Sinai's Last Thunder

Saint John the Baptist preaching in the Wilderness, Mola

ADVENT IIC

• Malachi 3:1-4
• Luke 1:68-79
• Philippians 1:3-11
• Luke 3:1-6

Prayer of the Day Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming give to all the people of the world knowledge of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

* * *

SINAI'S LAST THUNDER (Luke 3:1-6)

What are we going to do with John the Baptist? John is one of the most vividly drawn characters in Scripture and each Advent we come face to face with him again. The four Gospels show us that Jesus’ public work began in the context of John’s ministry, and this text from Luke summarizes it well.

• John lived in the wilderness.
• John was a prophet to whom the Word of the Lord came.
• Like the Hebrew prophets who came before him, John preached repentance, urging Israel to turn back to God.
• John complemented his preaching with the prophetic action of baptism.
• John came to fulfill God’s promise given through the prophet Isaiah -- he came to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, who was about to arrive, bringing salvation to his people.

How should we approach today’s description of John the Baptist? One way would be to discuss the theological words in this Gospel lesson. Note the rich, profound concepts that are meaningful to our faith: the Word of God, the wilderness, baptism, repentance, the forgiveness of sins, God’s promises through the prophets, the coming of the Lord, God’s salvation. We could meditate on these rich words and concepts this morning.

Another way we could approach John would be to try and understand the historical context of his ministry. Luke seems especially interested in that -- did you hear how he carefully fills in the historical details about people and places that formed the social, political, and religious context for John? We could talk about why he appeared in the wilderness and why he baptized in the Jordan River and what that would have symbolized for the Jewish people. We could discuss Israel’s relationship with the Romans who ruled over them at that time, the Jews’ continuing sense of being a people in exile, and how John was raised up to address that situation.

There are many ways to approach a text as rich as this one. Today, I’d like to look at it from a close and personal angle. You see, I have an idea that John the Baptist is not a person I would like very much. And I doubt that most of you would care for him either. I’m quite sure he would not be welcomed with enthusiasm in most of our churches today.

Second Sunday in Advent (C)
December 9, 2012

Children's Message: "Henry Goes the Wrong Way"

(Prop: a world globe)

There once was a duck named Henry. He lived in Australia. That's on the other side of the world from where we live.

Can you see it here on the globe? This is the earth, and we in the United States live in the north -- up here -- and Australia is in the south -- down here. If you live on the other side of the world, some things are backwards. Did you know that?

For example, it is just about winter here in the north, and we have Christmas in the winter. Sometimes it snows and it gets cold. But in the south, their winter is like our summer! They have Christmas at a time when it gets warm and sunny. Then, when we have summer and it gets hot, their summer is when it gets cold. Isn't that crazy!

Well, Henry lived in the south, in Australia. One day he was walking down the street in town and he saw a store that had some TV's in the window. He went in the store and watched the TV's because there was a show about ducks on!

It was a nature show and the person in it was talking about how, when the weather gets cold, ducks fly SOUTH to warm places. 

It was almost summer in Australia, and that's when it gets cold there, so Henry's family and friends were all getting ready to leave for the warm places. But something was funny. They were all talking about flying NORTH to the where it would be warm. Henry couldn't believe his ears. The TV said ducks fly SOUTH in the winter.

So Henry started arguing with his friends, and even with his parents and teachers. "Ducks fly SOUTH to the warm places!" he insisted. 

Henry was so sure they were about to make a big mistake that when the morning came to leave, Henry flew off all by himself in the opposite direction. All day long Henry flew south and the next day as well. But the farther south Henry went, the colder it was getting and all the other ducks that Henry saw all seemed to be heading north. 

Soon Henry was lost and cold and worried. He didn't see any other ducks. They had all flown NORTH!

Finally, Henry realized that he had made a big mistake and so he turned around and started flying north. The problem was, it was going to take Henry two days just to get back to where he’d started from and he knew that the other ducks would be long gone. He wasn’t sure how he was ever going to find his mother and father and all the other ducks he knew. 

But Henry flew and flew and finally found his way to a lake in the north where the other ducks had flown. Henry's friends laughed and said, "We told you so, Henry!" 

Henry’s mother and father were very cross with him for flying off but they gave him a big hug and told him they were glad he was safe and that they’d been very worried for him. 

Henry was sad that he had gone the wrong way, but was glad he had turned around in time before he got too cold and lost.

Then everyone, including Henry, enjoyed a warm summer in the north until they flew south again for the winter.



Based on: Henry Heads the Wrong Way

Our Problem with Kingdoms

Christ in Majesty, Rublev

Christ the King Sunday
November 25, 2012

* Hear this sermon HERE.

PRAYER OF THE DAY 
Almighty and ever-living God, you anointed your beloved Son to be priest and sovereign forever. Grant that all the people of the earth, now divided by the power of sin, may be united by the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

TODAY'S GOSPEL: John 18:33-37
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"

Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?"

Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

* * *

SERMON: "Our Problem with Kingdoms"

The Lord be with you.

Today is "Christ the King Sunday," the final Sunday of the Church Year, and today's Gospel lesson turns our attention to the subject of kings and kingdoms. In it we see Jesus and Pontius Pilate engaging in a conversation about rulers and thrones, power and dominion.

This immediately creates two problems for those of us hear this text.

Children's Sermon: Christ Our King

Christ Our King Sunday
November 25, 2012

Children's Message: "What Kind of a King?"

I would like for us to use our imagination for a few moments today. Don't answer out loud just yet, but I want you to think about these questions:

• What kind of a person do you picture in your imagination when I say the word, "KING" or "QUEEN"? 

• What kind of a place is a "KINGDOM"?

Before we talk about this together, I want you to try hard to think about kings and queens and kingdoms.

(pause for a few moments)

Now let me ask you what you thought about.

• What kind of a house does a king or queen live in?

• What kind of clothes does a king or queen wear?

• What kinds of things does a king or queen do?

• What should you do when a king or queen comes into the room? How should you act when you are with them?

(discuss with children)

I see we all have some ideas in our minds about what a king or queen is like. Now, what if I were to tell you about a king:

• Who didn't even have a house in which to live?

• Who didn't wear fancy clothes?

• Who didn't have servants to do things for him?

• Who spoke but people didn't listen or show him respect?

• Who didn't hang around with the rich and important people, but liked to spend time with ordinary folks like you and me?

• Who didn't act like a boss, telling other people what to do, but served them and even went so far as to lay down his life so they might know God's love?

The Bible tells us that is exactly the kind of king Jesus is! It's a very different kind of king than most people imagine, but that's who he is. He became that kind of king because he knows it is the only way we can become the kind of people God made us to be, and it's the only way that our world can become a place where people trust in God and love and help each other.

So let's give thanks for Jesus the king, who loves us and welcomes us into God's kingdom. 

Lord Jesus, thank you for being such a wonderful king who loves us and brings us into God's kingdom. Lead us each day so that others may see your kingdom love in us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Story of the Bible, Story of Our Lives

Christus Ravenna Mosaic

Christ the King Sunday
November 25, 2012

PRAYER OF THE DAY 
Almighty and ever-living God, you anointed your beloved Son to be priest and sovereign forever. Grant that all the people of the earth, now divided by the power of sin, may be united by the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

TODAY'S GOSPEL: John 18:33-37
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"

Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?"

Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

* * *

SERMON: "Story of the Bible, Story of Our Lives"

The Lord be with you. 

We who live in the modern world, especially here in the United States, have a difficult time relating to the main concept in this morning's Gospel. Today God calls us to hear and respond to a text that is about kings and kingdoms, rulers and royalty, thrones and dominions. You and I don't generally think in those terms. We are citizens in a nation that rejected monarchy and embraced life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for every person equally. The myths that shape our imagination are not the stories of castles and kings and loyal subjects. We honor rags to riches stories of the self-made person, the rugged individualist. We love the Horatio Alger-style tales of poor but determined people who make their own way and rise to success through hard work, courage, and honesty. We don't like the idea of someone ruling over us, demanding our allegiance, requiring our obedience.

But then we come to the Bible. And the Bible is all about kings and kingdoms.