John the Disturber - A sermon about John the Baptist
Luke 3:7-18; Zephaniah 3:14-20.
Let’s talk about John. An only child born to older parents.
According to Luke, the cousin of Jesus. A desert dweller who lived on locusts and honey and wore an animal skin around his hips. A voice calling in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord, making crooked paths straight, so we might know the way to go.
He sounds like an unlikely prophet, doesn’t he? Let’s be honest, he sounds like the kind of man who you’d hate to sit next to you on the night bus, or who you might cross a city centre street to avoid.
But then, what is a prophet?
By the time we get to John’s time we’re past the golden age of prophesy, when those in power, usually the King, would regularly engage the services of a prophet to help with decision making.
In Old Testament times the prophet fulfilled more than one role. They were the mouthpiece of God, delivering messages from the divine.
They sometimes made predictions, like Isaiah, who I’ve already quoted: It was he who said there would come a voice calling out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord.
Or, like Jeremiah, they called the people to repent and turn towards God. We see this too in the writing of the prophet Zephaniah, who was our first reading today.
Zephaniah highlights the ways in which Judah’s behaviour – their idolatry in particular – is building a barrier between them and God. He speaks of judgement and also of hope. He tells them that God will ultimately be victorious; he will make all things right.
But how do we know if someone is a prophet? How do we know to pay attention to their message? Crucially, how do we know if that message comes from God?
The people who came to be baptised by John certainly seemed to have been a bit confused. At one point they even ask him if he’s the messiah.
So how do you tell if someone is a prophet?
Let’s take a look at a few images of more modern-day people who we might call prophets. Let’s play Prophet or not! (See PowerPoint. Congregation are shown a phrase/saying, and have to guess who said it.)
Slide 1: “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.”(Mahatma Ghandi)
Slide 2: “At the end of our lives we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by: I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.” (Mother Theresa)
Slide 3: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is this: what are you doing for others?”(Martin Luther King)
Slide 4: “I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.” (Sojourner Truth)
Slide 5: “Cherish the natural world, because you’re a part of it and you depend on it.”(David Attenborough)
Slide 6: “No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.” (Donald Trump)
Slide 7: “We judge our economy not by the presence of billionaires, but by the absence of poverty.” (Jeremy Corbyn)
Slide 8: “Freedom, independence, democracy, not being a SLAVE TO SOMEBODY ELSE, is something upon which you cannot put a price.” (Nigel
Slide 9: “What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.” (John the Baptist)
So being a prophet is more than just having the ability to turn a phrase. Anyone can do that, as we’ve seen.
Politicians don’t have the freedom to be honest, so they make poor prophets. They rarely tell it like it is, even when they claim to be telling it like it is. They’re not; they simply can’t afford to.
They are speaking into a political agenda that ultimately bolsters themselves and their hold on power, certainly not God.
There’s little prophetic truth to be found in politics whether the colour is red or blue.
To find God’s truth we must look amidst the poor and the marginalised. Always. The words of John the Baptist and the story of the incarnation, tell us that God isn’t to be found amidst the powerful. Don’t look for him there, because you will not find him.
Prophetic words should proclaim Good News, and this is for everyone. If it’s not for everyone then there’s not much that’s good about it.
Particularly, we need to consider how those in power react to prophetic words when they hear them.
Martin Luther King’s words were so jarring and his message so unsettling, that he was shot dead in order to shut him up.
John himself, Luke tells us, is arrested shortly after this speech, where he calls out the powerful; the Pharisees and Sadducees, the tax collectors, the soldiers. He called out Herod on his marriage to his brother’s wife, and ended up with his head on a platter.
Speaking truth to power is not without risks, as Jesus himself would find out.
So if a supposedly prophetic message is received well by the majority; if the person saying those words is just telling us exactly what - deep down – we really want to hear, then I’d question whether that’s prophetic at all. Who is this message for? Who is likely to benefit most from hearing it? And crucially, who is excluded? Things for us all to ponder.
Prophetic messages are not comfortable. They are unsettling. They can make us squirm with shame – like being labelled a brood of vipers, pleased with own self-righteousness, like the people of John’s day who thought their privilege - as descendants of Abraham – made them morally superior.
Prophetic messages cut through our own assumptions, they do not sit well with us. They, like John, are disturbing. They are a call to shake things up. A call to create a revolution; they are never a call to maintain the status quo.
Finally, the prophet does not point to himself to be venerated. No, he or she is merely a conduit for God’s message. They illuminate the path to God. they don’t illuminate themselves.
As John said, he cleansed people ceremonially, in the rivers of the Jordan, but the one who was coming would cleanse the very hearts of people, and he would do it by fire.
Let’s pray:
This Advent let us know John and his prophetic words better. Let us not be chaff, being burned up with unquenchable fire on the threshing floor, falling prey to false prophets and honeyed words. Let us remember John the disturber - and rest in the knowledge that the coming of John means the coming of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Amen.
~ The phrase, John the Disturber is credited to Kate Bruce, in Igniting the Heart.
Let’s talk about John. An only child born to older parents.
According to Luke, the cousin of Jesus. A desert dweller who lived on locusts and honey and wore an animal skin around his hips. A voice calling in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord, making crooked paths straight, so we might know the way to go.
He sounds like an unlikely prophet, doesn’t he? Let’s be honest, he sounds like the kind of man who you’d hate to sit next to you on the night bus, or who you might cross a city centre street to avoid.
But then, what is a prophet?
By the time we get to John’s time we’re past the golden age of prophesy, when those in power, usually the King, would regularly engage the services of a prophet to help with decision making.
In Old Testament times the prophet fulfilled more than one role. They were the mouthpiece of God, delivering messages from the divine.
They sometimes made predictions, like Isaiah, who I’ve already quoted: It was he who said there would come a voice calling out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord.
Or, like Jeremiah, they called the people to repent and turn towards God. We see this too in the writing of the prophet Zephaniah, who was our first reading today.
Zephaniah highlights the ways in which Judah’s behaviour – their idolatry in particular – is building a barrier between them and God. He speaks of judgement and also of hope. He tells them that God will ultimately be victorious; he will make all things right.
But how do we know if someone is a prophet? How do we know to pay attention to their message? Crucially, how do we know if that message comes from God?
The people who came to be baptised by John certainly seemed to have been a bit confused. At one point they even ask him if he’s the messiah.
So how do you tell if someone is a prophet?
Let’s take a look at a few images of more modern-day people who we might call prophets. Let’s play Prophet or not! (See PowerPoint. Congregation are shown a phrase/saying, and have to guess who said it.)
Slide 1: “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.”(Mahatma Ghandi)
Slide 2: “At the end of our lives we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by: I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.” (Mother Theresa)
Slide 3: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is this: what are you doing for others?”(Martin Luther King)
Slide 4: “I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.” (Sojourner Truth)
Slide 5: “Cherish the natural world, because you’re a part of it and you depend on it.”(David Attenborough)
Slide 6: “No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.” (Donald Trump)
Slide 7: “We judge our economy not by the presence of billionaires, but by the absence of poverty.” (Jeremy Corbyn)
Slide 8: “Freedom, independence, democracy, not being a SLAVE TO SOMEBODY ELSE, is something upon which you cannot put a price.” (Nigel
Slide 9: “What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.” (John the Baptist)
So being a prophet is more than just having the ability to turn a phrase. Anyone can do that, as we’ve seen.
Politicians don’t have the freedom to be honest, so they make poor prophets. They rarely tell it like it is, even when they claim to be telling it like it is. They’re not; they simply can’t afford to.
They are speaking into a political agenda that ultimately bolsters themselves and their hold on power, certainly not God.
There’s little prophetic truth to be found in politics whether the colour is red or blue.
To find God’s truth we must look amidst the poor and the marginalised. Always. The words of John the Baptist and the story of the incarnation, tell us that God isn’t to be found amidst the powerful. Don’t look for him there, because you will not find him.
Prophetic words should proclaim Good News, and this is for everyone. If it’s not for everyone then there’s not much that’s good about it.
Particularly, we need to consider how those in power react to prophetic words when they hear them.
Martin Luther King’s words were so jarring and his message so unsettling, that he was shot dead in order to shut him up.
John himself, Luke tells us, is arrested shortly after this speech, where he calls out the powerful; the Pharisees and Sadducees, the tax collectors, the soldiers. He called out Herod on his marriage to his brother’s wife, and ended up with his head on a platter.
Speaking truth to power is not without risks, as Jesus himself would find out.
So if a supposedly prophetic message is received well by the majority; if the person saying those words is just telling us exactly what - deep down – we really want to hear, then I’d question whether that’s prophetic at all. Who is this message for? Who is likely to benefit most from hearing it? And crucially, who is excluded? Things for us all to ponder.
Prophetic messages are not comfortable. They are unsettling. They can make us squirm with shame – like being labelled a brood of vipers, pleased with own self-righteousness, like the people of John’s day who thought their privilege - as descendants of Abraham – made them morally superior.
Prophetic messages cut through our own assumptions, they do not sit well with us. They, like John, are disturbing. They are a call to shake things up. A call to create a revolution; they are never a call to maintain the status quo.
Finally, the prophet does not point to himself to be venerated. No, he or she is merely a conduit for God’s message. They illuminate the path to God. they don’t illuminate themselves.
As John said, he cleansed people ceremonially, in the rivers of the Jordan, but the one who was coming would cleanse the very hearts of people, and he would do it by fire.
Let’s pray:
This Advent let us know John and his prophetic words better. Let us not be chaff, being burned up with unquenchable fire on the threshing floor, falling prey to false prophets and honeyed words. Let us remember John the disturber - and rest in the knowledge that the coming of John means the coming of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Amen.
~ The phrase, John the Disturber is credited to Kate Bruce, in Igniting the Heart.
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