Scripture/Sermon of the Day. December 4, 2022
Matthew 3:1-12
Thunder in the Desert!
1-2 While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills,
John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His
message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life.
God’s kingdom is here.”
3 John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s
prophecy:
Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make
the road smooth and straight!
4-6 John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the
waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey.
People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and
see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their
sins were baptized into a changed life.
7-10 When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and
Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the
popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re
doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your
snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not
your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father.
Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham
are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and flourishing?
Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.
11-12 “I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning
your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main
character in this drama—compared to him I’m a mere stagehand—will ignite the
kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing
you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your
lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything
false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”
Reflection:
I. Do you realize that this time of year, which we
call Advent, is the only time we talk about John the Baptist — except for that
one reading where he gets beheaded? One Sunday a year we talk about John in the
wilderness baptizing people and telling them to change from the inside-out. By
next week — John is in prison.
II. This Sunday, John is prime time. Crowds “poured
out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in
action.” Why? He was a rockstar.
III. Today crowds only “pour out” to see a NFL
football game or a world-cup soccer match or a Taylor Swift concert. But in
ancient Israel — John the Baptist was the big draw! And he PERFORMED his
baptisms FREE!
IV. Well, actually—it cost your life. John sold
repentance, and if you were buying, it cost your life. But most were just window
shopping, not interested, really, in changing their lives from the inside out
and all the work, time, disappointment, frustration and failure that required.
V. But John was famous and people wanted to see him.
Imagine the crowd we would have in this church if word got out that the Rolling
Stones, or Eric Clapton would be performing the hymns. There’d be lines of
people going down Paradise Avenue and from Benham Street to Dixwell. And listen
— I’d be the first person in line!
VI. And here’s the sad thing about all this. I like
Taylor Swift. I love NFL football (not soccer). I love Eric Clapton and the
Rolling Stones. But no matter how many times I see them, I’ll be the same person
after the performance as I was before it. I’ll watch football tonight. Like the
song says, “I’m waiting all day for Sunday Night!” BUT AFTER THE GAME, I’LL BE
THE SAME PERSON!
VII. But John the Baptist is offering us we can
actually change — from the inside out. We can become like Jesus, forgiving,
loving, patient, gentle, kind. Today we can say yes to God and begin to change
our hearts and lives.
VIII. John knew many people weren’t buying because
they wanted a quicker, more magical, more instant cure — not the long, hard,
painful haul of the cross. But I pray this morning that we will accept John the
Baptist’s invitation to say yes to God so we may continue our change into the
love of Jesus Christ.