Rev Gideon Lee
Matthew 3:1-12
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[a]
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
One day there was a man convicted of a heinous crime that was sentenced to death. As it was a custom back in those days to grant a condemned man one last request. As the day approached, the Warden asked the convicted man what he would like as one last request. The man thought hard and long and finally said that he would like to see his wife and children.
The wife and children were brought to him a few hours before his execution and the man spent some time with them. Now I wonder if we were in that man’s position, what do you think we will be saying to our family? Will we say – “Oh honey, don’t forget to water the flowers and feed the dog when I am gone” or “Remember to pay the bills on time ok?”. Hmmm. Somehow I don’t think we will waste such precious time on such trivial matters. We would definitely get straight to the point and not beat around the bush since time is of the essence. We will also speak about the things that are close to our heart and the things that matters most to us.
I would not be concerned about economics, politics, the weather, the size of house or the type of car. At such a time I would want to dwell on the profundities, on what life was all about and what things were absolutely essential.
John in the desert was in the great tradition of the Hebrew prophets. He was aware that time was running out. In his burning message he had no time for peripheral matters. He was not playing Trivial Pursuit nor was he prepared to splash about in the shallows. Soon the sword of Herod's guard would flash and his tongue would lie silent in the grave. Superficial people came out from Jerusalem to see him. They were intrigued by this strange phenomenon of a wild man preaching repentance. They were fascinated by frivolous things such as his dress, his diet and his fierce declamatory oratory. They wanted to interview him and then tell all their friends about their remarkable experience. "Who are you?" they asked. His answer was curt: "I am not the Christ." "Are you Elijah?" "No!" "Then who are you?" they persisted. They had their doubts about who he was but his message to their ears was clear: Repent.
There comes a moment when the preacher longs for his hearers to lose sight of everything except his message. "Don't listen to my accent. Don't look at my clothes. Don't comment on my style. Don't search my biographical details for my University pedigree. Just listen to what I am saying. Repent!
I would like to suggest this morning that Repent was the first component of John's message. There are two others. Let's take a look at the first.
A) REPENT
John's message called people to repentance. One of the towering marks of this age is the absence of guilt. Not many people would deny that fact. Some are pleased that guilt has been dethroned; others see it as a bad sign. The absence of guilt in today's society makes it very difficult to talk about repentance. For if there is no feeling of guilt, then the need for repentance is greatly minimized, if not altogether eliminated.
For many the word repentance is a word that belongs to yesterday. It is equated with sackcloth and ashes and mourners benches. Some see repentance as something that we do only if we get caught. But repentance is far more than simply blurting out "I'm Sorry" if we get caught cheating on the IRS or our wife. Nor is repentance merely turning over a new leaf. I will have to admit that one of my favourite times of the week is Sunday after the evening worship service. The pressure of the day has been lifted and it is like starting all over again. It's like putting a clean page in the typewriter. It's a great feeling. But repentance is far more than just starting over again. Repentance is also far more than simply reciting with everyone else the prayer of confession that we pray each week.
All too often this is our story. Yet, John the Baptist calls upon us to take our sinning seriously. Why? Because God does?
Repentance is not just changing our minds, or feeling sorry for something that we have done, or even making bold resolves that we will never participate in certain conduct again. Instead, repentance means to turn around and go in another direction. What John the Baptist wanted his audience to hear was: Turn your life toward this one called Messiah. This is not negative or down-faced. Rather, it breaks the chains of oppression and death that hold us back.
Several years ago I had one of my parishioners tell me after a sermon during Advent: The problem with John the Baptist is that he takes all of the fun out of Christmas. He couldn't have been further from the truth. I submit to you that it is this weird eccentric called the Baptist who puts the joy back into Christmas. For he is the one who calls us not to Christmas the way it is, but to Christmas the way it is meant to be.
B) SHARE
First, John admonished his listeners to repent. Second, he told them to share. In Luke 3:10 & 11 we read where a crowd approached John and asked of him: "What shall we do then?" In other words, what is expected of us. To this John responded: He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; he who has food, let him do likewise."
Sharing is so basically fundamental to our faith that anyone who somehow has not grasp this principle will miss a major thrust of this Advent Season.
One of my favourite Christmas stories is O'Renry's short story The Gift of The Magi. You are all familiar with it. A story about a desperately poor young couple living in New York around the turn of the century. Neither had money sufficient to buy a gift for the other so they each secretly went out and sold something of worth. He sold his prized pocket watch to get her a braid for her long hair. When he presented it to her she removed her scarf to reveal that she had had her hair clipped and sold to purchase a chain for his pocket watch. The thrust of the story is obvious. It is not what you give that is important, but the sharing spirit of love in which it is given.
One of the messages of Advent is that we are called to be a sharing people. Not just at one special season of the year, but to live a life of sharing.
SHARE ABOUT SARAWAK TRIP
All too often this is our story. Yet, John the Baptist calls upon us to take our sinning seriously. Why? Because God does?
Repentance is not just changing our minds, or feeling sorry for something that we have done, or even making bold resolves that we will never participate in certain conduct again. Instead, repentance means to turn around and go in another direction. What John the Baptist wanted his audience to hear was: Turn your life toward this one called Messiah. This is not negative or down-faced. Rather, it breaks the chains of oppression and death that hold us back.
Several years ago I had one of my parishioners tell me after a sermon during Advent: The problem with John the Baptist is that he takes all of the fun out of Christmas. He couldn't have been further from the truth. I submit to you that it is this weird eccentric called the Baptist who puts the joy back into Christmas. For he is the one who calls us not to Christmas the way it is, but to Christmas the way it is meant to be.
B) SHARE
First, John admonished his listeners to repent. Second, he told them to share. In Luke 3:10 & 11 we read where a crowd approached John and asked of him: "What shall we do then?" In other words, what is expected of us. To this John responded: He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; he who has food, let him do likewise."
Sharing is so basically fundamental to our faith that anyone who somehow has not grasp this principle will miss a major thrust of this Advent Season.
One of my favourite Christmas stories is O'Renry's short story The Gift of The Magi. You are all familiar with it. A story about a desperately poor young couple living in New York around the turn of the century. Neither had money sufficient to buy a gift for the other so they each secretly went out and sold something of worth. He sold his prized pocket watch to get her a braid for her long hair. When he presented it to her she removed her scarf to reveal that she had had her hair clipped and sold to purchase a chain for his pocket watch. The thrust of the story is obvious. It is not what you give that is important, but the sharing spirit of love in which it is given.
One of the messages of Advent is that we are called to be a sharing people. Not just at one special season of the year, but to live a life of sharing.
SHARE ABOUT SARAWAK TRIP
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
3) SERVE
Repent. Share. And the third thrust of John's message was serve. In Luke 3:12-14 we learn that tax collectors came to John to be baptised and said to him: Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them: Collect no more taxes than is appointed to you. And soldiers also came and asked: And what shall we do? And he said: Rob no more and do not make false accusations.
In other words, whatever your role or task is in life, do it ethically to the best of your ability. If you are a tax collector, then be an honest tax collector. If you are a soldier, be a good soldier and not a cruel, corrupt one. In whatever role you are in, do what you can where you are. Christian service is not just a missionary in a foreign land. Indeed, sometimes it is easier to go to a far away land than it is to go next door. You may serve God in whatever situation you find yourself, in the home, in the market place, in school, by doing the best that you can for God where you are.
John was a great man and he preached a great message. But Jesus was a greater man and he delivered a greater message. John's message was one of glad chiding. Jesus' message was one of glad tidings. There were differences in style. But John laid forth the fundamentals. Someone once asked the late Vince Lombardy what was the secret to his coaching career. He responded: I had my team constantly concentrating on the fundamentals. What are the fundamentals of our faith: Repent. Share. Serve.
Repent. Share. And the third thrust of John's message was serve. In Luke 3:12-14 we learn that tax collectors came to John to be baptised and said to him: Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them: Collect no more taxes than is appointed to you. And soldiers also came and asked: And what shall we do? And he said: Rob no more and do not make false accusations.
In other words, whatever your role or task is in life, do it ethically to the best of your ability. If you are a tax collector, then be an honest tax collector. If you are a soldier, be a good soldier and not a cruel, corrupt one. In whatever role you are in, do what you can where you are. Christian service is not just a missionary in a foreign land. Indeed, sometimes it is easier to go to a far away land than it is to go next door. You may serve God in whatever situation you find yourself, in the home, in the market place, in school, by doing the best that you can for God where you are.
John was a great man and he preached a great message. But Jesus was a greater man and he delivered a greater message. John's message was one of glad chiding. Jesus' message was one of glad tidings. There were differences in style. But John laid forth the fundamentals. Someone once asked the late Vince Lombardy what was the secret to his coaching career. He responded: I had my team constantly concentrating on the fundamentals. What are the fundamentals of our faith: Repent. Share. Serve.
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