Advent Two – Peace
Worship with Zion/Knox - Advent Two, Dec/22 - Peace
Gospel of Matthew 3 1 - 12 ‘This is how the Kingdom comes’

Does anyone remember the TV commercial from several years back for Shoppers’ Drug Mart or Walmart? It was a seasonal Christmas ad, featuring a woman preparing for a special festive gathering. She went room to room, checking that all is perfect, & talking to herself as she goes. “OK, the hors d'oeuvres are warming, the punch is chilled. I’ve got the napkins, the plates & the table cloth all coordinated; the tree is lit, the candles are glowing. OK, I’m totally ready this year, and I haven’t forgotten a thing!”, she says, beaming with pride at her flawless presentation. Just then, the doorbell rings; she turns her back to the camera to answer the door and we see her skirt tucked up into her pantyhose at the waist. Oooooh, so close.
How are we doing with our Christmas preparations?
And we’re not talking about the lights & the tree, the menu planning & gift buying. How are we doing with our spiritual preparation?
Because that’s what John was doing on the banks of the Jordan River – preparing people’s hearts and souls for the coming of the Messiah. This wasn’t anything new, this act of cleansing one’s whole body in water to signify readiness to approach God. The Jewish people had been doing that for centuries; they were required to bathe outside of the synagogue before coming into God’s presence. Still today, you will see a ‘mikvah’ or shallow pool outside the entrance to Orthodox Jewish temples, as they continue to honour the ancient Laws & traditions. At the mikvah, the Rabbi will oversee the ‘cleansing’, and therefore the restoration to a righteous state to enter the synagogue.
Then comes John, called & guided by God to transform the ritual and renew it for the coming age of Christ. John takes the practice outside of the city walls, a part from the Temple, to the river. This isn’t just geography, but keep in mind that at the closest point, Jerusalem is an arduous 30km desert walk to the Jordan River. Baptism in the river is a statement about getting away from religion, beyond the oppressive confines of the Law, and moving closer to an understanding of the journey of faith, usually through a wilderness of failings & doubt, toward the acceptance of a life-giving Creator whose commands are actually freeing! This washing wasn’t about sprucing up for God; John offered a spiritual cleansing in preparation for The Christ.
He preached of repentance, a concept we rarely talk about anymore cause it’s a real ‘downer’. There are already too many voices in society telling us we’re not good enough; so many ‘perfect’ young women & men in magazines and movies presenting a false ‘ideal’ and it’s distorting the general view of how we are valued. We’re ‘wrong’ for using that word, and hated for acknowledging certain truths, and your boundaries are all messed up if you’re kind to people, but make sure you support the ‘right’ causes. So nobody wants to come to church & be told, repent!, you’re not good enough here either.
So let’s break it down. Repentance requires two equally difficult but essential parts. The first, confession - yikes! - the alarmingly honest personal realization & admission of offenses to God & to others, with sincere remorse. The second part is the commitment to change our ways and firmly to resolve to live as God intends.
The ancient term in Hebrew was ‘metanoia’; it means literally to turn away from sin or simply away from our former life, and to turn a full 180’ to follow a new path with God. In the turning, everything changes, not only one’s direction but one’s entire perspective on life, this one & the next. When I accepted God’s call to ministry, I wasn’t leaving a life of wild debauchery but I was repenting, changing direction away from a blithely self-satisfying life to one deliberately at the will of God. I described the experience to folks as ‘whites are whiter and brights are brighter’ – I truly SAW differently after I said “Yes”. And I didn’t all of a sudden become a better person, or become able to visualize the path before me. I just accepted that I had to let go of some things if I was to let God.
Repentance requires sincerity, because the very coming of the Kingdom hinges on human commitment for change. John preaches, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” – which sounds like a warning: ‘you’d better change your ways before God catches you!’ I read this and I wonder, were they flocking out to the Jordan River to repent out of fear? So, as is my habit, I go to the original Greek Bible. The word translated as ‘for’ or ‘because’ in some versions, is equally correct to mean, ‘then’. “Repent [comma] then the Kingdom of Heaven is near”.
This isn’t an ‘or else!’ warning or a threat of impending doom. This is an invitation. Offer to God courageous, humble confession and the resolution to follow His ways, and the Kingdom of Heaven will emerge through that committed partnership with God.
So now you may be wondering, but what do I have to repent of?
We’re not horrible people, not violent criminals or thieves; we don’t kick the dog or cheat our customers or cheer for the Habs. We’re not so very awful, but neither are we so very perfect. Well, probably Alf is, and I’m guessing Robin. I can’t speak for anyone else, but my dark side isn’t pretty; I know what I’m capable of and so does God, and I’m deeply grateful that He’s willing to walk this road with me.
There’s a troubling trend in pop psychology these days in terms of human interactions & personal relationships – I see it in Facebook ‘feel good’ memes and hear it in lyrics on the radio, that we’re absolutely perfect just the way we are; that if someone is upset with us, I’m not responsible, it’s their problem, that’s just their response, and my having been a callous selfish jerk to them is in no way related to their current mood.
This is dangerous. If we’re not responsible for our own behaviour, if nothing we do is ever wrong, then we’ve peaked & we’re perfect, and there’s no room for God. It is God’s gift of grace - unseen yet tangible at His Table next Sunday - that allows us to embrace our failings with every confidence that God is right here to strengthen our resolve to make some positive changes.
“Repent, THEN the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
The person of Christ on earth has come and gone, and WILL come again. The way of Christ on earth depends on us, on our willingness to listen to John and to partner with God. This is the preparation of Advent. The lights and wrappings and baking are certainly much more fun! But I need to sit still for a hard honest look at where I’ve lost sight of God in my life, and why I NEED this Baby.
It’s difficult to see the Divine in the world. We tend to see only poverty, injustice, war, greed – so some folks say there can’t be a God. But that’s the Santa Claus/Fairy God-Mother view of our Creator, that God can send elves or wave a magic wand and make it all better. But we’re the Body on earth, quite literally the hands & feet & voice of Jesus. Sometimes I think that’s why God sent a Baby in the first place, because they’re entirely dependent on others. Now the Lord still depends on us to take care of one another. And this is how the Kingdom comes, through our commitment to become our better selves. It takes daily re-commitment; this is not one and done! We are our better selves through consistent selfless support of local causes, through grand history-making campaigns that may span the globe, and through subtle, quiet changes in our own repenting hearts and habits that change our direction and turn us to move us closer to Christ. The season of Advent continues; praise be to God for the strength and the peace He gives us for the journey. Amen.