ISAIAH 11:1-10

PSALM 72:1-8

ROMANS 15:4-13

MATTHEW 3:1-12

Sermon – 12/09/01

This morning we hear the urgent, straight-forward message of John the Baptist, that repentance and commitment (or re-commitment) to God is essential before we meet the Savior. We hear the message of encouragement and hope St. Paul offers to those who have taken those steps. And we hear the vision of the prophet Isaiah of “The Peaceable Kingdom”, in which “the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” and (as a result) an awesome tranquility is restored to all life on earth. Even species which are natural enemies will be at peace with one another at a level surpassing that of the Garden of Eden, Isaiah says, thanks to the reign of the ultimate King, on whom the spirit of the Lord rests.

To be part of that glorious future, we must heed the message of John the Baptist: repent of our sins and commit (or recommit) ourselves to God. The “litmus test” on sin for each person is simple: have we loved the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our minds and all our souls and loved our neighbors as ourselves? Everyone in the history of the world flunks that test except Jesus Christ. That’s the reality we start with: the need for taking a searching moral inventory and asking God’s forgiveness for the ways each of us have failed to fulfill those two greatest commandments – and then receiving God’s forgiveness and the grace and guidance to begin anew.

Life with God is not merely a special dessert which we can seek or ignore depending on our tastes or level of hunger. Life with God is life, to which the alternative is no life. That’s one reason we have bread at communion: God feeds us our essentials – and being fed by God is essential. The ticket to the meal is faith – the faith of the community, of the parents in the case of very small children, and the faith of individuals, all of which may grow even as they are fed.

The road to faith begins, and is renewed, with the recognition that we need God in order to be our best selves, and that we can never rest on our accomplishments or (like those in today’s Gospel story) on our ancestry to assume we “have it made”.

John the Baptist offers this “reality check” as we hear him every Advent. “Getting real” with John the Baptist saves us from having our Decembers be superficial and secular. If we reflect on our lives individually now and ask God to forgive specific actions or repeated behaviors of ours and guide us into new and different lives, we will be ready for the joy of Christmas instead of merely shallow “happy holidays.”

John the Baptist offered a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and promised that “one who is more powerful than he” is coming, who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is his Name, which means Savior, and all those who are baptized in his Name receive both the forgiveness of sin and six more gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts remarkably like those possessed by the Messianic King in Isaiah’s prophecy.

These are gifts which all baptized Christians have received. If you’ve never unwrapped all of them and used them, you don’t have to wait until Christmas: unwrap them and use God's gifts to you today! No matter how long ago you were baptized, your gifts still fit you, they haven't worn out and they don't need batteries. The gifts (from page 308 in the BCP are:

1. The forgiveness of sin.

2. Being raised to the new life of grace (receiving God’s freely given love, including when we deserve it least and need it most)

3. Being sustained (all our lives!) in the Holy Spirit.

4. An “inquiring and discerning heart” (so you’ll ask what the right thing to do is)

5. “The courage to will and to persevere” (so you’ll have the guts to do the right thing)

6. “A Spirit to know and love God”, and

7. “The gift of joy and wonder in all God’s works.”

And these gifts – and the miracles which can happen as a result - are just the “down payment” by God on God’s total gift to humanity. Imagine, all the blessings people could receive in this life – love, joy, healing, hope, peace and so many others – are just 10% of the full shipment.

We get a partial glimpse of what life will be like (for those willing to accept it) when the “full shipment” of God’s gifts arrives. Our imperfect governments around the world are replaced by the rule of the Messiah, the Savior, who will know what is right and will judge accordingly, saving some people while killing the incorrigibly wicked.

The Peaceable Kingdom will be established, where even species of animals which are natural enemies – wolves and lambs, for example – will live together in peace. The very dangerous animals will not be dangerous even for babies. I think we can assume that the most dangerous animals, humans, will also have been tamed by this time as well. The nations shall look to this Messianic King who will be a descendent of Jesse, King David’s father (hence the phrase “a shoot will come out of the stump of Jesse”, referring to David’s “family tree”).

Repent, be forgiven, be baptized, receive and use the gifts of the Spirit, live in joyful expectation of the fulfillment of God’s purposes for the world. It’s a pretty simple road map for the Christian life. But there’s another piece to it: along the way we are not each isolated individuals following this road map, we are part of communities; for example, the Christian community in general, the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church, USA, and the Diocese of New Jersey, and this congregation, St. Barnabas, Monmouth Junction.

The slogan “It takes a village to raise a child” is a familiar one, and it’s true. And this congregation is the first Christian village for today’s baptismal candidate, Jason Leland Louison. But it also takes a village to raise an adult! In the baptismal service, the parents and godparents are asked “Will you by your prayers and witness help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ?” That process doesn’t stop when a person reaches 18, or any

other age; it is lifelong – actually longer than lifelong, but Christian communities on earth only have to work on the part that happens in this lifetime.

So therefore we are all works in progress. So, let’s progress!

Part of such progress is not only working on our own “stuff” but also working together as a Christian community. The vision we have of the Kingdom of God is that the Knowledge of God and peace will be so pervasive that different species (even “natural” enemies) will live together in safety and tranquility. Notice Isaiah’s vision does not show any species being eliminated or transformed into another species, just that their behaviors change so that everyone can live together in peace and safety.

Hmm. If that’s what the ultimate future looks like, then it seems to me that human beings who are merely dissimilar should be able to live, work, play and pray together with mutual respect, mutual joy and shared commitment to common values under the Prince of Peace right now, and that the place to start is in Christian Church communities. Right now.

Some so-called “church growth gurus” preach that for a church to grow, it has to be as homogeneous as possible – say, all white, married couples with children – and be ideologically united on a whole range of issues.

Baloney.

We at St. Barnabas are united as a community but not uniform in our individual stands on everything, and we embrace and celebrate the many kinds of diversity in God’s family. And lo and behold, are we growing!

We affirm “The purpose of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church” as stated in our by-laws and printed at the top of each service leaflet: “to bring people together in Jesus Christ, to know Him personally, and to strengthen the love of God and man…”

Looking forward to the banquet in the Peaceable Kingdom? Then together we can start the “appetizer course” of the Peaceable Kingdom here and now, with a whole bunch of imperfect but forgiven people who live each day seeking to be empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit and in the joyful expectation of “the completion of God’s purpose for the world.”

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church