Advent III

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
Houston, TX
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Advent III
17 December 2006

Text: Luke 3: 7-18
Others: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6); Philippians 4:4-7

“What then should we do?” the crowds asked John when they came to be baptized. The tax collectors also asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” Then the soldiers asked, “And we, what should we do?” At this time of year, many of us also ask, “What should we do?” It’s not that we don’t have enough to do & everything we do involves traffic & crowds & hassle—right? So it’s a good idea for me, & perhaps for you, to stop short & ask, “What should I do?” as we prepare for Christ’s birth this year.

Before we get too much into the specifics of the Gospel today, let’s remember that it’s Advent. We begin a new liturgical year again by looking inside ourselves, preparing to greet Jesus as enters the world as a human being, born like us to a human mother & father in that far-off city of Bethlehem yet also born into our community again this year as Savior & Lord.

As we prepare for our Lord’s coming, we are out of sync with the rest of society who thinks Christmas is already here. Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving led to Muzak Christmas carols. For most folks, there’s much frenetic activity crammed between Thanksgiving’s gluttony & New Year’s bubbly. Each year, I hear folks reach Christmas Eve just wishing the whole celebration were over. How often I’ve seen folks spend the actual holiday moaning about whatever they’ve not accomplished that would make the holiday perfect instead of enjoying what is already the gift of the day because of what God has done.

Advent encourages Christians to apply brakes to the frantic rush, to take time out to slow down to consider why all the mania. I know you’ve heard me say this before, but it bears repeating: Advent calls us to take time to breathe, to truly stop, look, & listen to stories of the Christ child’s arrival in a manger to prepare the way for Christ to come into our lives. We don’t sing Christmas carols yet in church; our songs are those of anticipation & expectation, calling to God-with-us to come into our hearts as Christ enters the world anew.

This is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, Latin for the Epistle today: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Today’s mood is one of urgent expectation. “Let’s get on with this Advent, this Coming.” The apostle Paul today tells us “the Lord is near” & encourages us not to worry, to keep on doing the things that we have learned & received, for the God of peace is coming soon.

So we Christians ask John the Baptist, along with the crowds, the tax collectors, & the soldiers, “What should we do?” Here’s old John, Jesus’ cousin, a strange man born in his parents’ old age, dedicated to a strict sect which doesn’t shave or touch alcoholic beverages. He comes out of the desert, dressed in peculiar clothes, eating a weird diet of locusts & wild honey, calling people to prepare for the Lord’s coming by repenting & being baptized.

Now repentance doesn’t just mean saying you’re sorry. Repentance digs much deeper than that. Repentance means changing things in your life, turning around & going a different way. Repentance means putting things right in relationship to others. John tells those who have come to be baptized that they should bear fruit worthy of repentance. John tells them their baptism should make a difference in the way they live their lives.

John tells those who come to hear him & be baptized by him that they can’t depend upon the fact that they are the children of Abraham in order to be saved. Who their people are or what their ancestors could claim won’t cut it. They are called upon to repent & get right with God themselves. We might say, “You mean it doesn’t matter that we’re Episcopalians or that our mamas took us to church all the time when we were growing up? That doesn’t make us automatically the ‘in’ group?” Nope, John says, you have to take personal responsibility to repent, to behave differently. We make such changets

And those who come to be baptized said, “What should we do?” You know what? John didn’t say, “Come, live like me! Get rid of your fancy clothes & cars & eat locusts & wild honey & grow your hair long.” John didn’t expect everyone to use him as a model. John customized his response to each group who came to him. He seemed to know what the particular temptations were of each group who was asking. The way the tax system was set up, it was expected that the tax collectors would overcharge. John told them to charge only what their taxes were, no extra for themselves.

The soldiers also asked, “And we, what should we do?” They worked for the Romans just as the tax collectors did. Their job was to keep peace in this occupied country, & they often did so by strong-arming, pushing their weight around. I think today we would call it police brutality, & many LOTS’ parishioners & others have experienced such dealings first hand. John tells the law enforcement officers not to take money which doesn’t belong to them, not to threaten people or accuse them falsely, not to take more money from the occupied people than the tax itself. John tells the soldiers not to flaunt their authority, not to bully people. These were all temptations for the soldiers.

The crowds ask, “What then should we do?” John says to be generous & share with the poor—those who have no clothing or food. John tells them not to be greedy. John tailors his responses to the temptations of each group who asks him “What should I do?” What temptation would he recognize in you?

Today I ask, “What should I do?” Would you like to ask John, “What should I do to prepare for the coming of the Christ child? What should I do to be ready for Christ who comes to judge the world?” John’s first response to each of us is that we should repent. John says this Advent season is a time to examine our lives & see what doesn’t work in them—what is unloving or what takes unfair advantage of others or what is greedy. What is your “game,” your wall that keeps Christ & others out?

Often, my wall is busyness. I stay busy because what I have to do is important, don’t you see? Who else could do all the things I do as well as I? Don’t answer that! What is your wall? What keeps us so occupied with “doing” that we forget that we are human “beings?” John tells us to make room in our lives & hearts for Jesus to come in. John tells us when we repent, we will bear fruit. His advice is very radical. He tells us that we are to share our possessions generously & to turn from ourselves to concern for others. How can we be sure those others deserve our generosity? We can’t always, & that’s not our job. He asks US to repent & to reach out to others with love & generosity.

Our gospel tells us that the people were filled with expectation—what Advent is all about. Expectation is desire based on faith & prayer. And John reminds us that he comes only to help us prepare the way for our Savior. God sent John because God’s desire comes first. God desires us to desire God. So God reaches out to us expectantly in the person of John.

John reminds us that he baptizes only with water but Jesus comes after to baptize with the Holy Spirit & fire. The Holy Spirit, or wind, & fire are symbols of judgment, & judgment is certainly part of this passage. He tells the people that the axe is lying at the root of trees which do not bear good fruit, & then he tells us that the Spirit’s winnowing fork is at hand to separate the chaff from the wheat so that the chaff will burn away. Even if we live in the city, we can imagine the heavy grain falling to the ground & the lighter outer covering, the chaff, blowing away in the wind.

And we need to remember today that John’s message is indeed good news. The message of judgment comes with the offer of repentance & forgiveness available—& we need it throughout our lives, not just once or twice. John tells us that the Messiah is coming soon, that we have the time we need to prepare our hearts for his coming. We Christians are invited to Christ’s holy table each Sunday where the Christ child comes to us in the form of bread & wine, Christ’s body & blood, so that we may be renewed to go forth to bear good fruit. This is indeed a generous & gracious God we serve. We are invited to the table each week to be replenished by Christ himself who comes not only as a babe but also as our Savior. We renew our baptismal vows week by week when we come to this altar to partake of Christ’s body & blood in communion with our Christian brothers & sisters.

As we continue our Advent journey this year, we turn once again to ask, “What should I do to bear fruit worthy of repentance?” I urge you to take time to ask Christ that question this week? “What should I do?” And then listen for a response.

I urge you to take time this week to ask yourself, & the Christ child, “What should I do?” Hopefully, you will sense the urgency of Advent, and continue to call to the Christ child, “Come, Lord Jesus. Quickly come!