It’s Time to Get Ready
Dr. Larry Thorson
Scripture: Luke 1:57-66
57 When it was time for
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to
name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said,
"No! He is to be called John."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that
name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name
the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he
wrote, "His name is John." 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and
his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 The neighbors
were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of
Today’s New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society
Happy new year. I mean “happy new church year.” Today is the
first day of Advent and that means it’s the first day of the church calendar
year. Advent means “the imminent arrival
of something long awaited”. It’s the
countdown to a big event. Twenty three
days until Christmas.
Having an actual date changes
everything. My wife and I had been married
for over six years before we had children.
It was three years of seminary for me and three years of seminary for
her. Up until the point when the doctor
gave us a due date the idea of having kids had always been sort of a future concept
to us and definitely not a reality. Now
we had a deadline for getting ready. A nursery had to be decorated. A crib purchased. Husband had to pass the Lamaze class.
Well Advent is kind of like
that countdown. We can now mark the days
until we celebrate the coming of the Savior.
By December 2 it’s no longer some day way off in the future but it’s
less than four weeks away.
Imagine on this Christmas Day,
Jesus was to return again in the Spirit to take us all home to heaven. How would you prepare differently for Christmas?
Last Sunday I read a story in the paper
about a couple in their 50’s who had to flee their home in
Advent is a time to get
ready. Whether Jesus comes back this
Christmas or twenty Christmases from now, every year we need to clean up our house
and get ready for the coming of our Lord in case this is the year. That’s why I
have chosen John the Baptist to study during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Now I know that John the Baptist is not
typically thought of as one of the characters of the nativity. He doesn’t show
up in our Christmas pageants. He doesn’t even make it into our favorite
Christmas carols. Frankly, John the Baptist just doesn’t give us the same warm
feeling we have about Mary, Joseph, and their baby, surrounded by shepherds, wise
men, and lowing cattle.
I chose John the Baptist
because John’s whole purpose in life was to get people ready for the
bridegroom. That’s the purpose of
Advent. His entire life purpose was to
be the best man, not the groom. I chose him because he more than that couple
in
According to the Gospel of
John, which was written by a different John, the disciples of the Baptist once
complained that many of his followers were leaving to follow Jesus. John the Baptist responded by saying, “I am
not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The
friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the
bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase,
but I must decrease.” (3:28-30)
In all the weddings you’ve
attended have you ever seen the best man shove the groom out of the way because
he was getting too much attention? I hope not because prior to the wedding the
best man’s job is to help the groom with preparations. And at the wedding his
job is just to stand there and be thrilled for the groom. John the Baptist used
this analogy to tell us that he was clear about his job. It was to make the preparations for the
advent of Christ. Once this Messiah arrived, John’s job was then to be thrilled
and grateful.
Christmas begins with these four
weeks of high drama that we call Advent. This is a drama in which the stage of
the world begins dark and in need of light. We each take our roles beside John
as voices crying out in the darkness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
As the weeks go by, we light
candles on the Advent wreath at church and the circle of light builds until
Christmas Eve when at last the Christ candle is lit. But this isn’t just the
reenactment of ancient history. Advent not only remembers the first coming of Christ.
It also anticipates his second coming when he will fully establish what he
began during his days on earth.
This is our story we are
telling. We are the ones who are longing for Christ to come to establish his
long-awaited kingdom of peace on earth. There is a role for everyone in this
sacred drama of hope for all the earth.
That is why John the Baptist is
such an important figure in understanding Christmas. He is the role model for getting
ready to meet the Savior whose arrival comes in startling ways. All of this was
clear from the very day that John the Baptist was born.
John’s father was a priest
named Zechariah. He and his wife Elizabeth were good, respectable people whose
only regret in life was that God had not answered their prayers of having a
child. That had to be a major
disappointment to both of them and now the Bible says they were “getting on in
years”. That was probably about 51 years of age.
One day Zechariah in his role
as priest was chosen to enter the sanctuary of the Lord, to offer prayers.
Whenever a priest did this, the people joined in prayer around the temple. You
can only imagine that just as Zechariah prayed for the people, he reminded God
of his own yearning for a child. But this time, the angel Gabriel appeared to
Zechariah saying, “Don’t be afraid, your prayers have been answered. You’re
going to have a son.”
Zechariah then makes the
fascinating response, “How can this be?”
Isn’t that striking? He spent his whole life praying for a child. Now he
has to pray about this again in the temple. Everyone is praying around the
temple. The angel interrupts his prayers to say that God is about to give him
what he wants. And Zechariah’s only response is to say,
“How can this be?” That’s what I call doubting. Instead of saying “Oh thank you, God has
heard my prayers” all he can say is a doubting question. I think it’s a lot easier to get used to our
longing than it is to receive an answer from God.
Since Zechariah chose to doubt,
he lost his ability to speak. After all, who wants to listen to a priest who
doubts that God answers prayer?
Now skip ahead nine months to
the birth of the baby. Zechariah and Elizabeth took him to be
circumcised on the eighth day as was Jewish custom. They were surrounded by
their friends and relatives because it was also the custom at this time that
the child would be named. Everyone assumed the child would be called after his
father Zechariah, which means “God will remember.” That was the tradition. But Elizabeth
who was now speaking for both of them said, “No, his name will be John.” The
crowd then looked at the old man and asked, “What do you have to say about
this?”
Anyone who has ever named a
child knows that you put a lot of thought into this. It isn’t an easy thing to
do, and you don’t really appreciate the help you get from others.
So Zechariah took a tablet and
wrote down, “His name is John.” “And all
of them were amazed.” The people were not amazed just because Zechariah didn’t
pass his name on to the boy. I believe they were amazed by the name
itself—John, which means “God gives grace.”
In John’s birth all those years
of what seemed like unanswered prayers have been interrupted. We now pass from
the era of Zechariah whose name means “God will remember,” to the era of John
which means “God gives grace.”
If we can just realize that the
days of what seems like unanswered prayers are limited, they won’t go on
forever. But we’re so often like
children in the final weeks leading up to Christmas waiting for their
presents. The wait seems like it will
never end.
But for Zechariah his prayer
was answered and his mouth was finally opened again. He was at last a father, the father of John
the Baptist who very existence was to prepare the way for grace and to proclaim
that their prayers were about to be answered by the Messiah.
Imagine on this Christmas Day,
Jesus was to return again in the Spirit to take us all home to heaven. What would you need from God to get ready? I conclude with this well known quote whose
source I have long lost…
I asked God to take away my habit. God said, No.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, NO.
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No.
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is
learned.
I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No.
I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to
me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy
life. God said, No.
I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all
things.
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as he
loves me. God said…Ahhhh, finally you
have the idea.
This
week’s assignment to get ready for the coming of Christ do at least one loving,
unselfish thing a day for someone else. It
won’t buy you a ticket into heaven because only Christ can buy you that. But it will help you get ready to meet him on
Christmas, because this Christmas could be the day when Christ returns. It’s time to get ready. Amen.