Sermon for December 13, 2015: Third Sunday of Advent
Rev. Amy Welin: When our circumstances feel the most dire, it is time to seize moments of joy. That is the theology of the song We Need a Little Christmas. I found myself humming it on Tuesday afternoon after reading the article about St John’s in the Waterbury Republican.
We light the Advent candle of joy on Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the command to rejoice, echoed in Paul’s epistle. In the ancient church , this was the Sunday that answered the children’s question are we there yet? with a liturgical almost. On Gaudete Sunday, the faithful were exempted from the Advent fast, and the priests wore vestments colored rose to signify the joy of the day. We are nearly to Christmas, and we need to rejoice, because although the nights are dark and long and the news is not all good, the Day of the Lord is very near.
So we begin our celebration a little early – and in clomps John the Baptist in his camel’s hair and he does not seem to be bringing good news at all. Neither does he seem to match the rest of the readings, which rejoice in the wonderful saving power of God. What is going on here? Did John eat a bad tasting locust? Are we vipers? or are we brothers and sisters of Jesus, the children of God?
Between the words that we may hear as insulting, John is still preaching good news. He reminds his listeners that although God loves us as we are, we will not be saved as we are. God wants the best for us, and that requires some transformation. We are not supposed just to look good for the season – mustering the glowing appearance of success and happiness that is expected at the holiday parties – we are supposed to be good, internally and externally.
This is not as easy as a makeover. We all know where we have dropped the ball. How many times we have let down God and our loved ones. How often we have sunk into our insecurities instead of rising to the challenge. God always offers us a way past our failures into new life.
John is surrounded by people who are recognized as serious sinners, like the tax collectors and Herod’s soldiers who protected them. He chastises them, but he does not turn them away. He tells them how to return to God – and how to get ready for the real Messiah – in a practical way. John is not preaching theological subtleties. He is commanding action. Have you sinned? Give half of what you own to the poor. Have you not lived up to your potential? Do your work honestly and do not be greedy. Worried over your failures? Pray and prepare for the Lord, who is very near.
John gives simple spiritual direction to people who want to know how to do better. In a time of darkness, he shows them how to be light. And the people are filled with expectation. In this gospel, repenting and rejoicing are two parts of a single reality. Grace transforms vipers into lambs. And there is always joy when we turn back to the God who loves us.
St John’s Parish is on the threshold of something new. We are not sure what it is yet. And we are going to get there soon.
John the Baptist prepares us for new ways of living, a new kind of community, where we serve others instead of worrying how to take care of ourselves. The old structures of power – our glorious history and heritage – will not matter in the new reign of God. The way we used to live – spending a large endowment and living alone in a beautiful building – can not continue. If we want to be part of the new world that is coming into being, we have to be willing to give up the world we are in right now. That will be a challenge, because we understood the old way, even when we didn’t like it. But John reminds us, there is no position of power and prestige, no social status that has any weight in the new reign of God. God will take the poor and the outcast and transform us into his victorious people. Everything we thought was important in this world is useless in the kingdom that is to come.
So here is the good news. Our Savior is coming. He will not look at our bank account or notice if we have places of importance. Christ will transform us into new people, who live lives directed by the Holy Spirit. We will do great things for God. We will not need the other stuff. And as we learn to let it go, we prepare ourselves for something better. Rejoice, rejoice, the Lord is near.