I feel bad about the carbon footprint that I am leaving on this earth – it is much bigger than it should be. But it is not all my fault. There have been too many times when I was traveling in my car, straight toward my destination, and that hated sign “Detour Ahead” raised its ugly head. Now I had to go miles out of the way, sometimes causing me to get lost, making me burn more fuel, making my carbon footprint even larger than it already is!! Darn Detours!! I especially hate them when I am traveling into a city that is foreign to me. I have no sense of direction – this ailment has been handed down to me from my beloved older sister – so detours cause me an accelerated heart rate, higher blood pressure and believe it, or not, they cause me to lose my hair!! Darn Detours!! I bet you’re not fond of them either!!

John the Baptist came speaking about these darn detours. It says, “He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Luke 3:3) This repentance, this change is this darn detour that God calls us to make.

This last Sunday in the Sunday Morning Bible Class I said something that hit a nerve of those in the class. We are studying the Large Catechism of Martin Luther in the class and the study begins with the Ten Commandments. The Second Commandment says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” The Second Commandment centers on the use of our tongue and how this tongue can be vile and wicked and evil. We read the passage from Matthew’s Gospel, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (12:36-37) And there was a giant “Oh, No!!” silently spoken by all us unsanctified people in that class. We have spoken the dirty word or the biting word or the foolish word too often. And God holds those words to our account!!

God puts up this huge detour and he calls us not to walk in the wrong path. Darn Detours!! The message of John was, “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.” (Luke 3:5) He is talking about our heart and the detours that God places there to do His work. “The mountains and the hills are made low” – when we are filled with self-made praise, when we are confident only of ourselves and find no room for God and His Word and ways in life, God gives to us the great opportunity for humility. We can be made amazingly low, humbled. A detour is set right in front of us!! Or if our ways are crooked, heading straight toward evil, God comes to make them straight and right. In Friday’s paper the problem of “sexting” was spoken about. You all know what texting is, or have at least heard of it. Folks are able to send messages to others using their cell phones. Texting. Just don’t do it in your car when driving, or in church when I am preaching!! Well “sexting” is sending sexual messages to another. Words, pictures. And this has become popular among our Middle School, Junior High and High School students. God wants to put a detour on such things!! That is no way to give honor to God!! John and Jesus came for “the crooked roads to become straight and the rough ways to be made smooth”.

This last week a huge detour came into the life of Tiger Woods. It may be true that Tiger has been involved in adultery against his wife. He may have broken his pledge to her and through this hurt her and their children, along with the many people who care for all of them. On his website earlier this week Tiger wrote, “I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior that my family deserves.” He actually uses the word “sin” in regards to his actions. We will certainly hear much about all this, more than we might want to know, and we will see if, and how, these individuals and this family survives. But what a detour has been placed right in front of him. The call for change, repentance, a different route in life is right in front of him.

How does the detour look? It actually looks amazingly practical. In Luke 3, our text, John said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (3:8) And the crowd wanted to know what that meant. “The man with two coats should share with the one who has none and the one who has food should do the same.” The tax collectors wanted to know what this meant to them. “Don’t collect anymore than you are required to.” And the soldiers asked the same question. “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” (Sections of Luke 3:10-14) What does this detour, this call to walk a different route, mean to you in your daily life?

Darn Detours? No!! The detours are before us for a good purpose. If you have been around Denver for some time you lived through the work on I-25 from Broadway south to Castle Rock, called T-Rex. The work seemed to take forever and during construction you might have said a few words that you want to take back, (or maybe not - you might have meant them), but now our travel is better. We can get south toward Castle Rock and the Springs much quicker. The detour, the construction, all had a purpose.

So it is with the work of God within our lives. He does not want our sins, our foolishness, our crookedness to be that which controls our life. The detour is to lead us to Him and His ways and His mercy and His strength. Jesus did not take a detour when He came to Bethlehem – His route took Him eventually to an atoning death for our careless words and our sexting and our heart that can wander from His ways and for everyone of our sins. You may remember the word that Simeon spoke to Mary when Jesus was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem when He was 40 days old, “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and a sign to be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)

He was addressing the rejection that Jesus would face and His eventual crucifixion and the pain that Mary would experience. But He did so on purpose, with God’s design in mind, for the purpose to bring us on a path straight to His mercy. We trust in His actions of crucifixion and resurrection as our only hope for eternity, our absolute peace with our God and for our eternity in heaven. Take no detours when you come seeking the salvation from Christ. Make it your priority to seek His face and receive His gifts and be filled with God’s abundant Holy Spirit.

People face many detours and roadblocks during life. In our present economy people have scrambled to find employment, or pay their bills and take care of just the basics of life. You see folks who face medical needs and various problems with the question of what will come next right in front of them!! Detours seem to line their way!! Detours seems to line our way!! Darn Detours, right? No. The detours may be God’s way of calling for change and a new beginning. It may be that in those moments, those turning points, we will look into the face of Christ who calls us to His side. Jesus says to us, at that moment, in that need, “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) The purpose of those blessed detours in that we would have life that comes in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

I still don’t like detours. I only allow so long to get somewhere and when a detour comes it messes up the schedule for the whole day!! But they are of necessity. (I think) But this detour from God of where my heart and soul and life should go – it is needed. I would quickly find myself on a path that would destroy me and the people in my life. But Christ comes to interrupt such a choice, to turn me towards Him and give me something greater – His forgiveness, cleansing, purpose and path. By this He gives me His great love. And He gives it to you, too!!

Darn Detours? No, actually they are just what we need. Amen!!