geographical locations.  Luke also grounds what is unfolding in religious reality naming leaders.  Perhaps we would say today that while Joe Biden was President of the United States and Rev. Eaton was Bishop of the ELCA, God’s word caught our attention.

         Luke also gives John, who becomes known as “John the Baptist,” a DNA genealogy affirmation.  He is “John son of Zechariah.”  John comes from a priestly line on both his mother and his father’s side.  He’s a blue blood.  John is the “miracle child” born after an encounter Priest Zechariah had with an angel when he and his wife Elizabeth were old and beyond childbearing year.  Luke has connected us to Luke 1, the beginning of his “orderly account” to his friend Theophilus whom he wants to “know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:4).”  Luke is connecting us with prophecy fulfilled and prophecy that touches our lives today where we are located!  Today we focus on peace.

         But perhaps more interestingly, the word of the Lord came to this promised child, John, now grown, living “in the wilderness.”  Luke sets the text with reference to all the heavy weights of the time, political and religious, plus gives us the lineage of John but amazingly an important message does not appear in those venues.  This is not a news broadcast by CNN from Washington DC.  The word came while John was in the wilderness.  “Wilderness” transports us to the past when God worked with his people leaving Egypt, traveling through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  That was a time of vulnerability, uncertainty and danger but God was there.  In the wilderness they learned dependence on God.  We know that Jesus is going to go into the “wilderness” after his baptism by John and Jesus will be tested.  Jesus will overcome by leaning on the Word of God.  God often comes to us in our wilderness times and we are challenged.

         Today many of us are living in a “wilderness” brought on by the pandemic, brought on by age, or perhaps brought on by disastrous decisions we have made that force us to regroup our lives.  God’s word comes into the wildernesses of our life assuring us of his work and presence so that not only do we see our problems with eyes of hope for tomorrow but also with a peace in our hearts knowing these barren places are not places of abandonment, for God is with us working. May I repeat that:  wilderness places are not places of abandonment and we can have peace in the chaos of the wilderness! Today we hang the banner of PEACE because God is with us in our wildernesses, past, present and future.  It is in these wildernesses that we learn to depend on God and his Word.  “The word of the Lord that came to John” tied the Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s prophecy with John’s present reality and speaks not only to Isaiah and Luke but also to us today.

Prepare the way …

         I guess we can identify with that word!  If retail shops had their way, we would be preparing for Christmas at least starting at Reformation, ok Halloween.  Isaiah was calling his people to prepare the way of the Lord.  Somehow I do not think he is talking about “making a list and checking it twice.”  Let’s just stop for a moment today and think about how we prepare to meet God.

         For some it is indeed a flurry of activity or perhaps good deeds because we somehow think that our “good life” will make it easier for God to welcome us as he comes near.   For others it is the decoration of homes putting up lights.  Perhaps that is like the way we think we might be serving God through big programs that glitter and attract people.  This week we had “Giving Tuesday” when money is doubled by investing in good causes.  None of these are bad in and of themselves.  The question is whether we think our “goodness” earns God’s favor, kind of like indulgences, or are these actions the overflow of a loving heart?  John does not preach actions but a baptism of repentance.  In the wilderness we are lost and need to be transformed to meet Jesus.

         I love the Christmas story of Papa Panov by Leo Tolstoy.   An old widower, shoemaker in a small village in Russian, sat Christmas Eve reading the Nativity story.  If Jesus had come to his house, he would have given him his bed and would have covered him with his special quilt.  His eyes wandered to the small box on the shelf that contained a tiny, perfect pair of shoes he had made for a child.  He would have given those to baby Jesus as his gift!  As he sat by the fire he dozed and dreamt.  He dreamt Jesus stood before him.  Jesus said he would visit Papa Panov Christmas Day but would not identify himself.  Papa Panov awoke excited.  Christmas morning he put on a special pot of coffee.  He opened his front door and saw the bedraggled street sweeper in the cold.  He invited him in and gave him a cup of coffee.  At midday he made a pot of cabbage soup. Again he looked outside and saw a poor young mother with small baby, creeping along the street, making her way to the next town for work.  Papa Panov invited her in, fed the baby milk, and decided to give the baby the pair of shoes.  All afternoon he handed out bowls of soup to the needy.  But he pondered when that special guest would come?  As darkness fell, he decided he had only dreamt.  He would have to wait to meet Jesus. He sat by his fireplace.  Suddenly he was aware he was not alone.  Jesus was present.  Jesus said it was he who came as the sweeper, as the young mother, and as the needy to Papa Panov’s door.  Tolstoy ends the story, “then all was quiet and still. Only the sound of the big clock ticking.  A great PEACE and happiness seemed to fill the room, overflowing Papa Panov’s heart until he wanted to burst out singing and laughing and dancing with joy.”

         Papa Panov did not recognize Jesus working in his life.  Each encounter challenged him.  Each encounter changed him.  As he realized the wilderness was actually a place of meeting with Jesus a great peace filled his heart.  John preaches a baptism of repentance, a change of how we understand life.  He speaks of repentance as a process of transformation and an equalization in preparation for the Messiah. 

Repentance as transformation

“and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth”

Preparation is not just dusting off our shelves or hiding our clutter or putting forth our “special treasures” to decorate for Christmas.  It is more than a beautiful tree.  Isaiah spoke of making straight the crooked, the broken places in our life. There is something about “making a list and checking it twice” that brings to light dark shadows in our life, some of the crooked places.  I know the questions that rattle in my mind now.  How do I treat all the kids fairly?  Must I give a present to that person I am frustrated with or even worse carry a grudge against?  Roots of bitterness, of broken relationships that call to be healed, and of lost connections that need to be repaired, surface in my plans.  As I decorate and compare myself to the dazzle of shops and ponder my “impression,” I am convicted of the game of comparisonitis I play in my mind and the insecurities of my heart.  “Am I good enough?” is a question I try to push to the back of my mind.  Perhaps the crooked way is the temptation of maxing out a credit card, borrowing from tomorrow to meet my wants of today.  Perhaps the spiritual disciplines of the season just feel heavy because of the weight of life these days, so pausing to do my personal Advent wreath and light two candles feels somehow hollow.  We have created Blue Christmas services to connect God to people laden by grief of loss, to make straight those crooked paths in a wilderness where they feel alone.  There are so many crooked paths that do not lead directly to God during this season.  Papa Panov felt a deep peace when he realized he was meeting Jesus in those “rough places that became smooth” as he helped someone carry their burden – if only a cup of coffee or a cup of cabbage soup.

         How will we practice repentance this season and put ourselves in a place where we experience the God who wants to give us peace?  For Papa Panov it meant doing kindly and generously the task that presented itself in the moment as he waited.  For us it might mean lighting that candle and sitting in prayer five minutes before bed.  It might mean reading a devotional.  Perhaps a phone calls to apologize and reestablish relationship.  Writing a check to include God in your gift giving was a true delight as we returned to the States and there was more wiggle room in the budget.  It’s a blessing to give, to restore, and to build in a world that is so divided and struggling these days. 

Repentance as equalization!

^“5Every valley shall be filled,
  and every mountain and hill shall be made low,”

This seems to speak of a leveling experience.  Repentance takes my mind off others whom I judge to be higher or lower and focuses me on my walk with God.  What are the valleys and mountains in our lives about which we need to repent?  The most obvious for me is the pit in the stomach I try to fill with food rather than trust in God.  The friend lost weight last week and woe-is-me, I gained.  They are at the top of the mountain and I am in the valley of self-pity.  Perhaps when I look at life through eyes that place others up and me down, or me up and them down, then I need to repent.  My eyes have turned from God to self.  When I am crippled by fear about the future because of finances, health, or relationships then I have created mountains and valleys.  The God of Advent comes as an equalizer.  God did not just send his Word in the past at the time of Isaiah, at the time of John, in the Incarnation of Jesus, or about the future with the Apostle John.  The God who parted the Red Sea, who gave the Ten Commandments, who helped Esther facing Hammon, who closed the mouth of lions for Daniel and quenched the flames for the three men in the fiery furnace, also raised Jesus from the grave and is here today.  He is with the rich and the poor.  He is with the happy and the sad.  He is with the challenged and the gifted.  He is with our grandkids and our aging spouses.  He is with our weird neighbors and with us.  That, my brothers and sisters, can give us peace as we focus on God’s presence, recognized and unrecognized today.

“…the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness…”

 Papa Panov’s dream gave him hope that he would meet Jesus on that Christmas day.  Papa’s Panov’s experience of Jesus at the end of Christmas day with the realization that he had met Jesus in the events of his life that challenged him to trust, brought him great peace.  May we go into this week realizing that God goes with us, beside us, before us, and he has our back…in all that happens.  For sure I can relax and be at peace knowing that.  He is Immanuel, God with us!

         The people of God said, “AMEN!”