This Is the 'Good' News!?

Advent 3

16 December 2012

Saint Faith’s Anglican Church

Vancouver BC

Points for a Sermon

Zephaniah 3.14-20; Isaiah 12.2-6; Philippians 4.4-9; Luke 3.7-18

Click here for an audio recording of the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday the 16th.

1)  Given the way that John addresses some of his audience as ‘vipers’, I have often found it a bit strange that today’s reading from the Gospel according to Luke ends with the statement:  “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.”  I can almost hear some of the people saying to themselves, ‘If this is the good news, then I’d hate to hear the bad news!’  But the truth is that the good news of God does come to many as bad news first.  It is bad news because it means that we have to change and change, whether we think of ourselves as liberals, conservatives or moderates, is not always a welcome message.

2)  Among the promises you and I have made many times, whether when we were baptized ourselves or witnesses to a baptism or reaffirming our baptismal promises at Easter and other occasions is this:  “Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?  I will, with God’s help.”  But this commitment begs a question to be answered by each and every one of us:  What is the good news of God in Christ?

3)  There are many ways to answer this question.  Some Christians choose to answer the question by giving any number of biblical quotations that point to the meaning of Christ’s mission.  Other Christians may answer with complex theologies and invocations of the Christian tradition.  While these approaches are not to be scorned, I cannot help but hear echoes of something that Saint Francis of Assisi is supposed to have said:  ‘Preach the gospel.  When necessary, use words.’

4)  Complex theology is certainly not John the Baptist’s approach to preaching the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God.  He offers three answers to the question, each one more practical than speculative.

5)  What is the good news?  John tells us that the good news is that the poor are fed and clothed.  We need only look around us locally, nationally and internationally to know that this good news is not yet preached and experienced throughout the world.  If we would follow Christ, if we would proclaim the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God, then addressing issues of hunger and challenges to human dignity are the ‘stuff’ of our proclamation.

6)  What is the good news?  John tells us that the good news is that those who have power and influence use that power and influence to work for the common good of all people.  We need only look around us locally, nationally and internationally to know that this good news is not yet preached and experienced throughout the world.  If we would follow Christ, if we would proclaim the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God, then challenging the powerful and influential to work for the good of all people, friend and foe alike, rich and poor alike, men and women alike, is the ‘stuff’ of our proclamation.

7)  What is the good news?  John tells us that the good news is that those who carry arms are to defend those who are helpless and to resist the temptation to use their tools of coercion to intimidate others.  We need only look around us locally, nationally and internationally to know that this good news is not yet preached and experienced throughout the world.  If we would follow Christ, if we would proclaim the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God, then working together to reduce violence, whether public or private, and to limit the tools of destruction are the ‘stuff’ of our proclamation.

8)  What is the good news?  John tells us that the good news is that the kingdom of God is not a future hope but a present reality.  If we open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, then we will glimpse the signs and hear the music of that kingdom.  Those who hunger, those who are oppressed and those who are intimidated need us to point to these signs so that hope replaces fear and commitment and action for change replaces passive acceptance of the status quo.

9)  Although it sounds simple, sharing the good news is not, especially in the present climate when religious faith is too often confused with religious fanaticism.  But public criticism should not inhibit our commitment to care for those in any need or trouble, to advocacy for the voiceless and powerless and to witness for peace.

10)  The essence of John’s message today is the essence of the Advent message:  The kingdom of God is not only coming, it is here.  Choose whether you will live in the chill of fear or the warmth of hope.  May God grant us the grace to choose the warmth of hope and the courage to bid others draw near.  Amen.