Monday, December 7, 2015

An Open Invitation to the Ball




           For some reason, the movie Cinderella has been on my mind a lot lately.  I cant imagine why?!  We are currently trying to transition Mary Katherine to Christmas movies and now we are stuck on Mickey Mouses “Twice Upon a Christmas.” 
            Anyway, I am reminded of the scene when Cinderella receives the invitation to the princes ball.  While Cinderella is strictly forbidden to interrupt her step-mother while her step-mother is giving music lessons to her musically challenged daughters, Cinderella cant wait to share the news of this ball with the rest of the family.
            So Cinderella puts the breaks on her chores and races upstairs to inform the rest of this exciting news.  At the sound of Cinderellas knock at the door, the step-mother hammers out a sour note on the piano.  Step-mother is enraged.  But Cinderella is not deterred, she exclaims with excitement the news of the ball.  Nothing is going to hold Cinderella back from sharing this news not even it means breaking the rules of the house. 
After the initial shock of Cinderellas interruption, the step-mother and sisters are excited by this news and immediately begin to dream about living in the palace.  However, when it is made clear that Cinderella is also invited to the party, they begin plotting ways to make sure Cinderella doesnt make it to the ball.  The step-mother and sisters will not tolerate their servant attending the same party as they do.   


            In todays gospel lesson, we learn about the invitation that John the Baptist receives from the Lord.  Instead of being locked up in a drafty attic, John spends most of his time in a dry desert.  He is shut off from most of the world.  While going about his normal life, John receives an unexpected invitation from the Lord.  One that is filled with hope.  An invitation that says, “prepare the way of the Lord…all flesh shall see salvation.” 
In other words, John receives word from God that there is a way out the hopelessness of Roman occupation and oppression in the holy land.  John must share the news that his people will be set free like they were set free from Pharaoh in the land of Egypt.  And like Cinderella, John is not going to let social custom prevent him from sharing the good news even if his presence is a nuisance for the establishment.  But unlike Cinderella’s story, John’s story does not end happily-ever after or least not in the fairy tale kind of way.  His story ends in more of a horror film kind of way…      
            John’s world is controlled by people who are much more intimidating than evil step-mothers.  These people are listed at the beginning of the gospel lesson and are fueled by power and greed and will take out anyone who gets in their way much like they try to take Jesus out after the announcement of his birth and these are the people who will eventually sentence Jesus to death on the cross.  To put it bluntly the announcement of this good news will shatter all social and political agendas and send many into an uproar of biblical proportions.
            This past week I participated in a discussion with other Episcopal clergy in the area on the subject of evangelism.  We talked about the challenges of sharing the good news of Jesus especially in a world that is often hostile to this news.  In order to get us talking, we talked about the importance of Christs presence in our lives.  After all, understanding what Jesus means in our lives ultimately dictates what news we will share.
            A majority of us talked about how the presence of Christ gave us a sense of peace even in the midst of a chaotic world.  One person, however, sort of shattered these pleasant ideas about Jesuspresence in our lives.  And believe it or not, this person was not me nor was it John the Baptist resurrected from the dead—now that I think about it this person did I have a beard.  This clergy person said that the presence of Jesus often means a kick in the backside.  He went on to talk about Jesuscall to peace is rarely a call to complacency but rather a call to repent and prepare the way of the Lord.
            This priest is absolutely right.  The presence of Jesus in our lives is often a kick in the backside.  And today, that kick in the backside comes in the form of John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord as he calls the people to repentance.  Scripture tells us that John is fulfilling the prophecy as recorded by Isaiah.
            This prophecy as recorded in Isaiah and as told by John in the wilderness foretells of the way in which God will make salvation known to all flesh.  He will fill every valley.  He will make every mountain and hill low.  The crooked will be made straight and the rough made smooth.  In other words, Jesus is going to carve out a way no matter the obstacle and no matter who or what stands in his way.  So John is warning the people to get ready for the way of the Lord because if you arent ready then you might just get a kick in the backside. 
            Again, during this Advent season, a season that is advertised as quiet and calm, we get a rude awakening from our Lord.  This rude awakening comes via a wild haired hippy crying out in the wilderness.  While this news will be good news for many, this news will strike a sour chord for some.
Ultimately, the invitation is an open call God’s very own ballroom where all flesh shall see salvation—the rich and the poor, the healthy and the lame, the black and the white and the brown and the tan, the American and the Latino and the Middle Eastern and the Asian, the democrat and the republican and the independent, the Auburn fan and the Alabama fan—all are invited to Gods ballroom.     
For many, this invitation to Gods ballroom will be received as good news.  This invitation will be the only good news some will receive in a life that is otherwise consumed with bad news.  For others, this invitation will stir chaos into ones life.  This invitation will cause grief for those who already have ballrooms of their own. 
Friends, if we are honest, then this kind of news will kick most of us the back side—I know this news is kicking mine.  If we are honest, then this invitation will hammer a sour note in an otherwise pleasant life—I know these questions hammer a sour note in my heart.
But receiving this kind of news is what the season of Advent is all about.  Embracing this news is how we as Christians can prepare the way of the Lord.  This is the kind of news that is preparing a place where all people are invited to the party.  And if you feel that kick in the backside upon hearing this news, then what you are feeling is a call to repentance. 
And the good news is that a life of repentance leads us to experience the knowledge of Gods forgiveness.  The good news of Gods forgiveness is the truth that there is always a chance to start over.  There is always an opportunity to begin anew.  There is always the opportunity to say, “you know what, I could do a better job preparing the way of the Lord in my own life and in my own community.” 
This process reminds me of a “Coffee with Jesus Cartoon.”  Carl says to Jesus, “Don’t you ever get tired of this? Me and my same old screw-ups and my same old apologies?  Jesus says, “Two way street, Carl. Do you ever go tired of my same old forgiveness?”  This is what growing in grace looks like.


The process of repentance and forgiveness, the process of grace, calls us to be less present in a world controlled by evil step-mothers and more present in a world that is ruled by the humble presence of our Lord, by the one who humbled himself to the point of death.  The process of repentance and forgiveness, allows us to see that a kick in the backside is actually good news as this loving gesture from Jesus is actually a way to put us back on the road to salvation.
The process of repentance and forgiveness gives us a way to be less satisfied with the rulers and rules of this world and more content sharing the news of a ruler who is making all flesh one even if that means a disruption to the world as weve always known it.  
In the end, God is preparing a place where all flesh shall see salvation.  In the end, God is preparing a place where all may find true joy.  And the good news is that God has already prepared this place of joy, a place where all flesh can know salvation and that place is in the face of Jesus Christ, in the face of the One who draws the whole world to himself in a spirit of love and compassion for all people.

Friends, ready or not, the redemption of our world has drawn near in Christ.  May we have the grace to prepare the way of the Lord.  Amen.

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