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SERMONS

The Third Sunday of Advent
December 14, 2003

I have been cruising the stores several times this past week, looking at Christmas displays and reading Christmas cards. I have seen the baby Jesus. I have seen Mary and Joseph. I have seen sheep and horses and cattle. I have seen shepherds and angels and wise men.

But I haven't seen John the Baptist.

We don't really think of John as a part of Christmas. Yet every year, as we prepare ourselves for this greatest of all cultural feasts, the church forces to listen to him. We heard him last week, and we hear him again today.

But he never shows up in Christmas displays.

I guess we shouldn't be too surprised though. How many of you would appreciate getting a Christmas card saying, "Greetings from our family to yours. As we think of you at this special time of year we are reminded of the words of John the Baptist: You brood of vipers! The ax is laid to the root of the trees and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be thrown into the fire." Merry Christmas.

John stands here glaring at us. His gaunt frame clothed in a ragged tunic is a marked contrast to our pictures of jolly old Santa Claus and cute elves and happy families around the fire and tables overflowing with food. As we hurry to yet another party we glance over our shoulders and there he is.

"You brood of vipers," he says. "Repent."

How creepy.

Why won't he go away?

This is the season of the year when we want to feel good about ourselves. We don't need him, spoiling the party. We want to believe that we are basically nice people. We want to believe that if we will just try a little harder things will work out. We want to believe that our lives are under control; that everything is OK.

Several years ago John Denver made a Christmas special. At the end of the program a choir softly hummed "Silent Night." Over this gentle music John closed by saying, "Come on, people, if we just get together and reach out to one another, we can make peace on earth, now, here."

"No!" this other John screams at us. "If that were true you wouldn't need a savior. You don't have it all together. You can't make peace on earth, not now, not ever. You must repent. You must turn around. You must turn to God."

It's as if we were working at clearing a path through a jungle. People are busy chopping through the undergrowth. Others are busy keeping blades sharp. Others are preparing food. Others are making schedules. Others are designing faster and more efficient ways for getting the work done.

From the top of a tree John the Baptist calls out to us. "Stop!" he cries. We look up and see him pointing. "Turn around! You're going the wrong way!"

"Shut up!" we want to call back. "We're making good time!"

But if we look beneath the surface, we know he is right. This is the season when the suicide rate is the highest. This is the season when depression reaches its peak. Smiles are strained. Nerves are stretched to the breaking point.

We are not OK.

We don't have it all together.

We do need a savior.

John the Baptist stands between us and Bethlehem. In order to truly experience Christmas we must hear his message.

Joy, real joy, gospel joy, comes only by way of the truth. Redemption comes as a gift when, by God's grace, we can honestly see ourselves. The savior comes to those who admit the need for salvation.

We can't get to Jesus without first getting by John the Baptist. We can't get to Christmas without heeding his call.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Zephaniah 3.14-20
Philippians 4.4-9
Luke 3.7-18