Sermon for 3rd Advent
Ask My Neighbor
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
Some of my cousins on my Father’s side are Mennonites and live in Canada. I only met that side of the family once and it was years ago, but I found out that they were so-called “black bumper” Mennonites, that is, they dress very plainly and, while they do own automobiles, their cars are always black and, as soon as they purchase a new car, they paint all of the chrome on the car black, hence the nickname “black bumper” Mennonites.
Many confuse the Mennonites with the Amish, that small group of Christians who disavow most everything about modern living. The Amish live a simple, farming lifestyle with no electricity, tractors without tires, no automobiles at all, no photography, etc. Growing up in eastern Pennsylvania, I learned a lot about the Amish since they were strong in neighboring Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish are good, simple Christian folks who believe in God and hard work.
There is a story in Amish County about a farmer who was out in his field near the highway when a tourist came by. Tourists love the simplicity of the Amish and they love to visit their farms. The Amish tolerate some of this, because, well, they try to be kind.
Anyway, the story goes that an Amish farmer was approached by a tourist who asked the farmer, not knowing much about the Amish faith, “Are you a Christian?”
The Amish farmer paused for a moment and then he pointed to the next farmhouse down the road and said, “Well, to find out if I am a Christian, you really have to ask my neighbor next door.”
The Amish farmer felt it was improper for him to answer the tourist’s question. More proper would be to ask someone who knew the farmer well if the farmer behaved like a Christian in his daily life. That would be the best answer to the tourist’s question.
How true. Being a Christian is not just claiming to be one or affirming a set of doctrinal statements. The essence of being a Christian is this: Does that person actually try to follow Jesus and Jesus’ teachings in her or his daily life? Does that person try to live a life of goodness and kindness and forgiveness and trust in God? For the Amish farmer, his neighbor would be the best person to say if he was such a man.
In today’s Gospel lesson, John the Baptist, from prison, through John’s disciples, John the Baptist sends Jesus a question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Now, John should have already known the answer to this question. In St. Luke’s Gospel, John even recognizes Jesus before both John and Jesus are born! When Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visits her cousin, Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, Luke tells us that John, still in Elizabeth’s womb, “leaps” when he gets close the Jesus, still in Mary’s womb. In this way, Luke tells us that John acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah even before they both are born!
And, before today’s text from Matthew, Matthew has already told us about John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. Matthew tells us that when John baptized Jesus “the heavens were opened” and the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus. And, just be certain we know this, Matthew adds that “a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Yes, John should have already known the answer to his question.
However, by the time John sends his question to Jesus, a lot has or has not happened. Perhaps a year or more has gone by since that wonderful time at the Jordan River. By this time, John is in prison and will soon be executed. And, by this time, John is no longer so sure about this Jesus. What has happened to all that John spoke of in last weekend’s Gospel, the Messiah coming with judgement, calling for repentance and burning with fire?
The Messiah that John the Baptist was expecting, who many Jews were expecting, was not the Messiah that Jesus became.
John the Baptist and other Jewish leaders expected a Messiah who would come to set things right on earth in the here and now. This Messiah would be an earthly king and establish the kingdom of God here on earth. Those hated Roman rulers would be put down and the Jewish people would finally be free.
This is not the Messiah that Jesus became. Rather, Jesus came to change people’s hearts. Jesus came to bring good news to the poor.
Jesus responds to John’s disciples’ question. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news brought to them.”
In other words, Jesus is responding similarly to the Amish man in my story – Jesus is suggesting that John’s disciples should ask around, ask folks what they have experienced from Jesus. That will tell them if Jesus is the true Messiah.
There is also a story about a wise man, a teacher, who once was asked by one of his students, “What is the true religion?”
The wise man did not answer directly, but, instead, told this story:
There was once a man who owned a magic ring. The ring brought out kindness and generosity and love in whoever wore it. Wearing this ring, this man was a wonderful example of love in his community and beyond.
As time went on, the man neared his death. Each of his three children came to him separately and asked if they could have this ring when the man died.
The man did not know what to do – there was only one ring and he had three children.
So, the man asked the town jeweler to come to his home. He showed the jeweler his ring and asked him to make two identical rings just like his ring. The jeweler did this and brought them back to the man. They were perfect, impossible to tell apart.
So, the man called each of his children to his death bed and gave each of them one of the three rings. And then the man died.
Well, you can imagine that this was not very satisfactory to the man’s three children. Who had the actual magic ring? The children were troubled, even bitter about which of them had the magic ring. They even fought about it.
The children brought their fight to a judge and asked the judge to determine which is a real magic ring. The judge examined the three rings closely. He could not tell the difference. He even brought the jeweler into court, the one who had made the two identical copies, and even that jeweler could now not determine which ring was the first one made.
So, the judge, a very wise man, then told the three children that each should put on their ring and, in time, people would know if they have the real ring by how they live their lives, how they live in love and kindness and generosity to others.
As the wise man ended his story, he told his student that the same is true about what is the true religion, that a follower of the true religion will follow that faith and their life will show forth love and kindness and generosity.
That is how we know Jesus is the Messiah. And that is how others will know we follow Jesus. Jesus lived a life of forgiveness, love, and generosity. As Jesus’ followers, we are called to do the same in our lives.
Who is the true Messiah? Look at his followers. Just ask their neighbors.
Amen.
(With thanks to the Rev. Ryan Ahlgrim, Pastor of 1st Mennonite Church of Richmond, Virginia, and the “A Sermon for Every Sunday” series).
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
December 14 & 15, 2019
