2 Advent A

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
December 8, 2013

2 Advent A

My favorite Nelson Mandela quote is one I found when working on my sermon for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11. The quote is "Resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." At the time, I was thinking about the horrible crime committed against this country on 9/11, remembering the shock and panic we felt, and how out of control life felt on a grand scale. Certainly, Jesus calls us to love those who hate us, turn the other cheek, and pray for our enemies. That’s how Jesus lived and that is how we are to live as followers of Jesus. But Mandela’s quote about drinking poison brought me up short and got my attention in a new way. We can hardly expect to experience healing ourselves when we drink the poison of resentment, nor can we expect to experience reconciliation while waiting for the other person to suffer. Nelson Mandela had every right to be resentful. For 27 years Mandela suffered the indignities of prison-27 years of his life and all the potential that life held were taken from him for taking a strong stand against injustice and oppression. He missed out on the things we value most-being part of his children’s childhoods, growing into maturity with his wife, what would seem to have been the prime years of his career and earning potential, and on and on. Surely resentment would be justified, just as we felt justified in our resentments and fears after 9/11. And yet Mandela refused to drink the poison.

Despite all that had happened to him and been taken from him, Mandela stood before us and spoke the truth about our lives as human beings. "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." This morning, we see John the Baptist stand before us and speak the truth about our lives as well. "Repent," says John the Baptist. "For the Kingdom of Heaven has come near." And "Bear fruit worthy of repentance." And "but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me." Unlike Nelson Mandela, however, whose wisdom we embrace and whose death the world mourns, John the Baptist tends to make me want to join the Pharisees and Sadducees and flee from the wrath to come. Why, on the Advent path to the Christ Child, as we await the one described in the beautiful words of Isaiah, must we be called a brood of vipers? John the Baptist does not seem to be delivering good or helpful news at all

And yet, if we listen carefully, John the Baptist does speak good news at the same time that he speaks the truth about our lives as human beings. First, John the Baptist says "Repent. For the Kingdom of Heaven has come near." We get caught up in the annoying, but necessary, call to repent and miss the reason for that repentance. The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. That is good news, and the call to repent is the call to turn from those things that keep us from knowing the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst. What prevents us from experiencing God in our midst? Resentment? Fear? Worry? The need to be in control? Repent, and know the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst.

Secondly, no one likes to be called a brood of vipers. If John the Baptist came from a good, Southern family, he would know at least 6 ways to say the exact same thing in a less offensive manner. But John does have our attention now. And if we listen, we hear John tell the vipers to bear fruit worthy of repentance. So, apparently, even vipers can repent and bear fruit worthy of that repentance. If vipers can do that, I imagine you and I can do that also. The Kingdom of Heaven is out of no one’s reach.

Thirdly, John is clear that he does not have the final word. John says "one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Next week, we will hear John’s perplexity about Jesus when John asks from prison "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another." Jesus isn’t quite who John thought he would be. Jesus was less about fire and brimstone, and more about giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, and healing the lame. John has the basic message right-the kingdom of heaven has come near and everyone has the opportunity to repent and draw near to that Kingdom. The Kingdom turns out to be bit more like Isaiah’s description and a bit less like John’s, but nonetheless, John stood before us and told the truth about our lives as human beings.

Advent is the season of joyful anticipation of the Christ Child. Our church is adorned in beautiful blue vestments and we sing hymns of hope and longing. But for even the most joyful events in our lives, we prepare. We prepare for baptisms and weddings, the birth of children, new jobs or homes or schools, joyful reunions with loved ones, birthdays or anniversaries. We prepare both our exterior lives with new clothes or school supplies or invitations or whatever is needed. And, when we are at our best, we prepare our interior lives by repairing relationships that have been damaged, or letting go of our resentments, or looking carefully at what skills we bring to the a new task and what we have yet to learn. During Advent, we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child, not just with cooking, shopping, decorating, and all the other activities associated with the season. We also prepare our hearts for the birth of the Christ Child in our midst by listening to the likes of John the Baptist, who speaks the truth about our lives as human beings so that we can know the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven and the wonder of the Christ Child. Amen.