Sunday
12/13/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Sermon Title: “the one who is more powerful than me is
coming”
(“Hope is coming” series: Part 3 of 5)
Old Testament
Lesson: Zephaniah 3:14-20
New Testament
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 3:7-18
Friends, brothers and sisters, I would like to welcome you once
again on this the Third Sunday of this Advent season. This season of love, of joy,
of peace, and of course, hope.
In doing a five part sermon series on hope, I have been
connecting some of our weekly lectionary scripture readings to the concept of
hope. To the hope of the coming of Jesus Christ. Yet what will this hope look
like, and how can we connect to this hope? If hope is coming, what should we
expect? What is required of us?
You see, the mission of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ, isn’t
just one of a death on a cross for our sins, it is also the mission of hope. That
we believe fully and truly that there is a possibility of a better life, of eternal
life. That since Jesus Christ can change us from the inside out, we can then
actively go out seeking to change the world. We then put on Jesus Christ, and
go forth living and loving the way he lived and loved us.
The
Apostle Peter and the Apostle Andrew saw this love and hope in Jesus when he
called them from there fishing boats to follow him. In fact, Jesus said to them
in Matthew 4:19b, “Follow me, and I will make
you fish for people” (Mt. 4:19b, NRSV). Without
a thought they dropped their fishing nets, and they followed him. Yet why did
they do this? They did not know Jesus? When they saw him though, they had had
hope. Hope is powerful. How can we claim the hope that is coming in Jesus Christ
in this season of Advent? If we were to get Christmas gifts for a family that
is in need for example, do we give them hope? What does that hope do for that
family? What does hope look like?
In
the reading from the prophet Zephaniah from this morning, it says in 3:17 of
the coming Messiah, “The LORD your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing
victory” (Zeph. 3:17, CEB). You see many of the Jewish people in the times of
the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, awaited a Messiah that they thought
would be a conquering warrior. A person who like the great King David would
march into Jerusalem and expel the Roman army who controlled them. This Messiah,
in this scriptural interpretation, would be a mighty soldier, adorned with
armor, who would strongly, violently, and powerfully deliver the Jewish people
to freedom.
The actual Messiah though, Jesus Christ, was not what many
people expected. Due to this, since Jesus was not a military warrior some
rejected him. Some said that hope had not come. Yet hope is something that
Jesus Christ tasks us with bringing into the world.
I don’t know about you though, but I think that anyone that
can take on the forces of evil and die for the sins of humanity, as the prophet
Zephaniah said, is a “a warrior bringing victory” (Zeph. 3:17b, CEB). If Jesus
Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth to die for the sins of humanity, and if
he lived a life of peace, love, perfection, and hope, are we just to see Christ
as just a vehicle to heaven? By this I mean, is there more to Christ, more to
the gospel, then just believing in him so we go to heaven? Does Christ have
expectations of us? Did he give us hope for a reason?
The prophet Isaiah said of the coming Messiah, that “He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many
peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4, NRSV). If Jesus is the
prince of peace, as he is, he did not come to bring war, he came to bring peace
and hope. When we then bring peace, love, food, and fresh water to people in
Jesus’ name, we bring then hope. We bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to others with
our words, deeds, and actions. The gospel brothers and sisters is much more
than just salvation, it is hope itself. Hope is coming.
I think that for so many people in our culture though, they
are waiting for God to come and fix everything that is wrong in their lives,
and in this world. Now God can do all things, and God can fix anything, at any
time. Yet can God also call us to bring hope to the world to? I mean Jesus said
in Matthew 22:39b, “You shall love your neighbor
as yourself” (Mt. 22:39b). When we love our neighbor then, can we bring them
hope through this love? We can pray for the end of wars, but can’t we also work
on it through the hope of the Gospel. We use love, joy, and hope to change this
world, as God leads us.
In this way, in this morning’s gospel
of Luke lectionary reading, John the Baptist is a little angry. He is a little
angry because some people don’t understand who Jesus is. They have decided that
hope must be hope that of violence, warfare, and fighting. Yet this is not the
message of the gospel. They are angry, and they want a Messiah that will crush
and destroy the occupying Roman army. This is not what Christ called us to do
though.
The gospel of Luke reading this
morning begins with this, “Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized
him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgement
that is coming soon” (Lk. 3:7, CEB). John the Baptist is saying, Messiah is not
about conquering and killing all the Romans. Messiah is about a new way of
living and being. A new way of existing. Stop looking for blood, and stop
looking for revenge on the Romans John the Baptist might have said. This is not
the mission and the gospel of the Messiah.
As a result, John the Baptist says, “produce
fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think
about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able
to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones” (Lk. 3:8, CEB). Hope then, is
not the hope of violence, or revenge, or power. For as Jesus said to the
Apostle Peter in Matthew 26:52, “Put your sword back into its place; for all
who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26:52, NRSV). This is one of
the reasons that I get so frustrated by terrorist organizations like ISIS, and their
actions are so contrary to everything that the gospel of Jesus Christ says. Us
being changed then, is a massive part of the hope of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus
commands us to love each other, care for each other, and to building God’s
kingdom on earth.
John the
Baptist is so emphatic about this, that he then says, “The ax is already at the
root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce fruit will be
chopped down and tossed into the fire” (Lk. 3:9, CEB). The mission of Jesus
Christ isn’t just his death for our sins then. It is that through him, we may
be changed. That we may go from anger to love, from violence to peace, and from
despair to hope. Advent, the coming of Christ is about hope.
How do we take
the message of Christ’s hope into the world then? How do we, through the power
of Jesus Christ bring forth hope? Well the crowds that John the Baptist were
talking to this morning were confused about this. In fact, “The crowds asked
him, “What then should we do?” (Lk. 3:10, CEB).
John the
Baptist then responds says, “Whoever had two shirts must share with the one who
has none, and whoever has food must do the same” (Lk. 3:11, CEB). Jesus Christ,
the savior of the world, calls us to bring forth hope.
The gospel
reading then says, “Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher,
what should we do?” (Lk. 3:12, CEB). In reply, John the Baptist said, “Collect
no more that you are authorized to collect” (Lk. 3:13, CEB). John the Baptist
is telling the tax collectors to be honest and fair.
Then the “Soldiers
asked, “What about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass
anyone, and be satisfied with your pay” (Lk. 3:14, CEB). John the Baptist was
saying to the soldiers, for them to do their duty well, and to be grateful for
what they received in payment.
So John
the Baptist had just told various people how to live better, and how to love
each other more. The gospel then says, “The people were filled with
expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ” (Lk. 3:15,
CEB). You see John described the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his listeners were
so filled with hope, they thought that John the Baptist was the Christ.
John the Baptist then said, “I baptize you with water, but
the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the
strap of his sandals” (Lk. 3:16a, CEB). John then says of Jesus Christ, “He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The shovel he uses to sift the
wheat from the husks is in his hands” (Lk. 3:16b-17a). Jesus wants us to
change, to become holy, loving, and filled with hope. We need to pray and pray
hard, but we must also act. We can pray for people to have food, but we can
also have a food pantry that gives out food. God can us to bring forth hope, if
we claim that hope.
John the Baptist then says of Jesus, “He will clean out his
threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks
with a fire that can’t be put out” (Lk. 3:17b, CEB). We are called to be
changed. Jesus wants us to be like him. We must trust God, and also serve God
through our words, actions, and deeds. While our acts and good deeds don’t get
us to heaven, our acts and good deeds can enable us to build God’s kingdom on
earth, as we await the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.
So here is my overarching point this morning brothers and
sister, Jesus, the Messiah, the savior of the world, is coming soon. Soon he
will be born, then one day he will die on a cross for the sins of humanity.
That in him and through him, we can be forgiven, be reconciled to God, and have
everlasting life. God can do all things. Yet while this is true, God can use us
to do so much, as well. We are children of hope, children of the resurrection,
and may we bring forth hope to others in this season of Advent and always. When
we claim hope, we then change the world for Jesus Christ. God has given us this
hope, and all we need to do is come together and claim it. This is the power of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To close this morning, I would like to share a quote with
you about hope. This quote is from Saint Padre Pio. This is what the quote
says, “Every Christian who is true imitator and follower of the Nazarene can
and much call himself a second Christ and show forth most clearly in his life
the entire image of Christ. Oh, if only all Christians were to live up to their
vocation, this very land of exile would be changed into a paradise” (Quotable
Wisdom: The Saints, page 21). Hope is coming, and if we claim hope in this
season of Advent and always, God might just use us to change this town and
change the world for Jesus Christ. Amen.
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