Loving God, we thank you for having prepared the
way for us through your servant John the Baptist, give us grace to walk in that
way which leads to abundant life in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have you ever noticed that is often easier to do something once someone has showed you how to do it? Whether it’s a golf swing, singing a particular melody, having a difficult conversation, or learning how to tie a knot – when we can watch or hear someone do it first, not only do we have a better sense of what to do, but we also gain confidence in knowing that the task can be accomplished. Every Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist appears in our Gospel text just as he appeared in the wilderness of Judea proclaiming the message – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
We
can look at John as an eccentric prophet who ate locusts and honey and think “He’s
nothing like me” or we can understand him in the way that the Gospels paint
him, as a new Elijah and think “I’d never be called to something like that.”
But instead of distancing ourselves from John, our faith is strengthened if we
see John as a model for us.
John
the Baptist is a Biblical character that I’ve always identified with, and not
just because I like to call people a “brood of vipers.” To be clear, following
Jesus is always the name of the game. I don’t know about you all, but being
told that I’m supposed to do what God Incarnate did is a bit of a stretch. Yes,
by the Holy Spirit we are given the power to do just that – to follow Christ.
But just because we know what we are called to do, we’re not always sure how we’re
supposed to do it. God knows this about us and has therefore so inspired the
saints to be models for us. To show us how the light of Christ shines through
cracked vessels, imperfect people who live busy lives, we have the witness of the
saints.
When
done well, art can capture a truth that it would take hundreds of words to say
otherwise. An example of this is how John the Baptist is depicted in the Isenheim
Altarpiece, one of the most well-known depictions of the Crucifixion. The painter,
Matthias Grünewald, uses artistic license to have John the Baptist present at
the Crucifixion, which he most certainly was not given that he had already been
beheaded by Herod. But he’s in the painting and he’s motioning towards the
Crucified Jesus as if to say “That’s what it’s all about.” That act of directing
others to Jesus is a model of faithfulness to us all. In every sermon, in every
conversation, in every interaction, in every decision, we strive to follow the
example of John and help others to come and see the difference that Christ makes.
There
are three ways that John the Baptist is a model for us – he is a pointer, a paver,
and a prophet. It can be helpful to hear the Biblical text in a different translation
than we are accustomed to, and there’s a new translation I have been finding to
be quite good. It’s called the First Nations Version, and is a translation of
the New Testament by the indigenous peoples of this land. John’s ministry is
described in this way: “He began to speak out a message that was loud and clear:
It is time to return to the right ways of thinking. The Creator’s good road
from above is close. It is the time to begin walking it.” John models for us
what right thinking and walking look like.
It
begins with John as a pointer. As I’ve mentioned, in that altarpiece John is
pointing to Jesus, and above him is painted something he says later in the
Gospel narrative – He must increase, and I must decrease. Beloved, this is the
path of faith, to live in a way that proclaims “Jesus must increase, and I must
decrease.” Such pointing is about both humility and grace.
It’s
about humility because we realize that we are not the main attraction, we are not
the star of the show, we are not the solution to the world’s problems. So when
we receive an award, or a raise, or a compliment, we respond not with “Aw, shucks”
but “To God be the glory.” As we sang on Thanksgiving Day “All good gifts
around us are sent from heaven above,” and so we point in gratitude and praise to
God from whom all blessings flow.
And
this leads us right into the abundant grace of God. If we’re pointing at Jesus,
we are testifying to the fact that he does for us all that needs doing, meaning
that we are not responsible for our own salvation. God’s grace is unrestricted
and unlimited – so while coming to Church is a good thing to do, it will not
earn us any more favor with God because God holds nothing back from us. Being
generous with time and money is wonderful, but God loves us and accepts us
before we’ve even thought about doing such things. Jesus is at the center of
all things and by pointing to him we are, by default, pointing away from
ourselves. We have nothing to prove to the world or God, so instead of working
to make ourselves look good, we can enjoy the grace that we have already been
given in Christ. We point to Jesus as a way of saying, “Sure, I might be a
mess, but Jesus loves me, this I know, and that’s enough.” In pointing to
Jesus, not only do we help others to see the love that makes all things well,
but we are reminded of that peace which passes all understanding.
John
is also a paver. We heard Matthew quote Isaiah, noting that John will prepare
the way of the Lord. Though we didn’t hear it in today’s passage, we all know
it from Handel’s Messiah, “Every valley shall be exalted and every
mountain and hill made low. The crooked straight and the rough places plain.”
There are things in our society that need to be torn down and things that need
to be lifted up. This is what John did and he models for us how we continue to
prepare the way of the Lord. Of course, it’s always about grace, as I’ve said.
But grace does not mean that we just sit around and sip tea until the end of
time. No, as John tells us, the ax is lying at the root of the tree. The fruits
of mercy, love, and peace are to grow in us. Cultivating this fruit and paving
the way of the Lord is how we participate in the Good News that has been given
to us to share.
So
what needs to be lifted up? Those who are ignored, persecuted, and suffer in
our society – those in poverty; those who struggle with addiction; those who committed
a crime, did the time, but are not given a clean slate; children who are being
left behind by an underfunded and under-supported public education system;
those crushed by educational and medical debt. Yes, these are big issues and I’m
not at all suggesting that we need to solve these issues individually. The question
to ask though is whether or not we are obstacles to people living lives of dignity
and value, or are we pavers of the beloved community?
And
what needs to be brought low? There is far too much callous hatred in our society
for those who vote differently than us, who are on the other side of an issue
from us. Violence in word and deed is far too common in our homes and public. Our
society is still infected with racism and white supremacy. Our gluttonous
appetite for consumerism and more is, literally, setting the world on fire and
wreaking havoc on the earth. Homophobia, ableism, and xenophobia are far too common.
And we so often focus on all the wrong metrics: wealth, influence, size,
outward appearances. Part of following John the paver is working to straighten
the places in our lives and world which Sin has made crooked.
Again,
I am under no illusion that we will eliminate hatred, poverty, or greed. I
wouldn’t even say that is our task because we are not the Messiah. But Jesus
has shown us his most excellent way of love. We don’t have to chart the course,
we don’t have to lay out the road, but we can do as John the Baptist shows us
how to do – we can pave that way so that it becomes easier to travel.
John
is also a prophet; that is, he tells the truth. Ultimately, this is what would
lead to his beheading, but the truth cowers before no ruler. If there is only
one thing that Christians get right, it should be truth-telling. Jesus tells us
that he is the Truth and that the truth is what shall make us free. The truth
of God’s forgiveness frees us from the guilt of our sins. The truth of God’s
love frees us from the finality of death. The truth of God’s presence frees us
from ever being rejected or alone.
Pointing
to this truth though can be dangerous because it is often an inconvenient truth
to the status quo. Naming the truth that some things need to be brought low
will offend those on thrones and high places. Testifying to the truth that some
things need to be lifted up will be unsettling to those who like things to stay
in their places. Telling the truth of God’s love for all people will challenge
the barriers and walls we have erected between us. Claiming any truth instead of
saying “Whatever floats your boat” will subvert our culture’s narrative of “Don’t
tell me what to do.” Our reaction to Jesus, the Truth, should tell us all we
need to know about how it really is true that we can’t handle the truth. We
crucified the truth because, as TS Eliot puts it in one poem, “Humankind cannot
bear very much reality.” Despite all this, John remains a model for us of
prophetic truth-telling. Life is too precious, too holy, too short for anything
other than the truth, for in telling the truth we draw near to God.
Each
of us are blessed with opportunities and occasions to point to the love of God
in Christ, both as a means of bringing others to Jesus and also as a way of
reminding ourselves of who is at the center. We live in a world that needs certain
things to be lifted up and other things to be brought down – this is the calling
and vision of becoming the beloved community. We have been gifted with a vision
of the truth of God in the flesh of Jesus Christ and endowed with the Spirit of
truth so that we might testify to this truth until, as Isaiah put it, “the
earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.”
Even
as John preached in the wilderness, it might feel like we are living in a wilderness,
yet John the Baptist remains our model for walking in the way of Jesus – we point,
we pave, we prophecy. As we strive to follow the way of Jesus, we take the
blessing from Romans with us, “May the God of hope fill us with all joy and
peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit.”
