Lectionary Scripture - Luke 3:7-18
If you were called of God, like John the Baptist, to proclaim a message of good news, what would it look and sound like? To who and what and where would it be calling you? Those questions lie behind the lectionary reading for this coming Sunday from Luke 3:7-18.
Now most of us know that John was a pretty eccentric guy even by accounts from people in his day and time. Those accounts tell us that his food was insects and wild honey. He spent most of his time hanging out in the wilderness by a river baptizing people. He wore little more than camel hair. Last of all, he was pretty much a name-calling loud mouthed guy who said what he wanted when he wanted to. And while most people today might be turned off by such things, people came in droves to hear John preach at them, criticize them, call them names, and press them to repent. Go figure.
In our present day world, if a minister began his or her sermon by angrily lashing out and yelling insults at their faith community, it’s likely that a number of folks would get up and walk out. If they didn’t do that then they’d probably wonder if the minister was having a nervous breakdown and might try to get the individual some help. Others might simply fire the minister and terminate their employment.
Such behavior in our time might well be seen as abnormal and most likely it wouldn’t be tolerated. But then again, we do have our talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Ed Schultz, Bill O’Reilly, Jon Stewart, Randi Rhodes, Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage. Each one has their own unique and eccentric way of chastising the world and calling it to live in the manner they think is best. Depending on which camp you’re in, one of these colorful characters may be your secular modern day John the Baptist. And at the close of their latest broadcast, you may be feeling pretty good about the chastisement delivered and hope that others learned the lesson for the day. Or perhaps something caught you unawares and so you decide to spend some time reflecting about the person’s latest rant. Or possibly you’re ticked off and wish you could have the person’s head on platter. We certainly know that John the Baptist met such an end after a rant about King Herod’s lack of morals. So in one regard, I guess that venues for “John the Baptist” types still exist.
Our gatherings of the faithful have however become so sanitized and orchestrated for providing comfort and good feeling that we’ve lost the ability to experience chastisement or controversy within them. Unable to be comfortable in the presence of such things, we may take offense to such experiences as it feels we’re being pushed or pressured into behaving in a manner we don’t care to or taking a stand on something. When it comes to taking a stand on something, say a particular social issue, some are concerned that those troubled by the controversy will quit their financial support or leave the community altogether. In short, such faith communities never get challenged and often they achieve little more than being a weekly social club. In some of these situations, the faith community has oppressive unspoken rules like in dysfunctional families -- therefore a lot of things never get talked about or brought up simply because the consequences of doing so are too painful and costly.
I don’t know about you, but for me, I like it when you’ve got a John the Baptist hanging around. I like it when there’s someone in my faith community who doesn’t play games, who isn’t a snake in the grass slithering around undermining others in order to preserve their own selfish interests. I like it when someone speaks out plainly and forthrightly. I like their anger and indignation especially when they’ve learned the skills for sharing such feelings without making things personal or stooping to personal attacks. I particularly like it when such a person, despite differing views and opinions, continues to be a close and trusted friend because they know you and they know what’s in your heart and that your heart is a genuine and caring one that only wants the best for all. I have had several such friends over the course of my life and as far as I am concerned, they are worth their weight in gold.
I think that’s the kind of person that people saw in John the Baptist despite all his eccentric behaviors and intense way of expressing himself. People could see that he was answering God’s call to share a particular message and he did so in his own unique way and people loved him for it. And as we know, Jesus loved him for it and held him in the highest regard. Should you choose to answer God’s call and convey the message you’re commissioned to bring the world, you need to know that despite how others see you or react to you -- the form of that message/ministry and the character of that message/ministry are all your own. And know this, Jesus’ is going to love you for sharing it and will hold you in the highest esteem even when others lack the generosity in their hearts to do so.
For the prickly folks with thin skins and selfish hearts, John was a threat that needed to be removed. In one sense, it’s rather interesting they felt threatened since John was a person of truly limited means and often so strange that a lot of folks were probably dismissive toward him. He also had few methods available for broadcasting his controversial message. There was no Internet, no such thing as blogs. Few people could read and John didn’t have the luxury that religious authorities and public officials had. For those folks, they had their own system of town criers in the public square who proclaimed their messages for them. Yet, John managed to reach a huge number of people through a compelling, persuasive, passionate, even engaging message from beside a river out in the wilderness. The message caught fire simply by word of mouth from one person to another. Let’s face it my friends, John wasn’t about to let his voice be silenced. Only a corrupt official with a scheming spouse could do that, by then it was too late even for their efforts because John’s message was out and “it went viral” as some folks put it in this digital age.
And despite how irritated John’s rants made the religious leaders and public officials, John shared his message so effectively that people came from every walk of life to hear him and be baptized. Some went even further and asked about how they should live their lives. Tax collectors asked John for his input about their work and he counseled them to collect no more tax than what they were supposed to. Soldiers asked him what they should do to live more ethically and godly. John replied by urging them to be satisfied with their wages and not threaten or falsely accuse people. To others in a more general way, he told them to share their clothing and food with those who have none or haven’t enough. To those who came to hear his message in order to undermine him or get rid of him, he publically called them out identifying them as poisonous snakes, making clear that they would not escape God’s judgment.
John was but one person. There have been many others since him who the Divine has called to proclaim a message of good news. Each of those proclaimers had their own unique character and means of invading the world’s consciousness. It’s not too difficult to identify a few of those persons are such Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed, Martin Luther, Joan of Arc, Thomas Merton, Nelson Mandela, Buddha, Henri Nouwen, Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jr, and last be not least -- you and me.
So I put to you the question again, if you were called of God to proclaim a message of good news – and you most certainly are -- what would it look and sound like? To who, what, and where would it be calling you? Never mind how others might perceive that message or what kind of box they want you in for conveying your message. Simply do what John did. Set those kinds of things aside and be your own unique proclaimer. Do that even if it means moving on to friendlier pastures. In short, that’s how you provide leaven for God’s Peaceable Kingdom heaven.
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