The Advent word for December 15 is taken from the Old Testament lesson on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 35: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing

Jesus tells us in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John:   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”. I am not sure if any thing Jesus says in the gospels has been used more inaccurately than this one. Prosperity preachers abound in our culture, attracting huge crowds and lots of money, primarily because they tell people what they want to hear – that following Jesus will give you material wealth and protect you from illness or accident or sorrow of any kind. Instead, the abundant life is not about protecting us from difficult times, it is about living a discipled life in Christ where our spiritual life is uplifted, our prayers are deeper, our understanding of The Way Jesus wants us to trod. Giving ourself to Christ in every aspect of our lives is what makes our life abundant – filled to overflowing with grace, love and comfort especially when times get tough.

Our Advent Word for the 3rd Sunday of Advent is Honor. It is taken from the Epistle reading for 1st Sunday of Advent, from Romans chapter 13: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day.

Honor in a Biblical sense usually refers to reverence, respect, and obedience. We Honor our parents, according to the 10 commandments, we are to live honorably as in the light of Christ which illuminates all. We honor God in worship, praise, and obedience.

Honor can also mean living a life with the knowledge of the honor you have been given. Today is the 23rd anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood. It certainly has been an incredible honor to serve along side all six congregations and 3 dioceses I have worked in, as well as my work at General Convention, and also leading retreats, leading stewardship programs for other churches, serving as a camp director for 5th and 6th graders, staffing spiritual retreat weekends like Cursillo and Vocare and men’s group retreats, all of it has been humbling, uplifting, and challenging, and in all that it has been an honor to be blessed by so many people in these 23 years. I have learned a lot, laughed a lot, cried some, wondered often about my worthiness or gifts, while always being blessed by the support of a loving, supportive and beautiful in every way wife, along with all my family. Thank you all, I have been richly blessed far more than I deserve. What an honor!

Today’s word comes from the gospel of the 2nd Sunday of Advent from Matthew Chapter 3: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The separation of those who are truly following Christ and those who are not – either because they pretend to or because they intentionally oppose the Messiah and his teachings, is a theme in the gospel of Matthew. In chapter 25 it is Jesus who separates the sheep from the goats, and the goats will include a lot who called Jesus their savior but who were not honest or earnest about being disciples, to the point where Jesus says some who called him Lord he does not recognize. This fire which cannot be quenched awaits, metaphorically, those who oppose the message, love, grace, and redemption of Christ in order to protect their own earthly power, power which is short lived vs the eternity of fire or glory with God.

The word for December 11th is BROOD. It is taken from the gospel lesson for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, where John the Baptist calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a “Brood of Vipers”. In other words a group of like minded folks who are actually snake-y! In Matthew chapter 3, John the Baptist sees these two groups of religious leaders approach and says, “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”

The term “coming for baptism” could also be translated something like “Coming to see about these baptisms”. So most likely they were opposed to the JtB baptisms and came out to oppose them. So John calls them out for this, a group of snakes who oppose the repentance John insisted on and held the to the same standard – bear fruit worthy of repentance. A good lesson for all of us!

Encouragement is in the 2nd lesson for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, from Romans 15: May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the book of Acts we meet Barnabas, whose name means “Son of Encouragement”. He is a key part of the leadership of the early church and Paul’s ascendancy as an evangelist to the Gentiles. He is a champion of John Mark when Paul is upset with him leaving from one of Paul’s missionary journeys. He is a cheerleader for St. Paul and John Mark.

I like the image from the Romans passage of “the God of steadfastness and encouragement”. Can you see God the Father, cheering us on, always loving us, saying “well done!” and “you got this” and “I love you” when we need it the most! Our Steadfast Encouraging God – what a great image”.