Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koCe_FeHbKo
Program Transcript
Advent—Prepare the Way
As we enter the second week of Advent, we continue our journey of preparation. This season, we are called not only to prepare our own hearts but also to be messengers of blessing to those around us. This season invites us to reflect on the peace that Christ brings and the role we play in carrying that peace into the world.
Imagine a road being prepared ahead of us. Just as ancient roads were leveled and cleared for kings and dignitaries to travel, so too are we called to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. This preparation isn’t about perfection, but about making space—clearing the obstacles of our hearts and lives so that Christ’s peace may enter and dwell within us.
In this season of Advent, our hearts are like the humble manger, waiting to receive the gift of Christ. Just as the manger, simple and unadorned, made room for the Prince of Peace, so too must we make room in our hearts. We prepare not with lavish offerings, but by opening space for Christ’s peace and blessing to dwell in us.
In Luke 1:68-79, we hear Zechariah’s prophecy, a powerful declaration of God’s faithfulness. These words speak of preparing the way before us—a way that leads to peace, forgiveness, and the light of God’s salvation. But before we walk this path, Advent calls us to pause.
In this pause, we take time to reflect on where we are, where we’ve been, and where God is leading us. Advent invites us into a season of peace, but that peace begins with a willingness to prepare our hearts—just as one would prepare a road for a coming king, or Mary prepared a manger for the birth of the Savior.
As we reflect on God’s faithfulness and promises, we are reminded that we, too, are called to be messengers of blessing. Just as the road is prepared, we are to share the peace of Christ with others—clearing the way for hope, love, and blessing to enter the world around us.
Today, as we light the Advent candle of peace, let it remind us of the peace we are called to receive and to share. Let us prepare our hearts like a manger, ready to receive Christ’s peace, and may we be messengers of blessing to a world in need of hope and light.
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
With this peace, we are prepared for the journey ahead.
Program Transcript
Advent—Prepare the Way
As we enter the second week of Advent, we continue our journey of preparation. This season, we are called not only to prepare our own hearts but also to be messengers of blessing to those around us. This season invites us to reflect on the peace that Christ brings and the role we play in carrying that peace into the world.
Imagine a road being prepared ahead of us. Just as ancient roads were leveled and cleared for kings and dignitaries to travel, so too are we called to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. This preparation isn’t about perfection, but about making space—clearing the obstacles of our hearts and lives so that Christ’s peace may enter and dwell within us.
In this season of Advent, our hearts are like the humble manger, waiting to receive the gift of Christ. Just as the manger, simple and unadorned, made room for the Prince of Peace, so too must we make room in our hearts. We prepare not with lavish offerings, but by opening space for Christ’s peace and blessing to dwell in us.
In Luke 1:68-79, we hear Zechariah’s prophecy, a powerful declaration of God’s faithfulness. These words speak of preparing the way before us—a way that leads to peace, forgiveness, and the light of God’s salvation. But before we walk this path, Advent calls us to pause.
In this pause, we take time to reflect on where we are, where we’ve been, and where God is leading us. Advent invites us into a season of peace, but that peace begins with a willingness to prepare our hearts—just as one would prepare a road for a coming king, or Mary prepared a manger for the birth of the Savior.
As we reflect on God’s faithfulness and promises, we are reminded that we, too, are called to be messengers of blessing. Just as the road is prepared, we are to share the peace of Christ with others—clearing the way for hope, love, and blessing to enter the world around us.
Today, as we light the Advent candle of peace, let it remind us of the peace we are called to receive and to share. Let us prepare our hearts like a manger, ready to receive Christ’s peace, and may we be messengers of blessing to a world in need of hope and light.
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
With this peace, we are prepared for the journey ahead.
Malachi 3:1-4 · Philippians 1:3-11 · Luke 3:1-6 · Luke 1:68-79
Advent Reflection: “In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen. You are aware of the beating of your heart. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.” — Frederick Buechner [pronounced BEEK-ner]
On this Second Sunday of Advent, our theme is be a messenger of blessing. This connects with the Advent themes of peace and preparation. You’ll notice that our RCL sermon text readings began Advent with references to Jesus’ Second Coming last week, and during this week and next week, we’ll be focusing on John the Baptist and the preparatory role of a messenger, someone who shares good news. Our call to worship comes from the book of Malachi, speaking of a messenger sent “to prepare the way before.” Philippians 1 recounts Paul’s longing to visit the church of Philippi and his conviction that “the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion.” Luke 3 sets the stage by providing the historical context of the Roman government in place at the time of Jesus’ birth and then quoting Isaiah with references to a messenger who is “crying out in the wilderness.” The sermon text comes from Luke 1:68-79, and it features the song of Zechariah, offering ideas about the importance of taking a pause to reflect on where we are, where we’ve been, and where God has promised to take us before we share with others the blessings of Jesus.
The Pause Before
Luke 1:68-79 NRSVUE
As we near the end of the calendar year, we start seeing articles and programs that feature “the year in review.” These are sometimes called retrospectives, and they often highlight what the creators might decide are the best or the worst moments in television, movies, pop culture, or any other category you might think of.
I don’t know about you, but I find myself clicking on web articles with titles like “10 Best Movies of 2024,” not because I necessarily agree with the list but because I like to look back and reflect on the choices made by this content creator. Sometimes I agree, and sometimes I disagree, but either way, these retrospectives help me to make connections that I might not have considered before.
The wisdom of taking a pause to create space for something new to emerge is well-known. In some twelve step programs, the acronym PAUSE can mean “Perhaps An Unexpected Solution Exists.” The old saying, “hindsight is 20/20,” also highlights the fact that past experiences inform our present awareness. Reflecting on the past, when done so in a positive manner, can be a helpful exercise. We can witness this when we read scriptures that remind us of God’s faithfulness in the past or when we think about the ways God has shown up in our lives personally. Noticing God’s presence in our lives in the past can help us pay closer attention for God at work in our present circumstances.
Our sermon text for this Second Sunday in Advent shows the priest Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, taking a pause to reflect on his newborn son, God’s covenant with Israel, and the promised Messiah. To set the stage for our sermon reading, Zechariah had been unable to speak for months because he doubted the angel Gabriel’s message about the unlikely conception and birth of John. Our sermon passage takes place eight days after John’s birth at his circumcision when John’s mother Elizabeth announces that the baby’s name would be John, based on the angel’s message. To confirm the baby’s name, Zechariah wrote on a tablet, “His name is John,” and his ability to speak returned. Let’s read Zechariah’s song in Luke 1:68-79.
Summary and context of Luke 1:68-79
The sermon passage is called the Song of Zechariah or “the Benedictus” based on the first word of the song’s Latin translation. Some scholars suggest that with the exception of v. 70, verses 68-74 seem to be taken from old messianic psalms, the song of Hannah (Samuel’s mother) found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and a well-known daily Jewish blessing.
The first section, verses 68-75, highlights a number of Old Testament prophecies, notes their fulfillment in a Messiah, and points out that Zechariah’s son, John, would be a prophet who prepared the way for that Messiah. These verses are similarly worded to certain praise psalms (i.e., Psalms 34, 67, 103, and 113) as well as psalms reminding readers that Israel’s Savior would come from the lineage of David (Psalm 132:17). Scholars and authors Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan write that the Gospel writers’ usage of bits of Old Testament passages makes sense when we consider that “the language of the Old Testament was very familiar because it was their Bible. Its phrases were their natural language of thanksgiving and praise, and the use of these phrases in these hymns underlines Luke’s conviction that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets” (The First Christmas).
The second section, verses 76-79, might be an addendum to a hymn that was sung by John’s followers, and Zechariah makes plain John’s role as a prophet who would prepare people for the Messiah. The contrasting symbolism of darkness/light is similar to what is found in the Gospel of John, and the Savior is symbolized by “the dawn from on high” (v. 78). The noun translated “dawn” is anatole which comes from a verb referring to the beginning of the Messianic period. Anatole can mean “to shine/shimmer” as well as “to bring out/sprout/germinate,” according to assistant professor of homiletics and worship Lis Valle-Ruiz. Ruiz says the following:
I imagine the verse [78] stating that the dawn from on high, that is, the Messiah / the light / the seed of God, will break upon us or sprout through the tender mercy of our God…through the inner parts of God, that is, the seat of God’s compassion, the Messiah as the seed/light sprouts/shines upon us.
When evaluating Luke’s literary decision to put this story after Mary’s interaction with Gabriel and her song the Magnificat, some commentators see Zechariah’s song as a “pause” or even an interruption in Luke’s narrative leading up to the Christmas Nativity story in chapter 2. Zechariah’s song isn’t all babe-in-the-manger with a side of fuzzy and warm “Silent Night.” Instead, Zechariah looks to the past, the present, and the future, and he isn’t afraid to talk about the hard stuff, like living in fear of death under enemy oppression and being in need of rescue (v. 71, 74, 79).
These were present day realities for Zechariah. Author Kelley Nikondha writes in her book, The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope, that Zechariah may have been killed when soldiers massacred all male children under the age of two at Herod’s command:
When the militia came to Ein Kerem, the village of the righteous priest, [Zechariah] and his wife hid their son because he was under two years old. Tradition remembers Elizabeth hiding in a subterranean space with infant John. Zechariah, likely at the door, refused to let the soldiers in, or blocked the road trying to divert them from his son’s hiding place. John remained hidden and survived the massacre, but legend insists that Zechariah was targeted and died in Herod’s war against the sons of Bethlehem and Judea (p. 133).
Zechariah didn’t hide from reality in his song, and neither should we. As we read it, we can “push pause” and reframe our view of the Christmas story in a way that makes it relevant and hopeful for us today. Let’s consider these themes: liminal space and the language of blessing.
Liminal space
Zechariah’s position in terms of the Messiah’s arrival is similar to ours. We’re in a liminal space, aware of God’s promises but not experiencing them in their fullness. [Speakers, it would be helpful to define liminal.] Theologian Elizabeth Webb puts it this way:
We see the faint light on the horizon, and we await the full, dazzling light of God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ. We find ourselves now in-between, standing in that moment of the already and the not-yet. The light has dawned but doesn’t seem yet to have reached the deepest darknesses inside and around us… To live the life of a disciple of Christ is to live always in Advent time, knowing that the light has come and awaiting the light that has yet to shine in its fullest measure.
Webb points out that we are always living in “that moment of already and not-yet.”
Our assigned reading from Malachi 3 echoes this theme of living in-between the promise and the fulfillment of Christ on earth. Malachi speaks about the refinement of God’s people by judgment against those human systems that oppress as explained in Malachi 3:5:
Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:5, NRSVUE)
While John the Baptist did prepare the way for the Messiah (Luke 1:76), and the “mighty Savior” from David’s lineage (v. 69-70) did appear as prophesied, the complete fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophetic song hasn’t happened yet. As Concordia College Executive Director for Faith and Learning Michael J. Chan points out:
Jesus left his people under the oppression of the Romans; the shadow of death continues to overshadow all life; peace on earth is temporary at best; and human beings still make enemies of one another. Jesus came to a world in dire need of rescue, and he left it in much the same state. Whatever victory Jesus secured exists primarily in the realm of hope (see Hebrews 11:1).
This type of truth-telling makes the good news relevant to today. As believers, we don’t stick our heads in the sand and say everything is fine. We acknowledge that we live in the “here but not yet” of the kingdom. We are called to be peacemakers, for example, but we live in a time of little peace. Jesus calls us to show what kingdom living is like even when we don’t yet live in the fullness of the kingdom. We ask the Holy Spirit to let his fruit be present in our lives — love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — even as we live in a world where we may see little of this fruit displayed. It is a mistake to attempt to grasp the fullness of the Advent narratives to come without attending to the brokenness of the world we live in. Yes, we lament what has been lost or taken from us by one government or empire, but we share the hope that we see in our own lives, in the lives of others, and in the stories of the faithful.
The language of blessing
While we tell the truth of the world’s brokenness and we can work to change and improve conditions for those under oppressive systems, we don’t stop there. We must move into the way of peace (v. 79), and this is accomplished in part by offering blessing. The act of blessing is more than simply praising God. The language of praise moves from humans toward God, and usually this is based on God’s character or on something God has done. The language of blessing, however, can flow in different ways. We can bless God, God can bless us, and we can bless each other. Most of the time, a blessing is given before it has been fully realized, which gives blessing a prophetical aspect we might not think about. When God blesses a person, that is a promise, and God brings it to pass. On the other hand, when people bless God, it is a statement of confidence based on faith in God’s unfailing love for humanity and all creation.
When we bless each other, we take the opportunity to ask God for another’s best and highest good. We don’t problem-solve for anyone; we don’t prescribe how God might resolve their situation. Instead, we speak to God on another’s behalf and invite whatever is good for their best and ultimate flourishing. Author and theologian Dallas Willard writes that blessing “is a profoundly personal and powerful act…[It’s] the projection of good into the life of another. It isn’t just words. It’s the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person, [and] it always involves God” (Living in Christ’s Presence, p. 164-5, 168).
One example of a blessing we might offer another person is found in Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26, NRSVUE)
Zechariah’s song offers the gift of light for “those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” as well as the gift of guidance “into the way of peace” (v. 79). While we expectantly prepare and wait for peace during this Advent season, we acknowledge that everything has not been made right yet. But based on our hope of the Incarnation, we continue to attempt to promote God’s peace in the world through blessing others.
Call to Action: During this Second Week of Advent, notice opportunities to lament the world’s brokenness and oppression. Speak your grief to a close friend or journal about it as a means of acknowledging the “not yet” aspect of Advent, and then pray a blessing for those living with the trauma of broken cultural, worldly systems. Ask Jesus for other ways besides prayer that you might participate with him in being a blessing to another.
For Reference:
Borg, Marcus J., and John Dominic Crossan. The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth. HarperCollins, 2009.
Nikondeha, Kelley. The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope. Broadleaf Books, 2022.
Willard, Dallas. Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God. InterVarsity Press, 2013.
https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2018-12-03/luke-168-79/
https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/a-season-for-truth-telling
Bill Vanderbush—Year C Advent 2
December 8, 2024 — Second Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:68-79
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Program Transcript
Bill Vanderbush—Year C Advent 2
Anthony: Let’s transition now to our second passage of the month. It is Luke 1:68-79. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Second Sunday of Advent on December 8. Bill, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us.
Bill: Sure will.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his child David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
[00:28:00] Anthony: I’m going to pitch you a softball here. Bill, tell us about the good news declared in this passage.
Bill: Okay. There’re so many incredible words in this passage. Let’s go back to the beginning of it. I love the word favorably because it reveals the gaze of God. I think about that.
You picture the Lord looking down upon us. What do we picture? A scowl, disappointment, anger, a disapproving look. I imagine there are many people who do. And yet, to imagine rightly is to see the Lord looking favorably upon us. Not merely gazing at our behavior with judgment but looking with the loving eyes of a Father upon his own child, made in his image and likeness.
Beyond even the gaze of favor, you see the result is that we are redeemed. And I love the word redeemed, the English word, beautiful word, the word redeemed. And you can break it into two words, re and deemed, “deemed again.” And the world and the people around you might have deemed us unworthy; you might feel you’re deemed unworthy.
And perhaps people have even deemed themselves unworthy, but the redemptive nature of God revealed in Christ re deems you. So, we are redeemed as worthy by him, and I think we find that in the favor of his face.
This next part, I would say, in the verse, if I go through the words here, speaks of the Messiah, our Savior, being raised up from the house of David.
That part stands out to me. I look at the grace of God to be identified with David, whose story represents the Father’s heart of God, to choose from the family of Jesse, the lowliest and the last, to lead the nation. Who would have ever imagined that salvation, the forgiveness of sins would extend even far beyond Israel to cover the whole earth.
I think of Simeon who came into the temple to hold Jesus only eight days old and draws from the Old Covenant prophets. He calls him the glory of Israel and light to the Gentiles. And that light shines on all who sit in darkness in the shadow of death. And if we’re truly following him, then as the passage finishes out, we find the way of peace.
It isn’t, really, that what everybody wants anyway?
Anthony: Yeah, I’m just drinking in what you said. I’m really stuck on this whole favorable gaze because I grew up, Bill, with the idea that God was really ticked off and disappointed. And God, I’m okay if you stay in your corner and I’ll just stay be over here in my corner, and it’s okay if you don’t want to come on over here because I know you’re disappointed and you disapprove of my behavior. So, to think that I can look into the face of God and know that he looks upon me favorably.
I don’t think I’ll — I continue to arrive to that, like I’ll take that to my death. I’m still trying to believe, not that I don’t believe, but I want to believe fully that is true. Because as you said, so many have deemed me, or I’ve deemed myself otherwise.
So that’s a good word.
Bill: Many years ago, I was traveling in Europe with a dear friend of mine named Godfrey Birtle, and I’ve said a couple of things that Godfrey ended up writing songs about, but he has a song. He’s just such a fun worship leader. And he’s got a lot of stuff on iTunes and Spotify.
And he has a song called, “I Am Not Disappointed in You.” It came out of just us sitting and having conversations about this, about the revelation that a God who’s known us from before the foundation of the world, who knew us before he formed us, hasn’t changed his mind about us, no matter what our warped perception of ourself actually is.
And that song has a line in it where he says, “I’m not disillusioned with you,” speaking from God’s perspective. “I’m not disillusioned with you. I never had any illusions to begin with.”
Anthony: Yes. I’ve heard Paul Young say that. I love that. I just love that. I love that line.
Let’s make this personal. Bill, verse 78 talks about the tender mercy of God’s leading to a new dawn. Can you tell us about a time you personally experienced the tender mercy of God and what impact did that have on not only your understanding, but your experiential love of God revealed in Jesus Christ?
Bill: Yeah. Wow. There’re so many places I could draw from. I would say though, that My dad had a stroke in 2008, and he was a minister of the gospel, best communicator of the gospel I ever heard.
Honestly, the same guy on the stage as he was off the stage. There was nothing remotely hypocritical about him at all. When he had this stroke we prayed for healing — every evangelist, every minister coming through, we dunked him in so much oil. We did all this stuff; he did all the things you do and didn’t see any breakthrough in that.
And really, I went into a state of disillusionment. That was strange for me because I had preached for years about not being offended at God and yet here I found myself in that state of being offended at God. And the result of that for me was I didn’t know what I believed.
And if my faith in Christ wasn’t real and this wasn’t true, what else was a lie? Everything in my life, ministry, even down to marriage and everything, , had been the center of all of it. God had been the center of everything. And as, as my revelation of him was starting to take a hit, it started having ripple effects throughout my entire life, and I began to realize the foundational aspect of this was, for me, it was a safety net until it wasn’t.
And so, man I set out to — I just embraced full on offense against God in so many different ways in my life. And it culminated with — it’s a hard thing to admit, strange thing to admit, but it culminated with me really working hard at doing just about everything to commit the unpardonable sin.
I run into people all the time who are scared to death, “If I committed the unpardonable sin, if I committed the unforgivable sin.” I can say, I gave it a shot. I gave it a really, I gave it a good effort. And in the end, Anthony, all I found was grace. I really felt like the Lord said one day, “You haven’t murdered me yet. And that’s already been done. What’d you do to those people? Father, forgive them. They don’t even know what they’re doing. Come on.”
And during that time, my wife, Traci became probably the kindest expression of the grace of God I’d ever experienced in my life during that time. And it was her kindness that led me to a place of repentance.
I think of people often that think, well, I’m — perhaps people point to their own sense of being in Christ by their works, and I would say to people whose marriage has ever been like shaky: Is it your work or is it their grace that enabled you to still have a marriage covenant?
Using that as an example, I would say, if anybody says, “it’s my work,” then they’re delusional. Because if the person that has a responsibility to forgive doesn’t give you grace, it doesn’t matter how much you work. But if you don’t do any work, and the person who has a responsibility to give the grace gives just a little bit of grace, it can work.
So, the giver of the grace always carries the greater power. And that’s the point to which I begin to realize it’s not my work that qualifies me for righteousness and redemptions, purely the grace and the goodness of God.
And I also began to realize some things about my dad’s condition that I had an offense, but I was taking offense for a battle that I wasn’t called to fight. He was totally fine. He never lost anything in terms of his joy toward the Lord, even when his speech was reduced to nothing but praise. Like the last five years of his life, he only could say five phrases. And the doctor would tell us because of the stroke he had, the very core of his being is going to come out, so whatever is down there that’s been suppressed all these years is going to come to the surface.
And I thought, Oh, goodness. Yeah. What’s a guy with that going to do? Well, for the last five years of his life, all he said was praise the Lord, hallelujah, thank you, Jesus, yes, Lord, and amen. And he just repeated those phrases.
So, his entire vocabulary is reduced to nothing but praise to God. So, his relationship with God was solid even through this whole thing where his mind was so deeply affected, the core of his being was that. And I began to realize when it was all said and done, what God was working out was something in the core of my being, lies that I believed about my own identity and about who God is, that once rooted out by the grace of God, put me at a state that I had never experienced ever in my whole life, for longer than ten minutes. And that was a state of rest.
And that is where I have been living ever since then. That was many years ago. But it is the foundation of really where I stand now.
Anthony: That’s beautiful. It’s humbling that you would share that with us. Thank you for trusting us with that story. And I just, my heart leapt as I heard those phrases that your dad spoke from the core of who he is.
And you made the statement, Bill, that it was kindness, God’s kindness that led you to repentance. And isn’t that the way it is? Not the other way around that repentance leads us to God’s kindness, or as J.B. Torrance would say it, “repentance is a response to grace, not a condition of grace.” It’s the God that shows us such beautiful kindness and tender mercy that draws. That’s what draws people.
That’s what love does. Not correcting them, not challenging them. It’s not having the bull horn on the corner that’s going to draw them to God. It’s acts of love. Yeah. That’s beautiful.
Program Transcript
Bill Vanderbush—Year C Advent 2
Anthony: Let’s transition now to our second passage of the month. It is Luke 1:68-79. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Second Sunday of Advent on December 8. Bill, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us.
Bill: Sure will.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his child David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
[00:28:00] Anthony: I’m going to pitch you a softball here. Bill, tell us about the good news declared in this passage.
Bill: Okay. There’re so many incredible words in this passage. Let’s go back to the beginning of it. I love the word favorably because it reveals the gaze of God. I think about that.
You picture the Lord looking down upon us. What do we picture? A scowl, disappointment, anger, a disapproving look. I imagine there are many people who do. And yet, to imagine rightly is to see the Lord looking favorably upon us. Not merely gazing at our behavior with judgment but looking with the loving eyes of a Father upon his own child, made in his image and likeness.
Beyond even the gaze of favor, you see the result is that we are redeemed. And I love the word redeemed, the English word, beautiful word, the word redeemed. And you can break it into two words, re and deemed, “deemed again.” And the world and the people around you might have deemed us unworthy; you might feel you’re deemed unworthy.
And perhaps people have even deemed themselves unworthy, but the redemptive nature of God revealed in Christ re deems you. So, we are redeemed as worthy by him, and I think we find that in the favor of his face.
This next part, I would say, in the verse, if I go through the words here, speaks of the Messiah, our Savior, being raised up from the house of David.
That part stands out to me. I look at the grace of God to be identified with David, whose story represents the Father’s heart of God, to choose from the family of Jesse, the lowliest and the last, to lead the nation. Who would have ever imagined that salvation, the forgiveness of sins would extend even far beyond Israel to cover the whole earth.
I think of Simeon who came into the temple to hold Jesus only eight days old and draws from the Old Covenant prophets. He calls him the glory of Israel and light to the Gentiles. And that light shines on all who sit in darkness in the shadow of death. And if we’re truly following him, then as the passage finishes out, we find the way of peace.
It isn’t, really, that what everybody wants anyway?
Anthony: Yeah, I’m just drinking in what you said. I’m really stuck on this whole favorable gaze because I grew up, Bill, with the idea that God was really ticked off and disappointed. And God, I’m okay if you stay in your corner and I’ll just stay be over here in my corner, and it’s okay if you don’t want to come on over here because I know you’re disappointed and you disapprove of my behavior. So, to think that I can look into the face of God and know that he looks upon me favorably.
I don’t think I’ll — I continue to arrive to that, like I’ll take that to my death. I’m still trying to believe, not that I don’t believe, but I want to believe fully that is true. Because as you said, so many have deemed me, or I’ve deemed myself otherwise.
So that’s a good word.
Bill: Many years ago, I was traveling in Europe with a dear friend of mine named Godfrey Birtle, and I’ve said a couple of things that Godfrey ended up writing songs about, but he has a song. He’s just such a fun worship leader. And he’s got a lot of stuff on iTunes and Spotify.
And he has a song called, “I Am Not Disappointed in You.” It came out of just us sitting and having conversations about this, about the revelation that a God who’s known us from before the foundation of the world, who knew us before he formed us, hasn’t changed his mind about us, no matter what our warped perception of ourself actually is.
And that song has a line in it where he says, “I’m not disillusioned with you,” speaking from God’s perspective. “I’m not disillusioned with you. I never had any illusions to begin with.”
Anthony: Yes. I’ve heard Paul Young say that. I love that. I just love that. I love that line.
Let’s make this personal. Bill, verse 78 talks about the tender mercy of God’s leading to a new dawn. Can you tell us about a time you personally experienced the tender mercy of God and what impact did that have on not only your understanding, but your experiential love of God revealed in Jesus Christ?
Bill: Yeah. Wow. There’re so many places I could draw from. I would say though, that My dad had a stroke in 2008, and he was a minister of the gospel, best communicator of the gospel I ever heard.
Honestly, the same guy on the stage as he was off the stage. There was nothing remotely hypocritical about him at all. When he had this stroke we prayed for healing — every evangelist, every minister coming through, we dunked him in so much oil. We did all this stuff; he did all the things you do and didn’t see any breakthrough in that.
And really, I went into a state of disillusionment. That was strange for me because I had preached for years about not being offended at God and yet here I found myself in that state of being offended at God. And the result of that for me was I didn’t know what I believed.
And if my faith in Christ wasn’t real and this wasn’t true, what else was a lie? Everything in my life, ministry, even down to marriage and everything, , had been the center of all of it. God had been the center of everything. And as, as my revelation of him was starting to take a hit, it started having ripple effects throughout my entire life, and I began to realize the foundational aspect of this was, for me, it was a safety net until it wasn’t.
And so, man I set out to — I just embraced full on offense against God in so many different ways in my life. And it culminated with — it’s a hard thing to admit, strange thing to admit, but it culminated with me really working hard at doing just about everything to commit the unpardonable sin.
I run into people all the time who are scared to death, “If I committed the unpardonable sin, if I committed the unforgivable sin.” I can say, I gave it a shot. I gave it a really, I gave it a good effort. And in the end, Anthony, all I found was grace. I really felt like the Lord said one day, “You haven’t murdered me yet. And that’s already been done. What’d you do to those people? Father, forgive them. They don’t even know what they’re doing. Come on.”
And during that time, my wife, Traci became probably the kindest expression of the grace of God I’d ever experienced in my life during that time. And it was her kindness that led me to a place of repentance.
I think of people often that think, well, I’m — perhaps people point to their own sense of being in Christ by their works, and I would say to people whose marriage has ever been like shaky: Is it your work or is it their grace that enabled you to still have a marriage covenant?
Using that as an example, I would say, if anybody says, “it’s my work,” then they’re delusional. Because if the person that has a responsibility to forgive doesn’t give you grace, it doesn’t matter how much you work. But if you don’t do any work, and the person who has a responsibility to give the grace gives just a little bit of grace, it can work.
So, the giver of the grace always carries the greater power. And that’s the point to which I begin to realize it’s not my work that qualifies me for righteousness and redemptions, purely the grace and the goodness of God.
And I also began to realize some things about my dad’s condition that I had an offense, but I was taking offense for a battle that I wasn’t called to fight. He was totally fine. He never lost anything in terms of his joy toward the Lord, even when his speech was reduced to nothing but praise. Like the last five years of his life, he only could say five phrases. And the doctor would tell us because of the stroke he had, the very core of his being is going to come out, so whatever is down there that’s been suppressed all these years is going to come to the surface.
And I thought, Oh, goodness. Yeah. What’s a guy with that going to do? Well, for the last five years of his life, all he said was praise the Lord, hallelujah, thank you, Jesus, yes, Lord, and amen. And he just repeated those phrases.
So, his entire vocabulary is reduced to nothing but praise to God. So, his relationship with God was solid even through this whole thing where his mind was so deeply affected, the core of his being was that. And I began to realize when it was all said and done, what God was working out was something in the core of my being, lies that I believed about my own identity and about who God is, that once rooted out by the grace of God, put me at a state that I had never experienced ever in my whole life, for longer than ten minutes. And that was a state of rest.
And that is where I have been living ever since then. That was many years ago. But it is the foundation of really where I stand now.
Anthony: That’s beautiful. It’s humbling that you would share that with us. Thank you for trusting us with that story. And I just, my heart leapt as I heard those phrases that your dad spoke from the core of who he is.
And you made the statement, Bill, that it was kindness, God’s kindness that led you to repentance. And isn’t that the way it is? Not the other way around that repentance leads us to God’s kindness, or as J.B. Torrance would say it, “repentance is a response to grace, not a condition of grace.” It’s the God that shows us such beautiful kindness and tender mercy that draws. That’s what draws people.
That’s what love does. Not correcting them, not challenging them. It’s not having the bull horn on the corner that’s going to draw them to God. It’s acts of love. Yeah. That’s beautiful.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Have you ever had a regular habit of reflecting on your life? If so, what did it reveal to you?
- The placement of the Zechariah’s song in the Luke narrative (before the birth of Jesus) could be interpreted as indicating that while some of God’s promises have been fulfilled, we are still waiting on some promises to be realized in their fullness. In other words, how do we benefit by acknowledging the brokenness of human systems?
- Are lament and blessing connected in any way?
- Do you have a typical approach to praying or interceding for others? Does it include asking a blessing or projecting good for another look?
