How Can I Practice Hope?

Sermon for Advent II, Dec. 8, 2024
Luke 3:1-6

As we cascade toward Christmas, we find ourselves at week 2 of this Advent season of “Hope Together.”  Last week, Mtr. Jean spoke about how we can find hope in tough times.  This week, our preaching series asks about our role: How can I practice hope?

And for the star of our show, this Sunday and next, we get the hairy prophet John the Baptist – “Creepy John,” if you’re a fan of The Chosen.  Back in the day, John must have made quite a splash, because all the Gospel writers found it necessary to deal with him.  He sure must have seemed like the messiah, because John keeps saying, “No, someone else much more powerful is on his way.”  So, in Advent – as we prepare ourselves to receive God wriggling in a feedbox, and as we prepare ourselves to receive God returning in judgment to set the world to rights – we first hear John the Baptist asking us to look deep within.

What John’s calling us to experience is “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3).  Now, I don’t know about you, but when I think about someone telling me to “repent,” I picture a self-satisfied preacher highlighting my failings and poor choices, and demanding that I turn away from them.  It’s the dubious Good News of the billboards.  You’ve seen things like this on the highway before, right?  “Prepare to meet God!  Or, “Get Right With God!”  Or, “Repent – Jesus is Coming!”

Now, I’d say those messages aren’t wrong exactly.  Jesus is coming, and we will be held accountable for the choices we make.  We do need to repent.  And at the same time, we need to be clear about what that means.

I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I may not be the only one who hears “Repent!” as a call to feel bad about how I’ve let God down this time.  And it’s not just the billboards that can make us feel that way.  Every morning, I listen to Morning Prayer on a podcast as I walk the dog.  And every morning, right off the bat, the officiant says, “Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.”  And every morning, I pause the podcast to think about how I failed yesterday.  And every morning, I manage to feel bad about myself.

But repentance actually isn’t about feeling bad about yourself.  In Scripture, the “repentance” that leads to forgiveness of sins isn’t just about remorse.  It’s about change.  It comes from the Greek work metanoia, which means a change of mind that leads to “a profound moral and spiritual transformation.”¹  So, to repent is to change your mind in such a way that it changes your heart, too.

I’d like to suggest that we try on a particular change of mind this Advent.  It starts with looking at ourselves with true humility – being aware of both our failings and our goodness without veering off toward one or the other, neither spiritual arrogance nor self-loathing.  So, when we look in the mirror, who do we see?  Someone who needs a lot of work?  Or someone worthy of being called God’s beloved?  What if the answer were, “Yes”?

If we repented that way – if we changed our minds to change our hearts that way – I think we might hear John the Baptist with new ears.  John says,

“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; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-5).

On one level – in Israel’s history, when the people were exiled in Babylon – those words from the prophets meant Yahweh was coming to plow over not just foreign kings and their armies but even the desert wilderness itself to carve out a pathway for the people to return to the Promised Land.  On another level, in John the Baptist’s day, it meant God was about to vanquish the imperial and spiritual powers holding the Jews in subjugation. 

And, John would have said, those words from the prophets meant the people needed to get ready by changing their minds to change their hearts, opening themselves to God’s power and the hope it held for them.  Those crowds coming to John for baptism needed to change so they could participate in God’s work to change the world.  To welcome the One who would save them, they needed to stop doing what held them back – stop ignoring God, stop harming others, stop participating in Rome’s oppressive system.  But those crowds coming for baptism also needed to change how they saw themselves: that if God was about to send their Savior, that meant they were worthy of being saved.  Did they each have work to do?  Absolutely.  And, John says, God loves you deeply and seeks your well-being … enough to come in person to save you.

Today, if our minds and our hearts changed that way – if we really believed God loves us deeply and seeks our well-being – how would that change our preparation for the coming of Christ?  Here’s a crazy thought:  Maybe we’d prioritize our well-being more like God does.

But wait – isn’t that self-indulgence, to prioritize our well-being?  No.  It’s recognizing the value in which God holds you and the relationship God wants to have with you.  In two and a half weeks, the Sovereign of the Universe is coming to be born as one of us, to walk alongside us through the joys and sorrows of being human.  And, down the road, the Sovereign of the Universe is coming to restore earth and heaven to the unity God intended in the beginning and to welcome you into it forever.  Our hope is rooted in the fact that God wants nothing so much as for you to sign on, to recognize how worthy you are of being saved.  Well, if that’s true, if you’re worth that, then fostering your well-being isn’t self-indulgence.  It’s revealing the image of God you bear.

Well, if we’re going to prioritize our well-being, some of that’s physical, right?  But 18 days before Christmas probably isn’t the time to call any of us to eat better, drink less, exercise more, and rest.  OK, says pragmatic John the Baptist, let’s start with what might come more naturally this time of year.  Take these 18 days to prioritize your spiritual well-being.  Change your mind and your heart by opening yourself to what God’s doing with you and where God’s leading you.

What would that look like?  Well, I had a moment of clarity one morning recently, beginning my walk with the dog.  Before we head out, I put in my earbuds; and I start the Morning Prayer podcast as we head down the street.  Often, maybe more often than not, about three houses down the street, my earbuds cut out and disconnect from the podcast.  I don’t know why, and I let it frustrate me every blessed time it happens.  But one morning recently, I heard the electronic voice in my ears saying something new when it lost the signal, again.  Here’s what the voice says:  “Disconnected.  Pairing.  Connected.”  That may be an annoying message about my earbuds, but it’s also a pretty good model for prioritizing our spiritual well-being over the next 18 days.

So, first is “disconnected.”  Recognize where and how you’re disconnected from God.  What patterns aren’t working for you anymore?  What’s getting in the way of reaching out to God for conversation?  Where’s your energy going instead?

Then comes “pairing.”  Give yourself the Advent gift of “pairing” with the God who’s trying to come alongside you.  You’ll find some suggestions on the Advent page of our website:  Maybe read a daily devotional.  Maybe make space to say your prayers each day.  Maybe put an Advent-music playlist on your phone.  Maybe simply sit somewhere beautiful and quiet for a few minutes each day, and see what God does with your gift of time.  And, as I said in this week’s article in the Messenger, try journaling a little, using the booklets in the entryway to reflect on what you’re hearing, and share a few insights with the rest of us.

Then, finally, comes “connected.”  Pay attention when moments of God’s peace or insight come.  Notice what practices work for you and what practices don’t.  Feel free to pitch what isn’t helpful, but hold onto what works as the Holy Spirit’s Christmas gift to you.

Here’s one last thought:  It’ll be easier to prioritize our spiritual well-being this Advent if we’re clear about who it is we’re waiting for.  I mean, we know it’s Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  But who is that, in the minds and hearts of each of us?  If we’re expecting a judge who focuses on our faults and weaknesses, we’ll do our best to cover them up – often by pointing them out in others.  Or, if we’re expecting a baby in a manger whose birth makes us happy without threatening to change us, we’ll get a few days off and then just go back to the grind.  But what if you expected someone else? – someone who valued you, and walked alongside you, and wanted to guide your path?  Who would that Savior be?  What would you call him?  Parent?  Coach?  Friend?  Partner?  Whatever word feels right, that’s someone worth changing your mind and your heart for.

1.       “3341. metanoia.” Bible Hub. Available at: https://biblehub.com/greek/3341.htm. Accessed Dec. 6, 2024.