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John the Baptiser

 Cate Thorn explores the Advent season through the character of John the Baptist 
Rev Cate Thorn

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John the Baptiser

Transcript
The name of God creator, Redeemer and Giver of Life, please be seated. So today is Helen series, our Second Sunday in Advent this year. As, you know, we decided to pay attention to the characters in The Narrative of Advent. The Narrative leading us to Christmas when we say, God is born with us. One of us in human form. Look what the characters do, what the verbs revealed to us. We do this task together in a time. After church we gather and we read the text and pay attention to the verbs. Listening for what? This text this week is speaking to us, but last Sunday, we had quite a large number of people who joined the Bible study verb searching session, with generous engagement. We looked into the scripture, we who gathered were not all familiar to one another or necessarily familiar to the Subtleties of the English language and all of us were new to this way of opening the scripture. So there was engagement and enthusiasm aplenty. John the Baptist in case you didn't guess from today's Gospel was the character of a dream that we were seeking to learn more about. It was around his presence that did this particular piece of the Gospel was chosen and use those who are pure, acai, no, it didn't strictly speaking fit within the Advent text that as told us, but we need a little bit more to get bit, more of the character of John and all of it precedes, Jesus ministry. So it's okay. For those of you who can remember last week's gospel who can remember last week's gospel? You're just go with generally speaking, we might vaguely remember it? We believed hanging somewhat, mid drama, a little bit like the genre of the soap opera The until-- Next Episode. The child John, we lift in the wilderness until the day he has to appear publicly to Israel. Last week, we learned about Zechariah and Elizabeth and the events that led to the birth of their first child. Child a son before conception. The stage is set for him to arrive the appearing. Angel promises that the baby to can be sieved to be conceived, who is to be called, John will be filled with the spirit and the power of Elijah. Well, Elijah looms. Pretty large in the prophetic stakes and the Jewish faith narrative. So it is a fair bit that John is going to be a prophet from John's beginning. We're also told that the hand of the God is with him. The Gospel of Luke today that we read exploring the character of John. The baptizer is going to be about a profit. It's inevitably also going to be a prophetic text. So, we gathered as a whole and one big group last Sunday and then we divide it into smaller groups for a time. One group was looking for nouns 14 verbs, one for educators nuns, we discovered were most numerous then verbs, then adjectives. It was a process that helped us, get past the familiar way, we hear it and look at it as a piece of writing, then we came together to consider the verbs. Well, the first couple of verses had just one or two verbs so it was all pretty straightforward. Then it got a little trickier. Words from the prophet, Isaiah entered stage left with them. Arrived, some challenge, little confusion and some consternation. We definitely had worked out what the verbs were, but which verb related to who that became tricky and we, we've been consistent will be looking for the one who was doing the verb or the one being told they were to do the verb. It wasn't a one way, was better one. My worse. We just had to be consistent and we got a little stumped, but as we used our way many voices were speaking into the broom, some to the group, some to the neighbor, some to themselves. There was this whole cacophony of noise that arose as we puzzled and we wondered different. Things are being discovered, different voices, were present. How will we to talk to and with one another? The context was new. It was a new group of people was a new way of doing things. I'm not sure we were all actually doing the same thing, but it made me smile and reflect these nothing like chaos and confusion and competing voices when a prophet is introduced. We were all so distracted. I suspect by wanting to get it right, wanting to solve the puzzle. And to find out the right answer, even as we were simply seeking to discover what was uncovered. Perhaps not seen before because of our preference for nouns. Once we've done the best we could we stopped to look at what was before us that first verse is you probably recognized by all the strange sounds and strange names will stack with the names of a powerful few titles, like the emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate who was a governor. He wrote who was a ruler, his brother Philip who was a ruler lie, seniors who was a ruler in the high priesthood of Anna's and Caiaphas magnificent names, thinkable that statue. In power, they introduced John the baptizer and you know what? They get one verb. the boob they get, is, was The powerful was on this prophetic stage. Interesting to consider really. So then we get John introduced and he's more than just of his time. John of the Wilderness who's going about, proclaiming a baptism of repentance isn't just an isolated crazy man. Those who collected and collated, the stories for Luke's gospel introduced John and quickly. They deploy that text from Isaiah Isaiah who prophesize of a few A voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord make his paths. Straight every Valley shall be filled Every Mountain and Hill shall be made low. The Crooked made straight and the rough ways made smooth. It's not spelled out but the Deft positioning of this text from Isaiah hints. And point, suggest an intimate so that we with Luke's Community will join the dots. John is a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, John stands and continuity with a lineage of profits that are threaded through the Jewish narrative. Echoing through Malachi, the prophetic messenger, comes to prepare the way, a prophetic lineage that points from into Fetch the intention. That's the link. The compiler of these stories for Luke wants us to make We heard in Malachi, then we heard in the words from Isaiah and Luke the repeated imagery of a messenger who is coming of preparing for a new way. This strand of prophetic voice, the 38 and the promise of a fundamental and version of our landscape. I don't know about you, but these images I've heard a lot and in a funny kind of way it's as if they are stored. Now in me, I've heard them so often, they like Memories, like my own memories, they know, enough mostly unexamined and the words speak of how things shall be. They don't seem to be written as an invitation to participate. It's more as if we are being told and being warned of a fundamental Rift, a shift in the status quo after which we were going to have to realign them. The Voice crying out in the wilderness. Declares things are going to be other than the way they are high places shall be level. Deep places. Raised crooked straight rough smooth. The Voice from the Wilderness, spoke this way into that day. The voice of the Wilderness crying out an hour day. It goes the same sort of warning for us because the boundaries between water and land are shut down. The effect of climate change values are going to indeed be filled. And Hills will, thus be leveled. And certainly, we will have to align ourselves differently. So preparing the way of the Lord and V smoothing and straightening and evening out of their schwyz disrupts, and erupts and Ruffin's or chafes smooth. Evenness, precedes, the way of the Lord. Surely, we yearn for this desire for that, which shall come to pass, If I'm honest, I find I'm a little less enthusiastic for this image. I can't help but wonder if it would be a bit boring and full level smooth lens Cape. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be too literal but it's just this image in my head. I confuse I also have an issue with the idea of heavenly Bliss. Maybe it's because I'm familiar with the world of Discord and dissatisfaction, a world disrupted and rough and and chafed for sure. But in a funny way, that competing claiming clamor of daily survival, Energizer's and also in live-ins because it causes us to question it, causes the desire to engage so we can participate and bringing about change that brings life. In a strange way the Discord of the world, generates friction to strive against our world is far from an ideal evenness but, you know, and funny sort of way it's familiar for what life is consider. The crowds that come to John and today's Gospel John's portrayed as alone are somewhat Rogan. Obviously slightly strange character even if the hand of the Lord was with him. Today's Gospel has John haranguing, the crowds John doesn't woo. Them doesn't bestow some sort of reassurance. He goes who warned you to flee. The Wrath that is to come. Even so the crowds flood to him. What? Or maybe who is it that sink them? What are they Restless for? Those who John accusers and convicts of these shortcomings. Is this something in Jon? They recognize something that stirred in them, they're recognizing them and and himself. They want to be different at to change. To those who are coming, who are familiar with the paths of God, John warns, don't come thinking, you know, it all, don't come thinking, you know, what's going to keep you safe. Your status as a child of Abraham is known as you fulfill your potential and promise to be bearers of good fruit. You might think that being a child of Abraham is a verb, not a noun. It is revealed through living in a way. That brings God's ways of justice. And righteousness to life, we might find ourselves. Like warned it is not sufficient to rest on the fact that we come to church. We part of a religious tradition. If what we do Echoes emptily and serves only its own ends, So, the crowds have come to repent and to be turned in baptized plead. What should we do? Cher. That's the verb given to the crowds. Share your plenty with others. Give food. Give clothing the roof of the tax collectors. Collect no more than the amount prescribed and for the soldiers do not extort be satisfied with your wages. It's not complicated. And no one is asked to give up their day job. They are told to be fair handed and they're dealing to be straightforward and transparent and honest. It's as if they like us already know how to live rightly and righteously. And equally how often we choose, otherwise. The prophet comes to prepare for the day of the Lord, is the day of the Lord, still somewhere else to come. My sure to come each time we choose to raise up one. Who is bowed down? Each time we choose to speak, truth to power and relieve. The isolation of those in high office, remind them in ourselves that we are mutually responsible for the outcomes of care. each time we heed The Cry of the Wilderness and with Open Hearts and Minds be willing to learn have willing hands to enact a way of being well, Together.