Sermon Based on: Luke 3. 1-6; Canticle: Benedictus; Malachi 3. 1-4
Second Sunday of Advent- 9th December 2018
The readings today, on the second Sunday of Advent, is about John the Baptist, whom Jesus later referred to as the greatest among those born of women.
Almost four hundred years before John the Baptist was born, prophet Malachi prophesized about his arrival before the coming of the Messiah, when the Jews were going through the time of desolation or barrenness as– (a) The Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity to Judea. A remnant had returned to Judah and had been eagerly expecting final restoration of all that God had promised them- supremecy among nations, the coming of the final Messiah-king, and lasting peace and prosperity but (b) the glorious future announced by the prophets before Malachi had not been realized and (c) God had not come to his temple yet with majesty and power to exalt his kingdom and his people. To the discouraged people of Malachi’s day, these predictions must have seemed a cruel mockery. The people started doubting God’s covenant of love and no longer trusted his justice. Malachi defends God’s love for Israel. He tells them that the proper response to God’s love is covenantal obedience and sincere worship.
We see in John 3:2, the ministry of John the Baptist begins with God’s initiative: “The word of God came to John.” In the Gospel reading we see a number of people holding high positions in the government and temple are mentioned but it is given that ”the word of God came to John”. John hears that word because he has already gone to the wilderness – a place of receptivity. My last sermon on the first Sunday of Advent ended on ‘receptivity’. Christian life does not begin with external obligation or self-improvement but with receptivity. John responds freely to the call of the desert. But, in the history of God’s people and even today, sojourns in wilderness are often involuntary. While preparing my sermon and thinking about what could ‘wilderness’ be like while living in a metropolitan city, this time of the year, I was drawn to the fact that some of us are away from our loved ones, from our culture and traditions which made Christmas very special, we are filled with fond memories – on one hand we rejoice the memories and on the other hand we miss all of that and are saddened by the shift in time and place. In the midst of our numerous worldly struggles on a daily basis, we break through our fantasies of self-sufficiency and acknowledge our limitations. It is in this state, that we hear, recognize and realize the call back to the banquet of the Lord. Let this time of what could be called ‘a type of wilderness’ be a time of receptivity in our lives. Let us make this time of wilderness a time of spiritual fruitfulness. Some of us have already accepted Christ as our saviour while others are still exploring the Word of God. Whatever our current state is, Bible clearly tells us that we need to continually renew ourselves from God’s word. John’s openness to God’s word, and his humble and yet courageous participation, is essential to the work of grace.
The Baptist’s wilderness existence, therefore, has a twofold significance: it provides a metaphor for the desolation of Israel in his generation; and it models a faithful response to that desolation: namely, a renewed attentiveness to the word of God. It is the same today – when we see so many people around us in a state of spiritual barrenness and yet some people gather faithfully to worship God with free mind and free will. This wilderness need not be the desert that John the Baptist went into. It is any place of solitude where we can seek God without any distractions. It is already the second Sunday of Advent and as we draw closer to Christmas and more importantly to the time of second coming of Jesus we need to renew our attentiveness to the word of God. John prepared himself for the ministry which was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Someone asked me what exactly was the preparation before Christ’s birth? He was born in a very humble setting. Just Sunday before last we heard Jesus telling Pontius Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. Thus for Jesus to come someone had to make preparation among the masses for receiving the king just like a linesman prepares the track before a train comes. John did the same task of preparing the hearts and minds of the people calling them for the baptism of repentance.
Many of us have been making a preparation list for Christmas? A list of gifts to share, special food, decorations, hosting family and friends during this Christmas. Let our top priority be preparing as John the Baptist did! Preparing our hearts and preparing the hearts of others for the second coming of Jesus. May we, like John the Baptist, give the knowledge of Salvation to the people.
The Book of Malachi writes that, ”But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like refiner’s fire. The simile used here is that of the process of refining. As metal melts, pure metal remains at the bottom while impurities float to the top to be drawn off and discarded. The process is uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst. So it will be when the Lord comes. He will use fire to separate the pure from the impure so that the impure can be drawn off and cast aside. By this refining process, the Lord make his people worthy of his presence. But the good news is that the Lord’s intent is not to destroy but to purify. The refining/cleansing process will be difficult for everyone—good and bad alike—but the good will find themselves in a better world at the end of the process.
As we prepare to move into a better world, may this time we be surround by the matchless joy that we find in God’s promise like Priest Zechariah. Let us leave behind any disbelief but proclaim the goodness of the Lord knowing that He is faithful and always fulfils His promises despite of all odds. And so will his promise of taking us into the better world will be fulfilled even though things look worse and there seems to our hearts a delay in his justice? May our hearts hold steadfast to His promise of second coming and may God guide our feet into the way of peace.
In the name of the father, and of the son and of the holy Spirit. Amen.
