Preparing the Way for the Lord
December 6, 2009
Luke 3: 1-6

The Second Sunday of Advent

And John appeared in the wilderness proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness sins.

Throughout the history of Israel, water has been a symbol of change; and the people’s willingness to enter the water has been a mark of their readiness to live in a new way, free of the encumbrances of the past, and prepared to serve God wherever they might find themselves. They passed through the Reed Sea to escape the Pharaoh’s army and begin a new life as God’s chosen people. They crossed over the Jordan to enter the land that God had promised to give them. A land filled with hope for a new way of life and filled with opportunities to witness for and be of service to God; and ages later they entered the waters of the Jordan again at John’s call to repent of their sin, having not done all that had been expected of them. They entered it once more to repent and begin anew to meet that challenge of living a life dedicated to serving their neighbors and God. From the time of Jesus, this baptism with water has been a sign that the person receiving it is ready to dedicate their lives to God.

And so John was born to Elizabeth and Zechariah dedicated in the water of the womb to be God’s messenger, and he went out into the wilderness and called the people to prepare for the coming of the Lord by entering the water with him and rededicating their lives to doing all they could to live as witnesses to the goodness and grace of God; and to the way prepare for the coming of the Christ.

I wonder, with all the busyness that fills our lives, are we still ready and prepared to enter the water and rededicate our lives to the service of God and those in need around us? “The poor and needy are not my business. I do not make merry myself at Christmas, and I cannot afford to make idle people merry.” Scrooge had said this that very afternoon and was later reminded by Marley’s ghost, ”It is required of every man that the spirit within him walk abroad among his fellow men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander the world and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared, and turned to happiness.”

At your baptism, as you entered the water, you made vows or they were made on your behalf. You were asked to repent of your sin. You were asked to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. And you were asked to do all in your power to seek justice, resist evil, and work to end oppression wherever you might find it. You were asked to walk abroad into the world and witness the good news of the salvation promised by God’s grace, through Jesus Christ. You were asked to enter the water and come out willing to live a new life of service, service that would prepare the way for others to come to that salvation; and you were asked to work to prepare earth for the time when Christ would return.

As we prepare for this Christmastime and all that it brings, let us not forget that we have received from God gifts and graces that we are supposed to use. It is only in doing so that we will find true peace on earth, and rest at the end of our days in the loving arms of God.

The peace we seek this Christmas, the peace of which the second Advent candle reminds us, can only come when we have opened our hearts and minds to God’s will for our lives, when we have entered the troubled waters and are ready to prepare the way for the coming return of Christ through our service to, and love for, others and for God.

As you come to the Communion table this morning come with your heart, mind, body, and soul ready to receive the forgiveness of the water of the Holy Spirit; and ready to walk away renewed and do all you can to prepare the way for the return of our Lord and Savior.