December 7, 2003
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Mindekirken, Dec. 7, 2003 God’s location A year and a half ago, I came from Norway to the Twin Cities. One of my first tasks was to get a house. Realtor Kari Friel and I looked at almost 50 houses before it finally came to a lucky purchase. In this period I got well aquatinted with "the real estate manager’s mantra"; location, location, location. It’s more than the house itself that counts, location is equally important. Location determines our perspective of the things surrounding us. What kind of location do we talk about at the beginning of Jesus’ work?. The gospel is not a myth without historical roots. God’s plan of salvation does begin outside time and space, in the heart of God. But his grace doesn’t remain in the heavenly sphere. His love meets us in flesh and blood. Luke attaches God’s grace to time and space, our own history. He shows us that God came to us. God became a part of time, and he became one of us. To underline this, names of places, persons and relations are important to Luke. The emperor of Rome is the first who is mentioned. When Luke begins his story, emperor Tiberius was in the fifteenth year of his reign. Today the USA is the world’s only super power. But in its time, the Roman empire was the super power to an even larger extent, relatively seen. Even so, the Emperor was just an extra. It’s not his plans or power this is all about. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, Gal 4.4. God took the initiative. He was the one who decided that the fullness of time was there. The Emperor participates only to notify us of the location, when and where this happened. Furthermore we get to hear about Pilate, Herod, Philip and Lysanias, local rulers over the areas where the Jews lived. From politics to religion, Luke goes on describing the chief priest Annas who was the father in law of Caiphas, the one more sly than the other, but that’s a different story. Here they’re only historic references. When the most important drama of humankind is about to begin, one might have anticipated that the location would be the center of power, Capitol, in Rome. But it’s far from there we meet with the herald of the gospel. The evangelist brings us out into the wilderness. The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. Why the wilderness? Maybe it was because that was the place where the voice of God could be heard clearly? Not necessarily so. In the church history we’ve read about St. Simon of the pillar. He lived for 30 years on the top of a pillar, almost without food or drink. That was his way to commit to the Lord. He, and the rest of the desert fathers, have taught us that temptations and disturbances don’t only come from our surroundings, but as much from our inner human selves. Silence itself doesn’t connect somebody with God. When God speaks to a person, it’s never as a reward for spiritual concentration, it’s an expression of God’s initiative. John the Baptist lived a quiet life of spiritual concentration in the wilderness. He turned to God in prayer and fasting. Even so, it’s only due to God’s own initiative that the word of the Lord reached him. The word of the Lord came to John… This was not the first time the call of the Lord sounded in the wilderness. The story of Moses and how God led the people of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, is one of the corner stones of the history of salvation. With John the Baptist, a new chapter of the same history of salvation begins. The Prophet Isaiah was also concerned about what happened in the wilderness. He talks about The voice of one crying out in the wilderness; Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight! When kings in the Orient were out traveling, a herald would prepare the people for his coming. The road where the king drove forth was literally prepared. Valleys were filled, mountains and hills were made low and the crooked ways were straightened. John the Baptist was the herald of Christ. He was the one who should prepare the ways of the Lord. God called him to go out with a message to repent and have faith in the gospel. Lots of people were touched, and they were baptized for the forgiveness of sin in the river Jordan. We’re going to celebrate Christmas soon. The text today reminds us of the spiritual preparations we’re supposed to do. Considering the practical preparations we do, one might think we have forgotten what Christmas is all about. The commercial celebration of Christmas is a side track. It doesn’t take us to the main character of Christmas. John the Baptist helps us to get on track again. His message is that we need a savior. We need the one who is able to fill our real desire. This fall a quite remarkable film has been shown at movie theatres, unfortunately with too little attention. I’m thinking of the film about the life of Martin Luther. There we get a vibrant impression of how he struggled with the question: Where do I find a merciful God? He tried being a monk, he prayed, cried and read his Bible, and he fought the egoism, but didn’t get to be perfect in the eyes of God. Quite the opposite, the more he tried to live a perfect life, the clearer it became to him that he deserved to perish. He didn’t find peace. He thought his conversion would move God to be merciful. But his own work never got to be good enough. Finally he realized that the righteousness of God was something he was unable to obtain himself, but it’s something God gives undeserved. God gives his love without regard to what we may give him, that’s the gospel. The grace is something we haven’t deserved. All flesh shall see the salvation of God, today’s text says. Johns the Baptist’s task is to guide us to where the salvation of God is visible. What’s God’s location today? Let’s have Isaiah 57.15 answer that question: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. God is near the one who is contrite and humble, the one who feel he doesn’t manage to live the life one should live. But where the sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Rom 5.20 To celebrate Christmas is to receive Jesus as one’s personal savior, he who came to release us from sin and set people in the right relationship to God. At advent we‘re reminded of why we need Jesus. He shows us who we are, where we are, and what we need. And then he comes close through the Word and sacrament . God is near the one who is lost. He saves. Glory be to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one true God, now and for ever, Amen. |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |