December 11, 2010 Praying the Advent Season

Candle Lighting: Come, Lord Jesus.

Opening Prayer:
Stir up our hearts, Lord God
To prepare the way of your only Son
By his coming, nurture our growth
As a people of repentance and peace.

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke 3:1-19

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.”
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

John prepares the way for Jesus by leveling, well, everybody. The mountains
of power were brought low, the valleys of corruption were filled in. Repent.
Bear fruit. Be baptized. ‘They were a people filled with expectation in their
hearts.’ And John lays out what they should expect. What everybody expected
of a god. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing
fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his
granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
And along comes Jesus. He comes not only on behalf of the wheat, but also on behalf of the chaff.For sinners and Pharisees, for lepers and tax collectors, for the lonely and the forgotten and the cast aside and the left out and the sick and the dead and the god-forsaken, he comes. To forgive. To heal. To give life.

Almighty God,
We thank you for your Son, for keeping your covenant with Abraham and for this wonderful world. Our thankfulness list is like the energizer bunny…it just keeps on going on. We respond to your gifts with our first fruits. Tomorrow we will bring our pledges to church, offering our first fruits to your glory and to the fulfillment of the mission of your church here on earth. Amen

Called as God's people;
Equipped by the Holy Spirit;
Sent to boldly proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to all people

Thanks to: The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, ELCA