Sermon by the Venerable John Stephens Advent 3 Year C December 16, 2018 Zephaniah 3: 14-20; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 7-18 John the Baptizer this is someone who just does not mess around. He does not gently raise a topic, he barges straight ahead into it. He is not passive aggressive, he is just plain aggressive. He calls a spade a shovel. He is annoying and pestering. You know how people say that at parties or family gatherings one should always avoid the topics of religion and politics well John doesn t care about that; he is all about barreling ahead and talking about both, at length, in detail, with strength, not caring one bit about etiquette. Just the person you want at your Christmas party. But here he is in our Christmas preparations, and he is certainly one of the central characters of Advent. He did not care about what others saw as appropriate, he was quite happy to unsettle anyone and everyone. If you believe in God show it, reveal it, live it, don t mess around and get on with it, he might have said. He was not your middle of the road, comfortable Christian. And I can t help but like him. He told a truth and didn t give a toss if it ticked everyone off. He was adamant that God wasn t worried about particular protocol, God was a lot more concerned with what our priorities revealed and that we were Baptized with the Holy Spirit to be changed and transformed. That we knew the wind and flame of that Spirit not lulling us to 1
sleep but awakening us to reality: aware that the world is infused with the incarnation of God amongst us. Last week he was talking about preparing the way of the Lord, making paths straight, filling valleys and lowering mountains, straightening the crooked and smoothing the rough. It was all lovely and poetic, the metaphors stirring, capturing an enigmatic description of God coming to us, offering a contemporary-art kind of imagery. But today he blows all that poetic prose out the window and says, OK here is what that looks like. This is what the bulldozer looks like, and it is not pretty but gets to the heart of how we might live in response to God coming amongst us. He said Bear fruits worthy of repentance. He said, If you have two coats, share with anyone who has none. He said, If you have food, offer some to someone who has none. He said, Don t extort money from anyone, find some satisfaction in your wages. He said, Get ready to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. He said, See the face of God in other people, live the gospel, cry at other s misfortunes, celebrate with their celebrations. Actually he didn t say that last bit, I did, but I can hear John offering words like this. Faith in the God of love, to him, was not something that sat on the shelf looking pretty but involved taking a coat off your back and getting mustard on 2
your fingers as you offer a sandwich to a stranger. Faith was not comfort food for him but an uncomfortable demand. Sudha Murty, chairperson, Infosys Foundation, tells this story: It was the beginning of summer. I was boarding Udyan Express at Gulbarga railway station. My destination was Bangalore. As I boarded the train, I saw that the reserved compartment was jam-packed with people. I sat down and was pushed to the corner of the berth. Though it was meant for three people, there were already six of us sitting on it... The ticket collector came in and started checking people's tickets and reservations... Suddenly, he looked in my direction and asked, 'What about your ticket?' 'I have already shown my ticket to you,' I said. 'Not you, madam, the girl hiding below your seat. Hey, come out, where is your ticket?' I realized that someone was sitting below my seat. When the collector yelled at her, the girl came out of hiding. She was thin, scared and looked like she had been crying profusely. She must have been about thirteen or fourteen years old. She had uncombed hair and was dressed in a torn skirt and blouse. She was trembling and folded both her hands... The collector started forcibly pulling her out from the compartment. 'Sir, I will pay for her ticket,' I said. Then he looked at me and said, 'Madam, if you give her ten rupees, she will be much happier with that 3
than with the ticket.' I did not listen to him. Sudha Murty said, I told the collector to give me a ticket to the last destination, Bangalore, so that the girl could get down wherever she wanted. Slowly, she started talking. She told me that her name was Chitra. She lived in a village near Bidar. She had lost her mother at birth. Her father had remarried and had two sons with her stepmother. But a few months ago, her father had died. Her stepmother started beating her often and did not give her food. She was tired of that life. She did not have anybody to support her so she left home in search of something better. By this time, the train had reached Bangalore. I said goodbye to Chitra and got down from the train. My driver came and picked up my bags. I felt someone watching me. When I turned back, Chitra was standing there and looking at me with sad eyes I told her to get into my car. My driver looked at the girl curiously. I told him to take us to my friend Ram's place. Ram ran separate shelter homes for boys and girls. Ram suggested that Chitra could go to a high school nearby. I immediately agreed and said that I would sponsor her expenses as long as she continued to study. Years later, she said, I was invited to deliver a lecture in San Francisco. The lecture was in a convention hall of a hotel and I decided to stay at the same hotel. After the lecture, I was planning to leave for the airport. When I 4
checked out of the hotel room and went to the reception counter to pay the bill, the receptionist said, 'Ma'am, you don't need to pay us anything. The lady over there has already settled your bill. She must know you pretty well.' I turned around and found Chitra there. Her dark eyes were beaming with happiness and pride. As soon as she saw me, she gave me a brilliant smile, hugged me and touched my feet. (Excerpted with permission from Penguin Books India from Sudha Murty's 'The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk: Life Stories From Here and There') Today as dire warnings echo around our planet and the way we have abused it and continue steer around any solution. Where the number of people using the food bank seems to grow in our province. First Nations people are seeking to be seen as full human beings and the concept of reconciliation actually lived. Drug overdoses are sky-rocketing and little seems to be happening to change that. Self-centredness seems to be growing and world politics too often thinking more about individual countries rather than a sense of human family. Where pursuit of larger profits push us toward divisions, violence and fear of the stranger. The words of John the Baptizer once more come showering upon us: He said Bear fruits worthy of repentance. He said, If you have two coats, share with anyone who has none. He said, If you have food, offer some to someone who has none. He 5
said, Don t extort money from anyone, find some satisfaction in your wages. He said, Get ready to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. And he meant it. Simple things on one level but earth shattering and uncomfortable on another. In the passage from Philippians we heard these words: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. On this Gaudete Sunday, or joy Sunday, or rose Sunday, we focus on the word joy. But not joy in the sense of don t worry, be happy. Not just a warm fuzzy in this winter time. Not just ignore all else and put on a happy face. But rather know the hope of God, know the peace of God, know the joy of God, know the love of God. Be joy and bring joy. Allow the Holy Spirit to touch your life to change you. Consider how blessed you are and see where you can offer a coat, offer food, offer kindness, offer John s vision of preparing the way for God: so that our faith in God s graciousness affects our choices, our desires, our view of the world. There is a joy in discovering the Holy Spirit within you and within another human being. Search for that Spirit in great earnest this week as you prepare for the coming of God and you coming to God. 6