Luke 3,-14. Gaudete

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The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Luke 3,3.14       0320

Gaudete (3. Sunday in Advent) 03

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Turkey and student of the Apostle John, Martyr 108

15. Dezember 2019 

1. O Christ, the one spoken of by the Prophets, pour out Your love upon us and our neighbors, speak through us to make Your love visible and tangible, so that the world may see Your mercy and long for Your advent.  Amen. (VELKD Weekly Prayer for 3. Advent 2019, § 1.4)

2. »And John the Baptizer went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it has been written in the book of the words of the Prophet Isaiah: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low, and the crooked will be straight, and the rough places will be level paths, and all flesh will see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds that went out to be baptized by him: „You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is approaching? Bear fruits deserving of repentance. And do not simply begin to say to yourselves: ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.“ And the crowds were asking him: „What then shall we simply do?“ And he answered them: „Whoever has two tunics is to simply share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to continually do likewise.“ Tax collectors also came to be simply baptized and said to him: „Teacher, what shall we simply do?“ And he said to them: „Collect no more than you having been authorized to collect.“ Soldiers also were continually asking him: „And we, what shall we simply do?“ And he said to them: „Do not simply extort anyone or harass/blackmail them and be continually content with your wages.“ So with many other exhortations he was preaching the gospel to the people.« 

3. The 1. Sunday in Advent points us to Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; the 2. Sunday of Advent reminds us that Jesus arrives with power, glory and celestial signs; the 3. Sunday in Advent gives us John the Baptizer pointing people to Christ. John prepared the way for Jesus by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John cried out from the Jordanian countryside: »Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!« Some people think they have God all figured out; they are the chosen; they have the Scriptures, the promises and means of grace. To such John exclaims: »Do not begin to say to yourselves: „We have Abraham as our father.“ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.« This preaching of the law strikes at the hearts of pious Jews who are heirs of Abraham by the flesh and Christians who are heirs of Abraham by faith: »The axe is already at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.« Thus we take Advent as a season of preparation. We do not relax on piety but humbly draw near to God confessing our sin and asking Him to help us live good lives that follow His will; John exhorts us to be charitable to our neighbors. 

4. The outcasts of society also sought John and wanted to be baptized. John baptized them too, and exhorted them to live honestly, don’t overtax people and be fair. Pagans likewise searches out John; these were the Roman soldiers who kept the peace in the land but they were idolaters and were immoral. Even they asked John what they should do. John exhorts them to repent and live accordingly: don’t harass the people, don’t extort them and be content with your wages. 

5. John’s proclamation of repentance and repentant living lead to excited expectation and questions among the people. The Jews particularly at this time were longing for the advent of their Messiah. John’s preaching in the wilderness certainly resonated with what they knew of Isaiah 40: »A voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord« (Isaiah 40,6). The Prophet Isaiah wrote many things about the Messiah, John was quoting Isaiah and the people were excited that the Messiah might soon appear in their midst. 

  6. Isaiah 40 begins by saying: »Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins« (Isaiah 40,1-2). These are verses of forgiveness, mercy and grace. The Messiah arrives to redeem His people, and that is what Jesus told John’s disciples: »The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me« (Matthew 11,5-6). Jesus quoted  2 Messianic verses from Isaiah and assured them that He is doing these things (Isaiah 35,5; 61,1). Our response to this is in our Introit: rejoice in the Lord always; rejoice: the Lord is at hand (Philippians 5,4). 

7. John’s gospel proclamation was: the Christ is at hand, repent, prepare for Him by bearing good fruit and finally, behold there He is – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1,28). Jesus’ gospel proclamation is: your sins are forgiven, your illness is healed, your blind eyes see, your deaf ears here, your muted tongues speak and your dead loved ones are raised. Jesus’ gospel is spoken and performed; it is words of power and miraculous signs. All of creation is affected by, and reacts to, Jesus’ gospel. The absolution spoken to you are words of power, they are Jesus’ words and bear Jesus’ authority, your sins are forgiven. The bread and wine you receive in the Lord’s Supper are the really present body and blood of Jesus that are given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sin. 

8. The 3. Advent candle is lighted today, and it is not purple but rose/pink. It sets this Sunday apart from the other 3 Sundays in Advent, for it proclaims: »Gaudete in the Lord always; gaudete: the Lord is at hand« (Philippians 4,4). This candle shines forth with the 1. candle and its proclamation: »Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Your King is drawing near; He is justifying and saving« (Zechariah 9,9), and also with the 2. candle with its proclamation: »Lift up your soul unto the Lord, for your redemption is drawing near« (Luke 21,28). Let us rejoice at Jesus’ advent in anticipation of the 4., and final, Advent candle with its exhortation of: »Shower down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness!« (Isaiah 40,8a).   Amen. 

9. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus,You are gracious and righteous; daily show us in the Scriptures that God the Father is merciful, so that we begin and end each day rejoicing in the certain knowledge that You are our God who has redeemed us.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2019 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.