Prepare the Way of the Lord

Sermon from Dec.8th, second Sunday in Advent: PEACE

Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

It would be helpful in understanding the sermon to read the Isaiah & Matthew texts.. I have linked the texts with Bible Gateway, so just click on them to read :)

‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord!’ Today John the Baptist burst onto the scene and what a wild and obnoxious one he is! Who is this man of the wilderness who wears weird things and eats weird things and, we can only assume, smells a little weird too.. Well he of course is the one foretold by the prophets of old! The one who comes to announce the messiah, the Lord, the one who will restore Israel!

The Israelites, John’s original audience, were nostalgic for the kingdom of Israel - the brief time in history when they lived under a united kingdom. They romanticize the monarchy, (because, let's be honest, we might remember King David as the best king in all of history, but he did some pretty shady things.) None-the-less, they romanticized the rule of King David, because of how far downhill everything went from there. Israel became divided and multiple empires conquered their land and they were sent into exile. For hundreds of years they lived oppressed and shattered. When John came, they were living under Roman occupation and longed for the promise God had made them - that one day, out of the dead, cut off tree that was their united kingdom, a shoot would arise and a new king would be born to bring harmony and peace.

Now the Israelites had lived with the hope of that vision from Isaiah for centuries. In fact, at this time when John comes Israel hadn’t had a prophet for at least 150 odd years (possibly 400 depending on who you consider a prophet, but that’s a historian’s battle not ours). Regardless, no one alive at the time John proclaimed this message had experienced a prophet of God, so they were long overdue for some hope and encouragement. So John starts prophesying, building on what the prophets of old had said, proclaiming, ‘Repent, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near!’ Then we are told that people from Jerusalem, Judea, and all around the Jordan River flock to him, repent, and are baptized.

SO many people were flocking to John, that the religious leaders got curious and made their way to see John as well. This is fair, since John is doing what should “only be done in the temple” by “certain people” with “correct authority” under the “correct procedure.” We know how that goes. He’s taking their people away from them! He’s becoming less of that crazy guy down the street they roll their eyes at and more of a threat to their job and their prestigious status in society. But as John sees them walking up he yells out, “You brood of vipers!!”

Wow.. ‘You offspring of snakes!’ Ouch! He did not take the ‘polite/Iowa nice’ route of letting the Pharisees and Sadducees know they did not belong there! But before you go and excuse his harsh confrontational style as just a character flaw, you should know that this insult is used two more times in the book of Matthew.. and both are said by Jesus himself. In fact the entire 23rd chapter is one big Jesus rant about how awful the Pharisees and Sadducees were. We may like to sugar coat Jesus, but we would do well to remember that he could get a little spicy sometimes.

For Matthew though, just like we heard last week, there is no salvation without judgment. The two go hand-in-hand. We know from other stories that Jesus interacted with the Pharisees and Sadducees quite a bit. They showed up to hear him speak, they watched him as he performed miracles, and they invited him over for dinner from time to time. Jesus did not ‘hate’ them like we want to imagine, because of the hostile situation our society is currently living through. Many people in our nation cannot stand to speak with, listen to, or be in the same room as someone from the opposite political party. We’re really good at drawing lines, putting everything in binary categories... ‘That’s a red state. That’s a blue state. You stay over there and I’ll stay over here.’

But that’s not how Christ interacted with the Pharisees and Sadducees, no, he had relationships with them! And part of that relationship included calling them out! ‘You hypocrites! You brood of vipers!’ These were religious leaders, the people called to be lights in the darkness of a world under Roman occupation and they exchanged that light for a pretty penny and crawled into bed with Rome instead. Of course Jesus is going to call them out! Because the world is NOT as it should be and if anyone has the right to be angry about that it’s God, wouldn’t you say!?

So John and Jesus spend their ministry dishing out salvation AND judgment. But not judgment that leads to damnation as we presume, but judgment that opens the eyes of the one being accused so that they might see the ways they have gotten in the way of the Lord. This judgment does not condemn, but refines. John says the one who is coming will baptize people in the Holy Spirit and fire. What does it mean to be baptized in fire? Well, in our baptismal rite we say that in our baptism we die with Christ. We die to sin. We renounce all that defies God. We are made new... So the image that comes to my mind when John tells us Jesus baptizes us with fire is the image of a phoenix. (Not a real bird, but that’s beside the point.) A phoenix every few hundred years could regenerate itself, be reduced to ashes and then rise again. Being baptized in fire by Christ, is like being a phoenix who each day has the ability to burn off the chaff (the stuff in us, in our lives, that defies God) and rise again from the ashes. Born anew, each and every day.

John goes on to say the one who is coming is coming with his winnowing fork in hand, clearing the threshing floor, gathering the wheat, and burning the chaff. This judgment does not condemn, but refines.. For I think we have been interpreting this text wrong for a long time, imagining that when Jesus comes with the winnowing fork he is condemning some people and saving some other, better people. For too long we have used this text as proof of heaven and hell, some will be stored up in heaven while others burn in hell. But perhaps God has bigger plans than our binary minds would like to think. Perhaps instead of imaging the threshing floor as ALL the people of the world, we should be imagining just ourselves.. For we all have things within our souls that we long to get rid of.. none of us are completely good or completely bad; we are all a mixed bag, but we are all able to go before the judge, step onto that threshing floor, go through the refining fire, and rise from the ashes.

Jesus, God incarnate, did not turn out to be the messiah the Israelites dreamed of and romanticized. He did not restore the monarchy. He did not overthrow the Roman empire. That is what they interpreted the prophecies to mean, but that is not what they got. That is in fact why Judaism and Christianity became two separate religions. We are ‘Messianic Jews.’ We are the Jews who believed Jesus was and is THE Messiah, while others did not. This does NOT mean that we are right and they are wrong. This does NOT constitute any of the horrendous things the Jewish people have endured over the ages at the hand of Christianity. We are siblings; our relationship is only one of love and respect. We have far more in common than we’ve ever been able to admit and what a shame.. For we still believe in the same vision. Isaiah’s vision.

Of a God who is ever faithful, who has promised a reign of peace, who has promised reconciliation and restoration for ALL of creation. Who brings judgment, which produces redemption and salvation. Who will restore and purify the earth in such a way that there will no longer be struggles for power or prestige. No longer need for a lion to eat a lamb. No longer need for a child to even take caution near a lion! In fact, let them play! Have a snuggle! For all of creation will live in harmony. The Prince of Peace shall reign! ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord! The kingdom of heaven is near!’

The Christ child comes to turn our dreams into reality. To bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Share this promised peace with one another today and everyday, for in doing so the kingdom itself breaks into our midst. When we worship, we practice the peace of Christ, we embody our belief in this vision, in God’s reign, so that we can go out from here and embody that same vision to a blind world, a light in the darkness, that God will not let be overcome.

Rise up, people of God! Your salvation draws near!

Amen.