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Getting from here to there
by Dr. Tina Blair

December 7, 2003 - 2nd Sunday in Advent

TEXT: Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

© 2003 Tina Blair

Isn't it fun to watch Christmas decorations go up? The city of Paris has poured lights down the "grands boulevards," and has strung glowing tinsel across small streets to cheer us in the dark mornings as we leave for school and work, and to encourage us in the dark of early evening as we struggle home. Here at the church, Tom Padden, the Filipino Fellowship and other volunteers have raised the large trees and warmed the cold stone with green and gold. Children are teary with tiredness and excitement as they wait for the glorious day which, to us adults, seems at this point to be all too close. Here we are, the 2^nd Sunday in Advent already: we have lit the candles of hope and peace; only 2 more Sundays to go, and voila! we arrive at the joy of the birth of the Savior. It seems fast, and relatively easy.

But wait - we are not there yet! It is not so easy, in life and in the church, to get from here to there. Life is full of stress and pain, and we often wonder if we will ever make it to a true Christmas, one where we can trust the promises of God, the promises of peace and of joy, of a world in which hurts are healed, and fights forgiven, of a time when the lost are found and welcomed home and no one is an orphan. The commercial Christmas of our Western cultures try to make us believe that it is easy to get from here to there, from the stress and pain of today to the celebration of lights, of peace, and of joy.

The scriptures, though, tell us a different story. For on this 2^nd Sunday we are halted on our slide into celebration by John the Baptizer. For many of us, John is a strange, intimidating, almost fearsome, character. Yes, he is the cousin of Jesus, the son of Elizabeth and Zachariah. We remember the story of how he leapt in Elizabeth's womb when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, came to visit. That seems miraculous and even cute. But he is not so cute when he grows up! Picture him: he has lived a long time in the wild deserted areas of Galilee and Judea, eating insects and honey and clothed in camel's hair, and he comes into the more inhabited regions by the Jordan river, looking and sounding as wild and adamant as Elijah: "Repent! Make way for the coming of the Lord!"

When you hear these stories of John the Baptist, do you think of those men on street corners that preach at passers-by - the ones that we sometimes cross the street to avoid? Or do you think of the funny cartoons with the bearded men walking down a street with a placard around their neck saying something about "the end of the world is near!"? and so do you squirm with some discomfort when this story comes along every Advent? Do you find yourself wishing that we Christians could stop talking about "repentance" and "sin" and just get on with it to get to the good news of Jesus Christ? Why do we have to go through John the Baptist to get from here to there, from today to the birth and then to the ministry of the Messiah?

Ah, but the call to repent is good news! Good news? What is good about it? My daughter summed up the problem one day when she arrived home from school. "Maman," she said. "Yes, love?" I answered. "Well, you know, why...? I mean, uh..." she stuttered, then said in a rush, "it's not easy to say 'pardon," is it?"

Perhaps that's why we avoid John the Baptist and the idea of repentance if we can. We are afraid, afraid of what we might find out about ourselves, and then, even worse, afraid that as a result, we would be rejected, unloved, alone.

But if it is not easy to examine ourselves and then say "I'm sorry," what if we were not allowed to? What if we could not repent? What then? So let's take a moment, on our way from here to there, to reflect on what repentance is and how it can be good news, healing news for our lives today.

The word for repentance in Greek means a change of "mind/heart," "insight," "judgment," "moral purpose," "attitude." Metanoia is to turn one's attitude, insights, understandings, completely around, about-face. Repentance is complete conversion. Why is such turn-about, about-face, necessary, and what does it require? What's good about it?

In our study of Luke every Monday, my class has discovered that Jesus often preaches a message of repentance, following along the path John has prepared. He also often links healing with repentance: "Get up," he says to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven." He puts together faith, that is our mind/feelings/and judgment, with healing: "your faith has made you well," he says to the woman with a hemorrhage, to the blind beggar, to the Samaritan leper, just to name a few. What is this connection? Jesus understood how crippling the dark parts of our lives are - what we in the church call sin.

And what is sin?

Sin, you know, is a condition we find ourselves stuck in as humans; it is more than doing a few wrong things here and there - and thus it is the cause of so much human pain. For example:

Not only doing the wrong thing, but also not doing the right thing: That's sin.

Our petty angers and our not-so-petty prejudices and hates: that's sin.

Our apathy in the face of immense injustice: that's sin.

Our lack of honesty when honesty might seem to cost too much: that's sin.

Our refusal to face the truth about ourselves: that's sin.

Our selfish, self-centeredness rooted in all our fears: that's sin.

Living lives that give away our personal integrity and keep us from living as faithful children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ. That's sin.

Do you see yourself anywhere on this list? I know I do. Are we not all caught in this web, whether we wish to be or not? As St. Paul says, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate!" (Romans 7:15)

So consider again: what would happen if we couldn't repent? What happens if we can't say we are sorry? If we can't start anew? Would we not be stuck, guilty, frustrated, unhappy forever? But, as Paul said, "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ!" God sends Good News, through the prophets, then from John the Baptist, and then, of course, from Jesus Christ - we can, we are allowed to repent, to receive forgiveness, to turn around to God as to a most loving parent, and to start anew. In that way we can be open and receptive and accept the Messiah, God's Son.

But what does it mean "I repent?" What do we do?

Most of you have probably heard of Alcoholics Anonymous and other like groups and know that their members help each other through a series of steps designed to keep them, day by day, step by step, from taking another drink. What you may not know is that this process causes a deep spiritual transformation for these courageous people caught in their illness and willing to do anything to be free of it.

I have learned a lot about this process from a close friend. She and her recovery colleagues have more experience than anyone I know in getting "from here to there" through repentance. And their journeys also show us the way - for all of us are on a journey of healing, a journey out of darkness into light, out of sin into sanctification, out of our ordinary worlds into the holy stable where Christ is born.

The 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous leads the sufferer through a process of courageous repentance into a life of active service and love. This process grows out the Bible, especially the book of James. Although it appeals to people of many faiths, it grows out of Christian understandings of repentance and forgiveness and the promises and power of God -- the same promises that we see fulfilled at Christmas.

The foundation stones of the process are:

•first, knowing that this process is impossible without God's help;
•second, an understanding that this process of health and transformation cannot be done alone, but only with the help of other sufferers;
• third, recognizing that the goal of the process is to turn one's life around with God and serve others in the same condition.

Do we not all need these foundations in our lives? Is that not the very nature of the church? Can we remember this for ourselves? I will repeat the three:

•knowing we are powerless without God;
•understanding that we need others to help us be healthy and faithful;
•recognizing that the goal is to have a new life in God in order to serve others.

And what do the 12 steps require of a person? As I have indicated, they involve a process of repentance that echo ancient Christian spiritual disciplines. Without describing all the steps, and with apologies to those who know them more intimately than I, let me summarize what we learn about repentance:

•Admitting we need help and are sorry for the past and that we would do anything to change; but at the same time, not "beating ourselves up" about it - that's part of repentance. I like the "not beating ourselves up" part, because it keeps us from focusing on ourselves - and that's not part of repentance.
•Turning one's life over to God, knowing we can't do it alone - that's the heart of repentance.
•Making a "searching and fearless moral inventory" of ourselves, admitting who we have been that we did not want or need to be - that's part of repentance;
•Making amends where possible - that's part of repentance.
•Being willing to learn from others who are struggling with the same issues - that's part of repentance.
•Helping others who are struggling with the same issues - that is the fruit of repentance.

For repentance which is honest and regretful - but not self-destructive , repentance which is grounded in God's love, this repentance produces relief, healing, new life, and the energy and joy to serve. Such repentance opens the doors of our hearts to God for we recognize that we have done very little, and God has given us this new life based in forgiveness. Repentance is God's gift that shows how much we are loved and known and accepted.

We are coming near to the birth of Jesus, the Christ, the greatest sign of God's forgiveness and love. The city of Paris has poured lights down the "grands boulevards," and has strung glowing tinsel across small streets to cheer us in the dark mornings as we leave for school and work, and to encourage us in the dark of early evening as we struggle home. Here at the church, Tom Padden, the Filipino Fellowship and other volunteers have raised the large trees and warmed the cold stone with green and gold. Children are teary with tiredness and excitement as they wait for the glorious day.

The road from here to there may still be a stressful and rocky one, made more difficult by our own shortcomings and the systems in which we live which are based in human imperfections. But be of good courage! We are invited to turn around, leaving our old self behind, and walk forward guided by our loving God. In this way, the mountains will be lower, the rough places smoother. For the One who is coming is already here, offering us new life. Hang your holly and trim your trees. And decorate your hearts with garlands of repentance and joy. For the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, is coming.