{"id":513027,"date":"2019-11-02T22:19:30","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T02:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/episcopalchurch:8888\/sermon\/repent-live-into-gods-dream-advent-2-a-december-8-2019\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T17:18:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:18:32","slug":"repent-live-into-gods-dream-advent-2-a-december-8-2019","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/repent-live-into-gods-dream-advent-2-a-december-8-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Repent, Live into God\u2019s Dream, Advent 2 (A) – 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[RCL]: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.\u201d  – Romans 15: 13<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every age when God\u2019s people turn to sin and waywardness, human prophets appear to sound warnings of what is to come unless humanity changes its course. They may be humble, untutored individuals like Amos, the sheep farmer of the eighth century B.C., they may be learned public figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or wild creatures driven by some inner fire. We usually think of prophecy as foretelling the future \u2013 predictions of things to come. But the biblical meaning of prophecy is the declaration of religious truth, speaking as the voice of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this second Sunday of Advent, we find ourselves once again on the banks of the River Jordan with John the Baptist. All four Gospel writers agree that there is no good news \u2013 no Gospel of Jesus, without John the Baptist. Jesus himself describes John as the greatest of prophets. John took his mission, which was to declare the imminent arrival of the coming Messiah, very seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John feared no one, not even Herod or Herod\u2019s wife, who in the end arranged to have John\u2019s head. He was, however, totally devoted to the One for whom he came to prepare the way, saying to his followers, \u201cI baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.\u201d It would be hard to envision John on the cover of any fashion magazine. This wild figure dressed in camel\u2019s hair would more likely be depicted as a cartoon image holding a sign that reads, \u201cGet ready, the end is near!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John proclaims, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.\u201d Crowds from Jerusalem and the surrounding regions flock to hear John and to be baptized in the Jordan. Why do they flock to hear John? Perhaps they have become disheartened by the quality of their lives and welcome the call for change. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan point out that the Biblical understanding of the term \u201crepent\u201d is deeply shaped by the Jewish experience of exile. To repent, to return, is to follow the prepared way of the Lord that leads out of our separation and back into reconnection with the God who made us and loves us beyond our understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John is out in the wilderness \u2013 far away from the places of power. He sees the world through the lens of wilderness experience and calls to mind the fact that God\u2019s people endured the wilderness \u2013 with all its confusions, ill-will, and foolishness \u2013 as they fled from Pharaoh\u2019s tyranny. For years, they struggled with God\u2019s call on their lives, often abusing it with their own disobedience. This is a man who won\u2019t stop reminding people of the reality of faithlessness despite all that comes from God\u2019s gracious leading. He risks the traumas the wilderness may bring. The wilderness is a place where death is all too close \u2013 where food is scarce. No wonder his staples are locusts and wild honey. Perhaps venturing into the wilderness to be with John reminds the crowd of their ancestors\u2019 struggles, allowing them to hear John\u2019s call to repent more as invitation than judgment \u2013 as an invitation to come home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To repent doesn\u2019t mean to simply be sorry. In the New Testament, to repent means to begin seeing differently, to begin thinking differently, both of which lead to acting and living differently. To repent is to change, but not for the sake of change itself. Rather, when we change, we start to live differently, because as we enter a new mindset or as we develop a new way of seeing, we become aware that our actions are out of step with God\u2019s dream for all creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what is God\u2019s dream for all creation? The answer to that question can be found throughout Scripture. One illustration can be found in our reading from Isaiah \u2013 God\u2019s dream is for the world to be a place in which peace and equity \u2013 rather than fear and hatred \u2013 rule the day. God dreams for the world to be a place where we view each other with compassion and with love, where all of creation is full of the mercy and the peace of God. Dr. King dreamed of the Beloved Community. Catherine Meeks, Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, reminds us that God dreams of community where we love one another as neighbors with all our heart, soul, and mind, and that God calls us to live into this dream, not next year, not ten years from today, but right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a desire that John himself expresses with the phrase that always comes after the verb \u201crepent.\u201d He does not just shout, \u201cRepent!\u201d and then stop there; John links the call to repentance with the \u201cwhy\u201d of repentance: the kingdom of heaven has come near. For those of us who follow God in the Way of Love, it is Jesus who defines our new way of seeing, our new mindset, and our way back to God. Deciding to try to live and love like Jesus is what Christian repentance is all about.

Could it be that our rugged, ascetic nonconformist was not yelling with a tone of dread and doom, but with an equally intense voice filled with hope? Beloved, what if we choose to hear John\u2019s call – Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near \u2013 not as an ominous threat of impending condemnation, but as an invitation to live into God\u2019s dream?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even now, there are prophets rising up in our midst. Our youth dream of having a future in which they can enjoy God\u2019s creation, but often feel that their dreams are threatened because of climate change and violence. They are demanding change to protect their lives and God\u2019s creation so they and their children may enjoy the abundant life God desires for them – that they may live into God\u2019s dream. The vulnerable simply can\u2019t afford to be indifferent, \u201cand a little child shall lead them\u201d (Isaiah 11:6b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God invites us all to dream something beyond what we can presently see \u2013 the suffering of migrants, of refugees, the homeless, the hungry, and those who have lost loved ones through acts of violence. These are dreams by which to set a course. God does not ask us if we are there yet, but rather whether we are headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, as children of God, need to heed the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness \u2013 the voice that reminds us of God\u2019s dream. We need to take the time to seek God\u2019s vision for us \u2013 to ask, \u201cWhat does God want us to be and to do?\u201d We need to choose one \u2013 just one, for now \u2013 element of our lives where we see the need for repentance and take advantage of the opportunity to change direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Paul\u2019s counsel, we who have glimpsed God\u2019s dream must now share that hope. Like John, we must strive to renew the hopes of an exhausted world. With practice, we can be like Isaiah, who can see beyond the mess and dream of a world in which all are ready for the arrival of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.\u201d  – \u201cRepent, live into God\u2019s Dream.\u201d This is John the Baptist\u2019s invitation for us to come home and to be the people God has created us to be. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sermon was written by the Rev. Marcea Paul<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sermon-English-Advent-2A-2019<\/strong><\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[RCL]: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 \u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.\u201d  – Romans 15: 13 In every age when God\u2019s people turn to sin and waywardness, human prophets…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,43,52,3],"tags":[154],"class_list":["post-513027","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-advent-2a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":10,"label":"Advent"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":154,"label":"Advent 2A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/513027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/513027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3485547,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/513027\/revisions\/3485547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}