For some reason, the movie
Cinderella has been on my mind a lot lately.
I can’t imagine why?! We are currently trying to transition Mary
Katherine to Christmas movies and now we are stuck on Mickey Mouse’s “Twice Upon a Christmas.”
Anyway, I am reminded of the scene
when Cinderella receives the invitation to the prince’s 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 can’t 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 Cinderella’s 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 Cinderella’s 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 doesn’t make it to the ball. The step-mother and sisters will not tolerate
their servant attending the same party as they do.
In today’s 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 Christ’s 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 Jesus’ presence 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 Jesus’ call 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 aren’t 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 God’s ballroom.
For many, this invitation to God’s 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 one’s 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 God’s forgiveness. The good news of God’s 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 we’ve 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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