Advent 3 Luke 7:18-35 Repent & Rejoice

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 7:18-28 (29-35)

There was once a man who became so ill that he ended up in the hospital. After the doctor did a thorough examination, he called his wife aside and told her, “Your husband is very ill. His lungs and heart are in very bad shape. So you need to take very good care of him.  He needs to eat home cooked meals that are specially prepared to be high in fiber, low in salt and low in saturated fat.  Because dust aggravates the conditions of his lungs, you have to keep his house clean and dust free. And most of all you have to eliminate stress in his life by being kind to him and not arguing with him.  By doing all of these things, there is no reason why your husband cannot live a long and happy life. But if you do not do these things, your husband will surely die.”  

After she was finished talking to the doctor, she went into her husband’s room.  Anxious to know about his condition, the husband asked, “Well, what did the doctor say?”  After thinking about all she needed to do, she frowned, looked at him and blurted out, “The doctor says you’re going to die!”

Of course this is just a story I made up.  But let’s think about the thoughts and emotions that are going through the minds of these individuals.

First there is the man laying the hospital bed. He is not feeling well. He is still recovering from the procedures that the doctor has performed and is very groggy. He knows that he is lucky to be alive but he has no idea about his condition.  He has seen the doctor talking with his wife and he is anxious to know what his condition is.

Then there is the doctor.  He has just saved the man’s life. He is happy that the man is alive, and he is confident that the man will completely recover from the procedure. But he is worried about the man’s future. He knows that if the man does not change his lifestyle, he will end up back in the hospital or even worse, he will be taking a final trip to the funeral home.

Then there is the man’s wife.  She has been truly worried about her husband and she too is relieved that he has had a successful procedure. That indeed is good news. The bad news is that all of the work the doctor has performed will come to naught if her husband continues to do what is unhealthy for him. To make matters worse, the doctor has laid the burden of his recovery squarely on her shoulders. Her life has just become more complicated. She would prefer not to have to work so hard and knows that her husband is not going to like the lifestyle changes any better than she does.

Many thoughts are going through her head. The doctor’s diagnosis is wrong.  There must be an easier way. Maybe they can just give him a variety of pills to take so he doesn’t worry, gain weight or have to exercise.  Perhaps he can wear a respirator to filter the air he breathes. As her thoughts get pulled in all of these directions, she loses her focus and loses faith. It all looks so hopeless. Her mind is besieged with denial, anger, frustration and fear. No wonder she blurted out such an inappropriate response.

In our Gospel lesson for today the same problems occurred in a spiritual way.

John the Baptist came preaching repentance.  Perhaps for our lesson, we could call him Doctor John.  God had assigned John the task of telling people that as far as their souls were concerned, the people of Israel were all very sick. John gave them the bad news that as Saint Paul would later say, they had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  John the Baptist pointed out their sins and warned them to change from their sinful lifestyle into one more pleasing to God.  Those who believed John to be a great prophet sent by God were baptized under the gospel promise of an imminent Savior.

Many people believed John’s message that their Savior was coming and realized just how sinful they were. These believer’s acknowledged the coming One by having their sins washed clean. Thus their faith in the Savior was strengthened by knowing that their sins were forgiven--sort of like the man who had a successful procedure done to save his life. Since the health of their souls had been restored, they were to live a new life set apart for God. 

This new life was done in accordance with their faithful anticipation of “The Lamb of God” who was coming to take away the sins of the world.

But there were others in the crowd who did not admit they were sinful. Among them were the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They too came to be baptized by John but when they found out that it was a baptism of repentance, they rejected John’s Baptism.   Since they rejected the fact that they were sinful and in need of forgiveness, it came as no surprise to John when they rejected Jesus Christ and His message of redemption.

We have that same problem in today’s society. Even among those who consider themselves to be religious, many people no longer believe that they do sinful things.  They do not want to hear the bad news that they are living a sinful lifestyle in the eyes of God. When a Christian comes to them proclaiming the good news--that is fine, as long as it does not require any changes in their life. And as Christians we teach repentance to those we love even if it means more work on our part. And as Christians we also teach forgiveness of sins through the now completed work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge for you and you did not cry.” What it boils down to is; those who do not have sorrow over their sins have no joy over their salvation.

Those who accept that they are sinful however, mourn over their sins.  They mourn because of the terrible price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross.  They mourn over the One who was pierced and yet they look up to Him with faith and confidence.  And as people turn to Christ that brings joy to our hearts as well as to Jesus Christ. Paul says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Jesus Christ went to the cross in anticipation of the joy of having you with Him in His Father’s Kingdom. So as we look to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer we rejoice in eager anticipation of being with Him in eternity. We realize that eternal Joy is found in tears of repentance. And rejoicing is found on a cross. Such is the wisdom of God. And wisdom is proved right by all her children.

In Jesus Name, Amen.