Third Advent
Luke 3:7-18; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians:4-7
Did you look in the mirror this morning? I would be willing to bet that
there is not a person here today who did not look in a mirror at least for a
second this morning. Some of us may have looked only fleetingly to check a hair
or two (since that is all we have to worry about) while others may have looked
a lot more closely, fashioning, trimming, or applying makeup in an attempt to
highlight that feature we feel good about or maybe to hide a few things we would
prefer others not to notice. Some of us no doubt looked into the mirror with
mixed feelings about what we saw looking back. The more honest among us probably
had a critical eye, pleased with what we saw or maybe assessing what a little
more exercise would do for us. Some of us may have even done a little posing
and posturing to create an image for ourselves, an image that may not have any
grounding in reality but nevertheless was pleasing to our mind’s eye.
As I grow older I find myself looking in mirrors with more caution. Not always recognizing the person looking back. Of course we live in a world that no longer depends only on mirrors to capture our image. with the digital proliferation images of ourselves turn up on the internet more times than most of us would prefer. Pictures abound. the very phone in your hand increasingly can also capture the image of those around you. But still I hear the words my one aunt used to speak every time someone showed her a picture of herself. “Do I really look like that?” My one brother always used to whisper under his breath, “No, that’s a picture of your ugly twin.” The truth of seeing ourselves as others see us or as we actually appear rather than as we imagine ourselves is sometimes rather trying. To see ourselves honestly and truthfully. To look in the mirror and see our real selves.
That was what John the Baptist set out to do. Hold up the mirror—a really big, clear and good mirror. Crowds of people came out to take a look in John’s mirror, to take a long deep look. John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” John said, “Stop fooling yourselves. And stop posing and posturing some ancient ancestral ideal. You are a people and land occupied by Roman forces. You are looking for a real Messiah. But you need to first take a real look at the truth about yourself.”
The truth.. The truth is that we don’t want to know the truth—see the truth. We want to see the posture and pose. The image we have created of ourselves. We want to believe the truths that we have created to please us. That’s what the time leading up to Christmas has come to be all about. Creating pleasant pictures and selecting the perfect gifts that will culminate in the ideal Christmas Eve. So that if or when we look at ourselves we will see this smiling satisfied image looking back. John said, “Stop fooling yourself. the truth is not going to be found in some idealized baby born in a manger. The truth is going to be found in the sound of an axe chopping away all the clutter that has sprung up around the true faith that was planted within you.” Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees John proclaimed. John held up his prophetic mirror and provided a true reflection on the lives and priorities and values and meanings that people were choosing for themselves. One would think that this would have made John very unpopular. but according to our text—the exact opposite occurred. The crowds flocked to him. John proclaimed the truth. In John’s reflection on them people saw themselves for who and what they really were. And while it was not a pretty picture there was in this reflection a hope in the truth for something more.
Every time I read this text I find myself thinking about the old fairy tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes. You remember the story where two scoundrels come to town and convince the king and his court that they make the greatest clothes in the world but the clothes are only visible to those who are smart enough and competent enough to discern the fineness of their work. No one, of course, is willing to admit that they cannot see the fabric because that would mean admitting that they are too stupid or incompetent so everyone pretends to see what they need to see or wants to see until finally the emperor is walking around in only his imaginary suit of clothing. It is at this point that a child in the crowd—who sees the truth and names the truth, cries out that the emperor has no clothes and the reality is confronted. There are some who would compare the prophets voice and vision to that of the truth-proclaiming child. The willingness to take the deep hard look into the mirror of self, society or even our faith. And if we truly see the truth—then what? We are told that those who looked into John’s mirror and were honest about what they saw there repeatedly asked, “What should we do?” The people asked, “What should we do?. The tax collectors asked, “What should we do? Even the soldiers asked the question, “What shall we do?”
If we are honest with our selves and see the truth for what it is there can be no other response. Confronted by the appearance of an aging body with too much weight and cholesterol there is no doubt what should be done with diet, exercise and medication. Someone confronted by an intervention concerning repeated abuse of alcohol or some other addictive lifestyle knows there is no doubt about the need to do something that changes one’s life. These are the types of images that anyone can honestly recognize and name. The real challenge is in seeing with the prophet’s mirror those reflections that we have learned to cover over or ignore. John called for the people to bear the fruit of repentance but that requires first the willingness and/or ability to discern the sin. to own the very thing that would separate us from God, our self and others. Here is where we struggle mightily for we are so much better at seeing the flaws in others. Anthony Trollope wrote in his novel Barchester Towers that “Wise people, when they are in the wrong, always put themselves right by finding fault with the people against whom they have sinned.”. This is a truth that is embraced by far more people then their honest reflections. The perfectionist always sees the flaws in others before they admit to their own failure, the selfish critique the generosity of others. The fortunate of the world find ways to make the less successful responsible for their own failures.
The mirror is cracked for the many who find reason to critique most every institution for failing them whether it be the schools, government or the church. the sin is placed outside the self—placed on others. Never look into the mirror— you may not like what you see. John the Baptist was a voice that called upon people to look hard into the mirror, to see that there is no corruption without the willingness to look the other way. There is no hunger and want in the world without the belief that someone else should provide food and shelter. There is no failure of caring and generosity without there being people who place themselves first. John said, “Look in the mirror—do you see the flaws?” And so our text says, With many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. He held up the mirror and pointed out the flaws and that was called “good news” Good news—The good news of seeing clearly the honest reflection of our lives. The good news that a change was coming. The fruits of repentance are found not in more of the same old thing. Repentance is turning around—Metanoia—Going in a new direction. To the unhealthy life style it is the possibility of healing, wholeness and new life. To the needy and hungry it is food and shelter from those who now see the solution. It has happened time and again. At first they just didn’t feel good. Then they begin to loose weight or gain weight or have terrible pains or maybe a numbness. and the doctors run test after test and try treatment after treatment until finally one day a name is spoken that proves to be true. The name is the correct identification of the disease and at last it is possible to prescribe a course of treatment or a lifestyle adjustment. Naming the disease one has opens the possibility of finding healing. Naming the sin is the first step in producing the fruit of repentance.
The important thing to recognize is that cure does not lie within us. The solution to our sin is not of our choosing. The mirror has moved us to step outside ourselves. If I am angry or upset about something the solution does not lie within me although that is often what I try to do when I start blaming others because then I can hold on to my anger. I can demand that others change to meet my expectations while I do nothing to change myself. I can demand that others change the world around me without admitting that I have any responsibility for the conditions that upset me. John held up the mirror and “proclaimed the good news to the people”. The good news was the truth. that truth that was about to become flesh and blood and dwell among us. A truth that would bring into sharp focus all our flaws and shortcoming while also exposing all the possibilities and joys and hopes that point to new life—new purpose—new hope. Look into the mirror—look deep and long, see the cause of our repentance—What should we do?. Rejoice! For that is what this third Sunday in Advent is called. The traditional Christian community long referred to this Sunday as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin word for “Rejoice” Sunday. It is no accident that the first word of our second lesson calls upon us to rejoice. and the first lesson proclaims that the reason for rejoicing is in the proclamation that God is in the midst of the people. John’s mirror is not just to reveal our reflection but that of the one who comes. who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire.
We look into John’s mirror and can see so clearly the form of one who transforms our sin into the fruits of repentance. I remember walking into the darkness of the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial on the out skirts of the city of Jerusalem. Walking into a hollowed out underground cavern constructed in memory of approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust. There is darkness in this room without lights except for the candles lit. Candles lit and reflected an infinite number of times by the mirrored walls. Light reflected into the infinite depths of the mirror amplifying the light over and over and over. I looked at the one candle and saw behind it and on all the mirrored walls around it the reflection of light—one flame become a hundred—a thousand. maybe a hundred thousand. In the darkness my reflection was lost but the light of the candle burned bright. Only the light was reflected. And I felt centered and warmed and at peace. The voice of the prophet calls for the fruits of repentance. We look into the mirror and confront the truth. A light that shines in the darkness. The infinite reflection not of our sin but our hope. The amplified image of Christ’s light that carries us out of the darkness into new life. Rejoice—prepare—and bear the fruits of repentance.
Amen.