Advent II

By the Reverend Martha Frances

Year A, Advent 2

9 December 2007 

Text: Matthew 3: 1-12

Other Readings:  Isaiah 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-13; Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 

      "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  Thus, we hear the abrupt arrival of John the Baptist in Matthew's gospel.  John the Baptist is not politically correct.  He lives out in the desert just as Elijah the prophet of old with whom many associate him.  He will never be invited to a society gala ball dressed in the animal fur & leather that probably identified him first by smell.  Can't you just picture a big hairy mountain of a man appearing out of the woods at Camp Allen?  His diet isn't that appealing either:  wild honey would be ok, but locusts—yuck!  Neither does he arrive with comforting, feel-good stories about God's kindness & care for each person.  No!  His introductory sermon begins with the admonition:  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

      John the Baptist's urgency is compelling.  He has attracted people from Jerusalem & all Judea, from throughout the region along the Jordan River where he is baptizing.  He tells the people if they don't shape up, God will give them the axe like a diseased live oak tree or toss them into an incinerator as soon as he knocks any useful stuffing out of them.  He says being a ritually pure person won't get them either a seat at a good restaurant or at the banquet table when God comes to reign.  He tells the folks who venture out into the desert to hear him that they're about as useful as a snake pit.  He goes on to say that their only hope is to clean up their behavior as if their lives depended on it—which they do—& get baptized quick-pronto to show that they are serious about the change.  Ole John doesn't beat around the bush about the spiritual life, yet he has a whole passel of people flocking out to hear his message & be baptized.

      John gets straight to the point, & that's part of the message of Advent.  We've only about 16 days until the Feast of the Nativity usually called Christmas, & by golly, John tells us we'd better get our lives in order before Jesus comes again.  We don't have time to fiddle around & get our priorities straight sometime next year.  John's call to us is not that Santa is making a list & checking it twice & that there are only 16 shopping days 'till Christmas.  John tells us God's reign is coming soon, the 2^nd coming is upon us, & we'd better practice what we preach now!

      Let's see what message John had for those awaiting the coming of the Messiah much like we prepare to commemorate Jesus' birth in another couple of weeks.  First, John told them to repent.  To the Jewish people who heard him, repentance meant to make a drastic turn in the road of life & go in the opposite direction, to reorient their lives & start over anew.  Many of us who have been on this journey for all or most of our lives might feel that a drastic turn isn't called for.  Regardless of where we are in our spiritual lives, each of us can certainly repent of those places where we have not lived up to having been created in God's image & likeness, can't we?  Advent is a time to take such inventory & resolve to be more fully the person God created us to be.

      John's baptism, unlike the regular ritual cleansings which some groups undertook in his day, occurred only once, was the recognition of the need for moral purity & conversion, & was a preparation for the reign of God when God would judge the world. 

Most of us have been baptized, many as children who were then brought up in the church.  Others were baptized later in life as your conscious choice to begin a new life.  John's baptism—as well as Jesus' which followed—was a once-is-enough immersion which signaled the person's desire to live life differently.  There may be those here who have never been baptized, & if so, we have that opportunity on Epiphany Sunday on January 6^th, so you need to visit me about it soon. 

      If we intend to lead a new life, to amend our lives, then the rite of baptism is only the beginning; it signals changed hearts & changed behavior.  That amendment of life takes a lifetime, & that's why I ask you each time we have a baptism here at Hope to reaffirm your own baptismal vows with the newly baptized.  All of us sin & fall short of the glory of God, & our baptismal promises are like roadmaps for our spiritual journey.  John is telling us not to delay, not to procrastinate any more, for the time for God's reign is near.  Our commitment to living as Christ-filled persons is not just a personal one but for our community.  In the next several months, I want us at Hope to ask how well we as a community are fulfilling those promises.  If we at Hope were doing as good a job as we should to proclaim by word & example the Good News of God in Christ, our nave would be crowded on Sunday morning & we wouldn't have a budget shortfall.  In case you need a review, the Baptismal Covenant is found on pages 304-305 in the BCP.

      John's challenge to us is to be ready not just for the joys of Christmas as the baby Jesus comes into our lives but to prepare for Christ's return as judge.  You might say, "I certainly don't have time to concentrate on turning my whole orientation in life around right now.  I've got a thousand things to do to get ready for Christmas!"  And I'd point out to you that's why we have Advent as 4 weeks of preparation before Christmas.  We read about John the Baptist during Advent because his call to us to repent & return to God IS getting ready for Christmas, the only getting ready that really matters. 

      John the Baptist isn't fooled by the in-crowd who comes out to hear him.  Those folks who expect to get a free ride on the HOV lane straight to heaven because they're the religious leaders of the synagogue might be surprised that there are no reserved spots just because they're children of Abraham.  Neither can we sit around & say "We've been Christian all our lives & we're sure to get a good seat at the heavenly banquet table."  John tells them—& us—that God can choose anyone as the promised people:  Jews or Gentiles, Anglo, Black, Brown or Yellow. 

      What is the qualification to enter into God's reign, the Kingdom of Heaven, as Matthew puts it?  John says we've got to bear fruit worthy of repentance.  John clarifies things when he says someone is coming after him whose sandals he's not even worthy to carry—in other words, even John can't qualify to be the Messiah's servant on his own merits.  We know that Jesus comes with a message of love & acceptance for all.  But John's point is clear:  baptism is only the starting point.  We have responsibilities as Christians which follow baptism & for which baptism prepares us.  He calls those duties fruit on the tree.  St. Paul also speaks of fruits of the Spirit in several places, doesn't he?

      What kinds of actions are those fruit?  Here's where we have to look into our own hearts to decide what the fruits of our lives should be.  What dark corners of our lives need fertilizer & water & light so they grow good fruit?  As I've already indicated, during Advent we can explore those places to turn around & live more healthily.  Alcoholics Anonymous & similar 12 Step programs speak of making amends & then practicing new principles in all our affairs.  Making amends means doing things differently, changing our thinking & asking God through prayer to change our feelings where appropriate. 

      Paul tells us in the Romans' passage for today that we must live in harmony with one another & must glorify God with one voice.  We are to welcome one another as Christ as welcomed us.  These directions refer to our living together in community.  We don't build community & live in harmony with one another if we hold others in suspicion & constantly criticize others' motives & actions.  I'd really like to encourage you to try the spiritual practice of pausing to pray for the next person with whom you get frustrated, trying to walk in her or his shoes, & recognizing that that person may be dealing with issues we have no knowledge of.  The murmuring & discontent which characterize some of our dealings as a parish community discourages others from being generous with their resources.  Paul points out, just as John the Baptist did, that it's not just those who think they're deserving because they are children of Abraham or because they've been around the longest who are invited to the table.  Paul tells us the Gentiles may be first & those who think they are most deserving may be last.  Hmmm, that sounds like something Jesus might have said!

      Our parish is named Hope, & hope is certainly the operative word this season.  John the Baptist's message & actions propel us to evaluate where we spend our time, our money, & our talents—another holy exercise for Advent.  As John tells us in humility, there is one greater than he, & he & his baptism are incomplete.  As we examine our lives, sweeping out cobwebs from the dark corners of our resistance, let us look forward to Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit & with fire—forward to the birth of the Christ child with anticipation rather than dread because we have loved our neighbors as ourselves & have walked the walk & not just talked the talk.  Today, I join my prayer with St. Paul as he blesses his congregation, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Amen.