So, 

Here we are on the first Sunday in Advent. It seems like it has gotten here way too soon. None of us are ready, but the clock is ticking and the Advent Candle is lit, so here we go!

Start putting up the decorations, baking the cookies, shopping for presents, getting a tree, finding those stockings, I mean that is what Advent and Christmas is all about, right?

Oddly, the church, that is the church with a big “C”, like the whole universal and timeless church has a slightly different idea about Christmas and Advent.

They seem to think Advent is about preparation for sure, but not the tree or the cookies, or the presents, or the fruitcake.

They think its preparation of our hearts.

Preparation not for Christmas presents and eggnog, but for a small child to be born in complete, well almost complete, obscurity in of all places, Bethlehem of Judea.

They think its about preparing to receive the incarnated God into our lives by among other things repentance.

That is making a place for the Lord Jesus, by preparing a heart, a mind, a life that has gotten itself in the right way by seeing our sin, confessing our sin, and then repenting of our sin, that is changing our behavior and choices to reflect God’s ways, not ours.

Repentance, some have suggested means making a 180 degree turn, essentially a turn around in our behavior and choices.

It’s exactly what John the Baptist suggests in today’s scripture reading! And the story of John’s call to repentance is a big deal in Advent.

But here is the thing. Did you notice what John says about repentance? It is the process of showing that you have actually changed!

When people asked about repentance, he told them to do what Jesus says characterizes sheep in Matthew 25. Fascinating!

He says, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.” 
Huh? 
The kind of sins I like to repent of are like calling someone who is a national politician an idiot, or get caught lusting after an extra donut, or lusting after a Lamborghini - and the blonde in the passenger seat – to whom I am married! 
You thought you had me there!  
I’m not sure that those are good examples of what we often think of as sin. Evidently John seems to think we will know a sin when we see it.
But repentance he makes very clear, is all about what we do when we realize we have sinned. It has everything to do with my actions, how I go about changing!
In fact, when the tax-collectors ask, he tells them to not overcharge people! Not to cheat people out of what they have, what they need, what God has placed in their lives that is their stewardship.
And what does he tell the soldiers? Don’t be bullies! Don’t press people for money. Live on what you are paid. In other words, act like God’s people!
When it comes to the big ten commandments, John seems to think that for most common people the big sins are about our self-centeredness, our focus on our inward desires, instead of seeing what God has given us and the opportunities we have to use it to God’s glory!
Yes, we have to see sin in order to confess it and admit our guilt.
And having confessed it we have to make changes in the way we are thinking and functioning.
And John makes clear that then automatically leads to making repairs.
So, if you have hurt others, or you have taken God’s gift to use for yourself when you know you were supposed to share it, you need to get to work fixing that.
And not just as an individual, but as a family, as a church and as a community.
Repent, Joh said, and doing so, be ready for the arrival, the “Advent” of the child in the manger, God’s own son! 
Amen.