Have you ever heard the saying, \u201cIt\u2019s not what you know, it\u2019s who you know\u201d? Networking has been an established social function in society for as long as there have been people. We often use our connections to get us into social circles and places we might have difficulty getting into alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On television shows and in the media we see people getting things they want because of their family connections or social circles. Most of us have probably done the something like that too. For example, we would rather go to someone we know or to someone recommended than go to a stranger for a haircut or to get our car fixed. That sort of networking is harmless, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when does it cross the line? What about when we find ourselves connected to an individual or a group that demands respect when, in fact, they are driven by arrogance and a misplaced sense of entitlement? Have you ever heard someone say, \u201cDon\u2019t you know who I am?\u201d Have you ever witnessed someone being excused from what would normally be inexcusable behavior because of their connections to a family, a community, or even a belief system?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t just happen on TV; it happens anywhere there are people. And it isn\u2019t just a modern-day issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We hear John the Baptist in our gospel today chastising the crowds before him for this very thing. \u201cYou brood of vipers!\u201d he accuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWho warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our ancestor\u2019; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
What vivid imagery! What a dire warning. But most of all, what a reminder of the power of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John is telling the crowd and telling us that what our ancestors have done in the past doesn\u2019t matter now. It is what we do in the present that matters. There is an immediacy in John\u2019s declarations. God\u2019s power is being stirred up, and we don\u2019t know what form it is going to take or what the outcome will be. We are powerless before the mystery of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like anyone who feels threatened, the people in the crowd listening to John wanted to avoid judgment, avoid God\u2019s wrath, and avoid pain. They panicked. Human nature hasn\u2019t changed much over the centuries. We still feel the same way in the face of the unknown. We want to control it, we want to analyze it, and we want to have power over it. When we can\u2019t do that, we transmit our anxieties to others who we think we can control and have power over. Exploitation makes us feel better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seems as if greed, accumulation of material things, and apathy toward others can create a protective shield around the fearful trembling of our distorted hearts. Like the strange, frightening picture in Oscar Wilde\u2019s story of Dorian Gray, our true selves, our inner selves that should be turning to God, end up atrophied and diseased as we slowly become monsters of our own making, while everything on the outside seems to be going along swimmingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat then should we do?\u201d We ask with the despairing crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John tells us we must bear fruits worthy of repentance. We must turn to God \u2013 our hope and our salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This calls us as individuals to decide how we will open our hearts, tearing down our useless shields, to let the love of God, through righteousness and justice, bear our fruits of repentance. It is through righteousness that we restore the relationship between us and God, as well as the relationship between each other; and through justice that we restore our relationship with material things \u2013 being good stewards of all that we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John, in essence, tells the crowds, the tax collectors, and soldiers that the first step to a restored community as God intended is to redistribute wealth and stop exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each individual\u2019s decision is key \u2013 it is the idea we have today of thinking globally, but acting locally. Systems don\u2019t change all at once, but through one person at a time. This may be something as small as being honest if a cashier gives you too much change back or going through your closet to give away clothes that another can use. Every small action leads to a larger transformation, not just of ourselves, but of the world around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord. Our hearts are filled with expectation and questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know the answer to the crowd\u2019s question of \u201cWho is the Messiah?\u201d because we have heard this gospel story before. Yet, even though we know that God is about to do something new by being with us in the flesh \u2013 Immanuel, \u201cGod with us\u201d \u2013 and we claim to believe that God is still doing something new \u2013 revealing, redeeming, sustaining, and moving in the present time \u2013 what are the fruits of our repentance? How are we living our lives with righteousness and justice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We hear the prophet Zephaniah and the prophet Isaiah proclaiming the goodness of the Lord in our scriptures today; what hope they hold! \u201cThe Lord is in your midst,\u201d Zephaniah exults. How then, do our hearts respond? Are we living as if we believe this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it seems that since the gospels were written in a different time and different place, they are not applicable to the world we live in today. What we often forget is that the same God that came among us back then is in our midst now, stirring up power, doing new things. The God of the gospels is the God of the twenty-first century, and He is still calling us to transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a doctor diagnosed someone with heart disease or diabetes and then gave that person instructions on how to keep it from getting worse, we\u2019d hope that person would follow the doctor\u2019s advice. After all, we trust doctors to prescribe the right diet and medication. But if we ignore our doctor\u2019s advice and adopted the attitude of \u201cthis can\u2019t happen to me,\u201d then we are just asking for trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, too, with our spiritual lives. John the Baptist is helping us prepare a way in our hearts for the Lord to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is an exciting time. We do not know how God will stir things up \u2013 but we do know that God\u2019s work always comes to good. If we don\u2019t clear a path, then how will we be able to respond with joy when the Lord is in our midst? How will we be able to hear the call for transformation in our lives and in the community around us if our shields are up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have the choice to allow God to come afresh into our lives, giving us new eyes, deeper wisdom, and profound compassion. We have the ability to repent anew and to affirm the covenant made in our baptism, proclaiming the good news to all people. This is no longer our parents\u2019 choice, or our grandparents\u2019 choice, or our ancestors\u2019 choice \u2013 we cannot rest on their laurels. The choice is ours. May we choose wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by the Rev. Danae Ashley<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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