Sermon for Fourth Sunday of Advent – Luke 1:39-55

Gifts are complicated. Seriously. I don’t just mean folks that are hard to shop for. I mean, at Christmas we hear, “I didn’t know we were supposed to bring gifts.” Or, “oh you shouldn’t have.” Or, “if that’s another fruitcake so help me….” There are lots of obligations and expectations and rules around gifts. Interesting that we still call them gifts. Now, we like to talk about God’s free gifts, but seems like we do the same thing. What does God expect in return? Is it a blessing or a curse? Because sometimes God’s gifts feel like more of a chore than a gift, right? Like they cause more trouble than they’re worth. That’s the problem that Elizabeth and Mary wrestle with in our gospel reading today. What do you do when God’s gift doesn’t feel like a gift?

Sermon for Third Sunday of Advent – Luke 3:7-18

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”? Apparently John the Baptizer didn’t get that memo. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Not very uplifting, is it? Though, John’s a prophet. This is what prophets do. When things go to pot, God raises prophets to knock some sense into folks. But it also reminds me of one of my Old Testament professors who used to say, “You know, you might be a prophet…. or you might just be a jerk.” I mean, I’m pretty tightly-wound. I’m already good at beating myself up. I don’t need help. Maybe you know what that feels like?

But here’s the thing. Fire and brimstone works. Folks panic. They ask “what should we do?” But then he just gives this short to-do list. Share your extra coats and food. Stop extorting money from folks. All done. That’s weird! When everything’s in flames, isn’t that when you’re supposed to overhaul everything and make major life changes because you’re about to drive off a cliff? But he doesn’t tell them to quit being tax collectors and soldiers. He doesn’t tell them to put on sackcloth and ashes. He doesn’t ask for much. And you don’t have to be Christian to know this. Who doesn’t learn this in elementary school? Share your stuff. Don’t cheat. We don’t need a prophet to tell us this. Besides, this doesn’t scream repentance. It could just be a page out of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” So what’s really going on here?