Matthew 3:1-12
December 8, 2013
Advent 2
Again, not the type of reading I want to start the
Christmas and Advent season with .
These Gospel stories aren’t very gospelly.
Last week we had the times of trial and the earthquakes.
Today we get the axe lying at the root of the tree
the threshing floor, the wrath to come.
It’s that John the Baptist that messes everything up.
Everyone is coming to John to get baptized.
Baptisms are supposed to be nice events, right.
I’m sure the whole family, aunts and uncles, with the
cameras and the cake that says “Congratulations on your Baptism”
And then John starts yelling at everyone.
John is like that bad uncle that comes to holiday events
and keeps bringing up topics that we shouldn’t talk about
like religion and politics.
He’s the one that makes family gatherings so difficult.
John was not a good dinner guest.
I mean, he called some people a “Brood of Vipers”
children of snakes in other words.
He told them that their lives were all a show.
They act like they’re repentant,
but they’re really just relying on their heritage
They’re resting on their laurels.
They don’t have any intention to change themselves or
the world for God.
They’re too comfortable with the world as it was.
And when John is rude and brings up stuff like that,
Then that forces preachers all over the world to be rude too.
That just makes me have to remind us all
December 8, 2013
Advent 2
Again, not the type of reading I want to start the
Christmas and Advent season with .
These Gospel stories aren’t very gospelly.
Last week we had the times of trial and the earthquakes.
Today we get the axe lying at the root of the tree
the threshing floor, the wrath to come.
It’s that John the Baptist that messes everything up.
Everyone is coming to John to get baptized.
Baptisms are supposed to be nice events, right.
I’m sure the whole family, aunts and uncles, with the
cameras and the cake that says “Congratulations on your Baptism”
And then John starts yelling at everyone.
John is like that bad uncle that comes to holiday events
and keeps bringing up topics that we shouldn’t talk about
like religion and politics.
He’s the one that makes family gatherings so difficult.
John was not a good dinner guest.
I mean, he called some people a “Brood of Vipers”
children of snakes in other words.
He told them that their lives were all a show.
They act like they’re repentant,
but they’re really just relying on their heritage
They’re resting on their laurels.
They don’t have any intention to change themselves or
the world for God.
They’re too comfortable with the world as it was.
And when John is rude and brings up stuff like that,
Then that forces preachers all over the world to be rude too.
That just makes me have to remind us all
that after 2000 years of Jesus presence
 |
| Nelson Mandela, Trouble Maker |
in the world not all that much has changed.
We’re still too comfortable with things as they are.
We call ourselves Christians, but we don’t act like it too often..
We rest on our heritage, we rest on our laurels
and we resist any kind of change that would make us uncomfortable.
So thanks, John. Now I am forced to remind you that
most of the time we would rather sit and watch the world suffer
than to give up one comfort that we hav..
I have to tell you that I think that if John were
here he would be calling us the same thing:
“Brood of Vipers”. Children of snakes.
Now I have to be the bad dinner guest too. Thanks John.
Why, why does the Word of God do that?
Why do John the baptist and people like him
stir up the pot so much?
He’s telling us to “prepare the way of the Lord
and make the paths straight.”
But he keeps making a mess of things.
Well, the truth is that God needs to make
a mess in order to make things right again.
Have you ever cleaned out a closet?
Not just a little organization, but really cleaned out things,
emptied boxes, thrown out old stuff, clothes and everything?
Then you know, you’ve got to make a mess
in order to straighten things out again.
You pull everything out and throw it all over the room.
For a while it looks like it would have just been better
to leave the closet door closed and forget about the whole thing.
John and other prophets like him,
are here to open the closet door and clean things out.
And they are called by God to do that,
because God needs to get to us.
God doesn’t want just want to reach the
outer exterior that we all show the world.
God doesn’t want to see the closet door.
God doesn’t want to just reach the surface.
God doesn’t just want our ceremonies, and worship,
God doesn’t just want our prayers and praise and platitudes,
God doesn’t just want a couple of acts of mercy,
God doesn’t just want our money.
God wants our hearts. Our whole hearts. Nothing less.
God wants to get to the bottom of the closet.
The closet of our personal lives, the fear, the hardness of heart
the parts that suffer from grief, isolation, hatred,
bitterness, aggression, jealousy, apathy, cynicism.
God also wants to get into the closet of our societies
and clear them out too.
God wants to clear out injustice, racism,
hatred, inequality, oppression, and violence.
God needs to get in there, and God sends prophets
to do that job. They get labeled trouble makers
and rebels and threats to society.
Many of them get imprisoned or killed,
beheaded like John the Baptist
or shot like Martin Luther King Jr. or Ghandi,
They follow in the footsteps of Jesus -- right to the cross.
This week people are celebrating the life and legacy
of Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa
And the face of the end of South African Aparthide
And he was a wonderful person a person to celebrate.
He stood by his beliefs of equality for all people
he genuinely cared for people no matter their color.
Even from prison without communication with the outside world
he led his people to keep insisting on their freedom.
And when Aparthide was ended and he was released,
he called for peace, for understanding and reconciliation.
No violence, no revenge, just forgiveness and unity.
He should be celebrated.
But make no mistake. For many years
there was not much sympathy for him in the US.
When he was arrested in 1964 and the
US was dealing with our own issues of segregation
here in our country and for a long time
Nelson Mandela was seen as just another trouble-maker.
We get nervous when we see someone
trying to mess up apple carts like ours.
Even after Aparthide ended in the 1990’s and he was released -
We’re still too comfortable with things as they are.
We call ourselves Christians, but we don’t act like it too often..
We rest on our heritage, we rest on our laurels
and we resist any kind of change that would make us uncomfortable.
So thanks, John. Now I am forced to remind you that
most of the time we would rather sit and watch the world suffer
than to give up one comfort that we hav..
I have to tell you that I think that if John were
here he would be calling us the same thing:
“Brood of Vipers”. Children of snakes.
Now I have to be the bad dinner guest too. Thanks John.
Why, why does the Word of God do that?
Why do John the baptist and people like him
stir up the pot so much?
He’s telling us to “prepare the way of the Lord
and make the paths straight.”
But he keeps making a mess of things.
Well, the truth is that God needs to make
a mess in order to make things right again.
Have you ever cleaned out a closet?
Not just a little organization, but really cleaned out things,
emptied boxes, thrown out old stuff, clothes and everything?
Then you know, you’ve got to make a mess
in order to straighten things out again.
You pull everything out and throw it all over the room.
For a while it looks like it would have just been better
to leave the closet door closed and forget about the whole thing.
John and other prophets like him,
are here to open the closet door and clean things out.
And they are called by God to do that,
because God needs to get to us.
God doesn’t want just want to reach the
outer exterior that we all show the world.
God doesn’t want to see the closet door.
God doesn’t want to just reach the surface.
God doesn’t just want our ceremonies, and worship,
God doesn’t just want our prayers and praise and platitudes,
God doesn’t just want a couple of acts of mercy,
God doesn’t just want our money.
God wants our hearts. Our whole hearts. Nothing less.
God wants to get to the bottom of the closet.
The closet of our personal lives, the fear, the hardness of heart
the parts that suffer from grief, isolation, hatred,
bitterness, aggression, jealousy, apathy, cynicism.
God also wants to get into the closet of our societies
and clear them out too.
God wants to clear out injustice, racism,
hatred, inequality, oppression, and violence.
God needs to get in there, and God sends prophets
to do that job. They get labeled trouble makers
and rebels and threats to society.
Many of them get imprisoned or killed,
beheaded like John the Baptist
or shot like Martin Luther King Jr. or Ghandi,
They follow in the footsteps of Jesus -- right to the cross.
This week people are celebrating the life and legacy
of Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa
And the face of the end of South African Aparthide
And he was a wonderful person a person to celebrate.
He stood by his beliefs of equality for all people
he genuinely cared for people no matter their color.
Even from prison without communication with the outside world
he led his people to keep insisting on their freedom.
And when Aparthide was ended and he was released,
he called for peace, for understanding and reconciliation.
No violence, no revenge, just forgiveness and unity.
He should be celebrated.
But make no mistake. For many years
there was not much sympathy for him in the US.
When he was arrested in 1964 and the
US was dealing with our own issues of segregation
here in our country and for a long time
Nelson Mandela was seen as just another trouble-maker.
We get nervous when we see someone
trying to mess up apple carts like ours.
Even after Aparthide ended in the 1990’s and he was released -
until 2008, the US still had
Nelson Mandela listed on the terrorist watch list.
He was put on in the 1950’s when he was starting
to be known in South Africa and wasn’t taken off until 5 years ago.
Even after he had been elected president
he had to get special waivers and clearance to be allowed in the US.
What I’m trying to say here, is that there was a time
when Nelson Mandela was not seen as a good dinner guest.
He was not always seen as the hero he is now.
The world had to catch up with his vision, until then
He was part of the closet cleaning mess that is God’s prophets.
God has big plans for us.
It’s was outlined in Isaiah:
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the baby goat
The calf and the lion will be together.”
It’s a wonderful vision of peace and love
between opposites when one normally devours the other
A wonderful vision, but the road there will be difficult.
And we are not there yet. God wants us to prepare.
John the Baptist tells us the way to prepare is to repent.
To change our ways.
To change our thinking and our doing.
It’s not an easy task and God needs all of our help.
So let’s welcome John and Nelson all the other prophets and
trouble-makers to Gethsemane as a guest here at our table.
Let us repent- for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
And let us prepare our hearts and our world for Jesus arrival.
Nelson Mandela listed on the terrorist watch list.
He was put on in the 1950’s when he was starting
to be known in South Africa and wasn’t taken off until 5 years ago.
Even after he had been elected president
he had to get special waivers and clearance to be allowed in the US.
What I’m trying to say here, is that there was a time
when Nelson Mandela was not seen as a good dinner guest.
He was not always seen as the hero he is now.
The world had to catch up with his vision, until then
He was part of the closet cleaning mess that is God’s prophets.
God has big plans for us.
It’s was outlined in Isaiah:
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the baby goat
The calf and the lion will be together.”
It’s a wonderful vision of peace and love
between opposites when one normally devours the other
A wonderful vision, but the road there will be difficult.
And we are not there yet. God wants us to prepare.
John the Baptist tells us the way to prepare is to repent.
To change our ways.
To change our thinking and our doing.
It’s not an easy task and God needs all of our help.
So let’s welcome John and Nelson all the other prophets and
trouble-makers to Gethsemane as a guest here at our table.
Let us repent- for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
And let us prepare our hearts and our world for Jesus arrival.
No comments:
Post a Comment