Hymn Suggestions: I find it helpful to introduce some thoughts prior to singing a hymn. You might put together some of your own reflections on the hymns you chose. I’ve offered mine.
From All Creation Sings: Listed in my order of preference.
902 “Come Now O God”
I’m writing this a few weeks after the election, and the clean sweep of all branches of government by the Trump version of the Republican party.
My faith in the political process is indeed shaken, and my heart aches for the many government agencies that will be impacted, as well as minority groups.
I fear for our planet, and wonder if God can still work through people like us to save it…
“Come turn the tears of our mourning to gladness. Come Emmanuel, come.”
1065 “Can You Feel the Seasons Turning”
"Drill Baby Drill!”
This is not the kind of turning I voted for, and pray for!
The earth is crying out in so many ways. Will we, can we, hear the creatures crying?
I like the 3rd verse! “Called by God to serve as stewards till the earth’s garden greens and thrives, can we learn in time to listen? Can we turn and change our lives?”
John’s message was all about repentance = turning our lives around.
904 “Come to Be Our Hope, O Jesus”
What would it look like if we worked together “to build a new creation through the road of servanthood”?
This Advent we are praying that God would “give us hope against our fear.”
From Evangelical Lutheran Worship:
252 “Each Winter As the Year Grows Older”
This Advent hymn could have been written last week!
John Bell’s words speak directly to the chaotic, hateful mess we find ourselves in, and yet speak boldly of an alternative perspective for those who believe Jesus’ life, death and resurrection actually matter.
“Lord Jesus, come and reign.”
249 “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”
Classic hymn that summarizes our Gospel lesson
I particularly like the strong emphasis on God’s intervention in our lives. Without it we cannot find the strength to stand against the evil that is loose in the world.
What would it look like if God used us to “fill the world with love divine?”
I suggest using ELW 262 “Wait for the Lord” as the Gospel Verse. It combines both the expectancy of the Advent season, as well as encouragement to “be strong, take heart”.
Reflections on some of the texts:
Isaiah 12:2-6
This song of praise includes these words: “I will trust, and will not be afraid.” This Advent season, post-election, we indeed can lean into the knowledge that our God is trustworthy. As Melinda Quivik shared with us in her Christ the King reflections, our God is audacious enough to come to us in bread and wine, and dwell within us! We are not alone in our calling to “Make known God’s deeds.” We do this together! Or as Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure.” How might our lives lived in harmony with creation and our neighbors make known God’s deeds? What difference might it make if we actually believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist as we struggle to discern how to live as a minority version of Christianity in this country dominated by Christian Nationalism?
Philippians 4:4-7
Philippians is regarded as the most joy filled of all Paul’s letters (rejoice occurs 9 times and joy 5 times). After reading these verses several times, my focus was drawn to these words: “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” It caused me to wonder what it would mean to apply this not only to the humans on the planet, but also to the planet and the rest of the flora and fauna that share it with us. In this I am echoing Dr. Craig Nessan, who, in his 2022 Fortress Press book titled “Free in Deed: The Heart of Lutheran Ethics” made a strong case for including all creation in our definition of neighbor! In fact, based on my count, Dr. Nessan includes all of creation in his understanding of neighbor love on 24 of the 131 pages of his short book! I’ve chosen to follow Dr. Nessan’s lead, and from this point forward, when I think/write/speak of neighbor, I am included all of creation!
One could ask Paul, what will it take for us to repent of our natural preference to serve ourselves rather than our “neighbors?” Paul doesn’t mind the question, and has actually provided an amazing suggestion. In Philippians 2:4-5 Paul wrote: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” Many scholars consider the Christ hymn that follows to be the earliest Christian hymn still in existence!
It gets better. For those of us wondering why our lifestyles and choices matter in the grand scheme of things, Paul wrote in Philippians 3:17: “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” Imagine the impact our lives make on those who observe how we treat our neighbors! This is vintage Paul. You may wish to build a litany of the many passages where Paul used this idea to help his auditors know how to actually live lives that mattered. Here are the eight passages I use:
· 1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1
· Gal. 4:12
· Eph. 5:1
· 1Thess. 1:6-7; 2:14
· Phil. 3:17; 4:8-9
· For regular readers of these preaching helps, you might remember I shared the above list in my reflections for Pentecost 3, June 18, 2023.
Luke 3: 7-18 (I strongly encourage you to read through vs 20)
For many years, Dr. Diane Jacobson directed the ELCA’s Book of Faith Initiative. One of the gifts that came out of that initiative was a simple bookmark with 4 different lenses through which to view a text. I’ll model that for our Gospel lesson. You can read about these lenses here: https://www.bookoffaith.org/
Literary Lens:
· The first two chapters of Luke focus on Jesus. Here in chapter three, the focus shifts and John takes center stage.
· In chapter 3:1-2, Luke makes careful note of the political reality that serves as the backdrop of his book. John will preach and challenge the empire and end up jailed and beheaded. Jesus will do his ministry in the shadow of the empire and will end up on a cross.
· John’s call to live a life that models a repentant heart is for everyone. This is clear from his choice of Greek words for “crowds” and “people.” Oxloi = mixed horde= anybody who happens to hear him. John is preaching to the mixed multitude in 3:7-14. Then in 3:15-20 Luke shifts to the word “laos” = normally used for the chosen people. I find that helpful in understanding the different arenas of my life, and how a life of repentance might look in each of them.
Historical Lens:
· Reality of the power of the Roman Empire at this time. By the time Luke wrote his gospel (80 CE?), Rome had crushed their revolt (70-71 CE).
· Tax collectors made their living by charging more than the tax Rome required. Keep in mind that they weren’t paid a salary to serve as tax collectors for the empire. It was expected they would make a very good living by charging plenty extra.
· Soldiers had power and weren’t afraid to use it to get what they wanted.
Theological Lens:
· Look closely at the values expressed in our text by the responses John gives to representatives of the “oxloi” – honesty, integrity as a work ethic, and kindness, to name just a few.
· This quote is not original with me, but I find it fitting for Advent 3. “The way things are is not how they have to be.” This applies to all arenas of our lives. The results of the election will not make it any easier, which is why reading Luke’s account of how the Gospel can flourish in the face of empire is instructive. It is helpful to notice that John does not tell the soldiers to quit being soldiers, nor does John tell the tax collectors to quit being tax collectors. Rather, in the ordinary work of their professions, they are told to do them differently! Don’t play into the power politics of the empire. Live out your vocation differently.
· Luke names the price John paid for challenging the empire. He was imprisoned. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminded us, discipleship is costly. Yet at the same time, Christianity has flourished when it was a minority religion, and has often lost its way when it was in a position of power.
Devotional Lens:
When using this lens, one allows the text to intersect with one’s own life, so I’d like to close with a story from my own life here on the farm.
In 1980, my wife and I purchased a small farm 7 miles to the west of Chippewa Falls in northwestern Wisconsin. Since we planned to set up a sheep milking dairy operation, we had to have our water tested annually. Thankfully, the water table in the Chippewa Falls area was pristine. In fact, Chippewa Falls bottled and sold its water, claiming it was the purest spring water in the country. Every year for 20 years, the results were the same. Pure spring water.
We did set up the sheep dairy, based on rotational grazing. We were organic and sustainable (not the same things!) Due to my wife’s declining health, we ended up selling our dairy business after 20 years. Currently our daughter and her family continue to rotationally graze livestock on our pastures.
Imagine my surprise when I received a letter from the county a few months ago, informing me (and all residents in the surrounding agricultural area), that our pure spring water was now so contaminated by nitrates that it is unsafe to drink without expensive filters being installed. What had changed? How could this be? What did I not understand?
Their solution to the problem of too many nitrates in our groundwater? The township installed a filtration system at the centrally located fire station and provides to township residents free filtered drinking water! All you have to do is drive there and fill your water jugs…
“The way things are is not how they have to be.”
To take a page out of our Gospel lesson for Advent 3, it would be like the tax collector telling the person they have overcharged, that they can go to the temple and ask for assistance to help them afford to buy food.
What does repent look like in an agricultural system that has ignored the cries of the earth, and now is ignoring the warning shout of the water table? As I talked with area farmers, we realized that the one thing that has changed is that a massive confinement dairy (1000s of cows) with a gigantic slurry containment pond was developed in the past 25 years. The amount of slurry waste is so great that the farm doesn’t have enough acreage to spread the slurry on. The soil can’t absorb it and it heads straight on down to the water table, which is relatively shallow in our township. Our well is only 100 feet deep.
These Advent 3 texts call me to look closely at my own farming practices, and to challenge the agricultural system that encourages “get big or get out.”
Rev. Greg Kaufmann
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
"Pastor Greg Kaufmann, recently retired, served congregations in Colorado and Wisconsin between 1975-2000. He served as Assistant to the Bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin from 2000 – June 1, 2023. In 1993 he helped begin that synod's Lay School of Ministry, and currently teaches its Bible courses. In 2000 he helped start his synod’s resource center and still volunteers as its director. He was a member of the ELCA’s Book of Faith leadership team, and currently is part of the ELCA’s Life of Faith Initiative leadership team and the ELCA’s Lay Ministry Programs leadership team. Greg retired in August, 2024, as the Director of the ELCA's Select Learning ministry, a position he held since 2006. In “refirement” Greg serves on the board of directors of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, on his synod’s Neighbor2Neighbor board, and Greg is one of 3 synod representatives on the planning team of the 2025 EcoFaith Summit of the Upper Midwest. Greg has written a number of the quarterly adult Bible studies for Augsburg Fortress, and recently completed a course for Select Learning on the formation of the NT.
https://www.selectlearning.org/store/all/how-we-got-new-testament-dvd
When not teaching, writing or volunteering, you can find Greg enjoying his three grandchildren, on top of 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado, canoeing the Boundary Waters, hybridizing daylilies on his farm, or visiting national parks with his family, in his RoadTrek camper named Slinky."