Advent 2, 2021
Suddenly, without warning, the Baptist appears from the
wilderness.
BAM! HERE COMES
JOHN!
Out of the
desert, out of the smoldering embers of the Hope of the people of Israel, out
of the fading memory of prophets long dead…suddenly, without warning—there is
John….
There was nothing
new or unusual about baptism in Jewish practice. In fact,
“ritual washing” was a part of every Jew’s daily life. Each time a devout Jew
came in contact with any unclean thing, ritual washing was necessary.
And since first century Israel was occupied by the foreign, Gentile Roman army
the Jews could not avoid “unclean things”.
“Baptism” was necessary to wash away that uncleanness—that external and
ritual stain of the Gentile world.
BAM! John turned the
washing inside out. His washing—his baptism—was
for the forgiveness of sin. His water wasn’t to wash away the outer
contamination—John came to wash away the inner darkness and death from the mind
and heart and soul.
And he came just
as people were losing hope. It had been 400 years since a prophet had been
heard in Israel. For four centuries there had been no VOICE heard in the land
and none to answer the Prophet’s call.
BAM! After generations of emptiness, a Prophet
came to Israel. After centuries of silence, a Prophet’s Voice was heard in the
Land. He was Isaiah. He was Ezekiel. He was Elijah.
Suddenly, without
warning, John Baptist appears.
*
The common people
streamed out to meet him. All those in Jerusalem and Judea who had longed for the
Voice of a Prophet rushed to him to be baptized in the River Jordan. He was
irresistible to them. He spoke powerfully into their listening. He called them
to bare their souls and unburden their hearts. He called them to Forgiveness,
to Grace, to the Love and Healing of God. The holy river’s waters flowed over
them—restoring them, renewing them, giving them vitality and Life.
So far, so good.
But then some Pharisees and Sadducees showed up and things got ugly.
“You brood of
Vipers!” John raged at the Pharisees and Sadducees. “Who warned you
to flee from the wrath to come?”
This is what we
must remember about the Pharisees and Sadducees—they weren’t bad people. In fact, the conventional wisdom of
the Jewish world in the first century considered the Pharisees and Sadducees to
be “good people.” The Pharisees and Sadducees devoutly studied the Torah,
scrupulously obeyed the Laws of Moses and faithfully performed the rituals of
their faith. The Pharisees and Sadducees talked
the talk and walked the walk
of Judaism. In ways too uncomfortable to reflect on deeply, the Pharisees and
Sadducees were “the good Episcopalians”
of their day and time.
They said their
prayers, kept their pledge up to date, helped with parish functions and came
regularly to services. Good “church folks”, as my Grandmother would have
said—that’s what the Pharisees and Sadducees were. So what was it about them
that so profoundly angered John the Baptist?
This is what he
said to them: Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’;
for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Here’s what I
think John’s anger is all about….The Pharisees and Sadducees had decided that
the “outward” and “visible” aspects of being faithful and following God
were enough. So, they said their prayers, kept their
pledge up to date, helped with parish functions and came regularly to
services—and they believed that was ENOUGH.
John Baptist had
other ideas.
John came out of
the wilderness to talk about the hearts and souls and minds of God’s people.
John appeared, suddenly and without warning, to call us to more than “outward
show”. John came to suggest something
audacious and astonishing. John came to
tell us WE NEED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD.
*
Advent, it seems
to me, is the season of romance between our souls and the Heart of God. In the Christian year, it is Advent and not
Spring that is the season of “falling in love”.
And falling in
love means you will do and be what your beloved needs and wants. And what God
wants is for us to work for the downtrodden, lift up the poor, be advocates for
those in need, care for the sick, feed the hungry, house the homeless, bring peace
to those at war, care for the un-cared for.
This Advent, this
time of waiting and longing and wishing and hoping for the Christ Child,
consider this: how deeply are you in love with God and how completely are you “doing
the work of God in this world”?
That is your
Advent pondering in this time of waiting and longing and sitting in silence when
the world around you is full of noise.
I pray for you as you ponder.
And I ask you to
pray for me as well.
Amen.
