We See What We Believe

We See What We Believe

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas

December 8, 2013; 2 Advent, Year A

Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

(Matthew 3:1-12)  In  those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

               "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
               `Prepare the way of the Lord,
               make his paths straight.'"

Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

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I first preached this sermon December 5, 2004

When Christians hear the phrases from the prophet Isaiah in our first reading, we hear them as prophecies of Jesus.  "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse...  The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."

But at the same time, if we read Isaiah with respect, we recognize that Jesus did not fulfill all of the prophetic expectations, at least not in the way Isaiah expected.  Isaiah expected this branch from the roots of Jesse to be a king who would rule justly.  "With righteousness he shall judge the poor, ...and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked."  That's not what happened, at least not literally. Jesus did not assume an earthly throne to judge and kill.  Looking further into Isaiah's oracle, wolves did not stop stalking lambs, and parents could not let their children play with poisonous snakes.

In Jesus we see one who embodies much of what Isaiah hoped for, but not all.  In some very important ways Jesus was different than what was expected by those who trusted in the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah and the other prophets.  Many of his contemporary Jewish religious leaders rejected Jesus' ministry because it did not fulfill their prophetic expectations.  Especially those who pinned their hopes upon a kingly military leader who would punish and judge the wicked.  That wasn't Jesus.

The early church was sure that John the Baptist recognized in Jesus the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecies and the church saw John as the forerunner of the Promised One:  "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord.'" John's prophecy anticipates Jesus.  John's message sounds like Jesus -- "Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near."  But John expected that the coming kingdom would be one of winnowing and clearing of threshing floors and the burning of chaff with unquenchable fire, and the person holding the winnowing fork and administering the fire would be the Promised One.  It didn't happen that way.  John's preaching of the kingdom of God provoked fear in the disobedient; Jesus' preaching of the kingdom inspired hope through love.  Next week we'll hear a perplexed John ask from prison, "Are you the one?"

For both Isaiah and John the Baptist, Jesus was a fulfillment of what they hoped for but also was different from what they expected.

Those who were looking for a Promised One who would bring the blessings of healing, compassion, love and forgiveness and who would inspire a new way of living within that kind of reality welcomed Jesus with joy as the fulfillment of their deepest hopes.  But those who were looking for a ruler who would punish the wicked and reward the righteous were disappointed.  Both groups could point to the prophecies of scripture for support of their expectations.  I see similar divisions in the church today. 

There are Christians whose primary image of Jesus is a triumphalistic one -- "We're for Jesus!" -- who speak of Jesus as the only way and a narrow way, who look forward to a judgment between right and wrong either at death or at an apocalyptic second coming, who regard public institutional allegiance to Jesus as the critical factor to salvation, who dismiss this world as a disposable commodity and regard admission into heaven as the prime concern of faith. 

There are other Christians whose primary image of Jesus is a loving one, who speak of Jesus as the spirit of universal compassion and healing, who see their calling to serve the world with care as people whose hearts have been transformed by the love of Christ, and who trust in the goodness of God in this life and the life to come.  Both groups can point to the witness of scripture for support of their expectations.

I recall a fascinating report on our public radio KUAF a while back.  According to scholar Drew Westen there is "a design flaw in the human brain.  We have a tendency to believe what we want to believe.  We seek information and draw conclusions consistent with what we want to be true."  In other words, we don't just look at facts, weigh them, and come to the conclusion that the evidence supports.  Without knowing it, we also weigh what we would feel like if we come to one conclusion or another, and we usually choose the conclusion that would make us feel better, no matter what the facts are.^[1]

If you want a triumphalistic savior who will reward his righteous followers and punish the wicked and foolish, you can look at the scriptures and the events of the world around you and draw conclusions consistent with what you want to be true.  But the facts are, your worldview will be in conflict with the person and ministry of Jesus as he actually lived. 

Here's a better way.  Look at the essence of Jesus.  He summarized all the Law and the Prophets with the Great Commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."  He added to that the New Commandment, "Love one another."  I invite you to believe that love is the central characteristic of Jesus.  I invite you to embrace St. John's simple claim, "God is Love."

What if we took advantage of that alleged design flaw in the human brain, and let love be the filter through which we experience life?  If we do have a tendency to believe what we want to believe, then believe in love.  That's the central characteristic of the revelation of God through Jesus.  Experience life through the primary filter of love.  Love life.  Seek information and draw conclusions consistent with what we want to be true, that love is everything. 

Maybe the word "love" is too general, too intimidating.  Then choose one of love's adjectives, and apply it to every area of life, both within and without.  Which part of love excites your imagination?  You might choose kindness, or compassion.  Forgiveness.  Understanding or noncritical acceptance.  Let some compelling form of love focus the content of your belief.  If you will do that, you will be more likely to witness the presence and activity of Jesus in the world.  If you are looking for that which is consistent with his very being, you are less likely to be distracted and disappointed by the expectations that he will not fulfill.

If you believe that the world is rotten and that even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees and his winnowing fork is in his hand, you will experience a world consistent with your belief.  But you may be disappointed when you realize that agenda is not Jesus' agenda. 

If you believe in love -- that God creates the world out of love, that God loves everything and everyone, that compassion, kindness, forgiveness, understanding, acceptance is the very energy that constitutes the universe, then your life can be transformed.  You can let go of the mean stuff, including the mean stuff in scripture.  You can see reality the way Jesus sees it, with eyes of loving compassion.  Your heart can be transformed into the heart of Jesus.  You can cooperate with what God is doing for the healing of the world. That's the good life. 

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^[1]National Public Radio, November 23, 2004.  Commentary: Cable news programs exploit the way people's brains are wired.

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