The two days of nearly ceaseless rain we had this past week are what we refer to in our house as “cat weather.” They are the kind of days when you’d gladly put up with a sometimes stinky litter box if it meant you didn’t have to walk the dogs – again – in the pouring rain.
And yes, I did say dogs plural. We have just adopted a rescue dog. So, now instead of one headstrong, hard to train, mouthy West Highland Terrier, we have two headstrong, hard to train, mouthy West Highland Terriers.
Our newest dog Brody doesn’t seem to mind the rain. But our other dog Maisie hates it. And after a walk in heavy rain, they both need to be dried off before we go back intoi the apartment. And in this they are equal: they both hate being towel dried. But as much as they hate the dreaded towel, they hate it more when the other one is dried first. They’re jealous of each other. They’re jealous of the attention the other is receiving -- even when it’s not the kind of attention they would most prefer.
John’s disciples in today’s gospel are jealous for attention as well. They go to John and point out to him that Jesus, the one that was with John across the Jordan, and was himself baptized by John, is now baptizing others – and not only that, but he seems to be really pulling ‘em in, drawing the crowds that were once drawn to John. The burgeoning fame and glory that was once John’s exclusively, is now being siphoned off by Jesus. John’s disciples fear that if Jesus becomes more popular, it will threaten John’s popularity.
It’s an old story. One that we recognize in scripture, in art, and in ourselves. It’s Cane and Abel, Rachel and Leah, Jacob and Esau. It’s Othello and Iago, for that matter, it’s Margot Channing and Eve Harrington. When favor and fame and riches are accorded to another, it threatens us and makes us feel there will be less favor and fame and riches for us.
And it’s not surprising that we feel this way. Resources are limited. The resources of our earth are certainly limited – food and clean water are in short supply in many places in the world – thanks in part to over-consumption in the richer nations. But it is not only natural resources that are limited. As our economy shrinks, there are layoffs and pay cuts, and many of us are rightfully anxious about the future. And such anxiety affects our relationships. When economic and other outside pressures distract us, it can feel as if there is not enough love and attention to go around to meet all our needs. And every parent knows what it feels like when work and older parents and so many other demands pile up and children don’t get the attention they need and deserve.
Resources: natural, economic, emotional – are often in short supply in our world, so it’s not too surprising that we feel threatened if others seem to be getting more than their fair share – if others seem to be getting our share as well as their own.
But John isn’t threatened. John isn’t in fear of losing out to Jesus. John knows something that we would do well to remember. John knows that the
It is this vision of the kingdom of God that Isaiah speaks of when he proclaims in today’s reading that the Lord is about to create a new heaven and a new earth. Even as Israel was once again under foreign rule and her riches were flowing into far away coffers, Isaiah could envision a new Jerusalem where there is food enough for everyone, a roof over every head, a world of peace so pervasive that even the wolf and the lamb lie down together. In Isaiah’s vision of the kingdom come, exploitation of people and resources is ended, and there is plenty.
It is the same bountiful, peaceable community that Paul wants the Thessalonians to strive for. A community in which those who labor are respected and brother and sister greet each other with a holy kiss. A community in which evil is not repaid with evil, but rather with good. A community in which the unquenchable spirit is alive in every heart.
Our fears over having enough money or attention or love can so quickly divert our focus. We forget about the bounty of God’s grace and are filled with jealousy and anxiety. We’re like John’s disciples, we’re like Brody and Maisie; sure that another’s good fortune means our own poverty.
We do live in a world of limits. In our world there is often not enough food and water, not enough jobs and housing, not enough healthcare, not enough loving care for the lonely, not enough attention for the forgotten, not enough hours in the day. Not enough room at the inn for even the son of God to lay his newborn head.
We live in a flawed, limited world. But there are reasons for rejoicing in such a world. This flawed world is yet the world into which God chose to become incarnate and to be born of a young girl in a minor province of the
John the Baptist knows that his world is a limited one but John also knows what is in store for the world with the Advent of Jesus Christ. And John knows that as Christ increases,
we shall all increase.
Holidays are stressful. And this holiday will be even more stressful as economic woes and fears affect rich and poor alike. This is a time of anxiety, but it is also a time when we can choose to set aside our fears and remember some of the joys afforded us: our families, our children, our communities, our faith.
And rather than become completely diverted by fears and anxieties about our own well-being, we can remember our vocation as Christians to help bring about some of that justice and freedom and peace that we know is the will of our God for all people. We can stir up our hearts to work for the kind of community that Paul wants for the Thessalonians -- a society steeped in God’s bountiful grace and justice.
We would do good to emulate John the Baptist -- we can seek to rectify our own sinfulness and to provide pathways for redemption and salvation in our broken world-- and we can also look forward to the world to come, in which all our hopes for redemption and salvation will be fulfilled.
The coming of the Christ child is a cause for joy, but the coming of
~Amen+
© The Rev. Mark Robin Collins
1 comment:
Great sermon!
Post a Comment