Gates Presbyterian Church

As a young disciple, the names of the prophets were important to me only because they were at the end of a recitation of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. I remember nearing the end of that seemingly list and rushing headlong through the names of Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. As a young teen going through confirmation, my perspective changed as I read the words of these prophets and learned the incredible dichotomy and spectrum of words that ranged from harsh criticism and judgment to words of grace, peace and hope.

To be sure, there didn’t seem to be a very good balance when it came to the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and all of the so-called “minor prophets.” There were far more words of judgment than of grace. It was clear God was continually bitterly disappointed in and with God’s people. In acting as God’s spokespersons, these prophets sounded cantankerous. The word that comes to mind is “curmudgeon.” The disciples were “curmudgeons,” not “happy people,” … and no wonder! The disciples’ task was to call people back from sinful ways to paths of faithfulness, devotion, good stewardship, hope and peace! It was their vocation to challenge people in their complacency, to awaken them from their spiritual laziness (here’s a little used word – sloth), from their sloth and sluggishness. But it was much more than that, for it was their job to tell people that they had turned away from God and that they needed to re-turn if not make a u-turn and repent of their sinful ways. Now who wants to hear nothing but words like that? These prophets were rarely pleasant folks to have around! Certainly, not the kind off people one invites to a dinner party!

Malachi’s time, around 450 BC, about one hundred years after the return from the Jews’ exile in Persia, was not a high point in the history of the Jews. In addition to pervasive drought, plagues of locusts and “blighted vineyards,” the excitement that accompanied the time of Haggai and Zechariah, the anticipated joy of returning to Jerusalem after decades of exile had faded in the face of harsh realities. Haggai had promised an age of prosperity and that had not occurred. Zechariah’s plea for a “deeper commitment to God” had been mocked as people equated their harsh lives with God’s absence.

The time of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth was not a time of bliss and joy either. Ruled from afar by Persia in Malachi’s time, Judea was under the thumb of Rome during the lives of John and Jesus. Once again, the times were hard and harsh. And then, along came a man who seemed to fulfill the prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah. For many reasons, John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who we know grew up to be known as John the Baptist … for many reasons, John the Baptist is called “last Old Testament prophet.” Clearly, that isn’t literal, for John’s conception, birth, life and bloody death are told in the Gospels at the start of the New Testament, but John’s words and even his clothing and diet closely resembled that of prophets “of old.” As the one who “prepared the way” for Jesus, he was the bridge, the one whose words and prophecies “connect the dots” between the words of the prophets that foretold Jesus’ birth and ministry and the reality of Jesus’ birth.

To only reflect on the first six verses of Luke 3 as Sandy read them this morning or on the words of the hymn we just sang, … to only hear those words makes John’s words sound tame and upbeat. However, this man, born just months before his cousin, Jesus, and who some thirty years later would baptize Jesus, was known for his rather confrontational style! Listen to the next verses – the ones that follow our lectionary reading

[Luke 3:7-9]:

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! [How is that for a greeting to people who have come to hear what you have to say!] Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The people who left the cities and traveled to where John was did so in order that they might hear his preaching and be baptized. In so doing, they heard some pretty harsh words! In calling persons to repent and return to the ways of God, they received a good, old-fashioned, hard hitting, sermon! Just to complicate matters, in the spirit of curmudgeon-ness [which, by the way, is not a word – but perhaps it should be] … in the spirit of curmudgeon-ness, John was not convinced those people would really get the message! John condemned the religious leadership of his day, but he also wanted everyone to come to terms with their sins, their separation from God. We have no record of how peoples’ lives were changed after their conversions and baptisms by John. Was their experience a “quick fix” that lasted but a short while? Or were these persons really changed for the rest of their lives? Perhaps they heard the tough message, perhaps they even felt its meaning at the core of their being, but was there a permanent change in their behavior? We can only wonder. And what of us? Do we really hear the message of Advent, to really prepare for the gift of Christmas – the call to repent, re-turn to God’s ways – or in the mad rush to gift-giving and gift-getting, do we want to skip that part of the message so that all we see is the wonder and beauty that is Christmas?

And how easy it is, in the spirit of the harder and challenging words of these prophets, to become a curmudgeon, be pessimistic, wring ones hands in worry, and fail to see the brighter side, the promised side in life! As heartened as they are with initial responses, members of our church’s stewardship team are somewhat concerned about this year’s challenges for people to come forth with their promises of time, talent and treasure for 2007. We can read the “Stewardship Update” article in today’s worship bulletin (no, not now – you can read it later!) and see that we still need to hear from a large number of families and people in the congregation. However, committee members are also impressed by how some people were clearly intentional in their commitments, who did as asked and read through and completed the Time and Talent Sheets as though the information was new. That yellow sheet lists so many ways people can be part of the faith-filled and incredible mission and ministry of this congregation. In addition, many people thought and prayed long and hard about their financial commitment as some pledges were nudged upwards. Under girding that is the excitement that comes whenever we baptize children! Did we not again promise to provide for the next generation to make sure they will come to know the LORD and work on God’s behalf?

Does the church need to hear from the rest of the congregation? Absolutely! Your Stewardship Committee members are composing three different letters for the rest of the congregation – to those we know intend to make commitments but haven’t as yet, those who are new in our midst and are as yet not part of this process and those who, for whatever reason, have, over the past number of years, stopped contributing of their treasure and their time. We certainly hope no one has concluded that we are doing so well with volunteer help and financial contributions that more participation is not needed. From the need for more Sunday School teachers and assistants to persons willing to serve on committees and boards, mow the lawn, rake the leaves (Don Chapin be expected to rake all of them himself!), and yes, to those, who will help us with our church’s finances, there is no such thing as having enough. God’s work is not done. So, we get about embracing the optimism so many have expressed, fight the pessimism that comes in hard times, and find ways to encourage if not cajole each other so that we might together fulfill the promises we made in baptizing Rachel, Harmony and Manny today – that the church will be here for years if not generations to come.

Curmudgeon. As much as the prophets could be so defined, I have my moments when that word defines my mood and demeanor. All of us in ministry, lay and ordained alike, have moments when harsh realities make us wonder about those grand words of grace, hope, peace, faith and love! Whether it is the broken interrelationships among persons, the hurt of those who are so very ill, facing surgery, or facing disheartening news and moods, or just some of the everyday and sometimes mundane tasks all of us face, it is easy to get disheartened and to wonder about the purpose behind it all.

In retrospect it is humorous, but there were moments when this beautiful tree was a source of anything but fun. It seemed so simple. Our neighbors to the south agreed it was a traffic hazard. People could not see around it very well when they got to the end of the driveways onto Wegman Road. We assembled the resources, set the time and place and assumed all would proceed without a hitch. At the set time, the Fire Department had to go put out a kitchen fire at Dunn Towers instead of come to church. The nerve! A fire came ahead of helping us with our tree! The wind was gusting upwards of thirty to forty miles an hour. The wonderfully pleasant weather of that week had abruptly ended that day. The twenty-eight foot tree seemed to fight the two chain saws. The first rope the Fire Department used to drag it around the building snapped. On Wednesday, with the tree almost erect, another rope broke and Chris Thornton, Don Chapin, Keith Szczepanski, Jim Meddaugh, Jim DeCaro and David Fish went sprawling in every direction. We are hoping the day’s photographer, The Rev. Strawbridge, didn’t catch that moment on her digital camera! After counting heads to make sure no one was under the tree, we realized we were lucky that not one of the seven heads hit a clinker brick wall, the concrete base for the baptismal font, the lectern, one of the pews … or each other! It was at that point the men realized another four feet had to come off the bottom of the tree – but even then I had my doubts. Even though the men claimed they were having fun, hours of tree wrestling was not on the agenda. The next afternoon, Chris Thornton and Jim DeCaro lugged concrete and metal counterweights from the garage. After getting the tree into a straight position, they tied the counterweights to the rope holding the tree in place. Ever helpful with suggestions, I wanted to know why they couldn’t just tie the tree to itself, you know, from the tree, around the concrete beam and back to the tree – or if they were going to use those weights, why on earth were they suspended in air and not on the ground. It was decided I go home and ask my wife, the engineer, why the laws of physics dictated the weights hang in the middle of the tree – albeit in the back where they are out of sight.

The good news – and especially the good news that is our redemption in Jesus Christ – the good news is that in times of distress, in times of hurt and despair, in times of human sinfulness and seemingly great voids between God and humanity, God sends messengers who can not only pave the way for the good news of Christ, but can instill a new and vital faith in the hearts of God’s people. To quote a Susan Taylor, Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.

What will it take for us to have our faith renewed – for it to be an exciting and vital part of our very being? Do we need to hear tough words of challenges as expressed by the prophets of old – including John the Baptist? Or do stirring words like those of John’s father Zechariah – as heard in his “song” in the first chapter of Luke – do those compel us to embrace a more vital and renewed faith? Perhaps it is the sacrament of Baptism, the words of a familiar hymn or carol, the sights and smells of Advent and Christmas. Whatever works, we realize again that God comes to us in all of our circumstances, in times of gain and times of loss, times of hope and times or despair, times of optimism and times when pessimism seems to reign – and makes all things right in the depths of our souls and in all of the ministry and mission to which we are called. Like a counterweight holding us secure against all of the wiles and ill will of the world, we receive anew the spirit of Advent and Christmas, the spirit that is the promise and fulfillment of Jesus, born of Bethlehem. Our faith is renewed and made vital again through Jesus the Christ as the counterweight of all that might be amiss in our lives. Jesus keeps us erect, sets our eyes on God, and like a tree that points heavenward, reminds us to look heavenward and that we might be instilled with a new and vital faith.

Praise be to God, Who promised, and in the fullness of time gave us, the Only Begotten One, even Jesus Christ!

Amen.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Sermons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.