Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Despair in the context of Advent

John the Baptist admonishes Herod
Artist: Pieter de Grebber

I really never thought about despair quite this way before. Take a look:
The message John proclaimed was simple, "repent, he is coming." Jesus is the one who came. He changed everything. His resurrection is the ultimate change. Death no longer has the final say over our lives and us. The fact that death no longer has the last word is hard for us. Despair is a changeless place to live. Nothing can happen that will change anything. Despair is perfect stability. We humans crave stability.

But that craving is a consequence of our fears and our sins. Be your own personal prophet. Examine yourself by God's will and God's law. Claim and accept that God loves you and seeks to give you a new life that is happy with change because you are not offended by Jesus. Repent. He is coming.
The excerpt above is from an Advent sermon I found on the Sermons That Work site. The actual preacher is not named. (At least I can't find the name.)

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