December 4, 2016
2nd Sunday in Advent Year A

“In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:1-12

“In Matthew’s gospel there are numerous instructions regarding how we are to prepare for our exit interview from this earthly life or for judgment day, whichever comes first. We are not only to hear Jesus’ words, but we are to do them. We prepare for the coming kingdom by active obedience to the teachings of Jesus. (“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,” Mt. 7:21-23.) Many of the parables Matthew includes in his gospel have the theme of preparation: The Ten Bridesmaids (25:1-12), The Talents (25:14-29), The Last Judgment (25:31-46), and The Great Feast (22:1-14).
The way not to prepare is to rely on our spiritual credentials. “We have Abraham as our ancestor” (Mt. 3:9). Presumably, relying on any other assurance or past accomplishment than God is not the way to prepare. Inaction is not the way to prepare. Making excuses is not the way to prepare. Being distracted from Jesus’ coming kingdom by possessions, prestige, and power is not the way to prepare. Not then and not now.  John the Baptist sums up the way to prepare in one little six-letter word: repent. And then follow that up by “bearing fruit worthy of repentance” (Advice on How Not to Prepare: Reflections on Advent 2, Matthew 3:1-12, by Alyce M. McKenzie, December 02, 2013)

So, why should we repent? What are the benefits to repentance? I would list two benefits:

We give up any sense that we are in control (something Americans have a problem with)
We put our trust and faith completely in the hands and cross of Jesus

St. John of the Cross, the great Counter Reformation writer, and Carmelite friar once wrote that faith is not only complete trust and obedience, but requires repentance as well. He went on to say “If we want to be united with G-d, we need to empty ourselves.” How do we empty ourselves? First we have to relinquish control, give G-d the reigns of our lives, and then we must allow G-d to lead and guide us, including leading us down paths we may not be prepared to follow. But now, here is one thing about repentance that is important – repentance is not a series of “I Can” statements, statements like “I can change this Lord, and I can change that”. Instead, repentance is about an “I Can’t” statement – “I can’t do it Lord, You need to lead me – You do it Lord”. You see, true repentance means we hand the reigns over to Christ – and that is an apt metaphor as we head toward Christmas Day.

Pastor Dave