Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

Philippians 4:4-5

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Luke 3:7-8

The Lord is near: Rejoice! The Lord is coming: Repent! 

We heard the first of these in our second reading from Paul (Philippians 4:4-7). And we heard the other in our gospel reading (Luke 3:7-18) from John the Baptist. 

So, which is it? Are we supposed to rejoice or repent? Should we not worry about anything, as Paul tells us? Or should we be concerned whether we are bearing good fruit in our lives, since every tree that does not is cut down and thrown into the fire? Which is it? Rejoice or repent? 

Or is there a way to do both? To simultaneously repent and rejoice? 

We seem to have two very different messages in our readings today. 

We have heard both of these themes in Scripture before. But hearing them on the same day raises the question for us all, of which message is for me? Which message is for you? The message to rejoice? Or the message to repent? Or, somehow, both?

The answer, I think, depends very much on the answer to this question: Which message do you need to hear more today? Not which message do you want to hear today, but which message do you need to hear? Are you feeling rather comfortable in your life, or rather afflicted? 

If you’re feeling rather comfortable in your life, then you need to be warned that the Lord is coming. It is time to repent – to change your ways and prepare for his coming. 

But if, on the other hand, you’re feeling rather afflicted in your life right now, then you need to be assured that the Lord is coming. Rejoice and do not fear.  

God’s Word Afflicts and Comforts

Part of the wonder of God’s word is that it can do both of these things at once – it can comfort the afflicted, and it can afflict the comfortable. 

There are certainly times in all of our lives when what we really need to hear is the good news that the Lord is near. The weight of life has beaten us down. The anxiety and stress and worry has gotten to be too much, and we’re not sure how we can get through another day. Illness, grief, finances, relationships, and more can cause us to feel very afflicted. 

And if that’s the case for you today, then hear again Paul’s message to you in that wonderful passage from Philippians: The Lord is near. Turn your worries into prayers. Take all of your anxiety and your stress and the burdens of your life to the Lord in prayer, and receive the peace that Jesus promises, the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that can guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But, let’s be honest: There are also times in all of our lives when what we really need is to be woken up out of our slumber. We’ve let our faith-life slip. God is no longer the most important thing in our life. We might still say he is, but if we are honest with ourselves, we will acknowledge the truth. Our life in Christ has been crowded out by all the other stuff of this world. The seed of God’s Word is falling on rocky ground or among the thorns. And if that’s the case with you today, then I encourage you to listen closely to John the Baptist’s message to us all today.

‘Tis the Season

Now, I know that this may seem to be a rather odd-sounding mixed message today. Repent, rejoice. And, indeed, it is a mixed message. But isn’t that the same for this Christmas season? 

Think about some of your favorite Christmas movies and shows, and you will find these same two themes. 

On the one hand, you have people like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or everyone’s favorite: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Both need a message of hope, don’t they? They need to hear the message to rejoice. They need the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

But, on the other hand, you have people like Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” and everyone’s other favorite: The Grinch. Don’t they both need to hear a very different message? A message to repent and change their ways? They both need a visit from John the Baptist. And an invitation to bear fruit worthy of repentance. 

And the amazing thing about God’s Word is that both of these messages are often wrapped up together, in ways that truly only God can do. And when we pay attention to God’s Word – really open our heart to it – then two people who are in very different places in their life can get two very different messages from God’s Word. 

And with all that said, let’s take a closer look at today’s gospel reading, and see what John the Baptist is trying to teach us today, before we turn back to Paul. Let’s see how John’s message to repent can be a message for us all. 

John the Baptist

We hear from John the Baptist every year at about this time. In fact, this is the second Sunday in a row with a gospel reading featuring John. 

As we heard last Sunday, John is proclaiming in the wilderness a message of repentance. It is time to change our ways and to prepare the way of the Lord. 

And in today’s gospel reading, we are blessed with clear examples of what this actually looks like. The crowd in today’s reading has listened to John the Baptist preach. And they have really taken it to heart. And so, they ask him: What should we do?

And his answer is well worth hearing. Actually, he gives three answers.

First, he says to all: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

Then, to the tax collectors, he says, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

And, finally, to the soldiers, he says, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

And I really like how practical and realistic all of this is. John is not telling anyone to quit their jobs, even tax collectors and Roman soldiers! He is not asking everyone to join him in the wilderness, or to do anything very radical at all. What he says isn’t very complicated, or even very dramatic. It is all fairly practical. Things that we can do right now.

If we have more than we need, we should share with those who don’t. If we work with other people’s money, we should be fair and just. If we work in a position of authority, we should not use our authority for personal gain.

These are simple, ordinary things, aren’t they? Things that we can do day after day. Humbly, honestly, and faithfully. That is how we are to bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Start at Home 

It reminds me of a story about Mother Teresa I once came across, who was once approached by a man from the United States who was interested in moving to India, and joining her in her ministry. She met with this man to get to know him. And after she found out that this man was married and had children, she said to him: If you want to do what I do, then go home, and love your wife and your children. Make your home a place filled with compassion, forgiveness, and love. 

Start there. Start at home. Not glamorous, or dramatic, or complicated. And because of that, it is something that any of us can do, starting today. We don’t have to move across the world, or change careers, in order to prepare the way of the Lord. We can start right where we are, right now. 

And we should. Because the simple truth is that if we wait to do this, we might not get a chance. The time to get ready for the coming of the Lord is today.  

Start Today

I think John has an important message for us all, because our great temptation is always to put off our need to change. Well, I know I should be exercising, but I’ll wait until the new year and then dig in. I know that I should be giving more to the church, or to the hungry, but I’m going to wait until I get that new job, then I’ll start. I know I should be doing my daily devotions, and I will, as soon as I find the time. 

John the Baptist reminds us in today’s reading that now is the time. Today is the beginning of our eternal life. And if we don’t change how we’re living now, then we’ll be living the same way tomorrow and next year anyway. 

So John the Baptist challenges each of us to change the way we’re living … right now. Don’t waste any more time. 

“Now is the acceptable time;” as Paul reminds us. “See, now is the day of salvation!”

And Rejoice!

Now, today, is the time to repent, to change our ways, and get ready for the coming of the Lord. 

But, now, today, is also the time to rejoice, according to Paul. If we are being challenged to repent today, we are also being invited to rejoice today. And joy always wins the day in Scripture. It always gets the last word, as it should. Because we worship a God who is full of joy and of love and of grace and mercy, and who promises that everything will be okay in the end. In fact, it will be perfect. 

And even now, Paul reminds us, the Lord is near; he is near to us right now, offering to us all the peace that surpasses all understanding. And so, we can rejoice, right now. Even in the midst of our afflictions, we can rejoice. We don’t have to wait for the Lord to return.

It would have been easy for Paul to write about the rejoicing that we will do when the Lord returns. After all, he was in prison when he wrote this letter! How easy it would have been for Paul to write about that day in the future when we all will rejoice. 

But instead, he writes from his prison cell that we should rejoice in the Lord always. We should not worry about anything. We should let our requests be made known to God, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And nowhere does he say that all of this takes place after he is released from prison, or after the Lord returns. It happens now. In the midst of our challenges. For the Lord is near to us, right here, and right now.

Closing

Repent? Yes. Change your ways. Take a look at your life. Prepare the way of the Lord? Yes. But don’t let any of this take away your joy in the Lord. 

No matter what is happening in your life, rejoice in the Lord today. Repent and rejoice, for the Lord – who is near – is coming, just as he promised. Amen.