Signs of Growth - Changed Hearts

December 6 2015    Malachi 3.1-4, *Luke 3.1-6 “Signs of Growth – Changed Hearts” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

In this third chapter of the gospel of Luke we hear the names of several ancient politicians. Tiberius has been in office for 15 years. Tiberius was a distinguished general, a CEO, large and in charge. He ruled in the Roman Empire, those Italians who for 12 centuries,  controlled 50 million people.  It was said that the sun rose and set on the Roman Empire. The Romans were considered as powerful as the United States is today.    

Tiberius had been emperor since Jesus was a teenager and he died a few years after Jesus was crucified. The humble, human back story is that Tiberius’ mother and father were divorced and he was adopted by his step-father, Caesar Augustus. Tiberius’ great uncle was Julius Caesar. When it came to ancient politics it was all in the family as much as it is for any government. 

Tiberius appointed Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea. Judea also called Judah was also ruled by the Roman government, but high priests like Annas and Caiaphas had religious political power like the pope and like our United Methodist Bishops who blog, tweet, and take political and spiritual stands around the globe on every issue, and like Billy Graham, they are inspiring and influential to many politicians.

Luke makes a point to tell us that Herod and Phillip, who were brothers, were tetrarchs or governors in the very important districts of Galilee and bordering areas that were political hot spots since it was the area where Jesus, the religious renegade called home. These brothers were sons of Herod the Great who – for political reasons helped the Jews rebuild/renovate the Holy Temple that had been in dissarray for 500 years, torn down by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, now known as Iraq.  

How the people of God must have looked forward to building and rebuilding their place of worship, in spite of all they had gone through!!

Luke gives us a detailed political rundown because history matters in our life and in our world, or as one of my former district superintendents said to me, ‘What happens in our church can all depend on whose ox has been gored.’

The politicians worked hard to keep their positions so they were careful to support the religion of the day which was worship, not of Jehovah God, but worship of the emperor. The idea of worshipping God first was tantamount to treason. Those who did not bow down to the Emperor were persecuted and quickly put in their place.

Wherever we live and whoever our leaders are, God expects us to pray for them, to be in dialogue with Go about them.   

If we are not governed by godly leaders, our job is to model godliness for them. Praying is a spiritual exercise that nurtures us in growing closer to God and to one another. Praying for some leaders and some countries can be a spiritual challenge.

That is where John the Baptist comes in. Luke says he was a voice crying in the wilderness. The Greek word for wilderness is er'-ay-mos. A wilderness is a place of desolation, lonely with pastures best suited, not for humans, but for animals. 

A wilderness is often deserted by others because it is a place where one feels unprotected, neglected, and vulnerable. Friends are not eager to meet us in our wilderness.

We all know about being in the wilderness. We have had relationships that ripped our heart out, jobs that ate us alive, a moral lapse that left us broken and pierced the hearts of those around us. A nagging mental or physical diagnosis may have crept up on us and we were dragged, kicking and screaming into a wilderness.

Still, Luke hears John the Baptist crying above every voice in the wilderness, ‘prepare a way for the Lord.’ John preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins says verse 3.

In the wilderness, there is plenty of time to think about repenting and forgiving, for it is easy to get ourselves bent out of shape to the point of needing to be straightened out. In the wilderness, we see vividly the faces of those who cause us suffering and distress and our need to forgive them and be forgiven. It was a lifesaver that John preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness.

Baptism is a universal symbol of spiritual cleansing and purity. Since the beginning of time humans have sought ways to be submerged, overwhelmed, and immersed in a sense of cleanliness that removes our spiritual dirt and grime. If you have seen the film 12 Years A Slave, you recall Patsy risking life and limb to get just a little  piece of soap.

Like physical cleansing, spiritual cleansing contributes to our emotional well-being and can quickly become a matter of life and death. We want to wash away our greed, hatred, and conniving bacteria before they can kill us.

John the Baptist cries – a grown man crying – sometimes loudly or softly, with strong words or with sighs too deep for words, crying in hopes that our hearts would be cleansed, changed to become a heart that is free to repent and free to forgive. Crying so we can realize that we can’t have a peaceful conversation with our heavenly father if we are doing dirty deeds or wishing ill will on one of his children – our sisters and brothers, especially when we are in dire need of God’s favor ourselves.

At sundown today, our Jewish brothers and sisters will light the menorah to begin the celebration of Hanukkah. They will remind us all to give thanks even when we are crying in the wilderness. Like the Advent candles, the menorah reminds us that there is a light within each of us. It is a light that shines in the wilderness so we can see that our guide and deliverer is with us, showing us the direction we should go in order to live holy.

So John cries until we listen and look, until we look and see the Christ in every area of our lives.

For everyone is ready for Christmas, but not everyone is ready for Christ – the anointed one, anointed with the oil that glistens and shines and lights up our lives in ways that matter more than anything. Let us hear the cries of God and of one another until we can see the light and follow the one who can save us. 

Amen.