13th December 2009
Luke 3:7-18
It is hard for me, at this time of year not to look back to events of four years ago and to recall the events of 6.01 am on 11th December 2005 - the date and time of the Buncefield explosion. Despite four long years elapsing, it fills me with anger that those responsible are only just beginning to be held to account and that those affected most are still trying to piece their lives together and move on. None of my feelings are about retribution but they are about public, upfront reform and justice.
It is also hard for me, at the end of week one of the UN Climate Summit, not to look forward with hope and expectancy to the outcome of these crucial talks. I told you when I was last here that I hoped to attend The Wave. With a few others we gathered with 50,000 others last Saturday in London, and my hope and prayer as I marched was to show the world’s leaders that they need to act with courage and justice for the world and her peoples both now and in the future.
John the Baptist who we meet again this morning, seems to be fueled by similar anger, calls for reform and justice. John preaches about ethical reform, about lifestyle change. Yes his message is both personal and political. John says step up folks, change your ways, because God is coming with justice. Get ready... God is coming!
Now that is surely good news. God is coming! Change your lives! Change the Government! Change the economic system! Save the planet! But I am also suddenly brought up short by John. He’s talking to me. I am the crowd not Total or HOSL, or the banking sector, or our politicians. I don’t much like being lumped in with others as a brood of vipers. A snake in the grass. It is all to easy to lose sight of what John really says - change your life Simon because God is coming. You are a snake in the grass, you are a viper. You lie low with others colluding. Yes you have a poisonous bite.
Yes you Simon, are you growing into a healthy tree? Are there visible signs of God at work in your life? Are you bearing fruit, because if you aren’t, the axe is lying at the foot of the tree... Oh and don’t kid yourself that you are ok because you wear a dog collar and say all the right things in church - God can provide all the dog collars and people to fill churches he likes. What about you Simon? Well? How in all God’s earth is that good news? This Gospel is not about them and us, there is not a sheep or goat in sight. It is a Gospel about us not about the institutions and how corrupt they may be. John reminds us not to lose sight of the vision we started with this Advent - long for the world to be different and for God to transform it, but it begins with me.
John’s hearers are as bewildered with this other-worldly message as I am. What should we do? His message can be summed up in one word - repent. Do not live the way you have been, but seek to live out the justice of God in ways that can be tangibly seen and experienced - share out of your wealth, with those who have less than you - if you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t. If you have food, share it with someone who does not. Repentance should be visible and should cost us something.
Our natural inclaination is to recoil from John’s suggested lifestyle. This is not about supporting DENS or giving to Christian Aid. This is about demonstrating that we are ready for God’s coming. By living a repentant life, not only do we willingly choose to favour and support the poor and needy and live out Kingdom values, we outwardly demonstrate to the One who comes almost unseen amongst as a baby that we are ready to receive his judgement on us.
Hmmm... that doesn’t sound much like good news. First he calls me a viper, and now I should live like a paper... The good news that John proclaims is that the change we long for is coming in Christ, the babe of Bethlehem. He comes transforming judgement. When someone says to you this week, ‘Are you ready for Christmas?’ they mean, have you got all the trimmings ready - cards sent, presents bought and wrapped, turkey ordered etc. But with only 12 days to go, are you really ready for Christmas says John?
This morning, John reminds us that Advent is not about readying ourselves for Christmas - all turkey, crackers, parties and presents, but that Advent is about God and His presence in our lives and in the world. Are we really ready for that, for,
‘..He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire...’
12 days to go, are we ready with presents or His presence?
No comments:
Post a Comment