Loving God, you call us today to prepare – not just for the coming celebration of Christ’s birth, but for the time when we will meet you face to face. Lead us into your peace by the power of your Holy Spirit, and turn our hearts to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I can’t help but wondering what kind of a response John the Baptist would get if he were to show up in this day and age. In fact, I’m not even sure how he would show up in this day and age. In his own culture, which was first-century Palestine, John’s clothing of camel’s hair and a leather belt would have reminded people of the prophet Elijah (2 Ki. 1:8). His diet of locusts and wild honey would not have surprised people for somebody who was spending a lot of time out in the wilderness. John was out in the wilderness and by the river Jordan, and the people flocked to hear him speak.

John’s basic message was for people to repent – to turn away from their sins and change the direction of their lives. He spoke about God’s coming judgment, and urged people to repent and to live holy lives in order to prepare. He also spoke about the coming Messiah, who would be a fearful judge and would baptize with fire.

In the first century, not only did people come to listen to John, but they also were baptized in his presence. While Jewish baptism was practised to cleanse people in certain instances or to receive converts after they had been circumcised, it was highly unusual for people who were already Jews to come and acknowledge their sinfulness through baptism. John’s message obviously was getting through to people, and they were repenting and cleansing themselves through the waters of baptism in order to prepare for the coming judgment.

So – what response would John the Baptist get today? Culturally speaking, he simply couldn’t appear in quite the same way today. However, his message continues to come to us through the Scriptures: Prepare! Repent!

Preparations, of course, are quite likely on the minds of many people these days. Things such as shopping, wrapping gifts, writing cards & letters, baking, cooking, decorating, and Christmas parties are on many people’s “to do” list. Yet, how many people have a “to do” list that includes repentance? How many people have doing what is right and working for peace on their list? How many are working on being at peace with God and with one another? How many are working on bringing more holiness and godliness into their lives? Pretty well every reading that we have heard today has to do with preparing to meet our God. Do we even hear the message in the midst of all our busy-ness?

Now, I fully recognize that many people get totally stressed out and overwhelmed at this time of year. There are extra demands on most people, and a sense of obligation over all of the things that we feel that we “should” be doing. However, this is also the time when most of us need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and ask ourselves what is really most important. And so, I invite you to take at least a few moments today in order to consider the types of preparation that come from our Scripture readings for today.

The first thing that you will want to do in order to prepare to meet God is simply this: Stop long enough to listen! Stop the incessant noise long enough to be quiet, and to be aware of God’s presence, and to pray, and to listen. Stop, and listen to the Scriptures, and listen to the Holy Spirit, and tune in to God’s message for you. Our psalm today reminds us that those who stop and listen for God’s message will hear about peace and salvation (Ps. 85:8-9). They will hear about turning their hearts to God and the peace and salvation that will follow. And so the first step in preparation is to stop and to listen.

Of course, once we do this, we become aware of the truth that we learn from the Scriptures, and the other parts of preparation. One of those truths, which shows up all over the place today, is the need for repentance. If you want to be prepared to meet God, acknowledge your sinfulness. Acknowledge that in the greater scheme of things, we really are like grass that is here today and gone tomorrow (Isa. 40:6-7). Acknowledge that all human beings who have ever lived are sinful and stand in need of God’s redemption and forgiveness and grace. This is the message that John the Baptist still speaks. This is the message of the Scriptures.

Of course, the good news of Jesus Christ is that God has acted in order to deal with our sinfulness. Those who come to believe in Jesus Christ receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through repentance and baptism. Yet, even once we are baptized, our sinful nature still fights within us and at times breaks through. Every Christian who has ever lived has needed to continually repent and receive God’s forgiveness – in fact, Martin Luther talked about repenting every day and then remembering that you are baptized and forgiven.

Keep in mind, though, that we are not talking about intentionally sinning because you know that you’ll be forgiven anyways. True repentance involves a complete change of mind and a new direction for your life. When we repent, we turn toward God and away from other things that are self-centred. When we are baptized, we receive the Holy Spirit in order to strengthen and guide us in living a new life. During life on this earth, we continue to learn and to grow, striving to become more and more Christ-like on our journey through this world. During life on this earth, we are called to be prepared at all times to meet God in Christ.

And so, returning to our preparations, after stopping to listen and repentance, the next thing that is mentioned is being at peace with God and with others. The psalm proclaims that “peace shall prepare for God a pathway” (Ps. 85:13). Meanwhile, 2 Peter says that while waiting for the coming of Christ, we should “strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish” (2 Pet. 3:14). Repentance and reconciliation always go hand in hand.

In a way, peace with God is the easy part. We have that peace through Jesus, and in repentance and faith we are reconciled with God. However, peace with other people is a whole other matter. The apostle Paul writes, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). Paul seems to acknowledge that there will be situations where peace with others is not possible. However, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Repentance and forgiveness do not just apply to our relationship with God. They should also be part of our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. “So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

As for all of the other preparations, it is up to each person to decide what is important, and what is not. However, we do learn from the Scriptures what is important when it comes to preparing to meet our God. Stop and listen. Repent and turn toward God. Live in such a way that you can be at peace with God and with other people. Continue to grow in your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Grow up into Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is near. Let us always be ready to meet him. Amen.

Advent 2(B)     Mark 1:1-8
December 7, 2008     2 Peter 3:8-15a
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church     Isaiah 40:1-11
Pastor Lynne Hutchison    Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

© 2008 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved