5th December Second Sunday of Advent

Luke 3:1-6

 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 
during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 
He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 

as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
     make his paths straight. 
 Every valley shall be filled,
     and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
     and the rough ways made smooth; 
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 

Reflection:

What brings you peace?

Today is the second week of advent and the theme for this week is Peace.

Different sorts of peace- peace among the nations and in each country, peace amongst families, peace in neigbourhoods. Some people find peace in silence. Perhaps peace can be found in the quiet tranquility in the forest or national park with the song of the birds and the sound of the breeze in the leaves of the trees, peace may be found on the beach early in the morning as the sun peaks over the horizon, or peace may be when a baby is sleeping especially after a busy day,… for some peace suggests harmony and reconciliation. This one word ‘Peace’ can bring so many connotations with it and has many different facets and inferences for each of us.. 

In our war-torn world, a world full of disasters, disease and other misery it seems like peace is something to be sought after. Peace can be large or small, seen in entire countries or in the inner most part of our lives. I have to wonder however, despite being found in so many ways and in so many places it seems there is far too little peace. My advent calendar says- ‘A tragic world is not what God desires. He weeps at the suffering of his creation. He longs with us for the time when there will be no more “harm or ruin,” when peace will reign.’ When peace will reign.

But what is peace? How do we find peace and what is it that brings you a sense of peace.

The biblical concept of peace rests heavily on the Hebrew root shalom, which means "to be complete" “whole” or "to be sound."

Jesus said ‘my peace I give unto you, it’s a peace that the world cannot give’.

St Paul prays for the peace that passes all understanding, that it may fill your heart and mind.

Just as God is love, God alone is the source of peace. He came to sinful humanity, historically first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, desiring to enter into a relationship with them. He established with them a covenant of peace, which was sealed with his presence. Participants in this covenant were given perfect peace so long as they maintained a right relationship with the Lord. 

Therefore, one cannot overlook the fact that this harmony will never happen until people have a right relationship with God, it will not happen until people everywhere know and adore the ‘Prince of Peace’.. 

After 12 months of studying the gospel of Mark we are entering the book of Luke and the gospel according to Luke will be our companion for much for the next 12 months. – Luke gives a most detailed account of the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s clear that Luke wants his readers to know that the events he is reporting can be traced to a particular time and place.

In today’s reading, in chapter three, the story has gone fast-forward.  Roughly 30 years have passed since Christ was born, and Luke puts a detailed time stamp on his story.  ‘In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod the ruler of Galilee, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness’.

The people of Luke’s time events were marked by who was ruling the people, therefore Luke is very particular that we know exactly when this all took place.  The point however, is not so much the detail determining the date, but rather Luke is saying- this is important, so pay attention!  Listen, I’m telling you about a messenger who came with an urgent message from God.

John son of Zechariah, who is also known as John the Baptist, quotes Isaiah’s vision of works needed to build a road across a wilderness – reshaping the landscape.  Because that ultimately is how you build a kingdom or if it’s a spiritual Kingdom, person-by-person, soul by soul. It’s also in the reshaping of our lives that we make way for the one who is to come.

The prophet Malachi had dramatic ideas of what God’s coming means:  He likens God as working with precious-metals, refining, purifying gold and silver by putting it through the fire to reveal its pure state; refining, reshaping and purifying, God is a consuming fire. 

Advent tells us that we can expect God to probe all aspects of our lives and to clean us up; that the way we live now, individually and as a church and nation, will come under God’s righteous judgment, when he answers our prayers for help and deliverance.

God’s purpose is always to restore the original beauty that has been lost to sin.  Notably, Malachi’s name means my messenger.  He bluntly condemned the laxity and corruption of the leaders of his day.  John the Baptist, also had harsh words for the leaders of the day.  Sadly I Wonder if either Malachi or John the Baptist were around today, just what would they say? The world seems full of corruption, greed, mercenary societies and businesses, self-seeking and self-absorbed people. Incomes among the top money earners continue to rise- while the real incomes of ordinary people continue to drop through. In the western world, the housing market has gone crazy, homelessness and statistics of domestic violence and violence towards others increases almost daily. Where then is peace?

Christmas is a time to be generous, generous with our giving of our time, our gifts and our care.

It is good to give gifts to our families and friends.  But we can give to others at the same time.  During Advent our church is supporting Australian Board of Mission and the Act for Peace - Christmas Bowl Appeal. This is one small way that we can contribute to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Getting the balance right over these things is a tiny part of what it means to prepare for God’s coming among us, during Advent.  There are so many more ways that Advent should speak to us – and also the message of John and Malachi speak to us.  What does it mean, for example, to prepare ourselves spiritually, and in prayer, for the coming of the King?  How can our lives be made straight?  What might need to shift? How can we help to lay the straight road through the wilderness…one step at a time….one person at a time.

An Ancient story goes like this: 

A seeker searched for years to find the meaning of human life.

One night in a dream a wise Sage appeared bearing the answer to the secret.

The Sage said simply, “Stretch out your hand and reach what you can.”

“No, it can’t be that,” said the seeker. “It must be something harder,

something more satisfying to the human spirit.” The Sage replied softly,

“You are right, it is something harder. It is this: stretch out your hand and reach what you cannot.”

 In a way finding God’s perfect peace is like this story - often it seems to be just beyond our reach. The thing is, we allow the things of this world to keep God out of reach, we allow the things of this world to rob us of his peace. We allow the things in our lives to be obstacles for grace.

 … Advent is a time to reconnect with God, to allow him to show us what we can change about how we live, how we think and how we act. If we really desire God’s peace then we must hear the message proclaimed over the centuries. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Have a right relationship with God, this is the life that we are called to, we are to be so bonded with God that we become one. One in mind, One is Spirit.

 In an intimate encounter we meet God and allow him into every aspect of our lives.  I suggest that this is where we find peace. It has been said our relationship with God can be like a strong rope used to tie the larger vessels to the pier. The rope is strong because all its fibers are so entwined with each other, almost one within another, that is how our spirits must be with the Spirit of God.

 While it is true that Jesus came to put an end to sin and its penalty once and for all, his coming into the world has accomplished more. You see, Jesus’ coming has given us opportunity to have peace with God. And God has purposed from the beginning to restore us to himself by his own plan and power. The prophecies of the Old Testament that are fulfilled in Christ’s coming give us confidence and peace that God is who he says he is and that God does what he says he will do.

And for those of us who are in Christ, our peace is doubly sure, because we have the peace that comes from knowing that nothing at all, not even death, can separate us from the love of God that is our in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 Luke saw in Jesus a glimpse of the sheer purity that is the benchmark for all humans created in God’s image.  That holiness is what God made us to share.  God challenges us to be what we were created to be.  We are to prepare to experience the salvation of God. 

Psalm 119 says ‘Happy are those who seek God with their whole heart.’ And in seeking God find forgiveness, value and peace.

 In summing up – Let us pray

God of stillness, calm me down. Help me to escape from a frenzied searching. Nudge me to be rooted in quiet, in listening, and in a deepening awareness of you. Help me to experience and cherish your ever-present closeness and your perfect peace.’ Amen.