The Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline
Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these
words, “You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Thus far out text today.
Amen.
Dear friends, John
the Baptist came baptizing and preaching repentance, for the Kingdom of heaven was
near. In other words, Jesus is
coming! And to prepare the people for
the coming of Jesus, John preached Repentance, a turning aside from sin, a
remorse for what has gone wrong in life, and a general acknowledgement that I
myself am not as good and holy as I like to think. Repent!
Turn from sin! And to those who
acknowledge their sin, John baptizes, saying, “Look to the coming savior. He will take care of your sin!. Look to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world.”
But not all admit
their sin. Not all think they are
sinners. Some think they keep God’s
rules. Some think they are “hot stuff.” In fact, a few groups of such people come to
see John. Some Pharisees, those who
thought they knew all the laws, and even thought that they kept them came. Along with them, came Sadducees, whose name
comes from the Hebrew word, צדיק
which itself means righteous.
These two groups
didn’t see their own sin, even as they excelled at seeing the sin of the
average person. These two people come
not to repent, but rather to bring judgment upon John and those who go out into
the wilderness. To tell them they are
wrong. To tell them that instead of
repentance they need a holiness that matches their own.
And John, upon
seeing them come, calls out these words, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is
to come?” In other words, LOOK AT YOUR OWN
SIN AND REPENT! Pay attention to the
reality that encompasses your life! For
its only then, that you might receive the promises of God for forgiveness, life
and salvation.
Dear friends, the
same message is ours this Advent season.
Listen to the call of St. John the Baptist. Repent.
Admit that you too are a part of the brood of vipers and sinners. Don’t lie to yourself, because the truth is
you’ve sinned, and not only in little embarrassing things, but in terrible and
often times disgusting ways. You’ve been
concerned with only yourself. You’ve
been self-righteous, self-glorifying guilty sinners, and you still are. You’ve had every type of adulterous and
sinful desire imaginable. You’re a
sinner.
And so, dear
sinner, heed the call of St. John.
Repent. The kingdom of heaven is
near! Wretched people that we are! Who will save us from our sin? Who will take away our evil desires? God’s kingdom is coming! And if we stay in sin we will not be able to
stand when it arrives. Repent. Turn aside from your sin, and beg God for his
great mercy and care. And trust this,
dear friends, that mercy is exactly what God wishes to give in his
kingdom.
For the ruler of
the Kingdom of God is none other than the coming Christ. He comes to set his people free, he comes to
take away their sin, he comes to destroy death forever. He is coming, his advent is drawing
nigh. And he comes to die, so that you
don’t have to. He comes to bear your
sin, so that the weight of it might be lifted off your shoulders. He comes to give you hope in the world to
come, and life everlasting.
Jesus gives you
that promise through his own work, though his own death and resurrection. It is in that act and that act alone that
your sin can be taken away, and dear friends, has been taken away. Your sin-free now, because of Jesus – not in
your own right, but only by his work.
You have died to sin, and now live forever in Christ. You are no longer a brood of vipers, but
instead God’s holy and chosen people.
Dear friends, Jesus is coming.
Soon he will be born and laid in a manger. Rejoice.
For the kingdom of God is near, and you are a citizen of that kingdom. Amen.
