Advent:  New hearts needed

Sermon for Dec 13,2009
Crows Nest Lutheran Parish (W.Logan)  (Preached at St Luke's, Crows Nest and St Andrew's, Cooyar)

Luke 3:7-18
 
(Verses 7-9, 15-18)
 7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." ...
... 15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

Prayer: Lord, bless us as we prepare to receive you as you come to us in your Word today. May we be as wheat, and not chaff, this morning. By your Holy Spirit, help us to hear the good news. Amen.

Australians like to cut down tall poppies.
What’s a ‘tall poppy?’ Usually it’s someone who appears to  think they are better than the rest of us.
Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

John the Baptist warned his listeners that they were in danger of being chopped down, and their pedigree would not save them. They had descended from Abraham, God’s friend. But that fact alone would do nothing for them.

“The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

We are God’s orchard, and he is looking for good fruit. The fruit of love. Love for our neighbours, and love for God. Love that comes from the heart, and shows itself in our actions: John had specific descriptions of what good fruit was, in the lives of his listeners: ‘Share your clothes. Share your food. Don’t abuse your power and position. Be happy with what you have.’

How did they respond? We don’t know. Some may have made some changes in their lives. Did the changes last?
How is it in your life? Are you making changes in the practical details of your life, in order to clear a space, to clear a way to welcome God in every part of your life?

This is what it’s about. Not placating our consciences by sponsoring a child or giving to the Lutheran World service appeal (– though these can be part of the good fruit that God produces in our lives.) It’s about welcoming God.

Time and again God had to rebuke his people for looking good on the surface, but being far from him in their hearts. They had a magnificent temple. The sacrifices were being offered. They had their synagogues, where the traditions of the fathers were recounted and the laws discussed in detail, with commentary... but what happened after they left the temple? What happened when the synagogue service was over? They went back to treating each other with callous disregard. The poor were despised, lepers [were] rejected, riches were clung to.
John the Baptist said the axe is at the root of every tree. Every person who doesn’t shape up, will be cut down. He went on to use the image of a winnower, in speaking of the coming Messiah: He will ‘clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

Are you confident that he will gather you like wheat into his barn?
Am I?

On what basis can we be confident of this?

On the basis of our pedigree? Our background or status as Christians, Lutherans even? That won’t save you, John says. Where’s your fruit?

Verse 18 says “...with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.”

Good news? Good news?? Good news that I have to change my life otherwise I am going to be burnt up like chaff? I don’t know if I will ever be able to change my life and be good enough to welcome God into my heart.

Lord, save me! I can’t save myself!

John pointed people to one who would be more powerful than him. John could only warn people and exhort them. When John baptised people, they were promising to leave behind their old sinful lives, and start afresh with God. But his baptism did not have the power to actually change their sinful hearts.

By sheer force of will, through carefully constructed programs and support structures, we can change some of our destructive behaviours. We can stop smoking. We can stop stealing from the business. We can stop looking at other people as objects to serve our personal needs and desires. We can curb and change our urge to gossip and run other people down.  But can we change our hearts? 

Good fruit comes from healthy trees. If our hearts are hard, barren, out of touch with God, the source of life and all things good, how can we produce good fruit?

John points us to someone who has the power to do something about this. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Do you have chaff in your life that you want to get rid of? Do you need nothing less than the Holy Spirit of God to wash you clean and make you holy and acceptable in God’s sight?

This is what Jesus came to do.

We are chaff. In Jesus’ death on the cross, we are burnt up: our sins are judged... and it is counted as if we had died. As if we have been punished for our sins. Jesus took our sins on himself, and died for us, on the cross. In him, and only in him, we are set free from our sins, and through him, through his Spirit, poured out on us at our baptisms, we become new people.

God does not want anyone to burn.
He wants us to have joy.
He is a God we can rejoice in! –as the second reading for today highlighted (Philippians 4:4-7)
He is a God who tells us, in the words of the first reading, (Zephaniah 3:14-17)
14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
 15 The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.  16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.  17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

That is why Jesus came.

He has come, and he has washed us in a baptism that did more than symbolise a new start. It actually gave us a new start: it joined us with him, and made us new people.

Hear Romans 6:3,4
“3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

New life comes from Christ.
Only in union with him can we produce the good fruit God wants to see in our lives. 

God knows this.

So he warns us, in love: ‘Don’t think that having the name of ‘Lutheran’ or Christian’ will save you. Don’t think that your own efforts to clean up your life can save you. Only Christ can save you.

We do not need to get ourselves up onto a spiritual pedestal. God himself lifts us up where we belong: Seated with Christ in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6). It is by his grace. By His Spirit –baptising us – washing us, giving us faith, joining us to Christ. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of all our sins.

Now our loving, gracious, saving God calls us to take up the new life he gives us, and live as people who have him in our lives. This may mean you need to change some things. Don’t be anxious: God will help you know what needs doing. And he has the power to make it happen.

Amen.