Getting Past John

Based on Matthew 3:1-12
Revision of a sermon delivered Dec. 8, 2013
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            Christmas is only a few more weeks away. Homes are decorated with beautiful lights and all kinds of creative lawn art, inflatable snowmen, manger scenes, Santa’s sleigh. Television has lots of holiday programming. Christmas cards are filling up our mailboxes. We are gearing up for all the holiday parties and family traditions that mark this special time of the year.

            But before we get to Christmas, we must get past John the Baptist, the one whom Barbara Brown Taylor dubs God’s Doberman Pinscher. We are walking merrily along the way to Christmas, humming Christmas carols as we go, enjoying all the pretty lights, when all of a sudden ROOH-ROOH-ROOH, and we jump back and see this snarling dog barking at us and chasing us away from their house.

            Repent, confess your sins, you brood of vipers, who warned you about the coming wrath, bear fruit worthy of repentance, an ax, a pitchfork, unquenchable fire, all these disturbing and challenging images are thrown at us, when all we want to do this time of year is light our little candles and sing “Silent Night.” Yes, John the Baptist with his clothing of camel hair and diet of locusts and wild honey and jarring message disturbs our move toward Christmas, snapping us out of our sweet musings, candy canes and sugar plum fairies and into some hard truths. Before we can get to the baby Jesus, we have to get past John. We have to hear his call to repent. That’s part of our Advent preparation…to repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. And like we talked about last week, when that kingdom comes is unknown to any of us. It could happen at any moment. So, to be ready, we have to repent.

            Repentance must be the first step of our preparations for the coming of the Lord. And that makes sense. Why? Because of grace. Everything about God is bathed in grace. But grace means nothing unless you realize you need it. Grace is only needed if you have messed up first. Grace is getting to work late but not having your pay docked. Grace is a chance to retake your test if you fail the first time. Grace is getting more time to pay back your loan without a penalty. Grace is being told after you have screwed something up that it’s going to be o.k. Grace means nothing, unless we first realize that we need it. That’s what repentance, confessing our screw ups, is all about. Repentance is the key that unlocks the treasure chest of grace. To have the opportunity to repent, to confess our sins, and to hear the words, “I forgive you,” is good news indeed!

            Yet, repentance is so hard for us sometimes. We rationalize, saying to ourselves that what we did wasn’t that bad. Or we deny that we did anything wrong. We become defensive. We have a tendency to blame others for our messes. There was someone I worked with during my seminary days. He was the director of the choir, both at the church I attended and the seminary choir. I served as his secretary, which mainly meant regularly breaking copyright laws by making multiple copies of music for choir members who had a tendency to lose their music every other week. Steve was a passionate man, a real charmer but also temperamental and stubborn. Someone gave him a coffee mug for a gift which fit Steve perfectly. Written on the side of the mug was, “The boss takes full and direct responsibility for assigning blame.” Sometimes we much rather wish to assign blame than take the blame. To admit wrongdoing takes some humility. We don’t always want to admit that we failed, that we were wrong, that we are responsible for the mess up.

            Sometimes we resist repenting, acknowledging our mistakes, because we don’t expect anything better for ourselves. We sometimes think we screw up because we are screw ups. Julie goes from one relationship to the next, leaving a trail of broken hearts all along the way. She knows she is hurting people. She knows she is hurting herself. But she can’t make long term commitments. She remembers how bad her mom and dad got along. She doesn’t want to be stuck in a bad relationship. So, she always finds a way to wreck the relationship. And she doesn’t see things changing for her. It’s just who she is. She will never be able to settle down in a relationship. She will never find her soul mate.

            When the pressure builds, and he’s feeling the stress with the demands of work and family, Carl does what he always does. He escapes into the internet, shutting himself off from his family, from his job, from everything, numbing himself with the mindless diversion of computer games. He’s always been this way. He remembers how his dad would get lost in his books. Carl would have to pry the book out of his dad’s hands to get his attention when he was a boy. His father was distant at times, almost molded into his reading chair. Like his dad, Carl tunes everyone out, except instead of reading books he stares at a computer screen. This is how he is. For Julie and Carl, the idea of repenting, of acknowledging their shortcomings and committing to make a change in how they live, how they relate with others, they just don’t see that happening. They are who they are. They don’t think they can change. So why even bother repenting? There’s no point.

            Sometimes we look around us and the situation we find ourselves in, and we don’t like what we see. Our lives are not what we want them to be. They haven’t been for a long time. We’ve tried to change, but we fall back to old habits and patterns, things don’t change, and despair creeps in. Repent? Change my way of living? Been there, tried that, didn’t work.

            I am sure there were people like that who were coming out to hear John. They had tried and failed over and over. There were times when they felt bad about themselves, like they couldn’t do any better, damaged goods. But there was still a small flicker of hope. They came out to hear John’s message of repentance, to hear him say that we can start over again, that the past doesn’t have to determine our future. The past can’t be changed. What is done is done. But the future is wide open. The future doesn’t have to reflect the past. Change remains possible.

            Not only is change possible, for God change is expected. No matter what has happened to us, no matter how much we have screwed up, hurt others, hurt ourselves, we are not damaged goods. We are precious. That we were even born was a miracle. We are cherished by God. We are formed in the image of God. Because of who we are, as children of God, we are expected to live like that. We can’t use our past as an excuse for not living a holy life. We are made for holiness. When we live right, we are living as we were designed to live. When we mess up, it’s not because we are living as we were designed. That’s a manifestation of sin that distorts our inherent goodness. It is sin that has gotten us off kilter. God expects us to repent because God knows that when we mess up, it’s a failure to be who God has created us to be. We are good trees, not bad trees. God expects good fruit. God knows we can produce it.

            Like those who went out to John, we need to hear that message that repentance is possible. We want to know that today can be a new start. We want to experience the cleansing waters of the baptism of repentance, to wash off our mistakes and hurts, to start over again, and again, and again. That’s what repentance is. Repentance, acknowledging our sin and committing to change for the better, is an act of faith, the faith that God forgives and renews, the faith that God never gives up on us, the faith that change is possible. It is an act of hope, the hope that we can make different choices, that we can start over, that we can live differently.

            So, today, let us respond to the preaching of John who says to us, “Repent!” Let us confess our sins to God. Let us admit our failures to others. Let us face the hard truths about ourselves. Not to beat up on ourselves. Not so that we will feel ashamed or think that we are screw ups. Let us be honest about our shortcomings in the light of God’s mercy, the One who judges us but also graciously forgives us when we repent. God is for us. God is not against us. God believes in us and knows that we can live the life God desires for us because we are designed to live that life of holiness. We are God’s children. Today, we can begin again, and live today the life we are meant to live, as sons and daughters of God. Today, let us hear the plea of John, heed his call, and move past John toward the return of the King.