Sermon for 2 Advent, Year C – Luke 3:1-6 –December 13, 2009
St. Faith’s Episcopal Church, Cutler Bay, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Jennie Lou D. Reid

I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, *
For he is speaking peace to his faithful people And to those who turn their hearts to him. Amen.

The drama of the opening scene of the musical Godspell brings to life the ministry of John the Baptist. I have seen the play several times, always in a small theater. The lights dim, and we prepare for the show to begin. Unexpectedly behind us sounds a strong, clear, deliberate voice, unaccompanied: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” John comes striding down the center aisle, swinging a bucket. He is energetic and mesmerizing. He reaches into his bucket and throws out handfuls of confetti. By now we realize the rock band has added its musical support to John’s message. In a few moments other cast members come forward for John’s baptism and then join John in inviting us in the audience to participate in this special ritual of preparation. They sing and dance in a lively, joyful spirit. The artists have captured John’s ministry as gospel, the good news.

I frankly cringe a bit when we get to the Sunday in Advent when we encounter God’s brash prophet John the Baptist. The appearance of a loner from the wilderness, walking around in unconventional clothing and confronting perfect strangers with a call to moral reform is jarring to polite society. Yet John does not care about our opinion of him. God has given John the mission of preparing us for the coming of the Lord into our midst. John stares into our hearts and condenses his message into a single instruction: “Repent!” It is an abrasive word, a humiliating word. Where is the good news in the call to repentance?

Actually John is building on a ritual familiar to the Jews of his day. As a preparation for entering the Temple in Jerusalem, a faithful Jew immerses in a special bath as a ritual cleansing from sin. Architectural remains of these baths are evident in the ruins around the old city wall near the original entrance to the Temple. John challenges his hearers to deepen the spiritual experience of this cleansing ritual by adding an attitude to the activity. That attitude he describes as “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s challenge comes down to us in one of the questions of our Baptismal Covenant, “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?”

This question repeatedly challenges me. It is not that I prefer pursuing wickedness to living in a way that pleases God. On the contrary, I value the virtue of integrity. I try to do the right thing in every circumstance, and I am thoughtful about my choices. But to recognize that I have made mistakes, whether unwittingly or willingly, is painful, and that challenge makes repentance seem more like a burden than a blessing from God.

Our human resistance to repenting is rooted in pride. The human propensity for pride is the reason God’s word came to powerless John in the wilderness and not to the powerful – like Emperor Augustus or Governor Quirinius, King Herod or the High Priests Annas and Caiaphas – whose names the evangelists list to anchor Jesus’ ministry in its time in history. Pride leads us to wonder why, if we are doing the best we can, God will not accept our good intentions. Pride leads us to consider it somehow unfair and small-minded of our all-powerful God to require our groveling. Pride leads us to ask ourselves, “How can God expect us to develop a healthy self-esteem when we admit, ‘There is no health in us’?”

But repentance is not about wallowing in shame. Instead, repentance begins with a bold and still and long look into the mirror. As we look into the mirror, we can begin to glimpse the shadow of our limitations. As we see ourselves face to face, we know that our understanding is limited; our courage is limited; and our ability to look beyond our own selfish interests is limited. We glance down at our wrists and notice to our surprise that they are bound in chains, crafted by our own sin-fueled choices. As we look up again, we see standing beside us a liberator with key in hand, waiting to loose our shackles and set us free. Jesus is looking into our eyes in the mirror with the deep compassion of God.

Repentance is about turning around. In our longing for love, as we glimpse the Truth of God’s compassion for us in those eyes of Jesus reflected in the mirror, we turn around from our self-absorption to encounter Jesus face to face. We lose our concern for our limitations as we bask in the light of God’s love and mercy. In this moment of turning, we surrender all we are – for whatever it is worth – to God with trust and hope.

God’s Good News comes to us today in God’s graceful invitation to repent. Repentance prepares us to encounter Jesus. Repentance opens our minds and hands and hearts to new life. Through repentance we allow the Light of the World to dispel our shadows by flooding our minds with divine inspiration for life-giving choices. Through repentance we open ourselves to encounter God’s tender love for us. This encounter leads us to a deeper sense of compassion and patience for others and even ourselves as we extend our hands in love for Christ’s sake. Ultimately repentance opens our hearts to recognize God’s delight in us. This humbling and ennobling Truth that we are the delight of God’s heart fills us with joy. Suddenly we find ourselves free for dancing and singing, perhaps even to rock music.

John’s message rings out for us today because Jesus is coming again. Prepare ye the way of the Lord! Repent. Open your minds and hands and hearts to life. Beloved, turn so that you will catch the dawning of the divine light. People, look East and sing today; Love, the Lord, is on the way!
Thanks be to God! Amen.