"Wait for It!" - Advent 3B

 

Saint John 1:6-8, 19-28

Seasoned preachers should know better.  Pastors who have been in the business for years and have large, tall steeple churches in the centre of town should know not to challenge members – especially young members - of their congregation.

So it comes as a surprise that one of my favourite preachers, Dr. James D. Howell, whom you have heard me refer to often, one Sunday in Advent inadvertently laid down a dare to a member of his church in Charlotte, North Carolina when he said in a sermon that he had never seen a John the Baptist Christmas Card and he doubted that he ever would.

When he arrived back in his office after the 11 o’clock worship this was waiting for him on his desk.

Yes, the good pastor was holding in his hand the first ever John the Baptist Christmas Card.  Look again and you will see that the person who drew it was really paying attention.

Not only is “Repent Ye!” written in bold letters across the top but the card has everything.  John’s hair a mess.  He is dressed in the obligatory leather belt - referred to as a girdle in the picture, and camel’s hair raiment and, for good measure, there is a plate of locust and wild honey at his feet.  The picture is clearly labelled as being located in the wilderness of Judea but there is one more thing.  Let’s take a closer look. 

To the artist those squiggly lines emanating from John’s arm pits may signify that even though he spent a great deal of time in the River Jordan what he really needed was a good, solid bath.

This is the picture that Matthew, Mark and Luke drew of John.  All three cover the repentance angle of the story but Matthew and Luke remember John getting very personal with the religious leaders who ventured forth into the wilderness to find out who or what was causing such a commotion among the people.  They remember him saying something like:

“Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”1

With a message like this it is very likely that Dr. Howell is in possession of the one and only John the Baptist Christmas Card.

The picture of John the Baptist we have before us in today’s Gospel is “mellower  and more evasive. There is no fire and brimstone spewing forth this Sunday, no calls for repentance and wilderness travel.”2

Sill the posse of the highly religious come out to see him with one question on their minds:

“Who do you think you are, anyway?” “Well,” he laughed. “I’m not the Messiah, if that’s what you’re thinking.” “So, who are you then?” they sneered. “Elijah?” “Nope.” “The Prophet?” “Uh-uh.” “Well, who are you then? Give us some kind of answer.” “Okay. You can tell your friends that I’m the one Isaiah was talking about, the voice crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!’” “But why are you baptizing then, if you’re not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” “Look, fellahs,” John said, running out of patience, “I baptize with water!”3

That’s it!  That’s all John had. Water and the Word.  That is where we all started our journey of faith with water and the Word.  Then somebody did for us what John did for his people.

When the people emerged from the water John didn’t just pat them on the head and say “Now you’re all clean be on your way!  And try not to get so dirty next time.”  He pointed them to something and said, “Wait for it!  Wait for it!”

It’s like the punch line to a joke that we can all see coming a mile away.  It’s like the moment in a movie when you know what is going to happen before it does - maybe because you’ve seen it before - and you turn to your partner next to you and say, “Wait for it!  Wait for it!”

It doesn’t take much to see two confirmation students outside of Dr. Howell’s office.  He enters, takes off his robe, and rummages around on his desk.  “Wait for it!  Wait for it!”  One student says to the other.  The card is found. The pastor doesn’t just smile he laughs out loud and maybe just claps his hands together in joy.  

He calls for his staff to come from their offices.  “Hey gang!” he yells.  “Come quick!  You gotta see this!” And he passes the card around the room.  It’s the moment of joy the artist has been waiting for.”

John’s “Wait for it!” is what Advent is all about.  This year the waiting is going to be particularly difficult.  The wise among us will wait on those large gatherings with family and friends.  We’ll have to wait for the traditional Norman Rockwell holiday to come this year.  We’ll have to wait to see the people we love who are separated from us by time and distance. We’ll have to wait.

John the Baptist reminds that we wait in hope.

Christian hope looks at the world around us and acknowledges that things are very bleak.  We don’t pretend that loss of life, or health, or confidence, or mobility, or the ability to gather is something to be taken lightly.  This year its hard to bury our heads in yule tide cheer.

This year our hope is more like the candles on the Advent wreath which every week grow a little bit brighter, and a little bit brighter, and a little bit brighter every Sunday straining against the darkness.  We light our candles and wait.

The best news I can give you this day is the reminder that the one are waiting for is already here.  Christ has come!  He is already with us!  We are only celebrating the commemoration of his birth.  He has never been away!

Through all the turmoil of 2020 he has been here.  Through every difficulty that we have faced he has been here.  Through isolation, and fear and frustration Christ has been... “wait for it” ... “wait for it” ... with us.

That’s the news that John the Baptist announced and it is a news that we know to be true.  

That witness alone is enough to merit John the Baptist at least one mention on a card, Christmas, or Advent, or otherwise.  Don’t you think?

____________

1. St. Matthew 3:7-10. (MESSAGE) [Message=The Message]

2. William H Willamon, “Waiting for the Light,” Pulpit Resource 33, no. Fall (2005): pp. 53-56.

3. James Sommerville, “Stronger Stuff,” A Sermon For Every Sunday (A Sermon for Every Sunday, December 8, 2020), https://asermonforeverysunday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Jim-Somerville-Advent-3B.pdf.