+In Nomine Iesu+
Populus Zion Advent 2
St Luke 3:1-14
6 December 2009
Last Sunday, as we began Advent, mention was made of the
mysterious nature of Gods time. We continue that thought
today. Indeed, the mysteriousness of Gods time will be
on our minds all through the weeks of Advent and Christmas.
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Really, its hard not to think of time when the text
reads as it does. The very first verses place us into a
time sequence that is both secular and sacred. On the one
hand we have Caesar and his various tetrarchs (thats
secular time). On the other hand are Caiaphas and Annas,
the high priestly ones (thats sacred time). What we have
here are cosmic and earthly events set in real,
check-your-watch, time.
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Gods hand operates in history. Real places are
involved. Real people. Real events. And yet for us,
Advent and Christmas sometimes threaten to float off into
never-never land. This time of year becomes, for many, a
time of escape. Escape from reality. Escape from the
demands of the everyday. Escape, even, from themselves.
People long for the good-ol-days. Days when life seemed
so much simpler so much better. For many, nostalgia
rules in December. But just when we are about to drift off
un-tethered into a land of make-believe a land of candy
canes and dancing sugar plums just then, St Luke rescues
us.
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St Luke pulls us back into the one reality that makes a
difference a difference in this world, and the next. We
are introduced to a man whose words are like fingernails
dragging across the blackboard of our mind. We are forced
into the presence of John, the son of Zechariah
or, as we perhaps better know him, John the Baptizer.
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As I mentioned, Gods time is mysterious. Efforts to
make of it anything less to make it straight-forward and
predictable such efforts border on blasphemy. What do
we see? We are moving forward in time toward the manger in
Bethlehem. We are approaching Christmas. It is a scant 19
days away according to our calendar. But as we move
forward, our sacred texts are pulling us back in time. To
put the matter another way, we are coming to Bethlehem
walking backwards. And what are we looking at as we thus
approach the manger. What do we see in front of us as
we move backwards? We see Jesus suffering, death and
resurrection. And if we dont see those as we come
upon the Christmas scene we will have totally missed the
point. Then we truly will have slipped off into a land of
make-believe a land populated only by Santas, and elves,
and sleigh-pulling reindeer.
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Thus, this slow backward movement in time is essential.
Especially is it necessary as we become more and more a
people demanding immediate gratification a people always
wanting to view time within our own personal story. But
this only betrays our own self-centeredness, doesnt it?
Its all about me! Always me! And thats the great
sin.
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Thats why John the Baptizer is such a tremendous
shock. He dismantles our self-centered world. So deep and
profound is our miasmic fog of self-importance that he
begins his discourse with a verbal club. You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Thats an attention getter if there ever was one! And now
that he has our attention he begins his work.
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John is the divine bulldozer. All subtlety is laid
aside. No time for niceties. Every valley shall be
filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low, the
crooked shall become straight, the rough places shall become
level ways. Thats law language, and we can never make
nice with the law. We are killed by it. Our carefully
constructed lives of equivocation and hedging, nuance and
fine distinction all that will be leveled,
filled in, brought low. Every thought, every
word, every deed exposed. Exposed, and found to be
unworthy. But there is even a deeper problem here.
Thoughts, words and deeds are mere symptoms of something
more. And the more is what we have become since
mans fall into sin. Gods law brings out the heavy
demolition equipment. We think our lives are carefully
built on solid ground. But then we discover that the
slightest gust from Gods law knocks everything into a
cocked hat.
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Johns audience was no different from us. God plays no
favorites. Our names, family histories, connections, jobs,
wealth none of these play any part regarding salvation.
They may make a difference to the eyes of the world but
not in the kingdom of God. We have Abraham as our father
. . doesnt cut it. Never has. And if that
contention or some variation of it is where our
certainty lies, then we can only expect to hear from God,
I never knew you . . .
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One of our Advent hymns gets to the heart of things.
O Lord, how shall I meet you; How welcome you aright?
It is to this question that John speaks. Various
individuals from various walks of life asked him, What
then shall we do? Notice what John addresses.
Selfishness. Stealing. Greed. Time may move on, but sins
remain unchanged. Sins which plagued people in the past
plague us yet. There is nothing new under the sun. And
what is it that lies behind every sin? The First
Commandment. In other words, our self-centeredness.
Self-importance. The conceit of vanity. Is this how we
wish to meet God?
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When the Catechism speaks of confession in particular
as to which sins are to be confessed it takes this
approach: Consider your place in life according to the
Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter,
husband, wife or worker? Have you been disobedient,
unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or
quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds?
Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done
any harm?
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What, then, is to be done? How are we to meet
Thee? In this way O almighty God, merciful
Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto Thee all
my sins and iniquities . . . Thus it is that John
this prophet of God taps us on the shoulder every Sunday
morning, in every Divine Service. In the preparatory
portion of the liturgy the law visits us. We are worked
over, so to speak. Worked over by the law to confess who
and what we are. A miserable sinner. Sinful and unclean.
Thats it! Thats us! And this work of God
unpleasant as it may be is necessary. You see, it is
only in repentance that we can welcome Christ aright.
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Without confession repentance the manger always
remains simply a cutesy curiosity. Eye-catching, yes, but
only temporary. Ready to be packed away along with
Santas sleigh and the plastic candy canes right after
December 25th. And, without confession and absolution the
Church remains only an irritating obligation. Sunday
mornings quickly become a drudgery that many refuse. Maybe
they can handle one or two trips to Church during the year,
but not every week. And Christs second coming? Well,
maybe He will maybe He wont. Who knows? And if He
does well, well just hope for the best. It isnt
only graveyards that are whistled in.
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Now, consider very carefully where you are. Standing in
Advent, it is backwards toward the manger that you are
moving. We arrive at Bethlehem, all the while seeing in
front of us the crucifixion. And it is in the passion and
death of Jesus that we know this Babe of Bethlehem to be our
Savior. But the law as preached by John is only part of the
story. What happens? John the Baptizer disappears. His
message a proper message of condemnation His message
is swallowed up by an even greater message. The message of
sins forgiven in Christ, our Lord.
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Mangers, and hurrying shepherds, and angels in
full-throated voice may be very compelling. But they mark
only the beginning. The end comes later. The end comes in
even more compelling form. He is not here, He is risen,
just as He said. There is your forgiveness, dear
friends. And there is your future. A heavenly future,
sealed for you in the blood of Jesus. O come, let us
adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Amen
+Sola Deo Gloria+
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