2 Advent 2013

2 Advent 2013

“You brood of vipers!” Quite possibly the best opening to any sermon in history, and surprisingly, a sermon which drew a number of people to John the Baptizer.

John as we know was a bit of a wild man. He dressed like a prophet, spoke like a prophet, and called people to repent and be restored to true relationship, like a prophet. However, John also had a more specific role in his prophetic call—because he was called to be the herald for the Messiah.

In our Gospel reading today, we see him paraphrase the words of Isaiah, saying that he is a voice crying out in the wilderness; called to prepare the way of the Lord and make his ways straight…

And while we know that people love a spectacle, we may all the same wonder why John could draw such a crowd when he insists on calling people a brood of vipers?

Well, in defense of John, he was not calling everyone a brood of vipers, but specifically he was calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. Of course, these particular Pharisees and Sadducees happened to have come to be baptized. (But after what John said, I’m sure they’ll never set foot in his church again…)

So, even if these people were part of the religious elite who were continually badgering Jesus; why does John have to be so mean?   

Well, in response, we might ask: how can you fill a cup, which is already full, and how can you hope to see growth when the earth is not tilled for planting? In other words, how can people who live their lives as self-righteous possibly understand their need for righteousness?

Isaiah speaks of a shoot growing out of the stump of Jesse. Jesse, as you may remember, is the father of David, and King David the ancestor of Jesus. As this shoot which grows from the lineage of King David, then, Jesus is the promise and the arbiter of the renewed world where all Creation is at harmony. 

However, what these Pharisees and Sadducees represent are a religious system which cannot give up its own claim on righteousness and justification by religious law. And because they cannot give such things up, there is no space in their lives to receive the grace and hope that is offered first at the river through John’s baptism—and more importantly the hope and grace that comes through Jesus the Messiah.

The whole reason, then for readings like this in the Season of Advent is to allow us to push aside the things that distract us, or crowd our lives. We’re reminded that we have to cast off the things that we hold onto that keep us from making a place for Christ in our lives—and most importantly from receiving the grace and hope that his birth and his Second Coming bring.