This morning we continued the: Advent at Advent – Waiting and Wondering series. at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA)
Sermon
My message, “Do What?!?!? is based on Philippians 4:4-7 and Luke 3:7-18.
You can watch the message below or read the manuscript
Excerpt
John’s message begins with a fiery introduction but is carried along by questions. Those in the audience interrupt him again and again with the ancient equivalent of the modern day “do what?!?”
This questioning happens in verse 10, in verse 12, and again in verse 14.
In verse 10 we hear the first “do what” question raised once he has warned them about the wrath that is to come. They ask with sincerity about the right response to this challenging news. They ask “what should we do?”
And John replies that the best thing to do is to live faithfully in the present. More specifically, if you have more than enough, share with those who lack the basics. For example, if you have two coats, give one away or if your pantry is mostly full, share with those who are food insecure.
This general counsel was generally upsetting. John was not asking the rich and the powerful to be generous, he was instructing everyone to share what they had.
If he was here today, John would not say a polite thank you to those who have provided Christmas gifts for families in need here in our community. He would not smile and pat you on the back for bringing a reverse Advent box of food to be distributed just in time for Christmas.
Instead, he would tell you to do more – perhaps much more. In his direct manner John would say, “There are folks with no place to lay their heads that walk across the Advent church campus day after day and there are hungry people that drive by constantly. You who have the resources to help, get to work.”
Or, in my softer twenty-first century preacher language I might nudge you by saying, “Advent and Christmas are a good place to start, but the work of caring for our neighbors in need is a 365 day a year means of living out our faith.”
If we stopped here the lesson would be incomplete. The passage continues with others stepping forward to inquire. We hear from the tax collectors in verse 12 and then the soldiers in verse 14 each asking their own “do what” questions.
While the initial “do what” question was about poverty and how we should all be doing our part to alleviate the suffering, the “do what” questions that follow address the causes of poverty.
Why were so many people in John’s day struggling with life’s basics? Part of the answer is the systems that were in place.
Think about the tax collectors and the tax system they perpetuated. It had become normal for the tax collectors to collect as much as possible in order not only to advance the cause of government, but also to line their own pockets.
John says, “it’s time for tax collectors to stop looking out for themselves and to start treating people fairly.”
And, then, last but not least, he hears from soldiers. These members of the military were used to abusing their power for personal gain. They knew how to compel people to give them what they wanted and that the system permitted their bad behavior.
John says, “it’s time for soldiers to be content with their salary and it’s time for the military to do what they were hired to do – nothing more and nothing less.”
Alright John the Preacher . . . we are hearing your message. We endured the rough introduction and have suffered through something close to a three-point sermon, now we just want you to conclude with an uplifting poem.
Of course, he didn’t do that. He did, however, end this message on a positive note. After informing folks that he is not the Messiah, he tells them that the one they long for is coming.
John the Baptist is preparing the way. He is setting the stage. He is telling the people to get their lives together now because Jesus is coming soon. Two millennia later as we are making our way through Advent John’s message couldn’t be more timely . . .