Tuesday 20 November 2012

Tuesday - preaching the Good News of Jesus

Prayer:   Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world.   Lord forgive us.  Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world.  Lord hear us.  Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world.  Grant us Your peace.  Amen.

Read St. Luke  3:  15- 20

The people were waiting in expectation.   They thought that the message of repentance and hope that John brought to them might mean that John was the long awaited Messiah.   John corrects them by saying that he is not the Messiah.  In fact,  says John,  there is one who is still to come who will come and baptize in the name of the Holy Spirit. 

John continues that he is not worthy to untie the sandals of the one who is still to come.   Sandals?    Taking off someone’s  sandals  was the task of a slave.  For John to state that he is unworthy to even untie the sandals means that John puts himself beneath the task of slave.  Wow.   John continues to preach repentance and good news to the people.

John does not only preach repentance to the people but also sees what the governing officials are doing and rebukes them.  Herod the tetrarch married Herodias – Herodias was Herod’s  half brother’s  wife.     Both men were named Herod.    Herod the tetrarch continued to do evil things… and John calls him on his evil deeds.   How does Herod respond?  He locks up John in prison.
Herod thought by locking John up in prison that John’s words and preaching and teaching would be kept silent.  How wrong were Herod’s  thoughts.

Has there ever been a time when you wanted to preach the Good News of Christ but were stopped?   What ended up happening?

Prayer:  O God,  You have brought us out of the darkness of night into the brightness of morning.  By Your Holy Spirit, dispel the darkness of sin and doubt.  In Your goodness, pour such light into our hearts, that they may be Yours without fear of separation.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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