Luke 3:1-6

Natalie and I have been happily married for about seven and a half years now. Towards the end of our first year together we rented a small house in the small town of Walcott, IA where we enjoyed time with the church and different friends in the community. One day Natalie came back from working at John Deere in the Quad Cities and said the company was sending her and a few others to a four day conference in sunny California while poor Dan slaved away in the snowy tundra called Iowa. I was happily married and loving every minute of my time with Natalie, but I was feeling sorry for myself for not going, so I decided in my head that for the four days I was going to make the best of my situation and enjoy myself and live it up like a bachelor again. I had vacation days that I needed to use so I took Thursday and Friday off. I remember kissing Natalie goodbye and watching the car leave down the street. As soon as the car left my sight I leapt toward the phone and called four friends to come over at seven to play cards. I went to the grocery store and bought highly caffeinated coffee and soda so that I could make every minute of my new found freedom count. I bought pizza, steaks, ice cream, and all the other stuff I wouldn't normally eat for breakfast. I went with bachelor-like determination to the video store and rented action movies with lots of fight scenes that didn't involve the titles "Sleepless in Seatle, You've Got Mail, or Horse Whisperer."

Within 48 hours of this moment I had three card parties, lots of food with empty food boxes that me and the guys ate, dishes all over the house, which was good because the sink was overflowing with dishes already. Everyone, believe me when I say that I am not normally a slob, normally, but this was fun and scary all at the same moment. Now when I was in the middle of this bachelor slobbery, I remember thinking to myself and looking around, I am going to need at least 24 hours to get all this cleaned up. The house was so dirty the high school science class could have come in and done experiments.

A day later it was five in the afternoon and I was sleeping because of the night before's card party, and I got the most tense phone call I would ever received. It went something like this, "Hey honey, I have a surprise for you. The conference was done early." Which at that time I thought this is OK I'll have time to clean up while she flies home, I hope. When I asked what time her flight was coming in see said, "that's the surprise, I just arrived at the Quad City airport, as soon as I get my bags, we'll head home, I'll be there in 25 minutes." My heart stopped for ten seconds and my first inclination was to call a good lawyer. When I finally got my bearings I made myself believe that I could do this. With the most amazing feat, I got the house to just look messy instead of destroyed, as long as she didn't look in the any of the closets or cupboards. I truly wasn't prepared for her to be here, and my house wasn't in order.

I never thought about it much until I was preparing for this sermon. When Natalie goes away, even for a short amount of time, I still usually take that time to do things that she doesn't really enjoy doing. After a short time of her away I usually long for her to be home and I miss her in a big way. In fact nothing I do after a while seems all that much fun without her with me, or at least the knowledge that she is around. During this time, the mess and clutter of the house, and the overwhelming distraction of the task around me kept me from enjoying her return. And when she finally did return I was worried and apprehensive about what she would say. My unpreparedness ruined that moment for me.

In today's passage I want us to look at a similar situation as found in the life and ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a different kind of character. We see from looking at some of the other Gospels more information about just how different he was. The scripture said that he ate locust and wild honey, and wore animal skins as clothes. Basically, John lived an ascetic life in the outdoors and preached the message of salvation and God's forgiveness. His radical message and his rough exterior worked to ruffle some feathers of the religious leaders of the time. His message, though popular with some, was not popular with the powers that be. Throughout the Old Testament there was the promise of the messiah that would, as Luke 1 reads, redeem the people, save us from our enemies, show us mercy, he would help us to remember the covenant, allow us to serve him without fear, restore righteousness and holiness, to give light to the dark places, and to offer us salvation. These are all the things that we would testify to as the ministry of Christ for us today. What we do not hear very often is what God did leading up to the life and ministry of Jesus. In the Luke passage, we see Luke reminding the people that God wasn't only going to send salvation through the prophesied Messiah, God would also send someone who would turn the people's ears, hearts, and minds so that the people could hear this promised messiah. This prophesied person was intended to make straight the way of the Lord.

Jesus was coming to save humanity. But there was too much going on to distract the people from what was truly important. The Romans had political control, which the Jews hated with a burning passion. Their hatred of the Romans distracted them from seeing Christ as the promised Messiah who would bring salvation and peace to their lives, but instead they saw a liberator king who would defeat the Romans. Many, like the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day thought they were following God's will, but this was distracting people from the truth of God by them imposing rules upon rules too burdensome for most, or all, to follow. To many, faith and religion became a burden instead of a joyous relationship with God. Some would be distracted by others by being told that they were not worthy to be loved by God and so their poverty, physical or mental disabilities, gender, social status, or race stopped them, and would stop them from hearing the message of the Christ, the bringer of salvation. It's that cluttered mess called people's life that people couldn't look past to truly participate in what Christ was trying to accomplish. It's in a way like my house when Natalie was away. It doesn't take long for things to be made a mess of. After a while of people doing their own thing they don't even realize that the mess builds up and up until the very end when they realize it is too late. What I would have really benefited from that day that Natalie came home early is a call from California saying she would be home in 8 hours, instead of 25 minutes. I would have been able to prepare for her arrival and been able to look past all of the things that distract me from truly enjoying her coming home after a long time of being away. That was John's ministry. This was the situation of the people when Jesus came into the world.

The need for John the Baptist was definitely true for the people then. They needed to be told to stop looking elsewhere for hope. Stop trying to obtain something they could not obtain on their own. Stop suppressing the people and allow them to worship God in truth. John was telling them to focus and prepare for Jesus, who would bring salvation to the world.

The people definitely needed to hear that then, but isn't that just as applicable to us now. People in our current world are just as distracted today as the people were then. Today we have wars that distract us from the love that Christ brings. We see materialism and commercialism, during this time of year especially, that runs rampant through our culture that definitely turns people focus off of the true message of Christ. We even see people within the Christian community here in the states that are distracted from the real message of hope and salvation that have fallen prey to false Gospels and prosperity Gospels. And then we have those that feel unworthy to receive the hope that Christ brings much like the people in the time of John the Baptist: the abused, the lonely, the poor, and the struggling. During this time of year their hearts were much like my home was, too cluttered with these struggles and hardships to truly enjoy the long awaited arrival of their long awaited love, Jesus Christ.

There was a time for me in my life during college where I felt distant from God, and I really struggled with which direction my life was going. To be honest I wasn't' really trying to hard to alleviate the situation either. I was frustrated and struggling with this and I was in desperate need of some directions and answers. One afternoon I was traveling back to school on Interstate 80, alone after a school break, and I was in the middle of this battle raging on in my head and heart. It was the distractions of this world, the cluttered mess in the home of my heart that kept me from grasping onto the truth of God's love and hope. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a semi truck barreling down in my lane and I know he had to break fast to avoid hitting me. I looked down at the speedometer and realized that this struggle was so real to me that I didn't even realize that I was traveling on I-80 only going 35 miles an hour. The truck switched lanes and passed me on the side and I fully expected to get an angry honk and an obscene gesture. The truck driver just smiled and waved. When he passed me I saw in big letters across the tractor "Jesus loves you always." Almost instantly the ice on my heart melted and I started to pray. This message, this simple wake up call allowed me to focus once again on what was truly important and allowed me to hear the hope that is found in God.

I'm not telling you today that I have some special ability to hear the voice of God that others don't. This has nothing to do with my spiritual abilities and quite the opposite, it was me who was struggling with weakness and fear and I didn't know what to do. This was God, in God's powerful way, of preparing my heart to hear what it was I needed to hear in order to be right in my relationship with him. My way was crooked and jagged, just like the map I showed the kids, but through God's still and gentle voice I was prepared to hear for the first time in a long time. John the Baptist was an unlikely messenger, and as I reflect on this situation, so was the truck driver who unknowingly was my John the Baptist.

In what ways is God preparing you this year to hear the true message of hope and peace? Are you today living in the messy home of your heart, unprepared, willing to see Jesus as just a nostalgic story from the past, with no real impact for us today? When you hear the Christmas story of the long awaited Jesus coming to bring salvation and peace to the world and for all times, including you, does it bring you to a place of joy and excitement. I believe that God sent John to the people of that day to prepare them for the message that was to come. I believe God also sends us people and events that prepare our hearts to hear the impact of the Good News today. When I look into the eyes of a newborn child it prepares my heart to hear the Good News of Christ. When a sister or brother in Christ lifts me up in prayer or passes to me the peace of Christ, it prepares me to hear the Good News. When we worship together and eat meals together, it prepares me to hear the Good News. When I read the powerful words of John written in this book, it prepares me to heart the Good News. How is God preparing you today to hear the Good News of Christ? Are we seeing and looking for the ways God is calling us to focus on Christ this year?

Maybe you are one today that knows and feels the importance and impact of the coming of the Messiah for our lives today. Another aspect of this season might be the role we play in being John the Baptist to others who need hope in this season. Many, or all of us, can truly say that we focus on the people within the community that are poor and needy. This is exactly what we should do as the people of God. I don't want anyone to misunderstand me when I say that this is a critical part of who we are as a people of God. Let us also not forget, in our concern for those who need hope and peace, our neighbors who seem to have it all together. I saw a statistics the other day that showed that demographically the group that suffers from depression the most during this time of year is upper middle to upper class men who are in the 30-40 years of age range, have families, and are successful at business. These aren't obviously the only people that have difficulties, but often our neighbors and friends who seem to have it all together are really living in cluttered homes, missing the joy of Christ's presence. Struggle, loneliness, loss, depression, and pain are obviously not exclusive to one group of people, but those who need the touch of Christ the most are sometimes the people we would expect it from the least.

Preparing for an advent sermon, I have just found out, is tougher than it seems because we have all heard much of this over and over again every year in the month of December. I am well acquainted with the birth narrative of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, his death and resurrection, and what that means for us today, and I am sure you do to. This year was different for me because of the preparation for this message that John the Baptist brought. Today I am challenged and I hope you will be to, to not look at the weeks leading up to Christmas just as a time to have parties, open gifts, go off of diets and eat good food, dress your kids up in clothes they don't want to wear, and to hear the same old story of Jesus' birth that you've heard so many times before. I want us to heed the radical message of John in realizing all the things that distract us in the clutter from seeing Jesus as he really is. It is a time of evaluation and embracing the hope that only Christ can bring. May you and your families be truly blessed with the hope, love, peace, and joy that comes from Christ during this blesses season. Amen.