How the Grinch Stole Advent

Matthew 3:1-12

Everyone knows the Dr. Seuss book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. All about the Who’s in Whoville, little Cindy Lou, and the Christmas dinner of roast beast. It was made into a film and then a musical. The mean old Grinch on the top of Mount Crumpit cannot stand all the holiday preparations taking place in the valley below. He does everything he can to stop Christmas from coming. He dresses up like Santa Claus and steals all the presents. Yet Christmas still came all the same. “He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!”

When I think of John the Baptist I cannot help thinking of him as a little like the Grinch. His message is so harsh and often so angry sounding. It is so incongruous with the Christmas spirit. That is probably not fair to John. John is regarded as a great biblical prophet. Jesus said of John that among those born of women no one was greater than John the Baptist. But I picture him as a stern figure. I am sure he was not much fun at a party. He probably never went to a party in his life. Jesus used to attend lots of parties. In fact he was criticized by the Pharisees for spending so much time with winebibbers and sinners, unlike John who was known for his fasting, his austere diet and for being a teetotaler. The two men were cousins, but there never were two people so different than Jesus and John the Baptist. I think that is why John had his doubts a the end of his life about whether Jesus was really the Messiah. That is in the scripture for next Sunday. When I think of John the Baptist I think of the Grinch in his Santa suit. He is a sort of an anti-Santa.

While all the world is getting prepared for Christmas, we come to church and read about John the Baptist. Advent is a different than Christmas. The two seasons are very different in tone and purpose. I tend to blend the two seasons in my preaching and worship planning. I like to sing Christmas carols as well as Advent hymns during these weeks in December leading up to Christmas. Some churches don’t. Some churches sing only Christmas songs. This is especially true of Baptist churches. More liturgical churches sing only Advent songs and no Christmas carols at all. I have a friend who is an Episcopal priest. She insists on never singing a Christmas carol in worship during Advent. Not until Christmas Eve will she break out the Christmas carols. I, on the other hand, cannot wait that long to sing carols. I do both I start off Advent with only Advent hymns, but as the month progresses I include more and more Christmas carols. The whole American society is playing Christmas music, and I would feel like the Grinch not to join in.

But I do not want to ignore the important themes of Advent either. I do not want Advent to be stolen from the church. I think it has been stolen, and it is important that it be reclaimed. I do not want the message of Santa to drown out the voice of John the Baptist. In spite of his stern tone, John the Baptist is an important figure in the Advent season. This morning I want us to look at him and his message. But I want to do that in a fun way. I want to compare John the Baptist and Santa Claus. I have nothing against Santa. I even dressed up like Santa one year for my kids when they were small. That was the first and last time I ever donned a Santa suit. I have nothing against either of these guys, but I think it is instructive to compare these two men who appear each year during December. Santa is the personification of the American Christmas. John the Baptist is the personification of the Advent message. Let’s compare them.

1. First their physical appearance. In his famous poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” commonly known as “Twas the Night before Christmas” Clement Moore describes Santa in these words:

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

That is the picture of Santa etched on all of our minds. Now listen to the gospels depiction of John the Baptist. This is our gospel lesson for today from Matthew:

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Wow! What a difference between these two characters! One lives on milk and cookies, chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, with a round little belly which shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly. The other probably never tasted jelly in his life! He was known for his fasting. He lived in the desert on a diet of locusts and wild honey. By the way, the locusts referred to here are not grasshoppers. It refers to the locust plant, which grows in the desert, and produces pods with beans that we know as carob. So get the picture of John eating grasshoppers out of your mind. That is the type of thing you may see on the TV show Survivor but not here. But John was a desert ascetic. He appeared gaunt and lived a life of self-denial. He has a very different image than the American Santa, who seems to be the symbol of self-indulgence. Santa wears a fur coat. John wears a tunic of camel’s hair which was not known for its softness and comfort. Santa comes bearing gifts. John is penniless.

More important than what they wore and ate is what they said. The message of Santa and John could not be more different. Santa was a man of few words. But when he spoke they were word of encouragement and happiness. Encouraging his reindeer on and wishing everyone well as he rides off in his sleigh, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!" What a nice guy. We would much rather be around Saint Nick then Saint John. John’s message is harsh. Santa’s is so much nicer. That is why there are Santas in every mall and not John the Baptists. Shopping malls pay men to dress up like Santa and promise little kids gifts. But if some street preacher began to preach like John the Baptist in a shopping mall he would be quickly escorted away by the security guards. We say we have religious liberty, but you will never hear a John the Baptist type preacher preaching John’s Advent message in any mall this Christmas season. It is not good for business, and business is what the American Christmas is really about. Somebody stole Advent. Somebody kidnapped the Biblical symbol of Advent, John the Baptist, and replaced him with Santa Claus.

What is John’s message? What is Advent really about? The gospel lesson opens, “In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." That is what Advent is about in one sentence. It is about repentance. The word repent literally means to rethink. Advent is a time to rethink our lives in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ. Many people are so busy during the holidays that they do not have much time to think or rethink. They have presents to buy, food to bake and parties to go to and musical events to attend. But Advent is a time to be introspective. That is why I have taken the time this Advent to write Advent blogs linked to the church website. You can subscribe to them if you want and have then delivered to your email inbox. I am trying to encourage people to put aside time each day for prayer and devotional reading is month. This is the perfect season to try it.

Part of rethinking or repentance is confession. Most people wait until New Year’s Eve to think about personal resolutions for the upcoming year, but Advent is the time when we can do the preparatory work of self-examination and confession.

It is not just thinking repentance, it is also doing repentance. Our gospel lesson reports “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” Repentance does not just mean a change of mind, it also involves a change in behavior. If we truly repent, then we will bear fruit worthy of repentance. That means a change in the way we live. John was not a feel good preacher. People did not come out into the wilderness to hear John coddle them. They came to be challenged. To repent in action and not just in word or thought.

The second thing that John mentions is Presence. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Christmas is when heaven came to earth in Jesus Christ. Christians believe that God became a human being. Heaven touched earth at Christmas. Heaven touches earth now. The kingdom of Heaven has come near. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That means literally that you can reach out and touch heaven. That is how close it is. This is the gift of Advent! Who cares about ipads and big screen tvs? We can experience the presence of heaven on earth now! We can know the presence of God! It is not far away. You don’t have to wait until you die to have a taste of heaven. God is here now. The kingdom of heaven has come near. All we have to do to know the presence of God is open our eyes and our hearts. Let down the walls that prevent us from enjoying the presence of God.

The third part of John’s Advent message is Preparation. Our gospel lesson says of John, “This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" Advent is a time of preparation. I am not talking about food preparation, Christmas decorations or travel preparations. John is talking about spiritual preparation. In the parallel passages in the other gospels it talks about building a road in the wilderness – cutting through mountains and filling in valleys. He is talking about hard work. More than reading a daily Advent devotion or blog, though that can be a start. During Advent John the Baptist calls us to take our spirituality seriously, so that when Christmas comes, it will have a depth and meaning that is more than sentimentality. John was a very serious preacher and he calls us to take our relationship to God very seriously. That is the blessing of the Advent season. It calls us deeply into the spiritual life. Let us not let anyone steal Advent from us.