Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten
from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me
today.
This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent;
the season that reminds us of Christ’s coming. He came the first time in his
Incarnation, which we celebrate at Christmas, and we remember that He is coming
again. This week we run into John the Baptist, the one God appointed to prepare
the way for Jesus.
I should mention that with a new church year, we now use a
different Gospel as our primary text. Last year we focused mostly on Matthew’s
Gospel. This year we will mostly focus on Mark. However, even as I say that, I
should point out that the next 3 weeks in a row we will read from John and Luke
because Mark has next to nothing about Jesus’ birth in his account of Jesus’
life.
Let’s listen to God’s Word.
The appointed reading for the 2nd Sunday of
Advent is: Mark 1:1-8 (ESV)
The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in
Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I
send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare
your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the
wilderness:
'Prepare the way
of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
4 John
appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all
Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and
wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7
And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the
strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I
have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit."
Comments
In the Gospels Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy. Luke
begins with the events just prior to His birth. John begins in the beginning.
Mark simply states, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.” In this statement, Mark is saying a few important things. First: He is
saying Jesus is the Messiah. This is the good news that God’s people had waited
for, that the Son would fulfill God’s promises of salvation. Second: He is
clearly claiming a special relationship between God and Jesus. As we read
through the Gospel of Mark, we should take note of how he uses this title, “Son
of God.” Mark is using this phrase to show us our savior and God. Third: Notice
that it says that this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus. Mark is hinting
that this story has not ended even with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
This good news (because gospel means good news) is still at work and unfolding
in lives of people to this day as we, God’s people, share the message of Jesus,
the Son of God, and his mighty acts of salvation.
Mark dives into Jesus’ story with John the Baptist. He is
the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” A central
part to John’s ministry is preaching a baptism of repentance.
Repentance is one of the key themes of Advent. How should we
prepare for God, the Son of God, to come to us? We repent. That is, we turn
away from our sinful attitudes, actions, and words, which flow from our hearts,
and seek to align our hearts with God’s will and His ways. In a lot of ways,
John’s baptism of repentance was a lot like our modern New Year’s resolutions. These
are decisions that we make to be better people – in this case to be more
obedient to God’s will. However, like New Year’s resolutions, we lack the will
power and the discipline to remain in that repentant state. And this weakness
in us makes John’s message all the more important.
John said, “After me comes he who is mightier that I, the
strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized
you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus’ baptism
and Jesus’ ministry are different than John’s. Both stressed repentance, but it
is only Jesus who can give the Holy Spirit who has the power to actually change
our lives in such a way that we truly desire God’s will and God’s ways.
That is part of the gospel of Advent. We are not people who
are left to better ourselves on our own power, hoping somehow to become good
enough for God to take notice of us. As those who have been baptized into
Jesus, the Son of God, we have been given the Holy Spirit who transforms
repentance into a way of life, a constant turning away from our sin and
shifting our lives to trust and follow our Savior.
One last thought about repentance, hopefully, a practical
strategy to help us. The old devotional habit of giving alms can be part of our
repentant preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth and to prepare for His second
coming. So many of our holiday festivities have become celebrations of
materialism. The giving of alms intentionally sees our material blessings as
gifts from God to be used in His service, so this practice helps us to turn
away from our misuse of material gifts. It also turns our hearts toward God’s priorities
to love our neighbor and to care for others. I want to encourage you to explore
this devotional habit to see how God will use it to prepare your heart to
welcome the Son of God into other priorities and decisions in your life.
Prayers – Collect for
Advent 2
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your
only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure
minds; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen.
Memory Verse: 2
Peter 3:13 - But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pet. 3:13 ESV)
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day.
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever
you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and hopefully help
these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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