A spirit of Advent past

Repent – for the kingdom of heaven is near

On December 4, 1981, my father delivered this Advent-themed message for a chapel service at the beginning of this holy season. It seemed fitting to post here as a spirit of Advent/Christmas past, reminding us of an important theme of the season.  Donald  Sellnow served in ministry from the 1950s to 1990s.

An Advent message

by Donald C. Sellnow

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:1-2).

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Annibale Carracci, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Repent! That’s a familiar word to anyone who knows the Bible. The prophets in the Old Testament repeatedly called for repentance. So did the Savior and his spokesmen in the New Testament. All four of the Gospels, in their opening chapters, take up the ministry of John the Baptist. John’s message was a message of repentance.

John’s message of repentance is also the keynote of the Advent season. We sometimes think of Advent as a season to be jolly … and it is that, in the proper sense of the word, to be sure. But it is also the season to repent. The violet color historically was seen on church altars and lecterns and pulpits during Advent—the same color that was used during Lent—as a reminder of the penitential nature of the season. We don’t always think of Advent in this way, but we should. Before we can really rejoice in the Savior, born for us in Bethlehem, we need to recognize our urgent need of that Savior. We need to see our sins, to realize that we are indeed wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked when we are separated from a relationship with our Lord. We need to acknowledge and confess our transgressions to the Lord.

Someone once said that the task of preaching is to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable. John, with his ministry of baptism at the river in the wilderness, certainly did that. He destroyed the comfortable; he preached the law all of its severity. He called out the proud, self-seeking, and self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees. When they came out to him in the desert, he called them “a brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). He let them—and the many others who came out to hear him—know, in no uncertain terms, that they were sinners. Their own righteousness wasn’t good enough. They needed to repent or they would perish.

But John was not just a preacher of the law. He also and especially was a preacher of the gospel. He not only pointed out sin, but also pointed to the Savior from sin. His message of repentance intended not only to bring forth sorrow and contrition, but above all to elicit faith. So, John proclaimed loud and clear the good news about Jesus, through which the Holy Spirit works grace. John testified of the one mightier than himself, whose shoes he was not worthy to carry. He directed contrite sinners to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He comforted the disturbed.

You and I need John’s message of repentance in this Advent season too. We need, first of all, to be disturbed over our sins. Most certainly, we all have plenty of them to be disturbed about. Those Pharisees and Sadducees were not alone in their pride, selfishness, and self-righteousness. You and I have the same sins to contend with in our own hearts. How easy it is for us to think that we are somehow a little better than others, to say ourselves (if not out loud), “I could’ve done that better than she did!” or, “Why did he get that position instead of me?” How easy it is for all of us to be wise in our own conceits, and how hard it is, and true humility, to consider others better than ourselves. How often do we find ourselves asking only of our own advantage, without concern for a neighbor? Often it is, “Hooray for me!” and we let the other person look out for himself. Often, instead of bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), we are concerned only about ourselves.

And how many times don’t we all display the little Pharisee who lurks in all of us and piously pat ourselves on the back for not being like other people who into some gross and open sin? Instead, we should humbly acknowledge that there, but for the grace of God, we’d find ourselves just as lost. It isn’t only sins of pride and selfishness and self-righteousness that mar our lives. There are all kinds of other sins too. None of us can escape the lightning of God’s law. None of us can stand up before a holy God in whose sight every unclean thought is adultery, who condemns anger as murder, and who requires that our hearts be free of all evil desires.

If that disturbs you—and I surely hope that it does—then take heart. There is comfort for the disturbed—comfort in the same beautiful Savior to whom John directed troubled sinners in the first Advent season. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away the sin of the world (John 1:29). That includes your sins and mine. God’s greatest Christmas gift has our names on it. For unto you, unto me, is born a Savior, Christ the Lord. He gives us the gift of cleansing from all that stains us–a Savior who gives us strength to go forward, away from sin, to walk in goodness with him.

That’s real comfort for the disturbed, comfort in the face of our sins and shame, comfort in the face of all the troubles that we inherit in this sin-affected world. For since God has given us the supreme gift of his Son, he will also, along with him, give us what we need in this life (Romans 8:32). Whatever difficulties we have to deal with (and difficulties don’t subside just because it’s Christmas time), we can look to the manger and the cross and the empty tomb. We see there how God loves us and will indeed take care of us.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” That was the Advent call in the Judean wilderness proclaimed by John, preparing the way for Jesus. That’s the Advent call still today, making straight a way into our hearts for Jesus. May the Holy Spirit use that call to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable. May he prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ incarnation at Christmas, and to welcome his return at the end of days. The Advent call convicts us of our sins, consoles us with the good news of forgiveness, and causes us to bring forth fruits of repentance in our lives.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we admit our many sins and errors. We often have been proud and selfish and loveless in our dealings with others around us. We confess our guilt and ask for your mercy and renewal. Keep us in daily repentance and faith. Move us to respond to your love with love. Prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas in true thankfulness for the greatest gift of all, and fill us with the comfort that your gospel alone can give.

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Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.