Year C

Luke 3:7-18

The Rev. Denise Vaughn

The Joy of Advent

Isn’t the pressure in keeping Advent enormous? I read an article one time about a woman who said she wasn’t able to find the right color candles for her advent wreath because the red and green candles had already taken over the stores. There are no red and green candles here today. As the rest of the world is decking the halls and shopping the malls, we gather on this “Gaudete Sunday” to continue our preparations to receive our king. Today is “Gaudete Sunday.” The word Gaudete is from the Latin “Gaudeo” which means Rejoice! And why do we rejoice today? We rejoice because the Lord is near. His birth is immanent, as is his coming again. And so the rose candle that we lit today is a reminder of the joy of anticipation at the savior’s coming and as we travel ever further into Advent, the prophets continue to give important insights into the meaning of the season and the fulfillment of God’s promises to his children. The theme of joy which is announced today is pretty easy to find in the first two lessons but not so easy in the Gospel text today where once again we hear from fiery John the Baptist concerning baptism and its consequences.

But, before I talk about the good news of the gospel text today, Zephaniah, the Old Testament prophet, has some good news of his own to share with us this morning, words that give us insight into the joy of this season.  Zephaniah spoke the words read today during the latter part of the seventh century BC in the southern kingdom of Judah.  As a prophet of God, his ministry was to condemn corruption and injustice and call the people to turn their lives back to God. Today, we hear the final words of the book which up to now has been devoted almost entirely to condemning the people of Judah, and other nations, predicting God’s judgement will come upon them. When suddenly the mood changes and we hear in the oracle read today that God is in their midst and has come to heal the people and remove all reason to fear. He promises to gather up the lost and frightened and bring them home. God rejoices over the people and the people rejoice over God.

 God’s promised salvation interrupts a tirade of judgement with a song of joy. The future will be different. In God’s kingdom, there will be no oppression. The sick, the lame and the outcast will be healed and restored.  Zephaniah gives us a picture of what the future with God will be like for God’s children; peace and joy will reign. This theme of peace and joy is also highlighted today in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He is writing from the cell of a dark Roman prison hundreds of years after Zephaniah. And remarkably, even in his situation, Paul speaks of joy, peace, and rejoicing. Joy and rejoice appear in his letter 14 times summarized in his declaration, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” These verses come from Paul’s own experience of God.

Though, in a place of distress, he is calm because the Lord is near. Whatever happens can only result in additional opportunities for him to enjoy the presence of God. He can say with perfect honesty; that he can be content and thankful whether he is well fed or hungry, has plenty or is in need. Paul describes this joy as the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. As Karl Barth, a well-known author and theologian puts it, the joy that Paul describes draws strength from laying one’s deepest concerns before God ‘with thanksgiving.’ This joy takes root even in darkness. Paul is encouraged by the spread of the gospel, the growth of a young church, but most of all by the deep joy of God’s presence and the hope this gives for whatever the future may hold.”

What Paul discovered is that peace and joy are not determined by what we have or our external conditions. It’s not our surroundings that make us secure. It’s the sure and certain knowledge that whatever may come, God is with us and will never let us go. That is the peace which surpasses all understanding. Too bad John the Baptist didn’t come on the scene after Paul wrote his letter. He might have learned how to tone down his talk a bit about judgment and morality and find some joy!  Can you picture what John the Baptist’s line of Christmas cards might look like? “From our house to yours this season: Merry Christmas….you brood of vipers! Season’s greetings to you, from across the miles…who warned you to flee the wrath to come? Let’s all pass the wassail cup and gather round the Yule log….to watch it burn with unquenchable fire!” Not exactly a Hallmark moment, is it?

Yet, there is no getting to Bethlehem and the sweet baby in the manger without first hearing the rough prophet in the wilderness call us to repentance. Faithful and fruitful arrival at the manger will be possible only after the self-examination and recommitment of our lives to God called for by John. We may wonder why the crowds flocked to hear his criticism and warning. They did largely because they felt, in the integrity of his message, an opportunity which they had sought for a long time. An opportunity that was wrapped up in the word repent. He spoke harsh words but led the people to a door of hope. John was telling the people they need not remain as they were. They were not held captive by their failures, they past, or inadequacies. They could repent, get rid of the past and start over.

Yet, when the people came out to be baptized by him, he sensed that, for some of them, it was an easy way out. Sometimes our hunger for repentance fails to achieve its goal. We need to do more than simply say, “I’m sorry.” So when the people asked, “What then shall we do,” John told them. “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” “If you have two coats, give one to someone who has none and the same with your food. And when the tax collectors and soldiers asked, he quickly set them right. “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”  John is clearly saying; share, keep no more than you need, be fair, treat others with care, and be honest.

John wanted them to live out their new faith by being honorable and godly in their lives and isn’t this the way we seek to live our lives as baptized children of God? We have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire to produce fruit worthy of repentance. This is the good news that John proclaimed and even though “Joy” is not mentioned specifically in this passage, in the Book of Acts chapter 2, we find a description of baptized people who now bear the fruit John describes. They are said to be people “with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people.” Advent asks us to reexamine our behavior so we can live in the joy that Zephaniah, Paul and John speak about that removes all fear and gathers us home. “The Lord is near” therefore we can rejoice today. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”