Second Sunday of Advent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
The Second Sunday of Advent could be called "Preparation Sunday." It points to, first of all, the second coming of Christ, and calls for the spiritual renewal of the faithful. The business of the people who call themselves Christians begins with affirmation of the promised return of the Lord on the last day. It continues, on this Sunday, with our participation in that event - right now - by asking the Lord to make us ready for the coming of the Christ, so that we may further participate in the work of "preparing his way" in the world. That "Christ will come again" was reaffirmed last week (and, if the eucharist is celebrated, will be proclaimed today) but in the prayers, readings, and sermon, the emphasis will be on the preparation of our "hearts" so that we may genuinely celebrate Christ's coming right now. This is the way - the only way - that will enable us to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
The Prayer of the Day
This, the second of the "stir up" prayers, represents a modified reworking of the classic collect for the Second Sunday of Advent. The first of these prayers calls for the Lord to "stir up your power ... and come," while the second asks the Lord God to "stir up our hearts...." It reads:
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give strength in our conflicts and shed light in our path through the darkness of this world; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
This collect provides specific expression of the theological clue provided by the church year. The readings:
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 (R); 40:1-11 (E, L, C)
This reading begins with some of the most familiar words in the Old Testament:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
In these few opening verses of Deutero-Isaiah, the prophet, who is speaking to the children of Israel about their restoration after the Babylonian exile (around 538 B.C.) is the bearer of "good tidings," truly a voice "crying out in the wilderness" of their - and our - world. His are the words of hope for a defeated and desolate people, returning to their devastated country. He speaks to this downcast nation, reminding them that they must place their hope in the God of their Fathers, and this indeed, will bring them the comfort they really need - God's comfort. As a way for God is prepared "in the wilderness," the "glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." After they have gone through the awful experience of humiliation and suffering in Babylon, the "herald of good tidings" declares to them and "all the cities of Judah," "Behold your God!" God is their comfort and will sustain them in their return and restoration.
There is no indication that Isaiah had in mind Jesus Christ's coming into the world when he wrote these words, but their tone and typology are most appropriate for Advent, in general, and for the Second Sunday of Advent, in particular. It is not surprising that Mark sees John the Baptizer as the "new Isaiah," who is to "prepare the way of the Lord," crying out (as did Isaiah some six-and-a-half centuries before him): "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Just as surely as "Comfort, comfort" heralds the Messiah, so "prepare" suits the role of the Baptizer. John the Baptizer is essentially the "mouthpiece" of God, the "voice" of the one whose mission it is to announce the immanence of the Lord's advent, preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and thereby preparing the way of the Lord.
2 Peter 3:8-14 (R, L); 3:8-15a (C); 3:8-15a, 18 (E)
Peter, in all likelihood, did not know anything about this letter, nor did he write it; he would have been dead about sixty years when this epistle was prepared. But Peter might have said what is in it to counteract the teachings of false prophets and teachers, who apparently were publicly denying the parousia. Almost a century had passed since Jesus' death and resurrection - and he had not returned. Hope of his return was fading; no wonder some people doubted the possibility of his return. So "Peter" corrected such false teachings, reminding the people by quoting a loose translation of part of Psalm 90, "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
The first seven verses of this chapter could be added to the first three verses of today's reading and assigned to the First Sunday of Advent. These ten verses address our situation quite well on the First Sunday of Advent, or any other time for that matter - the second coming of Christ is not a high priority item for contemporary Christians. But the text fits into the theological thrust of this Sunday (beginning with verse 11): the parousia is a present day event in which we participate by repenting of our sins, by seeking to live holy lives, and by living in the hope of "a new heaven and a new earth" brought about by the final intervention of God, rather than wholly by the ingenuity and positive efforts of humankind to improve the quality of life on earth. In other words, this is a matter of living out our baptism in Jesus Christ. This reading complements Isaiah 40 and the Gospel for the Day, Mark 1:1-8.
Mark 1:1-8
Odd, isn't it, that Mark skips all of the details of Jesus' birth and early life and gets right to the point of what he wants to say - that the Promised One has come into the world and is about to be seen and heard? That John the Baptizer was the forerunner of Christ cannot be denied; he spoke like a true biblical prophet, announcing the event that would have ramifications for the world from his time forward. The world would never be the same again, for God, through his intervention and action, had entered the world to change the estate of human affairs forever. This "announcement" was supplemented by John the Baptizer's call for true repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. He did, indeed, prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. He certainly "cried out in the wilderness" of this world, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He didn't know it when he began to preach, but his ministry would ultimately cost him his head.
John the Baptizer also pointed out that the One who came after him was "mightier" than he, and that there would be a difference in their ministries. He would baptize with water, but the "mightier One" would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John understood - and accepted - his subservient role as a "preparer of the way" for the one "whose sandals," he said, "I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." John's ministry brought a type of judgment to the world, while Jesus offered salvation to all who would believe in him. Perhaps John's different expectations resulted in some believers' disappointment in the mission of Jesus. Fortunately for us, he saw - and participated by baptizing Jesus - the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Unfortunately, he had no way of determining how it would develop. Suffice it to say, he faithfully fulfilled his role in the work of the Lord, and that was sufficient for him then - and for us now.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:1-8 - "What's This All About?"
I am certain that if the late Dr. Edmund A. Steimle had been living in John the Baptizer's time and had heard him when he first started preaching, he would have asked one of his favorite questions about biblical stories and events, "What goes on here?" or "What's this all about?" Few people really comprehended what John the Baptizer meant when he declared his mission was to "prepare the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight." Fewer still, I believe, could even begin to understand him when he said, "After me comes one who is mightier than I, and the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." Among those who responded to this command, "Repent and be baptized," there might have been complete confusion when he declared, "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Were their baptisms complete and genuine, or was "John's baptism" merely preliminary to something else? After all, John was a powerful preacher, just as powerful, some believed, as Elijah himself, and when he called on the people to repent and be baptized, they responded. But when he talks about the "mightier One" - and another type of baptism - what goes on here?
1. John the Baptizer is the very voice of advent - of the coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth to intervene in the relationship between God and human beings. He spoke the first words of the "Good News," the Gospel of our Lord. What he said was not merely a word about Jesus; it was the Gospel - the beginning of the Good News for the world.
One of the most interesting churches I have ever seen is the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul in Eur, the southern suburb of Rome. It has two large "twin" ambos, or pulpits, one for St. Peter and the other for St. Paul. Peter's ambo has a scene carved on the front of it showing Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost; Paul's shows him preaching in Athens. These scenes reminded me that one thing is missing among many such representations of John the Baptizer in the Church of St. John the Baptist of the Autostrada, just outside of Florence, Italy - a depiction of John the Baptizer on the front of the pulpit with the words, "After me comes one who is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie...." That was his role as a prophet, and he faithfully fulfilled it! For his dedication to his task in the Gospel, we remember him and honor him today. He was, in word and deed, the very forerunner of the Lord.
2. Jesus' word has reached us, along with John the Baptizer's, and we too, have been baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. This means that we belong to Jesus Christ, and that we are God's forever. We have not only been "sealed with the Holy Spirit," but we have also been "marked with the cross of Christ forever." Our baptisms are valid and complete (although baptism isn't finally completed, according to Martin Luther, until our death); Jesus' baptism was completed on the cross. Salvation is ours - and so is the work of the Kingdom of God. These are two of the reasons that we pray today. "Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son ... give us strength ... and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world" so that we might be faithful to our Lord regardless of what it might cost us (even our heads) in the world.
3. The business of the baptized is to befaithful to the Lord by participating in the work of the Gospel for which we have been prepared and equipped. We pray for the Spirit so that we can get on with it - godly living and cross-marked service in the name of our Lord, proclaiming the Advent and presence of the Lord in every way that we can. All who are baptized in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are disciples of the Lord as long as they live.
4. So what goes on here? This much we know: with John we are servants of the Gospel and of the Lord. Advent reminds us to get on with the business of being disciples of Christ. He renews us for this - his - purpose.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Isaiah 40:1-11 (E, L, C); 40:1-5, 9-11 (R) - "The Comfort of God - and 'Couch Potatoes'."
Another memory I have of Edmund Steimle is his induction as Brown Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He spoke about preaching, of course, and the heart of his address was about the biblical content of then-contemporary sermons. Steimle declared that we have been preaching law-gospel sermons long enough, and that it might be timely to put a temporary moratorium upon them. He asserted that people living in the 1960s (he was inducted as chair in 1961) needed to hear a healing and helping Gospel, a Gospel of comfort - "Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord." His advice to preachers was certainly appropriate for the mid- and late-sixties.
1. God offers comfort to hurting and suffering people. He offered it to Israel through his prophet, and he offers the comfort of the suffering Savior to us.
2. Through Jesus - and his death on the cross - God haspardoned the sins of all people. Real and lasting reconciliation and restoration to God have been accomplished on the cross of Calvary.
3. Through Jesus, the Lord God comes with might - and with gentleness and compassion. For Christ, the Good Shepherd and the living Lord, will feed his own, gather his lambs to himself, and lead his people, like sheep, through life and death itself to eternal life.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 2 Peter 3:8-14 (R, L); 3:8-15a (C); and 3:8-15a, 18 (E) - "What Sort of Christians Are We?"
1. Do we really believe that Christ will return, as he said he would? Do we take him at his word, or do we merely dismiss the possibility of the parousia as an improbability, declaring that so much time has elapsed that he will never return to earth?
2. Are we obedient Christians - who really believe him - who seek to live holy and godly lives here on earth, making ourselves pleasing and useful to the Lord while we wait for his second coming? Are we attempting to live out our baptisms in the meantime?
3. Are we informed Christians, who realize that it is necessary to die and to rise - through our baptism - every day of our lives, dying to sin and rising to new life, and so being (as Peter directed his readers) "zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace?"
(Note: The problem in developing a sermon from this plan is to avoid preaching a sermon that is law-oriented. Gospel answers to these questions need to be supplied in this type of homily.)
The Prayer of the Day
This, the second of the "stir up" prayers, represents a modified reworking of the classic collect for the Second Sunday of Advent. The first of these prayers calls for the Lord to "stir up your power ... and come," while the second asks the Lord God to "stir up our hearts...." It reads:
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give strength in our conflicts and shed light in our path through the darkness of this world; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
This collect provides specific expression of the theological clue provided by the church year. The readings:
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 (R); 40:1-11 (E, L, C)
This reading begins with some of the most familiar words in the Old Testament:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
In these few opening verses of Deutero-Isaiah, the prophet, who is speaking to the children of Israel about their restoration after the Babylonian exile (around 538 B.C.) is the bearer of "good tidings," truly a voice "crying out in the wilderness" of their - and our - world. His are the words of hope for a defeated and desolate people, returning to their devastated country. He speaks to this downcast nation, reminding them that they must place their hope in the God of their Fathers, and this indeed, will bring them the comfort they really need - God's comfort. As a way for God is prepared "in the wilderness," the "glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." After they have gone through the awful experience of humiliation and suffering in Babylon, the "herald of good tidings" declares to them and "all the cities of Judah," "Behold your God!" God is their comfort and will sustain them in their return and restoration.
There is no indication that Isaiah had in mind Jesus Christ's coming into the world when he wrote these words, but their tone and typology are most appropriate for Advent, in general, and for the Second Sunday of Advent, in particular. It is not surprising that Mark sees John the Baptizer as the "new Isaiah," who is to "prepare the way of the Lord," crying out (as did Isaiah some six-and-a-half centuries before him): "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Just as surely as "Comfort, comfort" heralds the Messiah, so "prepare" suits the role of the Baptizer. John the Baptizer is essentially the "mouthpiece" of God, the "voice" of the one whose mission it is to announce the immanence of the Lord's advent, preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and thereby preparing the way of the Lord.
2 Peter 3:8-14 (R, L); 3:8-15a (C); 3:8-15a, 18 (E)
Peter, in all likelihood, did not know anything about this letter, nor did he write it; he would have been dead about sixty years when this epistle was prepared. But Peter might have said what is in it to counteract the teachings of false prophets and teachers, who apparently were publicly denying the parousia. Almost a century had passed since Jesus' death and resurrection - and he had not returned. Hope of his return was fading; no wonder some people doubted the possibility of his return. So "Peter" corrected such false teachings, reminding the people by quoting a loose translation of part of Psalm 90, "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
The first seven verses of this chapter could be added to the first three verses of today's reading and assigned to the First Sunday of Advent. These ten verses address our situation quite well on the First Sunday of Advent, or any other time for that matter - the second coming of Christ is not a high priority item for contemporary Christians. But the text fits into the theological thrust of this Sunday (beginning with verse 11): the parousia is a present day event in which we participate by repenting of our sins, by seeking to live holy lives, and by living in the hope of "a new heaven and a new earth" brought about by the final intervention of God, rather than wholly by the ingenuity and positive efforts of humankind to improve the quality of life on earth. In other words, this is a matter of living out our baptism in Jesus Christ. This reading complements Isaiah 40 and the Gospel for the Day, Mark 1:1-8.
Mark 1:1-8
Odd, isn't it, that Mark skips all of the details of Jesus' birth and early life and gets right to the point of what he wants to say - that the Promised One has come into the world and is about to be seen and heard? That John the Baptizer was the forerunner of Christ cannot be denied; he spoke like a true biblical prophet, announcing the event that would have ramifications for the world from his time forward. The world would never be the same again, for God, through his intervention and action, had entered the world to change the estate of human affairs forever. This "announcement" was supplemented by John the Baptizer's call for true repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. He did, indeed, prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. He certainly "cried out in the wilderness" of this world, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He didn't know it when he began to preach, but his ministry would ultimately cost him his head.
John the Baptizer also pointed out that the One who came after him was "mightier" than he, and that there would be a difference in their ministries. He would baptize with water, but the "mightier One" would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John understood - and accepted - his subservient role as a "preparer of the way" for the one "whose sandals," he said, "I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." John's ministry brought a type of judgment to the world, while Jesus offered salvation to all who would believe in him. Perhaps John's different expectations resulted in some believers' disappointment in the mission of Jesus. Fortunately for us, he saw - and participated by baptizing Jesus - the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Unfortunately, he had no way of determining how it would develop. Suffice it to say, he faithfully fulfilled his role in the work of the Lord, and that was sufficient for him then - and for us now.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:1-8 - "What's This All About?"
I am certain that if the late Dr. Edmund A. Steimle had been living in John the Baptizer's time and had heard him when he first started preaching, he would have asked one of his favorite questions about biblical stories and events, "What goes on here?" or "What's this all about?" Few people really comprehended what John the Baptizer meant when he declared his mission was to "prepare the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight." Fewer still, I believe, could even begin to understand him when he said, "After me comes one who is mightier than I, and the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." Among those who responded to this command, "Repent and be baptized," there might have been complete confusion when he declared, "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Were their baptisms complete and genuine, or was "John's baptism" merely preliminary to something else? After all, John was a powerful preacher, just as powerful, some believed, as Elijah himself, and when he called on the people to repent and be baptized, they responded. But when he talks about the "mightier One" - and another type of baptism - what goes on here?
1. John the Baptizer is the very voice of advent - of the coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth to intervene in the relationship between God and human beings. He spoke the first words of the "Good News," the Gospel of our Lord. What he said was not merely a word about Jesus; it was the Gospel - the beginning of the Good News for the world.
One of the most interesting churches I have ever seen is the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul in Eur, the southern suburb of Rome. It has two large "twin" ambos, or pulpits, one for St. Peter and the other for St. Paul. Peter's ambo has a scene carved on the front of it showing Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost; Paul's shows him preaching in Athens. These scenes reminded me that one thing is missing among many such representations of John the Baptizer in the Church of St. John the Baptist of the Autostrada, just outside of Florence, Italy - a depiction of John the Baptizer on the front of the pulpit with the words, "After me comes one who is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie...." That was his role as a prophet, and he faithfully fulfilled it! For his dedication to his task in the Gospel, we remember him and honor him today. He was, in word and deed, the very forerunner of the Lord.
2. Jesus' word has reached us, along with John the Baptizer's, and we too, have been baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. This means that we belong to Jesus Christ, and that we are God's forever. We have not only been "sealed with the Holy Spirit," but we have also been "marked with the cross of Christ forever." Our baptisms are valid and complete (although baptism isn't finally completed, according to Martin Luther, until our death); Jesus' baptism was completed on the cross. Salvation is ours - and so is the work of the Kingdom of God. These are two of the reasons that we pray today. "Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son ... give us strength ... and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world" so that we might be faithful to our Lord regardless of what it might cost us (even our heads) in the world.
3. The business of the baptized is to befaithful to the Lord by participating in the work of the Gospel for which we have been prepared and equipped. We pray for the Spirit so that we can get on with it - godly living and cross-marked service in the name of our Lord, proclaiming the Advent and presence of the Lord in every way that we can. All who are baptized in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are disciples of the Lord as long as they live.
4. So what goes on here? This much we know: with John we are servants of the Gospel and of the Lord. Advent reminds us to get on with the business of being disciples of Christ. He renews us for this - his - purpose.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Isaiah 40:1-11 (E, L, C); 40:1-5, 9-11 (R) - "The Comfort of God - and 'Couch Potatoes'."
Another memory I have of Edmund Steimle is his induction as Brown Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He spoke about preaching, of course, and the heart of his address was about the biblical content of then-contemporary sermons. Steimle declared that we have been preaching law-gospel sermons long enough, and that it might be timely to put a temporary moratorium upon them. He asserted that people living in the 1960s (he was inducted as chair in 1961) needed to hear a healing and helping Gospel, a Gospel of comfort - "Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord." His advice to preachers was certainly appropriate for the mid- and late-sixties.
1. God offers comfort to hurting and suffering people. He offered it to Israel through his prophet, and he offers the comfort of the suffering Savior to us.
2. Through Jesus - and his death on the cross - God haspardoned the sins of all people. Real and lasting reconciliation and restoration to God have been accomplished on the cross of Calvary.
3. Through Jesus, the Lord God comes with might - and with gentleness and compassion. For Christ, the Good Shepherd and the living Lord, will feed his own, gather his lambs to himself, and lead his people, like sheep, through life and death itself to eternal life.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 2 Peter 3:8-14 (R, L); 3:8-15a (C); and 3:8-15a, 18 (E) - "What Sort of Christians Are We?"
1. Do we really believe that Christ will return, as he said he would? Do we take him at his word, or do we merely dismiss the possibility of the parousia as an improbability, declaring that so much time has elapsed that he will never return to earth?
2. Are we obedient Christians - who really believe him - who seek to live holy and godly lives here on earth, making ourselves pleasing and useful to the Lord while we wait for his second coming? Are we attempting to live out our baptisms in the meantime?
3. Are we informed Christians, who realize that it is necessary to die and to rise - through our baptism - every day of our lives, dying to sin and rising to new life, and so being (as Peter directed his readers) "zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace?"
(Note: The problem in developing a sermon from this plan is to avoid preaching a sermon that is law-oriented. Gospel answers to these questions need to be supplied in this type of homily.)
