Advent 3C: "What Then Should We Do?"
December 13, 2009
Sermon for Mountain Laurel Moravian Fellowship, Laurel Springs, NC
Welcome to the 3rd Sunday in Advent. Advent is the time of preparation and waiting that proceeds Christmas. It's true, this is a beautiful time of year, and preparations are important. We are getting ready for God to become flesh and blood in a little baby. But is that all there is to prepare for? Advent is also a time to be aware of the already-not yet living that we find ourselves in. Christ has come once as a baby, and left us with the promise to return again. He's already come, and has not yet arrived. So we wait...
Advent is a time when many of us want to focus on the good that is among us: lovely lights, gifts galore, decorations, caroling, and cocoa by the fireside. And then we come to worship today and hear John the Baptizer's words to us. Ouch. Probably not the comforting, ohhing and cooing, "a beautiful newborn baby is almost here" message of good news we were expecting to hear. This is a section of Luke's Gospel that recounts John's preaching just before Jesus is baptized and enters the scene. It's not a passage that we likely think of when we think about Advent. But John's words are instructions for living for the coming of the Messiah onto the scene. They help us to know what life is to look like as we prepare, so these words are part of our Lectionary readings for Advent. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. John doesn't mince words. He gets straight to the point and makes sure that everyone hears it--Brood of Vipers and all. It's a tough passage to hear and a tough passage to preach, but the Lectionary includes it, so in our Advent waiting, we tackle John's words today.
John's words come as a warning and at the same time a proclamation of Good News, as it says in the last verse of today's section. "So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people." (verse 18). It so clearly says it's good news, but who finds this to be good? How could calling folks a "Brood of Vipers" (verse 7) constitute good news? One commentator I read compared the phrase Brood of Vipers to calling someone in your own family a name--you can do it because you love them.[1] John loved the people he was baptizing, so he was able to preach words of tough love to them. He was filled with God's love and the good news is that everyone can be apart of that love too.
As I read through the passage, one question stuck out to me because it is repeated. If three different groups asked the same question, it must be important. The question is, "What then should we do?" First the crowd asks, then the tax collectors, and third the soldiers. They hear John's words calling for repentance and actions that demonstrate belief, and they want to know how they should respond. Repentance for John is a 180-degree turn from old ways to new life that puts God first in their life and refocuses their lives on love. Each time John answers the question in a way that relates to their lives and gives them actions that are to be undertaken. “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” (verses 11, 13, 14 NRSV) John is not just interested in beliefs that should be professed. John is teaching ethical living as a sign of the change in their lives that is associated with repentance and baptism. At the most basic level, I believe John is telling the folks gathered around him to love each other. This love is a love that doesn't end with baptism, and doesn't end once Christmas day passes by. This is a practical, ethical love that lasts throughout the year. It's a love that repairs homes, feeds the hungry, and visits the lonely. It's a love that passes out clothing and helps support a camp for children who are ill.
"What then should we do?" As I've thought about this question all week, I have been reminded over and over of what is being done in this community. This faith community is a testament to work that is happening in Ashe and Alleghany counties because the Moravian Church loves people here. We are willing to put our hands and feet to work and live the ethical, loving life that John calls us to. I noticed in your bulletin that Mountain Laurel collects food to distribute in the area. I have heard about the work you all are doing with Camp New Hope for sick children, not to mention all the relationships that are being fostered through Laurel Ridge and Mission Camp. There are so many examples! We are all part of God's love that is being manifest in this community. God loves us all, and we are living out God's call to share that love.
I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes that fits well with what John is preaching in the passage. Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do,
but how much love you put into doing it."[2] The things John is preaching may seem radical, but really they are just every-day actions that make a lasting impact on those who are involved. Sometimes it means just being open to where we can lend a hand. Last Sunday I went with the youth from Raleigh Moravian to visit the Men's Homeless Shelter in downtown Raleigh. We go most First Sundays of the Month to deliver clothing, sing with the residents, and share God's love through our presence. In December the tradition is to take lovefeast buns and hot cider to have an informal lovefeast with the men gathered there. After they received the gifts of clothing, the youth passed out the lovefeast. Once we were heading home, we walked outside and one gentleman who hadn't been inside stopped and asked me a question. He said, "Do you have a Christmas present for me?" I don't know why he wasn't in the receiving line for clothing, but he hadn't gotten anything from our group and we had passed out everything we had. All I had were the extra buns, so I handed him a bun. It wasn't a full meal; it wasn't a warm blanket; it was a small, leftover bun. But afterward as I've thought about the love that went into it, it was a small thing done with great love. What then should we do? Pass out Christmas presents of love to everyone we meet, and thus share God's Good News of love.
What then should we do? Share God's love. John makes it plain and simple. The Good News of God's love is shown through the simple gifts of coats and food. Sharing what we have, not taking more than we need, being content and thankful with the gifts God has provided. This is truly Good News that all of us can hear--not just during Advent, but throughout the year. The Advent preparations we make are for Christmas for sure, but they also help us throughout the year to life lives prepared to share God's love and Good News with everyone we encounter. May the preparations we make this Advent season help us to share God's love this Christmas and throughout the year!
Benediction: May the God of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in LOVE this day and always. In the Name of the Triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Frederick Buechner, "Love" in Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC, rev. and expanded (NY: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993) 65.
[2] Various sources
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