Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 5th December 2021, the third Sunday of Advent. The service was also our annual toy service, in which we donate new toys to charity for Christmas presents. The Gospel was  Luke 3:1-6 . What do you think of when you picture a prophet? Maybe your mind is turned to the ancient Greeks and of  Cassandra  – the doomed prophet cursed to always predict the future, but never be believed until she uttered her last, tragic prediction of her own death. Maybe you picture something like The Seer from the History Channel’s ‘ Vikings ’ series; a cowled, disfigured old blind man, who talks in riddles, stating that the nature of prophecy is “only to be understood when it has happened, and it is too late to change it”. Or, perhaps you think of a man like John the Baptist in our Gospel reading from Luke today; a wild man, wearing camel hides who eats locusts and wild honey, crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Thro...