Open Writing

In today’s Gospel reading we met John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus.

Despite John’s importance, until I saw a film version of the Gospels I never thought much about him. By modern standards he's not a very attractive figure. He lives in the wilderness, wears camel hair, eats insects, calls people vipers and -- in my imagination anyway -- sounds like he shouts when he talks.

When I saw the film version of this morning’s reading it really brought home to me how special John must have been. He's just one wild looking hairy man, yet the Gospels tell us that: "the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan."

What an amazing presence he must have been to attract so many people! He wasn't a rich or high status man, yet Pharisees and Sadducees, members of the religious establishment, were going out to see him and to be baptised by him.

In John we see an echo of Jesus. Both men were the opposite of what the world values. The world values money, fame and physical comfort. It was like that in Jesus's time and it's like that for us today. John and Jesus were both men who lived rough and uncomfortable lives.

The fact that Jesus was born into a poor family and that John lived in the wilderness shows us what God values. In God's kingdom life isn't about money and high status. It is about your character. In the eyes of God we are stripped bare. Our possessions, our status, our career successes mean nothing to God. We stand before him as if we are naked. All he sees is who we are in spirit. And I think that's why people like John went out into the wilderness when they wanted to be with God -- because the wilderness strips everyone bare so that they are alone with nothing but their character.

If we created a society that truly followed God, can you imagine what it would be like? We wouldn't have celebrities up here and homeless down and outs down here. We would all be equal, and if anyone became famous it would be because of their good character.

In God's kingdom our capital isn't money, it is our humanity, it is who we are as human beings. And that fact is key to understanding the way that the living God befriends us when we meet with him in prayer. God doesn't reward our prayers with shinier cars and bigger houses. He calls us to stop pretending to be what we are not, to make the most of our natural gifts, to understand ourselves and to develop our characters by learning how to be kind and loving. In God's kingdom, to be a mature and loving human being is riches. Money is just a worldy thing, it means nothing.

This Gospel passage about John is of particular importance at this time of the Church year because we are in Advent. In Advent we are waiting for Christmas, our celebration of God coming to live with us on Earth in Jesus Christ. When we interpret this passage we can see that it refers to Jesus's coming at two levels.

On the first most obvious level, we have John telling his listeners that Jesus is coming. "I baptise you with water for repentence," says John. "He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire." On this first level of interpretation, John is the man who prepares the way.

On the second level of interpretation, this passage is about spiritual renewal. John appears in a country that is already very religious. Religion and God are really important to the Jews. Yet, he's like a breath of fresh air, he's like a shot of adrenalin. People like the Sadducees and the Pharisees, who are already pretty religious folk, see something in John that makes them sit up straight. Yes, John calls the Pharisees and the Sadducees vipers, so it sounds like he doesn't like them very much, but the fact remains that some of them, judging from this Gospel passage, made the effort of going out into the wilderness to listen to him.

And that is what Christmas must be for us. Christmas must be like a breath of fresh air for us. This is the point of having major festivals like this in the church year. They come around as regular as clock work, so they can seem a bit boring and predictable after the umpteenth time, but they give us the chance to pull ourselves together, to focus on what’s important and to start again in our attempts to follow Christ.

All of us, no matter how hard we try to follow the teachings of Jesus, will fail, will fall short. But God always forgives us, however bad we've been, God always leaves the door open for us to redeem ourselves and make a fresh start. And that is what Christmas can be for us.

What John is offering to people is a fresh start. He is a breath of fresh air in Israel. As we know, the water of baptism symbolises a fresh start.

Now, I want to end this sermon on a practical note and a personal note. As ou know, Advent is the beginning of the church year.

When John calls the Sadducees and Pharisees vipers, and reminds them that they shouldn't think being sons of Abraham is enough, what he is warning them is to make the actions in their lives about God and not to be people who focus on the institution of religion and forget that God is at the heart of it.

I think in the church year that has just passed, I spent much of my time focusing on the institution of religion and losing my sense of connection with God. I did a lot of volunteering for St Laurence's and this church began to feel like my place of work rather than my place of worship. I was often really busy doing things in the church and forgot to spend time here just "being".

I mention all this because I don't want any of you to make the same mistake as me in this new church year. In the coming year this church needs a lot of volunteers to help it grow bigger and to ensure its future, but it's not going to be easy. Nobody should take too much responsibility on their shoulders, everybody needs to make sure they take time out in church to worship without thinking of what needs to be done.

In February St Laurence's is launching its first Messy Church. Messy Church will be for people who have never been to a traditional church before. It will basically be a lot of arts and crafts activities for an hour in the Church Hall, followed by about 15 minutes of worship. The theme of the first Messy Church will be Noah's Ark. It might take quite a few months before Messy Church gets off the ground. The people who volunteer for it might get depressed and fed up if it takes a while … but I don't want anybody to make my mistake and focus so much on the practicalities of growing the church that they lose sight of God. When you work hard in church, and it doesn't work out, it's very natural to focus on what has gone wrong rather than on God.

When you lose sight of God, church loses its meaning. It is only by keeping God in mind at all times that we can really keep the will and the motivation to keep building this church. So, ironically, what I am saying is don’t work so hard for God that you lose all sight of him and lose your drive.

I got my sight of God back when I had a long holiday in the Autumn. I was able to spend quite a few weeks without thinking about St Laurence's and its future. I had a lovely day out at Canterbury cathedral where I was simply able to think about God and nothing else.

So I will say this … as individuals, if you want to keep that fresh revitalising spirit that is personified in John the Baptist and you want to help grow St Laurence's … don't take on too much. Don't get yourself into a situation where you don't leave yourself time to worship. Take time out to just be.

If you have a bright idea to help St Laurence's, and it doesn't work out … it's natural to get grumpy about it, but trust God. In the short term your project might not work out, but it might give you the experience and the know-how you need to do something else in church in future.

What I learnt in the Autumn when I had my holiday and had a chance to think, is that God knows what he's doing, he's calling every person on this Earth. He has a project that is much bigger than any individual and is much bigger than St Laurence's. This church might feel as if it's being tossed around on the waves of a secular society that cares nothing for religion …. But it's in God’s hands. It's part of God’s scheme … and I think in England anyway God is preparing the church for a great renewal. We're witnessing the death of the age when the Church of England was part of the national establishment and national political system, and that's why churches are closing down all over the place … but we're also at the dawn of a new chapter. Christians should seek to influence the way society goes, but Christianity was never meant to be part of the power structure.

As Christians we're supposed to be walking alongside the people that the power structure ignores - rather like St Laurence himself – who said that the poor are the treasures of the church. So perhaps when we think about this church’s future, we should use our patron saint for inspiration.