“All Flesh Shall See the Salvation of God”

January 10, 2021

                Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Ciaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

                “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

                ‘Prepare the way of the Lord:

                Make His paths straight.

                Every valley shall be filled

                And every mountain and hill brought low;

                The crooked places shall be made straight

                And the rough ways smooth;

                And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”  The Gospel of Luke 3:1-6 NKJV

After such a week as this, where seditionists turned insurrectionists invaded the Capitol of the United States of America, it would be tempting to pontificate at length regarding the implications of this for our democratic process.  We could also make an argument for or against invoking the 25^th amendment or for or against impeachment of the President.  We might offer a word of thanks to God that the democratic process of certifying state electors and our new President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris went forward to its completion, thanks in large part to Vice-President Pence who broke with the President to fulfill his constitutional duties!  Thank God for Mike Pence and for God who is watching over him and the entire constitutional process! We could say a whole lot more!   Hopefully, this is the end of any attempts at insurrection.  But without President Trump attending the inauguration, is he giving his followers a signal to do even more mischief when they march on Washington, D.C on Inauguration Day?  Let us hope that cooler heads prevail.

Into these troubling times, while reading the gospel of Luke as part of my morning devotional, I noticed something rather interesting.  It appears God’s work through John the Baptist and the preparation for the revealing of Jesus Christ to the Jewish-Roman world occurred right in the middle of various persons exercising governmental office, some as well-known as Herod and soon to be famous Pontius Pilate and some as obscure as Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene.  Herod the Great we know as a ruler both for his impressive architectural projects as well as for his proclaiming himself as God (according to historian Josephus), whereupon he died eaten with worms.  Whether factual or exaggerated, Josephus always tells a good story!

Reading the gospel of Luke this morning, I am reminded that in good times and in troubling times God’s work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world is continuing!  Whether we participate with God by joining in this greatest endeavor for the human family, or whether we ignore Christ’s message, God’s work of salvation is continuing with or without us.  This word of the gospel, in good seasons and in bad, brings hope to our troubled world!  I do not believe, at the end of the day, an allegiance to any politician is going to serve in the church of Jesus Christ’s best interests.  Whatever short term gains we might perceive, as the election of a conservative judge to the Supreme Court, is certainly overshadowed by the fact that we have alienated at least 50% of those persons around us who need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If any minister of the gospel of Christ can justify such behavior in doing this, as I will be there along side you witnessing the great divide occurring in humanity in the judgment hall of our Redeemer, then go ahead and support whatever politician you want.  I will not and never will do so!  If the church of Christ, and particularly its leadership in the pastors, elders and deacons who lead the flock of God are compromised by political entanglements, who will hear our clarion call to come and know Jesus?   If we as a pastor or leader in the Christian church can somehow justify what happened this week in our US Capitol and call this a working of God, then I feel deeply saddened as a brother in Christ.  Short term expediency does not make for a work from God!  In this case we have a demagogue with no moral center provoking a crowd to commit insurrection against our duly elected government!  This is law breaking at the highest level of government, breaking the trust of all the people of this great nation and bringing ridicule upon our nation by dictators and tyrants across the globe who now feel empowered to do the same type of acts themselves.   If anyone can find in this a work of God… Romans 12 and other passages tell us to pray for our leaders who are in authority over us, THAT WE MAY LIVE IN PEACE as a Christian church.   God’s intent is that we live in a period of STABLE GOVERNMENT so that the good news of Jesus is not hindered in its proclamation.  These passages and others do not mean we endorse any government and its policies, only that we pray that what the government does or does not do brings stability and order to life, so we are not hindered from doing God’s work of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

My prayer for us as the church who loves Jesus Christ in the United States of America is that we quickly find our way again!  While America may have many Christians living in it, it is not a Christian nation.   If you question this statement, ride out on any Sunday morning during worship at your church and see how many persons in your community are asleep in the bed at home.  Admittedly, during the Covid-19 epidemic this is not a fair assessment.  But when this pandemic is finally over and all vaccines are administered, do you believe that every person will find their way to a house of worship?  I am speaking today of Christians.  We have a lot of other good folks, good citizens who are of other faiths and we don’t see them promoting insurrection against our nation!  We must, in this occasion, question why mostly white men and women, some who are Christians, swarmed the capitol in an attempt to overthrow our government and prevent Vice-President Mike Pence and other representatives from completing their constitutional duty of certifying the 2020 election.  Are these persons swarming the capitol those we want representing us in Washington, D.C.?  The BBC news today has ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jake Angeli, who has been arrested, stating there were “no members of Antifa or any other left-wing organizations present in or around the Capitol building on 6 January.  It was “patriots doing what our founding fathers would have done.”  The reason he knew that was “because Antifa are cowards who have no commitment to their country of their cause.” (see BBS News, Top Stories, January 19, 2021)

I quote reliable news sources as so much of what is heard and quoted in various media outlets is not based on factual information.

There are two primary points to this crisis of government that need to be said:   First, President-elect Joe Biden, will have his work cut out for him starting on day one.  There are many Republicans who will have problems accepting his leadership and unless we as citizens learn to work together doing government using words without violence, we may still see violent acts of sedition.  Hopefully, the leadership of the Republican Party will purge out white nationalism and will work to become a more inclusive party of the people, representing limited government, but not simply for white people only.  Hopefully, the Democrats, being now in control of both Houses of Congress and the Presidency, will move toward the center and develop policies that represent the great majority of the citizens they are sworn to represent.

Second, hopefully, the Christian church and my brothers and sisters in Christ, will take this episode in Washington, D.C. on January 6, as an awakening point to realize that conservative causes mixed with violent rhetoric, fanned by a President known for fiery rhetoric, is not the best means to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ!  I ask simply for a return to the primary mission of proclaiming and sharing Jesus Christ as Lord and Redeemer of all the world!  Let us keep our eyes on the prize!  The prize is not conservative government.  The prize is to find the pleasure and the commendation of our Redeemer!  Those who know Christ know I am speaking the truth.  Let the blessed Holy Spirit speaking through the Holy Scriptures infuse and fill your hearts and your minds with the love of God and the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!

This is an important time for our nation.  It is an even more important time for the church of Jesus Christ!  Our mission of sharing Christ’s good news (gospel) is not finished until the risen Jesus, Our Savior, comes in glory to complete all things, to bring about the resurrection of the dead.   There is a lot more to be done in Jesus’s name!  My word today is simply to remind us all not to become distracted by current events, past events, or future events yet to come.  We have good work to be done!  As Paul wrote to Archippus, in the epistle to the Colossians: “And say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” (Colossians 4:17)

A Prayer:

                “Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world; have mercy on us! Hear our prayers today, as we pray for the healing of the nations.  We give you thanks for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the good news entrusted to us as your people, those called by your Holy Name.  Forgive us when we have failed to be about the business of our God.  Forgive us when we have been distracted by busyness, rhetoric, and policies of government, which have taken our minds and our hearts away from loving You!  Help us, as your church, as your people to ourselves hear again the good news for us, and in so hearing empower us through your Holy Spirit to share the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others!  We pray this so that we may not waste moments and days when we should be serving you, but have served ourselves instead.  Lead us into the way of righteousness, of truth, or peace, of mercy, of faithfulness and of goodness toward all med, women and children.  Let us not forget those great multitudes of men, women, and children across the world, who have yet even to hear one time of your great love for them!  Let us not forget, but long remember, your great mercy and love for us, as well.  Make us as living sacrifices on the altar of your love, that wherever there is hatred, we may sow love.  Wherever there is loneliness and fear, we may bring comfort and peace.   Make us as instruments of Your Gospel of Peace, of the good news of Jesus Christ’s love for us all!  Amen and Amen.”

Bill Wilson, servant of God, by God’s grace and mercy!  “Amen!”