May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. Amen.
Remember last week I said that John the Baptizer would sound really cranky this week, like he hadn’t had his coffee and bagel yet? Well, unless calling folks a “brood of vipers” is some ancient form of a Hallmark greeting card, you have to wonder if this is what he does with the good news, what would say about bad news? I don’t think I care to find out.
Yet this gospel today, John’s words, are preparing us for what is to come, or more to the point – who is to come…and who is to become. Before we talk about that, I want to focus on what happens to us, particularly at this time of year, because it frames what John and for that matter, St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, are also trying to tell us, and we need to hear what they are saying.
As much as we, as Christians, seek to rest in the expectancy and promise of Advent, often we are sucked into the vortex of anxiety and transported to Christmas Crazy-land. It happens without really seeing it coming, like some mighty force that drops a to-do list the size of Manhattan on our door-steps with a note that reads: “Get it done…or else.” Or else what? We don’t pause to consider it, we just fling the door open and head out never to return to the pre-Christmas “normal” until sometime around Valentine’s Day – and the horror of it – it’s a holiday too! My God, does the insanity never end???
If it were just the things we choose to take on, that would be one thing, but then there are the thoughts about what this all brings – can I really afford the gifts I am buying (or will they like them), will I be able to dodge my mother-in-law’s critique of my cooking, or can I bite my tongue when drunk Uncle Joe, whose views on everything boil my blood, starts jabbering away at the table? It’s about then we start singing “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”…before I kill somebody!
Add to all of that the darkness of this time of year, when the days grow ever shorter, and the nights grow ever colder, or the suffering some endure in this time of joy for others, or the personal tragedies of our own lives dwell deep in our hearts, or the national tragedies we heard in the news this week – the death of a 7 year old girl while in custody at our border and the reminder of the anniversary of the massacre of children at Newtown on the 14th– and we can find ourselves anxious, depressed, fearful.
Ahhh, but Advent… that is what calls me, and hopefully you as well, back to where we need to be, or at least it should. Sadly, however, we often miss it, even while moving through it on the calendar.
“There is a story about a group of tourists visiting the Vatican. Their tour guide had told them about the famed Sistine Chapel: the place where the College of Cardinals meets to choose a new pope, the room whose ornate painted ceiling is Michelangelo’s masterpiece. One aspect of the Sistine Chapel comes as a surprise to most first-time visitors: its size. It’s a rather small room. [I remember being shocked about it when I saw it for the first time.]
Anyway, one young man was so eager to see Michelangelo’s painted ceiling, he dashed in one end of the Sistine Chapel and out the other. He mistook the Chapel for some kind of antechamber. The tour guide had to chase after him, saying: “Come back, you missed it — and this time, remember to look up!” It’s the sort of mistake that’s so easy to make during Advent. It’s so easy to confuse Advent with a waiting room: to dash through these four (or seven) short weeks, arms laden with packages, eyes cast downward. Advent is a destination in its own right.”[1] And the reason that destination is so important is that we need to take in the messages we are being sent – the messages present in our scriptures – especially the ones today.
If you listen to what John is saying, really pay attention – Advent attention – you will be given a great gift. In the gospel, John tells those who came out to hear him that Jesus is coming, and that they must prepare. They asked him what they must do? To all of them he said to give to others out of your abundance – if you have two coats, give one to someone who has none, or if you have food to spare, share with the hungry. To the tax collectors who asked him, he told them not to charge more than what is truly due, and to the soldiers not to use power to enrich themselves on the backs of others, but be satisfied with what they are paid.
And here is why this is so important for us to hear in this time, in this season…because none of what John tells them to do is some sort of religious test of perfection, purity, or ascetism. John didn’t tell them to quit their jobs, sell all they have to give it to the poor, or even follow him in his locust eating, camel hair wearing, wilderness wandering life. They are to be mindful of the needs of others, not cheat those they deal with, and not oppress those weaker then they are. Or to put it another way: be generous, be honest, be kind. That is how we are to prepare for the Jesus we await, by becoming the Jesus people we are.
Easy to say, but hard to do sometimes, isn’t it, especially at this time of year. Because to operate from a place of abundance, from which generosity and love are given life, we must first put behind us the anxiety and fear that is given strength in our sense of scarcity – of there not being enough…enough money, enough gifts, enough of whatever else we hope for…enough love.
Perhaps it is then that St. Paul’s words in his epistle to the Philippians can guide us back home. He writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The Lord is near. Do not worry. Or perhaps best described by one commentator, who noted that to be authentic to the original Greek, we should look at what St. Paul is saying as “Be anxious in nothing, prayerful in everything, thankful in anything …. Then the peace.”
To be clear, this isn’t a “Don’t worry – be happy” jingle just in time for Christmas. No, this is a deeper and far more lasting truth. What St. Paul and St. John are saying can really be summed up like this: “Rejoice! Jesus is near…You are enough!”
Jesus is near, he is coming… and you have it in yourself to become – to become all that you need to be. All you need to do is be attentive, generous, fair, and satisfied with what you have. And when anxiety creeps in, pray and give thanks knowing that He is near – always beside you – always loving you just for who you are. If you do that, you will know that you are enough, you will rejoice, and you will live into that life of gratefulness John describes, and the anxiety free life St. Paul calls us to.
And the funny thing about it all – is that once we start to do that – to live as we are meant to live – our whole world view changes, and it becomes easier to do. There is a story about a peasant, his wife, and their tiny cottage I want to share with you., because it is really about this transformation.
“Their cottage was simply too small. They never had guests because there was no room at the table. They couldn’t raise a family because there was no place for children to sleep. There was barely room for the two of them in that house, and they were starting to get in each other’s way and on each other’s nerves. They needed a bigger house.
Well, as luck – and fairy tales – would have it, a wizard arrived to grant their desires. “You shall have a bigger house,” he said, “but first you must do as I tell you.” “First,” he instructed, “you must bring all your chickens, ducks, geese, and fowl into the house with you. Next, bring in the dogs and the cats and the pigs and the cows and the horses and the goat.” Well, the peasant and his wife pushed, and they shoved, and they squeezed them all tight – and still the wizard demanded they do more.
“Now,” he proclaimed, “invite all your neighbors – and all of their animals, too. Put on a feast for them, and by tonight you shall have your big house.” It didn’t seem possible that the entire neighborhood could fit into the overstuffed cottage, but the invitations were sent and soon the banquet had begun. It was a noisy and crowded affair, but a festive one. Eventually, every neighbor, beast, fish, and fowl had been welcomed, wined and dined. When all had finished and bade their farewells, the peasant and his wife collapsed in happy exhaustion and put up their feet to rest. It was then that they noticed how spacious their home had become. There was actually room to stretch out and relax. The wizard had granted their wish. That night they decided to start a family.[2]”
This couple found they had enough by giving over what they had, their precious space, to others. It didn’t require them to do anything dramatic – just a leap, a trust, that all would be well – and in that reimagining, they changed everything – sharing with others, and growing beyond what they thought possible. All because they trusted in something more powerful outside of themselves.
John is calling to us to do the same. No, not go in search of some genie’s lamp or Merlin for some help. John calls us to prepare the way – the Way of Love – the way for Jesus. There are no things to buy to or prepare, no meals to cook, no parties to attend…we just need to be centered in prayer, thankful for what we do have, and know that Jesus is near – he is always near.
If we do that, we will be able to prepare as John exhorts us, and we will rejoice knowing that we are enough. We were always enough, because we are deeply loved just as we are – so very loved, that God came into the world, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among – that we might know this love deep in our hearts.
So, rejoice! The Lord is near…and you are enough.
Amen.
For the audio from the 10:30am service, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here:
[1]homileticsonline
[2]Dwight Currie, How We Behave at the Feast (New York: Cliff Street Books, 2000), 67.
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
December 16, 2018
Advent 6 (7 Week Advent) – Year C
1st Reading – Zephaniah 3:14-20
Canticle 9
2nd Reading – Philippians 4:4-7
Gospel – Luke 3:7-18
