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by Gary Sims
12/03/03
Not For Sale
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The Gospels
Luke 3:1-6 – The Candle of Repentance
Key Verses:(NRSV)

1-2: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee…, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” – In one sense, Luke is creating a chronicle with the details of history in place to provide authenticity and context. On the other hand, when we look at the leaders in the world at that time, we are drawn to think about who God chose to spread His word – a wild man from the wilderness.
3: “He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” – John’s entire ministry was proclaimed in a single sentence: “Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand.”
4: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” – Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Luke tells us that John’s purpose was to lay the groundwork for the coming of Christ.
5: “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…” – Just as roads are smoothed and prepared for the arrival of a visiting king, John is calling the people to prepare their hearts for the arrival of the Messiah.

Points to Contemplate:

Are you going through the motions? Are you comfortable in your relationship with God? Do you feel that things are running smoothly in your religious life? Do the traditions and routines of Christmas provide you a sense that things are in control, that the wild, hectic world in which you live is somehow managed and controlled through the customs and habits of the season? How does John the Baptist make you feel? Is he just a weird character we read about this time of year that has no lasting impact on your life? Do you see that his call for change should break through your routine and cause you to sit up and take notice? Do you hear him calling you to stop what you are doing and to make some serious changes in your life? Are you preparing the way for the Lord?
Have you repented? Do you recognize the importance of repentance? Do you see that holding on to sins, that keeping those hurts, habits and hang-ups in place, are barriers to Christ? That if you really want to be changed by Christ’s redeeming love, you have to break down these barriers that you have erected? Do you accept that this is an on-going process? That you simply do not repent once and it is over with? John comes into our lives every Advent to remind us that, once again, that we need to “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Have you repented?
What are you doing to prepare for Christ’s arrival? Are you creating a straight pathway to your heart, eliminating the twist and turns of lies and deceit? Are you filling the valleys of self-pity and self-righteousness? Have you flattened the hills and mountains of sin and arrogance? Are you straightening your relationships with others that have become convoluted through manipulation and selfishness? Are you smoothing over the rough seas of disharmony and neglect? Should these things be added to your Christmas “to do” list? Should there be more to the season of Advent than simply a hectic and mad rush towards December 25th? What are you doing to prepare for Christ’s arrival?

Promises of the Gospel:

John the Baptist is not one of our favorite characters in the Bible. If we were to run into him on a street corner we would most likely cross to the other side of the street to avoid his outlandish behavior. Even with 2000 years separating us from John, we tend to skip over his story with a certain degree of trepidation? He unnerves us. John is an agent for change. He is telling us, even today, that we need to look in a mirror and take a good hard look at ourselves. Christ is coming and we must prepare for His arrival. This is a preparation of the heart. It is a call to break down the walls of self-righteousness that we have built during the last year. It is a call to repent. Through repentance we address those things we need to leave behind and open up, instead, a straight and glorious pathway for the Lord to enter our hearts. Through repentance we discover the true joy of the season.

For this secong week in Advent, we light the Candle of Repentance.

© 2003 Gary L. Sims

FUMC Devotionals

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