Advent Sermon - Shake Your Presents

Advent Sermon - Matthew 3:1-12

Shake Your Presents

by Pr. Paul Cannon

Grace and Peace Bethany Lutheran Church!

Oh joy.  I’ll tell you what – Advent is a strange season in the church year.  Last week, the gospel text talked about floods and people being left in fields and the need to be watchful.  This week, the gospel text is John the Baptist talking about fire and repentance and baptism.  Again, I say, “oh what joy.”

Though I say that with a hint (wink wink) of sarcasm, part of me wonders if there is a whole lot more to this text than what meets the eye.  With a story that features a wild character like John the Baptist, drawing large crowds of people, it makes you wonder,  “Why?” Why would people walk for miles to listen to this guy. He pretty much hits each item on the avoid-that-guy-checklist.  Crazy man living in the woods? Check.  Is he wearing weird clothes? Check. Does he eat bugs? Check.  Hey, I have an idea, let’s go see what that guy has to say!

Yet here we have John the Baptist preaching repentance to these tremendous crowds of people waiting in line to be baptized. He was drawing so much attention that the religious leaders – the Pharisees and the Sadducees  - were starting to take notice.

There was a buzz about what was going on – an electric feeling in the air that something special was about to happen. I have to imagine that the feeling in the crowd was one of joy and hope. I know how strange it sounds to talk about Joy and Hope when John is preaching about fire and repentance, but in reality, they are not that different.  

In the Bible, repentance is the greatest cause for joy there is.  What happens when the prodigal son repents and turns back home?  The father throws a party.  Though the thought of repenting – the thought of confessing your sins is scary, the actual act is one of hope and joy.  

And not only that, but John the Baptizer was speaking of an even greater hope.  “You think what I’m doing is great?” He’d tell the crowd, “Something – Some ONE – better is on the way. I’m not even worthy to carry his shoes for him.” 

You see - the Jewish people were longing for the Messiah. They knew that Isaiah prophesied about a leader who was coming to stand in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed, the immigrants and the homeless, the downtrodden and the powerless.  

They were taught that this shoot from Jesse’s tree was coming to bring justice and peace to an unjust and violent world.  Isaiah prophesied, quote, “with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.”  And that “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf (with) the lion.” For a people who felt far more like the lamb than the lion, I have to imagine this was joyous news. 

So yes, I think is a story about joy and hope, but it’s a different kind of joy.  It’s not Christmas joy, because Christ hasn’t arrived on scene yet.  This is advent joy – it’s the joy of waiting … it’s the joy of anticipation … it’s the joy of hope.

We are all familiar with anticipation around this time of year.  It reminds me in a lot of ways of people eagerly anticipating the opening of their Christmas presents sitting under evergreens in living rooms across the country.  

You all know that feeling right?  Even if you don’t get quite as excited for your grown up gifts anymore (oh boy, a sweater!), you at least remember what it was like to open presents as a kid. I love kids at Christmas time, because they are the WORST at hiding how excited they are to open their gifts.  

As soon as somebody puts a present under the tree, what’s the first thing a child does?  They … “Shake it.”  Right!  They pick it up, and they feel how heavy it is … they judge the dimensions of the package … they listen for the rattle of a new toy - or the gentle swish, swish, swish of a pair of pajamas.  It’s pure joy – before they ever open the package.

Of course, that’s all part of the fun.  Growing up, my brother and I somehow began holding wrapping competitions to see who could fool the other person the most.  One of us would get the other something like a video game and then we would wrap that in a box – heavily fortified with duct tape – and then we would wrap that box in another box – also heavily fortified with duct tape (I’m sure we spent a fortune on duct tape).  And then another box and another layer, until we had the Fort Knox of Christmas gifts.

It even came to the point where we would scavenge around the house looking for items to put in the box to make it heavier, or make weird noises when you shook it.  On Christmas day, the receiver of the gift would inevitably find a baby rattle or the hammer that had been missing from Dad’s tool box for the past month. Trust me when I say – we spared no expense in our wrapping jobs.

It’s hard to know exactly why we spent so much time and energy wrapping up our gifts like this – certainly a big part of this was brotherly one-upsmanship.  Watching the other guy go through the agony of opening layer after layer of the duct-tape-fortified-gift, made the eventual opening of the gift even sweeter. 

But underneath it all, was a feeling that wrapping made the anticipation for the gift opening that much more enjoyable.  There is something about waiting in hope for the day you get to open your present, that produces a child-like joy of its own.

And I think that’s the sort of the feeling that was in the air when John the Baptist was running around the country declaring that something big was on the way – that the Savior, prophesied by Isaiah, was about to roll into town.  It was a feeling of joy and hope.

And then there’s the joy of repentance – the joy of faith – letting go of your old sinful self, to experience the joy and freedom found only – found only - in God’s grace.

The old stereotype that church is stuffy and boring always sounds strange to me for that reason.  Faith is exciting!  I love this stuff.  There is incredible joy in journeying together through all the ups and downs of life.  Reading the Bible, singing hymns, and praying for one another are the greatest sources of hope and joy that this world has to offer.

When you understand this, you’ll know that faith, community and church aren’t just another item on the to-do list, but they are essential aspects of our lives.  Connecting with God – whether it’s through scripture or prayer or music or community or whatever – is what gives life flavor and meaning.

That’s the joy of faith that I think the crowds who were following John the Baptist - this wild-eyed, bug-eating preacher - must have been experiencing.  They were connecting with God’s grace in a way that resonated with them – in a way that brought them joy and hope that the world couldn’t offer. 

That’s why in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he talks about the joy of believing and he asks that our God, the God of Hope to, quote “fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy in believing.  We forget that, don’t we?  Faith wasn’t meant to be a chore.  Going to church wasn’t meant to be an obligation.  Faith is joy.  Faith is hope.  Faith is the look on a child’s face when they know the present they hope for is waiting for them wrapped under the Christmas tree. 

During this season of Advent, as we all wait to unwrap the gift waiting for us in the manger, my prayer for all of you is that God fills you with that same child-like joy.  I want you to shake this gift of faith – trying to find out what is inside.  I want you to savor the season, like children eagerly waiting for Christmas morning.  I want you to soak everything in as we slowly add decorations around the sanctuary – one Christmas wreath at a time – one layer of duct tape at a time.  

Before I finish here, there’s something I want you to do: I want you to figure out what brings you joy during this Christmas season.  With so much business and stress, it’s easy to focus on the negative.  It’s easy to complain.  But right now, I want you to close your eyes … take a few deep breaths … and picture whatever it is that brings you the most joy in this Advent season.  (wait) Now open your eyes, turn to your neighbor, and tell them what you thought of. 

And now let me leave you one more time with the blessing of the Apostle Paul, “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Amen.