Rector's Sermon - Sunday, December 08, 2002

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Isaiah 40:1-11	85:1-2, 8-13	2 Peter 3:8-15a	Mark 1:1-8

     Today on the second Sunday of Advent, we are introduced again to John the Baptist. While according to the Gospel of Luke, John and Jesus were born only a few months apart, John always seems much older.

     John preached repentance, change of heart, and a rigorous self-examination to a people that had been beaten down by the cruel forces of history for centuries. For generations, God had seemed to be silent. Weary of being offered manipulative schemes in place of vision, they came to John in the state of being profoundly depressed. What did John do? John warned them to repent! Yet his message was so popular, so eagerly received, that crowds flocked to hear him. They took his preaching as good news.

     I don't know how he pulled it off. Perhaps people realized that someone was telling the truth in a world of deception. Perhaps people were sick and tired of those who spun self-serving platitudes or false hope. Those who came to John didn't come to hear a cleverly crafted speech. They didn't come to a rally to be fired up for another cause. They came because in some way they knew that they needed to be fed: they were starving for real soul food.

     The insidious thing about the disease of leprosy is that its victims cannot feel pain. They continually keep injuring themselves because they have lost their warning system. John's great gift was helping people to become aware of their deep pain, to take notice that they were injuring themselves. They had broken limbs and burned hands. Even though they were bleeding, and had badly infected wounds, they hadn't noticed. Repentance involves taking note of the pain, of the festering wounds, of the unhealthy and deadly stuff that needs attention, and requires cleansing and healing.

     No, John wasn't necessarily an agreeable personality. He wasn't the type to make you comfortable but he was genuine. He called it like he saw it. Of course John had his enemies. Anyone who called for an honest self-examination with no area of life exempt, is bound to run into opposition from those who fear exposure of their agendas and prefer to hide behind facades. John was a forerunner for Jesus not only for his message of preparing for change. John also showed the way because John risked death, and in due course, was finally arrested and executed.

     We seem to be living in a time when the church has a lot of unfinished business and there are lots of unanswered questions. It is understandable that many people of faith become impatient and frustrated. There is a lot of pain and there are festering wounds among us. Undoubtedly our vision of today will be soundly criticized years hence as not being expansive or imaginative enough. John's vision when compared to Jesus was not as broad either. However I wonder if one of the gifts of John the Baptist is to give us courage to bravely plod on and refuse to hide behind facades. Just as Moses never reached the promised land, but had to view it from afar. John never experienced Jesus teaching his disciples, but had the integrity to acknowledge that a profound change had to take place. John had the honest humility to know his limitations.

     Nonetheless, his limitations never became a pretext for ignoring the search for truth or confining his disciples to only what he knew. He encouraged the exposure of what had become the idols of his age. He knew that choosing to be open in full view to God's future is living a far more morally responsible existence than using excuses to hide behind the curtains of tradition. John gave us the courage to ask new questions and criticize the idols of our age. John gave us the courage to choose to risk repentance and reflection over the easier choice of defensiveness and denial.

     I'm still trying to get a good fix on John the Baptist. He continues to remain an enigma. He never quite fits. Perhaps that's another blessing of Advent. For we need those who are not intimidated by either their past or pressured into conformity by their present, who will help us to acknowledge our wounds and are willing to be a truth teller and a forerunner of greater healing.

     And I offer this to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,  Amen.