Sermon | Year A - The Year of Mark

December 14, 2008 | Advent 3

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Have you ever noticed that atheists always seem to show themselves this time of year? Atheism has to hang onto the coattails of Christmas to be noticed. While Christians sing “Joy to the World,” atheism is always the sour note that tries to pour cold water on every celebration. It always points out the faults. It tries to inconvenience people. It does all of this with an air of superiority, and not to build up, but to tear down.

Have you also noticed that atheism is always on the negative by attacking, demeaning, or harassing Christmas and Advent? Atheism is never joyfully saying, "Join us. Become an atheist because atheism is such a good, joyful, and happy thing. It will make your family stronger. After all, the family that does not pray together stays together. By becoming an atheist, your children will have a foundation that will help them through the difficult times of life. It is a joy in good times, a comfort in sickness, and a hope in death."

Instead, atheism will exploit tragedy to make people angry with God. It will intentionally use hardship to try to push people from their beliefs. It tries to rob the foundation of belief that parents have tried to instill.

Atheism always tries to present Christianity as hate filled, narrow, and dangerous. That is ironic because atheism in the 20th century killed around 100 million people. In fact, it murdered so many people that we are unable to count accurately how many deaths it caused.

Christianity has done bad things in its 2,000 years of history, but nothing in comparison to what atheism has done. One reason is that we recognize the reality of sin. We acknowledge that humans cannot be perfected in this world. That is why we have confession and forgiveness. Christianity recognizes that humans are flawed. We sin. We error. In this we take responsibility for our shortcomings. We are to hide from them; we are to confess them. We need to be saved. Christ came so that we might have life and have it fully.

I begin with comments because today is about John the Baptist who stood firm in his beliefs and would not back down. John the Baptist took responsibility for what he was, said, and the outcome of the path he took. He was courageous. He was bold. Although the Pharisees and leaders of the temple were far from atheists, they took a similar approach. They came to diminish John rather than to uphold their own beliefs.

The leaders come to John, “Who are you,” they ask. I know I have mentioned at some point the power of the Greek used in this section. The answers John gives are emphatic.

"Who are you," the leaders ask. "I am NOT the Messiah." "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am NOT." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "NO." To every question, there was an emphatic “NO.” In this section, John was defining who he was and was not. What John could have done was that he could have exploited the situation and said, “Yes, I am a prophet.” He could have said, “Yes, I am Elijah.” Had he done this, the crowds would have loved him even more, and world would have opened up to him. There would be no more eating locusts and wild honey. John the Baptist would have been the celebrity of the moment. Crowds were already flocking to hear him. The people already loved him. He could have exploited it all but he made a choice not to do so.

By his saying, “No” in such an emphatic way, John was showing that what he was doing was not about him, but something bigger and more important. What he was doing was about light and darkness, life and death.

When asked why he is baptizing, John does not give a direct answer. He answers with an image. He says I baptize with water, but the one who comes after me he is the great one. "Why, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."

In these words, John the Baptist speaks in an image of a servant. In those days, to untie the straps of sandals was the work of a slave. What John is saying is that, in the presence of the Messiah, he is unworthy even to be his slave. John speaks using the image of a slave so that those who think they are something will see that in the presence of the Messiah they are really nothing. John in this image is saying, “The King is coming and for his coming, you need to be cleansed as much as any Gentile.”

Here is the difference. Christianity is built on the image of a servant. It is founded on the importance of humility. Christ is the Messiah. Christ is the center. Christ is the one who saves us. Whenever Christianity has forgotten this, it has lost its way. It has done things contrary to the faith.

Atheism puts humans in the center. Humans are all knowing. Humans are god. Humans are the ones who save themselves. Atheism places itself above others. It seeks to diminish rather than build up. Is it any wonder that atheism has such a disastrous history? In its weakness atheism can only attack. It comes into Advent and it attempts to spoil the celebration.

For us, this time goes in a wholly different direction. Today, the third Sunday of Advent, is about celebrating. It is about joy. It is about the happiness we have in Christ. We celebrate the Christ Child. We celebrate forgiveness. We celebrate the Kingdom of God and the promise of its coming. We celebrate the fact that Christ gives meaning to what can seem meaningless. He brings meaning to death and suffering. He raises us from the tomb. Through him, we have life and for this reason, we celebrate life for our faith gives us joy, promise, and hope. Amen.