Have you ever thought to yourself, \u201cThis isn\u2019t the way it\u2019s supposed to be\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it was the latest report of rockets falling in Israel. Maybe it was images of the security fence along the West Bank. Maybe it was a report on dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay. Maybe it was the story of the mother of an aspiring 13-year-old cheerleader hiring a hit man to kill the mother of a rival cheerleader. Maybe it was the latest family gathering that ended in shouting. Maybe it was the stupid thing I said when I just should have kept my mouth shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t the way it\u2019s supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have ever felt this way, then you have a sense of the biblical concept of sin. As you may have noticed, it is complex. Two things are actually going on when you say, \u201cThis isn\u2019t the way it\u2019s supposed to be.\u201d First of all, you have a sense that something is not right. But there is also a second thing. In order to say that something isn\u2019t right, you also need a vision of what things are supposed to be like. So sin, in the biblical tradition, is a derivative concept. First, you have to have some sense of what is right. Only then can you say something is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the biblical tradition the vision for how things ought to be is called shalom. We translate this word as \u201cpeace,\u201d but it means much more than an absence of warfare or a calm state of mind. Shalom or peace in the scriptures means universal flourishing, wholeness, harmony, delight. The prophets spoke of a time when crookedness would be made straight, when rough places would be made smooth, when flowers would bloom in the desert, when weeping would cease, when the lion would lay down with the lamb, when the foolish would be made wise, when the wise would be made humble, when humans would beat their swords into ploughshares. All nature would be fruitful and benign, all nations sit down together for a sumptuous feast, all creation would look to God, walk with God, and delight in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Cornelius Plantinga says in his book \u201cNot the Way It\u2019s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin,\u201d shalom is a \u201crich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.\u201d In the Bible, shalom, or peace, is the way things are supposed to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sin, the way things aren\u2019t supposed to be, is the violation of shalom. Of course, sin is an affront to God, but it is an affront to God because it breaks God\u2019s peace. And what breaks God\u2019s peace? Twisting the good things of creation so that they serve unworthy ends. Splitting apart things that belong together. Putting together things that ought to be kept apart. The corruption of personal and social and natural integrity. A moment\u2019s reflection or a look at the evening news can easily supply specific examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, all this talk about sin may sound like a bit of a downer. Especially on December 9. Many of us are getting into the holiday spirit. Decorating the tree. Listening to Christmas carols. Feeling jolly. We even came to church this morning! But instead of the baby Jesus and heavenly choirs of angels, we get John the Baptist, a rough prophet prowling about in the Judean wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Not exactly \u201cHave a Holly, Jolly Christmas\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here\u2019s the strange thing. We still refer to this message as good news. After the gospel lesson is read, the deacon or the person appointed to read this passage will have the audacity to say, \u201cThe gospel of the Lord.\u201d That is to say, \u201cthe Good News of the Lord.\u201d How can this be? Some of us will say, \u201cNo way.\u201d An Old Testament prophet wagging his finger at us and calling us sinners is definitely not good news. Others of us may be willing to admit the importance of John\u2019s message, but only as a prelude to good news, something we must do to get ready for good news of the birth of a savior. We need to go through the hard process of acknowledging and repenting of our sins so that we may make ourselves ready for the gift of Christ. It may be a necessary process, but we still wouldn\u2019t call it good news. The doctor who tells us we have to give up fatty foods and start exercising may be telling us a truth we need to hear, but we won\u2019t really rejoice and burst into song when we hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet there is a way that John\u2019s message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins can actually be seen as good news, and not just as a necessary, grit-our-teeth-and-get-through-it prelude to good news. After the lesson, the deacon will say, \u201cThe gospel of the Lord,\u201d and we can respond, \u201cPraise to you, Lord Christ\u201d not with a palms-up, raised-eyebrow puzzled expression. We can really mean it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think we can see John the Baptist\u2019s proclamation of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as good news in three ways. First, if we hear John\u2019s message and it rings true, if we have ever said, \u201cThis is not the way things are supposed to be,\u201d then we already know God\u2019s peace. As noted before, in the biblical view, sin is a derivative concept. We must already have a vision of how things ought to be if we feel as though things aren\u2019t that way. We must have some sense of God\u2019s peace, to know when it is broken. And this is good news. We do have a vision of God\u2019s shalom, God\u2019s peace. It has been given to us in our scriptures, and in our religious traditions, and in our reflection on creation. We have been given a vision of the world as created and redeemed by our good and generous God, a world made to be fruitful, abundant, harmonious, life-giving, peaceful, whole, filled with deep and abiding joy. If we hear and respond to John\u2019s message about sin, then we must already know about God\u2019s peace. And that is good news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A second way we can see John\u2019s message as good news is that if we hear and respond to his call to repentance for the forgiveness of sins, then we must believe that there is something we can do about it. John is not saying things aren\u2019t the way they\u2019re supposed to be and they never will be; get used to it. His is not a message of futility in the face of the brokenness of God\u2019s creation. Rather, it is a liberating and joyful call to realign our individual and collective wills with the purposes of God. If we already know of God\u2019s vision of shalom, we can be people who promote flourishing, seek wholeness and restore harmony. We can be repairers of the breach. To hear and respond to John\u2019s message is good news, because in spite of the fact that things aren\u2019t the way they should be, they can change and so can we. People can stop killing each other. Hungry people can get fed. Parents can love their families and raise healthy children. Enemies can become friends. It is good and, indeed, joyful news to know that we are free to respond to God\u2019s call to shalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, we can hear John\u2019s message about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as good news because if we already know God\u2019s peace, if we can respond to the call of God\u2019s peace, then in some deep way we already trust in the eventual triumph of God\u2019s peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our gospel lesson, John is described by the words of the prophet Isaiah as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough way made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is an emphatic message: all flesh will see the salvation of God. And this is good news, the Good News. Yes, things aren\u2019t the way they are supposed to be. But we already know God\u2019s vision of shalom. We can turn our hearts and minds to God\u2019s purposes. And we can trust that someday all things will be put to rights, all tears will be wiped away, all swords will be beat into ploughshares, and all flesh will see the salvation of God. God and God\u2019s peace will be triumphant in the end. And we know this because in the birth of Jesus, these eyes of ours have seen the savior, who is Christ the Lord, and he shall be called \u201cWonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things aren\u2019t the way they are supposed to be. We know this because we already know God\u2019s peace. Through a process of repentance we can align ourselves with God\u2019s purposes, God\u2019s peace, the way things are supposed to be. And we can do this in spirit of gratitude, joy and trust because we have been given a promise of the eventual triumph of God\u2019s shalom in the birth of a baby who is the prince of peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is Good News!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by the Rev. Joseph S. Pagano<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever thought to yourself, \u201cThis isn\u2019t the way it\u2019s supposed to be\u201d? Maybe it was the latest report of rockets falling in Israel. Maybe it was images of the security fence along the West Bank. Maybe it was a report on dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay. Maybe it was the story of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,43,52,1953],"tags":[183],"class_list":["post-535316","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-advent-2c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":10,"label":"Advent"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":183,"label":"Advent 2C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/535316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/535316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477452,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/535316\/revisions\/3477452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}