WHAT'S A GUY LIKE JOHN DOING IN CHRISTMAS?
Matthew 3.1-12
Reverend Charles W. Roberts
First Presbyterian Church, Pascagoula, MS; 12/02/01
We begin today the season of Advent. While the world has recognized the
"Christmas season" since Santa Claus made his appearance at the end of
the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (if not since Christmas merchandise
and marketing appeared in stores in September), the Christian Church
begins its earnest reflection on the birth of Jesus this week.
The word "advent" comes from a Latin word that means "arrival," or
"coming." The church year actually begins not with January 1, but with
the first Sunday of Advent. This is because a reflection on Jesus'
birth, his coming into the world, or his arrival in the world, is the
primary beginning point of faith.
So it is that in Advent, we look back and remember that Jesus came to
this world. We remember the stories surrounding his birth, and the
shepherds, and wise men, and that dastardly innkeeper (who is never
mentioned in the Bible, by the way.) So there is a sense in which we
look back in Advent. We look back and remember Jesus' first coming.
But Advent, the season, is also a time to look forward.
While we remember Jesus' birth, we are also called to remember Jesus'
promise that he will come again one day. We regularly affirm that
belief, when we recite the Apostles' Creed, and say, "He will come again
to judge the quick and the dead." (By the way, "quick" there is used in
the sense of "alive." Much of the language in the Apostles' Creed needs
explaining-like "catholic" {little c}, which if you look it up in the
dictionary, means "universal." Perhaps that is a sermon series for
another season. Back to Advent.)
The point, however, is that we need to look forward in Advent, as well
as back. As events have transpired in recent months, with the disasters
of September 11 and the resulting war in the Mideast, many people have
been increasingly conscious that Jesus said he would come back one day.
Many people have been reading the Bible, and looking for ways they can
fit recent events into an equation or formula to prove that Jesus is
coming back SOON.
I'm not one of those. I am aware, as a historian, as a theologian, and
as a student of the Bible, that there is NO WAY we can know when Jesus
will come back. I know that throughout history, people have sought to
prove Jesus' imminent return, and have led many astray. I don't want
that legacy.
But still I know that we must look forward, as well as back, during
Advent. And it is in that spirit, that I want to encourage you to
consider this portion of Matthew's gospel today.
In Matthew's gospel, right after telling the stories that describe the
events surrounding Jesus' birth, Matthew takes us to the desert to meet
John.
Luke's gospel tells us that John and Jesus are cousins; but Matthew
leaves that detail out in his story.
If you look at John, and then read some of the Old Testament
descriptions of prophets, you'll come to the conclusion that God was
doing something old, all over again.
John is described as wearing clothes "made of camel's hair, and he had
a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey."
Listen to this description from 2 Kings 1.8: "He was a man with a
garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king
said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."
When you remember that the Jews expected Elijah to come back before the
Messiah appeared, (Malachi 4.5, the next-to-the-last verse of the Old
Testament, says: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that
great and dreadful day of the LORD comes."), you begin to get the
picture that in John, God was getting people ready for the appearance of
the Messiah. That's what a guy like John is doing in Christmas.
John appeared on the scene, and while he baptized, and preached
repentance, what he was trying to do was prepare people for the coming
of the Messiah. So while we can look back at John's ministry and
message, and see how he was doing just that; I think we can look at his
message today, and hear a word calling us to faith as we look forward to
Jesus' return. That return may be in
ten minutes,
two days, or
another twenty centuries.
None of us knows. But we do know that John's call to faith and
repentance, is a timely message, especially at Christmas.
One of the things John said the Messiah who was coming would do, was
"baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire," and he would "clean up the
chaff with unquenchable fire."
Remember that chaff was the trash that resulted from the grinding of
wheat. John was telling people that there was some trash in their lives
that needed some cleaning.
I suspect that if John were to walk in here today, he would tell each
of us that there was some trash in our lives, even in our celebrations
of Christmas, that needs cleaning.
But what I want you to notice in John's message is that "fire" is
repeated three times.
-Trees that do not produce good fruit will be thrown into the fire;
-the Messiah will baptize with fire; and
-chaff will be thrown into the fire.
If you think about it, fire does three things: it illuminates darkness,
it warms us, and it purifies.
John's message about the Messiah, and his use of fire in that message,
remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. The light of Christ
shines in the darkness today as it did 2000 years ago.
The leaders of the Jewish faith were going out to see John. Why,
exactly, we are not told, but John laid a pretty heavy message on them.
His fire analogy was not one that they would receive well, any way you
look at it. There are many ways in which those leaders were doing
nothing to help the people around them discover the light of God's love.
In reality, they were far better at keeping those people smothered under
the darkness of legalism, than allow them to see the light.
And that darkness exists today, as well. Not so much the darkness of
legalism, but the darkness of a world that does not acknowledge its need
to repent of sin, and embrace the love of God as we find it in Jesus. In
a world darkened by suicidal terrorists, greedy drug dealers, neglectful
landlords, abusive husbands and absentee fathers, we need the fire of
the Messiah-who came and will come again-to illumine the darkness!
Secondly, fire warms us up when it is cold. I have a friend who, when
Fall arrives and the weather turns just a little bit chilly, will turn
his air conditioner to "blizzard," so he can justify having a fire in
the fireplace. That's a bit extreme, but we do know how good a fire in
the fireplace feels on a cold winter's night.
The love of God, brought by the Messiah, in our lives in the presence
of the Holy Spirit, is that same fire.
John Calvin-the founder of the Presbyterian Church- his crest contains
the figure of a human heart, with flame coming from it. What Calvin was
trying to convey with that image was a heart on fire for Christ. When
the love of God claims us, it changes us, and our hearts burn with the
power, as well as the love, of God. My prayer for you, is that
throughout this Advent season-but really throughout your life-your heart
will be warmed by the love of God, and your life will be on fire for
Christ!
Finally, fire is something that can purify.
Another Old Testament prophet said that when God came, he would work in
the people like a refiner's fire, that he would work like a refiner and
purifier of silver (Malachi 3.2-3).
One of my college coaches sent me an email a few months ago that
described a Bible study looking at that passage.
"There was a group of women in a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As
they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which
says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' This verse
puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the
character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and
get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, this woman
called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work.
She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her
curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire
and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to
hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest
as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she
thought again about the verse, that 'He sits as a refiner and purifier
of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit
there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the
silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was
in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it
would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, how
do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and
answered, 'Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it.'"
The fire that Jesus the Messiah brought 2000 years ago, is the fire
that he brings to you today, the same fire that he will bring when he
comes again.
The heat you feel when life is difficult, when stresses and pressures
come along, just may be the fire God is using to purify your life, to
make you a better instrument for his light and love to be seen in the
world.
So as we enter Advent, I encourage you to embrace this strange fellow
John. As unusually as he dressed, as strangely as he spoke, he brings a
message of preparing for the coming of the Messiah.
As un-Christmas-like as John seems, he is very much a part of Advent.
As you continue, or begin, your preparations for the celebrations that
surround the birth of Jesus, I encourage you to let the fire of God
illumine any darkness that surrounds your life;
warm you with the eternal fire of Jesus' love;
and purify your heart, your life, even your celebrations of Christmas.
May John's eternal message walk with us this season! (Back to top)
|
