Merry Christmas, You Brood of Vipers!

Merry Christmas, You Brood of Vipers!

December 23, 2018

I’ve never felt on top of the world. I come from humble means. I worked hard. I studied. It has taken awhile to get to where I am and I’m thankful for the journey. I learn something new every day and sometimes I even thank God for it. Some learnings are wanted. Some are needed. Some are harder than others. And some… Some have been unwanted. Some have blown my world apart. After learning something that shatters my world, I can only say, “Ignorance was bliss.”

Many folks want to just “stick to the facts.” They think they are straightforward and can deal with reality. They don’t need stories of angels descending to shepherds and prophets calling out in the wilderness to announce a birth. Good for them. I need this story. I need stories like this because they teach me something, things I haven’t known before.

But let’s talk about facts shall we? Butterflies taste with their feet and snakes smell with their tongues.[1] There are about 10 times as many microbial cells in the human body as there are human cells so that means there are more bacterial cells living inside us than there are cells of us living inside us.[2] I don’t think facts are going to totally save us.

John is a prophet, and if we don’t squirm when a prophet speaks, then we’re hearing them wrong. He quotes the Prophet Isaiah today saying,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’

You see, here’s the thing about these words he quotes from Isaiah… It’s good news for people who live in the low places. It’s not good news for people who live in the high places.

I told my story. I can easily scoff and say, “Ha! The rich will get theirs!” And I can feel all morally superior. Especially when there are other pastors who ask for private jets or buy their wives $200K Lamborghini SUVs for Christmas. I’m not that high up on the hill…. But I’m still on the hill. I’m not rich, but you all have given me a steady salary that provides for my family. Thank you for doing that. Compared to the rest of the world, many of whom live on less than a dollar a day; I’m filthy rich.

You have given me health insurance that covered a recent trip to the ER. I came down with my first ever kidney stone and had two bags of IV fluid, some meds, and a CT scan all for around $700 after insurance. I scoffed and complained when that bill came in, but it’s way less than what it would be without insurance. Insurance you all provide. I’m not high on the hill, but I’m still on the hill. There are so many out there without health insurance. Uncovered medical expenses can easily bankrupt a family and lay them low. That shouldn’t happen, and John is announcing a time where no one will go broke from getting sick. Which is how it should be. This is good news! But not for those who are getting rich on the people who go broke.

I’m tall. I’m male. Being tall, some studies have shown, means I make more money than people who are shorter because I exude strength, leadership, and purpose.[3] Being male means, according to a 2016 survey, that women clergy earn 76 cents for each dollar earned by male clergy. This is substantially worse than the national pay gap of 83 cents.[4] Apparently we can’t pay people equal pay for equal work. I’m not on top of the hill, but I’m still on the hill.

My mom sat me down when I was a teenager to have “THE TALK.” It involved how babies were made, how to treat a woman, how no means no. Yet when my friend had “THE TALK” with his dad, it was about what to do when you get pulled over by a police officer. My friend was black and I am white. I was so surprised when he pointed out that “THE TALK” could be a different topic based on your race.

In college, there was a similar instance. We had a program for resident assistants on what to do when sexual assault occurs. The leader asked, “This is just a question for the men in the group… What do you do to prevent sexual assault from happening to you?”

Crickets.

“Okay… ladies… would you like to say how you prevent sexual assault from happening to you?”
A cacophony of voices! “I carry mace.” “I put my keys between my fingers.” “I never walk alone.” “I never am outside alone at dark.” So many answers. So much learning I had to do. I’m not on the top of the hill, but I’m on the hill.

Many of us have a house with working water and heat. That’s not everywhere in Medina. Most of us here today have enough food. That’s not everyone in Medina. Many of us can buy our loved ones the gifts they want. That’s not everyone in Medina. Many of us have never had socks rot off our feet nor do many of us know how a tealight candle can heat a well-sealed tent for 6 hours in the dead of winter; but hanging out with Sage Lewis and his Homeless Charity in Akron I learned that.

The Good News is not good news for everyone. The low places will be raised. The high places will be brought down. Our life will be re-ordered in the kingdom Christ comes to start and proclaim. A kingdom where there is daily bread for all. Outcasts are welcome. The oppressed go free.

Many folks hear John and come to be baptized and he responds, “You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee the coming wrath?! The axe is already at the root of the tree. You better start to think differently and start living that way. Don’t think that because you have the right religious label that makes you exempt, for I tell you that God can raise up the ‘right people’ out of the stones.”

The crowd rightly asks, “What should we do then?”

With such initial forceful words, John’s follow up seems rather… tame.

“Give to the needy. If you have two shirts, give one to someone who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Okay. Maybe that’s why many of us are giving to charity or the sock drive or this is the first time we brought food for the Garfield families.

Tax collectors asked what they should do and John said, “Don’t take more than you are required to.”

Soldiers asked the same and John said, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely.”

Seems rather… tame. Rather easy to do. With all the problems I listed in this sermon, I can’t change who I am. I can’t make myself be shorter, another gender, another race, or less handsome. But the advice I have to give is going to be like John’s and feel like a let down. It will feel tame. My advice for all of this is to listen to the stories of others. To listen to “THE TALK” or what other folk go through. To listen to those who are working 2-3 jobs and still can’t make ends meet. To question why these things happen. To hear the prophetic voices calling for justice and to add our voice to theirs.

The initial shock might be pretty hard. “Wait, I’m going to be brought down?! There’s an axe at the root of the tree?!” But when you ask, “So what shall we do?” Sometimes the answer is just listen. And anyone can do that. So few of us do, but we CAN do it. It’s why God gave us one mouth and two ears, to listen twice as much as we speak. Sometimes just hearing the facts of how other people live is a good start. But facts alone won’t save us. Actions just might. But it’s hard to figure out how to act at first.

My hope for you is that you’ll find peace in the listening. Read a book from a genre you’ve never tried. Watch a documentary from a vantage point you’ve never tried before. There is peace in knowing that we’re not God and we don’t call the shots. We don’t need to be alarmed that God is reordering the world and the low places will come up and the high places will be brought down. Listen… it could be good news for everyone!

No more pretending that we’re superior. No more putting on a smile when all we want to do is cry. No more hardening of hearts. More listening. More small steps like paying folks equally, not accusing people falsely, not taking more than is required. Those are great steps. Steps that prepare the way for the Lord. Amen.

[1] Rob Bell does a great riff on this in his “Holy Shift” tour, Cleveland, OH October 2018.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_microbiota#cite_note-AAM2014-2

 https://www.livescience.com/5552-taller-people-earn-money.html

 https://religionnews.com/2016/01/12/gender-pay-gap-among-clergy-worse-than-national-average-a-first-look-at-the-new-national-data/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *