bear witness

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,

Today's reading follows up on John's prologue and shows us John the Baptizer's ministry of bearing witness to Jesus. John is really clear that he is not the main idea; his role is preparing the way for the Messiah.

God bless,
Sam

John 1:15-27

¹⁵(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

¹⁹This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²²Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.

²⁴Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, ²⁷the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”

prepare the way

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
Today's reading is a prophesy of redemption for Israel. God tells the Jewish exiles that they will be set free, that their time of exile is coming to an end. Then the prophet calls for a way to be made for God in the desert. We see the call to prepare the way of the Lord in John the Baptist's preaching. We can also see a role for ourselves. We can prepare ourselves for God's coming by lining our lives up with God's love. We can also play a role by working for justice and healing in the world today.

God bless,
Sam

Isaiah 40:1-8

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. ²Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

³A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. ⁵Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. ⁸The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

prepare: repent

Good morning friends,
Yesterday we heard about John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord by calling people to repentance. Today we hear a little more about what he said. It's hard to beat an opening line like: "You brood of vipers...," but Luke tells us that John was preaching good news. The truth is the good news of God's love isn't just warm fuzzy comfort; it's also a call to share that love with others in tangible ways. It's a calling to be free from selfishness free for service.

My your Advent be full of good news,
Sam


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.

dramatic conclusion

Good morning friends,
Jesus concludes his description of his return in our reading for today. It's hard to imagine the scene when Christ comes back, but one thing seems for sure: we won't miss it. As subtle and easy to overlook as his original birth in Bethlehem was, his return at the conclusion of history will be dramatic and obvious. We don't know when it will happen, but we know how to prepare. We prepare with lives of faith, love and service. Advent is a great time to practice and to get our hearts ready for Christ's return.

God bless,
Sam

Mark 13:24-37

²⁴“But in those days, after that suffering,
   the sun will be darkened,
     and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven,
     and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
²⁶Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. ²⁷Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁰Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³²“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵Therefore, keep awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Coming at an unexpected hour

Good morning all,
This morning's passage feels like it comes out of nowhere. It is actually the Gospel lesson the lectionary assigned for this past Sunday. Since Advent is the beginning of the church year, we begin a new lectionary year and a new Gospel, Matthew. It seems strange that our first reading would be from so late in the book, but Advent is not only about preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus; it's also about preparing for Christ's return. Jesus teaches his disciples that he will return suddenly, so they should always be ready.

There's a part of me that is ready for Jesus to return, part of me that knows we can't solve all the world's problems, that we need God's righteous kingdom to make everything right. But I the bigger part of me is scared of Christ's return because I am too attached to the injustice of our current system. It's that part of me that most needs to hear Jesus' warning to be ready. I need this Advent season to prepare my heart and to turn my whole being towards God. Into my fear and into my selfishness, come Lord Jesus.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 24:36-44

36"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.


40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."