Rocks

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

December 16, 2018

3 Advent C

          Some years ago, when my husband was at Kanuga, the Episcopal Conference Center in Western North Carolina, he brought me back some stones from a place called High Rocks, a lovely spot on a cliff that over looks the valley below.  High Rocks is just up the mountain from the house where my grandparents lived and where our family gathered every Thanksgiving for about 30 years. Each year after Thanksgiving dinner, we would hike up to High Rocks to walk off that second piece of pie and enjoy the view. Countless other visits to our grandparents involved hikes to that magical spot where you can be eye level with the clouds and hear the sounds from the valley.  The stones Don brought me were just rocks.  They were not particularly beautiful, or polished, or even unique.  They were just rocks.  But the rocks came from a place that is near and dear to my heart, a place alive with stories of times I spent on that mountain with people I love, experiences of the presence of God that I cherish, and more memories than I can count.  The stones were alive for me, in their own special way, because of the stories they held.

One of my favorite Bible passages comes near the end of Luke's gospel.  Jesus has entered into Jerusalem, riding on a colt, and the whole multitude of Jesus' disciples begin to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power they had seen.  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd say to Jesus "Teacher, order your disciples to stop!"  And Jesus replies "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would shout out."   If the people are not moved to sing God's praise by the stories of God's deeds of power, then the stones will.

This morning, in one of the most memorable lines in Scripture, John the Baptist says to the crowds who have come out to be baptized by him in the wilderness "You brood of vipers.  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  Then he tells them to bear fruit worthy of repentance.  "Do not begin to say to yourselves ‘We have Abraham for our ancestor' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham."  Bearing good fruit is what is important, according to John the Baptist, not pedigree.  Those who do not bear good fruit will be thrown into the fire.

When the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers hear John's words of condemnation, they are moved to ask "What, then, shall we do?"  John's instructions are simple.  Share. Be fair. Do not be greedy.  This sounds more like "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" than how to avoid the unquenchable fire!  But the truth is that John is reminding the people of their very own story, for the Hebrew scriptures hold many admonitions to do those exact things.  The Hebrew story is about responding to the graciousness of God by being gracious to others, both friend and stranger.  That story is about remembering their life as strangers in a foreign land, whether Egypt or Babylon, and treating people in a similar situation with kindness and hospitality.  What God asks of us in not complicated.  But if the people forget their story, and fail to act as children of God, then God will raise up stones to take their place.

At the end of John the Baptist's tirade, we are told that with these and many other exhortations, John the Baptist proclaimed good news to the people.  Which part of John the Baptist's rant qualifies as good news? The part where we are called a brood of vipers?  Or the part where the people are told that their status as children of Abraham is worthless if they do not bear good fruit?  Or perhaps the part about the unquenchable fire?

The words from Zephaniah, Isaiah, and the letter to the Philippians help soften the blow from John's words this morning.  Zephaniah says  "Sing aloud, O daughter Zion, shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies."  The reading brings hope to an exiled, despondent people.  Likewise, Isaiah claims God as "our "stronghold and sure defense" and calls the people to "Ring out your joy."  And the letter to the Philippians calls the people to rejoice in the Lord always, and let their gentleness be known to everyone.  These are the kinds of readings I want to hear in Advent, full of hope and promise as we await the birth of the Christ Child.  No where in my imagination do I find a baby Jesus with a winnowing fork in his hand!

 However, the soaring words of Zephaniah and Isaiah come after the people have been severely chastised by the prophets for the way they treat widows and orphans, for their worship of other gods, and for the many ways they have broken God's commandments.  The people have forgotten their story and they have paid the penalty. Paul calls the Philippians to rejoice, but only after he gives them a tongue lashing for following false teachers and failing to get along with each other.   An often-overlooked fact about Scripture is that the good news often goes hand in hand with judgement. Judgement is tempered with hope, and mercy is free but not cheap.   John the Baptist proclaims judgement against the people who have come out into the wilderness to be baptized, but he also offers them hope in his own gruff way.  He calls the people to repent, so repentance must be possible.  He tells them the truth-that they way they treat each other matters to God and they can do better.  He tells the people that the chaff will be burned, but the wheat will be gathered.  And there is one coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  No wonder the people were filled with expectation.  There is hope!

 "So with many other exhortations, John the Baptist proclaimed good news to the people."  The message of John the Baptist is this: The good news demands something of us.  The birth of Christ requires a response from us.  That response is to remember our story, the story of our God who became human in the Christ Child, born to unwed parents who were away from their home with no place to stay, for whom the sky lit up and the angels sang, and who will give his life for the life of the world.  John tells us that simply waiting for the Christ child to arrive is not enough.  God can raise up stones to wait.  John calls us to remember our story and make our lives the response.

                                                                             Amen.