An Advent of Peace
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 11:1-10
I want you to know that I racked my poor brain and scoured the Internet for a proper Advent joke. You can find lots of Christmas jokes but of course, there are only 12 days of Christmas and 28 days of Advent. What is with this world anyway? So I offer you this item of wit from the radio program, “Car Talk,” “Jesus is coming. Look busy.”
With that in mind, I want you to take a 3x5 card and pencil and write down on it the top 5 things you want to accomplish this month. Take a minute to write them down and hold onto the card. [pause]
Part of our challenge today is the appearance of John the Baptist. He introduces the ministry of Jesus in all four gospels, but scruffy old John the Baptist three weeks before Christmas! Really? Looking like some dude from Castro Street in San Francisco and sounding like an angry, crazy man, this is THE person who tells the world that Jesus is coming.
His message to us then and now is clear and direct – prepare yourselves with repentance. But who wants to hear about sins, repentance and forgiveness during the on-ramp for Christmas? Shouldn’t we just be happy all month?
Yes, just talking about repentance can make people feel guilty any time. But who wants to think of our sins and misdeeds at this time of year? The Baptist stands waist deep in the Jordan and practically shouts at us about repentance. Fear not folks, repentance is much more about changing your mind and changing your priorities than it is about sin.
So we return to Isaiah and hear his cynical speech about a righteous shoot coming out of a dead stump. Christians interpret that shoot as Jesus, but in his day, Isaiah had every reason to be cynical. His work began in the reign of one of the worst kings ever – Ahaz, who put pagan idols in the Temple. Soundly defeated in several ill-conceived wars, Ahaz even revived the practice of human sacrifice. He sacrificed one of his own children to the ...
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 11:1-10
I want you to know that I racked my poor brain and scoured the Internet for a proper Advent joke. You can find lots of Christmas jokes but of course, there are only 12 days of Christmas and 28 days of Advent. What is with this world anyway? So I offer you this item of wit from the radio program, “Car Talk,” “Jesus is coming. Look busy.”
With that in mind, I want you to take a 3x5 card and pencil and write down on it the top 5 things you want to accomplish this month. Take a minute to write them down and hold onto the card. [pause]
Part of our challenge today is the appearance of John the Baptist. He introduces the ministry of Jesus in all four gospels, but scruffy old John the Baptist three weeks before Christmas! Really? Looking like some dude from Castro Street in San Francisco and sounding like an angry, crazy man, this is THE person who tells the world that Jesus is coming.
His message to us then and now is clear and direct – prepare yourselves with repentance. But who wants to hear about sins, repentance and forgiveness during the on-ramp for Christmas? Shouldn’t we just be happy all month?
Yes, just talking about repentance can make people feel guilty any time. But who wants to think of our sins and misdeeds at this time of year? The Baptist stands waist deep in the Jordan and practically shouts at us about repentance. Fear not folks, repentance is much more about changing your mind and changing your priorities than it is about sin.
So we return to Isaiah and hear his cynical speech about a righteous shoot coming out of a dead stump. Christians interpret that shoot as Jesus, but in his day, Isaiah had every reason to be cynical. His work began in the reign of one of the worst kings ever – Ahaz, who put pagan idols in the Temple. Soundly defeated in several ill-conceived wars, Ahaz even revived the practice of human sacrifice. He sacrificed one of his own children to the ...
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