"The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This was the message John the Baptist was called to proclaim to the crowds who thronged to see and hear him in the Judean wilderness. This is a two-edged message which cut everyone in the crowd.

The vast crowds came from every walk of life to hear the one whom Isaiah had foretold, “the voice crying in the wilderness”. There were flocks of average, believing Jews who came to hear the latest and greatest prophet. Maybe they liked hearing him condemn the priests and scribes. Maybe they liked hearing him give the Herods what-for for their idolatrous and lustful dalliances. But no one was safe from the preaching of this prophet.

John's call for repentance left no one untouched. The crowds heard his call, and they flocked to the river to be baptized, confessing their sins. His call for repentance was no simple appeal to say “I'm sorry” for some scattered past misdeeds. His call was no easy fix of offering the right combination of burnt food in the temple. The repentance John demanded was a break from the past life and a complete turn from idolatry toward the true God. There was no room for looking back from the plow. There was no time to kiss Mother goodbye. There was no time to bury the dead. If you were going to repent and be baptized, it required an actual break from your old ways.

If you wish to follow God, you must give up your sinful ways of living. You must forget about the petty disputes and jealousy between you and your neighbor. You must use correct measures and pay what is rightfully owed. You must love your brother, even when he seeks to take your life. You must confess those sins, and all your sins. There is no escape, no shelter, no excuse. Repentance is an all-or-nothing deal. And you must be baptized. You must be drowned in the watery depths and sundered from the walking dead in this world. Everything you hold dear must be relinquished and hit bottom before you can come back up into the land of the living.

On the other edge of the sword is the blade that strikes at the scribes and Pharisees. These are they who think that their spiritual prowess will prove sufficient to save them. “We are children of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.” These sort think that they need no repentance. They have committed no sins which need confessed. They have kept the Law of Moses to the T. They do not need John's baptism, because they have the Temple and the rites of Moses to keep them clean and separate from the heathen rabble. And certainly they do not need to endure the fiery baptism and death of the coming Messiah. After all, the Messiah may have to suffer, according to the prophets, but his purpose is to liberate them from their oppressors and gather them up onto his holy mountain.

Do not be deceived. There is no one – no, not one – person upon this earth who is without blame. Your social status will not save you. Your wealth and fortune will not save you. Not even your presence in church every Sunday will save you. If you think you have kept the Law perfectly, you are lying to yourself and to God. The Messiah is coming, not to save you from the baptism of fire, but to subject you to it. For only through the fire can you be brought forth pure. Only through the watery grave can you enter into life.

But do not despair. The Messiah is at hand! The reign of God is here! The Messiah has endured the fire Himself. He has been offered up as the burnt offering for our sins. He has been consumed by the Lord's wrath. And yet He was not destroyed. Jesus Christ, our promised savior, took upon Himself the fullness of the wrath of God due upon our sins. In His body, He endured the torment and agony of separation. He entered the water, to impart His holiness and purity to it, and through the water to us. By that sacred flood, the flames coming upon us are extinguished. Through that watery channel, we enter into the life of Christ, and we leave behind all that encumbered us in the past.

“The reign of heaven is at hand!” Having come through the fire and the water, we no longer need tremble in fear when we hear this proclamation. The reign of God brings to us peace and joy, because we are His chosen children, and heirs of His kingdom. He has come to us, and dwells among us, full of grace and truth. He comes to us to bring us His life and light. He comes to our world to restore creation to perfection. Our God does not lift us up out of this world, but enters it Himself. He purifies, sanctifies, and glorifies all mankind through His blessed Incarnation. Our God rejoices to come to us and lift us up out of our sorrows, and to walk with us through the desert. And “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of Him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” And on the Day when our Lord returns, His reign shall spread abroad from His holy mountain, and His kingdom shall remain forever.

Christ Jesus, be our present joy,

Our future great reward;

Our only glory, may it be

To glory in the Lord!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.