Peace
John came to the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of
sins.
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.' Luke 3:3-4
One of Billy Graham's all time best selling books is entitled, "Peace
With God."
In it, he writes:
Peace can be experienced only when we
have received divine pardon — when we have been reconciled to God and
when we have harmony within, with our fellow man and especially with
God. "There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked" (Isaiah 57:21) 1.
He is not saying that the wicked only experience anxiety and that
Christians do not.
We know better.
He is saying that being at peace with God brings a deeper kind of
peace. It is the peace that holds you up in a storm because you know
that God is with you in it, and eventually there will be God's rainbow,
because of the promise of his covenant with us.
When scholars speak about the gospels, they put Matthew, Mark and Luke
in one category and John in a different category.
Matthew Mark and Luke share many common sources, but John's gospel has
much that occurs only with him.
I think Luke is different from the other three in this way, however.
Luke is the only Gentile of the group. The rest were Jews.
Luke is writing to a non-jewish audience and is trying to tell the
story in a linear and comprehensive fashion so that anyone, Jew or
Gentile could understand exactly who Jesus is. And so he sets out to
give a comprehensive history.
When we get to chapter three, we have already passed by his conception
and birth along with angels and shepherds.
Now we are ready for Jesus to step onto the stage and begin the
decisive chapter in the history of God and his people.
But first...
But first comes John.
In Malachi, the last book of the prophets, it is predicted that one
like Elijah will come before the great day of the Lord.
Luke clearly makes it plain this is John the Baptizer.
And Luke begins this event in a definite historical time period.
This is not to be read as a myth or fairly tale.
He does not begin, "in a time long ago and in a place far away".
He says in the year when Tiberius was emperor, Herod was ruling in the
north, Lysander was tetrarch of Abilene and Pilate himself was governor
in Judea. In fact it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius' reign.
That year.
That place.
This man.
This man named John, son of Zechariah the priest, was preaching in the
wilderness.
His message was simple. He quoted the prophet Isaiah, "prepare the way
of the lord. Make a way for God."
William Barclay says that at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, once
all the invited guests had taken their seats in Westminster Abbey, a
cleaning crew quickly went up and down the carpeted center aisle
whisking away every blade of grass and every speck of dirt. The pathway
for the new monarch must be made spotless for her to walk upon.2.
And that is clearly the message of John the Baptist.
God is preparing to do something extraordinary.
Get ready.
Remove any impediment in your life.
Get ready.
And a voice is heard in another place and time, "Are you ready for
Christmas?"
And an anxious conversation starts in which someone is always heard to
say, "I have no idea what to buy him. So you know what those X-box
cost?", and someone else says, "We hardly got the bills from last
Christmas paid off and now we go into debt again".
And yet another voice is heard through it all. "Peace on earth,
goodwill toward men."
So, God is preparing to do something special and we need to get ready.
A sigh is also heard.
"There is so much already to do. When does the quiet and peaceful part
come?"
It comes now.
Getting ready for what God is going to do is not one more thing on your
already over crowded day timer.
It is shifting your gaze from all the clamor and the pressure, to
seeing that a King is coming.
The guests are seated.
We are invited to look within ourselves and ask whether or not we have
anything that needs forgiving, or if there is any forgiving that we
need to do.
We are invited to turn our attention away from the overcrowded parking
lots at the shopping mall, to the banquet table of the King.
You are invited.
By all means, prepare the way for God.
Another voice says, "Be still and know that I am God."
Be still.
I am God.
Be still.
The King.
He is here.
Preached December 10, 2006
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. Billy Graham, Peace With God, online version,
p.215
2. William Barclay, Luke, The Daily Study Bible, St.
Andrews Press.
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