Seeking--Matthew 11:2-11. Sermon preached on December 14, 2025

            This week our advent journey takes us back to John the Baptist and the peculiarity of what he does. Last week John was the ‘voice in the wilderness’ calling us to confess our sins, now we see John acting like us. John, and those who follow him are seeking to become disciples. 

As we consider John’s message, and ‘his seeking,’ I want to place John in conversation with Mary’s words from Luke 1 where she praises the Lord for the blessing that He has bestowed upon her following her visit to cousin, Elizabeth.

            In our work to be disciples, as we seek to follow Jesus, we all face the same problem. When Jesus does not respond, in the way we want Him to, it can be hard to keep seeking Him. It can be hard to find a voice that wants to praise the Lord. 

But that is reality of our lives, Jesus seldom responds or acts the way that we insist that He should. Unfortunately, this choice by our Lord, well. . . it is infuriating that God is not acting like we want. But that realization is part of being a disciple too. 

            But we will get there. . .  

Move 1- John’s question

Our story begins with the Baptist sending some of his followers to Jesus with a most peculiar question: Are you the one to come?

            It is strange at one level because we would think that witnessing heaven and earth open at Jesus’ baptism, the faith of John’s followers would be locked fully into place. No doubts left to fester. But apparently the miraculous baptismal act of Jesus was not enough to accomplish this. 

In Matthew 11 John is in prison, and he sends his followers to inquire of Jesus. They need a bit of reassurance—it’s a strange thing, but John does it anyway. 

            The strangeness is compounded by the fact Jesus answers them plainly (something he often does not do in the gospel) . . . But more than simply answering, our Savior responds in a way that is basically, well, not Messianic. And here is what I mean. And let me say right from the beginning, we will be jumping around the gospel narrative a bit. 

            When Jesus begins his earthly ministry in Luke’s gospel, Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1-2 to the people of his hometown of Nazareth. Now you will recall that after reading this text, these people will get angry and attempt to throw him off the hill on which the town sits. Something set them off.  

These are the words that Jesus reads before he preaches: 

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and release to the prisoners,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,[1]”

            I bring this up because this text from Isaiah is where Jesus states clearly why He was sent by God to us. This is as clear as it gets. This is Jesus’ mission statement. After he reads these words, the next thing that Jesus says in Luke 4 is: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” That is plain as Jesus gets in the gospel when He says why he is here. Again… this is his mission.

            Now back to Matthew 11. When the followers of John come to Jesus and ask him for proof that He is the one who was sent by God and that they do not need to seek another, it stands to reason that Jesus would offer them the words from Isaiah 61 that are clear and precise. . . But Jesus does not do this. 

            Further, the story from Luke 4, where Jesus uses Isaiah 61 has already taken place by the time Matthew 11 is recorded. So why not repeat the message and remind us of His mission? 

            Instead, Jesus uses these words that make up verse 5 of todays’ text: 

“The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleanses, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel reached to them.”

            We like these words. We nod at these words. We say, ‘Yes, this is why Jesus is here.’ But those words come from two places in Isaiah… 28 and 35 and neither are part of any Messianic passages that Isaiah writes for us. 

            Again, Jesus not giving us what we want and not responding in a way that we would like him to. He tells what He wants to tell us and it not always what we want to hear.  

Move 2- 

            You see when God does not respond in a way that you like, when you think you know what you want to hear, and you practiced the prayer, and write out the script either in your heart or on paper, you’ve prepared the speech as John’s followers did in Matthew 11, and then Jesus does not follow it and uses words from a different part of the prophet that no one anticipated, in that moment it can feel very hard. . . very confusing. . .. It can feel almost impossible to locate the faith in your heart . . . to speak like Mary in Luke 1. 

It can feel almost impossible to find any place in your heart to offer a word of praise to God when it feels like God is not offering you want you wanted to hear from the Lord. And that is the challenge for us today as it was also the challenge of John’s disciples in Matthew 11, and the challenge of Mary following her time with Elizabeth in Luke 1, and as she processed the message from the angel who told her that she would bear the Son of God. 

            It can be hard, in the moment, to remember that God choose to dwell with the weak and the lowly when we want to hear that God is going to sweep down among us and make it all right. . . right now.

            In his thoughts on Mary’s Magnificat Bonhoeffer said this: 

“God is not ashamed of human lowliness [and weakness] but goes right into the middle of it, chooses someone as [an] instrument, and performs the miracle right where they least expect. God draws near the lowly, loving the lost, the unnoticed, the unremarkable, the excluded, the powerless, and broken.”[2]

            And I would add. . . God dwells with those who come to Him with struggles, with questions, when they find that God is not answering them in a way that they expect, and when we feel confused by the whole thing. Mary tells us again, “God helps His servant.” These two stories tell me, they tell us, that God is there—that God is here—for anyone who continues to seek the Lord in that moment. Even if their questions are unnecessary and speak of a lack of faith and a lack of understanding, God is there. 

            And especially if the answers from Jesus feel confusing and those answers seem to defy our expectations of who Jesus is supposed to be and how He is supposed to respond. . . Jesus is here for us. These two stories tell us this clearly. And that is the miracle for us today on the third week of Advent.

Move 3- the Miracle

            The miracle is that knowing all of this, and how it can feel uncertain, and even if it feels unhelpful at times, young Mary, seemingly insignificant Mary, is able to say, ‘my soul magnifies the Lord.” What a response. 

            So, can we be like Mary as a church and like families? 

Can we take our place among the lowly, the least, and at times the lost and see how God is with the lowliness as a child in the manger? For He has done a mighty thing this season. He has shown us mercy and given us His presence as he did with the followers of John in Matthew 11 who should have known better than to ask what they were asking. And Mary teaches us this as well in the reading from Luke 1. 

            Where people see despicable and messy, God brought forth blessing to us. This is something you and I can offer to those who come to us in what remains of the advent season, as the followers of John did to Jesus with questions that confuse and confound. 

For they come with so many questions, and while those questions seem unnecessary to our hearts at times, and we wonder if they have ever been listening to a single thing we’ve said or read to them from God’s Word, and the answers that we give them from God’s word seem clear to us. . . to them it just feels more confusing. 

            We are called to point people once again back to Jesus as John did even if the message seems lost or cloudy to us and as Mary sang about to God as well. 

Conclusion

            I know that each of us comes to Jesus with questions. But can we put those aside and simply worship God? The questions will still be there. The struggles will wait. For today it is enough to remember that God chooses to be with the weak, the lowly, and anyone who has a question that seems to have no answer, because in that place Jesus is already there with us. 

 

 

DM

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[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2061%3A1-2&version=NRSVUE

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Connected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Edited and Introduced by Isabel Best, (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2012), 118-9.

A Birthday Gift

Well, I have turned 50. It was a wonderful birthday. Surrounded by my wife, children, and daughter-in-law was all I wanted and I got it. I want to share with you one of the gifts I received as well. Emma and Jennifer came together and sent me to play golf. 

18 holes. Cart included of course (my knees would not appreciate walking the course... sorry dad, we rode this one). 

Having a birthday in December made golf during this time of the year previously impossible for me. Living in Ohio and Pennsylvania I was confronted with rain and snow often. But here in South Carolina, I do not have that issue! So Emma and I loaded up our clubs and headed to the course. 

But it was cloudy, and it was rainy that day. 

As Emma and I pulled up to the first hole, the rain began to fall in earnest. Emma was not to be deterred. She only learned to play this year and her game is coming along quite well. She does not hit it far but she is remarkably good at hitting it straight (I hate her... I mean seriously who hits it straight on their first ever swing!). 

As we drove down the first fairway, with rain coming down, Emma made the call... we needed Christmas music to brighten the round. For the next 5 holes Christmas music played on her phone. We sang and played in the rain and it was glorious. 

By the 6th hole our Christmas joy chased the rain away and only the clouds remained. 

This makes we wonder. . . Are the places and moments in your Advent preparations that you could inject some joy and infuse some hope? For Christ is with you!  

We played well that day. Emma almost made her first par! But it was the music that helped us forget the cold and the rain and remember that we were together. That made all the difference. 

Prepare--Matthew 3:1-12. Sermon preached on December 7, 2025

            By now I wonder, how many Christmas carols have you listened to? Not time amount, but how many actual Christmas songs could you name if we took the time to list them this morning?

            In my kitchen as Emma and I baked and prepared meals together, we routinely asked our virtual assistant, and I won’t say their names for fear of whose listening on YouTube, “so and so play some traditional Christmas music.” And then I enjoyed smoking chicken drumsticks and baking pies. Emma made bread and yeast rolls. We mashed potatoes and prepared deviled eggs while one of us sang—and it wasn’t Emma who sang.

            Yes, as early as Thanksgiving Day, we did this with Jennifer tasting our work to make sure we weren’t messing anything up. Amazon’s virtual assistant in the kitchen, and Apple’s in the Den, they were our DJ cycling through all the classics that you could think of. . . even the Grinch.

            So again, I wonder if you’ve joined me in this practice of enjoying everything from White Christmas to Joy to the World to… whatever your favorite Christmas carol or song is? Don’t say them out loud now either. 

            But as you listened to these selections, whether out in packed stores or at home like me, did you ever hear a message like the one from Matthew 3? Did you hear of John the Baptizer in those songs or consider the potency of what John said to his assembled congregation by the Jordan River?

            Every year the church reads about John the Baptist at some point in our Advent journey. Every year, we pause to consider how John helps us to prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus. And while you might be tempted to think that John’s message is out of place among Christmas lights and the joy of the holiday season, this message is important because it speaks to the orientation of our hearts.

Move 1- The difference

            While the first three gospels all speak about John, it is only Matthew who gives us the potency of, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Mark barely touches the message of John and Luke gives us more depth to the message; it is Matthew who provides the passion that we all remember. Matthew makes the difference. Matthew challenges us in the Christmas season to examine our lives, honestly, and fully. 

            And after we examine our lives, after we look ourselves fully and notice the places where we fall short… our response becomes clear, we should repent. 

            The language Matthew uses in this place/moment is stark.

“Repentance, or metanoia, to use the Greek word, refers to far more than a simply being or saying one is sorry for past sins, far more than mere regret or remorse for such sins. It refers to a turning away from the past way of life and the inauguration of a new one, in this case initialized by an act of baptism.[1]”

            Everyone likes to say, ‘sorry about that. Didn’t mean to say that or do that.’ But biblical repentance. The type of repentance that Matthew’s John is preaching to his congregation in today’s text, is one that calls out a deep, meaningful, reflection and analysis—a deep response. 

The message from John the Baptist that we read in Matthew’s gospel wants each person who comes to the Jordan, and each follower of Christ who reads this message later, and each members of the church in Advent now, to pause, make deliberate space in their day, and consider how their lives have not lined up to how God calls them to live. 

            And while this does not feel like a message suited to, ‘Have a holly, jolly, Christmas, cause it’s the best time of the year,’ perhaps this is exactly the right message that the Church who will silently come to the manger needs to hear and consider. 

            Perhaps the reading of Matthew 3 makes all the difference as Advent begins this year—even if it seems to feel out of place. 

Move 2- Jesus makes that difference.

            For as we make the space to repent, we draw ourselves close to the Lord. . . and in our drawing close to the Lord, we notice something happening around us in our relationship with God.

            Jesus has draws himself close to us in response before we could even begin our movement toward him. Jesus will choose us and, in His choice, we are blessed, changed, and ultimately forgiven. And John’s message foreshadows this choice of our Savior in verse 11 even if Jesus has not walked onto the stage of life yet for us, we can hear and feel Him drawing close to us. 

            “But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’”[2]

            You see, even with the potency of John’s fiery message to repent, we cannot lose track of Jesus and the forgiveness that comes in Him to those who spend the time, engage in the work of repentance, and turn fully to Jesus. No justification offered. Just presence and honestly before the Lord. Not judgement and separation, just unity with the one who heals us when we are honest with him.

            For the Christian experience of forgiveness can be something wonderful… if we are honest with the Lord about who we are and how we have fallen short. As we embrace the presence of Jesus ‘with us’ the miracle has space to take that potency from John and work its own miracle of healing in our lives.

William Muehl tells this story that underlines the presence that is possible in this moment. Rather than experiencing separation in our repentance, or placation, even in the pain that these actions can present, we can find peace and unity with the Lord if we linger and notice what is happening.  

            “One December afternoon. . . a group of parents stood in the lobby of a nursery school waiting to claim their children after the last pre-Christmas class session. As the youngsters ran from their lockers, each one carried in [their] hands the ‘surprise,’ the brightly wrapped package on which [they] had been working diligently for weeks. One small boy, trying to run, put on his coat, and wave to his parents, all at the same time, slipped and fell. The ‘surprise’ flew from his grasp, landed on the floor and broke with an obvious ceramic crash. 

            The child. . . began to cry inconsolably. His father, trying to minimize the incident and comfort the boy, patted his head and muttered, ‘Now, that’s all right, son. It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter at all.’

            But the boy’s mother, somewhat wiser in such situations, swept the boy into her arms and said, ‘Oh, but it does. It matters a great deal.’ And she wept with her son.”[3]

            This story illustrates that the church has a responsibility to come together and remind each other that the pain that we feel as we examine our sin and our short comings, it matters so much to God and to each other. Let us not minimize this moment but embrace it. 

This moment is not about judgment and/or the separation that comes when we confess or sins. But rather, as the mother took her son in her arms in solidarity, Jesus takes us up in his arms, and He weeps with us as we realize how sinful we are as we abide in God’s presence. He does not pat us on the head and brush us on our way. . .R Rather Jesus, holds us close as we realize how deeply our sin cuts us and wounds our relationship with God and with each other.

            In this way, the potency of John’s message that calls us to repent, calls us to examine ourselves faithfully and fully, and with all the sting that we read about in the text today, it meets the grace of God in the person of Jesus who is with us and who comes to the Jordan to meet John in the gospel, and whose birth we celebrate this season, and He weeps with us as we confess that sin fully. 

Conclusion

            As we prepare to install and ordain Ruling Elders for the class of 2028 and place them in leadership at this church, I hope the message of John will stick with them, and with you. 

            This is not a word that is only to be considered once a year, but it should remain in our hearts and lives. For each day, we need to make the space and create the time to recall John and his message. We need to wonder about where the places and the moments are where we need to repent… and more than just repent, where do we need to extend forgiveness and feel that extension in our lives. 

            For that practice must extend outside of this space and this moment. It must be carried with us from here and touch the lives of others in this community. For Christ was born for all of us. 

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[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-of-advent/commentary-on-matthew-31-12  

 

[2] Matthew 3:11 ESV

[3] Feasting on the Word Year A. Volume 1. Page 46. 

Going up--Isaiah 2:1-5. Sermon preached on November 30, 2025

            As we begin Advent for this year, I want to start with a history lesson that dwells behind the text that I read with you. It helps set the table for what we will experience in this season. 

            The history of Isaiah 1-39 is important for the world where Isaiah writes was tense. Assyria, the dominant power of the day decided that they would extend their reach, and their dominance, all the way through the Fertile Crescent, and out into Egypt. Moving through modern day Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, the Assyrians swept aside everyone who stood in their way. Now they were bearing down on Israel. Their army easily dispatched the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s capital city of Samaria in 700 BC.  

            But as they moved south and conquered, word came from back home—civil war had broken out in Assyria. Unrest at home. So, the Assyrian army packed up and marched itself back home to put down that rebellion before resuming the ultimate goal of conquest into Egypt. 

As the Assyrians pull back from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, we can imagine the feelings of Jerusalem—the capital city. They were rejoicing. They heard what happened up north and we can be sure they were anxious about their future. But God heard their prayers! They were spared. They were saved. Peace! The covenant with Abraham protected them! 

            But in 722 BC, Assyria was back and Jerusalem fell just as quickly as every other city did. Under the Assyrians. 

            Yet for the 22 years between Israel and Judah falling, during the lull in the conquest, the people start hearing and believing that peace was the only option. God would only bring them peace. It is their right as His people. Some might even have whispered: “We deserve this.”

            But like I said, this peace is temporary. 

Move 1- Middle space

And so, the first lesson of Isaiah 2 is that we find the people hearing the text, and maybe ourselves as well on the first Sunday of Advent, dwelling in a liminal space; a middle space. Operating between two poles. 

They don’t know it at this moment, but we the readers do. We know the whole of history around them. Like I said, we know that Assyria will be back soon. We know in 20 years life in Israel will be far worse off than before. Now an angry army will be back to finish what they started. 

            That’s how these things often feel in the moment: like nothing will ever change, like what we see, and what we experience, is the only plausible experience and choice available. Again, in the moment. It’s always going to be this way; our way. Our limited worldview, our limited understanding is the only answer to whatever we see in this very second of our lives and in our work for the Lord. 

            But if in this case that the peace that we are experiencing, is temporary then what we do in the moment, in the day, be the experience good or bad, is also very important. 

How we practice our faith, live out our calling before the Lord, worship God, hold on to what we believe when times are tough, in this time is of great significance. Do we sit idly back and do nothing resting on our senses of spiritual entitlement? Do we reflect on where we have been passively dwelling and not working hard to grow our faith and deepen our discipleship? 

Or using Isaiah 2, and the call to return to the Lord and go up the Mountain of the Lord, do we wonder about how do we could create tools of community building when others around us only seek to divide and not reflect on the presence of Jesus who is with us? 

This becomes important because none of us know at what point things around us will change. We do not know when the middle space that we occupy right now will change and God will call us to come together as the church, as the community, and care for one another in a way or in a ministry that we did not see happening or even being conceived of a short time ago.

            In this middle space, going up the Mountain of the Lord is an act of worship, an act of devotion, it is an invitation to make the time to learn the ways of God once again so that we might Lord continue to grow and be molded by God. 

Move 2- God’s Word

            For as we come to the Mountain of the Lord, we encounter God, in His word. We hear this in verse 3. “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”[1]

            In this middle space, as well as in the space where Assyria is pressing down upon God’s people in time when Isaiah 2 was written, the Word of God, makes the difference for all. Yes, in verse 4 we hear God’s word used by the Lord as the defining tool of judgement, but God’s word also is the instructional tool that helps us grow. God’s word assists us in our practice of discernment as we work hard to change our lives and serve our community faithfully in response to the revelation of God with us.

            For the Word of the Lord makes the difference in the lives of the church—certainly. But the Word of the Lord also makes a difference in all of life of Creation also. God’s word is that strong and that powerful.

            We know that each of us needs the daily instruction from God that is found in His Word. We need it during the hard times, such as we have walked through together over the past month. We need the instruction of God as we now move through advent together and celebrate the welcome to incarnate Son of God who will call us to be different together. 

            We need God’s word to learn from God about how be disciples in our future—wherever that takes. To hear from God takes discipline. 

            Humanity always needs God’s Word and that is why we are called to come to the mountain of God in this text, not just today, but as often as we can, we are called to return to God and to learn from God in His word as we stand before God. 

Now yes, there is judgment here in this text, we cannot deny the power and conviction of the first part of verse 4, but there is also a sense of continual learning and growth taking place here. As God is with us always—in the prosperity, in the suffering, and as the Israelites were dwelling in this text, in the middle space between the Assyrian invasions and the uncertainty that came along with that invasion. 

            Because each of us knows that God’s Word is the light that draws us forward and reminds us, and calls us, to welcome the newborn King.

Move 3- mystery

            Nevertheless, we are going up the mountain of the Lord, we are holding fast the Word of the Lord, yet none of this means that the mystery of this very moment is downplayed. For the citizens of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, those who lived in that middle space of peace, they would experience the return of Assyria. And once again they would suffer. 

            Worshipping God, studying His Word, committing to practices of discipleship, they are crucially important. Here in this space, we will light our candles and sing our carols together in praise. In a few short weeks, we will sing Silent Night and a quiet joy will fill our lives. 

            But that does not mean that one day, each of us will leave our own middle space and face another hard day or hard season. 

            And that is the mystery of the Christian faith. For while living in the lull period when life seems good, it is tempting to think that we, that they, will always live in that place and space. But that is not true and it is not meant to be. Instead, we press into the mystery once again, return, even daily, to the study of God’s word, to the power of it, and the worship that comes up on the Mountain of God knowing how difficult we will find life—at times. 

            However, this conclusion is good. Because the righteous one is coming. The one who teaches us how to be ministers of peace of wholeness is with us. The one who invites us to take another step towards himself and in his life, is with us. We are challenged to live and work knowing this truth is right before us inviting us to be different when the world offers us a challenge: can we find hope in a hopeless place and time. 

Conclusion

These people were not ready for what God might call them to next and so when life changed, they were not ready. I wonder if we are ready to return to God? Return to his word? And find the mystery and hope that God is always with us. 

DM

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[1] Isaiah 2:3 ESV.