December 14, 2003 - Third Sunday In Advent
Isaiah 12:2-6
    NRSV KJV
Luke 3:7-18
    NRSV KJV CEV

“The Coats in My Closet”

Introduction of Scripture

While I read this mornings Scripture, I invite you to imagine you have traveled to the community meeting place, to hear the new preacher in town, who, I might add, everyone is raving about.  When you arrive, you find that everyone who is anyone has also come out for what you expect to be one amazing sermon.

A Sermon by John the Baptist --   The words of the author of Luke, chapter 3,

7 [John] said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

 8 Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

 10 And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

 11 And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you."

 14 Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

 15 As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ,

 16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

 18 So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.

Let’s Pray

God, giver of hope, love, joy, and peace, guide us to a place of peace within ourselves, that we may hear the message of your coming.  In the name of your Son, whom you send, Amen.

There is usually some point during Fall that I decided it is time to pack way my sleeveless t-shirts and shorts and unpack my sweaters, coats, mittens, hats, and boots.  This Fall, I procrastinated, and it wasn’t until this last week that I finally took the time to reorganize my closet.  I think it was the sudden chill in the Chicago wind that made me do it or, it was exam week, so I did have paper writing to procrastinated from.  Either way, it was a little like shopping. I found all sorts of things that I had forgotten I even had.  I also found some clothes that I wish I would have gotten rid of last season – what was I thinking!

The big surprise of my unpacking was the number of coats I own.  I brought a few to show you this morning.  Of course, I have a good down jacket for the notorious Wisconsin winters.  Then I have a lighter winter coat and a dressy winter coat, with this nice scarf and hat my sister knitted for me.  And, here are two more winter jackets.  No wardrobe is complete without a collection of ‘in-between’ outerwear.  Here are several fleece jackets, a lightweight rain jacket that is not good in heavy downpours, a couple of windbreakers and sweatshirts.  See what I mean?  I own more than two different coats for each season.  How does your closet compare?

I have a feeling John the Baptist would not approve of my coat collection.  In fact, it seems after reading this passage from Luke there is not much John the Baptist liked about what people were doing. 

What is my clue?  It is not often you hear a preacher start his or her sermon with, “You brood of Vipers!”  John is really quite harsh.  “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  The Messiah is COMING!  Are you ready?  Do you really think you are innocent because God made a promise to Abraham before you were born?  I don’t think so, John challenges the people. 

And lest you think John let the people off easy, John continues with what the people need to do.  “Bear fruits that befit repentance.”  Do the things God wants you to do? Get on board people or your tree is going to be cut down.  And did the people do one of these (point at John the Baptist and roll finger in area to show ‘he’s crazy’ sign)? 

No.  They didn’t.  They understood the message the first time.  Oh, a preacher’s dream.  The people immediately responded to John’s call to repent and asked what they should be doing.  John’s first response leads me to the conclusion that he would not have approved of all my 11 coats.  He tells the congregation, if you have two coats, just two (look to the pile of coats), give one to someone that has none.  Hum.

While I’m debating which coats I will give away and which one coat I will keep, John’s audience has already moved on to the next level of “what should we do?”

 The tax collectors ask John what they should do.  This group is not exactly what we could consider tax collectors. A better understanding of their job would be call them toll collectors.  In the Roman system, toll collectors paid the government in advance for the right to collect tolls.  You can imagine how easy and tempting it would be for a toll collector to raise the fee in order to make a little something extra on the side.  John tells them, “Collect no more than is appointed you.” 

The soldiers also ask John what to do.  These soldiers were more like body guards for the toll collectors.  If you have watched a movie about the mob, you can imagine the role these ‘body guards’ played in the toll collecting profession. 

Toll collector to traveler (With Sicilian accent): Give me the money.

Traveler: I don’t have it.

Toll collector: Vedo, take caaaaarre of him.

I’m sure you get the picture.  So, what does John tell them?  “Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”  In a sense, don’t do what you have been doing and stop being a bully!

John’s crowd hears and understands his message.  In fact, they begin to wonder, Maybe this is the Christ who we have been waiting for.

Have you ever been sitting in your assigned pew, I mean the pew you always sit in, on a Sunday morning, and after the sermon is over you wonder, Maybe this is the Christ who we have been waiting for?

Of course, for Steve, Sam and myself, it would be very flattering if this came to your mind after one of our sermons, but the real point is, who are we waiting for?  Are we waiting for someone who could come now? 

We are this congregation in Luke.  We, yes, you and me, are waiting for Christ’s return.  John could easily have been preaching this message of fire and brimstone to us.  “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come,” John asks.  Who told us that Jesus would not come during our lifetime?

Just as I procrastinated for months to move my summer clothes out of my closet and my winter clothes in, I have been procrastinating about preparing myself for Christ’s coming.  It is an easy thing to neglect.  While it was still warm out. my shorts and T’s could stay were they were.  And, as we all know, the wind chill dropped quickly and suddenly this year, leaving me unprepared for the cold. 

The creators of the Revised Common Lectionary, who plan what Scripture will be read when, knew what they were doing when they placed this passage of text on the third Sunday of Advent.  We need John’s sermon.  We need to ask the question, “What then shall we do?”  We need to go out and do it?

The moral of this story isn’t about how many coats we have in our closets.  The moral can be framed in a question, What do we need to do to get ready for Christ’s coming?  Is it time to stop procrastinating? 

John, speaking to a congregation during Advent, reminds us, “he who is mightier than I is coming.” 

Let the children of God prepare with joy.