A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent (A RCL 12/12/2010),
offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry
Texts: Isaiah 35:1-10; Canticle 15; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
My brothers and sisters: What does it mean to be a prophet?
What is the peculiar gift, the particular calling of a prophet? During this Advent season, we are called to remember the prophets, to recall the special gift of the prophet’s voice. They are the ones we recall now as preparing the way of the Lord, making the way clear for Jesus to come into the world as the long-promised Messiah.
But what exactly is a prophet? How do we define this calling? If you consult with secular authorities, they may say that a prophet is one who predicts future events. But, within the biblical sense, a prophet rather is one who speaks who special authority from God, one who is chosen to be a dedicated mouthpiece through which God can speak to humanity. Predicting events of the future, of course, is only secondary, peripheral to the task of communicating truth, to the mission of bringing light into places of darkness.
If you ever attend a Pentecostal or charismatic worship event, then you might discover that there are people even today in these congregations who claim to speak with a prophet’s authority. I heard a story of one such woman who stood up during worship, claiming that God had given her a word of prophecy for the congregation. Everyone listened with attention as she stood in a trance-like state and then spoke with a deep, commanding voice of authority and said: “Thus says the Lord – even as Moses led the animals into the ark, even so shall I lead my people to safety, if they will trust in me!”
Then she sat down, but people in that gathered community immediately started whispering amongst themselves. “Did she say Moses? I think she said Moses!” And suddenly, after a few minutes, the supposed prophetess stood up again and, once again in her trance-like state she declared: “Thus says the Lord – it wasn’t Moses, it was Noah!”
And everyone tried as hard as possible to muffle their laughter!
But it’s not just the way they speak that defines a prophet. James points to the prophets as showing us the way of faithfulness not only with their words but also in their lives: “As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5:10).
John the Baptist surely qualifies in that regard. Thrown into prison, he patiently waited for Jesus to reveal himself as the Messiah. But he was only human after all, and it seems that eventually even his patience began to run out!
There’s a new commercial running right now for the new Windows phone. I bet that many of you have seen it. They call it “a phone to save us from our phones”.
The commercial shows a number of people doing ridiculous things while distracted on their phones. The things they are doing are ridiculous, but also common in the sense that we have seen others doing similar ridiculous things. And all the while in the commercial, puzzled bystanders are watching and asking the question: “Really?”
Well, this is John the Baptist’s “really?” moment. He’s in jail now. He cannot be active in his ministry any longer. And so as a puzzled bystander, he is watching and he is asking the question: “Really? Really, Jesus? Is this it? Is this what you are up to after all?”
It must have been hard for John the Baptist. After all, he is your classic Type-A personality, doing everything with precision, by the book. Don’t you get that sense when you imagine John the Baptist? Eating only locusts and wild honey, wearing very odd, rough clothing. Only sleeping out-of-doors. Never swaying from his task of bringing God’s message to the people with seriousness and sternness. If God is going to call him to be a prophet, then he’s going all out to be the best prophet possible!
But he is sent to prepare the way for Jesus, after all. And the Lord Jesus comes, and what does he do? He eats dinners with prostitutes and tax collectors! He drinks wine with Pharisees! This is not quite what John the Baptist had in mind! Can you blame him for being a bit perplexed and confused?
But there is another prophet who is brought before us today for our consideration. Another prophet who shows perhaps even more clearly an example of suffering and patience. For who can possibly exemplify patience and suffering better than a mother?
Even blessed Mary, the mother of the Lord, is a prophet, one who speaks with her life as well as her words. Today, in our responsive reading labeled in our Prayer Book as Canticle 15, Mary speaks to everyone with prophetic power and vision in her classic song of praise, the Magnificat.
I asked us to pray Mary’s song all together today, because I hope that you can feel the hope and the longing in her song which runs so deep in this text. Her song is our song. Her song is the church’s song. Her prophetic words reveal the two-edged sword of God’s word: it brings hope to those who suffer, but announces danger to those who are safe and secure. “God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
These two sides are always present in God’s communication with us. It is commonly said that the task of a preacher is always twofold. It is said that the task of a preacher is to comfort the afflicted, and also to afflict the comfortable.
Each person is unique, and each situation in life demands a different response. But it is possible to look at society as a whole, and to discern certain movements and attitudes which hold sway within a given human society at one time or another. And so I ask you this: from your perspective, which one of these two aspects of preaching, do you think, is most needed today, in our own time and place? To comfort the afflicted, or to afflict the comfortable? To bring a word of hope, or a word of challenge?
I’m afraid that we need a bit of affliction right now. Even in the midst of this recession, this economic downturn which has affected so many of us, even now, we as a people are very comfortable. Jesus said that “those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces” (Matthew 11:8) and in his day, this was a simple observation. But in our nation today, we all like to wear soft robes, don’t we? We don’t have royal palaces here – thank God! – but instead we all wish to live like royalty, with all the luxuries that we can get our hands on.
But what have we lost, what have we given away with our rush to acquire luxuries and soft robes and to accumulate all of the finest things in life? As a whole, we have become weak, afraid to sacrifice, unwilling to be challenged for the greater good.
Do you know that back in the early centuries of the church, in Ireland and the Celtic lands, that anyone who wished to be ordained first had to demonstrate that they had memorized the entire book of Psalms? All 150 Psalms recited from memory? By listening to the requirements today, you would think that things have gotten more difficult rather than less!
Did you also hear how the United States Army recently revised its Basic Training program for the first time in 30 years?
General Interviewed about changes
They had to change it in order to address two general problems with new recruits: lack of fitness and excessive weight. In short, this means that the average Army recruit today is not physically able to handle the Basic Training program of past generations.
Look even at our Advent observance! How quick we are to bypass the rigor of Advent’s spiritual preparation in order to jump right into the cookies and parties and celebrations of Christmas! Let’s face it: we, as a people, we have become soft and weak. And so, I believe that God calls out to us today with a challenge and a rebuke. The One who casts down the mighty from their thrones is calling us to seek the things that are above, to renew our focus upon those things that have eternal meaning and value.
May you and I be among those who are able to hear this divine challenge and respond to it with energy, enthusiasm and trust. Amen.
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