The Message, December 8, 2024: "Making Room for Peace," Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
December 10, 2024

 

“Making Room for Peace”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

            We had a really busy day at the fair yesterday. Boy … am I tired. Peace! Amen!

            I know … that would have been the best sermon ever! Almost. Too bad for you that I have an endless reservoir of energy … so I did write a message for this morning. I am so sorry.

            Today, we climb back into our Advent Time Machine and go back in time approximately three years. Last year, we heard from one of Jesus’ final speeches as he neared the end of his ministry. Today, we encounter John the Baptist’s proclamation of the coming of the One who is greater than he.

            Now, get your scratch pads out and sharpen your pencils. Or perhaps you already did that when Trina was reading the passage from Luke’s Gospel just a few moments ago. Normally I tell you not to get too bogged down in trying to parse out all of the details of a particular story or passage of scripture. Typically, trying to figure out the details, or explaining what happened results in our missing the larger point of the story. However, Luke did something very interesting in the passage for this morning. He gave us a LOT of details. (Which is actually something that Luke typically does not do.)

            Luke wanted to make certain that we knew pretty precisely when Jesus began his ministry. He did not just give us one name and one date. He gave us several vectors by which we could triangulate and determine with a good amount of certainty when John came on the scene to announce that Jesus was on his way.

            As I just said … get your pencils ready.

            Tiberius Caesar was the stepson of Caesar Augustus. He assumed power between the years 13 and 14 CE, so the fifteenth year of his reign would have been between 28 and 29 CE.
But that was not good enough for Luke. Herod the Great died in 4 BCE. He divided up his kingdom between Herod Antipas who ruled over Galilee and Peraea from 4 BCE to 39 CE.

            Herod’s other son, Herod Philip, ruled over Ituraea and Trachonitis from 4 BCE to 33 CE.

            Annas was high priest in Jerusalem from 7 CE to 14 CE. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Caiaphas.

            That was a lot of information. And WHY did Luke think that it was important for us to have such an accurate date? Because he wanted us to understand the social, political, and religious milieu into which John and ultimately Jesus emerged.

            Get ready with those pencils again …

            Tiberius was reluctantly accepted by his fellow Roman leaders. He was not well loved or respected by the people over whom he ruled. He was a weak emperor.

            Herod’s two sons ruled the northern regions of Israel. Both were Jewish, but of Edomite descent. Therefore, they were never fully accepted because of their mixed heritage. Herod Antipas is more noteworthy because he was the one who had John the Baptist imprisoned and ultimately killed. He is also the Herod that was involved with the end of Jesus’ life and ministry.

            Not much was known about Herod Philip, other than Caesarea Philippi was named after him.

            Pontius Pilate was named as the procurator … or governor … of Judah because Herod the Great’s third son was a total disaster and was replaced by the Romans with Pilate. Pilate was an awful person. He was insulting to the Jewish leaders and people. He was weak but kept the people in fear by sending his troops out to attack the citizenry. He was despised by the people.

            And then there was the religious context. Under Roman rule, the high priests served at the will of Rome. If Rome was unhappy with a priest for some reason, they would simply replace them. During a sixty-year period there were twenty-eight different high priests. It was like Rome installed a revolving door on the front gate of the Temple.

            Annas served as high priest for seven years. He was actually succeeded by FOUR of his sons. All of them were removed by Rome, and Caiaphas was installed. However, everyone knew that Annas was still pulling all of the strings behind the scene.

            So … do you get the picture? I know … it is exhausting to keep track of. But, as you can see, the entire region was a social, political and religious mess when John emerged from the wilderness. And when it came to the religious lives of the people of Israel and Judah, and the practice of their faith, they received no guidance or support from the Temple. Annas, Caiaphas, and all the rest of the high priests, were so concerned with maintaining their relationships with Rome that they had little concern for the people for whom they were supposed to provide religious leadership.

            And as we consider the passage from Malachi, we realize that it was really just the same old story on a different day. Five centuries earlier, Malachi railed against the priests in Jerusalem because they had compromised the standards of their office.

            As I said, Luke went to great lengths to tell us what the people were experiencing. It is safe to say that they were miserable. Every aspect of their lives was a struggle.
            The Romans were terrible.
            The “Jewish” kings were terrible.
            The high priests were useless.
            And there had been no word from the prophets in five hundred years.

            Until John appeared. That wild man began preaching in the wilderness. His preaching was powerful and captivated the people. He developed a following of his own … his own disciples. The people had been praying for the words of the prophet to be fulfilled. They had been waiting for God to intervene. They were waiting desperately to be set free. And John told them that the time was near. Little did the people know that the time was NOW!

            Last Sunday, I mentioned the ancient prophets. They had told the people that their slavery and oppression were their own fault. They were the consequences of their own sinfulness, the ways that they had fallen away from God.

            Malachi gave the people the key to their freedom. He told them that God had said, “Return to me and I will return to you.” (3:7) In other words … “repent!” “Turn away from your sinful ways. Turn toward God.”

            That is literally how ‘repent’ is translated. It means “turning toward.”

            John appeared offering a baptism of repentance. And the people were rushing to John to be baptized. But John was clear; this baptism was not to be some performative act. They were not just going to jump in the water and splash around for a bit and have their sins forgiven. They could not just jump in in the water and proclaim to God, “I am good!”

            If the baptism was to be efficacious, the repentance had to be genuine. It had to be transformative. John told the people that their repentance had to result in a genuine change of heart. John’s baptism fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. John’s baptism prepared the way. It made the hearts and souls and lives of the people ready to receive him, to receive the One who was to come.

            Repentance in Greek is “metanoia.” It is more than simply an apology for past misdeeds. It means more than saying, “I am sorry God. Please forgive me.” Repentance as understood by John … and ultimately by Jesus … means a change of heart. It is about a change of mind. It is about following the Way of God. It is about an inner transformation that results in new life.

            The forgiveness of one’s sins sets one free. Forgiveness of one’s sins untethers us from the sins that hold us down or imprison us. It opens the curtain of darkness and reveals new light. That light enables us to clearly see path that is set before us … and that is a path that leads to peace.

            Preparing for the highway for the King’s arrival was a metaphor for preparing ourselves for his arrival. It means making room in our lives. It means clearing away the clutter that gets in the way. It means making the “rough places” smooth. And that preparation is a process that we cannot rush.

            This is a time of year during which we rush and hurry a LOT. There is decorating to do … and shopping to do ... and wrapping to do. There are parties to attend … and Gingerbread Fairs to attend … and worship services to attend. But Advent is not about DOING. It is about BEING.

            It is hard to find time to focus upon our hearts and souls in the midst of all of the DOING. In fact, there is usually so much DOING going on that we are DOING more than one thing at any given moment. We are so busy that our DOING gets interrupted by other things TO DO!

            Advent is a season in which we give ourselves permission to DO less … and simply BE.

            Remember, Jesus Christ came to earth as God Incarnate … God in the Flesh. He came as a human BEING. With all of the rushing about, with all of the DOING, we might not even see when Jesus Christ is in our midst. We might not see him even if he is right in front of us.

            Last week we acknowledged that convulsions and the terrors and the trauma that are all around us. It feels like there is a great upheaval in the world around us. How can we possibly experience peace?

            The peace that we seek is not found in the world. It is found deep down inside. It is the wonderful peace of God. It is a place of peace that we can experience even when everything around us is madness and chaos. It is a peace that assures us that God is with us no matter what.

            In the days ahead, may we find time in the midst of the rushing and doing to simply be.
            Be present … in those moments.
            Be present … to the people in your lives. They are precious.
            Be present … to the strangers as well. In them you might see the face of Jesus Christ.
            Be present … for God. Listen for God’s sweet song. Look for God in the special and in the ordinary.

            And find times for peace. Allow the Prince of Peace to fill those moments.
            Then in those moments … simply Be … with him.
            Breathe in God’s peace.
            Amen.

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