“WHAT HAS LAID CLAIM TO YOUR LIFE?”
Have there been times in your life when you would have given anything for a new life? When you needed a fresh start? When you ached to have your life transformed? In whatever way those things have come up for you, that was perhaps your longing for the unforeseeable future and the opening yourself to the possibility of the impossible.
That is the kind of unforeseeable future that is told about in this Sunday’s Gospel from John 3:1-6. The word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. It’s at the heart of John’s proclaiming a baptism of repentance. It is at the heart of the coming of that future and its advent in our lives. But, for some reason we keep looking on our past. And to whatever degree we are enmeshed to our past, we often expect the future to look like the past. We repeat the same patterns, we tell ourselves the same old stories, and we become stuck in the past trying to live a life that is no longer.
John’s call for repentance, however, is a call for us to face and deal with our past. While we cannot undo the past, we can break away from the past. You and I need to know and believe God can do that for us. Where God rules, the past does not rule. That does not mean the past has no consequences for our future. But, it does mean the past does not necessarily have to define or determine our future. The question behind repentance, therefore, is not about “what we have done or left undone,” but about “what has now laid claim to our life.”
In that regard, repentance It’s about allowing ourselves to be laid claim by something new, something different, something unimaginable and impossible. That something new for you and me is the same Word of God that came to John son of Zechariah, a prophet, a voice crying in the wilderness for others to repent.
This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us the past can be our teacher and that the voice of God is calling us into a new life. He is calling us to face and deal with our past in order to wake up, to break free, and let ourselves be more fully claimed by the faith, hope, and love of God in and for us. allow God’s call of repentance to wake you up and break you free. Allow God’s faith, hope, and love to fill your valleys, make your mountains low, and straighten your paths.
As we repent and continue to celebrate freedom from our past sin, consider accepting this invitation to attend Grace Lutheran Church this Advent season. Be part of this congregation that is filled with prayer, fun, laughter, and love for Jesus! Experience the presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. All come at Jesus’ invitation – the young and old, the assured and the doubting, the wise and the foolish, and the in-between. All are welcome here! Come to the Feast!
Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday as we “celebrate God’s love together,”
Blessings and Peace,
The Reverend David O. Guss, Ph.D. - Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church
