Getting ready for Advent 2

At First Christian Church in Burlington on Sunday, December 8, the passage we’ll wrestle with is Matthew 3:1-12.  It’s the second Sunday in the season of Advent, so we are making our way toward Christmas.  If you’d like to study the scripture along with me this week, this is what I’m thinking about:

Matthew 3:1-12

 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  “Prepare the way of the Lord,  make his paths straight.” ’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 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 to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

  ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

• The first thing that John the Baptist says is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  People were coming to him from Jerusalem and Judea, all around the region of the Jordan (both urban and rural places).  They were coming to confess their sins and be baptized.   This is all well and good, but as David Lose and Karoline Lewis point out here, this isn’t the usual Advent and Christmas theme.  Repentance and  baptism for the forgiveness of sins is a topic we talk about in Lent as we prepare for Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, not as we celebrate his birth.   Advent and Christmas are supposed to be happy times full of joy and hope; even the Advent candle this week is Peace.  There isn’t a candle of Repentance.   It’s interesting that John kind of rains on our happy Advent parade.

• Notice what John the Baptist is wearing: camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He’s munching on locusts and wild honey.  He seems like a pretty simple guy out in the middle of nowhere preaching the good news.  How many times in preparation for Christmas do we lose the simplicity of the season.  Trying to find just the right gift; making sure everyone is happy and taken care of, getting plans together for family gatherings are all wonderful parts of the season.  But sometimes they get in the way of the simplicity.  People are coming to see him and meet him and he’s just wearing the basics.

• When the Pharisees and Sadducees come to John for baptisms in verse 7, he isn’t too accommodating.  In fact, he yells at them.  Screams at them really. I’m picturing Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini mad.    “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Yikes! Who would want to follow John if he’s screaming at people who are different from him and may not like him?

 

 

 

• Finally, as Fred Craddock points out Preaching Through the Christian Year: A, John never identifies the person to come by name.  We know that the person John is talking about is  Jesus, but Craddock notes, “the narrative asks us to exercise restraint and let the story unfold in its own time.” We’ll get to Jesus soon enough.  John simply says in verse 11, “he who is coming after me” and “I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”  If you’ve heard the story before we know who is to come.  But when it comes to the church, how many times to we assume that everyone knows the story.  We assume people know about God’s love made known in Jesus Christ; we assume they know the story of his birth.  We assume because we know.  But that isn’t the case.  We still have to prepare the way of the Lord.

Sunday’s coming and I look forward to worshiping with you in person or online; see you in church!

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