| December 9 2001 Isaiah 11: 1 10 + Romans 15:4-9 + Matthew 3:1 12 |
| He stands at the heart and the center of this season. He is called, John. It wouldn’t be and couldn’t be Advent without him. Yet I wonder sometimes if he has found any comfort or finally made himself at home at the heavenly banquet. The diet he consumed seems a little out of place, and the wardrobe he chose is not exactly the wedding garment we are urged to wear My image of him standing at the door shouting: “Wash your dirty hands before you eat” is difficult to reconcile with the one he came to proclaim. |
| He knew exactly what he wanted and what he was about. He knew what was good for everyone else, and he said so. He confronted politicians like Herod and spiritual leaders like the Pharisees and Scribes. He was clear headed and sharp tongued. He had it all simplified down to one word: “repentance.” |
| The simply life, slogans, and what appears to be clear headed, no nonsense thinking has great appeal. People who have all the answers still have great appeal. The lure of simplicity is a great temptation for all who would avoid the complexities of existence, and there are many who would boil down the cauldron of life to one magic formula. Thousands flocked to John because he told them what to do. We have reason to believe that they did it, they just wanted to told and be free of any responsibility for dealing with the complexities of their lives, which in those days probably didn’t amount to much compared to ours. But it is much the same. Thousands still flock to the easy answers and various popular cult like leaders and ideas that get publicity with simplicity, slogans, and snappy little books that will solve all your problems. |
| But Advent gives way to Christmas, and someone else steps into the heart and center of that season. He is called: Immanuel. He stands in sharp contrast to the one who went before him. The two of them almost seem to be in conflict, and maybe that is why the Gospel writers have John dead as Jesus emerges. Not because of Herod, but because humankind cannot at the same time endure two personalities as strong as John and Jesus. If we look carefully at what we can know of him from Matthew and the others, John was going to win the favor of the crowd. |
| The Baptist would have thought this a compromise. People who eat grasshoppers and wear animal skins are not given to subtle distinctions. The just want to level the road and straighten people out. But we don’t follow the Baptist. We follow the one who came after him: the one who took the long route to Jerusalem, the one who found people in trees, who stopped to chat at a well, who dropped in for dinner, who took his time when his friend was sick, and then got there too late. |
| Jesus on the other hand was rejected by the crowds. He was refused. The people compared him to John and called him a drunk and a glutton. The Pharisees thought he was a law breaker The Zealots thought he was a traitor Many thought he was unclean. To those who wanted simple solutions he was an enigma, and many today still reject him when they dor{t get their questions answered, and want assurance that can’t be promised. |
| To those who want “yes” or “no” in life, Jesus remains a stumbling block, and they either give up or settle for a sentimental piety that is shallow and childish. To those who are troubled by the paradox of life; who see the good suffer and the apparent victory of wrong doers, Jesus remains a reason for hope and for joy in the midst of troubled days and bad news. They live with constancy and courage through cloudy times when uncertainty presses against them They do not run from fear, nor do they expect to have all the answers to life’s unending questions. In this season of Advent, we are not really preparing for Christmas, we are preparing ourselves for Good Friday This child was born to lose himself in our sufferings in order to sustain our hope and bring us through to victory From his first cry in Bethlehem till his last cry on Calvary, he has given us the gift of his undying love. Let that be our Joy this day and sustain us in the day to come. |
| Jesus was a disappointment to John. He sat in his prison cell thinking: ”This can’t be the one.” and he sent his disciples to check it out. The Baptist wanted to be assured that his simple repentance solution was true, but Jesus kept talking about love and service. The Baptist preached the justice of God, but Jesus kept talking about mercy The Baptist prepared one way for Jesus, but Jesus took different routes. It was such a problem that John had to ask, and he didn’t get a simple answer, he just got another riddle: “Look at the signs and figure it out for yourself ” |
| The greatest of all prophets repeated God’s word with precision, but he understood nothing of what he spoke. It took Jesus to bring us that understanding. That Word was not simply to be spoken, but it was to be lived and given flesh.Jesus did not come to justify himself, but others. He came to show that Justice is not enough, and that mercy fills the cracks. Jesus knew the human paradox that sinners rise to be saved and that those who live by virtue can be lost. Jesus understood that good and evil are not black and white; but that most of life is gray |