The Second Sunday of Advent: Preparing the Way

Isaiah 11:1-10; Mathew 3:1-12

          What a strange character John the Baptist was.  He just showed up in the wilderness with fire and brimstone spewing from his lips.  The Gospel of Matthew begins naturally enough with the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus.  The wise men arrived bearing gifts fit for a king.  Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus then fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod.  It’s what we expect.  Then, as if appearing from nowhere, John the Baptist bursts forth wearing camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey.  With the gentleness of an SEC defensive tackle, he unloaded his message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

          So, who was John the Baptist, and what was his role in the divine drama that was unfolding in the birth of Jesus?

          John the Baptist was actually a significant figure in his own right.  You may remember that he eventually ran afoul of Herod Antipas, was imprisoned, and tragically beheaded.  Before that, though, a considerable movement developed around John the Baptist.  He had his own disciples whom he baptized in his name.  And we know that his movement continued in tandem with the Christian movement, possibly in competition with the early church. While on his second missionary journey, the Apostle Paul met some of John’s disciples in Ephesus.   They told Paul that they had been baptized in John’s name, and Paul convinced them to be baptized in Jesus’ name.

          Here in chapter three Matthew gives no indication that John’s intention was to begin an organized movement with disciples.  For Matthew, John had one clear and simple role: he would prepare the way for Jesus.  He was the forerunner.  John was the fulfillment of Hebrew prophesy and would call the people to God in anticipation of the ministry of Jesus. 

John the Baptist continues to fill that role today, his message still challenging us to prepare a place in our lives for the continued unfolding of God’s great drama.

          The first part of John the Baptist’s message was delivered to anyone and everyone.  Just one word—repent.  His clothing and diet identified him with the commoner, the poor people of the desert. People left the cities like Jerusalem and journeyed into the desert to hear what this strange character had to say.  He told them all to repent because God was about to enter their world in a new and unique way.  Those who responded to John’s message were baptized in the Jordan River, which some of us will see next year.

          The word repentance is a bit scary to some. It makes them recoil and conjures up images of wide-eyed preachers on street corners.  But repentance is good word.  It simply means to change for the better.  Repentance is a matter of taking a good, hard look at our lives, identifying areas where we can be more Christlike, and making appropriate changes.  And that is a wonderful way to journey through Advent.  Rather than being blown by the wind or herded by the crowds, the practice of repentance puts our lives back into our control … or rather God’s control.  According to John, that is how we prepare for Christmas.  We repent.

          The second part of John’s message was not delivered to anyone and everyone; it was directed specifically to religious leaders.  Pharisees and Sadducees also went into the desert to hear this strange man.  Some of them even requested baptism from John.  Just between you and me, I think John may have missed a few pastoral care classes in seminary. He lacked the soft touch.  He called the religious leaders a “brood of vipers.”  Not a good way to welcome new members!  He charged them to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.”  In other words, practice what you preach.  If they really wanted his baptism, their lives should show it.

          Practice what you preach.  I need to be reminded of that occasionally.  Christian faith is not a profession.  It is not a hobby.  It is a life.  It is about who we are at the core of our being.  And I suspect the longer we’ve been teaching and preaching, the more church committees we’ve served on, the more we need to hear John’s message to the religious leaders.  According to him, it’s how we prepare for Christmas.  We practice what we preach.

          The last part of John’s message is my favorite.  He shifted attention from himself to the One who was coming after him.  One was coming, he said, whose sandals he was not worthy to carry.  While John baptized with water, the Coming One would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  John shifted attention from himself to Jesus.

          I learned a couple of interesting German words this week.  This is from a New York Times article on Thursday (Juli Fraga).  If you speak German fluently, please forgive my mispronunciation.  The first word is schadenfreude (shad-n-freud-a).  It’s when we take pleasure in the misfortune of others.  You’ve heard the phrase, “misery loves company.”  That’s schadenfreude. It’s not something we’re eager to admit, but all of us feel it sometimes.  The second word is freudenfreude (freud-n-freud-a).  It’s when we take pleasure in the good fortune of others.  Their success brings us joy. John the Baptist was practicing freudenfreude.  He shifted attention from himself, his followers, and his success to the One who was coming after him.  That’s how we prepare for Christmas.  We focus on Jesus.

          That was John the Baptist’s role in the divine drama that was unfolding in the birth of Jesus.  He prepared the way.  His message was clear and simple.  If we want to be prepared, we must repent.  We must practice what we preach.  And we must focus our attention on Jesus.  By the way, that’s also a good way to prepare for the drama of God that unfolds at this table.

A Prayer of Confession is printed in your worship guide.  In preparation for the Lord’s Table, let us confess our sins…

Prayer of Confession

God of tender mercies, we admit that sometimes we fall short of what we claim to be.  We anger at the slightest insult.  We imagine vengeance upon those who wrong us.  We laze about in the good news of our faith and do not practice a deep commitment.  We care for ourselves but not for others.  Forgive us, we pray.  Forgive us, help us to repent, and make us whole.

Silent Confession

Assurance of Forgiveness

Friends in Christ, know this: the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting.  Here is the good news of our faith:  in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.  Thanks be to God.