The World Is About to Turn

Matthew 3:1-12   In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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A week ago Saturday I had Kim and Joe in the garage going through boxes of Christmas decorations.  They went through everything.  Then I dropped broad hints that maybe they should get out the ladder and look in the attic over the garage, in case we had stashed some things up there.  We couldn’t remember for sure.  I didn’t need these decorations yet.  We’re not ready to put up the tree yet.  I was just looking for our Advent wreath.

We never did find it, which was very irritating because I know it will turn up next June. But I gave up looking and drove over to Hobby Lobby, where I walked up and down the aisles looking for something I could make into an Advent wreath.  I found some materials and I am happy with my new wreath.  But it was time and money I wasn’t expecting to spend.

And that is the way this season always turns out to be, isn’t it?  This is only the beginning.  There will be hours and hours spent making ready for Christmas with all the things you are supposed to do.  There will be money spent in amounts I don’t like to think about – all to prepare for the season.  There are so many demands on us at this time of the year.  And because of that I feel uncomfortable asking you to do anything more.

But I need to tell you something.  Getting ready for Christmas is not actually what we seem to think it is.  We need to say this today, because we have John the Baptist, that wild and scary prophet, with us today.

I have some decidedly mixed feelings about John.  He is an unwelcome intruder on our holiday festivities.  We get everything all cleaned up, sparkly and pretty, and in comes John with mud on his feet and burrs in his hair.  We didn’t invite him to our party, but here he is anyway.  Every year, John is that one guy you sort of dread having to deal with. He won’t just let people enjoy themselves.

Like those Pharisees and Sadducees, who just wanted a piece of the good times that everyone else seemed to be having.  They see all the people running out of their homes and rushing down to the water’s edge to receive John’s baptism.  They were throwing themselves at him, unburdening their hearts, laughing and crying and hugging each other.  It looked like a good time, I’m sure.  But when these Pharisees and Sadducees slipped into line, and tried to blend in with the crowd, John called them out.  He wasn’t having any of it.  YOU BROOD OF VIPERS!

He could have been gentler about it.  Maybe in other circumstances he would have been gentler, but this was a moment when bluntness was called for.  No fleeing from the wrath to come, not here, not today.  You can’t come out here looking for an easy way to feel better about yourselves, to mask over the problems that lie underneath.  There is trouble in your souls, there is trouble in your community because of the unaddressed trouble in your souls.  That’s John.  Good-time John.

He comes every year because we need him, whether we like to think so or not.  John is all about preparing the way for the Lord, making his paths straight, making the world ready for him and all that his presence will bring.  John wants to help us get ready for Christmas.  This guy; the one with the muddy feet and wild hair.  He wants to help.

I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t need John’s help.”  But here’s the thing: you do need his help. 

It isn’t going to be enough to put up lights and decorations, pretty as they are.  They are beautiful. But the Lord doesn’t care about our lights and decorations.  We do that for ourselves, alone, and they are useful only so far as they help us draw nearer to Christ, only so far as they make a way for our spirits to connect with God’s Spirit. 

This is why I needed my Advent wreath, although I know I could have just made a wreath with paper and crayons and whatever candles I had on hand.  But I wanted it to be beautiful – and not just to serve as a decorative object.  I need it to serve as a focal point for me every evening during this season, to slow myself down, center myself, and invite the Holy Spirit in. 

Because if I don’t slow down, if I don’t find my center and meet God there, I will fail to see what my heart and soul truly need.  I will fail to notice the scars of sin in my life, and I will fail to identify the stumbling blocks I have put up that keep me from a real relationship with Jesus.  If I don’t slow down I will miss Christmas altogether.  I will miss Christ.

Every year he comes – Immanuel – and offers himself to a world that is hungry for goodness, a people who are crazy enough to hope for impossible things: peace, well-being, the reign of love.  Every year he comes and invites us to open our hearts and let him in and be the force for change.

The scriptures hold a vision for us of the reign Christ ushers into the world, and the change he will bring.  The prophets of Israel spoke of this vision, this hope, as when we hear, the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 

This world is hungry for the change he will usher in, we long for it.  And this longing has been with us almost from the beginning of time. 

From the story of the first humans who longed for something they couldn’t quite define and reached for the wrong thing … from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the people turned their longings into lust and greed … from the stories of the kings of Israel who abused their power and the empires who crushed whole nations, our longings and desires are so easily misdirected when we disconnect from one another and the source of our being. 

Our world is no different now than it was for the people of Israel 2000 years ago.  There is still a need for the hungry to be fed and the downtrodden to be lifted up.  There is still a need for the loveless to be shown compassion.  There is still a need for us to speak words of forgiveness to one another.  There is still a need for us to speak words of truth to the powers of this world. 

How will we do that?  Each of us may find our own way.  For me, it begins with the Advent wreath.  For less introverted types, there may be other ways.   But each one of us needs to find the way to reconnect, to open our eyes, to see the suffering and the need, and not look away.  Then to ask one another, what can we do, as the church, what can we do?  To defend the powerless, to feed the hungry, and console the afflicted? What can we do to bring some peace to our world?

During this season of Advent, preparing for the season of Christmas, let us speak to one another about the things that matter, about the hope that we can help each other kindle in our hearts.  The world is about to turn, brothers and sisters, and you and I can be a part of it.