Sunday December 9th, 2018 2nd
Sunday in Advent (Cycle C)
Hitting the Road
The tie in between today’s readings: Things
are not always what they seem.
Psalm 126, Baruch 5:1-9, Philippians
1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6
If you were an eastern monarch in the days
of antiquity and wanted to travel to a distant city, it was customary to send
out heralds to call on the people in the area to mend the existing roads or
create new ones for your route. All along the way rocks had to be moved, holes
filled and thoroughfares straightened. A swarm of laborers with rakes, hoes,
shovels and buckets converged in one massive human highway project not seen
since the building of the Transcontinental Railroad; all to prepare for a
king’s convoy. Jesus Christ, The Ruler of the world deserves nothing less. In
the spirit of the first Advent, John the Baptist is sent out as such a herald. He
is a one man construction crew. His mission is to prepare a road less
travelled. He preaches the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins so
that the King of Kings could enter their lives through the highway of their
hearts. Be ready! Get excited! The King is on the move! Calvary’s road trip has
begun. He’s more awesome than anyone can imagine, but not at all what they
think. This King is a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
For John the Baptist:
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the
water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and resting on Him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:16-17)
…2 Meanwhile,
John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent two of his
disciples 3to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4Jesus
replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see. (Matt 11:2-4)
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Jesus’ family:
…5 For
even His own brothers did not believe in Him. (John 7:5).
His town:
16 Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought
up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He
stood up to read, 17the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: 18“The
Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to
the poor. He has sent Me to p…19to proclaim
the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, 21and
He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke
4:16-21)
…28 On
hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged. 29They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over
the cliff.30But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way (Luke
4:28-30).
The crowd:
…14 When
the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly
this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself. (John
6:14-15)
…61 Aware
that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does
this offend you? 62Then what will happen
if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? 66From
that time on, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with
Him.…(John 6:61-66)
The nation:
…7 They
brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on
them. 8A massive crowd spreadtheir cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The
crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna
to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”…(Matt 21:7-9)
…14 It
was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate
said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” 15At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests. 16Then
Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.…(John
19:14-16)
The Apostles:
16 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the
mountain Jesus had designated. 17When they saw Him, they worshiped
Him, but some doubted. 18Then
Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to Me (Matt 28: 16-18).
“But some still doubted.” Really…after all
that they went through they’re still not sure?
Fortunately, faith and Pentecost won out
and their gospel message spread throughout the known world. Many people believed
in Jesus the Messiah and took Him as their Savior and King. They bear out the
reality of the Lordship of Christ by giving up their priorities in this world
that will pass away and focusing on the imperatives of the forever Kingdom of
Heaven as cited in today’s reading in Philippians. God is still looking for a
people to call His own. Despite the advantage of hind sight, many are still
conflicted and puzzled about Jesus. Don’t let that be you. God gives you a
guarantee if you seek Him you will find Him and you will know the truth.
Amazingly, in today’s reading in Baruch, God orders the mountains to be leveled
and the valleys to be filled as He gathers His Israel (the true believers) to
Jerusalem (His heaven) in a royal procession. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Be saved and you’ll be in that number, when the saints go marching in.
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