God is easy to
forget. The busy world calls us to everything but God on a daily basis. Distractions are plentiful; it’s pretty
obvious from today’s scripture that distractions were plentiful even in Jesus’
time.
John the Baptist
calls the people who came out to see him to remember God and how they have
strayed from God. He starts out in a pretty compelling way. I suspect if I’d
gotten up here this morning and yelled, “You brood of vipers,” some of you
might leave. It’s a memorable opening line all right, but it probably won’t get
you a place on the most popular preacher
list.
I suspect some
people in John’s crowd probably heard him and left. They didn’t come to be
insulted. Being called to task is always painful to hear and difficult to heed.
And honestly, that’s what sometimes happens during a transitional or interim
time too. Believe me, I may not holler from the pulpit, “You brood of vipers,”
but often when people have to examine what they are doing in a church that may
be preventing growth or keeping guests from returning to join, I think about
John the Baptizer. He’s my hero, because he was not a popular guy, and I am not
a popular gal sometimes.
John the Baptizer
called the people listening to him to awaken. He wanted people to recognize how
they had strayed from God. He called people to come back to God while there was
still time. He called people to engage in inward and outward housekeeping: to
get the clutter out of their lives so they can concentrate on the main thing.
The first part of
the repentance John talks about occurs by turning away from something, which
therefore implies turning towards
something else. That something, to John the Baptizer, is turning to God.
The second part of
turning around, of repentance, is action. Repentance is not simply being sorry.
Repentance is doing something to change our sorry state to joy. And even if our
sorry state isn’t our fault, we need to acknowledge our grief and anger and
find a new way of being and doing. Acknowledging grief and anger is a kind of
repentance too. We can say, “Okay, this happened. Now what do I need to move
on?” And then do that thing, assuming it harms no one else. Sometimes it’s
talking it out, sometimes it’s writing it out, sometimes it’s praying it out,
sometimes it’s walking or exercising. Whatever it is, do it to free yourself to
move on!
After all his
ranting about vipers and wrath and stones, John offers us some practical advice
about what do about our sorry state. The crowds ask John, “What then shall we
do?”[1]
Meaning, once we’ve repented, what next? And John has a practical answer
couched in individual terms for each person who asks.
In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two
coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him,
“Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount
prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He
said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,
and be satisfied with your wages.”[2]
These
are people on the road to repentance who are asking, “Now that we have
repented, to what shall we turn?” John’s answer is God: the God who offers
forgiveness to those who repent. Rather than doing something to earn our
forgiveness, once we have repented we want to become aware of our natural
desire to do something more. It is in the gift of forgiveness from God that our
repentance is stirred toward action. And our action brings the fruits of which
John speaks.
This
is when we truly “act ourselves into a new way” not only of thinking but also
of being and doing. It is through our repentance that we can turn away from
forgetting God and turn toward remembering God in all that we do. More than
simply a new way of being, we take on a new way of doing. God turns our mind
and our hearts to a new way.
What
does that mean for us together during a transitional time? It means acts of
kindness and beauty. And I am talking about specific acts that are thought out
and acted on, rather than “random acts of kindness and senseless acts of
beauty.” If we really, deep in our hearts, want Resurrection to become the
church we imagine, then we must join together to encourage one another to do
these things.
And
really, these things are may seem difficult because they are different, but
they are simple things that send powerful messages. They are simple things that
send powerful messages to others and help us act ourselves into the church we
want to become. Things like:
- · Wear a nametag every Sunday.
- · Talk to someone you don’t know.
- · Invite someone to church.
- · Look around you with fresh eyes. Does something need to be cleaned? Repaired? Repainted? Replaced? Or maybe thrown away because we’ve held onto it thinking, “we might use it someday.”
- · Attend events here, even events you’re sure you won’t like. You might be surprised!
- · Sing out in worship, even if God didn’t give you a wonderful voice. Make a joyful noise! Guests judge by participation rather than perfection.
- · Having said that, do everything you do here with passion and excellence. If you don’t know what your passion is, I can help you figure it out. Because passion and excellence are what you find in a place where people care.
- · Look at things that are happening here through the eyes of a non-churchgoer, a non-Episcopalian. Just because you don’t like it probably means a new person will. You bet we need to nurture one another, but we must pay attention to the people who walk in our doors for the first time.
That’s
a beginning. That’s where we need to start. And yes, I know Christmas is coming
soon and we’re all busy. But Christmas is a time when we have many guests. What
would people see and hear this Christmas at Resurrection that would make them
want to come back?
It is
in what we do that we find God. It is in what we do that we encounter God in
others. And it is in what we do that we find Christ in one another. Let us
prepare for the birth of Jesus by turning away from whatever is holding us
back, and turning toward God with expectation and eagerness. Then we will bear
fruit worthy of our God. We will become the place and the people God is calling
us to be. AMEN.
The
Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2015
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