⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

Luke 3:7-18

This is the text for week 3 of Advent. And its another text that may not seem like Christmas. But let’s remember, during Advent, we wait expectantly for the advent – or arrival – of Jesus. And these people here that John is baptizing they are also waiting expectantly. Waiting expectantly for the Messiah to come and be revealed. In fact, they think it might be John.

John was Jesus’ cousin, and he was born about six months before Jesus. John was also born in a miraculous way because his mother Elizabeth was old and unable to bear children. An angel appeared to John’s father Zechariah who was a priest, so it wasn’t a totally dissimilar experience from Jesus’ birth story.

But John knew what he was supposed to do. He knew he wasn’t the Messiah, he was just the one announcing the Messiah would come soon. There’s a lesson in there I think. We’ve got to know our role. We’re nobody’s savior, we’re just pointing people to Jesus.

And so during this Advent season, we can interpret John’s message as how to wait expectantly for Jesus.

“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” 
“Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

I hear this message from John pretty clearly: don’t have more than you need, don’t take more than you need. There’s enough for everybody. Be content and generous.

On the one hand, we’ve got these instructions from John about how to behave, and on the other hand, we’ve got our Advent theme for this morning: Joy. We know that the news of Jesus’ birth was good news that it would bring great joy to the world, and this time of year is one that brings a lot of joy. Fond memories of Christmases past. Excitement to watch that person open the gift that we got them. A couple days off work for most of us. Time spent with family we don’t see that often.

And we know those joys that we get to experience around Christmas. And yet, for a lot of folks, this Christmas will be a difficult time. We notice who isn’t going to be there on Christmas morning this year. We realize that Christmas is going to feel different this year than some of those fond memories of Christmas past. 

So how do we experience joy this holiday season? Does someone in our life get us a new Lexus with the big bow on top? Do we finally get the Red Rider BB Gun? I think John the Baptist would say, “take care of others.” “You’ve got too much stuff, give it to somebody else.” “You don’t need extra.”

This idea of simplifying your life and getting rid of your stuff isn’t only a Christian idea. Shows like Love it or List it and influencers like Marie Kondo have grown to prominence over the idea that having more stuff won’t make you happy. And it’s true that it won’t. But the joy that we’re talking about today is deeper than that. The joy that we’re talking about is only possible through a relationship with Jesus. A joy that transcends circumstances.

The apostle Paul is an example of this joy. In Colossians 1, he writes “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you.” He’s writing letters to churches from prison and yet he still has joy because he is connected to something far bigger than a self-help, simplify your life fad. When he met Jesus, everything changed. As a religious leader in the wake of Jesus death and resurrection, he was looking to imprison and kill followers of Jesus. But when he met Jesus on the road, his life was changed. He took on a new name. He was given a greater purpose. This joy that Paul was referring to was a deep, abiding joy.

So how do we get from where we are now to where Paul is. Where he can be in prison and still rejoicing. If you’re like me then being a joyful person is easier said than done. I experience a lot of joy when I’m here with you at 10am on Sundays, but what about when I’m running late on Monday? When I’m sick on Wednesday? When my boss makes a comment I don’t like on Friday?

It’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to be quick. Think of it like training to be a joyful person. If you decided today that you were going to run a marathon, you wouldn’t sign up for one on Saturday. You’d pick a date way out in the future because you know that it takes months to train. For me, I’d probably pick a date a few years off in hopes that everyone would forget I ever said that I was going to do that. But the first time you go running, you’re not ready for a marathon. And after a month of training 5 or 6 days a week, odds are you still won’t be ready to run a marathon, but your endurance is going to be way better than it was a month prior. It takes time, months, probably more like years, but you can become a joyful person.

So how? How are we going to do that? I’ve got a few suggestions. And I by no means am a finished product on this, but looking back, I can see how these things are forming me.

Ask God for Joy
This may seem obvious, but I think it’s important to mention. Like I said earlier, there’s a lot of stuff you can find out there in pop culture about how to be joyful, but that messaging is devoid of the provider of joy. God created joy for us to experience, and the deepest, most all-encompassing joy is found in God alone. So ask for it. God wants to give you joy.

Express Gratitude
This has been really helpful for me. In a world that wants to constantly remind us of all the stuff we don’t have, remind yourself of the good things in your life. When I’m pulling out of our neighborhood most mornings, I offer a simple prayer: thank you God for the work I get to do. There’s something in your life to be thankful for, express gratitude for it! Doesn’t have to be only through spoken prayer, for the journalers out there.

Practice Contentment
This is what John was talking about in our Scripture this morning. What you have is enough. Look for ways to provide for other people from your excess.

Remember Jesus Wins
We talked about this a couple weeks ago when we talked about hope. We know how the story ends. Jesus wins. Whatever our current circumstances may be, we have hope for a better future. We should be hopeful for Jesus’ return. Remembering this over and over and letting it sink deep down into our bones is going to bring us joy. And each week, we go to the Table together to remember Jesus. This should be a joyful time. I didn’t grow up in a church where talking during communion was acceptable. You passed the trays in silence. You could hear a pin drop. And growing up, I didn’t get the message that this was a time for rejoicing. I’m still learning more about what this time together at the Table means and how it can transform our lives. Jesus wins, and we can rejoice in that together this morning.


December 15th, 2024

Watch here: https://youtu.be/3rT5eldDJiw?si=RE7qvh42QKfBdEsN&t=859