Luke 3:1-6
“Close to Home: Laying the Foundation”
Preached Sunday, December 5, 2021
Each of the four Gospels start a little differently based on what the author felt was important; who they were trying to convey Jesus was and so forth.
Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus, which can actually give some really awesome insights - but that’s another sermon.
From there, as far as the Christmas story is concerned, we have a quick birth narrative, the visitation of the Magi and fleeing to Egypt
Now in Mark there is no birth narrative at all. Mark creates a feeling of urgency, a sense of getting right down to business, jumping in right at the start of Jesus’s public ministry.
Allow me to go out of order and skip to the Gospel of John. Of the four gospels, John is the most theological and doesn't have a birth narrative although he does include the beautiful line: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
John’s aim is to frame WHO Jesus is in relation to his divinity more than a story of how he came to be which leaves us with the Gospel of Luke.
Luke has most of what we've come to know as the Christmas story. But the interesting part (one of many interesting parts - the Gospel of Luke is my favorite) is that Luke doesn't start with the conception or birth of Jesus. He starts with the conception of John the Baptist, Jesus's cousin.
I ask your indulgence of me to summarize the story for you - for those who know it well, for those it’s a little fuzzy on the details, and for those who are not familiar with the story.
John's Father, Zechariah, was a priest and his wife, Elizabeth was a descendent of priestly lineage. Zechariah was praying in the temple alone, actually not just praying, but lighting incense in the holiest part of the temple with crowds and people waiting for him outside...and it is then when an angel of the Lord appeared to him, frightening him. The angel replied "Do not be afraid" And he told Zechariah that his and his wife's prayers would be answered and they would bear a son.
The Angel of the Lord said:
“Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. ...even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Zechariah, however, questioned the angel - How can this be? The angel who now shares his name - Gabriel - may sound familiar, replies:
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
And so Zechariah is rendered mute, unable to speak. The text says Elizabeth became pregnant after this vision - so for 9 long months Zechariah could not speak.
And then, John was born and still, he could not speak. On the 8th day the baby would be circumcised and named as was customary. And all gathered and asked what his name would be. They assumed Elizabeth would name him Zechariah - the naming right was the Father's, after all, and naming a firstborn son after the father was traditional, expected. Zechariah asks for a tablet so he could write out his response and he writes “His name is John.” - fulfilling what the angel Gabriel told him and with that his tongue was loosened and he regained the ability to speak.
And when he speaks, after many months of silence, the first words to escape his mouth are the words of prophecy that our liturgist read for us today. In Scripture they are often called Zechariah’s song. His words are a blessing, a promise of a savior, a trust in what the angel of the Lord had told him, and further trust in all that God would do through his son, John. As far as blessings, it was a powerful one.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
...to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Yes, this is the story that Luke starts his Gospel with, the story of John who would come to be known as John the Baptist. The one who is to lay the foundation for Jesus, for the Savior, the Messiah to come.
In our Advent worship & sermon series we are talking about the theme of “Close to Home.” Every Sunday we’re talking about ideas of home - and how we live into the tension of this Advent season of the already but not yet. Christ has come in the form of a babe, God-Incarnate, God-with-us...but Christ has not yet returned to establish her reign, a new heaven and a new earth. Close to home...but not quite home yet.
And today we are talking about the foundation of our homes, our spiritual, faith, and even, church, home that is. Elsewhere in the Scripture, Jesus shares a parable about building a house. Jesus says that those who hear his words and act on them is like a person who, when building a house, digs deep and builds on rock. The house is studying and stands up through a flood. But the one who hears and does not act is as one who builds their house without a foundation - that’s Luke’s wording, Matthew says on sand - and when the flood comes the house is swept away.
So today I’d like us to consider: is our faith built on a solid foundation? On hearing and acting on Jesus’s words? Is it built on one that will withstands the storms and floods of life? Is the foundation of the church? And I’m not saying, you know, our physical building. But the institution as we’ve come to know it.
With these questions in mind let us turn back to the Gospel story at hand:
Zechariah with his blessing and prophecy, lays the foundation of the solid trust in God's promises to make way for John. He trusts in God and from his birth on, lays the foundation for John to be who God has called him to be.
And then, John, through his ministry, paves the way for people to come to Jesus. That was his divine calling. All he did prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. He preached, he teached, he baptized. He lived a radically different life that caught people’s attention and made them want to know more. All he does points toward Jesus.
In the second Gospel lesson we read today we heard John doing just this - preparing people for Jesus. And even calling out, giving a command for others to do the same:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;”
I ask your indulgence of me to summarize the story for you - for those who know it well, for those it’s a little fuzzy on the details, and for those who are not familiar with the story.
John's Father, Zechariah, was a priest and his wife, Elizabeth was a descendent of priestly lineage. Zechariah was praying in the temple alone, actually not just praying, but lighting incense in the holiest part of the temple with crowds and people waiting for him outside...and it is then when an angel of the Lord appeared to him, frightening him. The angel replied "Do not be afraid" And he told Zechariah that his and his wife's prayers would be answered and they would bear a son.
The Angel of the Lord said:
“Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. ...even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Zechariah, however, questioned the angel - How can this be? The angel who now shares his name - Gabriel - may sound familiar, replies:
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
And so Zechariah is rendered mute, unable to speak. The text says Elizabeth became pregnant after this vision - so for 9 long months Zechariah could not speak.
And then, John was born and still, he could not speak. On the 8th day the baby would be circumcised and named as was customary. And all gathered and asked what his name would be. They assumed Elizabeth would name him Zechariah - the naming right was the Father's, after all, and naming a firstborn son after the father was traditional, expected. Zechariah asks for a tablet so he could write out his response and he writes “His name is John.” - fulfilling what the angel Gabriel told him and with that his tongue was loosened and he regained the ability to speak.
And when he speaks, after many months of silence, the first words to escape his mouth are the words of prophecy that our liturgist read for us today. In Scripture they are often called Zechariah’s song. His words are a blessing, a promise of a savior, a trust in what the angel of the Lord had told him, and further trust in all that God would do through his son, John. As far as blessings, it was a powerful one.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
...to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Yes, this is the story that Luke starts his Gospel with, the story of John who would come to be known as John the Baptist. The one who is to lay the foundation for Jesus, for the Savior, the Messiah to come.
In our Advent worship & sermon series we are talking about the theme of “Close to Home.” Every Sunday we’re talking about ideas of home - and how we live into the tension of this Advent season of the already but not yet. Christ has come in the form of a babe, God-Incarnate, God-with-us...but Christ has not yet returned to establish her reign, a new heaven and a new earth. Close to home...but not quite home yet.
And today we are talking about the foundation of our homes, our spiritual, faith, and even, church, home that is. Elsewhere in the Scripture, Jesus shares a parable about building a house. Jesus says that those who hear his words and act on them is like a person who, when building a house, digs deep and builds on rock. The house is studying and stands up through a flood. But the one who hears and does not act is as one who builds their house without a foundation - that’s Luke’s wording, Matthew says on sand - and when the flood comes the house is swept away.
So today I’d like us to consider: is our faith built on a solid foundation? On hearing and acting on Jesus’s words? Is it built on one that will withstands the storms and floods of life? Is the foundation of the church? And I’m not saying, you know, our physical building. But the institution as we’ve come to know it.
With these questions in mind let us turn back to the Gospel story at hand:
Zechariah with his blessing and prophecy, lays the foundation of the solid trust in God's promises to make way for John. He trusts in God and from his birth on, lays the foundation for John to be who God has called him to be.
And then, John, through his ministry, paves the way for people to come to Jesus. That was his divine calling. All he did prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. He preached, he teached, he baptized. He lived a radically different life that caught people’s attention and made them want to know more. All he does points toward Jesus.
In the second Gospel lesson we read today we heard John doing just this - preparing people for Jesus. And even calling out, giving a command for others to do the same:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;”
Make way for the Messiah in your lives and the world. Lay a solid foundation.
Now, of course John the Baptist cried out those words in the wilderness, making way for the one who will bring true peace, about 2,000 years ago. It is our job today too, to continue laying the foundation. A foundation that fills valleys. Lowers mountains and hills. Make the crooked paths straight. And the rough ways made smooth. A foundation that gets rid of all the stumbling blocks that keep people from God. There are too many to count but bigotry and any -ism, inequality, injustice, trauma, fear… And we can begin to see how hard the work of making a solid foundation for others, a path to Jesus may be. Filling valleys? Lowering mountains? These tasks are not easy.
And yet, we know, as Jesus tells us, faith the size of mustard seed can move mountains. And Jesus is, as a popular Christian song right now reminds us, the Way Maker.
Zechariah laid a foundation for John - with blessings, prophecy, supporting his son and God’s vision for him.
John laid a foundation for Jesus by everything he did pointing people to their need for a Savior.
Jesus laid a foundation for his disciples to lead a movement, to spread the Gospel, through empowering them with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A foundation has been laid all the way down to us today. But this is not where it ends.
What foundation are we laying that will continue to point others to Jesus? Are we continuing the ministry of Zechariah - blessing the young and helping them pursue the Lord with all their lives? Are we following in the footsteps of John the Baptist - especially in calling out injustices so that the way to God may be made level?
As I was turning over my sermon in my head this week, I stopped in to talk to The Ladies of Grace Bible study. The Spirit must have been doing something among them and within me as preparation for this sermon for when I popped my head in I was asked: Pastor, how do we get young people to come to church? Now inviting young people to church is not the same thing as God's Kingdom. But it’s also not incompatible, if each disciple of Christ sows seeds of hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - well, inviting others to know Jesus is part of that and with each new believer there is hope that the world would be a better place, more like God’s Kingdom.
And I want to share with all of you today what I tried to share with the Ladies this week when asked this question:
First, it’s important to know that there is no one size fits all answer and no easy answer. If you google this exact question you will find hundreds if not thousands of articles and think pieces with people scratching their heads and offering a variety of advice, good and bad. The following are my thoughts, shared with fellow people my age and vetted for feedback:
The first thing to know is that most people come to church because of an invitation and an existing relationship with someone already "in" the church. There are a bunch of different numbers and statistics out there on church visitation and they vary. But one provided by Discipleship Ministries, a ministry of the United Methodist Church, is that 40% of church visitors said they went to a church for the first time because they knew someone there who invited them. That was the biggest reason a visitor came to a specific congregation. In this same study it shows that an invitation from a congregant was actually six times more effective than an invitation from a pastor. It’s not by a coincidence that our mission statement includes the verb “to invite” in it!
2 - as a follow up to the first thing you should know: If you don't know young people or unchurched people, regardless of age, think about your life and how you can interact with others. If we want people to come to church, we first have to meet them outside the church.
Which leads us to 3 - The days of "build it and they will come" are over. That went out the door in the 90’s - 3 decades ago - if not before. We have to go to people. Be where the people are. Through service, through community, in all sorts of ways. Again, we can’t expect people to walk through those doors unless we walk out of them and do the work of building relationships and meeting people where they are.
4. Be prepared, if young or unchurched people are different from you, or from our congregation, and they come to church, we must not only welcome them but welcome the change they bring. I am not necessarily talking about organ vs. electric guitar. I’m talking about the language people use, the causes people support, the way they dress, their priorities and what’s important to them. Every time someone new comes to a church, the culture of the church changes slightly.
5. At a larger level, our institutions need to invest heavily in young adult ministry. Especially on campuses and church camps.
And finally 6 - back to what is within our everyday power: We need to show the world that we, as followers of Jesus, are a people of Love. We are not the image the media and movies has of Christians: of bigots and hypocrites and shamers. And unfortunately, we know this is not just a prevalent image on TV. Many people want nothing to do with the church based on the Christians that they know. However, we can actively counteract that. We need to actively show people that we do not wish to be complicit or bystanders in the injustices often perpetuated by those claiming the name of Christ. No, we need to show that we are people who seek to live on the path of peace that John the Baptist showed and shared. Not just a peace that is the absence of violence, but an active peace that is the presence of justice. That is the presence of Love. We do this by being outspoken proponents every day for the things we talk about in church during the season of Advent: Of Hope, peace, joy, and love.
So you know, 6 easy, simple steps to get young people to come to church….Yeah, I know they’re not easy answers. As I was thinking over it all this week I was reminded how hard it is to fill valleys and lower mountains, to make way for God's Kingdom here on Earth, to make the path straight, easier, for people to come to know God. Again, God didn’t say it would be easy - God has just promised to be with us on the journey.
Today, let’s leave with this thought:
What is important to us in sharing the Gospel and laying a foundation for others to come to know Jesus and to make our world more like God’s Kingdom? Where would you start? How would you start? The most important thing is...to start: to sing praises and give blessings like Zechariah, to preach and teach and rail against injustice like John the Baptist, to empower others, to build new relationships, to extend invitations...As long as we build a strong foundation that is listening to Jesus and acting on his words:
For me, I am going to work to lay a foundation of all those things we talk about during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I believe they will stand the test of time - so that many more will find their way to the one who we call Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
May it be so. Amen.
Now, of course John the Baptist cried out those words in the wilderness, making way for the one who will bring true peace, about 2,000 years ago. It is our job today too, to continue laying the foundation. A foundation that fills valleys. Lowers mountains and hills. Make the crooked paths straight. And the rough ways made smooth. A foundation that gets rid of all the stumbling blocks that keep people from God. There are too many to count but bigotry and any -ism, inequality, injustice, trauma, fear… And we can begin to see how hard the work of making a solid foundation for others, a path to Jesus may be. Filling valleys? Lowering mountains? These tasks are not easy.
And yet, we know, as Jesus tells us, faith the size of mustard seed can move mountains. And Jesus is, as a popular Christian song right now reminds us, the Way Maker.
Zechariah laid a foundation for John - with blessings, prophecy, supporting his son and God’s vision for him.
John laid a foundation for Jesus by everything he did pointing people to their need for a Savior.
Jesus laid a foundation for his disciples to lead a movement, to spread the Gospel, through empowering them with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A foundation has been laid all the way down to us today. But this is not where it ends.
What foundation are we laying that will continue to point others to Jesus? Are we continuing the ministry of Zechariah - blessing the young and helping them pursue the Lord with all their lives? Are we following in the footsteps of John the Baptist - especially in calling out injustices so that the way to God may be made level?
As I was turning over my sermon in my head this week, I stopped in to talk to The Ladies of Grace Bible study. The Spirit must have been doing something among them and within me as preparation for this sermon for when I popped my head in I was asked: Pastor, how do we get young people to come to church? Now inviting young people to church is not the same thing as God's Kingdom. But it’s also not incompatible, if each disciple of Christ sows seeds of hope, peace, joy, and love in this world - well, inviting others to know Jesus is part of that and with each new believer there is hope that the world would be a better place, more like God’s Kingdom.
And I want to share with all of you today what I tried to share with the Ladies this week when asked this question:
First, it’s important to know that there is no one size fits all answer and no easy answer. If you google this exact question you will find hundreds if not thousands of articles and think pieces with people scratching their heads and offering a variety of advice, good and bad. The following are my thoughts, shared with fellow people my age and vetted for feedback:
The first thing to know is that most people come to church because of an invitation and an existing relationship with someone already "in" the church. There are a bunch of different numbers and statistics out there on church visitation and they vary. But one provided by Discipleship Ministries, a ministry of the United Methodist Church, is that 40% of church visitors said they went to a church for the first time because they knew someone there who invited them. That was the biggest reason a visitor came to a specific congregation. In this same study it shows that an invitation from a congregant was actually six times more effective than an invitation from a pastor. It’s not by a coincidence that our mission statement includes the verb “to invite” in it!
2 - as a follow up to the first thing you should know: If you don't know young people or unchurched people, regardless of age, think about your life and how you can interact with others. If we want people to come to church, we first have to meet them outside the church.
Which leads us to 3 - The days of "build it and they will come" are over. That went out the door in the 90’s - 3 decades ago - if not before. We have to go to people. Be where the people are. Through service, through community, in all sorts of ways. Again, we can’t expect people to walk through those doors unless we walk out of them and do the work of building relationships and meeting people where they are.
4. Be prepared, if young or unchurched people are different from you, or from our congregation, and they come to church, we must not only welcome them but welcome the change they bring. I am not necessarily talking about organ vs. electric guitar. I’m talking about the language people use, the causes people support, the way they dress, their priorities and what’s important to them. Every time someone new comes to a church, the culture of the church changes slightly.
5. At a larger level, our institutions need to invest heavily in young adult ministry. Especially on campuses and church camps.
And finally 6 - back to what is within our everyday power: We need to show the world that we, as followers of Jesus, are a people of Love. We are not the image the media and movies has of Christians: of bigots and hypocrites and shamers. And unfortunately, we know this is not just a prevalent image on TV. Many people want nothing to do with the church based on the Christians that they know. However, we can actively counteract that. We need to actively show people that we do not wish to be complicit or bystanders in the injustices often perpetuated by those claiming the name of Christ. No, we need to show that we are people who seek to live on the path of peace that John the Baptist showed and shared. Not just a peace that is the absence of violence, but an active peace that is the presence of justice. That is the presence of Love. We do this by being outspoken proponents every day for the things we talk about in church during the season of Advent: Of Hope, peace, joy, and love.
So you know, 6 easy, simple steps to get young people to come to church….Yeah, I know they’re not easy answers. As I was thinking over it all this week I was reminded how hard it is to fill valleys and lower mountains, to make way for God's Kingdom here on Earth, to make the path straight, easier, for people to come to know God. Again, God didn’t say it would be easy - God has just promised to be with us on the journey.
Today, let’s leave with this thought:
What is important to us in sharing the Gospel and laying a foundation for others to come to know Jesus and to make our world more like God’s Kingdom? Where would you start? How would you start? The most important thing is...to start: to sing praises and give blessings like Zechariah, to preach and teach and rail against injustice like John the Baptist, to empower others, to build new relationships, to extend invitations...As long as we build a strong foundation that is listening to Jesus and acting on his words:
For me, I am going to work to lay a foundation of all those things we talk about during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I believe they will stand the test of time - so that many more will find their way to the one who we call Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
May it be so. Amen.
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