Sermon on John, and Divine Mercy

St. Luke 1:67-80

And John’s father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

            Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.  And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

This is a full transcript of a sermon preached December 20, 2011, at St. Paul’s in Kewanee.  The sermon may be heard here.  

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Dearly beloved the Lord:

In these words of Zacharias, we learn the true nature of the ministry of John the Baptist.  We might have been deceived by it, because what we hear in the accounts of John’s preaching and baptizing is that he was in the wilderness, that he was dressed in a way that is rather scary, and he calls out for repentance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  He chides and rebukes the Pharisees and will not baptize them.  He appears to be a harsh man; as is fitting for the last of the prophets of the Most High God. They appeared at first to be harsh men as well, because the Most High God himself appears at first to be harsh, even as we learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews.  Moses said that the sight was so terrible that he—even he—exceedingly feared and quaked. The God with whom we have to do is a consuming fire.  The call to repentance ought to rattle our bones.  So God’s approach is fearsome; and his prophets, last of which was John, appear at first to be fearsome, and are nothing but fearsome to those who will not repent.

But all Jerusalem was coming out to John to be baptized of him in the Jordan; which is to say that most of the people did repent. And when their hearts melted with fear, they cried out for mercy, even as we also must cry, aware of our sins and unworthiness. What are we to do about these things?  Beat on the breast and cry out, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

And then we find John as he truly is, as he was prophesied to be by his father Zacharias, saying, And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us. 

Those who came to John for divine mercy received it, because he came baptizing in the wilderness, and Baptism to give knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins.  For that’s what Baptism does: it forgives your sins, it fills you with Christ the coming one. It brings to you the tender mercy of your God.  This John baptizing in the wilderness was most especially showing forth the tender mercy of God and the visitation of the Most High. This is why his father exulted the first chance he got to speak, after he was struck mute, when he at first would not believe the words and tidings of the angel.  But then, when his mouth was opened and his mouth was loosed and he spake praising God, what he said was this canticle: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.

So finally our understanding of the Lord God of Israel is not merely that he is a consuming fire, one that causes us to shake, but a Redeemer, a rescuer, a horn of salvation; himself a Child, who grew to be the one who would take away the sin of the world of the world, as John said, the Lamb of God.  In him is the tender mercy of our God; and therefore in John’s preaching also preeminently, and in his baptizing, there is mercy and salvation, and the knowledge of life and light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death. 

Fear God at first; and then be comforted by God at last. For he is merciful and kind, and washes his people in his salvation that they might stand comforted. And rejoice in everlasting life.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.