"PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD" by David Layman December 10, 2000

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 3:1-6

If the Gospel of Luke were written today, the third chapter might begin

this way:

In the 8th year of Bill Clinton's presidency, when the courts were left

to decide who the next president would be, Pope John Paul II ruled in

Rome, and the National Council of Churches was facing another financial

crisis, the word of God came to John, the unexpected and unorthodox son

of Zechariah and Elizabeth. John the Baptist was loved by reporters,

except for the fact they had to go to the wilderness of Michigan's Upper

Peninsula to hear him. They referred to John as the "straight talk

express". Instead of having a regular stump speech, you never knew what

John might say next. He"d call his listeners a "den of snakes", yet

they flocked to hear him. While everyone else was saying "Vote for me

and I'll do so much for you", John was threatening judgment for those

who didn't repent. While others were saying "Something good is going to

happen to you today! Expect a miracle!" John was saying "Shape up, or

God's going to ship you out!" While others were saying we should

respect the governing authorities, because they bring peace and order,

John the Baptist was saying to Herod "You did too commit adultery with

that woman, and Herodias is your brother's wife!" While others seemed

bent upon pointing to themselves, John the Baptist spoke of one greater

than him, the messiah, and constantly urged people to "prepare the way"

for God to come into their lives!

John the Baptist was the "warm up act" for Jesus. And he was one of the

HOTTEST warm up acts the world has ever known! The prophet Malachi (or,

as I once heard a 5th grade boy pronounce his name, "Ma la' chee"),

spoke of the one who was to come before the Lord, saying "HE IS LIKE A

REFINER'S FIRE...A PURIFIER OF SILVER...HE WILL PURIFY THE DESCENDANTS

OF LEVI." It takes a lot of heat to purify fine metal, and John the

Baptist was turned up full blast! Yet John did more than singe the ears

of those who heard him. His message was a necessary wake up call. You

don't want a fire alarm that softly sounds like Pachelbell's "Canon".

The noise has to be loud and piercing enough to make you get out of your

recliner!

Do people today need a "wake up call"? Certainly, not everyone! We all

need to repent, and constantly confess our need for God's forgiveness.

Yet some today are very aware of their sinfulness, and not assured that

God could love and forgive them! Others are very sure of their

righteousness, like the woman who said to her pastor at the end of the

service "I'm glad you preached that sermon on self-righteousness. SOME

people really needed to hear that!"

A boy came home with a bad report card. He had to show it to his father

sooner or later, so he chose later, waiting until dinner was over. His

father was relaxing in the den as he gave his dad his report card. As

the father was trying to absorb the shock of what he was looking at, his

son asked "Dad, do you think it's heredity or environment?" (Frank

Harrington, "The Kind of Prayer That Cleanses", Peachtree Presbyterian

Church, Atlanta, Jan.31, 1998.) That's the kind of conclusion many are

too quick to draw. If something goes wrong, it's either heredity, or

the environment. It surely couldn't be OUR fault!

Stephen Covey, author of SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, (pp.

78-79) tells of a student asking "Will you excuse me from class? I have

to go on a tennis trip."

Covey responded "You HAVE to go, or you CHOOSE to go?"

"I really HAVE to," the student responded.

"What will happen if you don't?"

"Why, they'll kick me off the team."

"How would you like that consequence?"

"I wouldn't."

"In other words, you CHOOSE to go because you want the consequence of

staying on the team. What will happen if you miss my class?"

"I don't know"

"Think hard. What do you think would be the natural consequence of not

coming to class?"...

"I guess I'll miss the learning."

Covey responded "That's right. So you have to weigh that consequence

against the other consequence and make a choice."

The student finally got it when he meekly concluded "I CHOOSE to go on

the tennis trip."

When will we start to take responsibility before God and our fellow

human beings for the choices we make?

John the Baptist wasn't all "bad news". In fact, he was primarily good

news! John did more than point out peoples' sinfulness. He also

pointed them to the answer. God desires to forgive and cleanse us!

Instead of being turned inward, toward self-centered sin, which only

leads to despair, John offered us the solution: "Repent", which means

to turn in a different direction. And the direction John pointed was

toward Jesus! We are not left judged and hopelessly condemned in the

wilderness of our lives. We can turn toward Jesus and be redeemed! If

we find a special emphasis of judgment in John the Baptist, we find a

special measure of grace and forgiveness in Jesus! Jesus was born in

Bethlehem, that we might be born again, born "from above", which the

Greek literally means.

The good news which John the Baptist and Jesus alike proclaimed is that,

by the grace of God, CHANGE is possible. We don't always have to be

turned in the direction we are currently headed. These are words of

hope! The world in which we live is filled with hopeless people. Many

are trying desperately to convince the world they're doing fine, but on

the inside they're living lives of quiet despair. Many, like the boy

showing his poor report card to his father, WANT to believe the

environment and genetics determine everything. One's environment and

genes do play a significant role. But never overlook the power of God

to change us AND the world in which we live! The road to change begins

with confession and repentance to the God who has already in his heart

forgiven us, and just waits for us to ask!

William Hinson tells of a Swedish immigrant that was tossed off a train

in Columbus, Montana. That man dusted himself off and walked across the

tracks and sat down on the banks of the Yellowstone River, and took

stock of his life. He had been raised in a Christian home. He

remembered all the things that his mother and father had both taught and

modeled about Christian living. He also recalled his parents had warned

him that if he didn't live by Christian principles, he wouldn't amount

to much. On the banks of the Yellowstone River, he broke down and cried

at what he was, because like a lost sheep he had wandered away. He

vowed that day to let God change him. He renewed his vows of commitment

to Christ, walked into town with new resolve and became a new man. Some

years later he was elected Governor of Montana--twice! (TRIUMPHANT

LIVING IN TURBULENT TIMES, Nashville, Dimensions for Living, 1993, pp.

30-31)

The heat of God's judging love can refine us into objects of great

beauty and usefulness. A diamond is just a piece of coal that stayed on

the job!

--

Rev. David Layman

First Presbyterian Church

Richmond, IN