Get Your Act Together (Reflections on Advent 2)

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,   make his paths straight.”'
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘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.

‘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. 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.’ (Matthew 3:1-12)

I was walking back to church from the home of some parishioners last night and I had a chance to admire the holiday preparations in the neighborhood. I don't know what Christmas is like where you are, but in Northeast Philly we do it up right. The blocks of row homes around my church are decorated with more lights than the Las Vegas Strip. You'd half expect to see Siegfried and Roy coming down the sidewalk. If it doesn't move, we put Christmas lights on it.

But the beautiful season of Advent asks us to make preparations which don't require electricity. The preparation for the coming of Christ according to that radical John the Baptist has nothing to do with lights, shopping, or making cookies. It's all about repentance.

“Repent!” the Baptist tells us. Change your mind. Change your ways. Get your act together and start doing things which seem to be worthy of God's rule.

Don't you just love this guy? With his organic wardrobe and low-cal diet? He's just so beautifully counter-cultural, and he seems pretty pissed off with the power structure. In John's day, there wasn't a whole lot of emphasis placed on individualism. When he calls for repentance, he's calling for the whole society to do a U-turn.

I wish we had a freaky prophet like John attracting crowds now, because our society could sure use a little change. We need an adjustment in our attitudes about poverty and wealth, healthcare, sexual orientation, war, equal opportunity, public education, the environment, and so on. I could be on my annoyingly liberal soap box forever...

BUT: Societies are made up of individuals, and you, my friend, aren't interested in polemical diatribes, are you? You're reading this because you want some kind of insight for yourself and your life, right?

Well, I can't speak for you, but I realize that I sure enough can use a little repentance. As I look back over this past year, I know I have a lot for which I can be thankful. But I also have a lot that needs a tune-up.

I've been a pretty negligent husband at times. I make my wife feel like I value my ministry and my parish more than I value her.

I've also been a crappy brother and friend—faithless in keeping up with siblings and friends who live at a distance. I've not taken the time to contact people I really love and care about.

I've wasted too much time futzing around in my office and missed opportunities to visit with parishioners and hear their stories.

I've talked way more than I've listened.

I've underestimated my congregation.

I've underestimated God.

I've wasted opportunities to learn, and I haven't cracked open the Bible as much as I promised myself I would.

I've taken lots of stuff for granted.

I've eaten way too much junk food.

There's probably tons of other dumb things I just can't remember. And I don't know if I can really pull my head out and make this repentance stuff stick in the coming year.

So thank you, God, because my own efforts to bear fruit have been pretty feeble at times. I just really need your Grace.

Maybe John's metaphor about burning the chaff (v. 12) is actually grace in disguise. Maybe it's not about sending nasty people to Hell, but about what God wants to do. After all, the chaff is still part of the plant. It's just not a part that has any nutritional value. So, God, I'm asking you to burn up my “chaff.” Take all that “me” stuff out of my heart so I have more room for the sweet baby boy in the manger--and all the other beautiful people You've put in my life.  Get me ready to be what You want me to be. I can't do it without you.

And as for you, Dear Reader, I hope your Advent preparations are bringing you peace, comfort, and the knowledge of God's love. Thanks so much for stopping by.

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As always, if you're a Lutheran or a Roman Catholic,I invite you to sign my Change.org petition and ask Pope Francis to consider an open communion between our two churches. I think that would be a swell way to mark the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. It's time we kissed and made up, don't you think? Just click here.