2 Easter 2026

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN

The Second Sunday of Easter
April 12, 2026

• Acts 2:14a,22-32
• 1 Peter 1:3-9
• John 20:19-31
• Psalm 16

The disciples are hiding. The doors are locked. The room is tense. Fear has settled in. They have seen too much. They have lost too much. And now they do not know what comes next.

They are afraid... afraid of what might happen to them because they followed Jesus, afraid of being cast out, rejected, or even worse. And in many ways, that fear is not just theirs. It reflects the experience of the early Christian community... a people trying to hold onto faith while navigating tension, uncertainty, and even exclusion.

And if we’re honest, it reflects something in us too. Moments in us when faith feels fragile. Moments around us when the world feels uncertain. Moments when we are not quite sure what comes next. 

And into that space... into the fear and uncertainty... Jesus comes. Not by opening the door. Not by removing the threat. But by standing among them and saying, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus appears in that upper room, not once, but twice. Peace... not as the absence of trouble, but as the presence of Christ there, in the middle of it. And then he shows them his hands and his side. The wounds, the marks of his crucifixion, are still there. Still there, because the resurrection doesn’t erase what happened and what he suffered. It transformed it.

And then Jesus speaks the words that change everything for them: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The story is not over. Their fear is not the end. They are being called forward. The same God who sent Jesus into the world in love now sends them into the world with that same love. And they are not sent alone.

Jesus breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Ruach, the very creating breath of God... the breath that gave life in the beginning, is given to them again. And there in that closed-off room, they are refreshed, renewed. Re-created. Given what they need for what lies ahead of them. And part of what lies ahead is this: They are to go out into the world and “forgive.” Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven…”

This is not about pretending that harm doesn’t exist. It’s not a cover-up of the cruelty… It is about participating in the life of God. A life rooted in mercy, compassion, and restoration. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We extend grace because grace has been extended to us. And that kind of life is not easy. But it is the way of Christ.

Then our story from John’s gospel turns to Thomas. Thomas, who was not there the first time. Thomas, who missed the great moment when Jesus appeared to the others. Thomas heard the others say,  “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas must have felt left out because he wasn’t able to share in their experience. And still, he stays with them.

This made me ask: where was Thomas when the others were cowering in the room, hiding from the religious authorities? Where was Thomas, the one who boldly said, "Let us go too, that we may die with him," speaking of Jesus deciding to return to Judea? Where was Thomas? The scripture doesn’t tell us, but we can assume that he was bold enough to go out when the others weren’t. That he was willing to take the risk rather than hold onto his fear.

Thomas has been told that the Lord appeared to them when he wasn’t there, and this caused him to be unsure… And even in his uncertainty, Thomas remains there with them. Connected to them as part of the community.

A week later, Jesus comes to them again. “Peace be with you.” And this time, Thomas is with them. Jesus turns to Thomas and says, “Put your finger here… See my hands… Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” There is no shame in these words. Only invitation. And then Thomas responds with a confession that echoes throughout the ages: “My Lord and my God.”

Jesus then speaks to everyone who would come after those who are gathered there in that closed room, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” This is where we are – this is where we live. We have not stood in that room. We have not seen the nail scars in his hands and feet. We have not touched those wounds. And yet—we are here. We believe.

Each week… We gather. We pray. We share a sacred meal. We return. Even after the great celebration of Easter has passed. Why, because we know something in this story has claimed us. Claimed us in ways that we can’t always explain. We have encountered the living Christ in scripture, in sacrament, and in one another.

The Gospel lesson today ends by telling us why all of this has been written, “So that you may come to believe… and that through believing you may have life.” Not just any life. Abundant life. A life shaped by love and forgiveness. A life grounded in truth. A life sustained by the presence of God. But this life is not passive. It calls us to act. It calls us to follow Jesus into places we may not wish to go. It calls us to live as Jesus lived. To love as Jesus loved. And to walk in his way.

So what does that mean for us here, now? It means, like the first apostles, we are sent. Like the earliest and closest followers of Jesus gathered there in their fear, it sends us into a world that is still fearful, still divided, still searching. It sends us, not with all the answers, but with the peace of Christ. We are sent to embody love. Sent to practice forgiveness. Sent to be signs of hope in the places where hope feels pretty thin.

And when we find ourselves like Thomas, being unsure, with questions, with hesitation, with a longing for clarity... we know that we are not outside the story. We are right in the middle of it. And Christ meets us there. Speaking peace. Giving us comfort. Offering us presence. And calling us forward.

So, this season and always let us live as those who are sent. Let us love as those who are forgiven. And let us trust the presence of Christ among us, here and now. And with our lives, and with our hearts, let us proclaim: “My Lord and my God.”

Easter 2026

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN

Easter: The Sunday of the Resurrection
April 5, 2026

• Acts 10:34-43
• Colossians 3:1-4
• John 20:1-18
• Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

This morning’s gospel story from John begins in the quiet of early dawn. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark. She carries with her the weight of grief, confusion, and loss. She is not looking for resurrection. She is simply trying to make sense of what has happened. And when she finds the stone rolled away, her first thought is not hope, it’s fear. “They have taken away my Lord…”

As we gather this morning, we come with our own burdens. We do not arrive untouched by the world. We carry with us what we have seen, what we have felt, what has unsettled us.

The last several months have been a heavy time for most people. We have witnessed violence that shakes our sense of safety...  lives lost in places meant for learning and community. We have watched divisions deepen in our public life, where disagreement too often turns into cruelty. We have seen fear take hold... fear of those who are different, fear that leads to suspicion instead of understanding. And many of us are simply exhausted... weary from trying to keep up. Weary from trying to care.

Today, that is the place where Easter meets us... Not in a world that is neat and resolved, but in a world that is hurting. Mary stands outside the tomb, weeping. Even when she sees the angels, she doesn’t yet understand. Even when Jesus stands before her, she doesn’t recognize him.

Grief has a way of overcoming us and narrowing our vision. And then it happens… Jesus says one word: “Mary.” He calls her by name. And in that moment, everything changes.

This is the heart of the resurrection. Not just that the tomb is empty, but that the risen Christ meets us personally, tenderly, right there in the middle of all our confusion and fear. Right in the middle of our deepest sorrow. Jesus calls us by name. He sees us. He knows us. He does not abandon us.

The resurrection is the turning point of the Christian faith. It is not just simply something we celebrate once a year... but it is the lens through which we are invited to see everything. Because how we see the world shapes how we live in it.

Many ways of seeing are shaped by fear. Our fears tell us to withdraw, to protect ourselves at all costs, to treat others as threats rather than neighbors. That is a way that leads us to isolation,  division, and more pain.

But resurrection offers us another way. A way shaped by life and peace. A way that trusts that love is stronger than death. A way that invites us to see the image of God in every person. A way that calls us into courage, compassion, and hope.

In our baptismal vows, we make that choice. We renounce the forces that distort and destroy... And then we turn toward Jesus. We commit ourselves to seeking and serving Christ in all persons and striving for justice and peace. Those promises are not abstract. They are meant for a world like ours... right here, right now.

St. Paul reminds us that in baptism, we are united with Christ in his death and raised with him into newness of life. That means we are no longer defined by our fears. We are not bound by the darkness we see around us. We are free. Free to love boldly. Free to stand with those who are overlooked or pushed aside. Free to be people of light.

We have walked through the story of Holy Week. We have lingered at the foot of the cross. We have felt the weight of loss, and pain, and grief. But today, we stand in a different place. We stand at the empty tomb.

And the good news for us is: Death does not have the final word. fear does not have the final word. Hatred does not have the final word. Because Christ is risen.

And because of that… We are called to live as resurrection people... to embody hope in a world that often feels hopeless... to choose compassion when it would be easier to turn away. We live as if love truly is stronger than death, because we know that it is.

As followers of the Way of Jesus, we are an Easter people. We have followed Jesus all the way to the cross and beyond. We are people who listen for the voice of Christ calling out our name. We are people who carry the light of resurrection into our homes, into our communities, and into our world.

So, my friends, as we go from this place, we are to take Easter with us. Because we know that the resurrection of Jesus is not something we keep, it’s something we carry. We carry it with us into the places where people are afraid. We carry it into conversations that need grace. We carry it into moments when it would be easier to stay silent.

We are the ones who remind the world, by how we live, that love is stronger than fear... that mercy is stronger than judgment... and that life is stronger than death. Because the risen Christ is already at work out there, and he is calling us to join him.

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

5 Lent A 2026

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN

The Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 22, 2026

• Ezekiel 37:1-14
• Romans 8:6-11
• John 11:1-45
• Psalm 130

When we hear the story about the raising of Lazarus from the Gospel according to John, it never comes to us as a simple, one-dimensional account. It is a story with many layers.

As we peel the onion of the story, we find layers of human emotion and divine purpose… layers of fear and courage… layers of grief, love, and hope... all struggling to go together in the same story.

I remember when I first preached this text. I was in seminary and came back to Western North Carolina, to Calvary Church in Fletcher. I will always remember that sermon and the dramatic beginning – Lazarus, Come Out! With the drama and retelling of the story, I was trying to peel back the layers so folks would understand it.

But I think, this time more than most, we hear the story through the layers of our own world. We are living in a time when human grief is not some abstract thing. It’s visible. It’s shared. And unfortunately, it has become global.

The grief is real. Especially when we see it in the images of war zones where families are displaced and lives are lost. We still feel it in communities that continue to recover from natural disasters... from fires, floods, storms that seem stronger and become more frequent each year. We hear it in the anxiety we have of rising divisions, violence, and uncertainty about the future. Grief is not just something that happened in Bethany long ago. Grief is here... Grief is now.

So, I don’t need to spend time creating the drama for you, because the world has already done it for us. This is the context, this is the lens through which we read the Gospel this morning.

Mary and Martha are grieving the loss of their brother. It is raw. It is real. And it is unresolved. But, Jesus, as close as he is to this family, doesn’t try to rush in to fix it. In fact, the delay may be the most unsettling part of this story. He waits two days before going to them. That delay feels uncomfortable… even troubling, because it mirrors the questions we carry with us today: Where is our God when suffering stretches on? Why does help always feel delayed? Why doesn’t the healing come when we expect it or need it the most? The Gospel does not give us a neat answer. Instead, it shows us something deeper.

It shows us that God doesn’t stand apart from grief… but God enters into it. In his compassion and love for his friend, “Jesus wept.” Not as a performance. Not as a symbol. But as a real, human, visceral response. Showing us that God does not avoid or ignore the pains of this world. God absorbs it.

And still, the promising part of the story is that it doesn’t end in grief. Jesus stands at the tomb and calls Lazarus out. “Lazarus, come out!” And what is remarkable is not only that Lazarus comes out… but how he comes out. Still bound. Still wrapped in the cloths of death. And then Jesus turns to the community and says, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

That is where this Gospel meets us now. Because we live in a world where people are still bound. Bound by fear. Bound by systems of oppression. Bound by grief that has no easy resolution. Bound by divisions that keep us from seeing one another as neighbors and children of God.

And the work of resurrection, the work of God’s glory, is not only in calling people out of death… It is calling us to be unbound. And here is the difficult part: God calls Lazarus out... But the community is called to unbind him. Which means that resurrection is not just something we witness. It is something we participate in.

Thomas, who is often remembered for his need for assurance, gives us a glimpse of what that participation looks like. It’s at the beginning of the story, when Jesus says that he is going to Bethany regardless of who wants to hurt him. Thomas says to the others, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas doesn’t fully understand. But he is willing to follow anyway.

In a world like ours, that kind of faith matters. A faith that says: Even when we don’t fully understand what God is doing… Even when the path ahead looks dangerous or uncertain… We will still go. We will still show up. We will still love. We will still stand with those who are grieving, displaced, hurting, or forgotten.

Because the truth is, we are not just living in a time of death. We are living in a time where God is still calling people out of tombs. Out of despair... Out of injustice... Out of isolation. The question is NOT whether God is acting. The question is whether we will help unbind them. 

Jesus said to Martha, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” Not someday. Not only in the life to come. But here, now, today. We need to understand that this act of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead sealed the fate of Jesus in the eyes of the religious authorities.

This event was the climactic "sign" in John's Gospel, and it directly led the religious authorities to plot Jesus’s death, because they feared his growing influence. They feared the power his signs displayed... They feared the multitudes of people who were starting to follow... They feared losing their perceived power and position... So they decided to take matters into their own hands. But what they were witnessing was the power of God… The power of life over death… The power of resurrection…

In a world that feels fractured… God’s glory is revealed whenever we see life breaking through death... Whenever we witness acts of resurrection in this world… Every act of compassion. Every moment of courage. Every refusal to let hatred have the final word. That is resurrection.

So the question for us today is, what are we being called to do? Where are the tombs in our world? Who is still bound? How is God inviting us – not just to believe — but to act? Because following Jesus in this day and time… may look a lot like Thomas does in our story. Not fully understanding… but willing to go, anyway.

Willing to walk into hard places. Willing to stand in the breach, in the tension between this world and the next. Willing to trust that even now, God continues to bring life out of death.

And if we dare to believe that… If we dare to follow that… Then we may not only witness resurrection, but we can also become part of it.

4 Lent A 2026

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN 

The Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2026

• 1 Samuel 16:1-13
• Ephesians 5:8-14
• John 9:1-41
• Psalm 23

There was a blind man in Jerusalem... There... sitting along a crowded street where people hurried past on their way to the Temple. Scripture tells us that this man had been blind from birth. He had never seen the colors of the sky at sunrise, never watched children playing in the streets, never gazed upon the hills that surrounded the city.

The world that many people experienced through sight, he knew only through touch, sound, and scent. He only knew the warmth of the sun on his face as morning came. He may have known the fragrance of flowers and spices carried by the passersby. He likely heard the bustling footsteps of others heading to worship. But he never saw the beauty of the Temple... that magnificent structure, gleaming with white stone and gold.

What he probably knew too well, however, were the impatient shoves of hurried crowds and the dismissive glances of people who preferred not to see him at all.

In many ways, his life reflected something we still see in our world today. People who are struggling... those who are poor, disabled, lonely, or forgotten... often become invisible to society. There are far too many people in this world who feel unseen. Some are burdened by economic hardship. Some are overwhelmed by anxiety and mental health struggles. Some who feel pushed to the margins because of who they are or where they come from.

Our world moves very quickly, and if we are not being attentive, it is easy for our compassion to be left behind. But on a certain day... There in Jerusalem, along the crowded street, something different happened.

There, Jesus and his disciples were walking along, having just escaped a violent confrontation with the religious authorities. Jesus and his disciples stopped. They stopped in front of this blind man. And in a world that had largely ignored him, Jesus saw him.

Yet the disciples, who reflected the thinking of their time, asked the question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

In that culture, suffering and deformity were often blamed on personal failure or sin. If something went wrong in someone’s life, people assumed that they deserved it. Unfortunately, there are those who still do this today. When someone struggles, society often asks, “What did they do wrong? Why can’t they just fix their lives? Why don’t they just work harder?”

But Jesus refused that way of thinking. He answers, quite matter-of-factly, “It is no one’s fault that this man was born blind.” Then he said something remarkable. He told them this man’s life would become a place where God's work would be revealed. God would use this situation to bring about healing and restoration.

Then, Jesus did something unexpected. He knelt down, made mud from the earth and his own saliva, and gently placed it on the man’s eyes. Then he told him, “Go now and wash in the Pool of Siloam.”

It was a simple instruction. Just go and wash. And the man did. He made his way through the streets, still unable to see, until he reached the pool. He washed the mud from his eyes. And suddenly… he could see.

Imagine that moment, if you will… Light flooding into eyes that had never known it. Shapes and colors appearing for the very first time. Faces, buildings, sky, and sunlight. The man who had lived his whole life in darkness was now standing in the light. But what followed was not the great celebration that one would expect. 

Instead, the questions started. His neighbors were skeptical. “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said yes. Others said no, but it’s someone like him. And through it all, the man simply kept saying, “I am he.” They asked him how it happened. And the truth is, he didn’t fully know. All he could do was tell his story. “A man named Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, told me to wash, and now I see.”

Eventually, they brought him to the Pharisees, the religious authorities. But instead of rejoicing, the religious leaders focused on what they saw as a problem... Jesus was healing someone on the Sabbath. In their minds, that meant Jesus had broken the rules. So, they questioned the man again and again. They questioned his parents. They questioned the circumstances. They questioned everything. Everything except the miracle standing right in front of them.

Finally, in frustration, the man said something wonderfully honest, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner or not. All I know is this, I was blind… and now I see.”

Sometimes, that’s where faith begins. Not with perfect answers. Not with carefully constructed theology. But with a simple testimony. "Something in my life has changed." Many of us have experienced moments like this. Moments when God met us in unexpected ways... Maybe in a time of grief, maybe in a moment of forgiveness, or a feeling of quiet strength to keep going, or a new sense of purpose or hope.

But when people ask us to explain it fully, we can’t because we just don’t know how; we just know that something is different. All we can say is, “I once felt lost… but now I see more clearly. I once carried a burden… but now I feel relief. I once lived in fear… but now I know hope.”

The religious leaders could not accept the mystery of what had happened. Eventually, they became so frustrated that they threw the healed man out.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? The man who had been blind could now see... while those religious authorities, who believed they saw clearly, refused to recognize what God was doing right in front of their very own eyes. 

And that brings us to the core of our Gospel story this morning. Later, Jesus found the man and asked if he believed. The man said yes. And the man fell down and worshiped. Then Jesus spoke about sight and blindness. But not just physical sight, spiritual sight.

Because, as we know, there are many kinds of blindness in our world. There is the blindness of convenience to the suffering that is all around us. Blindness to injustice. Blindness to the loneliness of our neighbors. Blindness to the ways God is working quietly among ordinary people.

Some people like to stay blind, because when we open our eyes, we see the horrors of the deep divisions in society. We see anger and hatred in public life, fear in our communities, and a deep loneliness in many hearts.

We see people who continue to argue about truth. arguing about who is right. Arguing about power and control... Some people tend to make a lot of noise… Yet in the midst of all that noise, Jesus invites us to see. To see people who are overlooked... To see dignity in every person... To see that God is still at work 

in places where we might not expect.

Jesus calls us into the light. And that light reveals some things to us. It shows us the broken places in our world. But it also reveals God’s abundant grace moving among us.

During the season of Lent, it is especially important that we continue to work our way out of the darkness into the light. Lent is a time when Christ shines light into the dark corners of our lives. Not to shame us, but to heal us. Not to condemn us, but to help us grow.

Christ opens our eyes so that we can see more clearly... see ourselves honestly, see others compassionately, and see God’s presence more faithfully. 

Like the man in the story who was once blind, we may not have all the answers. But we do have a story. And sometimes the most powerful testimony we can give is simply our story, “I once was blind… But now I see.”

And by the grace of God, may our eyes continue to be opened to the light of Christ shining in our world today.

2 Advent 2025

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN

The Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2025

• Isaiah 11:1-10
• Romans 15:4-13
• Matthew 3:1-12
• Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

As we heard in today’s reading, we are introduced to a person named John who is out in the wilderness bidding people to repent... to change their ways and return to God. The pericope we read in the Gospel according to Matthew depicts John as an interesting character. We might even call him strange…

And, I’m not just talking about the way he acts… His manner of dress is even stranger. He is all dressed up with his camel hair and leather, not to mention the “strangeness” of his diet of locusts and wild honey. I was wondering what we would think of John if we met him on the street today? 

Would we recognize him as a great prophet of God, and then would we follow him into the wilderness to hear his prophetic message? I doubt that very seriously. Now, I know that we shouldn’t judge folks by what they wear or what they eat, but I also know some folks who get caught up in those little gossip circles with their friends when they run across someone they feel isn’t dressed right. 

Rumors fester, and people form preconceived notions about who we are or what we are about. Usually, distorting the truth and causing harm. But somehow, someway, the people were intrigued with the strange character of John and his message, "Prepare the way of the lord… Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” What could he possibly be talking about??? They were all fascinated…

The folks back then would be familiar with the ancient scroll of Isaiah, and they knew what it said about a voice crying out… (by the way, there was no punctuation in the ancient text… so the interpretation of Isaiah is a bit askew) It was either a voice – ‘crying out in the wilderness’ or a voice crying out – ‘in the wilderness...’ Nonetheless, Matthew’s take on it was this… “There’s a voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert, a highway for our God.” The people wanted to know more… so they followed John out into the wilderness. 

I’ve talked about the wilderness before, about how it is a place of unrest and barrenness... A place where demons were thought to be living. In the ancient world, and even today, the wilderness can be a scary place.

Have you ever been lost in the wilderness? The desert or the forest… I mean, really lost - deep in the woods? It can be a very scary experience. You look around, and everything seems to look the same. After an hour, it is hard to tell one tree from another. You may see footsteps and think you're following someone, only to realize they are your own…You get more and more frustrated by the second, and cannot find your way out. I am sure that most of you can relate to that feeling.

Now put that on top of going into the woods with a man as different, as “strange” as John… It’s not a very comfortable feeling. And it probably shouldn’t be! 

You only traveled through wilderness places for specific reasons (for family, for feasts, or for business). It wasn’t a destination, so traveling TO the wilderness was unheard of. So, why go to the wilderness with John?

All four of the Gospels tell us something about John the Baptizer. The evangelist, Matthew, spends a few lines this morning describing what John is wearing… I think that maybe his manner of dress might be a clue for us. Please understand that coarse camel’s hair and leather was not the preferred dress code in ancient Palestine. 

It was extremely different and definitely worth mentioning. But not only worth mentioning… I think that it is significant to who John is and the message he brings… This isn’t the first time we have heard of this kind of “outfit.” 

Some of you may be familiar with a character in the first chapter of the second book of Kings, where it describes a prophet of God who is “A hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist” – sitting on the top of the mountain… He made fire come down from heaven and consume 2 kings’ armies before going down with the third to meet the king, only to tell that king that he is going to die. This was Elijah the Tishbite. The great prophet of the living God of Israel who shook up the Hebrew scriptures. 

Now, if I were a good follower of the God of Israel, for me, that would be enough reason right there to follow John anywhere. The folks back then thought John might be Elijah, who had come back to give them a prophetic message.

But John wasn’t giving just any old message. He was telling them to get ready for something big that was coming. He is here to shake them up a bit – and give them a reality check! He was telling them to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” To denounce their evil ways and turn back to God. So, to some, John was possibly Elijah the Tishbite who had come to prepare the people of Israel for “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” 

This excites the Pharisees and the Sadducees, so they come out to John to be baptized… You remember the Pharisees and the Sadducees… The Pharisees (the pompous religious elite) and the Sadducees (the non-believers in resurrection) 

But John ridicules the Pharisees and the Sadducees and compares them to a "brood of vipers" snakes running scared from the judgment that is coming. He challenges them to change their heart, to “repent” of their sins, to prepare and make themselves ready.

Last Sunday, we were reminded again that Advent was a time to stay alert – to be awake. We learned that we are the keepers of the watch in this season, and we are to keep awake and live faithfully… to make ourselves worthy and ready. Those themes continue this week with today’s text – And John is here to show us the way… to shake us up a bit… and to give us a reality check. 

In Advent, we are called to search down deep… Deep down into those dark wilderness places of our lives… Deep into those desolate places where our demons dwell… Those places we don’t like to go... Places that are strange and different to us… 

We go to these places to prepare and examine ourselves… to see if these “trees” that we are growing in our lives are truly bearing the good fruit? This process of examination, discernment, and repentance can be difficult. It requires us to have an open mind and a desire to be changed, a heart wanting to be warmed. 

It requires us to be ready to admit to ourselves that we DO need change and guidance, even when we think we don’t. John is here this morning to help us take the journey... take that journey to those wilderness places, and the strange and different John gives us a message… A message of hope that something extraordinary is happening… something special is coming, and we need to prepare for it.

But the narrative that we are given today in the third chapter of Matthew doesn’t really identify who is coming…. (now, we know the rest of the story, and we know that John is talking about is Jesus the Christ). But, today it hasn’t been revealed to us… All we know now is that John says the person is very powerful, so powerful that John himself is not worthy to even carry his sandals. The rest is a mystery… and our lectionary is careful not to reveal the rest of the story too soon in this season of preparation 

The story about the awesome power and glory of God that lurks just around the corner. So we are called by the text this morning to exercise a little restraint and not get too terribly anxious… We are called to spend some time in active anticipation, looking inward at the good in our lives and what fruit we are bearing, in hopes that we are bearing the true ripe sweet fruit that our God expects of us. Because the rest of the story will unfold to us in due time and ALL will be revealed… 

All we can do today is be here in our Advent anticipation and examine ourselves… examine ourselves and repent, for the kingdom of God has indeed come very near!