Luke 3:7-18
The first decoration to go up in our house every Advent is not the wreath or the tree or the collection of angels we have gathered over the years, but our nativity set. Actually, several nativity sets – at least one per room! Year after year, it always delights me to unpack the pieces, especially the ones from my original set – the figures all carved from Judean olivewood, a set identical to the one that stood on the mantel nestled among pine boughs every Christmas of my growing up. This year I have a new nativity set made of straw and wire by the Masaii people of Tanzania, a country I had the opportunity to visit this past summer with my former interim as a group of us visited their sister congregation.
Being the hard headed literalist I am about not making Christmas happen too soon, our crèches are arranged so that Mary and Joseph and donkey are en route to Bethlehem; the wise men are still far off in the east; the shepherds are abiding in the fields keeping watch over the sheep – and – baby Jesus is hidden temporarily in the napkin drawer, not to appear until Christmas Eve.
Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds, wise men, sheep, camels, donkey – these are the main figures for our crèche sets, “standard issue” if you will, although I’ve heard here and there of a few interesting additions. The organist at the church I served in St. Paul has a Minnesota crèche which could easily be a Maine one as well, complete with pine tree and moose. When she was traveling in Europe several summers ago, she saw nativity sets with a full range of barnyard animals, all of whom could have been at the manger; so she now has a Swiss cow, a German goat and a little black cat. Perhaps, you have such additions in your crèche and more.
And yet, in the nativity sets I have ever seen, there is always someone missing. A significant player during Advent, someone who appears each year in the lectionary, not just once but two weeks in a row: John the Baptist. There is no getting to Bethlehem and to the child in the manger without first hearing harsh words from the rough prophet in the wilderness. Words that Luke, the gospel writer, calls good news! 1
This omission of John the Baptist from our nativity sets, however, is for good reason. John does not really fit with the wonder and adoration we feel when we look level-eyed at God lying on a bed of straw or ponder the faith Mary and Joseph must have had to say ‘yes’ to what was being asked of them. John doesn’t belong among the shepherds and magi because this rough, plain-spoken prophet calls us beyond Bethlehem. John challenges us to move past our joy at the birth, and instead move onward to lives transformed by Messiah, the one whom that baby would grow up to become.
It’s a tough word to hear. There’s no lingering in silent contemplation, no holding onto the innocence of the infant Jesus. “It’s not enough to believe,” John announces! “There is no comfort or security in claiming identity as people of faith.” What matters instead, the prophet hounds us, is the way you and I act, the faithful lives we lead.
“What then shall we do?” the crowd questioned. Likewise the tax collectors and the soldiers asked the same thing, though they had no call to respond yet they too were motivated by John’s message.
And each group received a very straightforward practical answer: care for the needy and practice truth and justice. What John required of his hearers and demands of us who profess we are Jesus’ followers is nothing impossible, and it is something anyone can do regardless of means or ability.
Faithful living begins with generosity, he commands us. You don’t have to give everything away to your peril, but you do have to share what you have. The next thing you need to do is live with integrity, acting in honest and fair ways with everyone. And then, John calls us to let go of the need to keep acquiring more and more, and to live satisfied with what we have and who we are. In other words, to be content.
Now, John proclaimed these instructions about faithful living not just for our personal improvement. Yes, living from a place of generosity and integrity and sufficiency without feeling self absorbed or self-sufficient does make us happier and more peaceful. But the more important reason to live and behave this way, John claims, is because God compels us to the work of justice. It’s not enough for our personal lives to change; God also calls us to transform the very fabric of life. Nothing less than systemic change will do. John the Baptist is one hard-nosed prophet!
The relentlessness of his demands brings to mind a story told of Abraham Lincoln who was a frequent worshipper at New York Presbyterian Church near the White House. One Wednesday evening as Lincoln was leaving the service, one of his assistants asked him: “Mr. President, what did you think of the sermon tonight?”
Lincoln responded, “The content was excellent, and Dr. Gurley spoke with great eloquence. It was obvious that he put a great deal of work into that sermon.”
“Then you thought it was a great sermon, Mr. President?” the assistant asked. “No, I did not say that.” “But Sir, you said it was excellent sermon.”
Lincoln replied, “No, I said that content was excellent and that the preacher spoke with eloquence. But Dr. Gurley, on this night, forgot one important matter. He forgot to ask us to do something great.” 2
John the Baptist was never shy about asking his listeners to do something great. I like how one writer phrases his words: “Do what you can. Now.” 3 Nothing less than changed lives and a changed world will suffice. And while John mostly likely is absent from our crèches and nativity sets, may his call for transformation not be missing from our minds, and wills and hearts. And, may we hear that call as good news.
Amen.
1. Bartlett and Taylor, Feasting on the Word, Year C., Vol. 1 , pg.69
2. McCarthy, Dan, “Great Leadership” Newsletter, February 10, 2011, as quoted in Getting There, a Day 1 sermon by The Rev. Dr. Robert Baggott
3. Guthrie, Suzanne, Come to the Garden 12/10/12