12/13/2009 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK

 

“So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.”

 Luke 3:18

 

          It’s not quite an obsession, but in our culture nowadays, there is certainly a pervasive & heightened level of interest regarding how the world will end.

 

          The upcoming, heavily-hyped movie, 2012, is hawked on television commercials & breakfast TV shows, alike.  Discussion of the film fills internet chat rooms & 24-hour cable news cycles.  A variety of talking head experts opine on the film’s specious & spurious science, its naive reliance on the Mayan calendar, & the teaching of other ancient peoples’ regarding the end of the world.

 

Exploiting this sub-cultural intrigue, the History Channel is surely raking in big-time advertiser’s dollars.  There’s their captivating weekly series, Life After People.  The show portrays what specific cities will be like 5, 50, & 500 years after humans abandon the earth.  It’s a fascinating testimony to nature’s power.

 

The famed seer, Nostradamus, completely takes over The History Channel’s programming some days.  Last Sunday, if you dashed home from worship, you could watch Nostradamus: 500 Years Later from noon ‘til 2:00 pm, followed by The Nostradamus Effect at 2:00, 3:00, & 4:00 (!), capped off by The Lost Book of Nostradamus for another two hours.  And, perchance, you didn’t get enough of The Nostradamus Effect & its three runs on Sunday, you could catch it at 9:00 pm on Wednesday.  Not only does the general population find Nostra-damus provocative, but his prophecies attract persons of a certain spirituality.

 

Of course, there are all of the Christian sectarian concerns about the apocalypse, the millennium, the great tribulation, & the rapture. Certain faith communities uniquely focus their entire ministry on end times concerns, the Jehovah’s Witnesses & our neighbors at Calvary Baptist being two examples.  In addition to Christians & Christian broadcasters who home in on these future matters, cable TV’s educational channels regularly capitalize on such interests. 

 

An entire cottage industry has developed around end times phenomena. Many of you may recall a book I mentioned in a sermon in November 2008, a supermarket check-out line paperback, entitled, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to The Last Days.  Say no more!  Also included are books like Tim LaHaye’s enormous “Left Behind” collection, websites, & worldwide survivalist groups, some from a Christian perspective, many not. 

 

It was into a similarly ginned-up end times fervor that John the Baptist became the movement’s chief spokesman 2000 years ago in Roman-occupied Palestine.  There had been a messianic concern among the Jews for centuries, with related prophecies pervading much of Near Eastern society.  These themes reached their zenith, however, in John’s day ... & in John, himself. 

 

Crowds of untold size flocked to the Baptizer with the Jordan River shores becoming the epicenter for persons’ far-flung expectations of the coming Messiah.[1]  John was the “rock star” of his day, before his cousin Jesus came on the scene.

 

Some of the “groupies” in the multitudes became John’s trusted disciples. Others were simply curious.  Still others were sincere seekers who heard about the coming events.  They wanted to prepare for whatever & whoever would come.  

We get a sense for these diverse groups in Luke’s retelling of John’s interactions with them.

 

          John is skeptical of the motives of the first group reported in today’s passage.  They do not seem at all interested in developing their faith.   Instead, they are selfishly worried about their future.  That’s understandable.  So, characteristic of his style, then, John pulls no punches with them, candidly remarking, “You snakes!  Who warned you about the impending perils?  Don’t act naïve & give me lip service.  Show me, prove to me, your sincerity.  Produce something of meaning.  You think that just because you’re members of the religion & go to worship that you’re automatically in.  Don’t kid yourselves.  Your priests & others in the congregation may be fooled by your sham, but not God.  Even now, unable to be seen from where you’re standing, on the other side of your homegrown “tree of lies & deception,” an axe is chopping it down, because it either bears no fruit, or rotten fruit.  Foul produce will be burned.” This is vintage Baptizer!

 

          Much more compassionately, but still with a forthright tone, John speaks to the multitudes who are sincere in wanting to change their ways by doing what’s good & right.  Among this general populace he advises those who are well-clothed & well-fed to share their wealth, their clothing & food, with others who have less. 

 

Ever since, this is so much what Advent, & a Christian’s faith preparations have been about.  It’s what you’ve done in the Alternative Gift Fair & Giving Tree & Santa Breakfast.  Your outreach has been remarkable in a remarkable year.  You are doing what the economists say is not the norm … which is what Christ’s followers should always be, namely, “not the norm.”  This is an act of faith~

 

          Tax collectors & Roman soldiers, two of the most hated enemies of the Jews, came to John, too.  The religious crowd must have been scandalized, wondering, “What are these guys doing here, looking to be baptized!?!”    Yet, John treats them as genuine seekers, giving them instructions accordingly.  He tailors his message for them, so that they might properly prepare.

 

To the tax men he instructs, “Collect only the proper tax & no more.  Quit the dishonest lining of your pockets on the backs of the poor.”  It hit them where they were, & must have been good news for their victims in the crowd.

 

          And to the soldiers, the Baptizer warns them to not abuse their position of power as occupiers.  If they are not content with their wages, then they should not blackmail & threaten innocent citizens out of frustration.  Once again, he speaks the truth.

 

          Some persons in these crowds even wondered if John, himself, was the long-awaited Messiah of whom they heard so much.  John quickly put their misconception to rest, again revealing a bit of his temperamental nature in the process. 

 

          “I’m not even worthy to untie the Messiah’s sandals,” the Baptist rants.  “And he, by the way, is the one who will really clear the floor.  Not me.  He’ll separate the good from the bad, gathering some with himself, while others burn!”

 

If some of us in this age are worried or frightened about the end times, be they the result of natural forces, or human-manufactured acts of mega-terrorism that set off a chain reaction of horrors, John’s message counsels us to change how we live in preparation for meeting Jesus.  Don’t waste your time solely preparing for some inevitable catastrophe that will happen sooner or later.   Ready yourself for Christ’s presence among you now.  If you do so today, you’ll be ready for whatever the future brings.   

 

          At the very least, any life-altering preparations we enact, make for a better world.  That’s a cause for rejoicing.  Fears & worries don’t even need to enter into it.  God judges with justice, indeed, but does so with an abundance of tender grace & mercy. 

 

Jesus is our model.  Doing & being that to which he calls us is the best way to prepare & receive God’s abundant grace.  It leads to the best life, not just in the future, but every & any day of the week.

                

In the Name….                        Copyright 2009 by G.D. Knerr at Lansdale, Pa.  All rights reserved.