“An Unwanted
Guest”
Luke
3:1-6
December 6, 2009
This Second Sunday of Advent
is the traditional time to be confronted by an unwanted guest. John the Baptist is an unwanted guest because, let’s
face it, he is unlike any of the other characters we interact with throughout Advent and
Christmas.
After all, John doesn’t
come to worship Jesus like the shepherds, because at the time of Jesus’ birth, he too
was an infant. John doesn’t come bearing
gifts like the magi. He doesn’t stand
around like the animals and he doesn’t look on at the newborn babe with awe and
adoration as do Mary and Joseph. Instead, we
come face to face with a message of needing to prepare the way of the Lord not from those
in positions of power and authority but through a relatively average man who challenges us
to turn our heart and mind to God.
Please listen for the word of the Lord as it
is found on page 56 of the New Testament section of your pew Bibles from the Gospel of
Luke chapter three verses one through six…
In 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.’”
This
is God’s word to us…
Tiberius, Pontius Pilate,
Herod, Philip, Lysanius, Annas, and Caiaphas: to us these names may sound like an
impediment to getting at the heart of the story at the least or at best simply hurdles to
cross in order to get at something that makes sense. Regardless
of how we hear these names, for Luke’s audience they were the rulers and authorities
of note in their day. Though they are names
that mean precious little to us, they were for Luke’s listeners’ names as loaded
with meaning as Ronald Reagan, Barak Obama, Billy Graham, and Rick Warren.
So what; so why does Luke begin chapter three
with these men, some of whom we’ve never heard of or at least we don’t think of
them unless it’s the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion? Luke begins this Gospel reading for the second
Sunday of Advent in such a way so as to place both John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ
within a specific historical context. Equally
important Luke does so, so that we can think deeply about the consequences of to whom and
to where God chooses to speak.
So who are these men that
precede the announcement of John’s public ministry of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins? Tiberius is none other than Augustus
Caesar’s step-son who will reign as Roman Emperor throughout Jesus’ public
ministry. Pontius is the Roman appointed
governor of Judea with Herod and his brother Philip ruling the region of Galilee and
northwest Galilee, regions frequented by Jesus’ preaching and miracle-making. Lysanius was the Roman governor of what we now call
Lebanon a place where Jesus takes the gospel to gentiles in need of hearing of the coming
kingdom of God. And last, but not least, Annas
and his son-in-law Caiaphas are the religious authorities of the Jerusalem Temple whom
Jesus will spar with in the days leading up to his arrest, trial and crucifixion.
As in our day so it was in
the ancient world that conventional wisdom would ask; of all the people who would have
heard a word of power and authority would it not be those to whom authority and power had
been given? Luke prepares the way for the
coming of John by reminding all who would read his Gospel from his own day on down through
the millennia that there were others of status and credential who came before John. Luke reminds us all that there are those to whom
much has been given from whom we expect much but who seldom hear a word from the Lord.
In the midst of so many
powerful men, men of prestige and honor, to whom and in what location did God choose to
speak? Luke tells us, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
God did not impart the message of preparing for the salvation of all to an
emperor, governor, or high priest, but to a common man, the son of a once-mute priest, who
was in the wilderness as far from the halls of power as possible.
So what does a
wilderness-wandering prophet have to do with the Advent of the Christ? Why does Luke bother to introduce the tension of
the great men of the first century Mediterranean world over and against a great man of the
Bible who had no stature but that of being called by God?
Luke introduces us to John in this way to teach us a lesson about
preparation. John the Baptizer pushes his way
onto our December agendas and reminds us that we have much work to do in Advent, so much
more than simply preparing our homes to welcome guests and droppers-by.
That God chose to speak a word of power and
authority to such an unlikely candidate as John reminds us of our own need to be prepared
for the unexpected.
It has taken me some time to appreciate the
benefits of being prepared for guests; of keeping a clean home. Thankfully Kathy has been a patient teacher for me
while I have grown, because preparation takes time and maturity. Early on in our marriage, when I was still in
seminary and Kathy was working as a Christian Educator we would open our apartment to our
single friends every Thursday evening for a meal and “Must See” TV on NBC. Now from my point of view it would have been enough
to simply provide food and a place for our guests to watch TV. But not for Kathy, instead everything had to be put
back in its place; surfaces dusted and floors and bathrooms vacuumed and cleaned.
The advent of guests, prompts us not only to
tidy up but also to look more closely at what is out of order or in need of fixing. Preparing to receive guests often causes us to look
at our surroundings from a new perspective. Suddenly,
all those years ago, when preparing to welcome our friends, over time I would see how the
bathroom sink with its toothpaste residue from the morning needed scrubbing so the
porcelain would shine and the dust by the floorboards needed cleaning so that our friends
would feel at home.
John the Baptist may not seem like all that
likely a model of preparation, especially when we remember how both Matthew and Mark tell
us that John was clothed in camel’s hair and a leather belt living on a diet of
locusts and wild honey. In other words, living
in the wilderness of Judea, John wasn’t all that concerned about how he looked or
what cuisine he could offer or where he laid his head.
But if he wasn’t all that concerned about picking up his personal space
or straightening his collar, he did understand how a people ought to greet their God.
John understood what all those exalted leaders
of the first century could not possibly understand. That
is, his bold preaching, his in-your-face words called people to preparation. His challenging words of self-examination led those
who heard him to put a more important priority on their “to-do” list if they
were truly ready to receive the one whom John was preparing them to receive. John wanted them to be ready to receive God’s
Son, Israel’s Messiah, our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
If we are to rightly prepare to receive the
Prince of Peace we too must examine our lives, our values, and our priorities. If we really want to receive Jesus this Christmas
season then we too need to do as much planning and preparation in our heart, soul, and
mind as we do to receive guests in our homes at this time of year. While the multitudes are engaged in all sorts of
culturally baptized rituals like hunting out the best deals, planning holiday menus as
well as cleaning and decorating the house; John the Baptist implores us to repent and
prepare for the One who will save us in a way that no party, pageant, or pastry can.
This word “repent” while on the face
of things may appear foreign and a little threatening, literally means to change one’s
mind, to turn around, to reorient oneself. John
calls us all to turn away from those words and deeds we know to be sin and turn instead to
God, to seek God’s forgiveness, and to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord to
the world and into our hearts. Repentance isn’t
just something a half-crazed street-preacher barks at unsuspecting passers-by but is more
about reframing how we approach the world we live in and the relationships that define who
we are.
Prepare the way of the Lord! If that is God’s word of Good News to us this
Second Sunday of Advent then there is a definite method to God’s choice of John, the
wilderness-wanderer, as the bearer of God’s word.
In the Gospel of Luke, in spite of the many powerful men who made up the
world of the first century God speaks through John son of Zechariah, whom Luke introduced
to us in the first chapter of his Good News. And
although we consider John to be the great one in this story today, in his day, in
comparison to the high ranking political and religious figures who are outlined in chapter
three; John son of Zechariah is nothing but a regular guy whom God chooses to speak
through.
Although it is true that many in this room
have done wonderful things with our lives, compared to the big names of our day and age we
are all, to a person pretty average. And yet,
and yet, imagine what amazing things we can continue to make happen if only we are willing
to listen to the word of God and let it sink in to our heart and mind. Imagine all the lives we can change by living the
Gospel, by sharing the word of the Lord in all ways, using words when necessary.
And just as important as the messenger is
where God’s word is sent; not to Rome or Jerusalem, but to the wilderness; not to the
halls of power or the seats of religious authority, but to the wilderness. That God sent a message to John in the wilderness
calls to mind the place where Israel endured the exodus; where Jesus was tempted and
persevered; where we too find ourselves wandering at times in confusion through the trials
and tragedies of life. That God’s word
came to John in the wilderness brings us hope that God too will speak to us in the
wilderness that too many people feel in this season of manufactured joy; all those who
have endured losses of different kinds throughout the past year.
John may be an unwanted guest in our Advent
and Christmas preparations but we can be thankful for his challenging if not pushy
presence because he encourages us not only to look at our surroundings, but also at our
heart, soul and mind. What in your soul needs
mending or tending? How will you see anew an
area of your life that needs repentance? Where
will you work for forgiveness in the relationships to which God has called you?
As we make the necessary
alterations to our souls and our surroundings this Advent season may we find the time and
the willingness to ready ourselves to truly proclaim, “Prepare the way of the Lord”
and ready the world and everyone around us so that “all flesh shall see the salvation
of God.”
Let us pray,
God of Second Chances, as we
prepare ourselves for the Advent of your Son, may we like John prepare not only our own
lives but all souls who make up our life ready for your salvation. Show us how to lead lives of humble and faithful
preparation ready to receive you by serving all.
Amen.
