Third Sunday of Advent (2)

Luke 3:7–18 NIV

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

Philippians 4:4–7 (NIV)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Sermon: Joy: A Christmas Carol

This morning finds us in the third week of advent. Again, we should note that while there are 4 weeks of Advent, Christmas only gets one day. This should remind us of the importance of waiting and anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, not in the same way they did prior to Jesus’ birth, but the way they waited for God’s consummation of all things. The way we are even still waiting.

And while we wait, God gives us gifts of His grace. We’ve talked about the gifts of hope and the gifts of peace. And today we consider another advent theme, also a gift of God, the gift of joy. And whenever I speak about joy, I always feel we need to be reminded that joy is not the same thing as happiness. Happiness is based on our circumstances. It is based on external things happening to us. When I pass go in Monopoly and collect $200, I’m pretty happy. But when I have to go directly to jail without passing Go and without collecting $200, I’m not happy.

But joy is not dependent on our circumstances. As Paul noted in his letter to the Philippians, perhaps one of the most joy-filled of all the New Testament letters we are invited to rejoice always. That is to live in a spirit of joy. And Paul continues to explain how we can do that. He says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”