Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
December 6, 2009 – Advent 2

Philippians 1:3-11 (NRSV) 3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV) 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

What Does John Know?

How many of you have ever hosted a large dinner party? It’s a lot of fun but also a lot of work. The shopping lists need to be thought out and thorough so that the cooking goes smoothly. Details for table settings need to be confirmed: Dishes and stemware, check! Cutlery and linens, check! Serving bowls and serving utensils, check! And then the menu – will there be enough appetizers and beverages, salad greens and vegetables, potatoes and meat, desserts and coffee or tea?
But that’s just the beginning of the preparations. Is the living room dusted, the bathrooms clean, the garbage emptied? Are the beds made, the closet ready to receive coats, the sidewalks swept? Have the burned out bulbs in the chandelier been changed, the squeaky bathroom door oiled, is there enough ice for the evening? And the list goes on and on and on. Even as the guests are arriving, you’re checking your list to be sure you are organized. Planning for guests demands self-examination as well as the physical work of getting ready.
Each year, during the season of Advent, Christians set off on time of preparation – a time of self-examination as well as a time to ready ourselves for Christ. We want our hearts and our minds to be primed for the coming of our Savior. We ponder what it may be like when Jesus returns as King of all Creation even as we revisit the story of long ago, the birth of the Christ child. Our goal is to be sure that we have readied a proper place for Christ in our lives.
          We begin by remembering His humble beginning. We think we are ready to travel to Bethlehem and meet Jesus. It's not that far from Jerusalem and we’re prepared! We have our printed maps; we have our MapQuest directions; we even have our Garmin GPS so by today's standards it shouldn't be a problem.
          But there is a problem! A whole year has passed since our last visit – a year that brought many changes to our lives, some of them good, some of them not so good, some of them heartbreaking. The geographic map of life has been altered, and even old familiar places don't seem the same any more. So maybe we could use a little help in finding our way back to Bethlehem this year. Maybe we need to do some preparation for the journey. That is, if we still want to go.
          If we were to ask any of the gospel writers how to get to Bethlehem, we might be surprised by their answer: “‘So, you want to go to Bethlehem, do you? Tell you what to do: go on out to the desert, outside of the relatively safe confines of Jerusalem. Keep going till you get to the Jordan River. You'll know it when you see it. It's the only river around these parts. You'll find a man there – strange looking old coot – standing knee-deep in the water, just baptizing folks left and right, as fast as he can. That'll be John the Baptist. You ask him how to get to Bethlehem. If you want to get to Bethlehem, you have to start there at the Jordan with John. He's the only one who can help you get there....’”
          Have you ever wondered why John the Baptist appears every Advent season? Two Sundays in Advent are dedicated to his story. The church believes that John is a necessary part of the Christian story; of our preparation for Christ’s birth and our journey to Bethlehem; of our readiness for Christ’s return. We put up with him every year and yet – how many of us have a John the Baptist Christmas ornament? Or John the Baptist on our Christmas card? Or John the Baptist in our Christmas pageant? We see John as too untidy and too dangerous for Christmas.
Invite John the Baptist to a holiday party and people will question your guest list. Let John in and people will think he’s a “party crasher” because who in their right mind would invite someone that flails his arms around while talking about the need to repent. Who would invite John the Baptist to a party that otherwise seems to be so perfectly planned?  
          There is tension in the fact that, if we do not let John in, if we will not or cannot tolerate his uncompromising message that Christ is Lord of all, we will never heed the significance of the words of the prophet Isaiah of long ago: "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" (4-6)  
John is an unlikely character for God to use in teaching about preparing for the Messiah. Think about it: John was a loner who lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey. John was just an ordinary guy who knew the power of God. “God sent the message to John in the wilderness, a desolate and often scary place where God had spoken to Gods’ people in the past and through which God had led God’s people to a new and promised life. God’s choice of John and where God spoke to John are indications of what God expects from us.” In John’s story, we find a mysterious interplay between divine and human, ordinary and extraordinary, regular and miraculous. That’s how God works!
Think about John’s words: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (4) John reminds us that it is time to prepare to welcome Jesus and not simply our invited guests. John calls us to re-evaluate our lives. Maybe we need John’s message of preparation – a message of repentance and a message of change.
Using the words of Isaiah, John explains: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low…” (5a)  Friend, “there are mountains that need to come down - mountains of racism, sexism, ageism, and any other "-ism" that blocks our way to healthy relationships with one another and with our Lord. There are valleys to be filled - valleys of depression, despair, loneliness, grief, pain, any of which can keep us from the rich relationship the Savior offers and that keep us from enjoying the fellowship of the faith.”
John continues: “The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” (5b) Yes, “there are crooked places that must be made straight – places of abuse, and neglect, immorality and violence. And there are rough ways to be made smooth - rough ways that have come because of oppression and injustice.”
Fred Craddock, a contemporary theologian, sums up the message of John the Baptist in these words: “Repent of the arrogant assumption that you alone are favored, that you are exempt from the moral demands put on others, that being better than your worst neighbors is your salvation, as though God grades on the curve.”
          Friends, John the Baptist does not accidentally appear in the Advent season. He is a main character. His God-given message is timeless. A common, everyday guy, John calls us to make changes; to prepare our hearts and our minds. Touched by God’s Holy Spirit, he is begging us to be ready to receive our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
          Let’s make our way to the wilderness and get our marching orders from John. John will show us the way to Bethlehem and beyond. John cries out: “Prepare God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!” He also promises: “Every ditch will be filled in, Every bump smoothed out, The detours straightened out, All the ruts paved over. Everyone will be there to see the parade of God's salvation.” (4-6)
Friends, John knows! Christ has come and Christ will come again! That is the promise; that is the good news of the Gospel! You and I must be ready; we must be prepared for our Lord and our Savior!
Amen and amen!