There is a lot of evidence that Christmas is upon us. Shops are starting to put up decorations. Christmas catalogues and specials are hitting our mailboxes. Christmas breakups seem to be happening every couple of days. Maybe the Christmas cards have started to arrive. There’s a lot of joy about.
Christmas is a special time of year in the Church as we prepare to celebrate the true occasion of the origin of Christmas – the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it might be surprising that when we come to church during Advent, the preparation for Christmas, that the readings don’t really reflect an air of joy and celebration. We are introduced to an interesting character by the name of John the Baptist. He doesn’t seem to live a life of joy – John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. He doesn’t really exude much rejoicing. He addresses those who had come out to hear him as a “Brood of Vipers” He doesn’t speak to them about a “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”.
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
And, yet, John is the messenger of Advent. Advent is the preparation for Christmas – the coming of baby Jesus. John is the advent of God to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus also. He is – “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” He is preparing the people for the coming of the promised one of God: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
As much as Christmas is a joyous occasion as we celebrate with friends and family – giving gifts, eating drinking and celebrating – the true message of Christmas is not the celebration but what we are celebrating. And please don’t misunderstand me. The celebrations are fantastic. I too look forward to it. But as Christians we know that there is a reason for celebrating. And when we forget that we often hear people’s comments of how they “hate Christmas” because of all the work and cleaning up – the parking – the crowds. Because that’s all it is. But as Christians we celebrate that God is entering into our existence – entering as a fully human being.
This is true reason for celebrating as Paul calls upon us: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”; God didn’t have to do this, as John warned the people. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” God knows we need more than just a Merry Christmas filled with tinsel and decorations. We need more than receiving the perfect Christmas item, or latest hi-tech gadget. John spells it out quite clearly what we need for Christmas. We need a renewed Spirit that will make us more attentive to God in our daily lives. We need the Holy Spirit to move our faith beyond the routine of daily life. We need a purging fire that will make the love and presence of God more real, tangible and intense so it will enlarge our love of God and neighbor. That’s what John tells us God wants to give us, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand…”
I don’t know about you – and I might be wrong – but I sense that there is more excitement this year about Christmas than we’ve seen for some time. Usually about now we see a lot of objections to Christmas. We can’t have Christmas carols because it might offend some people.
We must say “Happy Holidays” to be inclusive. Councils not putting up decorations. I’m finding that there is more acceptance and perhaps that’s because for the past couple of years we have been in the wilderness celebrating Christmas because of Covid. Maybe John’s voice is the voice we need to hear despite its harshness – to make a path for Jesus as we celebrate this year.
But what is the path that Isaiah is talking about that John was sent to prepare? It was the path of repentance.
To repent doesn’t mean to simply be sorry. To repent means to begin seeing differently, to begin thinking differently, both of which lead to acting and living differently. Our English word repent comes from the Greek word – metanoia
Meta meaning to change – like metamorphosis – metaphysics. Noia – means knowledge
So repentance is not just feeling sorry for having done the wrong thing but a change of mind – a change of being. To repent is to change – to live differently, because as we enter a new mindset or as we develop a new way of seeing, we become aware that our actions are out of step with God’s will for all creation. And I think that is what Covid has done – as hard and devastating as it was on our lives it has changed our outlook on life to value things we devalued or undervalued or took for granted. Just think of the hunger for gathering together – the hunger for Holy Communion as we lived in the wilderness. Our relationships – our gatherings – our celebrations.
Sometimes it takes a time in the wilderness to see what we truly value. Israel had been in the wilderness for 400 years since their last prophet and John the Baptist and they were ready to accept John as their Messiah.
But he said – no. God has something much better planned for you. There is one coming after me – don’t settle for less. In fact, John will later say – I must decrease so he may increase. So the message of John today is to examine what it is in our lives that we sometimes accept as 2nd best.
What obstacles do we put on the path for Christ to bring true joy into our lives. We know some of the cliché answers- money, possessions, careers, sports and the like. But it’s much deeper than this and our wilderness experience during our lockdowns and curfews have helped to reveal them. Maybe we took our faith for granted – our freedom of religious worship for granted. We shouldn’t be afraid of the wilderness. Noah journeyed the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights before reaching dry land Israel journeyed the wilderness for 40 years before reaching their Promised Land. Jesus journeyed the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights while being tempted by Satan but during that time he was ministered to by the angels.
And now our wilderness experience, which for many people is still continuing, has hopefully opened our eyes to God’s presence with us during that time, as he was with Noah, Israel, Jesus and others, and is now preparing us to celebrate with joy the coming of Jesus at Christmas and as we wait for him to return in all his glory. Sometimes in the wilderness we can’t see our way out but we know God will never abandon us.
Even when there seems lifelessness, like a dead stump, out of the stump of Jesse God brought a new shoot to give hope. So may the voice of John calling from wilderness give you hope with whatever wilderness experience you may be going through to bring you joy through hope.
And may this time of Advent prepare you for whatever Christmas brings to you this year as you celebrate God’s precious gift in a manger – Jesus Christ our Lord.
