Are You Really?

December 11, 2022 – Advent 3
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 11:2-11[1]

There is a line in the first Harry Potter film that continually amuses me. Harry is brought by the half-giant Hagrid into a tavern where they will make their way from the regular “Muggle” world into the secret Diagon Alley of the Wizarding world.

Harry, who was attacked by “He-who-must-not-be-named” when he was a baby, has a scar on his forehead. Since the villain did not manage to kill Harry, he had become famous in the wizarding world as “the boy who lived.”

Harry doesn’t know he’s famous, since he grew up in the regular world with a non-wizard family. So, it is a bit of a surprise when the bartender looks up, notices the scar, and says, “Harry Potter. Are you really?”

John the Baptizer hears what is being said about Jesus, that he is fulfilling the promises of God recorded in Isaiah, and asks, “Are you really?” Are you really the one? If you’re not, well, that’s not good because, you see, I’m stuck in this prison. But if you are, that’s really good news!

In both the fictional story of Harry Potter and the biblical story of Jesus, the people have been waiting for someone to come who can really change things. They have high expectations for “the one.” And everyone is a little disappointed, because the one who comes isn’t exactly like they expected.

We often set high expectations for new leaders too. A new president rides into office on a wave of hope and change, and things are mostly the same as they were before. The new pastor comes and all of our problems remain. The new principal takes over the school, but the kids are still failing.

It might be that the leaders turn out to not really be “the one.” It might be that our expectations were not realistic. Or it might be that we dropped our responsibilities as soon as someone new took charge. This is “the one,” right? Well, he or she doesn’t need me; they can handle it themselves.

This is what often happens. A new leader is put in place and everybody just drops everything. The president can’t get anything done without the congress. The pastor can’t get anything done without the congregation. And even the Messiah can’t get much done without the disciples.

John’s job is finished. He prepared the way. The one who is to come is here. Now it is time for the disciples to get to work. The baton gets passed to them, and they drop it. They stubbornly refuse to understand what Jesus is talking about, again and again. However, they keep trying. They keep learning. And they keep following, because he really is the one. He really is the Messiah, God-with-us.

Is he really the one? Well, as Isaiah wrote:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.[2]

Jesus did open the eyes of the blind. “Two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David! … Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”[3]

Jesus did unstop the ears of the deaf, and the speechless sang. “They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech… He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears… then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.”[4]

The lame did leap. “Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them.”[5]

John needed to be sure:

“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.’”[6]

Now, we don’t see Jesus walking around anymore, healing and teaching. We do see disciples, people like you and me, though we’re not able to heal the blind and the lame. So how are we to know if we’ve found the Holy Way, if we really are God’s people?

We know because we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. We know because we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all. We know because we strive to imitate the transformative life of Christ, encouraging authentic connection and compassion between individuals, local communities, and the world. If one were to look at us and wonder, are they really followers of Christ, they could see by our hope, our work for peace, our joy in believing, and in the love we share.

The work that the disciples did, and that they have continued to do down through the centuries and even today, is to bring hope to those without hope. We bring peace to those who need peace. We bring joy to those who need to be lifted up. We continue to bring the love of God to the world.

Unto us is born a Savior. Really! This is the one. And Christ will lead us. But friends, we have to follow. We must do our part, no matter how small. And when we do, we bring love to the world, and joy to God.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Isaiah 35:5-6.

[3] Matthew 9:27-30, selected.

[4] Mark 7:32-35, selected.

[5] Matthew 15:30.

[6] Matthew 11:2-5.

A Signal to the Peoples

December 4, 2022 – Advent 2
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12[1]

Isaiah has hope for the future of Israel. He proclaims in this passage the coming of a righteous ruler in the line of David, and an age of harmony and peace. This was at a time when ancient Israel had divided into a northern kingdom of Israel and a southern kingdom of Judah. War with Assyria would soon destroy Samaria and end the northern kingdom. If a messiah were to come, Isaiah recognizes that it might not be in his lifetime, and the peaceable kingdom might be a consummation of God’s kingdom in the distant future. Yet he remains hopeful.

The branch growing out of the root of Jesse references the house of King David, the son of Jesse. The hoped-for king will be known as “the anointed one” and “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Is 11:2). The king will rule with righteousness, defending the welfare of the most defenseless and marginal.

Early Christians saw this model of leadership fulfilled in Jesus. He is the descendent of David who will usher in the reign of God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God, so often referenced in our Gospels, will encompass not only the future of Israel but the Gentiles and all the nations. In Jesus, we see the hope for the future, the completion of God’s vision, and the fulfillment of Isaiah’s hope for the peoples.

As we read Isaiah’s oracle of hope in our own time this Advent, we claim the anointed son of David in Jesus Christ, the new branch grown from the root of Jesse. We see Christ as the signal to the peoples of the promised consummation of God’s peaceable kingdom yet to come. It is a world where no one will hurt or destroy, when all of the earth will be full of the knowledge and presence of the Lord.

John the Baptist also holds this hope for the future of God’s people. He knows what Isaiah hoped for, as he quoted, “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Mt 3:3; Is 40:3). He proclaims the nearness of the reign of God, and announces the one who is coming after him with power.

John’s vision is more severe than that of Isaiah, at least in the way it is directed toward the Pharisees and Sadducees. To John, the temple and imperial buildings represented the centralized power of the Roman regime. The leaders considered themselves secure in the status-quo, children of Abraham, heirs to the promises of God. John warns of the ax lying at the root of the trees. Here in the wilderness – in Israel’s history the place of renewal – the old ways of power will be thrown into the fire and the new creation will be born, the new kingdom of God.

John, this wild man living on the margins, drew the people out of the center, out of Jerusalem and the temple. Here in the wilderness, on the fringes of society, the renewal and redemption of the people is taking place. The Pharisees and Sadducees, aligned with the ruling class, perceive John as a threat to their interests. The power and influence of the temple and the system of religious sacrifices is challenged by John’s baptism of repentance. John’s warnings of judgement are directed at them. More worrisome for them, and more encouraging for those on the banks of the Jordan, is the hope of one who is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jesus didn’t come to burn everything down. We must remember, it is only the chaff that is burned. The wheat is gathered into the granary. That which does us no good is cleared away, and what remains is redeemed. Wealth and status, bloodlines and position hold no more value in the kingdom of heaven than the sinners gathered by the river in the wilderness. What is of value, repentance and renewal, faithfulness and good works, these are harvested by the one who holds the winnowing-fork.

We, of course, are not rulers or judges or nations. We are not Pharisees or Sadducees. We are more like the people of Jerusalem and all Judea, gathered here rather than the river, yet still seeking repentance and renewal. We have come with our sins to confess, and we bring the scars of the sins committed against us. We seek the one who will judge with righteousness, and we are recovering from those who have judged us without righteousness. And what we find in the words of Isaiah and of John is both acceptance and admonition. We discover here, that we are loved for who we are and we are also responsible for what we do.

This Advent, as we gather in our sacred space, we enter the threshing-floor. We don’t yearn for judgement, yet we know that we have judged others. We hope that our unrighteous judgements will be swept away. We wash in the water, and hope that it will wash away our sins; but we know we have sinned against others. We hope the fire will burn that inclination away. We are grateful that one who winnows is the one who judges with righteousness and decides with equity.

As we prepare to welcome the Christ-child, we remember who we are. We learn again that we are loved, and that we are expected to be loving. We are reminded that we are loved enough by God to be welcomed into the family of Christ, and that God loves us enough to expect that we will act accordingly. My prayer for you is that this Advent season prepares you for a life which signals that the kingdom of heaven has come near.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.