Luke 3:1-6 2nd Sunday of Advent Rev. Lisa Hufford

This summer my husband Nick and I traveled through West Virginia for a week-long summer vacation. We entered West Virginia on highway 55 (US 48) headed toward Blackwater Falls State Park. As we drove on Rt 55, I was in awe at how flat and smooth the road was as we headed across the mountain range. The highway led us over tree covered valleys with beautiful rushing streams and rivers. As we gazed up at the mountaintops we saw hundreds of windmills that I am told power Northern Virginia. This highway through these rugged mountains, forests and streams was awe inspiring. It reminded me of the Isaiah 40 passage in our gospel reading that speaks of making a level, straight and smooth path so the glory of the Lord will be revealed. 

When we arrived at the various State Parks in West Virginia, we found these gigantic swings in picturesque places with the words “Almost Heaven” engraved above them. It was a take on a verse of a song sung by John Denver, “Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.” 

As I thought about all this, I recognized that the wilderness, in places like the West Virginia mountains, the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, or dark skies wilderness areas where you can see the brilliant stars of the Milky Way are places where we encounter the awesome grandness of God’s creation and our place in this universe. 

Let me return now to Luke. In chapter 1, verse 80, we learn that John grew and became strong in spirit in the wilderness, until the day he appeared publicly near the Jordan River. His time in the wilderness helped form John to become God’s messenger to prepare the way for Jesus, as was mentioned in our readings from Malachi and Luke. 

Our gospel text today describes the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. It is interesting that Luke begins his account by the naming of Roman and religious leaders of the day. Herod, who was actually Herod Antipas, who later beheaded John the Baptist, is in this list of leaders. Caiaphas, who turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate to be crucified, is in this list along with Pilate. While this list provides a historical context for John’s ministry; it also clearly demonstrates that John and Jesus were conducting their ministries at a time when they were opposed by powerful, adversarial leaders. 

John’s message in these first 6 verses was pretty straightforward. He was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as the way of preparing a way for the Lord to come, so “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 

Now some might wonder why we are talking about sin, just a few weeks before we celebrate the birth of the holy child. Sin is a word we don’t speak of much in this day and age, especially at this most festive time of year, when we are stringing lights, decorating our homes, and buying gifts. 

When we do think of sin, many of us imagine behaviors such as stealing things that do not belong to us, lying, cheating on our taxes, or having an extramarital affair. In our secular culture, sin is thought of as something bad that we did. But, we rarely speak of sin being part of our fallen human nature. Years ago, I was talking with my step-father-in-law Del Anderson, who was a national director of social work for the Veterans Administration Hospitals, about an individual I was dealing with whom I suspected had a narcissistic personality disorder. 

Del said to me, “You mean you're dealing with someone who is selfish and self-centered, and spends the bulk of his time focusing on himself.” I responded, “Yes, that’s the problem.” Del shook his head and said, “It is simply amazing how many people struggle with that SIN.” 

I could hardly get over how I, the clergy, had named the problem as a mental health issue, while Del, who spent his life working with mental health issues, named the problem as SIN. Yet, sin had been part of Del’s vocabulary since he was a young boy, growing up in the 1920s as the son of a Lutheran clergy. Del understood how to talk about sin. 

However, today we rarely speak of sin. Most of us have lost the original and theological meaning of sin, which involves allowing the power of darkness to separate us from God and our neighbor. Sin is not only a set of behaviors to be avoided. Sin can also be a way of life, often inspired by our insecurities, fears, and our crazy need to feel in control. Sin stands in opposition to faith and trust that God loves us, and will provide for us. Sin is that force that causes us to grasp at the reigns of control, ceasing to let God be God, and the Lord of our lives. Sin creates distance between us and others. Sin is able to destroy entire nations, communities, churches, and families as it erodes away our trust in God and our trust in one another. 

Some sins are so embedded in our culture that we hardly recognize them as sins. These include things like racism, sexism, scapegoating groups of people like immigrants, certain religious groups, or people with disabilities. Sin is a major problem for all human beings. 

The reason we talk about sin in Advent is because SIN is the reason we need a SAVIOR. If we lose the language of SIN we lose the language of SALVATION. The good news is Jesus, God in flesh, came and lived among us to save us from our sins and death and to restore our relationship with God. Without an awareness of sin, who needs the good news that Jesus came to forgive our sins and unite us with God and one another? 

John the Baptist’s job was to prepare the way of the Lord. John knew that to prepare the way of the Lord, he must help people recognize their sins and call them to repent. 

The word REPENT is more clearly understood when we examine the original Hebrew and Greek meanings of the word. In Hebrew the word for repent is shub. Shub means to turn around, to turn back or to return to the right way. When teaching children about the word repent, I often used a big U-turn sign as a visual aid. In Greek the word for repent is metanoein. Metanoein also means to turn back, but adds the concept of changing one’s mind, or coming to a new way of thinking. 

Of course changing our way of thinking is not possible if we have an inflated view of ourselves, and we blame others for our troubles. In order to change our thinking we must have some humility and an honest understanding of ourselves and our role in the affairs of the people and the world around us. We can gain this understanding of ourselves through prayer and through interacting and listening to others around us. Hopefully we will not need to go through a change in our thinking and actions like Ebenizer Scrooge did in Charles Dickens' “Christmas Carol,” but you get my drift. 

Repentance involves more than simply saying I’m sorry. Repentance includes placing God at the center of our lives and trying to love God and our neighbor in the same way that God has loved us. Repentance means allowing the Holy Spirit to reshape our thinking and doing, so that we become holy instruments revealing God’s love to the world.

This reshaping of our thinking and doing can involve things like feeding the poor, housing the homeless, and loving and caring for all those around us. 

John sealed peoples’ repentance for the forgiveness of their sins, by baptizing them with water. In essence John was cleaning them up to be ready to meet their Lord and to experience the salvation of God. 

As you prepare to receive Christ this Advent, carve out some time every day to spend in prayerful conversation with God. We have daily devotional books at the back of the sanctuary that you can pick up on your way out. When I began a practice of daily prayer I found this sort of aid very helpful. I would read it while I drank my morning tea and then pray. 

The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer has devotions for different times each day and scripture readings at the back for every day of the week. If you google The Book of Common Prayer, you will find this wonderful resource online and you can use it on your smartphone. 

I also love Brother Lawrence’s short book, The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite monk during the 1600s. 

Brother Lawrence liked to pray and converse with God throughout the day as he went about his daily routines and work. Being someone who loves to walk and pray at the same time, Brother Lawrence provides me with significant insights in how to experience God’s presence throughout my day. 

Blessings to you as you prepare to receive Christ in your heart this Advent. 

Amen. 

Inspired by my personal experiences and the book Speaking of Sin: The Lost Language of Salvation by Barbara Brown Taylor, Cowley Publications, copyright 2000.