A Sermon Based Upon Matthew 3: 1-12
By Rev. Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, DMin
Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership
Advent 2A, December 8th, 2013
""I
baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me (Matt. 3:11a NRS)
Some of you will remember the title of
today’s sermon from Ed McMahon’s familiar opening introduction to Johnny Carson
on the tonight show: Heeeres Johnny! Others of you will recognize it from Jack
Nicholson’s frightening role in the movie “The Shinning”. The Shinning is based on Stephen King’s novel
about a hotel haunted by a murder about to be repeated. In one
of the last scenes, Jack Nicholson, playing a deranged writer named Jack has
chopped up the shower curtain with a knife and now leers through with maddening
insanity and then shouts out, “Heeeere’s Johnny!”
Some of us might see John the Baptizer
message as a ‘maddening’ beginning to the good news of the gospel. In
today’s text, John the Baptizer stands between us and the warm fuzziness of Christmas
with a message of sin, confession and repentance, saying, “Repent, You bunch of snakes!”
Is this any way to start Christmas?
Most of us want to get to Christmas
another way, wouldn’t we? And that’s
what we often do. We try shopping,
buying, giving and receiving gifts, going to parties, eating fattening foods, singing
carols, and going to grandma’s house.
Nothing wrong with these festive, wonderful things this time of year, except
that we can use them as a way to avoid John and miss Christmas’ true meaning. But the truth of Scripture and the Word of
God will have it no other way. To find
the true spirit of Christmas, we have to go through John.
ANNOUCING
JUDGMENT IS EASY
What does it mean to hear John’s message
at Christmas? John begins his message in
the wilderness shouting out moral correctives for people who have been caught
in moral flaw, human failure or a sinful fiasco. We
could think, “Repent, you bunch of
snakes” was meant for people just like them----that ugly King Herod who
killed babies, the sleazy Tax Collectors who were stealing people’s hard earned
money, the strange Gentile pagans who don’t know the God of Abraham, the loud
mouthed Canaanite Woman who couldn’t keep her mouth shut, or even those two,
very guilty criminals on the cross with Jesus.
The list could go on. We could think
that the message of John is only meant for people who are ‘sinners’ like them,
like someone else, and of course, not meant for respectable people like us.
But look again closely at where John
starts his preaching. He doesn’t start
with the sins of the world, the crimes of the lowest of the low, or the ignorance
of the outsiders, but John starts with the sins and failures of the insiders;
even the so called righteous and respectful. When John says, “Repent, you bunch of snakes” he is
talking to religious people who look a lot like us. According to our text it all started when John
“saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming
for baptism….” Interestingly, we
are not told how these religious leaders responded to being called ‘snakes’. That will come later.
But I know how I would respond. Who likes a “Johnny” who carries an axe in
his hand, chopping a hole in our own baptismal shower curtain saying “the axe is lying at the root of the trees;
every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”. This is just not nice. Certainly this does not make us feel all Christmassy. It does not make us want to hang around this preacher
very long, especially so close to Christmas.
Most of us don’t like talk like this, unless, of course, we are the one doing
the talking.
For example, listen to what one pastor said. Lutheran Pastor Brad Schmeling said he’d give
up his pastoral robe to be able to put on a coat of camel’s hair, eat a honey
dipped grasshopper and be able to talk to his congregation like this, saying: “You brood of vipers, who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come?” He
said he could do this quite naturally because he’s the oldest child in his
family. It became natural for him to be
the moral force for his siblings, who hated him for it. That
pastor told how once, as the eldest child, he tried to get his younger brother
to share his pizza, but he wouldn’t. So,
standing firm in the face of evil, the older fought the younger over it. Being the strongest, he won of course. It
made him feel even more superior as he looked at his defeated and whooped younger
brother and said, “I don’t want your pizza anyhow; you can have the whole
thing”! How satisfying it can be to be the
‘chosen one’ who gets to call a sinner to repent (From Brad Schmeling’s sermon; “Let Us Have It” at www.dayone.org). Being the one who makes others squirm can be more
fun than actually watching repentance take place.
Today those of us in the church can easily
take on the role of John the Baptizer without much effort. We can be good at becoming ‘elder brothers’
toward our ‘prodigal world’. It can be
very easy to proclaim what’s wrong with the world and start announcing judgments. Most of us can think of many reasons we believe
the world today looks like it’s going to ‘hell in a hangbasket’, as my mother
used to say. We can see all kinds of reasons
people need to repent. What would you
put on your list of sins that sending our world to its destruction? Would it be dirty Politics? Would it be Gay Marriage? Would it be the News Media? Would it be Cell Phones and the Technology
Revolution? Would it be how most family Christmas
celebrations never get to the ‘reason for the season’?
Maybe, even at Christmastime, we need a
little shake up with fire and brimstone.
The closer we get to Christmas, the crazier it can get. We shop until we drop; we want the presents
under the tree to prove our love. We
might be stingy all year, but by golly, it’s Christmas. “Tis the season to be jolly,”
especially if you run a credit business. The crazier it gets, the more we need someone
like John to shake up back into reality before the bills come.
SAVING
THE WORLD IS THE HARD PART
Certainly, we in the church can be too good at taking on the role of
judge, preacher, or critic, can’t we? But
we need to remember it’s a lot easier to dish it out than to take it? This is where John comes in. He’s not preaching repentance to the world, to
the Gentiles, or to the pagan culture, but he’s preaching to the choir, to the home
people; to his people, to the religious and to those who suppose their own
righteousness. Again, the people he
calls “snakes” is people who look a lot like us. He’s not pointing a finger at them, but toward
us.
There is another reason we need to take
John’s call for repentance seriously. If
you go out and ask most non church going people, the 60 to 80% majority these
days, and if you ask what do they think of “church”, many of them will answer that
we the people who are against things. To
them we are ‘snakes in the grass’ which you don’t see much until they bite you. This is what “church people” like to do; bite. They bite each other and they bite people
they don’t even know. Do you remember
the “Church Lady” on Saturday Night Live?
Many people see the church just like that; an old, outdated, nagging
woman who stands ready to beat you over the head with her pocketbook if you
don’t straighten up according to her own definition of what ‘straight’ and
“narrow” means. Pastor Adam Hamilton, a
Methodist minister in Kansas City, tells how once, after he preached a funeral,
a Christian came up to him and complained about his funeral message, asking him,
“Why didn’t you tell them their son is in hell today”? Evidently, some church people are just like
that ‘church lady’. They really do think
they are as smart and good as God.
Hopefully, few Christians are really
like the “Church Lady” or like that presumptuous Christian at the funeral, but
whether there are many like this or not, such impressions of the church,
whether wrong or right, are real, and this is why, says Dan Kimbell, “People still love Jesus, but they don’t love
the church.” This is why, says Robin
Meyers, we need to ‘Save Jesus from the
church’. This is why, says Tony
Campolo, we need to learn how to ‘Follow
Jesus without Embarrassing God’ All
these titles from most recent books point to the “sins of the righteous’ John was also pointing
to. Our sins point to the great need
for the church to be the first to repent.
I know this sounds hard, but there can
be something good about a church that does not forget how to repent and confess
of its own sins. Most of the world of
our time, whether right or wrong, true or misguided, has turned against the negative,
condemning, blazing fire and brimstone preaching of the Church. Perhaps some people need to hear the truth of
how they are, but most will not even begin to listen to any hard truth about
themselves until they feel love and are at first convinced that we have
something that grabs their attention.
The world wants and waits to hear and see
something different from us, something constructive first of all. They want to meet someone who understands and
cares. They wonder if there are people
who are working to make a ‘real’ difference in this world, not just talking
about how bad it is.
People want to see something from us that
looks very much like what a young New Jersey woman named Hilary Sandlon
recently did. She made a list of 22 acts
of random kindness she would do on her 22nd birthday. She spent ten hours, on her birthday not
doing things to please herself, but she did things to help others. On her birthday she embarked on a 5-city,
random acts of kindness tour, along with her boyfriend and best friend. She did things like things like paying the
toll for 4 drivers, she left a gift for her mailman, she donated blood, she put
shopping carts up at Walmart, she
donated clothes, baked brownies for her neighbors, took Doughnuts to the local
police station and they weeded her grandmother’s yard. Afterward, she stated, “I wanted to do
something big to and show others that helping others has a contagious feeling
that comes with it.” On T.V. she said,
“This really made my birthday “happy!”
It wasn’t when the focus was on her, but when her focus was on others. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/09/hillary-sadlons-22-random-acts-of-kindness-for-her-22nd-birthday/).
Could we envision a church like that? Can we envision and become a church that takes
a serious look at itself for the sake of being a saving and redeeming influence
in the world? Can we really care about serving
others more than we care about serving ourselves? Can we
see that the true “reality” many experience this Christmas is that in spite of
all the spending, all the partying, and all the extravagant decorating, many of
our lives can be pretty dark, our days can feel very lonely, and our pain can
be all too excruciating. All the Norman
Rockwell images of the perfect family gathering together, though meant to inspire,
are often very far away from the failed relationships that come back to haunt many
this time of year. People don’t need a Church
that sounds like John telling how bad things are. Most know that already. People don’t need more fire and brimstone,
but what many need most in this hurting world is a church that listens, cares,
understands and promotes healing, togetherness, and what we all need most,
love. In spite of what we all are or
aren’t, we need a message that tells us that life is still worth living.
Would the world take notice of a church that
could present a message and be a
message like that? Would the world
notice a church that before it tells the world’s sins, is a church that can
take an honest look at itself and do the good it can do? In a world filled with so much pain, violence,
confusion and hurt, people do not want to be in a place or have a religious
point of view that adds to the pain that is already there. People
don’t want a church, a preacher, a sermon, or a message that condemns and tears
down, or dares to tell them what they must do; when the church it appears that
the church is not doing so well itself.
What people do seem to still want is a hear and see a message that cares,
that tries to understand, to have someone who listens, and will make a point to
give hope. In others words, the word on
the street is this: “Don’t give me a
sermon, but show me one.” Show me how you,
who call yourself a church, the body of Christ, live like Jesus and show me how
you, and the world are better for you being here. This is the kind of ‘church’ people still want
to see. It’s the kind of church that rather
than placing blame and doing nothing, does something and shares responsibility
for how bad things have become.
JESUS
SAVES BECAUSE HE IS GREATER
For sure, announcing judgment is easy, often
too easy; but taking judgment upon ourselves for the sake of saving people in the
world, is much harder. As First Peter,
says, “Judgment begins at God’s own household” (1 Peter 4:17)). That’s really hard to do; to take a serious
look at where we are and to look at who we aren’t before we would even dare look
at someone else?
But hardest of all, even harder than taking
‘judgment’ and ‘criticism’ upon ourselves, is hearing and understanding the
full impact what John says next. John takes
leave of any lofty, inflated view of himself or any elevating of his message of
fire, brimstone and judgment, and begins to humbly belittle himself
saying; “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more
powerful is coming after me. I’m not
even worthy to carry his sandals. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!” The
person and message John wants us to see is not John. The “fire” John wants really feel is not the
‘fire’ of judgment that burns up the ones not bearing good fruit. But John wants us to finally feel and
experience is the saving and redeeming ‘fire’ only Jesus can bring. It’s a different kind of ‘burn’
altogether. John’s fiery words are not
the main course, but they are only meant to prepare us for what God is really
after; God’s ultimate, eternal, saving and redeeming purpose.
Most of us have heard about the new
Pope, Pope Francis and how radical and non-traditional he is. He is doing some amazing things like calling
and praying with people personally and refusing to ride in the ‘popemobile’, as
well as caring for the poor and working people.
He is also saying some things that we’ve never heard from a Pope; like
saying that just because atheist don’t believe in God does not mean they won’t go
to heaven. In another controversial comment,
the Pope scolded the church for being obsessed with hot button issues about gays,
abortion, or birth control. When asked what he thinks about ‘homosexuality’
and ‘gay marriage’, the Pope said that he envisions an “inclusive church that
makes a home for all” and that if gays are respectful and humble; ‘who am I to judge’. He continued, “When God looks at a person,
does he condemn and see the person as someone he loves?” Finally, he said, “I see the church as a
hospital on a battlefield. When a person
comes to us weak and injured by life or the world, it’s not our first task to
ask them about their cholesterol level or blood sugar, but it is our job to
help heal their wounds. Then we can talk
about everything else. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0).
I know that the “Pope” does not speak
for us Baptists, but often Billy Graham does, and when asked what he thought
about gays and gay marriage, Billy Graham answered in like manner; “It’s the
Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and it is my job to love.”
(As quoted from the book, “Love Is An Orientation” by Andrew Marin, p. 108).
Can you see that love, not hate is where
John the Baptiser was going with his fiery words? Can you see that this is where we should be
going too? John wants to keep us from
getting “stuck” on a message of judgment and repentance alone. There is a place for loving, constructive self-introspection
and evaluation, but this kind of judgment is only the beginning, never the purpose
of God’s message. John does not want us to put our main focus on
what’s wrong with the world, nor get fixated on what’s wrong with us either. The truth is, John does not want us to get
stuck on the way things are now, because John wants us to get excited about
what’s coming next, what’s coming after him, and what is always on God’s mind
and timetable, which should fill us all with some hope.
We don’t have to guess what this ‘hope’
is because Scripture tells us that Jesus is ‘one who is more powerful’ who comes after John. Jesus is ‘more powerful’ and more hopeful than John, because Jesus did not
come to condemn the world; but Scripture says Jesus came so that the world can
be saved (John 3.17). The truth is that John’s message, no matter
how much fun it is to tell people how bad they are, can’t save anybody.
Let me close with something else from
Pastor Adam Hamilton’s book “When Christians Get It Wrong”. In the book he speaks about how it is wrong
for us to get stuck on arguments, hate, judging and assuming we know exactly
what God is up too. Then, at the close
of the book, he has a most wonderful chapter about “When Christians get it
Right”. He gives an illustration from
his own congregation, one, if not the largest United Methodist congregation in
the world. Pastor Hamilton tells about
Vincent, who began attending his church.
“He’s a gifted vocalist in his thirties who sang heavy metal and classic
rock for years. Vincent is also afflicted
with Tourette’s syndrome. His form of
Tourette’s is known as coprolalia,
and includes the spontaneous utterance of words most people suppress—swear words. Vincent was diagnosed when he was an
adolescent. From that time on he had
felt unwelcome at church. We have a
large sanctuary, but it was easy to tell when Vincent was present, starting
with his first visit. As I was preaching
he would blurt out swear words. It was a
little unnerving at first. Some with
children who did not understand what was happening moved to another part of the
sanctuary. But almost instantly some
people realized that Vincent had Tourette’s.
When Vincent showed up for worship, a group of people sat near him and
reassured him it was okay. Vincent
thouth that perhaps it would help people knew his story, so one weekend we told
his story and then invited him to sing. When he finished singing, the congregation
rose to give him a standing ovation.
What they were saying to Vincent was “We love you. We want you here. No matter what, you are a gift from God!” As the church stood applauding, says the
pastor, “I saw the church as it was meant to be, welcoming others without
judgment, but with genuine love. The
church got it right” (From “When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton,
p. 112-113).
Do you know why the church got it
right? Announcing judgment is the easy
part; but saving the world, or finding God’s wonderful gift of salvation and
sharing it with love is the hard part.
It is hard for us to get to, it is hard for us receive it right, and it
hard for us to join with Jesus in his saving work in this world. It is hard, yes, love is hard work, but it is
the real, “greater” work; and if we don’t get to it, the Pope is right, we may
soon cease to feel the warmth of God’s Spirit fire in our own hearts, in our
world, and in our churches. So, let’s
get to it. Let’s let John invite us again to
“one who more powerful" and the 'fire' of love that burns brighter and hotter than any other flame. Amen.
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