Sermon 6th December 2009
Today, our Vicar, Rev. Cameron Barker, preaches based on the reading from Luke 3:1-6
Many people like playing games at Christmas. Some even like them to be intellectually challenging. As Advent's the time to prepare for Christmas, we'll get in the right mood by starting with a game – an intellectually challenging one.
Those with good memories may recall that we have played this game before. But the answer is different this time! The game is to identify the year, with no use of modern technology, please! Can you can work out the year when: MacMillan was Prime Minister; Eisenhower was US President; Khrushchev was Chairman of USSR; Nehru was Prime Minister of India; Adenauer was Chancellor of Germany; Fisher was Archbishop of Canterbury; John XXIII became the 262nd Pope ... More clues? Iraq became a republic after military coup; Verwoerd became Prime Minister of South Africa ...
Yes, 1958. I'm glad at least some got it – because we now know how Luke's early readers felt. Some 30 years after it, the Gospel writer was identifying a very specific time in Israel's history for them: not that anyone remembered it with any affection. 28-30 AD were desperate days for Israel, almost as bad as things ever were. Tiberius was the 2nd Roman Emperor, and he ruled the known ancient world with an iron rod. He was already insisting on being worshipped as a god. Anyone who refused (as any good Jew would have done) faced execution. Rome didn't brook any opposition – and Rome ruled Israel, as people who lived there well knew.
By then Rome had ruled Israel for about 100 years. In the south, Judea it was now direct rule, through Pontius Pilate, the Governor. He lived mostly on the coast, but also kept a palace in Jerusalem. As we know from Jesus' life, Pilate did visit the capital to sentence rebels to death in the name of Rome. It was another source of outrage to the natives – but they were a subject people, who therefore couldn’t dare complain.
And the natives were equally powerless to challenge the status quo in the north of their country. The spoils there were being divided between the half-brothers Herod and Philip. Their father, Herod, the so-called ‘Great’, was one of the most hated people in Israel’s recent history. He had founded the local self-declared ‘royal’ household that had welcomed the Romans in. And his sons were no better than he'd been. They also collaborated with the enemy occupier. They willingly did Rome’s bidding, in Rome’s brutal way, and made themselves even richer as they did so.
As I say, this was a desperate time in Israel. But for devout Jews it had been desperate for much longer. 400 years had passed since God had last sent a prophet to his people. 400 years of silence and apparent divine abandonment. And now the Romans were taking charge of even that area of Israel’s life! High priests?! Any Jew knew there could only ever be one of them, and that he had the role for life. But the Romans hadn’t approved of Annas. So they had replaced him, with Caiaphas; his own son-in-law! It was appalling; but nobody could do anything about it.
If this is uncomfortable hearing, that's fitting for Advent. This is the time for Christians to prepare for Christmas. Starting last Sunday, we have four weeks to get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus to be our Saviour. The way we are meant to do that is by reflecting on the four last things – death; hell; judgement; and heaven. It may be a far cry from all the Nativity productions, school fares, Christmas trees, present-buying and relative-visiting that often fill our December. But Christmas is – or should be – about far more than such things. Of course they are important, and often (if not always!) enjoyable. But the focus for Christians surely must be on preparing to celebrate the rescue plan for all people that God enacted through Jesus.
Most people in 1st Century Israel were in no doubt of their need for rescue. The painful evidence was all around them, every day – in ways that we are too comfortable to appreciate, perhaps. They had been crying out for God to act for so long. And yet these were the circumstances they had landed up in. But it was then, at that time, in those dire straits, that the word of God came to someone again, at last. That word came not to someone who we might naturally expect – not to some recognised, well placed, influential leader. No, it came to the middle-aged son of an obscure priest, to John – as he wandered around in the desert!
Anyone who has read Luke's account knows there's much more to John's story. He was a special child, born to his parents in their old age. His birth had been promised by an angel; and his disbelieving father had been struck dumb by it. John was then set apart for God from birth. But he had no national profile, or obvious qualifications for this job – nothing except a hunger to hear from God, and to do what He wanted. There's a challenge in there for anyone who thinks they can't be used by God of course. But that's not the main reason for focusing on John the Baptist today. The main reason is because of the message that God gave John to preach to His people – then and now!
We have heard 'only' the headline of that message so far – but it's enough to be getting on with! Of the four last things, today it's judgement that we're confronted by. Luke was sure that the word of God came to John to prepare the way for God's Messiah. That was why he quoted that prophecy from Isaiah chapter 40. This was a key, and heady, moment in history; not just for Israel but for all people everywhere, and for all time. The King was coming; and it was time to make a straight road for him. All the valleys needed filling in, the hills and mountains levelling off, everything made ready to see God's salvation for all people!
That was John's job: to do what it took to get the road ready for this coming King. We might call him “God's bulldozer”, then. That's appropriate, given what John said, and how he said it! We can work that out from the summary of John's message in today's short passage. If you're not yet convinced, just look at verse 7: “You snakes! Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? (GNB) / You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (NIV)”! And this was how John spoke to those who had come to find him in the desert! This was how he challenged people who were desperate to hear God's message of salvation!
Even more shocking was what John told them to do. His hearers were overwhelmingly Jewish, so those who were sure that they were God's people. John told them to be baptised as a practical sign that they had accepted his message. But in those days it was only Gentiles, non Jews, who wanted to become Jews who were baptised. Jews didn't need to be they thought; until John told them this! His message to them was that if they wanted to be God's people then they had to get right with Him first. Baptism was a sign of that: the greater sign, though, the one that really counted, was the evidence of a changed life. That was what then had to follow their baptism; if they meant it – changed lives.
The word that John used was 'Repent'. That was the only right response to the news he brought, of the King coming to judge, and save, His people: those people had to live a new and different life, for God instead of for themselves. As I've said before, the Greek word is 'metanoia': it means a complete change of mind, or direction – literally turning through 180 degrees. That's what repentance is: both a turning from something, and a turning to something, or someone, else. The emphasis, then and now, is on the turning to, this King, coming to bring God's long-promised judgement and salvation.
That, of course, is what we celebrate at Christmas – the coming of Jesus, our saviour King. The response that God wants from us today is the exact same kind of changed life that John was calling for back then. There's not time to examine the practical applications John put to his hearers; but none of us are tax collectors or soldiers. What matters for us, though, is this core principle of John's message. God's people must BE His people, by the way we live: for Him, not for ourselves. That's to be our response to the judgement that Jesus came to save us from – if we want to accept it, and to show that we have.
What we have to do is to turn away, from a life focused on ourselves, and to a new life focused on God. And if you have never taken that in-principle step, then today's surely the day to turn from your sin, and to this new life in God. That's where, and how, the Christian life always begins. But many of us will already have done that, as John’s hearers had. That doesn't mean that we don't need to repent, though! The Christian life is more than ‘just’ about repentance, of course; but it’s never less than it. It's a matter of seeing daily how we fall short of what God wants, in what we do and don't, do, and how we do it – and then turning from that.
We can tend to think of repentance as stopping doing the major things wrong. Of course ‘major’ is usually defined as anything that’s worse than what I happen to be doing! But in God’s eyes sin is sin is sin – and by His standard we all have things that we need to repent of, every day. Then we must live a life that shows we are truly repentant – by finding new, Godly ways to live out our faith. The process begins by us recognising sin for what it is – those ordinary ways in which we live for ourselves instead of for God. We need to repent of those ways – and to mean it!
The way that we show that we mean it is by living a new and different life – for God instead of for ourselves. That is what it means to be a Christian. It’s not about speaking the right words, or coming to church on Sunday (though of course those are important). It’s about living a new, different, and changed life, obedient to God's way. We have heard recently about the 4 R's that help to make this real: first we have to Recognise our sin for what it is; then we need to Repent of – to say sorry to God for – it; next we Receive God’s forgiveness; and then we Replace the sin with new, Godly ways. No, it’s not easy or simple – but this is what God has always required of his people, if they are to be his people. As we prepare for Christmas then, we too need to hear this word of God that came to John; and obey it – which means, repent! So let's pray ...
Many people like playing games at Christmas. Some even like them to be intellectually challenging. As Advent's the time to prepare for Christmas, we'll get in the right mood by starting with a game – an intellectually challenging one.
Those with good memories may recall that we have played this game before. But the answer is different this time! The game is to identify the year, with no use of modern technology, please! Can you can work out the year when: MacMillan was Prime Minister; Eisenhower was US President; Khrushchev was Chairman of USSR; Nehru was Prime Minister of India; Adenauer was Chancellor of Germany; Fisher was Archbishop of Canterbury; John XXIII became the 262nd Pope ... More clues? Iraq became a republic after military coup; Verwoerd became Prime Minister of South Africa ...
Yes, 1958. I'm glad at least some got it – because we now know how Luke's early readers felt. Some 30 years after it, the Gospel writer was identifying a very specific time in Israel's history for them: not that anyone remembered it with any affection. 28-30 AD were desperate days for Israel, almost as bad as things ever were. Tiberius was the 2nd Roman Emperor, and he ruled the known ancient world with an iron rod. He was already insisting on being worshipped as a god. Anyone who refused (as any good Jew would have done) faced execution. Rome didn't brook any opposition – and Rome ruled Israel, as people who lived there well knew.
By then Rome had ruled Israel for about 100 years. In the south, Judea it was now direct rule, through Pontius Pilate, the Governor. He lived mostly on the coast, but also kept a palace in Jerusalem. As we know from Jesus' life, Pilate did visit the capital to sentence rebels to death in the name of Rome. It was another source of outrage to the natives – but they were a subject people, who therefore couldn’t dare complain.
And the natives were equally powerless to challenge the status quo in the north of their country. The spoils there were being divided between the half-brothers Herod and Philip. Their father, Herod, the so-called ‘Great’, was one of the most hated people in Israel’s recent history. He had founded the local self-declared ‘royal’ household that had welcomed the Romans in. And his sons were no better than he'd been. They also collaborated with the enemy occupier. They willingly did Rome’s bidding, in Rome’s brutal way, and made themselves even richer as they did so.
As I say, this was a desperate time in Israel. But for devout Jews it had been desperate for much longer. 400 years had passed since God had last sent a prophet to his people. 400 years of silence and apparent divine abandonment. And now the Romans were taking charge of even that area of Israel’s life! High priests?! Any Jew knew there could only ever be one of them, and that he had the role for life. But the Romans hadn’t approved of Annas. So they had replaced him, with Caiaphas; his own son-in-law! It was appalling; but nobody could do anything about it.
If this is uncomfortable hearing, that's fitting for Advent. This is the time for Christians to prepare for Christmas. Starting last Sunday, we have four weeks to get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus to be our Saviour. The way we are meant to do that is by reflecting on the four last things – death; hell; judgement; and heaven. It may be a far cry from all the Nativity productions, school fares, Christmas trees, present-buying and relative-visiting that often fill our December. But Christmas is – or should be – about far more than such things. Of course they are important, and often (if not always!) enjoyable. But the focus for Christians surely must be on preparing to celebrate the rescue plan for all people that God enacted through Jesus.
Most people in 1st Century Israel were in no doubt of their need for rescue. The painful evidence was all around them, every day – in ways that we are too comfortable to appreciate, perhaps. They had been crying out for God to act for so long. And yet these were the circumstances they had landed up in. But it was then, at that time, in those dire straits, that the word of God came to someone again, at last. That word came not to someone who we might naturally expect – not to some recognised, well placed, influential leader. No, it came to the middle-aged son of an obscure priest, to John – as he wandered around in the desert!
Anyone who has read Luke's account knows there's much more to John's story. He was a special child, born to his parents in their old age. His birth had been promised by an angel; and his disbelieving father had been struck dumb by it. John was then set apart for God from birth. But he had no national profile, or obvious qualifications for this job – nothing except a hunger to hear from God, and to do what He wanted. There's a challenge in there for anyone who thinks they can't be used by God of course. But that's not the main reason for focusing on John the Baptist today. The main reason is because of the message that God gave John to preach to His people – then and now!
We have heard 'only' the headline of that message so far – but it's enough to be getting on with! Of the four last things, today it's judgement that we're confronted by. Luke was sure that the word of God came to John to prepare the way for God's Messiah. That was why he quoted that prophecy from Isaiah chapter 40. This was a key, and heady, moment in history; not just for Israel but for all people everywhere, and for all time. The King was coming; and it was time to make a straight road for him. All the valleys needed filling in, the hills and mountains levelling off, everything made ready to see God's salvation for all people!
That was John's job: to do what it took to get the road ready for this coming King. We might call him “God's bulldozer”, then. That's appropriate, given what John said, and how he said it! We can work that out from the summary of John's message in today's short passage. If you're not yet convinced, just look at verse 7: “You snakes! Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? (GNB) / You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (NIV)”! And this was how John spoke to those who had come to find him in the desert! This was how he challenged people who were desperate to hear God's message of salvation!
Even more shocking was what John told them to do. His hearers were overwhelmingly Jewish, so those who were sure that they were God's people. John told them to be baptised as a practical sign that they had accepted his message. But in those days it was only Gentiles, non Jews, who wanted to become Jews who were baptised. Jews didn't need to be they thought; until John told them this! His message to them was that if they wanted to be God's people then they had to get right with Him first. Baptism was a sign of that: the greater sign, though, the one that really counted, was the evidence of a changed life. That was what then had to follow their baptism; if they meant it – changed lives.
The word that John used was 'Repent'. That was the only right response to the news he brought, of the King coming to judge, and save, His people: those people had to live a new and different life, for God instead of for themselves. As I've said before, the Greek word is 'metanoia': it means a complete change of mind, or direction – literally turning through 180 degrees. That's what repentance is: both a turning from something, and a turning to something, or someone, else. The emphasis, then and now, is on the turning to, this King, coming to bring God's long-promised judgement and salvation.
That, of course, is what we celebrate at Christmas – the coming of Jesus, our saviour King. The response that God wants from us today is the exact same kind of changed life that John was calling for back then. There's not time to examine the practical applications John put to his hearers; but none of us are tax collectors or soldiers. What matters for us, though, is this core principle of John's message. God's people must BE His people, by the way we live: for Him, not for ourselves. That's to be our response to the judgement that Jesus came to save us from – if we want to accept it, and to show that we have.
What we have to do is to turn away, from a life focused on ourselves, and to a new life focused on God. And if you have never taken that in-principle step, then today's surely the day to turn from your sin, and to this new life in God. That's where, and how, the Christian life always begins. But many of us will already have done that, as John’s hearers had. That doesn't mean that we don't need to repent, though! The Christian life is more than ‘just’ about repentance, of course; but it’s never less than it. It's a matter of seeing daily how we fall short of what God wants, in what we do and don't, do, and how we do it – and then turning from that.
We can tend to think of repentance as stopping doing the major things wrong. Of course ‘major’ is usually defined as anything that’s worse than what I happen to be doing! But in God’s eyes sin is sin is sin – and by His standard we all have things that we need to repent of, every day. Then we must live a life that shows we are truly repentant – by finding new, Godly ways to live out our faith. The process begins by us recognising sin for what it is – those ordinary ways in which we live for ourselves instead of for God. We need to repent of those ways – and to mean it!
The way that we show that we mean it is by living a new and different life – for God instead of for ourselves. That is what it means to be a Christian. It’s not about speaking the right words, or coming to church on Sunday (though of course those are important). It’s about living a new, different, and changed life, obedient to God's way. We have heard recently about the 4 R's that help to make this real: first we have to Recognise our sin for what it is; then we need to Repent of – to say sorry to God for – it; next we Receive God’s forgiveness; and then we Replace the sin with new, Godly ways. No, it’s not easy or simple – but this is what God has always required of his people, if they are to be his people. As we prepare for Christmas then, we too need to hear this word of God that came to John; and obey it – which means, repent! So let's pray ...
posted by Parish Administrator at 12:49 pm
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