The poet Anne Sexton claims there are two things impossible to ignore: love and a cough. I will add a third to that list; John the Baptist. John enters our Advent season like an irritating cough that cannot be ignored. John whom Isaiah the prophet spoke of, John wearing camels’ hair and leather belt and who feasts on locusts and wild honey. John who calls us to repentance and to make our paths straight. John who calls us to repent and take an honest look at ourselves.
We during this Advent, this second Sunday of Advent, are being called to look at ourselves. Last week we were reminded to not make any provisions for the flesh and to live honorably to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ. This week we hear a voice calling in the wilderness, warning those who could hear, to prepare a way for the Lord who was to come. John exhorts those who would listen consistently to confession and repentance.
Confession and repentance are two terms and concepts that are largely missing from our society. In order to be able to confess and repent of something, there has to be an understanding of what is wrong. In a society where increasingly we are encouraged to “do that which is right in our own minds,” we hesitate to speak of sin or appear as if we are condemning others.”
Which leads (and has led) us to not taking seriously repentance.
Few of us rarely, if ever, take a serious look at our own selves. Advent is about preparation. In preparing for something, we must take a look at things.
I met this past week with a couple for whom I am going to perform their wedding this spring. We met in their favorite restaurant to discuss the ceremony - we met with the owner of the restaurant and myself. We met to discuss how to prepare for the ceremony - the order of things, how they would like things set out, we looked at things that would need to be removed and discussed things that may need to be added to make their day a special celebration.
Preparation involves both adding things, and taking things away. Preparation involves seriously thinking through the order of things as any good wedding planner or project manager, or leader knows. Good things don’t just happen - you have to plan for them.
The same is true for us in our lives and our hearts. Yesterday was the Consecration of our new Bishop for the Diocese of Virginia, Mark Stevenson. The weekend was spent with two special events, a luncheon on Friday with Bishop Michael Curry and the consecration yesterday of Bishop Stevenson. These events; the calling of Bishop Stevenson didn’t just happen. They took months of planning and prayer and discernment, and I am sure some angst for many. Preparation involves taking a hard look at things, all of the details and being prepared to make adjustments as needed along the way. Preparation involves both adding and removing things.
John enters our gospel passage this morning with no holds barred. He came to declare those who were listening to repent. He condemns the religious leaders who were listening. He even called them a name, “You brood of vipers”. He held nothing back in calling the people to repentance. He came speaking the reality that there are certain ugly truths about all of us that we need to face as we prepare our hearts and minds this Advent for the coming of the Christ child.
Advent longing should steer us as a church toward truth-telling.
Bishop Curry reminded us priests on Friday that there is still work to be done. And some of this work is for us as the Church to take an honest look at ourselves. Things are changing. There may be things we need to repent of and things we need to reconcile ourselves to. Things have always been in a state of change. Things beloved die. Or things that we hold dear may longer serve the same purpose that they did before. When things that we hold dear no longer serve a purpose, it is time to set them aside and move on. We have a hard time letting go of some of these things. But it is essential to let go of what was, to lay hold of and grasp what is now, to be able to embrace what God is doing in the here and now. He said the problem is, is that sometimes we leave those things sitting in our living rooms where we look at them everyday instead of moving them to the attic.
What things may we need to move to the attic? In our own hearts and lives and maybe in our parish? To make space for that which is God is doing in the here and now?
John doesn’t baptize people to make them feel bad—or good—about themselves. He is enlisting people in a cause. He’s not just getting your heart ready for Jesus to dwell in it; he’s telling you it’s time to have the heart to take a stand and follow the way of Jesus. As we turn away from certain things, we need to turn toward Jesus.
John the Baptist comes to the people declaring something new. He is last in the prophetic line but his message was different. Much of the prophetic line had declared if we sin, God will punish us. If we repent, then God will forgive us and heal us. If/then.
But John’s message is different. Human behavior, your response is no longer the key variable to what is going to happen.
John doesn’t say, “repent or the kingdom of God will come near”, or “repent and the kingdom of God will come near”, he says, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What is happening in Jesus Christ is God’s doing and the kingdom has come near. You can choose to be a part of it or not, but it is here; your behavior is no longer a key variable in what is going to happen; John was calling the people to repentance in awareness of what has happened. It is time to repent.
Preparing for this Advent season involves us turning away from the things that we need to turn away from, and turning toward Jesus.
Repentance is about changing one’s mind.
As we get older, we tend to change our minds about what is important to us; we tend to reset our priorities. The things that used to consume us can seem unimportant now and we wonder looking back why we stressed or thought of them at all. Reordering, reprioritizing, rethinking our lives is what I believe John is calling us to here and what he was calling the religious leaders to then. Reprioritize; repent and bear some fruit. Bear fruit worthy of repentance he says. Make it count is what he is saying.
What might you need to turn from or turn to? What things may you need to change your mind about at this time of year?
Jesus came to earth in the form of a man to reconcile us to the world and to ourselves. To make a way for us to partake with him in heavenly blessings.
Many of us, when things are hard, when relationships are hard, tend to cut off from the other rather than reconcile. We distance ourselves. Not always because of a hardness of heart, but maybe because we don’t know what to say, or how to say it, and think it may be best to “let sleeping dogs lie”. That is not what Jesus calls His followers too. We are to be a light in the darkness. We are to claim that the living Christ lives within us and through us. We need to be mature enough to reconcile and to the best of our ability attempt to bring healing to things that are broken.
Today we are reminded that the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Christ is coming.
There is a balm in Gilead. A shoot has come out of the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).
John the Baptist reminds us of the opportunity to reset and repent. What things may we need to look at this week?
Amen.
We during this Advent, this second Sunday of Advent, are being called to look at ourselves. Last week we were reminded to not make any provisions for the flesh and to live honorably to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ. This week we hear a voice calling in the wilderness, warning those who could hear, to prepare a way for the Lord who was to come. John exhorts those who would listen consistently to confession and repentance.
Confession and repentance are two terms and concepts that are largely missing from our society. In order to be able to confess and repent of something, there has to be an understanding of what is wrong. In a society where increasingly we are encouraged to “do that which is right in our own minds,” we hesitate to speak of sin or appear as if we are condemning others.”
Which leads (and has led) us to not taking seriously repentance.
Few of us rarely, if ever, take a serious look at our own selves. Advent is about preparation. In preparing for something, we must take a look at things.
I met this past week with a couple for whom I am going to perform their wedding this spring. We met in their favorite restaurant to discuss the ceremony - we met with the owner of the restaurant and myself. We met to discuss how to prepare for the ceremony - the order of things, how they would like things set out, we looked at things that would need to be removed and discussed things that may need to be added to make their day a special celebration.
Preparation involves both adding things, and taking things away. Preparation involves seriously thinking through the order of things as any good wedding planner or project manager, or leader knows. Good things don’t just happen - you have to plan for them.
The same is true for us in our lives and our hearts. Yesterday was the Consecration of our new Bishop for the Diocese of Virginia, Mark Stevenson. The weekend was spent with two special events, a luncheon on Friday with Bishop Michael Curry and the consecration yesterday of Bishop Stevenson. These events; the calling of Bishop Stevenson didn’t just happen. They took months of planning and prayer and discernment, and I am sure some angst for many. Preparation involves taking a hard look at things, all of the details and being prepared to make adjustments as needed along the way. Preparation involves both adding and removing things.
John enters our gospel passage this morning with no holds barred. He came to declare those who were listening to repent. He condemns the religious leaders who were listening. He even called them a name, “You brood of vipers”. He held nothing back in calling the people to repentance. He came speaking the reality that there are certain ugly truths about all of us that we need to face as we prepare our hearts and minds this Advent for the coming of the Christ child.
Advent longing should steer us as a church toward truth-telling.
Bishop Curry reminded us priests on Friday that there is still work to be done. And some of this work is for us as the Church to take an honest look at ourselves. Things are changing. There may be things we need to repent of and things we need to reconcile ourselves to. Things have always been in a state of change. Things beloved die. Or things that we hold dear may longer serve the same purpose that they did before. When things that we hold dear no longer serve a purpose, it is time to set them aside and move on. We have a hard time letting go of some of these things. But it is essential to let go of what was, to lay hold of and grasp what is now, to be able to embrace what God is doing in the here and now. He said the problem is, is that sometimes we leave those things sitting in our living rooms where we look at them everyday instead of moving them to the attic.
What things may we need to move to the attic? In our own hearts and lives and maybe in our parish? To make space for that which is God is doing in the here and now?
John doesn’t baptize people to make them feel bad—or good—about themselves. He is enlisting people in a cause. He’s not just getting your heart ready for Jesus to dwell in it; he’s telling you it’s time to have the heart to take a stand and follow the way of Jesus. As we turn away from certain things, we need to turn toward Jesus.
John the Baptist comes to the people declaring something new. He is last in the prophetic line but his message was different. Much of the prophetic line had declared if we sin, God will punish us. If we repent, then God will forgive us and heal us. If/then.
But John’s message is different. Human behavior, your response is no longer the key variable to what is going to happen.
John doesn’t say, “repent or the kingdom of God will come near”, or “repent and the kingdom of God will come near”, he says, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What is happening in Jesus Christ is God’s doing and the kingdom has come near. You can choose to be a part of it or not, but it is here; your behavior is no longer a key variable in what is going to happen; John was calling the people to repentance in awareness of what has happened. It is time to repent.
Preparing for this Advent season involves us turning away from the things that we need to turn away from, and turning toward Jesus.
Repentance is about changing one’s mind.
As we get older, we tend to change our minds about what is important to us; we tend to reset our priorities. The things that used to consume us can seem unimportant now and we wonder looking back why we stressed or thought of them at all. Reordering, reprioritizing, rethinking our lives is what I believe John is calling us to here and what he was calling the religious leaders to then. Reprioritize; repent and bear some fruit. Bear fruit worthy of repentance he says. Make it count is what he is saying.
What might you need to turn from or turn to? What things may you need to change your mind about at this time of year?
Jesus came to earth in the form of a man to reconcile us to the world and to ourselves. To make a way for us to partake with him in heavenly blessings.
Many of us, when things are hard, when relationships are hard, tend to cut off from the other rather than reconcile. We distance ourselves. Not always because of a hardness of heart, but maybe because we don’t know what to say, or how to say it, and think it may be best to “let sleeping dogs lie”. That is not what Jesus calls His followers too. We are to be a light in the darkness. We are to claim that the living Christ lives within us and through us. We need to be mature enough to reconcile and to the best of our ability attempt to bring healing to things that are broken.
Today we are reminded that the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Christ is coming.
There is a balm in Gilead. A shoot has come out of the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).
John the Baptist reminds us of the opportunity to reset and repent. What things may we need to look at this week?
Amen.