{"id":20524,"date":"2024-12-11T10:27:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T09:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=20524"},"modified":"2024-12-11T10:27:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T09:27:49","slug":"zephaniah-314-20-luke-37-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/zephaniah-314-20-luke-37-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Third Sunday in Addvant | 15 December 2024 | A Sermon on Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18 | by the Rev, Beth A. Schlegel |<\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>text\u00a0 English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crossway.org\/\">Crossway Bibles<\/a> \u00a0(or other version)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><sup>7\u00a0He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,\u00a0\u201cYou brood of\u00a0vipers! Who warned you to flee from\u00a0the wrath to come?\u00a08\u00a0Bear fruits\u00a0in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves,\u00a0\u2018We have Abraham as our father.\u2019 For I tell you, God is able from\u00a0these stones to raise up children for Abraham.\u00a09\u00a0Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.\u00a0Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.\u201d<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><sup>10\u00a0And the crowds asked him,\u00a0\u201cWhat then shall we do?\u201d\u00a011\u00a0And he answered them,\u00a0\u201cWhoever has two tunics[<\/sup><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=luke%203%3A%207-18&amp;version=ESV#fen-ESV-25028a\"><strong><sup>a<\/sup><\/strong><\/a><strong><sup>]\u00a0is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.\u201d\u00a012\u00a0Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, \u201cTeacher,\u00a0what shall we do?\u201d\u00a013\u00a0And he said to them,\u00a0\u201cCollect no more than you are authorized to do.\u201d\u00a014\u00a0Soldiers also asked him, \u201cAnd we,\u00a0what shall we do?\u201d And he said to them,\u00a0\u201cDo not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your\u00a0wages.\u201d<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><sup>15\u00a0As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John,\u00a0whether he might be\u00a0the Christ,\u00a016\u00a0John answered them all, saying, \u201cI baptize you with water, but\u00a0he who is mightier than I is coming,\u00a0the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you\u00a0with the Holy Spirit and\u00a0fire.\u00a017\u00a0His\u00a0winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to\u00a0gather the wheat into his barn,\u00a0but the chaff he will burn with\u00a0unquenchable fire.\u201d<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><sup>18\u00a0So\u00a0with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Rejoice!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rejoice!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I suspect, if any of us walked into a coffee shop, hair salon, doctor\u2019s office, or even church and simply shouted, \u201cRejoice!\u201d we might be met with perplexed and even grumpy responses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is there to rejoice about?<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prices are going up<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Politics are a mess<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My family is in crisis<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The world is at war.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what I am going to do if my rent goes up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This world is going down the tubes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rejoice? Bah! Humbug!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For someone who just tuned into the prophet Zephaniah\u2019s words in today\u2019s first reading, this might have also been the response.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But for those who heard the prophet from the beginning,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>the call to rejoice has a different tone \u2013 a quality of hope.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, as now, the world was a mess.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s beloved people \u2013God\u2019s chosen people \u2013<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Had turned their backs on their identity<\/li>\n<li>They were worshiping other gods,<\/li>\n<li>sacrificing to idols,<\/li>\n<li>tolerating corruption,<\/li>\n<li>and had become despicably immoral.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the standpoint of God\u2019s covenant, they were condemned.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They brought on themselves the ultimate sentence of God\u2019s judgment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike our world, where presidents can pardon turkeys and criminals,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>when it comes to sin against God, only God can pardon. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But God is also righteous and just.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s pardon is not a matter of dismissing human wickedness, saying, \u201cOh, that\u2019s okay. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, sin is serious. God will not be mocked.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The consequences of sin must be satisfied.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, God allows his people to experience the consequences of their sin in this life \u2013<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As my mother often said when I made a poor decision, \u201cYou made your bed, now lie in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Living in a troubled world is an experience of the consequences of human sin and the brokenness of creation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>But that is not where God ends the story. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our loving heavenly Father places a limit on the consequences we experience. They do not last forever.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our world will not be in turmoil forever \u2013 our lives will not be in chaos forever.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The Father sends his Son into our broken world, our painful lives <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>to end the time of our bondage to sin and set us free.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, we rejoice with hope:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Rejoice and exult with all your heart,<br \/>\nO\u00a0daughter Jerusalem!<br \/>\n<sup>15<\/sup>\u2006The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,<br \/>\nhe has turned away your enemies.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The day is coming when God\u2019s Messiah, the Christ, takes upon himself the fatal consequences of all human sin and destroys it by rising from the dead to eternal life. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><sup>16<\/sup><\/em><em>\u2006On that day it shall be said to God\u2019s people:<br \/>\nDo not fear\u2026;<br \/>\ndo not let your hands grow weak.<br \/>\n<sup>17<\/sup>\u2006The Lord, your God, is in your midst,<br \/>\na warrior who gives victory;<br \/>\nhe will rejoice over you with gladness,<br \/>\nhe will renew you in his love;<br \/>\nhe will exult over you with loud singing<br \/>\n<sup>18<\/sup>\u2006as on a day of festival.<\/p>\n<p><\/em>rejoice!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our rejoicing begins with God\u2019s rejoicing over us in love in the person of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>With his forgiveness and mercy, Jesus loves us so deeply that he sings out our names in joy!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We are pardoned! Our sins no longer separate us from God.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus throws a party for us, hosting it with his own lifeblood and flesh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2003<em>I will remove disaster from among you,<br \/>\nso that no one may recount your disgrace.<br \/>\n<strong><sup>19\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>At that time I will deal<br \/>\nwith all who oppress you;<br \/>\nI will save the lame,<br \/>\nand assemble the outcasts; NAB<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rejoice!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To rejoice is more than a feeling of happy anticipation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also a call to action.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this Advent season, we look both backward in time<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the fulfillment of the prophecies in the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and forward in time to the day when God\u2019s redemptive work is completed on the day of Christ\u2019s coming again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And as long as we are<em> in<\/em> time<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 between that wonderful past of God\u2019s incarnation and the glorious eternal future<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 we act in joyful confidence that the Lord Jesus, Immanuel, is in our midst.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why John the Baptizer gives practical instructions to those eagerly awaiting the glorious future of God:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Provide for the poor<\/li>\n<li>Be honest in all aspects of life<\/li>\n<li>Do not seek personal gain at the expense of others<\/li>\n<li>Be content with what you have<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are good things for anyone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet, I wonder what John might say to us in our modern world:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>share time with those who are lonely, grieving, or imprisoned<\/li>\n<li>Do not trust social media, and be honest in your own dealings online<\/li>\n<li>Be careful not to damage someone else\u2019s reputation \u2013 or your own<\/li>\n<li>Be wise with your finances and work to overcome addictions and any impulse to be greedy<\/li>\n<li>Care for the earth and God\u2019s creatures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We cannot save ourselves, and we certainly cannot save our world from its own destruction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can, however, trust in God to keep his promises and bring to completion the saving work begun in Jesus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can live in joy that Jesus is present in our world and look for the signs of love and peace that point us to God.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can respond to the voices of despair and Bah humbug<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with a witness to the victory of Jesus over all the forces of evil<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and an attitude of confidence that in Christ, whatever turmoil we face, \u201cthis too shall pass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can rejoice!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For the day is coming when Christ will gather God\u2019s people together for the victory parade into the Father\u2019s eternal realm.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rejoice \u2013 you and I are included in that number, when the saints go marching in.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a9The Rev. Beth A. Schlegel, STS<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0 pastorschlegel@live.com<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0 St. Peter\u2019s Lutheran Church<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0 York, PA, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Third Sunday in Addvant | 15 December 2024 | A Sermon on Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18 | by the Rev, Beth A. Schlegel | text\u00a0 English Standard Version Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles \u00a0(or other version) 7\u00a0He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,\u00a0\u201cYou brood of\u00a0vipers! Who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,616,32,2,157,334,853,108,110,824,1401,349,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-20524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-3-advent","category-zenfanja","category-at","category-beitragende","category-beth-a-schlegel","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-03-chapter-03-lukas","category-kapitel-03-chapter-03-zenfanja","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20525,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20524\/revisions\/20525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=20524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}