“PREPARATION II - SEEKING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS”
Text:
December 2007
On this second Sunday of Advent, we turn our attention to a radically different song than last
Sunday’s. Over against Mary’s passionate song of joy
and praise which we call in Latin The
Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord,” the ‘song’ of John the Baptist resounds a different
tone. It rings of the challenge to repent; to prepare for the coming of Christ by turning our lives
around and pursuing the ways of righteousness. This morning, we join the multitudes in asking
John – son of Mary’s cousin
Elizabeth - “What then should we do?”
(Read
Luke 3:7-18)
The prophet John the Baptist is not a popular figurine to work up in our ceramics class. We
won’t find him as a character in any nativity scene, nor as a sugar cookie, nor on a Hallmark card.
I don’t know how flattered the folks on our Christmas card list would be by a greeting card
picturing on the front a gaunt and stark figure wearing a dusty camel’s hair coat; and on the
inside: “
expressed in
the words of John the Baptist: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from
the wrath to come.’ Have a very Merry Christmas with love from the Lalama family.” Not so
much. By and large, we prefer the round, jolly, overgrown elf in the red velour suit; or the more
religious of us, a peaceful scene of the holy family bathed in light, surrounded by shepherds, wise
men, and critters.
Yet in all four gospels, the message of John precedes the message of Jesus. The tidings seem
clear: If you want to get to the
joy of
the Baptist is. The church’s teaching has traditionally emphasized that if we really want to see,
and appreciate, and be transformed
by the One who is in
confrontation with this gruff prophet out in the wilderness whose sermons seem as bitter and wild
as the terrain which served as his pulpit. In short, as there is no Easter without Good Friday, there is
no Jesus without John. Theologically, no salvation without repentance. For many of us, this is not
quite the Christmas greeting we prefer to receive. Nevertheless, that’s the inscription inside the card.
Luke’s account of John the Baptist’s preaching has in common with the other gospels the message
of repentance as the centerpiece. At the same time, Luke’s account is unique in that the Baptist spells
out what he means when he says, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” John teaches that one
prepares for the coming of Christ by bearing fruit in at least three ways which indicate a turning
toward righteousness: If you
have wealth, share it. If you are
in a position of trust, honor it.
If you
have power, don’t abuse it. Some of us perhaps didn’t realize that John the Baptist dealt with such
contemporary-sounding themes. But he did, so lets look at each of them in turn.
If you have wealth, share it. The crowd asked, “What then should we do?” John responded,
“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has
none; and whoever has food must
do likewise.”
Christmas, of course, seems the quintessential time of sharing. We exchange gifts with one
another, but many of us will go beyond that. We will drop money into Salvation Army kettles. We
will write checks to worthy community outreach projects. We (will empty/have emptied) our family
gift tree. Some of us will make an end-of-the-year contribution to the church. There is a spirit about
this season which helps us see beyond ourselves to the needs of others.
This same ethic of charity is lifted up by Jesus in describing those who are turned in the direction
of His Kingdom and its righteousness. Jesus basically suggests that the fruits of repentance look
something like this: “I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I
was a stranger and you
welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you
visited me, I was in
prison and you came to me. Then the
righteous (the prepared) will answer,
‘When did we see you like this? To which Jesus answered, “Truly I say to you,
as you did it to
one of the least of
these... you did it to me.”
I suppose we all feel at times – and especially at this time of year – the crushing demands on our
resources. And yet the gift of Christmas is a gift that must be passed on to be enjoyed. Christ comes
into our lives bringing unmerited love. Only the coldest of hearts will refuse to let Christ or the love
He is come in. Only the most egocentric of spirits will not reach out in generosity to others, especially
to “the least of these” – the poor and needy, the children, the rejected, the oppressed, those afflicted
by disaster and tragedy. For these, the Baby comes -- to inspire we who have to open our hearts and
our hands to those who have not. Our enjoyment of Christmas will be largely proportional to the joy
we
bring to others. If you have
wealth, share it.
Then there is John’s second
prescription for preparing for Christ’s coming: If you are in a
position
of
trust, honor it. “Even tax
collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what
should
we do?’ (John) said to them,
‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’”
We’ve talked before about tax collectors in John’s and Jesus’ time. They collected tax revenue on
behalf of the Roman government. They were despised as collaborators with the enemy, and were
notorious for their lack of ethics. They would add extra fees to the amount they collected, pocketing
the difference, and becoming quite prosperous in the process. John doesn’t tell them to give up their
jobs. What he does tell them is to exercise honesty in their work. They are in a position of trust with
regard to those whom they collect from. They need to honor that trust.
Doesn’t it appear that honesty and integrity are disappearing commodities in our land? In Alfie
Kohn’s book The Brighter Side of Human Nature, he tells the story of a woman who had an experience
while visiting
money lying on a counter. Of course, others noticed it, and she watched with mounting disbelief as
each person left it right where it
was. “Finally,” she said, “I
saw one woman walk over and pick up
the bills. But to my surprise, she just took them to the
nearest person to ask if he had left the money
there. When he said no, she put the money back where she’d found it.” We wonder how long that pile
of bills would have laid unclaimed in a subway in any major American city. Probably not very.
Something frightening has happened to us. We’ve replaced absolute and time-honored principles of
conduct with moral relativism. The upshot is we hear of more students cheating on their school work,
and feeling no sense of remorse or guilt about it. More adults are cheating on their taxes and other
financial matters. More workers are taking advantage of their employers, while more employers are
taking advantage of their workers.
Back in 1993, Christina Hoff Summers published an article in Christianity Today in which she
criticized the way ethics is being taught in American colleges and universities. She pointed out that
students taking ethics classes debate abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and DNA research,
while virtually nothing is taught or discussed about private decency, honesty, integrity, personal
responsibility, or honor. “These latter issues,” Summers lamented, “are no longer seen as virtues, but
often as hindrances to
success in a highly competitive environment.”
I’m afraid that we have a hard lesson to learn. We simply cannot survive as a civilized society that
is not built on pillars of honesty and trust. If we have a position of trust whether in the government, or
the workplace, or the school, or the church, or within our own homes and families, we must honor it.
That’s the second way to prepare for Christ’s coming; by
turning toward and living trustworthy lives.
Finally, if
you have power, don’t abuse it. “Soldiers
also asked (John), ‘And we, what should
we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from
anyone by threats or false accusation, and
be satisfied with your wages.’” In other words, don’t abuse your power.
Power is a frequently used word in our society’s language. White males are on the defensive these
days because they (or should I say “we”) are seen as having wielded the power – power in politics,
power in economics, power in business and industry, power in the home. Historically, women and
minorities have been viewed as the powerless segments of our society, and at the mercy of the
powerful. As you know, women didn’t gain the right to
vote in
did you know that women in
states wouldn’t permit a female to sign for an apartment lease, or obtain a credit rating, or apply for a
loan unless a husband or male relative agreed to share the responsibility. At that time, many parents
wouldn’t send their daughters to college because it was believed that it was smart for a woman to act
dumb. (Odd, isn’t it, that some our youngest, brightest [I say that tongue-in-cheek], and most
influential starlets in
According to a 1975 study by Maura Christopher, 61% of men thought women were tempermentally
unfit for management positions. Women couldn’t be ordained as elder or deacon in the southern
branch of the Presbyterian Church until 1964, and couldn’t be ordained as Minister of Word and
Sacrament in any branch of the Presbyterian Church until 1956. And in many churches in late 2007,
women still are not
permitted to fill leadership roles. Some have called these things “institutional
abuse” by political, commercial, industrial, and ecclesial power brokers.
We’re not talking about ancient history here, just the past few decades. And women and minorities
continue to be at a disadvantage in many areas. Things are changing, but power continues to be
distributed inequitably. Yet all of us at one time or another find ourselves in positions of power and
authority. A parent has (or should have) authority over a child, and in later years, a child often has
power over a parent. The employer has power over the employee. A teacher has power over his or
her students. (And what a disgrace is this trend of female teachers who are sexually abusing their
young students even birthing their children!) A coach has power over athletes. A pastor has the power
of the pulpit (although it’s a far cry from what it once was; maybe in some ways, that’s for the better).
And John says to each of us seeking after righteousness: if
you have power, don’t abuse it.
Within the history of the Christian community, King Herod will always be remembered for his
personal abuse of power when he decreed that all male children under the age of two living within his
kingdom be murdered in order to protect his throne. We wonder how a person could fall so far. But
we see it every day. Power does something to people, and its abuse can and usually does have tragic
and long-lasting consequences. Even within this
leaders will leave a legacy of abusive power, the results with which we and our children will be living
for many years to come. John the Baptist makes it clear, if you have power, don’t abuse it. Because
such willful abuse is always a serious sin, whether in the workplace or government or church or home
or anywhere else in society.
So “Preparation II - Seeking After Righteousness.” How does John challenge us to prepare for
Christ’s coming? “What
then should we do?” Plainly..... If we have wealth, let’s share it. If we
are in a position of trust, let’s honor it. If we have power, let’s not abuse it. Shall we then continue
faithfully along our journey toward
of Christ. Amen.