Thursday, December 15, 2022  

Today’s Scripture Reading
Luke 3:1–6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (NRSV)

Reflection

The third chapter of Luke begins with a who’s-who list of the first century! The list has all the power brokers, starting at the very top with the emperor of the Roman Empire, down to the local politicians, and even the high priests. Any Middle Eastern first-century reader would have been impressed with this assemblage of name-dropping.

So it is surprising Luke just mentions all these illustrious figures and in the very next sentence writes “the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” What about all those rich and famous people? If God was about to do something amazing, God should certainly pick one of those illustrious figures who had all the connections, money, and clout. God even passed over the high priests. Instead, the word of God came to an ordinary person in the wilderness. How incredible that God left it up to someone totally unknown to proclaim a message of “repentance and forgiveness of sins.” 

The word of God continues to fall on any of us who will listen. Father Ioann Burdin, a Russian Orthodox priest deep inside Russia listened and, like John, he preached a message of repentance. But Father Ioann preached a sermon asking for repentance and forgiveness about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His message got him into a lot of trouble with the Russian authorities, because he opposed the war which no one is allowed to do in Russia. After being interrogated and fined he decided to leave his church and is now paying a heavy price for following his moral compass. Yet his sermon, originally heard by about a dozen people in his church has now become known around the world in countless newspapers and through countless media sources.  

God is speaking to all of us, every single day, if we choose to listen and respond. John listened and responded. Father Ioann did too. Sometimes the word of God is asking us to do something simple like talk to a friend, but also to make a donation to a charity, to help those in need, or to make bold changes. Maybe the word of God is asking us to do something today about gun violence in our culture, about racism, or immigration. God has a message for you, every day. God is asking each of us to listen and to respond, even if we’re in the wilderness. 

Prayer

God, help me listen for your word, and even more, help me to respond to your word with courage and strength. Amen.

Written by John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music

Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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